The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 1911. THE JUBILEE DATE.

Southland Times, Issue 16692, 22 March 1911, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 1911. THE JUBILEE DATE.

Whatever steps may he taken by the Municipal Council, or other local authority, to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Southland’s separation from Otago with full provincial status, care should be taken that the anniversary is observed on the correct date. The Order-in-Council establishing the province of Southland was made at Government House, Auckland, on 25th March, ISGI, and was duly Gazetted over the name of F. G. Steward, Clerk of the Executive Council. But the order did not take immediate effect, for it contained a provision to the effect that the Order should take effect from the first day of April, 1861. Presumably the day that should be celebrated is not that of the Order-in-Council, but that on which Southland attained a separate individuality as a province, and, clearly, although the Order was made on 25th March Southland did not become a, separate province Until it came into force on Ist April. From the 25th March until the end of the mouth Southland continued to be part of Otago. This point has not escaped the notice of those familiar with the early history of the town, and. necessarily it will have to be considered, should the anniversary of Southland's separation be marked by public celebration of any kind. To our mind the Order-in-Council is on all fours with Acts whose coming into operation is postponed until a specific date; or the position

= i a decision given by the people at the ballot-box is deferred. For instance, No-License in Invercargill does not date from the day of the poll on which No-License was carried, but from the day on which the hotels were closed in accordance with the people’s mandate. Similarly, Greater Invercargill does not date from the day of the poll taken on that proposal, but from the day on which the boroughs were, as a matter of law and fact, actually made one. In this case, .the event of importance is not the issuing of the Order-in-Council, but the separation of Southland front Otago, and it seems to be quite clear that the - date of separation was Ist April, 1861, which date is therefore the proper date for the observance of the anniversary. Of course it has to be remembered that Southland’s existence as a separate province was of short duration. It was a period of great historical inter-

est, and of great importance to the district, but with the re-union of the provinces of Otago and Southland in 1869, Southland again lost its provincial status, and it is of course a matter of opinion as to whether the date now calls for special notice. Had Southland remained apart from Otago it would have attained its fiftieth birthday on Ist April next; but, since Southland as a separate province passed out of existence in 1869, can it fairly claim to have a provincial jubilee, at all, in the real sense of the word? However, the date may fittingly be regarded as a period in the history of the district, and as such suitably commemorated. At the same time the correct date Should be observed, and our present contention is that that date is Ist April, and not 25th March.