Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1880. AGAIN AND YET AGAIN.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XIV, Issue 3961, 13 October 1880, Page 2

Wanganui Herald. [PUBLISHED DAILY.] WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 1880. AGAIN AND YET AGAIN.

There is seldom such a thing as unmixed evil in this world, and the withdrawal of the 20 per cent land fund is a case in point. While their finances were in a comparatively prosperous condition, the County Councils wei'e content to travel upon the old lines, without considering the absurdity of the dual system of Councils and Road Boards ; but now that financial embarras?ment stares them in the face, the expediency of getting rid of this dual system forces itself on their notice as part of the question of retrenchment. They are beginning to think that under existing circumstances they had better shut up shop, and have the Road Boards and Municipalities to do what they can with the funds that are available for road making and other works. The time, therefore, is opportune for repeating what we have already said, and shall in all probability have to say again, about the necessity for a readjustment of our local government system. If the devil had invented that system it could not be more admirably adapted than it is for producing political demoralization among tho local bodies. It bids the rural bodies to go their way without regard to the towns, and the municipal bodies to return tho compliment—teaches them, in short, to realise the fable of the belly and the other members by causing them to act independently of each other, as if their interests were distant and not, as in reality, identical. Now that the pinch of straightened circumstances is upon us we shall perhaps be willing to open our eyes to other evils previously disregarded — to the neglect of local public works, for instance. The County Councils never had sufficient re sources at their command to undertake such works, which have therefore been neglected altogether, the General Government never attending to them except when forced thereto by Parliamentary log-rolling.