The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1913. A WEST COAST SCANDAL.

Wanganui Chronicle, Issue 19961, 15 December 1913, Page 4

The Wanganui Chronicle. "Nulla Dies Sine Linea." MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1913. A WEST COAST SCANDAL.

In days not so long gone hy, the West. Coast was regarded throughout tho Dominion as the .hotbed of that peculiar typo of Liberalism which came into voguo -with and flourished under the regime of the Continuous Ministry. Kightly or wrongly, men held the opinion that tho " West-Coasters" were a particularly-flavoured community, and that in the event, say. of a Govern-

ment billet being open for competition, tho odds were all in favour of the man who hailed from the Grey, West-port, or thereabouts. Of course no one can say just how many good things went clown that way, or to what extent the Coast electorates benefited at the ex- ■ penso cf the rest of the Dominion, but it is a matter of common knowledge that for years the Coast electorates did not suffer from lack of Ministerial patronage. In return the enlightened, electors gave a red-hot allegiance to the " Liberal" leaders* an arrangement which presumably proved mutually satisfactory. But times .have changed. Things political are not as they were. The. *'white-haired boy" of the old rcg:me is being subjected to a careful ' scrutiny by impartial investigators, and ho is turning out a sorry-looking fellow. Tho sensational particulars of maladministration contained in tho report of the Westport Harbour Board Commission constitute an alarming exposuro of confused finance, neglected harbour works, and culpable neglect. As the "Press" remarks, those who have been taunting the Government with not having; produced any interesting material from tho pigeonholes of their predecessors " ought to be more than satisfied with the astounding revlations con- j tamed in the report of the Commission appointed to enquire into the administration of the Westport Harbour Board. Such an appalling record not only of incompetence, but of jobbery and corruption, lias never before 'keen presented to tho Legislature of this country. It is true that these revelations have not been produced direct from tho pigeonholes, but they are none the less damaging on that .account to the Liberal regime under which the malpractices now brought to light were permitted to exist, and it would seem, in some instances, actually connived at. The truth has at length como out as the result of enquiries made by a perfectly impartial tribunal, iand in a large degreo has been extracted from unwilling witnesses concerned in some of the transactions referred to. It is not the i least significant fact thiat the abuses now brought to light seem to have had their commencement almost coincidently with tho advent of the Liberals to power, and continued without check or \ interruption until their dismissal from office. Ono of the first acts of the Reform Government was to break up this exceedingly happy littlo family by introducing a slight infusion of new blc>od into tho Board, iand the public has not yet had timo to for<xet the storm of j abuso which was directed against the ] Government by the Liberal side of the Konso and tho Opposition newspapers, for having dared to interfere with tne appointments made b.v the preceding Government. Tho new Administration wero noi, deterred by these attacks from doing what they believed to bo their duty, iand being by this time convinced, i'rem tho strenuous attempts made to prevent investigation, that investigation wr..'i necessary in the public interes':. they proposed and carried the appointi.cent of a Commission consisting of tho Nelson Stipendiary Magistrate and two Wellington engineers of high standing to enquire into the luimifiistraiioh ov tho Westport Harbour Board from its inception." The report lormnlates sei:ou3 charges mgn.'nst lncnibriv; of the Board, exposes special favours shown to contractors and others, reveals the man- | uoi1 in which certain fortunate individuals were nllowc'd to help themselves to i tho Board's plant, shows how land reclaimed by tho ngqncy of the Bcard',3 j work \vao allowed to pass out of tho I?.o?.rd'.s control into the hands of a nu'inboi1 of th<; Board, and throws light] on. ft number of other equally skirtliu}; ■ and disquieting details. Tho revelations, j lak'jn «s a whole, reveal a positively disgraceful stato cf affairs, ,so much so j th?t tho Commissioners very properly !i'C:or.i!no;id that tho present Harbour !"-:.iiil should bo swent away, and the valuable! trust placed either in the hands of expert Commissioners or a new Pcml reconstructed on a totally different, basis.