The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1867.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2140, 30 October 1867, Page 2

The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 30, 1867.

In discussing tlie great question of the day—whether the time has come to abolish Provincial ingtitutiom—we are met at the outset by a remarkable and very significant fact. In no single instance has the Colonial Government gone so far as to assert that the time has arrived to abolish these institutions. On the contrary, though the tendency of most of the principal Government measures of last session was to reduce the powers of the Provincial Governments by de-centralising them, and, in our own case, to separate and cut up Canterbury, the Government always protested that it desired to retain the Provinces, that it acted solely for their good, and desired nothing more than to serve their best interests. The speeches of Mr Stafford, Mr Mtzherbert, and Mr Hall, throughout the session, bear ample testimony to this statement. Whether the Ministry were sincere in the use of these expressions, or whether they were disguising their real feelings, may be open to question, but it is certain that their eipreßsed views were always in favour of retaining the Provinces and their institutions. It was left to individual members of the House to denounce those institutions, and to demand that they should be so crippled as to be rendered useless. Foremost among those members were several who represent constituencies in the Province of Canterbury. It is evident that some of these gentlemen were led, by hostility to Provincial Governments, into forgetting the undeniable benefits which have been conferred upon the Colony by their past Bervices, and into underrating and ignoring the important work which some of them have still left to do. Anger or disappointment is not a favourable mood for calm reflection or reasonable discussion, and the consideration of the merits or demerits of Provincial institutions requires, at the present time, to be approached with all the cool and calm inquiry which such an important subject fairly demands. For, before Provincial institutions are finally condemned, it is necessary to prove that they are useless, if not mischevious, that they are incapable of self-reform, and that what is proposed to be substituted in their place is a decided improvement upon the present form of local self-govern-ment. • Now, the charges hitherto brought against Provincial Governments involve general and in some cases specific acts of extravagance, folly, and injustice. These are the worst faults that can be adduced, and we are not prepared to deny their gravity. But they are faults that belong more or less to every Government under the sunnot excluding the Central Govern- ! ment itself—and, of themselves, by no means justify the cry that has been raised in favour of sweeping away Provincial institutions, or, in other words, giving up those powers of selfgovernment which are attached to the special works of settlement and colonization. Those who urge the people to throw up these privileges ought to shew that the evils of the present system are beyond cure, and great enough to justify the sacrifice. Otherwise they are fairly open to the charge of being blind guides, and foolish advisers. The people of Temuka have welcomed the return of Messrs Cox and Jollie with, it complimentary dinner, and the. heroes of the hour, as might 'be expected, delivered their sentiments upon the Timaru and Gladstone Bill, The scope of Mr Coi's remarks, if we gather it rightly from the report, was that Provincial .Governments were doomed, and that their place would soon be satisfactorily filled by municipal institutions. This change he looked upon as a subject of congratulation, He considered that" the game of Pro- [ vincialism was up,", whatever that may mean, and, strange to say, brought forward as proof of this, that its advocates ' —whom Mr Cox terms" the enemy ". -admit the necessity for, and propose radical reforms in its administration. „, . ~ Perhaps it is hardly fair to pin Mr

Cox too closely to words spoken under the peculiar influences which attend an ovation of this kind. All that we desire is, to point out to him and to other reasonable men of bis stamp wherein we agree and wherein we differ from hjs views. And the difference lies in a nutshell. 'While we desire to decentralise the Provincial Government as entirelyas he does, we cannot admit that local munioipal boards are capable of performing the works of settlement ana colonization which are essential to the progress of the province, nor can we allow that the Central Government is adapted to carrj out those works. "While we would maintain and extend local boards, and endow them with funds sufficient for the performance of their proper duties, we would also maintain a united administrative body, which should control the expenditure of part of the provincial revenues for the purpose of carrying out those works of common interest and utility which are essential to the settlement of the country, and which are beyond the powers of mere local boards to eiecute properly. And we urge the necessity of preserving this power all the more because we have a land fund which has been specially set apart from the beginning for these purposes, and which will certainly be otherwise appropriated if we continue to invite the interference of the Colonial Government in its distribution. So far from looking upon us as an 1 enemy' vre claim the assistance of Mr Cox and Mb friends in our efforts to reform Provincial institutions. We assert that our interests are in common, and we feel safe in claiming his belief in our sincerity. We think that a reconsideration of the subject, and a review of the work that has been so well done in the Province, will convince him that he overstated the case when he said that " Provincialism had failed under the most favourable circumstances." And we are sure that his long experience of the arduous, increasing, and multifarious duties which devolve upon the Central Government must satisfy him that the work which pertains to Provincial Governments, and which cannot be devolved upon local boards, can still less be properly performed bythe General Government. But it is true that Provincial Governments must bend to public opinion if they do not wish to be broken by its force. If they are not willing to reform themselves they must submit to be reformed against their will. And it is against the compulsory action of a greater power from without that we protest, simply because we fear the loss of privileges which, if properly used, may yet materially benefit the Province. We are satisfied that a local Government for the Province, which Bhould represent the people and do its work simply and inexpensively would find abundance of useful work to do. But the present constitut.on of Provincial institutions needs reform. We do not want Provincial Governments which will clash continually with that of the Colony. We would gladly get rid of those influences which, by logrolling and combination, render the good government of the Colony almost impossible. "We hope to see the farce of responsible government done away with in the Provincial Councils. We can dispense with titled Executives, and with them we may hope to get rid of an organised opposition which spends the public time and money in endeavouring to oust the holders of office, and neutralise their efforts to carry on the business of the province. What we want to see is a representative body, chosen from among those who now represent the local interests of the Province, and presided oyer by a chairman of their own selection, who will be prepared to conduct the affairs of the Province in asimple,intelligible, and business-like manner. This is the outline of our idea of Provincial Government as it ought to be. And we shall endeavour, to shew hereafter how it may be obtained. If we are successful in that endeavour, we shall call upon all who have the interests of the province at heart to unite in the effort to carry out some such measure of self-reform, in order to save us from the suicidal and degrading alternative of having to make further appeals to the General Government to Bettle our internal differences.