THE WAIRARAPA MERCURY THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 1869.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume III, Issue 133, 5 August 1869, Page 2

THE WAIRARAPA MERCURY THURSDAY, AUGUST 5, 1869.

In a debate that recently took place in the House of Representatives, on the subject of abolishing Provincial Institutions, there were some remarks made by the speakers which are deserving of great consideration. “ What,” asked Mr. Fitzherbert, in the course of a long and able speech. “What is the meaning and use of Provincial Institutions ? ” And he answered it by saying that “it is to settle and colonize; it is to make roads and settle a new people.” While admitting the important part, that Provincial Institutions have played in the advancement of this country in the past, he dwelt with great eloquence on the fact, that there was not a single Province at the present moment in troducing population, and he further stated his opinion, that in that one duty ot colonizing and developing the internal resources of the eountiy, those Institutions had failed “ throughout the length and breadth of the land.” Mr. Stevens in alluding to the neglect of education in the Colony, pointed out that for one year the whole amount spent on education was only £33,092. The province of Auckland with a population of 50,000 only expended £731 10s., and other Provinces a similar proportion. The inhabitants of the Wairarapa can speak with experience on this point, and tho only subject of congratulation is that the

amounts now allotted for that purpose can hardly be diminished. The grants have “grown small by degrees and

beautifully less,” until now they exis

only in the memory of the past. Mr. Travers spoke strongly against the practice that at present existed, of giving enormous sums in subsidizing steamers, instead of opening up the country by roads. Had the latter system been adopted '• we should now” he said not only been altogether independent of steam subsidies, but, we should also have opened up the country, so as to give encouragement to settlement and to the development of industries, and besides, have shewn to visitors that there were proper means of access to great tracts of available land, which would thus come to be acquired as private property and be turned to profitable use.” Here again the settlers in this valley can endorse the truth of these remarks. If the land fund of this Province of Wellington had only been expended in opening up roads throughout the country districts, instead of being lavished on unremunerative works in the towns, in how different a position would this Province now be ? Even at the present moment we are witnessing the line of Telegraph from Wellington to Wanganui, being taken

round the coast at an unnecessary expense, and not without great jealousy being exhibited by the Native owners of the adjoining land, while if a road only had been made from Masterton to Manawatu it would have been taken by that route, and probably in a very short time the whole of the traffic now passing round the West Coast, would have been diverted to the Wairarapa

The following extracts from Mr Travers speech will be generally agreed to by the inhabitants of this valley:

The Provincial Governments, hitherto treating themselves as exclusive political centres, full of jealousy of the proceedings of their neighbours—determined to coniine their efforts within their own boundaries—appeared to bo utterly forgetful that one of their chief duties was to carry out internal communication, alth jugh the means for doing so had been placed at their command by the Colony. * * * * When wo looked to the revenues that had been derived from that scource which all political economists looked upon as the means of developing the resources of a country I namely, its land fund, we found that, with one

or two solitary exceptions, the Provincial Governments had been guilty of the grossest dereliction of duly. * * * For example, what line of communication worthy of the name was there between Wellington and. Auckland ? Could any person travel from Wellington to Auckland, except by laborious stages, on horseback f Could Napier be reached from Wellington f What portion of the whole distance could be travelled on what anybody would venture to call a main road ? No such lino of communication was in existence as could be mado available for purposes of colonization or of government. Every day almost we hear of persons being drowned in crossing rivers. At liie tool of the Rimutaka, where the road debouched on the plains, there were the miserable remnants of a broken-down bridge, across a stream which could not be crossed when the river was swollen without risk of drowning; and there was no halting-placo unless the traveller re-crossed the range and came back to the hotel on this side of it.