The Taranaki Herald. NEW PLYMOUTH, OCTOBER 26, 1853.

Taranaki Herald, Volume II, Issue 65, 26 October 1853, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. NEW PLYMOUTH, OCTOBER 26, 1853.

In iiur extracts from th- recent Auckland papers, the week befo c last, amongst others we gave a paragraph fiom the New 'Lealander, which, re en ing to the circular d.spalch.s of his lixce.lency the Governor appropriating the revenue of the province, congratulates the people of Auckland on the liberal footing his Excellency has placed their financial arrangement. " The Gover- , nor's appropriation," siys our contemporary, " vests (?) in the Provincial Council a control beyond what many anticipated j" and this approp'iation, our contemporary goec on to ohseive, 'Ijus'ilies our desire tha 1 the meeting of the Cenerul Assembly might not be so lin-sUned as to t.ike out of thei r hands the powr in this icspect with which the Governor liberally invests them." Th.U the fooiing on which the revi nue appropriations of tin- Provinces have been placed by his Excellency m the despatches referred to is libpial, is true ; and thai the control given to tin- Provincial Councils is heyon I what many anticipated, is equally undi niaLle, since neither the one nor thtt other \>,is looked for at all at his Excellency's hands This appropriation ami control, although both measures may be light in the abstract, have been done, we conten I, in the w ong w.iy, and aie at piesent altog. ther without ' legal warrant; and consequently any congratulation is misapplied. We cannot help saying, unwillingly though it be, that every act of Sir George Grey's administration, -ince the arrival of ' the ni-w constitutional measurt- in the colony, breathes the doctrine — " I am the state;" and one feels inclined to inqui c what has became of the constitution so recently sent to vs 1 ? ' We were told that representative institu- . Lions had been granted to New Z> aland, iind the colony congratulated it»elf accordingly. | What is meant by representative institutions * and what semblance hare we at them up to this time ? Ten months have elapsed since the machinery of a new government was formally p oclaimed in the colony, to consist of n Governor, a Leeislative Council, to be nominat"d by the Crown, and n House of Representatives to be elected by tl.e peop'e, to form tog ther a General Assembly. There weie also other (subordinate hgis- I lative bodies ■ reated for each province, to . consist of a Superintendent and Provincial ' Council, both clrctivc. ' The colony has superintendents and Pro- ' vincial Councils. It has also the members of a House of representatives, and n has a Governor ; but although ten mo-.ths have ' elapsed, we hear nothing of a Legislative Council, nothing of a meeting of the Gene- I ral Assembly. By a clause of the Constitution .1 Ac 1

the writs for the election of the membeis for the House of Representatives were to issue within six months Irom the date of *he proclamation of the new measure wrhin the colony. One of the provisions of iha measure is, that until the return of tlios writs the Legislative Council of New Zea- ' land shall continue to exercise all powers and authorities which such Legislative Council would have had if the new measure had not passed into a law. The Legislative Council has ceased to exist, and until the meeting of the Genera , Assembly — if representative institution! ar c anything more than a name — it must be concluded that there exists no lawful authority for the .ippropti tion of any of the revenue of the colony, beyond that po tion of it which the constitutional act places under the immediate control of the Gover-nor-in-chief. The first essential of Representative In - ilitutions is tin* power to levy and appropriate the revenue Almost the only other matter of imir.ediat- practical importance which the Constitutional Act leaves for the General Assembly, is the management of the land. In both of these mutters we have Sir G orge Giey's ukases, but no decision of the G neral Assembly. The Representative Institutions sent to the colony by the Imperial Li'gis'a'ure merge in the wi 1 of the Governor, who iias dealt with the legislative authorities as a despotic sovereign deals with his lieutenants rather than a Governor deputed to inaugurate lib Tal ins iuition ■> by the const! utiona' Sovere gn of the freest country m this world. Why the measurei necesiary for the introduction of the new constitution intact sbould not lia\e arrived at a more .idvanccd stage, and ihe oi.u* of the future government i f the colony been thrown on the authori'ies croat, d by it, is mi enigma we shull not pictend to solve. Wr are not by any means inclined 10 uuderate the difficulties m the w.iy of culling the General Assembly together j the featuies of the country, the position of tl.e settlements, nnd the want of the facilities of transit are, we are willing to admit, foinudable obstacles j but ten months is a lonperiod, and a strong executive, with ampl c means at command, might accomplish much, and something more than has been done was expected from it. The expediency of the present measures it must b<- admitted, depends fur justification or condemnation on the possibility or impossibility of accomplishing a morr desirable result ; but it is certainly inau.spicioua that Sir George Gay, just as he is about to leave us, should appear to step in between the settlements and the act of the Imperial Legi-lature, interc piingto a ctrtain extent the legitimate carrying out of a measure originating in its outline at least with himself. We are not prepared to say that there may not have been insurmountable difficulties in tlie way of a different course of proc< dure, nor should we have entered upon any discus ion of the subject, except that the suggestion of a desire that the General Assembly should not be called, coming as it does from a journal understood lo be nn organ of the Government in Anckland, together witli a permanency of arrangement which, notwithstanding the terras temporarily and provisionally, will he found to perva c thr despatch m question, nre calculated to in , UC r a suspicion that theie i* no immediate intention ol summoning the General Assembly. However this ma y be, it is impnssib'e not to rcgiet the necessity, if such ixists,

for so infelicitous an introduction of th o new institutions granted to the colony by the Imperial Legislatuie, and which inn* 1 be consi 'eied as cnl ing rather for condolence than congratulation.

