The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 1887. THE JUBILEE OF THE COLONY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1463, 22 January 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. SATURDAY, JANUARY 22, 1887. THE JUBILEE OF THE COLONY.

While the whole Empire is looking forward to the grind celebration of the jubilee of Her Majesty's beneficent reign, and while the neighboring colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia are also anticipating the near approach of those red-i letter years of the record of their history which will mark the completion, for the one of a hundred, and for the others of half a hundred years of the work of colonisation, New Zealanders have for the most part forgotten that there is another jubilee rapidly drawing nigh— that of New Zealand itself. Yet such is the case, and a Wellington contemporary, the Post, is entitled to the credit of being the first to call attention thereto. That paper, writing upon this subject, says :— " Properly speaking, our jubilee year will commence two ysars hence, when we celebrate the forty-ninth anniversary of the arrival of the first immigrant ships m the waters of Port Nicholson. It may be, however, that the example set by Her Majesty, of waiting until the completion of the fiftieth, year instead of following the custom of the Mosaic jubilee, will be generally adopted m regard to these celebrations hereafter. In that case, New Zealand has three years to decide on, and prepaie for, its jubilee. The time is none too long to enable proper arrangements to be made, and it is highly desirable that the celebration should be of a striking character, such' as shall excite attention at Home, and indeed throughout the world. The opportunity will be a grand one for advertising the colony, and bringing forward m the most decided manner its resources, progress, and prospects. It would be an achievement worthy of the jubilee year if the Main North Island Trunk Railway, uniting Auckland with Wellington, could be completed as one of its events, and we would urge the Ministry and Parliament to spare no effort to accomplish this. It can be done easily enough if the work is steadily pushed on. Of course the opening of the railway would be merely an incident m the jubilee celebration, but it would be a strikingly suggestive one." Our contemporary goes on to remark that the Queen's jubilee, the New South Wales centenary, and the jubilees of Victoria and South Australia will be all done with by the time New Zealand's turn come 3 round, and admits that by that tirre people may be rather tired of jubilees, and it may be difficult to devise any specially novel and attractive form of celebration, but.it contends (and we think very properly) that " the event is one which should be marked m some very decided manner, so that our children, who sutvive m their turn to celebrate the centenary of New Zealand, may look back to the proceedings of the jubilee year with an interest and. pride necessarily icss f buL still somewhat akin to the feelings with which those of the noble band of early settlers who yet live regard the events of the first year •of the colony's existence." The Post has done well to ventilate the subject, and we concur with it m thinking that "it is really high time that the best means of celebrating the New Zealand Jubilee should be publicly discussed m the Press and m Parliament."