The New Zealand Herald AUCKLAND, THURSDAY, NOV. 17, 1864.

New Zealand Herald, Volume II, Issue 317, 17 November 1864, Page 4

The New Zealand Herald

AUCKLAND, THURSDAY, NOV. 17, 1864.

HPKCTK.MUII AOKMitJ. " '»s vo uTery Tii-tn thine ear, but lew thy votco: 1 Take ench man's censure, but reserve thy judgment, t Thirt above all.—To thine ho true; And it must tollow, as tho night ihe day, j Thou enlist r.ut then bo fiiLso to any man."

I Of all the questions tluit will conn; before the General Assembly, the main one. after all, will be tluit ot the •• "Ways ;uid Cleans." The attenr tion of the new Ministry, immediately on their ( taking oliice, must be turned to some solution i of the financial diflicultv which is really the main rock a-head ot any Government at the present time. I he sale ol the million (the news of which I reached us by the last mail) has paid oil' old scores, and the new Government, at. any rate, start with a clean sheet. Still, though tin; extra expenditure lias been rcdueed to the smallest possible amount, and all except that connected with tlie military settlers has ceased, yet it far exceeds the ordinary revenue of the Colony, and money must be provided to meet it. The question remains, how is this money to be obtained ! J \Y e propose pointing out the available sources from which the demand may be met. Firstly, then, the expenditure may be met by seizing upon the :1-Hths of the Customs revenue now appropriated to the Provinces, which amounts to a sum of about .£2.30,000 per annum. 'lhis would go a long way towards meeting the extraordinary expenditure, which, for the security of the country, jinist continue, wo cannot csoapc for some time to come.