A few weeks since we printed the Fstimates sent to tie Provini lal Council by His Honor the Superintendent, with the draft of an Ordinance for appropriating so much of ihe Revenue of the Province as was left at the disposal of the Local Govern»rnt by the late despatches of his Excellency. At a recent sitting of the Council, a committee was appointed for the purpose of inquiring « hat. if any, improvements might be efieC'cd m (his important measure. The Estimates forwarded by the Superintendent wen , it wi I he iecj lected, founded mainly on tiie pievious ordinary expenditure ol the several depariments, to which were added other llims which the new departments erected were supposed to render necessary. The committee to which the revision of this measure was committed, have deemed it necessary to recommend unpo taut and etUnsive alteialions in it; and ue now put it bt fore our rcadi rs in its revis< d shape Superintendent's DrpiiUmcnt. Superintendent's Salary .. £250 Hesidi nee and Offices .. 40 Private J-'Ccrelary . . si) 340 0 Provincial Council. C'leik of Council (al«o Attoin<y of the I'iovinee).. l."/0 0 Ptovincial Treasurer . . 40 Chrk 0 40 0 Gaol Derailment. Gaoler (also Inspeoloi of Weights and Measuus, & Inspector of slaughter 110 ses .. .. 9110 Ita luns for Prisoneis .. .'io 0 121 10 lln'bnr Mr/stti'i Diprutmcnt. Humor Mas er, with an an • nual increase of £10 for eight ycari . . . . T2O 0 Coxswain .. .. 78 0 Nx permanent boatmen at £65 each per annum 390 0 Occasional boatmen .. 250 0 Boat-shed, capstan rope, out - haul rope, small rope, home for Native boatmen, paint, &C.&C. .. 220 0 1 058 0 Coroner's Fees. . .. .. 5 0 Aimed Poliec Force. Sub Inspector (also Inter preter) .. .. 195 O Six Privates at £65 each per annum .. .. 393 0 Horse allowance for subInspector . . . . 25 0 Contingencies.. .. 4.0 0 580 O Inspector of sheep . . . . 20 0 Miscellaneous. Rent of Council Chamber and various offices. . 40 0 Furniture .. .. 20 0 Printing, stationary, &c. 150 0 Coutingencies. . .. 50 0 260 0 £2574 10 Chargeable on Land Fund. Road Surveyor •• 125 0 Horse allowance .. 25 0 Roads and contingencies 600 0 GSO 0 Total £3224 10 From the above table it will be seen that the committee have lecommended an addi tion to the amount of sa'ary which wns suggi sled for ihe fMipenn'mdenl, nud have also added ihe rent of a rciido;:r« anfl offi e3 the reason assigr.ed lor the lait iikii-

'ionrd item beiny that it was advisable to hnve a permanent nsidcnce and olhcts for the "Mipeiwtendent. In the next department provided for in these Estimates— the Provincial Council — the committee recommend that no salariis should he given to the speaker or to the members of the council, and those amoun s have been accordingly struck out altogether. In the draft estimates, under this head, a Mitn of .€SO was ini-erled for a clirkof I council; and in another part a sum of £100 as a salary foi an attor ry and registrar nf the province. These offices the committee recommend should be held by the same ' person with a salary of £150 ; and we can not but considi r 'hat the ircommeudation iis a wise one. It is of great importance th.it the ( ouncil should have a leg.il adviser ( i and tliat an amount nf snlaiy in some measure equivalent lo the duties should be paid> so as to ensure ihe services of an efficient officer. In the Ga>l rVpaitment the amounts remain the 'arae as those given in the draft pstimat s; but the duties tif lnsp ctor of weights and meaMire" and iii-.pector of slaughter hou es have been added lo the duties of (lie gaoler. In the Ilirlmr Master's Deparlmen , very ef tensive a teiations have been suggested by the oomn litre. The amount under this lie id considerably more than doub e> the sum proposi din the oiiginal estimrtes. A permanent boat's crew i» to be provided' and arge additions made to the whole department. The etficiemy which this in creaie of expenditure, under th- judiciou 3 manag ment of It c Hatbor Master, is ca'< ulaii'd lo accomplish, will no doubt well te piy the outl y. We nre, however, mc ined to doubt the propriety of placing on the estimates a pledg. of an nntiual increase of salary. The Harbor M, islet's „ilary is small, and no one would object to the increase stated, which even at the end ot eight j ears, upon the scale Inid down, would be 1 ss than .i tried officer of long tervice lnignt claim on the score of jus ice ; but these estimates are '■ss it ti illy an annual vote, and whatever tiuderst iiidmg th. re may hi- as to an annual l ere ue, which without doubt would be proper, there is an objec" tion to its appearing as it does. Undt r the he, id of Armed Police Foice, some alterations luve alao been made. The committee suggest the dispens ng altogether with an In-prctor, ami giving the command to the present Sergeant as ."nib-Inspector, making a small increase lo his salary, .aid addi ig £25 for horse allowance. J The committee have not seen fit, after a i mature consideration of the dutic to be peri • formed by ihe police, to diminish the number of privates on the establishment. Additional iums, and an increa-ed total is shown under (he head Miscellaneous; but not hating obtained a copy of the re* port of the committee we are unable to explain the reasons that have induced an addition of £90 to the suggested expendi'urc under this head. I Under the title Chargeable on the Land Fund, a rond surveyor, with £125 per annum and horse allowance of £25 is provided, and also X'soo for roads and contingencies. Lo.ikmg at the amount to be expended, the salary in thu case seems excesshe, and certainly beyond what is at present called for; allhou.h the propriety of having it responsible officer for the duty in question is not to be den'ed. Th- revision of the«e estimate*, hus increased the total amount of the provision made for the Local Government of the Province ; the buperint ndent'* draft estimates amounted to £3116 135., the tatimaies as revised by the committee, and subsequently assented to by the Council, ainouir to £3221 .0* We u.'derstaiid fiat it i inu rnJ il io m we an o.il Hi i ii cl .use (./ in bi, ipp,u-

