Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1886.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXII, Issue 7550, 25 September 1886, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1886.

THE BRITISH PROBLEM. . , Great Britain has learned several useful lessonsfroin methods of coloniallegislation, and if she were' more receptive she might learn a little more. Just now it should be easy for her to acquire a few facts bearing upon the science, of legislation. To begin with there is the federation idea, which appears to be gaining ground • among ■ English politicians, and that should have the eil'ect of causing increased attention to he devoted to the colonial modus opmindi in politics. Then there is at present a great army of " distinguished .colonists" at Home, each unit of that body no doubt fully anxious and riioro or less able to give the British Lion a few " tips " as to the conduct of his affairs, and tho advantage of shaping his social and political existence in conformity with antipodean experiences. Or if this latter suggestion should read like a joke, and tenipt' the cynical to doubt the wisdom of supposing that "distinguished colonists" aro better fitted to give England advice than would be, say, a party of Cook's tourists in France to draw the linos of a settlement of the New Hebrides question, the second factor tending to the enlightenment of England may perhaps be found in Sir Julius Vogel's letter to The Times. If it should be retorted that Sir Julius Vogel's method of making New Zealand "progress" is anythlng but a recommendation to him in his new rdle of- meddler -in English affairs, ■perhaps tiie next best thing would he to fall back upon Mr Wakefield's somewhat hysterical essay on Froude in the Nine.leenlh Century. Speaking seriously, however, and leaving out of the question all reference to federation, distinguished colonists, Sir Julius Yogel, MrWakefieltl, and other colonial wonders of to-day that might be meutiqned, it may be yet asserted not only .that Britain could learn much from Australasia, but'that she ought to con the lessons set at the earliest possiblo moment. Our Land Transfer Act, for example, which -we owe to the foresight of the colony that passed the celebrated "Torreus Act," ought to be framed and glazed and sent as a gift to the English House of Commons. Great Britain possesses tho most barbarous and despicable system of transferring land that ever existed. John Chinaman would be ashamed of -what in England passes for a method of dealing with land, and many of the agrarian and social troubles that puzzle and confound her reformers are due to British backwardness in the matter of dealing with the soil. The peculiar circumstances under which the large estates of Great Britain came to their owners would forbid a simple adoption of our Land Transfer Act, but there can be no doubt that if some of England's prominent men took up the question a vast improvement upon the present barbarous system could at once bo made. It is, however, in relation to the British problem that Eugltirid could learn much from her colonies, and particularly from New Zealand. Mr Gladstone's attempt to cut tho knot he could not untie' failed, as it deserved to fail, and the knot is thero still, to bother the finger tips of even the most dexterous exponents of political sleight-of-hand among. British statesmen. Mr Gladstone's highest flight embodied itself in what • was literally a proposal to dismember tho United Kingdom, in addition to a kind of vicious rider that would have made the laborers arid artisans of England responsible for a debt of from £150,000,000 to £200,000,000 for the purpose ot buying out Irish landlords. It did not appear to strike him that if landlords were to bo bought out, those of England, Scotland, and Wales came just as much under the necessity for such action as did those of Ireland. He also failed to see that what Ireland wanted was not to bo cut adrift from the remainder of the kingdom, but to bo granted what she ought to havo had long before, and what she must have before she will be or should be satisfied — tho right to the mostcomplete form of local government. And even if Mr Gladstone had stumbled upon this by accident, the tenor of all he has said on the question is good proof .that ho would never have suspected the heed for giving as- full a measure of local government to "England, , Scotland, and Wales. His mind, appears to havo been dominated by the . din . of the 'dynamite and dagger faction hi Ireland, ■ who no more represent the population of that country than the recetlivistes represent France. His mad and one-sided scheme was rejected by the people of the United Kingdom, and now, nparfc from a few extraneous difficulties created 'by the pro-, posals themselves, the . question of local government remains what it was before j Mr Gladstone, made his great mistake, that is to say,. it is the British problem, and not the "Irish difficulty." It is as unwise and unjust to expect the people of Yorkshire to have their local affairs dealt with at Westminster as it is to think that the people of Connanght or Ulster ought to submit to that treatment. The same' may be said of Scotland and Wales, and the fact is patent, to all who wish to see, that local government is as badly needed for England, Scotland, and Wales as it is for Ireland. And it is in connection with this view of the case that we think Great Britain, could learn from New Zealand. In this colony we once had what was known as ".provincial 'government." It was not perfect, but it suited the colony's circumstances for a great length of time during which much real progress was made, and there are not wanting at this day shrewd men who consider that the abolition of the provinces was a grave mistake. That, however, is not now to be considered^ but it may be fairly suggested that a modification of the New Zealand provincial system would admirably suit the 1) uited Kingdom, and that such a modification could be made the means of conferring npon every portion of Great Britain the fullest scope for local "government. If Ireland were divided into her original, four " counties "—Ulster, Munster, Leinster, and Connaught— England into eight or ten provinces (or the old seven divisions of the Heptarchy might be found suitable), and Scotland and Wales we're also suitably divided, and each division thus made were created a province having governing powers somewhatshnilar to those formerly possessed by the New Zealand provinces, the result would be a real settlement of a real and menacing difficulty. Many modifications would have to be made to suit the circumstances of Groat Britain, but that they could be made successfully, and that the result would be in the highest degree favorable, can hardly admit of much doubt. By this means the fullest powers of local selfgovernment would be conferred upon all parts of tho United Kingdom, and the Parliament representing tho nation as a wholo would be left with unimpaired vigor to deal with national questions, and, which is even more important, with a a great deal more time for their consideration,