WILL NO ONE SPEAK OUT?

Marlborough Express, Volume III, Issue 145, 21 November 1868, Page 4

WILL NO ONE SPEAK OUT?

To the Editor of the Marlborough Express. Dear Sir, —I enclose a letter for publication, which if you do not consider hits hard enough, pray strengthen, but on no account temporise ; it is the duty of every member of the community (and you are one) to proclaim this opinion of the recklessness of the public expenditure, with a view to exposing and suppressing it ; the public press is the only legitimate and available organ for the expression of public opinion and public animadversion on the misconduct and iniquitous proceedings of a Government. You must he aware, if not by personal experience, at least by general admission, that the statement of “Vinegar Point,” as regards the state of the roads is correct, and ought to be exposed.—Yours, &c.,

Sir,— Let me avail myself of your columns, to place before the public a remark or two on “ Provincial Expenditure,” absurdly extravagant as it is, and iniquitously disproportionate to the bonafide “Provincial Revenue,” some superfluous offices ; one of these is, unfortunately for ns, a sinecure—to wit, Provincial Treasurer !—and to submit that the amount of salaries, supposed to be paid to these “ superfluities,” would, if applied to road repairs and other practical local requirements, be more generally beneficial, and more satisfactory disbursements of the public money. We pay our Superintendent £SOO per annum; a Superintendent’s Clerk, £l2O. .Why should not the Superintendent be his owncl.erk ? It is, or ought to be, a duty with him to economise the revenue. We pay a Land Commissioner £320 ; ditto Clerk, £l60; ditto Surveyor,. £2BO. Why not merge these three offices into one? We pay a Speaker £IOO per annum. Admit the necessity of a Speaker to moderate the excitability of some of our M.P.’s under the influence of “strong " feelings, the language of the House is not always 'strictly “ parliamentary;;’Vadmit this “necessary evil,” but let liirijf he paid, for his acfiial “ session”—hay £1 per diem, the ( year. The•extravagance, of' the .sysfein is maintainedthroughout ( . fhe‘, whpjm bpachmefy, - Ibave, suggested ' JTOhd resaws .as an pjiject on which a fair propqrtiojhdt ■fhermoney cpntributed by pended—-I would more particularly joint' tO ; the many tuodfed bales of ported; the ''transit by this : road indtspresent state; the weather tn be. ever "so favourable,., .is a - positive risk. ,A/n : . ( ipflpeptial member of the said district has reqeivefla liberal suggestion, directly official, to repair the road at individual cost; with a chimerical promise of the outlay being refunded.when the treasury is in a solvent .condition,■' but on.no )account,to, ex-ce-d a disbursement. of £SO ; at least on the -strength of'the Provincial credit, Ido hope, and depend upon it, herein I am not singular, that on the . re-assembling of ouf Goiineil,-mem-bers will fearlessly do their duty as ti-ustees of the pvhlic funds, and at once arid for ever disallow these unnecessary salaries —Yours) &c., “ VINKOAB POIKT.’* November 14th, 1868.