piiatini; the Ki'vciur io the fu lowini; i ff ("■ "That the appiupnation of the riwnue now made be deemed to be provi^iona'ly onl),| and subject lo be wholly or partially de- ! featerj by any appropriation by the General Assembly And further, that in the event of any appropriation made h\ the General Assembly of any part of the funds now appropriated by the Provincial Council, the present appropriation become wholly void as from the commencement of the appropriation made by tho Gcneial Assembly.

The Grizclle, which arrived lute on Salurrlav, la>t (nought our files of the Auckland pipi'rn t<> Iht- l'ith insl., Irom which we extract ihe following English news.— Tlie peril of immi'diaie war betnc n Russin and Tuikey had ixoome urro.singly imminent The report which renrhed u« In tde last mail that i ln- Russian tmops had ciossc i the river Pruth in order t<> the occupntion of iho Uonlcr Provinces of Mold vi , and Wa'licliia ii 1 * " r 'W «oniiimcd. The Kiiipi-ni), honevt-r, won'rl Imvc ii bclu'ved. tii»t tln-i was aa yel onl\ " .i pacific oci'iij.Hlinn," ami h<<pei wi-ie ciilntaiued tli a ilirough thf iiit'flintion (rf Aus'ria, annc.ib i rt'liiions in glit be icstoied. Bui the ge'iei nl tenor of iht» rcpoit^ cinnoi but exciu prive .ipprelit'iisinns ihiit ii is only tinwish th.it \u> hero been father in iho tliought M nnwliile, pi'verfu 1 Knglish »n'l Punch fleet' Ixivh asHcmhl d in UiS'ka B.iy, nenr 1 the D rianellt'S, — their comniaiideis bi'inp on the best terms of mutual undi rst.iudi g, |as vi as niuiUest ut -t banquet Liven on 1 board ti e Hag siii.i, Britannia by Vice Adm ral Dunda> io iho Admtrnlsand f'uptiiins of tht Fr'-noli squaitiot). on the .innivprfary nf Que n Victoria' s> ac. essio 1 ) ■ — untl, slu>u<il 1 n lenitcircu'incMt l)>-' necessiirj, ii was q-i'te rendy at I'ortsinoiuh, where a ISnlibh squadiou, ol nine sail of the line and ci^ht first class f igaies (having an aggregate of 93. 1 guns, and including " the mott po.\erful fleet ol Nteamers of war the world enn produ c") was in complete preparation lor aciiv' service. A " leal or pretended •' atlemptio ais.is.■.iiniie the limperor of ihe i'rench had been disc ivfri-d, and a number of the alleged , * conspiiaiors arre^icd I hoie » impmtnnt ml-lligence respeclin« the civil wai in Chin.i. ihe Iniperi1 a ! i>ts Ii .id made a ilci|>traic efi'uit to regain Irom the insurgent the «liong hold ol C'hin-K<aii£, winch, from its peculiar position, is leganlod as the k<-y lo the whole ol China " But ihe -ailempt proved disust ously unsu ccbsful. "To our thinking " s.iy. Hie Friend ot Cliir.ii, " this battle d<" cules ihe lalo ol ilie F-nipire " Amongst the ve-.sels annoiinc d, we observe two ds»:ii td toi Auck'a'ul, — the A2iie 474, io sail Ju.y 'IS I), lor Auckland, ;ind tht-Hamilla .Mitchell, 561, August ihe sth for Auckmirl and Now Plytnuith.