WHAT GOOD ARE THEY?

Marlborough Express, Volume IV, Issue 191, 28 August 1869, Page 4

WHAT GOOD ARE THEY?

By some singular combination of circumstances, no less than three mails have arrived here from Wellington without bringing any political intelligence from the seat of Government. We have received neither newspapers, parliamentary publications, or the Hansard, and have only obtained some scraps by indirect means. How this has occurred—just now, when the fate of our Province is under consideration—we shall not stop to enquire, but proceed to make a few remarks upon what has reached us. In the Upper House, we notice that the customary enmity or prejudice which the “ lords” display towards this unfortunate Province, is more than ordinarily apparent, and we last week made some extracts which bear out this view. It may not be amiss to notice who some of our foes are, and the connection they have with Marlborough. Two of the number are defeated Superintendents, who had their day, and were duly ejected. One of the Marlborough lords, after'selling the colony had to fly, and it will be long ere the mag-

nificence of Tetley and his shortcomings will b£ forgotten. What would his colleagues think of another, who presided, with his feet on the table, over the assembly that listened to the notorious ten and a-half hours’ tirade, and was. one of the gentlemen w r ho held the office of Superintendent for a few months simultaneously with another. This Session, we have fallen immensely under these gentlemen’s displeasure—first, with respect to the Reserves Act, then the Awatere Shearing Reserve, the Compulsory Land Taking Repeal Act ; and now the Validation Act. We believe a good reply might be made in all these cases, but with respect to the latter we may say a few words. Captain Baillie does not live so far from Blenheim as not to know that the Validation Act originated with the causes celebre “ Bagge v. Sinclair,” and in respect of the Blenheim Improvement Act, the operation of which was suspended thereby for nearly three years, yet he listened to a number of speeches altogether wide of the mark, and displaying no ordinary intelligence and amount of information, ere he ventured to give his explanation, which was altogether beside the question. The rates levied for the three years he spoke of, were never collected, our streets were consequently utterly destroyed, and we were compelled to adopt the Municipal Act in order to overcome the technical difficulties with which the matter had become involved. Nor did he see fit—when exposing as he pretended, the laches of the people of the Wairau, with respect to their endeavors by means of the Drainage Act to prevent a repetition of the mischief done by the memorable flood of February 1868—to tell his listeners that there was no other Act existing which they could adopt, and which was left out of the Validation Act last session by Mr. Seymour-only because a measure for the direct purpose had been passed. As to the Rivers' Act, both he and all who voted for it must have known that they had succeeded in spoiling it and making it unworkable by introducing stupid provisions rendering it necessary to obtain the consent of absentees before adopting it, Mr. Eyes, in the Lower House, had succeeded in getting a Bill passed which would have met the requirements of this district admirably, but when it came from the Upper House it was utterly useless. An examination of the Jonruak shown *b«.t Dr. Pollen first attacked it, upon its introduction, by moving its second reading that day six months, without giving any reason, which was, however, negatived. On the succeeding day, the Hon. Mr. Seymour carried a series of amendments, which were really such, and of which we approved—their object being to place the chief power in the hands of the people—but it remained for Colonel Whitmore to move a fatal clause, which has resulted in the Act remaining a dead letter and an incumbrance on the statute book ; while the dangers from the rivers accumulate daily. Returning to the Validation Act debate, for a full report of which we must refer our readers to Hansard, it would appear that the difficulty which stood in the way of “ the lords,” and Capt. Baillie in particular, was the harmless measure passed by the Provincial Council a few weeks ago, enabling the Town of Havelock to adopt the Picton Improvement Act, and the Board of Works in Picton to let their streets for pasturage in aid of thisir rates—an object which these useless gentry could not coincide with—and the Hon. Mr. Domett went so far as to say that the Hon,' Mr. Lee had, in stating that the Act was intended to, cover amendments made on the'basis of the Validation Acts, removed almost the only objection there was to throwing the Bill out. He did not object to the objects of the Bill, but to the mode in which they were attempted to be arrived at. In other words, there was not a sufficient attention paid to red-tape and routine, and therefore he would not consider the' mischief which would result from the. repeal or disallowance of upwards of 70 Acts named in the schedule of the Bill., We purposed to have said something hero as to, the meddling of the Tipper House with the Ballot Bill, which, it appeal's, they have succeeded at present in rendering inoperative, and the Summary Trials Act which they have succeeded in destroying, but our Space is exhausted, and we must leave it over until we can discover by some means what the extent of mischief is, and how it ends. The con-' elusion to which we have arrived, in our own minds, is that the institution known’ as the Legislative Council is perfectly useless.

If Mr. Fok ydshes‘ to; niake the" present Ministry thoroughly popular,.he cannot do it in a surer way than by adding sufficient names to the Legislative Council as to

nsure the carrying of a measure either for ts abolition or to make it an elective chamber. Just to show how the present system works in this Province. The people have the privilege of electing two members to represent them in Parliament; while the Government nominate five, who represent only their own opinions, and consequently swamp the voice and wishes of the people at large. Since the above was put in type we have received a portion of the remiss files, and among them we find the following in the Wellington Post of the 18th :

“People sometimes ask one another of what earthly use our august assemblage of senators of the patrician order, ’yclept the Upper House, is in the government of the country. Their duties appear to be of the lightest description ; many of the members attend or not, just as it suits themselves, without inconveniencing by their absence their * grave and reverend ’ brethren, yet they all appear to have plenty of time on their hands. However, as if to satisfy the Colony that the Legislative Council was actually in existence, they have given proof of its power for mischief, if for nothing else, by cutting to pieces the Summary Trials in Disturbed Districts Bill, which was introduced by the Government and passed by the House of Representatives. This measure—one of the utmost importance in the present state of the country—was intended to supply a want in the power of the common law of the Colony to repress internal disturbances, as well as to deal with the rebel prisoners now in our hands. It was carefully framed by the Government, and as carefully considered and modified by the House of Representatives, but it seems the ‘ Lords ’ were not at all satisfied with it, for they sent it back with amendments extending nearly to the length of the Bill itself, nullifying nearly all its important clauses, and rendering it almost useless for the purpose for which it was intended ; in fact, making it to all intents and purposes a new Bill. Both sides of the House condemned these amendments. Mr. Hall spoke strongly against them, and urged the House not to accept them; but Mr. Fox, though entirely agreeing with what Mr. Hall said, pointed out that it would be unwise at this late period of the session to adopt such a course. He also considered that fortunately the Bill might not be required in the present peaceable aspect of the country, and, were such a measure found necessary, a new Bill would be introduced in the next session of Parliament. The House agreed with what he said, and accepted the amendments. As constituted at present, the Legislative Council is a nearly useless body, and nominee assemblies ever have been, and ever will be in the Colonies. It is supposed to represent the monied interest of New Zealand (the only patrician order we have), which it only does very partially ; but it is well known in the Australian Colonies generally, that men who have amassed the largest amount of wealth are anything but the most fitting to legislate on the destinies of an infant fitnpirp It «° Ulo to (iLlitU of lug oviuxi assemblies with the House of Lords, the hereditary members of which represent the huge territorial and aristocratic interests of the mother country; a similar class does not exist, and cannot be formed in any new country. The Ministry have declared that they do not intend to make any organic constitutional changes at present; but such must be made before long, and one of the first will require to be—if the Legislative Council is to constitute a useful instead of an obstructive portion of the machinery for governing the country—to render it an elective body, with a higher franchise than that of the Lower House.”