The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 1866.

Timaru Herald, Volume V, Issue 110, 16 June 1866, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 10, 1866.

The inhabitants of Christchurch have been somewhat startled within the last few days, by an order which has been forwarded from Welling-ton, that the land fund of this province should, after it had been received by the Receiver of Land Revenue, be at once paid into the hands of the local Sub-Treasurer of the General Government. This new system is to come into operation on the first of July. It is a question of no little importance to the people of this province, and to the settlers m this district, why such an order should have been issued by Mr. Stafford. Various motives are attributed to the Premier by the Lyttelton Times for taking such a step j but the chief one is, that it is a political dodge resorted to for the purpose of bringing pressure to bear upon Canterbury, to obtain from her a sanction to an Income Tax. The Times designates this " insidious act" as a "flagrant violation of our rights, and an unmistakable threat of future injustice." Such statements as these are most refreshing from our contemporary, as he has for the last two or three years quite forgotten that such a thing as "injustice" could be perpetrated. It is possible, though^ that he is m error m attributing to the General Government some " insidious" design upon the rights of the people; and we might prob^Mv arrive nearer the truth when we suggest that it is only the thin end of the wedge inserted by Mr Stafford for the purpose of a fair distribution of such revenue to all part* of the provinc?. If such should

prove to be the case, and this act was merely to prepare the minds of the inhabitants of Christchurch for legislation on this question, we should hail it with the greatest delight. If Mr. Stafford and his colleagues have adopted this course to exercise some kind of supervision over the present gross and unjust expenditure of centralists, they are deserving of the support of all who have the true interests ot the colony at heart. We think it advisable to wait to ascertain the ulterior object of Mr. Stafford, before we condemn him for an act which may possibly prove to be one of the best for the colony ; and as this district is most ably represented m the Ministry, we have no fear or concern that outlying interests will bo sacrificed or overlooked. It may turn out that the Stafford Ministry propose to distribute the waste lands revenue m a fair and equitable manner, and compel Provincial authorities to devote such revenue to its proper use, namely, the creation of public works, and the opening up of the country.