The Dunstan Times. FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1874.

Dunstan Times, Issue 612, 9 January 1874, Page 2

The Dunstan Times.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 9, 1874.

Beneath the Rule of Men ektirelt just the pex is mightier than the sword.

j Nothing equals success, especially in j the eyes of the Dunedin folks as is j examplified by the proposed banquet and testimonial to the Honorable the Premier. If we are to judge by some of our town contemporaries the transcendent abilities of the Honorable Julius Yngel are a panacea for every evil that a countiy or political body can possibly be afflicted with, all alike can be cured by this most wonderful of legislators whose wisdom is “prodigious” as our fiiend Bailie Nicol Jarvie would say. It is perfectly c'ear to us that to airive so) suddenly at this extatic state of mind the good people of the metropolis look only in the direction of the present supply of loaves and fishes, or they would not be so jubilant as to almost fall down and worship their idol in the shape of an obese being, whose only recommendation is daring recklessness, favored by a variety of fortuitous circumstances. Mr. Vogel’s successes are accepted by a selfish unthinking crowd as the result of unparalleled wisdom—we were quite startled the other day by reading that until this Honorable gentleman became such a shining light and as sumed the reins of government, the prospects of the Oniony were so far blighted as to bo almost beyond redemption, a collapse was imminent, it could not possibly have got along, and as an evidence of the state of depression we were coolly informed that the Government of the day, to make things pleasant for that bugbear to colonial life—the great unemployed—were compelled to find them work at five shillings per day. This terrible instance of the decay of a Colony is however by no means a novelty, the same has happened over and over again in Australia, and feven where as little as one half this amount has been similarly disbursed, while that self same colony has. recovered from the shock and made such rapid strides of advancement since that, New Zealand can never hope to overtake it during the present generation. In a Colony similarly circumstanced, the Honorable the Premier for years lived and fattened, hut in whose government he took no part, for reasons that it persistently rejected his proffered services even when backed up by a powerful Pastoral As-

sociation, no ear was there that would 1 listen to the , voice of the charmer, 1 “ charm he never so wisely," his pro- i testations and offers to save the people 1 were. only received -by them with i shouts of derision; our honorable 1 friend could never make a favorable s impression. It is to say t that, where talent exists it fails to be- t come recognised, never the t case, and we may rest quite as- 1 sured that if the Honorable Julius 1 Vogfil was snob a shiuing light as his f Dunedin admirers would lead us to i believe, his great abilities would have ] been found out long since and we f should never have known him he ,- e. 1 We have read panegyrics of this ho- < norable'gentleman’s careerwbich have 1 appeared in print from time to time, 1 but we only take th°m for what they t are worth—if they have deceived i others they have not done so with us. t To judge of the magnitude of a star, £ it is necessary to measure him by bis c compeers, and it we ope to Judge Mr ' Vogel by the standard fixed by bis i Dunedin admirers, that there exists 1 none like him, we can only say that, t we have veiy little faith in the com- I bined or individual wisdom of New t Zealand’s legislative body, and which £ must be considerably below mediocri- i ty, if the existence of the Parliament i chiefly depends upon thisy gentleman. I If such is really the case, it would be much better to elect the Honorable Julius, autocrat of all New Zealand, • and console ourselves for so doing that ' we are not'- only saving time and 1 money, but a useless parade and ! sham. In reviewing the proceedings i of the the ascending of Mr. Vogel to the. chief seat of power, we can find no act whatever of comprehensive domestic legislation, ' but what has been bungled—the whole ' time of the House is occupied in discussing schemes for borrowing money, and propounding clumsy modes of taxation. I’he Immigration and Public Works’ Scheme is by no means a brilliant idea, its working up to the present t ; me only proves its crudeness and want of conception, and confirms us in our opinion that wherever [ we find a legislator whose chief and j only forte is finance, there exists a ! want of knowledge of the true pnnci- j pies of government—in fact, the pio-; fession of finance is only assumed as a mask for little knowledge in higher things. There is an old saying “ never ■ commence a thing, without well considering the end,” to this precept Mr. Vogel has not applied himself, or we j should not obseeve the ridiculous failure fast looming in the distance, I for most assuredly the • beginining of j the end is already beginning to dar- j ken the distant horizon. The Dunedin people are jubilant at the success, of the Public Works’ Scheme, because j they participate in the lavish expen- j diture and reap the benefits thereof | in tie shave of a brisk trade—it is j however a spurious prosperity after "all; this bright state of things is not j brought about by thb increased pro ductiveness and means of the country, —our veal sources of wealth are languishing, there is really less employment for the people, the artisan, the miner and the farm laborer are all deserting for the sea-board, there to participate in the luxury of expending the borrowed money. Where the effects of this expenditure is not felt there exists very great dullness, ar.d everything grows beautifully less and less, and except at harvest time there w>ll be hut little employment for any one. The hot haste to construct, pub lie works in the vain hope that they may at once become reproductive, places it out ot the power of private individuals to carry on any productive occupation, unlqss of the most profitable desc iption, and as such are extremely limited in number, sources ot employment that do not come up to this standard are by the excessive competition for labor on public works being completely burked out of existence. Were the prosperous state of affairs in Dunedin due to the increased demands of the up-country trade, Mr. Vogel might with some show of reason be deemed a prophet, but when all this much boasted prosperity of the Colony only arises from a lavish expenditure of borrowed millions, almost any ordinary person favored by felicitous circurastancese could Lave , brought about the same, and never a ! prophet at all. The rise in the price i of wool must have given a considerai hie impetus to the trade of the Colony • but which lias wrongly been atti ibnl ted to the. Public Works and Immigration Scheme, and the squatters . should congratulate themselves upon

