The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE. Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Saturday, June 25, 1887. REAL REFORM.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume I, Issue 7, 25 June 1887, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE. Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Saturday, June 25, 1887. REAL REFORM.

Be just anil fear not; Let all the ends thou aim'st at bo thy count*/*, Aliy God s, tqiu truth’s.

We are on the eve of a genera! election, and it is the duty of every citizen and patriotic colonist to carefully meditate over the condition of the country and the merits and demerits of those who seek our suffrages. We have had quite enough of the extravagant, blatherskite regime—we want a really radical reform, a ruthless cutting down of unnecessary expenditure and the commencement of a new era of reform, retrenchment and good administration. Whoever may get in for the East Coast district, be he Gannon, Locke, McDonald, Brown, Smith, Jones or Robinson, ho should in our opinion be asked to pledge himself honestly and genuinely to the reforms which we shall allude to as follows

First of all, he should be asked to vote for a reduction in the number of ministers hnd also of their screws. Ir Is simply monstrous that ministers should draw the salaries they do, and with their travelling expenses batten upon the scanty purses of the taxpayers, whom they impoverish by their reckless extravagance. Reduce the ministers 1 salaries—that's one item.

£2OOO is quite enough for a Governor, As an artillery officer, Sir Wm, Jervois 1 salary might tot up to £BOO, not more, but probably less, and his main functions now-a-days are to make nice speeches, do the aimable at Government House and append his signature to a lot of papers about which, as a rule, he knows nothing whatever about. It is absurd to pay a year for it. That’s item No. 2.

Sell the Ministerial residences for what they will fetch. When a man gets a salary of /800 to £l2OO a year, he surely can provide a house for himself, instead of loafing on the country for his rent. I hat’s item No, 3.

Cut off the screws of the Legislative Councillors. A second chamber may be necessary, we doubt it, but still its abolition would be a mistake at present. Nevertheless, our Lords should c erve for nothing. Their work is not arduous, and n these a s of snobbery and toadeating, the title M.L.C. is surely worth something. It looks well on a passenger list or in a newspaper report, and as the Upper House is mainly an ornamental body, it may as well be ornamental at its own expense. That’s item No. 4. No more borrowing for three years. What has this district ever had of the many millions squandered on useless railways and on the gigantic public works of the South Island. Precious little benefit we ever got here out of the ten million loan, and precious little benefit beyond increased taxation are we ever likely to get. Therefore, as an item, make your member oppose any more borrowing for at least three years. Let us have a Land and Income ta v . It is the only fair tax to touch all classes. It would not tax industry and economy as it does the Property Tax, but it would touch up the big land grabber, the wealthy absentee and the greedy professional men who go scot free under the existing system. As Radicals, the Land and Income tax is one of our firmest planks, and we want to see each East Coast candidate put his foot firmly down and vote for this real reform, That’s item No. 5. Cut down the scandalously extravagant expense necessitated by the secondary education system, The poor man at present pays for the education of the rich man's child. Bogus universities, with highly paid officials, high-class secondary schools for the benefit of the big towns only, all these are preying upon the unfortunate taxpayer, Cut them down, and the cost of the really useful and necessaiy primary education may then be reduced. That’s item No. 6, Don’t let our readers think we are against the present education system. Education must be free, secular, and comprehensive, but the secondary schools while supported by eveiy man, are only used by the wealthy who are mean enough to avail themselves of advantages for which men contribute whose sous can never hope to spare the time to use them. Re that protection question. We are a country district; we have no manufactories to keep up, no wealthy ironfounders, no boot factories to support. We sell our wool and our produce in the dearest market we can find, and we want to buy our clothing, our agricultural machinery, our everything in fact, in the cheapest ditto. Therefore we would say 1 vote against a prohibitory tariff. Where a moderate increase in the duties will help forward a struggling industry, whilst not increasing the cost to the consumer, we are for protection, but for a seaboard country like New Zealand, with an essentially agricultural and pastoral population, we hold that protection, pure and si.aple, would be a disa„ ous and calamitous mistake. That's item 7. To sum up, let reform, drastic reform, and genuine economy be our motto. Hake the candidates honestly say what hey mean to do. Don’t be gulled by specious promises, but weigh w 1 and careful y the qualifications of those w h o seek jour suffices, vote accordingly and this district will then have done its duty. “LEAPS AND BOUNDS." The Standard is progressing by ’’ leaps and bounds,” new subscribers are entering their names every day and everybody seems to like the paper. The arrangements for regular and punctual delivery are being improved and in a week or two the paper, we trust, will come into everybody’s hands. We shall be glad to quote prices for advertisements and jobbing work. We can do both as well and better than any other office here, and we would ask for a fair share. Several original contributions of interest are being arranged for, and nothing is being left neglected to make the Standard a really first class country

paper. We should like our country contributors to wake up a little and send us any items of news and correspondence that may be worth publishing. We are trying to make the STANDARD a really readable, reliable local organ, and we want everybody to help us. We are working for the good, of the public and for our own good, and if the public will support us, wo shall support them by always Watching over the best inter, ests of the Bay.

REGISTER! REGISTER 1 !

Wa would strongly impress upon everybody whose name is not already on the roll the necessity of registering immediately. We are on the eve of a new general p'ection, and it will rest with the people of this Colony whether they are to be governed, or rather misgoverned, in the future by a pack of self-seeking political frauds, or by honest, straightforward, useful men. Every man has a vote 5 that is eveiy man who has resided twelve months in the Colony and six months In his presnt district. But he must register his vote : see that his name is put on the electoral roll, so that he may faithfully exercise that franchise which the enlightened spirit of publie freedom of opinion has entrusted to him.

Don’t make any mistake about the matter, Don’t“ think ” your name is on the roll, but see that it is, If you have changed your residence within the last six months you can have your name transferred to the ro’’ of the district you now reside in. Once more wo ask all those whose names are not on the roll to register at once. Once the writs are out you will be too late,