The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1867.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2122, 9 October 1867, Page 2

The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 9, 1867.

The advocates of centralism cannot ■: pretend to be ignorant of the difficulties incident to their favourite theory; With all our objections to the concentration of power in a distant quarter, we did not ourselves expect to see those objections so. soon or so forcibly illustrated. It can, no longer be said that in casting aside the ills of Provincial Government, we fly to others that wo know, not of. They cannot now but be known and felt by all who are, alive to the true interests of tho Colony. Amid all the vagaries of Provincial Executives in New Zealand, none will be found to match the conduct of the present Ministry .iu dealing with the Loan Consolidation Act. The Treasurer in. his financial statement announced the outline of a plan which gave general satisfaction. For a term of three.years the General Government was to be prepared to buy up Provincial debentures at a certain price, and to exchange them for Colonial securities, Those holders of Provincial debentures who refused to sell during that period would be left to the risks of their infeiior securities. And although they might not suffer ultimate loss, they would certainly not hold as good a security ' nor have equal facilities for disposing of., their debentures as : those who had effected an exchange. A decided profit would result to the colony from these transactions, for, in providing better security, there would be an advantage to all parties. The profit accruing to the colony was, ac-. cording to the Treasurer, to be handed over to the several provinces. Only: two objections to the scheme seemed to have any force. One was, that the period was too long during which the holders of Provincial bonds were allowed the option of exchanging; them for Colonial debentures. For all reasonable purposes six to twelve months was time enough. The other objection was, that as the colony provided a better security it was entitled to the profits of the transaction. But in all other respects the Treasurer's plan was judicious and honourable. At a later period of the session, he denounced in no measured terms the proposal made by Mr Vogel, that the Colonial Government should confine itself to the simple matter of providing the guarantee and give up all the profits therefrom to the holders of provincial debentures. The language used by Mr Fitzherbert in speaking of this proposal was that of virtuous indignation, and vehement scorn. But unfortunately for his own credit, and for that of the Ministry of which he forms so prominent a member, he now, to wards'the. close of the session, supports, in its, most unblushing and most aggravated form, the proposal he then denounced. Never did financier or politician more completely "turn his back upon himself." : Never did a public speaker, more expose himself to the most righteous ■and telling application of his own; previous denunciations. And this is the character of that central power for the sake of which we are entreated to surrender all the advantages of a more local Government. Our contemporary the Press has applied, unsparingly but with justice, the epithets of "jobbery " and ." pretty profits .made, out of the " colony" to this astounding change of policy. . We will venture to say no such thing could have been done by a Provmcial &Gyernmeot. It is too near at hand, too thoroughly identified with the population around it, to dare the attempt. And for this reason we say let us keep our Provincial business in the hands of our Provincial authorities; A second, and somewhat similar transaction is that of the remission of the Auckland and Taranaki Debts. 1 The similarity consists not in the form of the transaction, but in the making of a pretty profit out of the colony, Auckland is indebted to the General Government, in other words, to the rest of the provinces, for a sum of money advanced to it. It.cannot pay the prin- . cipal, and it has not paid even the interest upon it, : The Ministry wipes out the whole debt, and finds by a strange coincidence that the Auckland members are thorough supporters of ita general ppiicy. But the Auckland; members strive to get the . unpaid, interest: cancelledj as wpli as tho original debt. This is, however, more than either: the Government or tho House will submit to. This proceedis also, we believe, unexampled in tlio records of any Provincial Council. Is it for tlie sake of such things' that ive are to abolish our Provincial Councils, and pubinit everything to the decision of a remote Legislature ?

; Wo have before now referred to tlio danger of hurrying important measures through the Geueral A«BomUly before! those most immediately interested have had time to learn anything of their character, Our means of communication vvith Wellington are at present less frequent than they were some time ago, But the proposal has been made in t,he Assembly, 11 "d lias received the Bupport oi'the Premier and the Treasurer, that the

Intercolonial Postal Service should be further reduced, and that our facilities for getting information of what is doing at the seat of Government, should be left to depend to a great oxtfeut upon the arrangements of mercantile vessels. Thus we shall be thrown back at least five yearH in our postal communications, and find the influence upon the Legislature of any public opinion outside of Wellington reduced to a mere indirect fraction, ... One further consideration which moves uh to regard with jealousy the 'substitution of General lor Provincial institutions, is tho impossibility of obtaining adequate and just representation for the Provinces of the Middle Island. Population, property, and taxation are the three elements upon /which the proportion ite representation of various districts ou»ht to be based. In neither respect is there even an approach made to substantial justice to the Middle Island. The Premier openly avows that it would not be politically safe for. the North to allow to the Middle Island its just proportion of members. Can it then be " politically " safe" for the provinces of the Middle Island to hand over all their interests to the control of a Legislature constituted as it now is ? : The addition of Native members to the two Houses of Assembly renders the disparity still greater, aud to what .length this may be carried it is impossible to say. The feeler thrown out to try whether the necessity might pot be obviated for calling the Assembly together oftener than once iu two years, is worthy of pecial note in view of this question. Of itself it should suggest caution, if not suspicion, as to the approval of any means for bringing us more directly than we already are under the control of a power which seeks so openly to render itself absolute. We shall return again to this subject, but in the meantime we have urged sufficient reasons to bid those take some time for reflection who hastily assume that the transference of the powers of our Provincial institutions to a remote central power would be (jnly productive of guod.