The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1880.

Inangahua Times, Volume II, Issue II, 4 October 1880, Page 2

The Inangahua Times. PUBLISHED TRI-WEEKLY. MONDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1880.

Although tbe present Government were compelled at the close of the session to abandon the line laid down at an earlier stage with such a flourish of trumpets, in regard to the withdrawal of subsidies from Counties, they &fe beyond doubt committed to tbe policy of abolition, and one of their first acts in tbe next Parliament will be to end avor to effectu* ate the principle. The opinion is, however, now fast gaining ground that Governnient will never be able to carry the proposal. It is significant of the alteration which opinion on the question has undergone Bi'nce the proposal was first made to the House by the Colonial Treasurer, that while little or no opposition was then shown to it, towards the end of the session the scheme was denounced with equal fervor by both sides of tbe House, so much so in fact that the Government in the end consulted tbeir own safety by throwing up tbe measure. In moving the eecond reading* of the Financial Arrangements Bill, just b jfore the prorogation, Mr Wbitaker speaking in tbe Council said that action would be taken in the early part of next session to put these local bodies in a better position than they were in at present, and the whole subject would be brought under consideration and be permanently dealt with. Clause 3 of the Bill provHed for taking away from counties tbe 20 per cent, of the Land Fund, which bad hitherto been payable to tbem. The time had come, he continued, when all these anomalies should be swept away. The Bill would, he hoped, put an end to the dissatisfaction tbat existed in the different districts, and would remove the grievances on the score of some being more highly ens dowed tb.an others, wbich had for so long existed. The Hon Mr Reynolds dissented from the views thus oxpressed. The Goyernment of which Mr Whitaker was a member entered into a solemn compact tbat 20 per cent, of tbe Land Revenue should be retained by the districls in order to enable them to develop their resources by openiug public rpad* wherever the land was sold. Every province except Auckland was founded upon the Gibbon Wakefield principle that a large proportion of .the proceeds of land shonld be expended in tbe districts where tbe revenue was raised for the purpose of opening roads to enable the settlers to bring their produce to market, Mu ; t $ow tbey found '■ the Government coming down and re" . pudiating that just compact. He felt cerlain there was no erea'er blow to the stability of any Government, or to tbe stability of the union of the Colony, than this proposal would be to Canterbury and Otago, He would never be it par*y to passing this Bill. He wou'd therefore move that the Bill be read a second time that dny six months. The Hon. Mr Waterhouse thought however objectionable the Bill might be, the Council could not very well do otherwise than pass it. Half a loaf was better than no bread, and the measure gave a small modicum of assistance to the local bodies, whereas, if it were thrown out they wou'd be deprived of a.l means of carrying on for tbe remainder of tbe year. He could not say th'ifc heat all approved of the reduction ofthe subsidies from 20i ift the. £ to 7a 6d. He was bound to sa,^ Ibat he looked upon that reduction with great regret. 1 He could npt but believe tbat under * the Abolition Act, and the financial 1 arrangements connected with the change in the local form of government, these bolies became entitled to the subsidies, for a fixed period, which

had not yet elapsed. They were, therefore, justified ia entering into engagements upon tbe faith of tbat arrangement ; and, except under circumstances; wbicb bad uot yetjexisted* he did not tbink the Legislature was justified in withdrawing these subsi dies in the manner proposed. It might be said it was necessary to re duce the subsidies in this way in consequence of local debts haying been taken over by theJColony. He believed tbe first claim on thejunexpen* ded balance of the loan should be the payment of tbese subsidies. The Colonial Treasurer, at the commencement of the session, announced that that unexpended balance was £800,000 available for new works ; and|that was iudependent of the large amount that could be srved by the liability for the purchase of Maori lands not being kept up. There the Treasurer had a fund out of which he could have paid these subsidies ; and he thought, under the- peculiar circumstances of the colony and the greatly-increased taxation, these subsidies should have been thus paid. More good would bave beeu done to the colony by paying them in full than could over be obtained from any appropriation for rril^ay purposes out of the unexpended balance of the loan.