THE Inangahua Times PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, JULY 6, 1877.

Inangahua Times, Volume IV, Issue 38, 6 July 1877, Page 2

THE Inangahua Times PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. FRIDAY, JULY 6, 1877.

Paeliament is summoned to meet on. the 18th instant, and already the northern journals are busy anticipating the i work of tbe sessioo. That the sitting will be an unusually busy one there can be no doubr. Ifc has been stated, upon whab authority we know not, there is every probability that the country will have to face a considerable deficit in tbe present year's revenue, the chief falling off, it is alleged, being in Customs revenue. Tbe quarterly returns already published do not, so far as we are aware, go to bear out this supposition. It, may be possible that 1 the increase baa not quite come up to expectations indulged in by the Colonial Treasurer at the beginning of the financial year, but we are far from believing that the Colony has actually retrograded under the ( iteai. The railway returns, so far at least as regards the Hoes in Otagoand Canterbury, will no doubt sbow considerably in excess of anticipations, and we believe that there will be shown a proportionate, if not strikingly healthy increase in all the other staple sources of income. Iv the face of these predictions, however; we have the statement of more than one Opposition paper that the Government have in preparation a measure for the imposition of a Land Tax, to. coyer .large supposition Treasury deficiencies. All this is, however, so much mere speculation, that in view of the early meeting. of the House it is hardly worth following up or discuss* ing. Amongst tbe many measures likely to be dealt with in the ordinary course of business, nob the least im» portant to the general body of the people will be the proposed amendment of tbe existing system of local selfgovernment. It will be admitted on all sides that the system so far has cot proved an unmitigated success. It is at the best an unsystematic, unauthor!tive form of rule, and iv the main seems to lack the starch and circumstance of orthodox official administration. Provincialism, with all its horrors and drawbacks, was certainly a cut above this. It had about it a little of the pomp of Parliament, and all the officially that the reddest advocate of red tape could desire. In comparison from tbis point, the present system is a bloodless creation of an essentiaily- "prentice han'" type. However, the country was long hankering after " local self-government," and we now enjoy it to the utmost. We may play Hamlet, but we must be content to do so without tbe Prince of Denmark. Coming, however, to the executive functions of the bodies, it may be said that so far the Councils throughout the Colony havo beea moderately successful in working out the Act. Numerous hitches have occured, it is true, but these could hardly be avoided under tbe circumstances, and it may be that the amendment Act will cover these defects. All parts of the Colony have not been equally successful in securing the right class of men as representatives, and those who are in this category must necessarily expect to fare accordingly. What we conceive to be a radical defect in the Act as it at present stands is in the limitation of the number of councillors to particular districts. We all know that tbe smaller the public body the greater the facility offered for what is termed "logrolling." An matters standj any two or three persons, by combining and awaiting their opportunity, can actually carry any resolution they may think proper, and thus by mutual compromise subserve possibly the interests of the lesser at the expense of the greater. Now, by increasing the number of councillors, and

in tbe same or even greater ratio, tbe number to constitute a quorum, tbis difficulty, if nob got rid of entirely, could at the least be modified. And. after all, why, it may be asked, should constituencies be limited to tbe present number ? In the case of municipalities tbe number of members returned is, vre believe, twelve, and we can therefore see no reason why the ratepayers in counties, when the circumstances | justify it, should not' be placed upon tbe same footing. i