VICTORIA.PRESENT AND FUTURE.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1820, 20 April 1888, Page 3

VICTORIA. PRESENT AND FUTURE.

Mr Thomas Black, Murohiaon, Victoria, haa written the following to the InvercargJll " Times ". — Would yon kindly grant me apaoo In your columns to itate my opinions of the present aud future of Victoria, as I have been reqaeated by many of my old acquaintances m Southland to do bo, snd I find it impossible to write to everyone privately. Phis country is In ila prime, and ia now seeing its beat daya. There are a large nunibtr of pnblic works going on just now; railwaya are being made m all directions, and are absorbing a great deal of labor ; there is also an hrlgation echemo about to be carried out, which will fao the mak xxg of the country where there are no natcra' watercourses, The last ia being fast taken up, particularly the good portions, and m a few years there will be no Grown landa m Victoria to be had. Themallea and snoh-liko country, which waa reokoned nothing but a wilderness 20 yeara ago, ia now nearly »Ti m the handß of settlers, who seem to be making a living, L*nd about Melbourne that haa been owned by oa'pitalialß for many yeare ia now being bought up by syndicates at aa high as £185 per acre, and ia being out up into town allotments, built on, and sold on easy terms at from 3 to 7 per cant interest. Thia irt caualrg a great rush for the land by laborers and tradesmen fn the olty of Melbourne who wish to aeoare r home ; as m many oases there la only £5 depoali asked, which appeara very easy ; bat piat experience tells me there will be at least a third who will never be able to meet their engagements, for when a depression oomes (for come It will) and they ar« thrown oat of employment the land will fall Into the hauda of the mortgagees again But there ia not likely to be a depresdoT for a few jeirs to come, and when it does ctftna It can never be felt aa* badly aa it ia felt m New Zealand at the present time, for there are too many wealthy people here, and the Government la composed of the right stamp of men and may well be termed the model Government of the colonies, which no doubt they are. They are not like Bom 9of the old fogleß m the other colonies, who get into a groove and cannot leive it. If they find ane thing ia no good here they soon throw it aßide and try something else. They are staunch Protectionists, which is the principal cause of the pioaperity In the oolony. They lelieve m having everything made and manufactured m the colony that it is possible to do, by whloh means they oan employ all their labor and keep their spare cash m the colony to spend m improvements on theaoil and attraot foreigners to their shores. In fact, the population is increasing so fast that m a very few years time they will have to Beck freßh fields, for the land will be up to such a price tbat there will bo few who can buy aud those who wish to make a home will have to emigrate. There ia not the slightest doubt but New Zealand will be the chosen spot, that is provided the Government follow tha example of Victoria m adopting laws suitable to the people. The laboring class have many advantages here, instead of having to work from daylight to dark to earn a bare crust and drag their very aculs out, they have the eight hours Bystem. which is no doubt one of the principal reaeona for their prospßr : ty. Tney have also adopted the tarlj -closing hours for the shop?, and all the principal business places and factories shut at 2 p m. on Saturdays* There is not the slightest doubt nut the eight hours' Byßtern is of greater valuu to ths community and tho colony than many would givo it credit for. If auy eruploj or wants to work hia machine: y for 10 hours a day to keep pace with his trade, he must employ two eets of men, and by doirfg co iho whole of tho labor of tho colony is kept; ia employment and a. little money to pty for their food ; whereas if tho (oue eot of) men were to work tho 10 hours ouehalf of the laborers would be idle and without means to provide for their families. Surely the whole of the tradespeople ought to be able to see the value of the Eight Houra' Bill, aa it does not allow a few to monopolise the whole of the work to the injury of the many, and the business of the oolony proceeds all the same. The people here have also the right to determine by poll of the voters — that ia of all who are entitled to a vote, whether ratepayera or not — to say whether the licensed houses shall be reduced to the statutory number, which is fixed by the Government. The people have now the right to say whether the number eh ill be reduced by over 2000 houses m the colony of Victoria or not. The polls are now being taken, and I am p.oad to say the temperance party are working hard and are reducing the numbers to that fixed by the statute m the majority of the polls that have yet been taken, although the publloaua have carried the day m aorae of the districts. This will aIBO prove to be one of the greatest bleasinga thut conld happen to the community Few would believe the ruin and misery the drink la causing m Melbourne unless they were eye witness of tho alghtu. I now speaking from experience. Having heard a great deal abont the baok slums m Melbourne and having some idle time J thought I would aatlafy my curlooity by visiting soma of the place?, such as little Bourke, Russell, Lonadalo and King streets, and alao some of tho back streets m Fitzroy after midnight, and some of tho sights I saw are two horrible to mention. I visited some of the placaa called hotels, but they are not really fit for pigotyes, and the low oharactera that are harbored through such honees being there make it unsafe for one to travel tho streets after darkThere must have been a providence watching over me, aa no one noticed mo, although I saw many decoyed away who would no doubt bo roughly treated when they were once inside the houeea, lam of opinion that I waa taken for a detective by the way thoao characters seemed to ahun me. I also visited the Flemington racecourse aud saw oomo s'oight of hand work thera that haa convinced me it ia not aafo to got into a crash with any ! money or valuables on one'B person anywhere near Melbourne. Somo of the judges are inflicting heavy aontonooa along with heavy fljggioga, which I believe will bo the only meana by which theae notorious criminals will be kept In check. My observationa have convinced me that I he-re la a grand future ahead for New Zealand, bat it Is not to be made prosperous by the present population, for they are practically ruined and cannot help themselves. It Is quite clear that the land io of no value to' the State without the population, ao the sooner in* ducementa are given that will attraot people from other parts the better for all who wish to remain m the colony, My advice to all voters is to plump for canaldatea whose main plank In their platform is Protection, no matter what their other planks may be j for, if once the thin end cf the wedgo ia entered the rook Is bound to aplit, and they can follow np with heavier blows, as the people do here. It is the opinions of tho people here, and cot entirely the opinions of their representatives, that are carried out. The people hold meetings horeand propose and adopt resolutions, and appoint delegates to bring the a^me before their representative if he be not present at the meeting, and shopld he fail to attend to the same he is aura to get a reminder at the next election, whioh is aa things should be,— l am, etc., * Thomas Black, Murohlson, Viotorla, Maroh 31, 1889,

" Rough on Eats."— Clears out rats mice, roaohes, flies, ants, bedbugs, beetles, inseots. skunks, jack-rabbits, sparrows, gophers. At cjiemieta and druggists, %

The Ohristohuroh unemployed on Thursday decided to ask Mr Peroeval to wait on the Premier when passing through, and urge on him the necessity of meeting their claims for work. Mr Perceval agreed to aooede to their wishes.

Mile. Marie Bastia, a prima donna m Italy, where she enjoyed a great reputation, starved herself to death recently. She left a letter stating that her grief was so great beoause her enormous size prevented her from appearing on the stage that she preferred death.

_The ". Taranaki Herald" says that the Government have not as yet prepared many new Bills for introduction during the owning session, but they will, it ig understood, take up a number of those which were abandoned last session owing to want of time to deal with them.