THE Thames Advertiser. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17, 1875.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VIII, Issue 2201, 17 November 1875, Page 2

THE Thames Advertiser. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 17, 1875.

"We believe that the promised investigation into the Tairua scandal in a Court of law will be beneficial to the

district, and will' tend to clear the .atmosphere of certain reports which are very injurious to us as a gold mining community. The directors of ' the Tairua Gold Mining Company have been disappointed in the returns obtained from tbe' Bmall crushings at their

" toy battery," and on Saturday evening dismissed their mine manager under circumstances which can only leave ono course open for him if he be innocent and free from blame, They refused to

accept bis resignation on the ground that ho lnd misled them, and had kept back information from them and the public, whilst others .who were in the secret availed themeslves of the knowledge to clear out some of theiivscrip, .whilst something worse than/ this was implied. It is only fair' to Wtr Beeche that in the face of his intended action the judgment of the public should be suspended. In the interests of the field we hope that the investigation will be a complete one. ' .

The extract printed below,. from a recent leading article in the 1 Waugamu Herald ' will show' that we are not singular in the opinions we hold regarding the promised "endowments" to local bodies from a grant voted at the last session of the Assembly. Our Wanganul contemporary is under the editorial control of a member of the House of Representatives, who took 'part in the struggle to put the.Abolition Bill upon the Statute Book, and' he is not likely to mis-state the case. Hero is what the Abolition Bill is to do although it has not become law•

. The country generally, will derive the satisfaction of knowing that some of the substantial advantages of Abolition will not be postponed for another year, but will begin to acciue immediately. The Treasurer provided for the disposal of 000 which ho proposed should be allocated as local subsidies, by paying to the road boards pound for pound'of rates raised, or for tho eight months ending June 30, 1875, the two-thirds of the amount, This will give to every road board during the current financial year the sum of 13s 4d for every pound raised in ordinary rates. To the municipalities a subsidy of 10s for every pound raised in ordinary rates will be paid, or for the eight months of the year 6s Bs, As an illustration of the .effect of this, the Municipal Corporation of Wangaimi, if its ordinary rates amount to £1,600 a,'year, will receive in the present year a subsidy of £533. Out of the £80,000 .there will be a surplus still remaining of £20,000, which will be devoted to the construction of works in outlying districts, Jffere we. have the immediate practical results of the struggle for Abolition, and the colony having once tasted the pleasures of an equal distribution of tho surplus revenues will realise the advantage of proceeding to the consummation of the change in the next Parliament, It must be noticed that there is a departure from the amount fixed for the;subsidy to the munipipalities, which originally stood at a! pound, and is' now ten shillings, Tho Government, however, wei'e justified in proceeding with caution while the administration of onepaxt of the policy still remained in the bands of tho Providcial Executives, and were thus prevented from carrying out those - economical reforms by the amalgamation of offices, which would have enabled largo savings in the departments to be effected. It is customary with the majority of mankind to judge questionsintheirjpracticalrelations to tb'emsehfes, and we have thus explained the arrangement under whichtlielocal governing bodies will receive the endowments arising put of Abolition '; but moreimportant still are the general advantages which will follow from tiie centralisation of legislation, and the greater distribution of power throughout the colony.

. ..It is, we contend, most unfair and unjust to the goldfields to deprive them of a fail' share of. the grant by the Assembly on the pretence that the Abolition Bill has not become law, and therefore no.eubsidies can be paid. We all know the Abolition is not law, but we know the : principle of that Bill is to be carried out to a certain degree by the payment of one-third .of the promised money. And we claim, on behalf of the Thames, that the surplus goldfields revenue of'last'year—that is, the sum left after deducting the cost of departments named, in the Abolition Bill—shall be treated as a rate and ."endowed" accordingly. The principle tbatwG are fighting for involves the possible loss of £2,000 or £2,500 to our local bodies, and is therefore important. If they are. done out of this money the Ministry will have to plead guilty to the charge of obtaining support at the Thames under false pittances,