V cotitSo like tliis, however, woultl be so j •uinous to mail}' of the Provinces, that wo > .hitik there is no four of its being adopted j iy the House to its full extent, though it is j [uite possible that a part of tlic 3-Sths may Ije taken for the purpose. We trust, however, liat means may be found to prevent what would lie a real calamity to the Provinces ; nor do we ■iee any necessity that this H-Stlis should be drawn • upon at all. AVehnve the means of meeting the | necessary cost without doing so. and justice j demands thai, not upon the Southern Provinces, , but upon those who wantonly provoked the war, j iiiid necessitated the expenditure should the j neualty of it fall. The second course is this, to : have recourse to the unsold ,£2,0!X>,000 of the ] Man, and place it upon the London market > upo:i tlio best terms that can be got lor it, which j looking Lo the price of money in ..England, and J the causes which have led lo the present state j (if (he market, and looking also to our recent i experience of the sale of the first million of the loan, we could scarce ly expect to bo much above t'Bs per cent., or a, little better than a I! per cent, transact! >n at par. One of our object ions to this course is, that we think our 5 percent, loan wilt very soon command as high rates in the London money market as the Australian 5 per cents., which are saleable at 97 to 10)}. By waiting,! we think (and particularly after the lirst. million gels into the hands of the brokers on the Stock Kxeluingc) we shall be able to obtain better terms from the London money lenders than those at which the Crown agents disposed of the first uni un"inteed million. We do not mean to say that ue blame them for their failure in not getting more. A sale was necessary at- that time lo save the credit of the colony, and they got us the money, in a time of great financial pressure in London, at no very extravagant rate ; namely. f> per cent, per annum. We do not, however, believe that there is any need that, the colony should, at present., increase its already heavy debt by adding another two millions to itThere is a third course, and it is this, to leave the taking up of the remainder of the loan as a recourse when all other expedients have failed; and to wait for a change for the better in the London money market. The Government should have the power to issue the debentures a! either 5 or f, per cent, as circumstances might require, and the agents should have power to embrace the first favorable opportunity for placing them in the market. In the meantime. m>.ey must be found, and that it can be found l, e e is no doubt, if oidy the proper means be taken. Air. Cardwell in his despatch of the 2(ith April, recognises the right of the Colonial Government lo confiscate, not only land for purposes of military settlement, but for recouping ihe expenses caused by the rebellion. The Colony has a right to demand that those who causi d the rebellion shall pay the expenses occasioned by its suppression. The confiscation of rebel lands must be proceeded with. It is from this source that the immediate expenditure of the Government must be met. The military settlement, scheme must be canied out- but it is n'lt fair that the Southern provinces should be taxed with the cost of carrying it out for the b -uefit, of Auckland and Taranaki. when we have the means of compelling those who have rendered such a course necessary Ihcinselves to do so. Why not sell the remainder of .Newcastle, the reserves in Alexandra. Cambridge, and other military settlements —why not sell the valuable town sites at. Tauranga and Port ; Waikato, and other numerous town sites that luust springup in the "Waikato district V Sell the ju.s'ly confiscated lands, and we venture to pledge ourselves that from Auckland, from the Southern provinces of the Colony, and from Australia, the Government can. in three months, raise t CiioO.'XjO, and a corresponding amount alter a similar period. jNav. we have no hesitation in saying that the whole future cost of suppressing the rebellion may be raised from the sale of coilfiscal ed lands. In Auckland and elsewhere there is a large capital hying idle for want of profitable investment. In the banks in Is'ew Zealand there are. at the present moment, deposits i'or no less a sum than two and a half millions, which.seek a moie profitable investment. This is a patent j'ii*l notorious fact, and one which speaks volumes. JS T or is it money alone which we should gain by the sale of confiscated land, we should decrease our military expenditure, we should decrease our risk. A sturdy class of settler.would be introduced upon the frontier, win. would /id/i/ and m-cinni and till the soil—wht would themselves become our military outpost.and who, as set tiers, would increase our revenue Of all the sources whence the Government expenditure could be met, none is more legitimate than this of making the rebels, through their confiscated lands, defray souie portion at least of the expenses which they have caused 11 is consonant, with the expressly implied will o the late Assembly and of the Colonial Ministet in I >owning-st reef,—with the laws of justici itself, and, more still, with .Maori usage aiu custom. It is clearly to the interest of tin colony, more especially the Southern portion o it. Admitting the desirability and propriety o resorting to this exped ent, the only dillicult\ that remains is the provision for the interim expenditure ofa few months and the making uj an} - pari i-tI deficiency that may arise from t.lu sale of the confiscated lands. This could be done bv the issue of exchequer bills bearing a good rate of interest, redeemable at the optioi of'tiie lender of the money, either in London oi .New Zealand. These bills would be readilv saleable in the Australian colonies and 'elsewhere, principally as remittances tc luighuid, and ihe funds immediately requisite could be obtained on them (if om-c j This was the method adopted by the New Soutl I Wales Government recently when they requirei | tn raise a sum of CoO!).0'>1' to meet, deficiencies Tl'.ev issued exchequer bills payable in London, and bearing (i percent, interest, and we lieei se; reely remind our readers that the experiment w;.s a successful one. Wo cannot see why tin New Zealand Government, should not resort tc" the same method of meeting its more immediate requirements. To appropriate the .'!-Sths tit;.t. is ihe Provincial revenues, would we think lie most ruinous to the general prosperity of tin euhmv ami most unjust to those 'provinces in which none of that money would be expended. Whilst the rebel Maoris, who have wantonly j brought, this burthen of war and '■•.-s upon us hold in their possession million.- of acres o! valuable laud, far more than they can in ail} manner make use of. and which they have I knowingly and willingly slaked upon the isstu I of the contest, in which they have entered, w< I have before us the legitimate source whence tr i defray the larger portion of" the expenses el I the war. and to-obtain the means for securing j the continuance of peace and order. | . It is of the utmost importance that nroad and general principles should be atiirmed and acted on in the matter of legislating ior any country. A com ran slate of things finds aiul leaves every thing unci.-r,:i.in, and liable to constant change, .•oul a fibril.-; iull scope for jobbery and partial legislation. JS'o general law or rule being laid il.'U ii, partiality and favouiiiism c an easily be I shown, and in the manner o taxation, the w«.*ikesl often have to sutler for tie strongest and to bear more than their fair sli.i • ot the public; burdens, or which is the same thing, have lest than their fa r share of the mtbl.c ia>at. n speiis for their immediate bet eat. Hence arises bickerings and ill feeling between different parlies of the same community. ISofixed and equitable rule being established, cucii party looks upon ihepublic purse as a. reservoir to be drained for their own especial benelit. In h ranee, the metropolis has for a very iongpetiod swallowed up large portions of tile jNatioual revenue. And although there, many have been

