PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT.

Timaru Herald, Volume II, Issue 64, 5 August 1865, Page 1 (Supplement)

PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT.

It is not the object of this pamphlet to plead for or uphold the present Provincial system of Government m New Zealand ; for it is evident that the day is rapidly approaching, if it has not already arrived, when, from one or two centres of power, the Government of the colony can best be administered. But the desire is to fix the saddle on the right horse — to show that neither to the principal of the New Provinces Act, nor to the incapacity of Southlanders for the exercise of local selfgovernment, can the present crisis of Southland's affairs be fairly attributed. The peculiar contour and immense extent or seaboard which the islands of New Zealand possess m proportion to their area has always, from its nrst settlement as a British colony, been felt as a source of difficulty m the administration of its Government. The framers of the Constitution Act obivated this difficulty at the time by creating separate or subordinate Governments under one federal head, m the then existing settlements which, widely apart, clotted the seaboard from the Bay of Islands to the heads of Port Chalmers, and providing for the creation of other as new settlements arose along the coast. What : over may be the opinion now, m the greatly altered circumstances of the colony, there can be no question of the wisdom and policy of that system of Government under the early conditions of those islands. It must be remembered that this colony, now teeming with busy thousands, was then and until lately, a savage wilderness — that instead of the several settlements being linked together by almost daily interchange of visits and thought — the old postal service ("where existing at all), and the means 01 communication were alike laborious, tedious, and dangerous, involving such delays and .disappointments m the successful colonisa- i tion of the different settlements, under a distant government, almost a matter efi impossibility. \ In looking then at the Provincial Government of New Zealand, and especially of Southland, it must be admitted, however unsatisfactory their present position may be, that their system of Government arose from the necessities of the case, and that their existence has proved of essential service m the general development of the colony. DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED BY SOUTHLAND. We come then to the true causes of the present anomalous state of affairs m Sonthland. And first, it must be premised that one great and fruitful source of confusion «?$* *t»fortiumte}y introduced on -the very

threshold of her career as a separate province, namely, the arbitrary and unnatural fixture of her eastern boundaries. Instead of taking the mountain ranges and bold features of the country as the boundaries naturally separating 1 the two districts, a course was decided upon which excluded from the territory of Southland many tracts of land irrevocably connected with her by the general lay and geographical features of the oountry, and which, as before stated, events afterwards proved a cause of very serious detriment to the general interests of the province, and also of the colony. THE DISCOVERY OF GOLD. Every one is aware that the gold discoveries of Otago caused an entire revolution m the social and political aspect of affairs m the Southern districts — a new era seemed at once to have dawned over I the once quiet and monotonous wilderness large populations suddenly appeared m places before believed to be inaccessible, and huge arteries of traffic opened up m previously trackless regions. A northern paper, the Nelson Examiner, thus recorded the impression of the time (1863): — '* Two years ago the population of Otago and Southland was 12,700 souls; that of Otago alone now is 40.000. Otago and Southland united had then a revenue of £98,000 ; the revenue of Otago alone now is £400,000. These are dry figures, and only imperfectly realise to the mind the changes which have taken place within the last eighteen months, not m Dunedin alone, but throughout the whole length and breadth of the country. Everywhere the genius of activity is abroad and at work. The harbours of Port Chalmers and Dunedin are thronged with shipping, all the leading roads are crowded with travellers and arays, villages have become populous towns, and everywhere there are signs of busy progress." THE INCREASED EXPENDITURE IN CONSEQUENCE. The demands created on every hand by such a sudden development of those provinces proved an enormous drain on the resources of both Otago and Southland. The province of Southland especially suffered from these calls upon her treasury. The police, public works, harbors, and every department of her public service had to be largely increased to meet the necessities of hugely increasing traffic and population, but from the absurd arrangement of her eastern frontiers referred to, she was debarred from re-imbursing herself from the revenues derivable under the Goldfields Act. The rich goldfields of the Lakes and tributaries of the Mataura river, I although m reality forming portions of the district of Southland, were thus included m the province of Otago, and were immediately placed under its administration. THE ANTAGONISTIC ACTION OF OTAGO. Thence arose that insane desire on the part of Otago to retain the trade of these goldfields, by opening up a road from Dunedin; every exertion was made, and vast sums of money were expended, amounting to nearly a quarter of a million, m furtherance of this object — and now the road is not finished, nor even if it were can it ever serve its original purpose. And m this action of the Otago Government we had the most powerful argument that could be brought forward m favor of the abolition of the Provincial system, and the establishment of a centralised government, free as much as possible from local influence and interested motives. THE TRAFFIC THROUGH SOUTHLAND. The vast levels of Southland, however, extending from the seaboard up to within a few miles of the Lakes, presented overwhelming advantages over the Otago route, and m consequence an enormous increase ! of traffic took place through the ports of Southland, more especially from Invercargill. The goldfields of the lakes had proved to be the richest } r et discovered m the colony, and the progress of past discoveries had from the first opening of the Tuapeka goldfield undeviatingly tended to the westward ; so that the whole mountainous regions on the northern frontier of Southland were confidently looked upon as gold bearing also. [To be continued.]