THE Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, FRIDAY, SEPT. 11.'

Otago Daily Times, Issue 2060, 11 September 1868, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. DUNEDIN, FRIDAY, SEPT. 11.'

The great political feature of the Financial Statement ia of course the proposed abolition of the partnership accounts between the Colony and the Provinces. In proposing thisabolitibn, the Government adopt the scheme put forward with much force of argument by many of our.Financial Reformers, and notably by Mr Stevens. Should it be adopted by th c Legislature, the system which the Treasurer, advocates will certainly be as he describes it, 'the greatest "reform in the Constitution of the' colony which has ever yet been accomplished. \ : The arguments in its favor, from one point of view, are ? plausible enough, and cannot fail to carry. weight wherever they are listened to impartially.. The details of the scheme propounded by the Treasurer are by no means likely to attract,the, admiration of Provincialists : ; but- -as a mere question of finance, the scheme itselfis entitled to our careful consideration. . The arguments urged by the .Treasurer on its behalf have been heard

before ; but they are "worth, .hearing again. The existing financial system, so far as relates. to the distribution of revenue, is marked by its inevitable want of equity. The Consolidated Revenue is credited to the Province in which it happens to be collected: and yet revenue is, in many cases, collected in one Province while it is in reality contributed by another. The Customs revenue of Otago is greater than that of Southland ; but a large proportion of it is drawn from the latter Province, which however gets no credit for its contribution.; The Customs duties: collected in Wellington during hist year averaged £3 103. 7d. per head of the population, while in Marlborough those duties averaged only £1 ys/Sd/" There is no reason to supposethatthepopula,tionoiM?irlJ)orougn individually ."consumes a less'afiipunt of dutiable goods than the population of Wellington ; and yst the proportion of revenue .collected in Wellington from ■ that source, .is thvee times greater than the proportion collected in Marlborough. The result of this system, as it affects the Provinces, is obviously fatal to those Provinces which do not possess much commercial activity.

revenue collected is in reality paid by another Province, and therefore the, loss involves no real injustice. the lean kine are swallowing up.the fat, it must be a satisfaction to the, latter,,to know that the being swallowed is rather an imaginary than,a real grievance.

A correspondent is troubled ab?at goats, and writes to us on the subject. He wants L tpknow how it is that forty-three "of those abominable animals" should be found browsing on the roads: adjacent to his dwelling, although the Goat Nuisance Abolition Act has received the sanction of the Superintendent.

London street and York Place are contrasted by a correspondent, who describes the latter as being all mud and darkness at night, while the former is beautifully footpathed and " brilliant from a perfect galaxy of gas-lamps." The difference he attributes to the, supposed difference in social position of i the people residing in thp3e^ directions. The complaint of our correspondent as to York Place is not at all unfounded, but his description of London ".street! at night contains more Imagination than fact. Both streets require more lighting : and it is worth the consideration of the authorities whether there is not some risk of encouraging a new industry m the shape of robbery with valence, when the streets of the city are left in almost total darkness during night time.

The s.s. Otago, with the English mails via Suez-on board, left the Bluff at 5.50 pa «yesterday ; and is consequently due at Port Chalmers early this morning.

/'The Chimney Corner,-'one of the most effective pieces, and one of the best-produced under the present management, was played