Evening Post. TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1892. WARNING, NOT EXAMPLE.

Evening Post, Volume XLIV, Issue 46, 23 August 1892, Page 2

Evening Post. TUESDAY, AUGUST 23, 1892. WARNING, NOT EXAMPLE.

? Sir George Grey was, we think, singularly unfortunate last night in seeking to support his argument in favour of an Elected Govornor and a unioameral Legislature by illustrations drawn from the history of this colony in the days of Provincialism. That history should on the two points in question bo rogarded as a practical warning of what to avoid rather than as an example which should be followed. With regard to the position of Superintendents, whom ho terms Governors and most incorrectly says possessed all tho powors of Governors, there is not a word in tlie Constitution Act to show that they wers over intended to occupy any such position, and they never wore permitted to occupy it. They wore made distinctly subordinate to the Govornor and to the Goneral Govornment of the colony. All their larger powers they hold merely by delegation from the Governor, a delegation which was constitutionally entirely optional on the part of the Governor. Not only wore they bound to exercise these delegated powers according to instructions, but in some other respects also they were amenable to instructions from tho Governor, and they woro removable by him on address from the Provincial Council — a power actually exorcised in ono memorable instance. Tho position of a Superintendent was evidently intended by the Constitution Act to be analogous rather to that of a Mayor than that of a Governor. The Superintendent was intended to be the administrative officer of the Provincial Council, as the Mayor is of the City Council. One error in tho Constitution Act was quickly rectified in the Now Provincos created by the Now Zealand Legislature. Tho Superintendent was given a seat as President of the Provincial Counoil. This placed him in his proper position, and obviated the anomaly of his position in the older Provinces, where he was set apart, as it were, from tho Council regulating the affairs it was his duty to administer. No provision was made in the Constitution Aot for anything in the nature of Responsible Government by which harmonious action conld be ensured between the Superintendent and the Council. The efforts of tho soveral Provinces to supply this omission, by tho passing of Exocutdvo Council Ordinances, were not conspicuously or uniformly successful, and in some Provincos the respective responsibilities of the Superintendent and the Council or Executive were somewhat mixed and undefined. More than once, and in more than one Province, serious conflict between Superintendent and Council, as to thoir respective powers, was narrowly escaped. The Superintendent always, and most naturally, was inclined to regard himsolf as superior to the Counoil, as the real I

embodiment and representation of the ]vill if the people, from jvbofti as a wholo, wid by direct erection, he ho)d his office, Bttperintefedenta, relying on th/s. have been known 'to lreat their Executives in a manner in which the Governor, as at present appointed, would certainly never venture to treat a Ministry. An Elected Governor would naturally entertain even a, more exaggerated idea of his own powerand importance than the mobt consequential Superintendent ever did, and the danger of conflict with the Legislature would be increased tenfold, tf bfr great that : dan;fer would bo, a knowledge of the rtelations between t Suher!ntnt*d^ri)^ p.nd Provincial Coiinc?l3 in tfi<j pdet aftOrds con'Olusitd Ov'denCe. There is nothing in the *rc(55M to encourage, but much to deter from, an ext' n a ion of the principle of elected headship from the Provinces to the Colony. A 9 to tho benefits of a single legislative Chamber, as illustrated by Provincial history, we can honestly bay that Sir Gforoe Grey is the first man wo ever heard nretend to discover any, and the only one we have ever heard profeES admiration of Provincial legislation, or regret that the Provincial Legislatures had ceased to exist as law-making bodies. Even at the risk of contradicting Hit George Gret, wo assert unhesitatingly that Provincial legislation as a rule was of tho n>Ost (Slipshod character, ill-p'ropfrtiontid, contradictory, nnd frequently unintelligible according tb any ordinary rules of interpretation. It was generally less carefully drawn than, and not so well considered as, the ordinary run of Municipal by-laws— it furnished a fruitful source of litigation, and tho Provincial Ordinances wero at once a terror and a fruitful sonrco of incomo to the lawyers. The various Sheep, Ed'icatibn, Fencing, Roads, T-and, and Police Offences Orcli'ian^cs tif the Provinces were a marvfcrtous collection of laws, and had in each Province to be continually patched up to a degree compared with which the too frequent amendment of colonial Acts sinks into insignificance. On the subjects on which they were permitted to legislate, the Provinces did so confusedly and unsatisfactorily, but it must be borne in mind that upon a largo number of subjects the Provinces wero, fortunately, forbidden to legislate at all. Provincial experience of unicaineral legislation is certainly not calculated to inspire to emulation on the part of the colony, whatever bir GeorOe Grey may say. When he stated that many of thoso who had favoured Abolition nbw regretted tho extinction of Provincial Institutions, Sir George Grey waa only speaking a half-ttuth. It is a fact thai a great many of thoso who Strongly advocated Abolition, and assisted to bring it about, now regrot that tho change was so sudden and so sweeping. Thero was much good as well as much evil in Provincial Institutions, and tho error was in sweeping the good away as well as the evil, involving both in one common destruction. It is now generally admitted that it would havo been wiser to have sifted out tho good from the evil, and havo retained tho good whilo extinguishing tho ovil. It may, perhaps, bo doubted whether this was really practicable at the time, or whether tho sacrifico of certain good things was not absolutely necessary in order to secure tho removal of much that was evil. It is easy to be wise after the event, but whilo wo admit that what was good in Provincial Institutions is naturally regretted, wo repeat that we never met anyone except Sir George Grey who included the legislative powers of the Provincos amongst tup good things to bo regretted. Until last night we had believed that thore was an absolute consensus of opinion that tho abolition of Provincial legislative powers was an unmixed good, and that although it might have boen wise and desirable to have retained tho Superintendents and Provincial Councils with morely administrative and recommendatory powors, tho withdrawal of legislative functions was essential to tho welfare of the colony, and ono of tho most beneficial constitutional roforms ever effected in Now Zealand. AYe do not think Sir George Gbey will find many intelligent pooplo acquainted with the history of Provincial legislation to join with him in praising Provincial law-making or deploring that the system no longer exists.