The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1887. THE MELBOURNE EXHIBITION

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1691, 19 October 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1887. THE MELBOURNE EXHIBITION

The public mind, we notice, is beginning to be exercised over the question, "Is New Zealand to be represented at the forthcoming Melbourne Exhibition ?• Those who take a pessimist view of the state of the colony — whose very existence is a life-long suffering from the opinion they have formed that the colony is bowed down under an intolerable burden of debt, from which it will tax all our powers of economy to relieve it, will at once say " No ! We cannot afford it." On the other hand those opponents of the " Lie down and die " policy — who take a more hopeful view of our surroundings, and of the impending re-action which is bound to succeed this present period of depression, say " Yes ! By all means, let us take every advantage of the means offered by the Exhibition, to make our resources and capabilities known to the^ various nations of the world which will be represented there." There is economy and economy. We regret to say a notion is pervading the minds of the great majority of our fellow-colonists, that all "saving" of expense is " economy." This a subtle fallacy — a false economy — to the pi actice of which, it is to be feared, too many fall easy victims. This is more particularly noticeable m the southern portion of this island. There, it would be a difficult task to persuade " Sandy " -—to the habit born — that by keeping m his pocket the sixpence which would have realised two sixpences m return, he was not performing an act of true economy of the "right grit." This false economy, however, is not confined to our southern settlers, it prevades the whole colony. It frequently stands out m bold — very bold — relief, ia the proceedings of our local governing bodies, who seem to iorget that there is a kind of economy that has been aptly described m the unacsthetic adage, "Saving at the spiggot and wasting at the bung-hole." Its influence is far-reaching. It does not stop at our Borough Councils, our Road Boards, our County Councils; but it stietches out and finds its way into our House of Representatives, and notably into our Legislative Council — more's the pity. At the Adelaide show, New Zealand we believe was not represented by even a single exhibit. This is matter of regret for, as a young colony, we ought to take every advantage of every opportunity of advertising ourselves. It will, however, be matter for greater regret if our colony be unrepresented at the Melbourne Exhibition where visitors from every civilized nation m the world will throng the courts anxious to learn, otherwise than by book lore — nowadays distrusted — all they can concerning the different colonies com* posing the Australasian group. If New Zealand be isolated what will they think ? That it is a poor ineignificem

colony so destitute of natural resources that it cannot afford to be represented at an exhibition which they have come so many hundreds, aye thousands of miles to see. We confess to entertaining strong, perhaps, even sanguine views, on this subject. It would require, however, something more than the msre logic of the retrenchment of the present hour to convince us that New Zealand would not ultimately reap advantages from being represented at the Melbourne Exhibition, compared with which the cost would be ridiculously incommensurate. We are perfectly satisfied that an exposition of spedments of our mineral resources, with which Nature has so lavishly endowed us ; of our products from the semi-tropical regions of the North and from the inhospitable regions of the South j of our manufactures, so successfully competing with those ol the Mother Country ; and, though last not least of views of our sublimely grand, picturesque and lovely scenery, would operate far more powerfully than any policy which Major Atkinson, however, protracted the incubation, could produce, m attracting capital, settlers, and tourists to our colony. We therefore would strongly urge the Government to take measures to have thn colony repreiented at the Melbourne Exhibition next year. We should have said immediate steps, lor the period for receiving application! for space will close on the 31st of December. Should the Atkinson Goyernment continue m office we have very little hope of this being done. But if, as we trust, Sir Julius Yogel, shall reassume the helm, we feel assured that, seeing of what immense advantage it would prove to our local industries, he will make due provision that New Zealand shall net stand isolated from the rest of the Australasian Colonies.