The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY, 16, 1867.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume II, Issue 13, 16 January 1867, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY, 16, 1867.

The meeting of the Provincial Council, on the 22nd inst, "will furnish another opportunity of ventilating the railway question. It will be remembered that, at the last meeting a resolution was passed giving the Superintendent increased powers to deal with contractors, who were to be offered additional r.d vantages to induce them to undertake the work. The public will be glad to know from official sources what progress, if any, has been made in effecting an arrangement with contractors, a description of knowledge that will be more satisfactory than the homoepathic doses retailed through private channels. It is understood that questions of finance will occupy almost exclusively the attention of the Council, and of course the railway will be included in the deliberations. It is' stated that the Superintendent desires the sanction of the Council for the somewhat large expenditure cn public works which has been necessitated on the gold-fields. Under ordinary circumstances this would have been included in the Bill of Indemnity which it has been customary to pass at the end of the session. The Provincial Audit Act, however, which came into opei*ation on the Ist January, has put a stop to the passing of such bills for unauthorised expenditure, and requires that all monies paid shall be sanctioned by a vote of Council. Superintendents henceforth, therefore, will be in no humor to run in debt, whatever reasons are assigned why they should do so. If a Superintendent thinks proper to spendjnore than the Council have voted, he must do so on his own responsibility, under certain stringent" legal restrictions, and with the pleasant prospect of fine if he exceed his instructions. The responsibility of the expenditure of the public money will in future rest with the peoples representatives. It is fair to assume -thafc this innovation will give the representatives and electors a greater interest in. public affairs than they have yet taken and that the ratepayers who furnish the money will scrutinise narrowly the objects to which the money is appropriated. Whilst admitting that the dent as the chief of the executive, and the wielder of large powers in the affairs of the province, can either obstruct or promote public improvements as -the fancy may seize him, we wish to enforce upon the electors the fact, that the power rests really with them, and that no combination of adverse officials can prevent them from carrying out a necessary public work, if ■ they fix their minds upon ifc, and set about its accomplishment in the rigbt way. The affair has now arrived at such a stage that the people through the Council must take the whole onus on themselves. Taking the Council first, we have a right to expect, that the railway question will he thoroughly sifted during its next sitting. The original proposal came from them, and no doubfc the members who took a principal part in the ' discussion, have since collected information, prepared facts and figures, and come to the conclusion that the enterprise must either be abandoned, or carried out with spirit. They are in a position to determine, from the light that has been thrown

on the subject, during the past six months, whether the result of the inquiry is so encouraging, as to justify auy considerable preliminary outlay, or whether the question is a mere ignis fatuus, dazzling the imaginations of its deluded votaries, and leading them to the vortex of debt and ruin. Tavo members of the Council are candidates for the office of Superintendent, and it will be expected of them that they will contribute largely to the present imperfect stock of information on a much vexed question ; and show cause why an expenditure should be incurred for railway purposes, or the money be kept in the provincial coffers. It is plainly the •' Council's business to speak oufc on this question and satisfy the. public anxiety which has risen to its culminating point. Our opinion has always been that in no other place than Nelson would a question of such vast importance as the opening of communication with the gold-fields be left to accident. At Hokitika or the Grey, long ere this, the matter would have been taken up by the more influential electors. Committees would have been formed, public meetings held, statistics collected, and reports furnished by competent authorities. Instead of opening their mouth, shutting their eyes, and seeing what a Superintendent will send them, any other British community would have taken the matter into their own hands. This is one of the evils connected with public affairs in New Zealand, that the electors are always waiting, Micawber like, for something to-turn up through the Provincial or General Government, who don't care a button top about the matter, instead of putting their shoulders to the wheel, and lifting the machine out of the difiiculty. In the affair of the Maungatapu murders the community was roused, and veiy properly roused from its lethargy, and the railway question if it rests on the slightest basis is one that demands the concentrated energies of the/whole community. For on it depends whether Nelson shall be progressive or stationary ; treble or quadruple its population, or become a mere fishing villa'ge ;-. remain an insignificant unit amidst towns which are ..expanding around it, or hold an influential position amongst the cities of a future empire. This will not be accomplished by reliance on Government ofiicers, whether adverse or favorable, but by putting forth the exertions of the whole community, through well-selected representatives, who will be compelled, if the electors so wish it, to do their bidding. Who would be free Themselves must strike the blow.