The New Zealand Herald. AUCKLAND, TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1868.

New Zealand Herald, Volume V, Issue 1305, 21 January 1868, Page 2

The New Zealand Herald.

AUCKLAND, TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 1868.

SPECTEMTJE. AGENDO. " Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice; Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgment. This above all, —To thine own self be true And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man."

Of the Carleton resolutions we need saylittle, though, that little cannot be said in accordance -with the proverb nil nisi honum dc viortuis. They have been almost universally condemned, and denounced, even, by those who under a misrepresentation were at first willing to approve them. Out of chaos order has, however, been evolved, and the resolutions standing in the name of Idr. Davy, the member for Marsden, for discussion to-morrow, will, at least, command the respect of the Council. In them we have an epitome of a system of Local Self-Q-overn-ment which, if, necessarily, not as comprehensive as we could wish to see them, are at least sound and practicable. We are not, however, quite sure that we understand the first of Mr. Davy's resolutions which runs as follows—" That the " system of Representation be amended and " re-adjusted so as to give th» country dis- " triets greater weight in this Council." If it is intended by the above resolution, that the country districts, as a whole, should return a larger proportion of representatives, as against those representing the city and suburbs, we cannot see the justice of the proposal. The Council, as at present constituted, consists of thirty-three members, exclusive of the Speaker, of whom the country districts, comprising Mongouui, the Bay of Islands, Marsden, the Northern Division, Raglan, and Fraulclyn, return seventeen members, or rather more than one-half the Council: while the three members for the Pensioners' Settlement may be fairiy looked upon, more in the light of country than of town members. The City of Auckland proper returns only eight members ; its suburbs, Newton and Parnell, return two members each, and if we add to these the one member for Oiiehunga, who can take part in the proceedings, we shall find that to array town against country, counting the representatives of the i'ensione.s' Settlement with the latter, the numbers are as thirteen to twenty. Tf, however, re-adjustment of the country districts within themselves be intended, then we heartily agree with the proposal. The Northern Division is an instance in point, one portion of which lies north another south of the city itself, and between portions of which there is no community of interests whatever other than exists' between Raglan and the Bay of Islands. Instead of five members being returned for the Northern Division as a whole, five or at least four distinct electoral districts should be created, each returning its own member or members; the same too with M.nrsdon. Hagla-i, and Pnmkly:i. T;iur:inga and the Thames arc both of too much importance to be merged in ;my oilier group i>l districts, and should return their own special members to the Council. With this remainder oi the resolutions wo ivrismi to cavil. Local selfgovernuseiiL to tLe fiii'esfc possible extent is the in'si ;n»d cheapest form of" Tiieut. When those-: amongst whnia the rides or taxes are levied have the dis-

[ posal [and expenditure of such money, not [ only will useless works be left unattempted, but such works as are undertaken will be carried out with the greatest economy, and be executed in a durable and workmanlike manner. "Will anyone say that the bridges and culverts, for instance, built in the Northern Division a few years ago, and now rotten, would havebeen allowed to have been constructed, as was the case, with unsuitable timber and material, if the money had come direct from the pockets of the resident settlers, and not from the general Provincial chest ? This dipping in common into the Provincial Treasury has been as injurious to the cultivation of economy in our Provincial Government administration, as the communistic customs and tribal rights of the Maories have been a barrier their acquisition of individual property and a consequent desire for the establishment of law and order. The second resolution, "That steps be " taken for the constitution under the "authority of this Council, of Town- " ships or District local Boards, to which " should be delegated all powers, duties, "and privileges relating to the local affairs "of each district, which this Council has " power to delegate; and that, to pre"vent doubts, the General Assembly be "moved to ratify such constitution," is jiist the measure of self-government which for a long time past this journal has persistently advocated, and has pointed out as being within the scope of Provincial legislation, and calculated to flourish best under Provincial institutions. There is no need to throw ourselves into the arms of the Government at "Wellington to work out such a" system. "We need no Prefect, in the person of a member of the ministry, irresponsible to the people over whom he is placed, to administer local self-govern-ment. The centre of such a system should be one of ourselves chosen by, and responsible to the local districts of the Province, as is the Superintendent now, whether he be called Superintendent or Chairman of the Council, or by any other name. The legislating body, too, should be constituted as the Council is now, that is, elected wholly by the Province. Surely when it comes to the point of framing an Act to apply in common to the several districts of the Province, whether a Boad Act, an Education Act, a Sheep or Thistle Act, or any other measure, it is better that that act should be framed by a local Council knowing the actual requirements of the case, each member of which is individually responsible to a local constituency, than that it should be framed by the General Assembly, by men taken from all the Provinces in New Zealand. Local knowledge of the district to which it is to be applied is required to enable any man to frame an A cfc to work beneficially in a particular district, just as the Gold-fields Act for New Zealand is found inapplicable to one goldfield though perhaps suited for another. The third of Mr. Davy's resolutions runs thus, "That the rateable distribution, on " fixed and equitable principles, of such Pro- " vincial revenue, as may in future become " available for local purposes, be provided " for by Act of this Council." It is a provision for the future, and may perhaps be a necessary oue at some distant time. Wβ could wish that it were at once required. Wβ much fear, however, that reduce the Provincial expenditure how we may, there will for some time be no surplus to devote to the construction of public works, even though the fourth and last resolution, " that the re- " duction of all Provincial establishments be " thorough and permanent" be insisted upon, unless the General Government shall be found -willing to cut down, the cost of those establishments administered by the colony, but charged to the Provinces. When we said that Mr. Davy's resolutions were necessarily not so comprehensive as we could wish them to be, we were thinking of these matters. The Local Self-Government we ought to possess should extend to a vast deal of administration which the General Government keeps within its own hands, iD some cases, we believe, contrary to the spirit of the Constitution, in others, where a new Constitution is necessary (we have grown out of that of 1852) to afford us good and cheap Government.