murmuring against this, yet in a country WheTe it is boasted that Paris is France, where the liberty of the press exists more in imagination than in reality, the custom of paying for the ; embellishments of the capital out of the .National purse, hits hot been opposed as it would have been opposed in England, where the line of demarcation between local and general government is so sharply defined. It is for a new country like ours, with the intricate and cumbrous machinery of Government established among us to consider on what general principles the Provincial revenue ought to be administered. We submit that now is the time to resolve this important question. Shall our Provincial revenue be according to well-defined principles, or shall it be left for it general scramble among (he constituents, each portion of the community ende.; ouring to snatch as much of it as possible, and as usual the weakest getting the least. The demand for considerably more of the Provincial, as the share of the city of Auckland, opens out this question. The sooner our legislators think about answering it the better. "We will endeavour to lead them a step or t wo onward towards a right solution of it. Our Provincial revenue is a general, not a local one. It. is obtained from several distinct sources. Municipal institutions cannot yet be said to have au existence among us. The nearest approach to this is the City Board, and the various 11 igliway Boards. At first sight it might appear that the centres of the largest population ought to have the largest portion of revenue spent in them. We at once state that we do not think it would be even for thoir interests that this should be the case, while it would undoubtedly be against the interests of the country genet ally. The liitst and most pressing call upon the general funds of the j Province is that demanding money for making roads and bridges of a durable and serviceable character through every district of the Province, so that every block of hind within its boundaries can be easily reached 'these are general works which in fact must be performed before any district can in reality become inhabitable. The inability to perform this j work, therefore, locks up the land, and leaves : it in its unproductive state. Settlers are preI vented from going to settle upon it. AN e are stinted in our agricultural productions; we shut, out. a large avenue for labor; we effectually prevent the increase of customers to our shops and stores in town, and curtail the consumers of taxed articles, and thus keep our general provincial revenue from increasing as it onght, and would, were it rightly applied. Money spent in making a good bridge and road is not sunk. It is put out at excellent interest, and will be for ail time reproductive and add to our revenue. Isut this cannot be said of the like amount of inonev spent upon towns and populous places, i'ift y thousand pounds of the provincial money spent, say upon Auckland, wi u'd be of very little benelil indeed to the province generally, but the like amount spent in making good thoroughfares through at present waste land, and uninhabited districts, would be an immediate, great, and lasting gain to the entire colony. It would be the cause of persons and capital going to settle on that, land, fresh fields of labour would be opened out. fresh consumers of all the articles necessary for the use and support of man would arise and daily increase, and so a provincial wealth would constantly become greater. Our first duty then, with our provincial revenue, is. we repeat, to spend it in creating wealth out. of our waste lands, and this can only be done by making them easily accessible. And directly any district has good passable roads and bridges supplied to it, the whole expenditure of keeping those roads aud bridges in repair should, after the lapse of a certain number of years, when population has increased, be borne by it. The great principle being to pierce every block ot land with good serviceable roads at the earliest possible moment, and as districts increase in population and wealth, to decrease the amount paid to tliem out of the general provincial funds. Tli" next great expenditure of provincial funds should be in giving harbour accommodation to the various ports along the coast. The construction of breakwaters, jetties, and whavfs, and the laving down of buoys, are evidently works requiring, where there are no harboui endowments, to be constructed at the genera! expense. Hut having once placed these advantages where they are needed, they should bi ! handed over to the local authorities to be kept ii: ' repair by tlictn. It. will be seen, therefore, thai ' our aim would be to give every district a firsl start, to set. the young people, as it were, up ir business, and give them a small capital in tin . shape of the means of making capital by tin exercise of ordinary industry and prudence, anc then let them lake care of themselves, distinct!} informing them that no further assistance wil ordinarily he given them. There naturally I follows another source of expense which eat ' easily lie made either a general or a loca ' charge. "We allude to the payments fo I police and gaols. We believe that for soim • time to come this expenditure should remain a; f it is, ami be met out of the general funds of tin Province. It is against , the interests o I" the country districts, that this slioult be the case. But the comparatively large ex pcTiditutv in Auckland for its police and gaol , u ottld be srmcwhat as a set off against the largi . expenditure m the country on roads and bridges tint as the population of the Province increases and (owns spring up. the police will have to hi , divided into municipal and rural, paid by tin (owns and counties, and under distinct am local management. It wiil be seen from the above observations tha ' we are decidedly of opinion that towns as the} arise should bear the bulk of their own expen • diture on local improvements and sanitan 1 measures. Til' reasons ot' this are to us ven I conclusive. Take Auckland for instance hirst it may be argued that the large amount o: Customs' receipts at the port, entitle her to : l share of them, lint it must lirst be remembered that a considerable portion of those receipts ai'i ' caused by the demand for goods from the stir 1 rounding country, and that the more the country is opened up, the greater will be those receipts the more employment for various classes o labor will be given, the greater amount o • business done in the Auckland shops and stores and the greater amount of general prosperity secured to the place, if is evident then, tha if Auckland had only to depend upon its owi population for its trade and business, that trade, and business would very seriously diminish while as (he trade of the surrounding couutn increases, and this can only be realized by in crcased population, the prosperity and welfare o Auckland willincrease. .11 is to theirinterest there foreand very gieatly to her interest that the wasti lands of th«- entire Province should be brougli into a state of cultivation, and be the home o a large, industrious, and prosperous population whose requirements will constantly increase he] own business and add to the trade and conimerci of the port, it is as a commercial town tha Auckland must advance, and it can only do thi: by bi coming the depot for (he trade and commerce of a large population settled in the country districts. To talk about imitatingthe example of France, and spending large portions of the general provincial revenue in its capital city is to put ;i ; drag oil the wheels of improvement, and prevent that general and individual march on the road tc I prjsperity, which may be easily secured by the j undue! wo have advocated. To quote London 1 a <o as an inst: n c, i> to talk without full know•ege of the i'ac.s. lu past times. London cert limy did profit a ii.'tle by this system, but only a little. Ann in later times the country members of the House of Commons have decidedly opposed the expenditure of money out of th" general taxation of the country for the speei; 1 j benefit of London. The day lias gone by for any such partiality as that to he shown. She has

Tiacl to borrow several millions of money to carrf outlier public improvements, and tie towns a' our own country must, as a rule, do the saiheand provide both streets, sewering, and water for themselves. This can easily be done here by the Province guaranteeing the repayment of a loan obtained on the security of rates to be levied upon the inhabitants.