SOUTH ISLAND GRIEVANCES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXI, Issue 18890, 12 December 1924, Page 10

SOUTH ISLAND GRIEVANCES.

Grievances seem to flourish with great vigour in some parts of the South Island, this being especially true of Christchurch. When some little time ago the Mayor of that city suggested that the only way to get justice was to cut adrift from , the North and establish a separate government in the South Island, the natural tendency was to conclude he was suffering from an overdeveloped sense" of humour. Now he is reported to have repeated himself in these words, "he said again with a full sense of responsibility that the South island would never get its fair share of development until they had their own government in the South Island." In face of this it is only possible to believe that it is not too much sense of humour, but a total lack of it which afflicts Mr. Flesher. Suppose such declarations were to be taken seriously and the South Island were to be given full freedom of action to go ahead with the Bchemes of development at which the Mayor of Christchurch hints nebulously. He should remember it would entail paying for, maintaining and operating such works as the Midland Railway including the Otira Tunnel. Ifc would necessitate bringing back into profit certain other railway lines without having the prosperous North Island system as a perpetual prop on which to lean- When it came to financing the development desired it would speedily be found that the credit of New Zealand had been cut in two, but not in half; and that the larger quota was not with the South Island. Supposirg with the realisation of his dream the North Island placed a duty on jrrain and potatoes from Canterbury; just a small one, but large enough to make Australia a more attractive market to Wellington, Taranaki. and Auckland. Would Mr. Flesher then be popular with the wheat farmer and potato grower 1 But aa the contentions about injustice to the South Island are not sustainable if the cold facts are viewed rightly, it is hardly necessary to heap up arguments against Mr. Flesher's wholly unsupported statement. He can be permitted to enjoy his grievance while the rest of New Zealand enjoys his unconscious I humour.