The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas, et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1886. HOW TO RESTORE PROSPERITY

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1345, 18 September 1886, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas, et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 1886. HOW TO RESTORE PROSPERITY

0 Allhough the facts and figures acl duced by Mr Stead in his very ab! ~ address to the Chamber of Commerc the other day are such as conclusive! demonstrate that, despite the bad time from which we have been so lon q suffering, the colony, as a whole, i making marked and" substantial prc gress, it is nevertheless a fact only to , painfully felt that there is widespreai depression among business circles am a dearth of employment for labor The recent rise in wool is a benefit fo 1 which wo are not unthankful, but i , will not go nearly so far towards rente i dying the ills we are suffering as woulc E a permanent increase in th< 1 value of cereals, and as this last is, wt 1 fear, io. to be looked for it becomes o the greatest importance to considei whether it is possible for us to faring about better times by any efforts of oui own instead of waiting idly for those ■ good times coming, which somehow [ seem never to come. Much might be ' done towards thisby thelighteningofthe 1 burden of taxation and by the fostering and development of our manufacturing industries, and it will be the fault of the electors if they do not secure the adoption of a policy that will effect these very desirable results by returning at the election, which must now take place in less than a year’s time, men pledged to support the measures we have indicated. What is wanted is not only that our present population should be profitably employed, but that the population of the colony should be doubled or trebled within the next decade, and that profitable employment should be found for the incomers also. In an able article on this subject our Wellington contemporary, the JNcw Zealand Times, points out that “everything depends on increased population. Our difficulty now is that our population has not increased proportionately to the preparation we have made for such increase. We have piled up debts, constructed railways, and incurred expenditure generally altogether in excess of a reasonable proportion to population. Hence our troubles, our heavy taxation, our failing revenue, and our present depression. But double the population, and all these troubles would disappear as by magic. The burdens would not be felt, the railways being more proportionate to population would have a paying traffic, and would no longer be charges on the general revenue; that revenue itself would recover its buoyancy and would yield abundantly. The great platform cry of New Zealand politicians ought to be: Diminish the public burdens by multiplying the bearers. To this end our best energies should be directed, and it is a pity that our Parliamentary representatives do not devote a little attention to such an allimportant subject even at the sacrifice of half the tiresome little “ faddy ” motions with which Parliament is deluged every session. The problem to be solved is plain enough, although, unfortunately, by no means easy of solution. It is to attract a due share of British emigration to these shores. We know what other.places—Canada, for instance —can offer, one inducement being a sea voyage three-fourths shorter. What can we put forth as an equal attraction ? This question ought to engage the most earnest consideration, not only of the Government, but also

of every New Zealand elector. If it could only be successfully solved, New Zealand would speedily enter upon a career of prosperity such as might satisfy the aspirations of the most enthusiastic colonist.” All this is unquestionably true, but it cannot be too strongly insisted upon that the two ways in which not only the present but a vastly increased population can be supported in comfort and prosperity, is by the development of manufactures and by throwing open the lands for settlement upon the easiest possible terms. In order to the first, industries suited to the colony, such as the woollen industry, must be fostered and encouraged; and in order to the latter, the policy of village settlement and small farm holdings must be extended to every p?rt of the country. The present Government is already doing something in this direction, but there is ample room to do a great deal more, and we trust that Mr Ballauce will push on the good work which he has so well begun.