THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, July 21, 1849.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 385, 21 July 1849, Page 82

THE NELSON EXAMINER. Nelson, July 21, 1849.

Journals become more neceuary ms men become more equal and individualism more to be feared. It would be to underrate their importance to suppose that they serve only to iccurc liberty : they maintain civilisation. Djc TocatJiviHi*, Of Democracy in America, vol. iv., p. 300.

In briefly noticing, last week, the Road Ordinance, we stated that the opinion we had formed of it, on a hasty perusal, was, that- it was a bungling and defective measure. A more deliberate examination has tended to confirm our first impression. Our objections to the Road Ordinance are two-fold — the intentions of the authors , r»re loosely and vaguely stated ; it is also, & jji some respects, vicious in principle. In submitting any measure to a legislative ■body for its consideration, it should be the first duty of the framer to state his intentions with such clearness, that no doubts shall afterwards arise as to the right construction of the act or ordinance, when it becomes a law. In this important particular, the measure before us is singularly faulty. "What are the objects of the Road Ordinance, gathered from its own pages? The title tells us it is "An Ordinance to authorize the levying and collecting of tolls on roads, and of rates on land, in the Province of New Munster ;" the preamble sets forth, that "It is expedient to raise funds by means of tolls on roads, and a rate upon land," &c. ; and, passing on to section 6, power is given to commissioners to erect toll-bars, and " levy a rate on all uncultivated land." But her*

comes this important proviso, which no* ' thing preceding it had led us to expect — ' " Provided always, that in case the said ] commissioners shall not cause the erection \ of any toll-bars or gates in any such district, any rate or assessment to be levied under this ordinance shall be levied indiscriminately upon cultivated and uncultivated lands." But where is the discretionary power given to the commissioners to erect toll-bars on the roads and levy a rate on uncultivated land, or to levy a rate on cultivated and uncultivated land indiscriminately ? Is it contained in the words of section 2, which say that Commissioners shall bo elected "for the purpose of levying tolls on any road, and levying a rate on uncultivated land, or on cultivated land as the case may be ?" If such power is not contained in the extracts we have given, then it does not exist in the ordinance at all, and the intentions of those who passed it are defeated. But even supposing that minds may be found so ingenious as to see no difference between levying tolls and a rate, and levying tolls or a rate, plain simple people, who comprise the bulk of mankind, would greatly prefer seeing a law which so nearly concerns them brought a little more within the scope of their comprehension. The enacting powers of the law should be kept together, so that its real object and scope might easily be seen, and not scattered up and down the whole bill, under all manner of heads, where' no one would think of searching for them. Passing over this objection to the Road Ordinance (which, however, if well founded* must vitiate the measure), we will proceed to consider its other defects. Section 4, which treats of the claims of votes, tells us, quite in an incidental way, that the boai|| of commissioners is not to be less than five in number ; but neither here, nor in section ! 2, which treats of the election of commissioners, is the number any further defined, nor is there anywhere "authority given to any person to settle this important question. The consequence must be, that every man who receives a vote on the day of election, will be a Commissioner of Roads, and be as much entitled to act as a person receiving the votes of nine-tenths of the population. We may therefore have many Commissioners as voters. It is a subject of great doubt with some persons, whether the expense of collecting tolls will not, with the limited traffic yet on our roads, swallow up far too much of the proceeds, and a rate is therefore thought by many to be a more preferable mode of raising a revenue for keeping the roads in repair. Without objecting to the principle of tolls, which no doubt is the very best mode of making those who use the roads contribute to their repair, we have misgivings about the practicability of its success at present in this settlement, although we should be very glad to find ourselves mistaken. If the experiment is to be tried, we do not see how more than one set of tolls can be levied here ; and how the sum thus realized is to keep all the roads in the settlement in repair, or even those in the Waimea, after paying tbe expenses of two bars (one at the entrance of tbe town, and another at Richmond), we are at a loss to conceive. We have heard it suggested, that persons already residing in the neighbourhood of the most suitable spots, might be induced to collect the tolls for a small consideration, and that all the expense necessary to be incurred beyond, would be the simple erection of the bars. Now, any such expedient as this, we think, ought above all things be avoided. What security would tye public have against embezzlement, or' a rigid enforcement of the toll, under such a system ? If the principle of tolls is to be fairly tried, we are afiaid there is no alternative but the plan we have seen adopted in England — that of letting the bars to the highest bidder ; and this, of course, would tender another expense necessary in the erection of tollhouses. But supposing the Commissioners,

when elected, should partake in these doubts, and prefer the system of rates to that of tolls (in some districts the latter plan must be adopted, or the roads will remain for ever without repair), and' waiving the defect in the wording of the Ordinance we pointed out above, how, under the present measure, will those who most use the roadi be compelled to contribute to their repair? A simple rate upon land will not reach the carrier, whose cart is on the road every day, nor the person who lets out horses and carts to hire. Persons engaged in drawing sawn timber and firewood to the town, not having five acres of land which will be rated under this Ordinance, may yet use the roads more than the owners of a thousand acres. If the Legislature contemplated this part of the measure only being put into force, it was surely bound to see that it was made as perfect as possible, and not have taxed one portion of the public heavily, while another was exempted. Passing over some other objections we could point out, we shall proceed to section 24, which exempts from contribution to the roads, not only all lands held by the natives for their individual benefit, but even the I reserves which have been set apart for them in the schemes of the Company's settlements, and which are held in trust for their general welfare. These reserves, in Nelson, form one-tenth of the whole of the lands of the settlement, and are mostly let, or intended to be let, to Europeans. Now, on what principle of justice these tenants of the Maori Trust are to be exempted from contributing to the making and repairing of roads, which they use in common with their brother settlers, we are unable to discover. If the exemption had extended only to native uncultivated lands, or even to such as the Maories are themselves occupying, we should not have objected to it; but to exempt all native lands, as is here done, we consider a downright injustice to the great body of Europeans in the settlement, a disgrace to the Council which suffered it, and a piece of stupidity worthy only of the Maori-mania days of Fitzßoy.

| We are sorry to learn that the schooner • Triumph, of this port, has been totally j wrecked in the Wairau. She had proceeded up the river, as far as what is called the Beaver Station, with supplies for several of the sheep- stations in the valley, when, we suppose from defective ground- tackle, she was swept away by a heavy fresh, and dashed to pieces. A good part of the cargo was saved by the aid of boats, excepting such articles as flour and sugar in bags, which are very susceptible of damage.