THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3256, 13 July 1872, Page 3

THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

, to TirK KD.ITOR.' Snt—l consider you have laid the Colojiist« of New Zealand under obligation by your temperate and yet outspoken utterances in regard to -.he present state of parties in the Ceneral Assembly, and also the drift of our recent financial legislation. In your article of Ist July the writer seems to have apprehended with surprising clearness the danger of trusting to the so-called "hewf'viK.", party," composed of such men a« Messrs Fitzhorbert and liuiiiiy. The truth is, these. gentlemen soou. saw the political, if not the moral, disorganization which had resulted as the fruits of the "glorious policy," and, quick to act, they resolved to harness the monster for their own purposes; they suecccded to admiraticn, and, emboldened by success, they are at work again. But let* the people of the Middle Island at, least iKjwarc, for tint* new party bodes little good to them. The revolt of the Wellington, phalanx simply means that their demands were too gross even for the Colonial (Jqvernnient to agree to ; and to those who .know anything of matters this 'is saying: a, g*cat deal. Give them tho power to commit the Colony, for the whole cost of the Wairarapft railway, which many estimate at' £600,000, aud you will hear but little of this eelfiwh "tiaw party ;" but deny this, aTirt:yo,n will be told that "it is aiottenfinaucc which compels one party to find the money.for another to siwnd " Many of our SonthW w^mbers are but lumps of putty iv ,jtho'. : jskilfnl hands of the uttcrcr of'this last- fcnota-r tion- Oijo of your City meinbc'r« can wastea whole evening in opposiiig a grant of £300 for the Wellington rublicGardens-^oh prin-cii-le, of course—aiid swallow at aj single, inilp the Wellington Loaii job of £f>5,000. Another goes u». '*a dotcrmined.opi^nenfc'i' of the otneial arid J,other" extravagances of the present Government/ an<l wihflslnp his unsteady career by proponing that said-Go-vernnient shoiild have «ght€cnfmoiitbß'.Buppllts. What on'earth" can lie bx^ceW from such -tneuftx&iit:,enough of this.1 Tho A«eemblv will probably be inforinetl ithStT'Sß" the Colony,, of Victoria'has! judiciously set aside part of its land 'revenue exclusively for railway construction,.it wereJ wise for us to do likewise, ■ Vuy trne; but wh<fo it is mne'mber ( c'd the 'Middle "Itlaud alone i»ssesscs a land revenue, worth speaking o£ and! that for local purposes, ,for valuaJ)le conaidnmtion. and .by, virtue-of past arrM^er, ments. the-case is, very 'different:. {liuleeO^ the Middle Island has paid dearly for its, land fund; and'as a matter of accpant'between the two Islands, the extra expenditure for purely :-Jfortb*ni pnrposes has far exceeded the amquntof this fund j yetlbere is every reason, to fear that an j attempt wfll be maae &.s*&* fiu> J&uMfclttydt local revenue'into the comnion puree, make, cood tb^ deficiency, caasaf by the lavisb. ekpettdittirArUOW going «mC<Mßamm* 1 with pn^iMijaig^^ ■•■■•'- .'•■.';•.. i) •»:>...«! --/ uj! '

•ymj>a^hy, ,«> far as ; I can see,, • and it, only, wants a few "of onr Billy ones fo <f*H iirito a nicely baited trap, and the thing is done. I do not suppose that Mir Vogel will cointely shock our nerves all at once—not he, for the pill will he well sugared—perhaps a little, only a very little, share will pc asked Cor the laudable purpose of " developing the resource* of the country," or assisting the "great colonising scheme," and of course in exchange we shall be offered something really permanent—quite as permanent, indeed, a» the capitation allowance, together with the sweet assuring statement, " that the arrangement proposed will be absolutely fair as between' the two lakmrln."

If something.of. this sort is not proposed next session, and if the capitatida allowancf j*B continued to the Provinces', then tb flagrant course of paying ordinary exnensr out of borrowed money must be greatly c tended, . In fact,/ whichever way you tv you are tret with the proeiwc; of dishorn treatment to the Middle Island, or fart' financial confusion, or (properly speaki both. —lam, &c,