PUBLIC MEETING AT PICTON.

Marlborough Express, Volume III, Issue 121, 13 June 1868, Page 5

PUBLIC MEETING AT PICTON.

A large meeting of electors of the Picton district was held in the Court House, on Friday, the sth instant, to take into consideration the advisability of memorialising the General Assembly, to separate the said district from the Province of Marlborough, and to constitute it a county. We take the following condensed account from the Press ;

Mr. A. P. Seymour, being called to the chair, stated the object for which the; meeting had been called. They were all aware of the unfortunate financial position the province had been reduced to. There was no money for public works or education. The office of Provincial Treasurer was now a perfect sinecure. The cause of this state of things was owing to the General Government having impounded the whole of the land revenue for the purpose of paying off the Nelson debt of £7,500, which shortly came due. He had tried, as far back as 1864 or 1865, to get it paid off, but the Council were against it. He regretted that it had not been paid off, as they were in a position to do so ; but now they could not, as it would take all the revenue now coming in to pay officials’ salaries, with nothing left for roads, bridges, &c. The Colonial Secretary impounding the land revenue, the Provincial Government had nothing left but Auctioneers’ and Publicans’ Licenses, and a few other small items, which would not be sufficient to pay salaries. The officials, with one exception, had been retained, and they were paying nearly as much for the government of the province now as when there was a revenue of £40,000 a year. A few gentlemen with himself had taken the matter up, had met together to consider the best course to pursue under the circumstances, and had agreed to get up a petition to the General Assembly for forming the district of Pic- . ten into a county, distinct from the rest of the Province of Marlborough, and submit It to the electors for approval, for which purpose they had met. The question had been mooted whether it would not be better to leave the matter to the Assembly in merely petitioning for redress ; but it was considered advisable to give some idea as to what system of Local Government was required, as they might have something too expensive put on them, similar to the Municipal Corporations Act, which was only suitable for larger places, such as Otago, Auckland, &c., and in which the mode of rating was very undesirable. A petition had therefore been drafted, but it was for them to say whether they considered it would meet the requirements of the district. He thought it was high time the present scheme of Provincial Government was done away with. The revenue was decreasing; ’ but the Government would probably manage to pay officials some way or other, which would absorb any funds we might have for our roads,, bridges, &c. The Westland petition was very favorably received by the General Assembly, and succeeded; andhedidnotsee anything in the petition he would presently read to them to prevent its being carried through,' if the electors would sign it. Before reading the petition a resolution should, be carried to show that it was desirable to form the district into a county. Mr. Conolly then moved, — ;

“ That it w desirable that the Electoral District of Pictou should be separated from the Province of' Marlborough, and constituted a County under local management. ” • ‘ ' Mr. J. Godfrey, in seconding the resolution, in the course of his remarks, said, he had noticed an article in the Blenheim" Express, 'which being the organ of the Provincial Government, it was evident it came from that quarter.* It says—“ One of two things is certain, either the Customs must be divided among the provinces upon the just basis of population, as we have repeatedly argued beforetimes, or we must

* We are surprised that Mr. Godfrey should thus state publicly what he Well knows to be false. The Express has never been the ‘ ‘ Government organ,” nor has any one connected with the Government ever contributed a line to its columns; nor even supplied information of any kind, without being first asked for it. This is not the,first time we have had to contradict. aialaehood, intended to injure the proprietor of this journal, ■ , ,•»/ * *■’ *-| *