their good luck at the high price of wool and pray that it may still keep •up, or at least sufficiently long for the Pa blicWorks scheme to exhaust itself, or consummate in a success. Viewing the subject still further, and supposing the railways completed with trains ready to start, the very fact of the withdrawal of so much labor from the country districts will leave them little to do—possibly there will not be sufficient traffic to pay for fuel and grease. To provide work for the railways the country will be compelled to undergo the pangs of “ suffering a recoveiy " new life must be infused into it—neglected and aban. doned sphere of industry must again be resuscitated, labor must once more be despatched into the interior, and to a considerable extent we shall be required to commence anew the work of colonization, and we may rest assured that it will be very difHculo to do over again what has been already undone Were Mr'. Vogel the clever man his Dunedin admirers would fain believe, he would have provided something approaching to a sufficient supply of labor before starting with the construction of so many public works at one time, so as not to engage in a ruinous competition with the staple industries of the Colony, and sacrifice the real for the visionary. The pouring in of an indifferently selected stream of immigration at an extravagant cost will not supply the deficiency, and will produce the worst, effects, neither can it last. Instead of starting simultaneously to construct a patchwork of unconnected railways, many leading fiom and to nowhere, a thoroughly digested scheme for connecting the principal ’sea port towns of the Colony, with a view to further extension, would have been pieferable, likewise not to have undertaken die construction of more tliua the money already borrowed was sufficient, to complete. As it is we shall require as much money again, and which we fear English capitalists will hesitate to lend except at rates we cannot hope to borrow upon. While seeking further assistance- in the English money market, Mr. Vogel should be at least prepared to show that former loans bad been wisely expended, and were becoming reproductive, which he will be unable to do. The Press of Great Tlritain, while rejoicing at our prosperity will nevertheless closely investigate into its boua jides, and that, portion which leads public opinion in commercial circles, will not be easily hoodwinked by the blandishments of the Honorable the Premier when he makes his second appearance on the London Stock Exchange. E glish journalists have more honestvof expres-ion than is common b> the Colonies, they do not Fain to believe all they hear, but apply themselves sedulously to the task of unravelling stubborn tacts, so as to seperate the leal from the unreal for the especial guidance of their readers. Mr. Vogel’s trip home will doubtless be most agreeable and add consivierab'y to his vanity, but of its being a success we possess very grave doubts.