The New Zealand Herald. AUCKLAND, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1864.

New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 297, 25 October 1864, Page 4

The New Zealand Herald.

AUCKLAND, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1864.

M'KCTEMUII AGENDO. Oivo every man thino enr, but few thy yoico: Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. This nbovo all, —To thine ownsolf he true; And it must rnHow, as tho uu;ht tho dny, Thou canst not thou ho false to any man."

Tin: flavor of a French town published an order that no person should go out of doors alter nightfall unless he took a lantern with them. II is satellites were charged to see that, the edict was strictly observed. Home young men sallied out one night, with lanterns, but without candies or oil in then;. fhev were taken before the Mayor, and in defence pleaded that, they had complied with that functionary's order, inasmuch as it simply ordered persons not to go out without lanterns, and made no mention of candles. lie dismissed the accused with a reprimand, and issued a fresh edict, that persons should have candles in their lanterns, but made no mention that they were to lie lighted. The same young men sallied out again, I this time with lanterns "and candles, but the j latter were not lighted. This caused another apprehension and appearance before the Mayor, J whose wrath waxeii very hot when he saw" the i same offenders again before him. They pleaded j that inasmuch as the proclamation did not say | that the candles to be carried in the lanterns | were to lie lighted, they had strictly obeyed its ! injunction, and the angry oliicial had to "issue a third proclamation ordering that the candles should lie burning. The man in oliice doubtless learnt a lesson by the conduct of the young men. Now. our City Hoard are very much in the posit ion o| (be !• rench Mayor, and the concoctors of the City Hoard Act aie especially so. Take one instance ol the legal acumen and wonderful common sense ol the I ranters ol that most absurdly imperfect Act. The Act, enables the City Hoard to make a sewer, but, it gives them not the slightest shadow of power to enable them to compel the inhabitants to make use of it by draining their properly into it. Daniel O'C'onnell said he could, with a little care, drive a coach and four through anv Act of Parliament, hut a whole city can walk and drive through the („ ity Ijoartl .Act without once trespassing upon it.s orders or breaking its provi- ( sions. It is then, we should think, the only instance on record ol such a unique piece of legis- j lalion.utlh the exception ol the proclamation of the lussy h rench mayor to which we have alluded. "We might, go through the Act and point out to our readers a host of sins of omission and several ol commission evidenced by that measure, but it is needless to do so. We all know too well the exact state of the case, and we have been patiently waiting till the meeting ol the Provincial Council to learn tluvt a new Act to supersede the present one was in a forward state of preparation and woidd soon be introduced into t he ('ouneii. .11 appears Ave are again doomed to that hope deferred which has such a depressing influence upon us. .In reply to one or two communications from the Provincial Secretary to the City Board on the .subject,, there has been only one reply, •' wait a little longer. How long the City Hoard will continue (o maintain its magnanimous attitude of expectancy "we are nimble to say." But. the next generation may probably be able to give more information on that point than we are able to do. hen the rates ol a lew move years have been squandered in patching and mending, doing and undoing, resolving, and re-resolving, the peoplewill wake up to the fact, (hat all has not been managed quite in as good a maimer as was possible.

| have never been of I ho number of those I >vi_u.i sou-111. to embarrass Hie Board in anv way. We have often given (hem sound advice" based on practical knowledge, hut, one might. apparently, almost as well,endeavour fo shoot a paper bullet through (lie hide of ;i rhinoceros iis to expect some people (o profit hy the inslrue--1,011 ,|)l ' gained either IVoni (lie past or the present. Several circumstances which have occurred lately seem to illustrate (his fae't. One is. that, individual members of the JJoard are constantly meddhng villi its servants, at other times than at the meeting ol' tlie JJoard. This iJiey have 110 more right to do than they have to take the command of one of the L'egiments stationed here. The persons employed by the ■Hoard are its servants, and when any member of the Board interteres otherwise than through t.ie .board, lie exceeds his duty. This consiant.

meddling offirst one member and then another is a great evil and totally improper. At one time one of the members takes upon himself to order an official to neglect his proper out-door duties, and act as a clerk in the oilicc. The heads of (lie department, or the chief officer whoever that may be, of the Board, are the persons to attend to a proper division of labour, but tliey will do nothing of the kind, if tliey see themselves and their-authority put on one side by some meddling 1 member of the Board, who has to be informed as to his real position, and that there is some limit to his authority and power. How can there be responsibility and the necessary gradation of rank where 110 one is master, and everybody is master. Clearly the responsibility can rest nowhere. And no first-class 1111111, with any spirit at all in him, will submit to these petty displays of power and authority which at once proclaim that the parties so exercising it have a very great deal to learn.. Another circumstance which struck us as arguing t hat the Board was made of Unimprovable materials occured at its last sitting. According to the published reports in the papers, there was an offer made to water the streets, if the Board would lend their watering cart. But some of the members opposed any proposal that could be made by which the streets eould be watered in the summer, either by private persons or by (he Board. The latter would neither use the cart themselves for this.purpose, nor would they allow anybody else. They have got the lantern but no light. Trulj', we arc a great, people; a Wise, a prudent, a far-seeing people. AVe buy a water cart which we don't use ourselves nor allow to be used by others. The members ol the Board who could so act. are worthy oi having some more extended sphere of usefulness opened out. to them." There minds are far too comprehensive, their views far too enlarged for the post they occupy as members of a miserable City Board. Legislative ability such as this should not be cooped up. and have so narrow a range ou which it cftn be exercised. \\ e presume the next arrangement will be that cver.v inhabitant must pave the street opposite to bis own door, and by-the-by, it would be far more cheaper for them to do so than to go on under the present system. Surely the watering of the streets of a city in summer time ought not to be charged to anv particular section of the inhabitants, or to the people of any particular street. It is not done lor the exclusive benefit, of the residents either of (>ueen or any other streets. The watering of (he streets is an' absolute necessity for the comfort of the general public. It is a benefit to every person who has business which leads them to traverse the streets. The work ought of course to be done by the C'ity Board, out of the general rates. Have none oi'the members ever lived in any other town than Auckland 'r

./lave tlicy iicvcr licen in a eitvor (own whose streets were regularly watered throughout every ■summers day by the local authorities ! J It would appear that these members are wholly unaware oi'the fact that watering the streets fs as necessary a duty as paving them or intf them, and that it. is a duty which falls exclusively on the governing municipal bod v. But as Ihe City Board neither paves nor lights the city streets, so it has come to the conclusion that it will not. water them, and so prevent a great nuisance and annoyance to every person making use of the streets in summer time. Such is the acme oi' civilization to which our authorities have arrived. .Blind guides groping in the dirt and dark", and leaving us to ilouiulcr along as best we may. In winter we require stilts to wade through the mud; in summer we require thick veils to protect our throats and eves trom dust, and so to prevent ourselves being choked and blinded. We cannot, but reiterate the sentiment that we are really n wise and understanding people, and that the persons :n authority over us, and whem we delegate to manage our a (lairs, are the very essence of the wit, and wisdom of the population in whose name they act.