have an Income and Property Tax, collected in and -by- the* |>rdviiicefi for their own purposes. Of - the two, we would prefer the latter scheme, for the sooner the larger provinces take their fingers out of the Customs, the better it will be for the smaller ones, and the colony at large.” The resolution was then put to the meeting and carried unanimously. The Chairman then read the following petition : To fche Honorable the Legislative Council in the Colony of New Zealand, in Parliament assembled. To the Honorable the House of Represents- 1 tives in the Colony, &c. The Petition of the undersigned Electors of the Electoral District of Picton, Sheweth, That the present mode of Government of the Province of Marlborough is far more eoatly than is necessary or desirable. That, the Act of the Provincial Council of Marl borough to appropriate the revenue of the province to the 30th day of June, 1869, while appropriating an estimated revenue of £8,000; makes no provision whatever for education, or for any public works in the province during the year ending at that date. r That many public works, and especially the' maintenance of public schools and of'existing roads will be required in the Electoral District of Picton. ‘ That the said Electoral District might conveniently be separated from the rest of the province, and formed ’into a county under the management of local boards. That such separation and management would be a great saving of expense, and in every way a benefit to the district. . , That such. county might conveniently be divided into seven districts, namely :—The Districts of East Wairau, Tiia Marina, Pelorus Valley, and Linkwater, as defined in Schedule A to an Act to provide for making and maintaining roads in the Province of Marlborough, which Act is contained in the fifth Schedule of The Provincial Acts Validation Act, 1867 ; the District of the Town of Picton ; the District of Kaituna, as defined by the said Act with as much of the Districts of Upper' Wairau and Wairau Valley as lie to the north of the Wairau River ; and a district comprising the Districts, of Kenepuru Sound, Pelorus Sound, and Queen Charlotte Sound, as defined by the said AcfC 1 * That for each such district ‘ there should be a Local Board having control over, the rates within such district, and power to make, public improvements within the same. That for such purposes such Local Boards should have power to rate the lands within their respective districts. ' ■ J.-giarKi That the limits for such rating-powers might conveniently be within the first four; and the last two districts, those given by the 17th section of the hereinbefore mentioned Roads‘Act, and within the District of the Town of Picton, those given by “ The Picton Improvement Act,-TB6l, ’ of the Provincial Council of Marlborough.! ] ]>■» I That the Chairmen of such Local Boards might form a Central Board, who should be entitled, to receive the revenue of the said county (excepting any share of Customs and Wharfage and Harbor dues), and to appropriate the same to each of the said districtsrannually, in proportion'.to the amount of rates collccted within each districtf That all Customs and. Wharfage and Harbor dues within the said county should he Collected and received by the General Government of the Colony. •- Ay- : That the General Government of the Colony should have. the sole direction of all Harbors, Wharves, Gaols, and Hospitals within the county, and of the' Police Force bf the dame; and - should provide for the Cost of the same respectively,'and also of all expenditure for judicial purposes .within the said county. Y.'ij That by the above or some similar arrangement no county paid officers would be required excepting a Surveyor of Public Works And Collector of Rates, and that those two offices might be held by one person for the whole county, v That, with the exception of the salary of such officer, all sums, levied or accruing due from local sources would be expended within the districts whence'they arose, to the' great benefit of the inhabitants, while those expenses which would more properly be under the control of the;General Government would be defrayed from the funds directly appertaining to them. Your petitioners therefore pray that your honorable House will take’Such measures asmay be most expedient to sever the said Electoral District of Picton from thfe other portion -of the Province of Marlborough, and, to constitute the said district a county under local management. And, ypur petitioners Will ever prayi- . 1 Mr. Western then proposed,— ■ ‘ .‘‘That the, petition, now read, praying for such alteration, be adopted and presented, tohqth Houses of Parliament.". . Secondedby Mr. Dart, and carriedi ■ r ; A"*" V) J j •' '‘ 1 i ,’* ' ' i > ’ ii b' .. Mr., ~JMCy L, Marks,’objected, in Tathefi warm terms, .to the cut ’ and dried" manner in.\vincH,t^ > meecing Had,jpeert ■ arcanged, andaccusedtlie gentlemen who had brought up tire-.petitionwith hole arid cprner £ )busi-jnesSj.narEauT-m.indedhess,; and. with wishing; to force, tlie.petition on the .electors.. ■ ; • It was proposed that The same gentlemen who had drawn up the petition-should remain as the. committee to carry- it out j and the following resolution,, with 'the names added, was proposed, seconded* put to the meeting and carried unanimously—“That the following gentlemen' be*a~Com--ipittae,' with - power to add- to their number; to obtain the signatures of electors, and't'o forward the petitions for. pre3ehtationd-.Messrs, J *obhdlly # J. Godfrey, Gard, Western, A.- P/ Seymour,- and 'A vote of thanks?’to the Chairmarf, and the gentleman who.calledThe meeting, and drew up the petition, terminated the" prct J ;