THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT AND OTAGO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IV, Issue 1128, 26 June 1867, Page 6

THE GENERAL GOVERNMENT AND OTAGO.

The Hon. J. C. Richmond, Commissioner of Customs, who is now on. a visit to Otago on behalf of the General Government, and in connection with the recent disturbances in that Province, addressed a meeting at Queenstown in the goldfields district on June S. Mr. Richmond attended at the request of the Mayor and explained the position assumed by the General Government with regard to the Otago goldfields and the delegated powers. He also gave some information about the Municipal Bill which the Government intended to introduce, which we also append:— " I will pass over painful details up to the time of the recent election. It is enough to say that the Ministry had no doubt whatever that Mr. Macandrew was not a fit person to be entrusted with the high ■ powers lie was seeking. Immediately on the conclusion of the poll, it became their duty to consider a line of action. Now, it has been asserted that a cowardly course was pursued—that the natural thing would have been to disallow the election, but that the Ministry were not manly enough to face the struggle that would have followed: for it is admitted that disallowance would have been followed by reelection, and so on again and again with perhaps growing excitement. Now, you shall judge whether cowardice was the cause of the action of the Government. They, of course, thought of disallowance—it was more natural and direct; but the duv.y of the Government was to look into consequences. Mr. Dick would have remained in office as lociun tenens ; but as the law stands he would not have been able to assemble the Pi-ovineial Council. Appropriations were required, and he would have been, unable to obtain them, and a recent stringent Act prevents the issue of public funds to the Executive of the Province without appropriation. All payments, then, to the provincial officers —all expenditure on roads, bridges, harbor improvements, &c., would have been stopped, and great distress and inconvenience would have followed. The Cabinet had abundant courage to face the excitement of Mr. Macandrew's supporters :—they were not prepared to face a dead-lock in all provincial business, and that—unless they could find funds —would have been the consequence of disallowance. They were unable to find funds for the same reason that would have prevented the interim Government; namely, that their chest, too, was locked. They therefore resolved that as a large majority of the electors had chosen that the power and honours in their gift should be given, to Mr. Macandrew, the Government would not interfere with that choice; but that, as regarded the powers which the Governor could delegate, they would never ad rise that they should be delegated to the present Superintendent. (Hear, hear). The question was purely personal; to pretend that under cover of an objection to an individual a blow was aimed at provincial institutions is absolutely untrue, as I could show by many incidental circumstances, if I cared to weAry you. But the declared policy of the present Government has been and is—Not to attempt to blow up any part of the constitution. It has worked, on the whole, much good, and our word has been—' Let us have peace in our politics ; forbear an internecine strife —leave the institutions of the country to grow into the form natural to our race and circumstances, without violence or explosions of any kind.' ** T * Every penny that the Provincial Government spends is raised by and handed over to them by the General Government, which looks upon them, not as a hostile power to be put in competition, but as part of the Government of the country. What would Mr. Macandrew and Mr Vogel do if we insisted on raising 110 more than enough for our own immediate wants?_ Would not that be a way to explode the provinces, if such were our aim? * * * Of one thing be certain—we shall not centralise the expenditure of that balance. Bather, we shall.furtlier localise it. It may suit the Provincial Government, by what I suppose is to be considered as a witty stroke, to suggest that my particular official position, as having charge of the Customs and Stamp Duties, point out the direction that balance will take. latn, they suggest, a sort of leech, sent down to suck the blood of the gold fields, and disgorge it again in the ' little village of Wellington.' Of course they know well enough what I now tell you—not one stiver of that balancewillever be spent outside the district from which it was raised. (Cheers). It will appear in the Colonial Treasurer's books at Wellington, but that is all the ' little village' will see of it. I now come nearer the point. Failing the Provincial Government, the natural machinery for appropriating this balance will be the proposed Shire Councils. I shall not be required to say more of the details of the proposed measure than that it will divide the country into counties, which will probably elect Councils off the present Bolls, and the Councils will meet, I suppose, twice or four times a year, to appropriate money, and lo fix local rates. I do not think much legislative power will be needed, beyond the power to deal with public nuisances, and protect public works. Endowments from the public revenue or estate will be necessarily one feature, These are what I believe must be the principles.

Several able men are engaged reducing them to form. But I warn you that the question is complex. You yourselves can see in the districts around what a diversity of circumstances has to be provided for. Some have no arable "land, in some the land has been much of it sold, some are goldfields, some pastoral districts. There may be a difficulty, then, in passing a bill next sesion, and you must be patient in that case. (Hear, hear.) I am, however, sanguine that a good bill will pass."