The Evening Star TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1870.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2246, 19 July 1870, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1870.

There never was a scheme devised by any Treasurer that commended itself in its entirety to all classes. Perhaps there never was one but contained its good as well as its objectionable features. As therefore in all democratic communities government is a system of compromises, it is occasionally necessary to concur in minor evils when they are overbalanced by a preponderance of good. But it does not therefore follow that the evil should not be pointed out. If one feature has become more prominent than another during the financial debate, it is the true condition of the North Island. We have never before had it so fully pressed upon our attention. Perhaps we have not, as a rule, given sufficient thought to it in the Middle Island. Casually it may have passed through our minds that the white inhabitants bore a certaifl numerical proportion to the Maoris, but the Native war has always been assumed to be for the purpose of preserving the property of the Colonists as well as to maintain the government in our hands. When

human life is not the consideration, it is a very fair question—“ At what “ price is this property to be maiu- “ tained 1 and who is to pay the cost 1 ” It now turns out that the Middle Island revenues have absolutely been expended in giving value to property that was not worth purchasing on account of the danger of occupation of it. Neither is there any great extent of it. A few towns comparatively unimpoi’tant, a few hundreds of thousands of acres of land just fringing the seabord, ,and the area of Colonial occupation of the North Island is told. The cost of maintaining our Northern colonists in this has been more than the fee-simple of the land, estimated as agricultural land in Otago, at one pound per acre. But they are not content with this—the cry is still, “ Give ns more.” It is a curious phenomenon in Colonial government that an island thus situated should contrive to so enlist the sympathies of the Legislature, as to find shrewd intelligent men like Mr Cargill advocating a continuance of an union so detrimental to the Middle Island, Now that peace seems so likely to be secured, it is high time that sound views on the subject should supersede those chivalrous imaginings that have led to such wasteful follies. Mr Yogel’s proposals are vastly more just as relates to the Middle Island than any that have preceded them; but yet we are asked to contribute to North Island development. The population of the North Island is 90,000, that of the South over 1.30,000; the export of gold only, from the North for three quarters of a year was valued at .£317,500, that of the Middle Island at £1,457,000. We venture to predict that the coming Census will point to equal differences in most industrial occupations. Yet while these discrepancies stare us in the face, the most liberal Ministry that New Zealand has yet had, has not ventured to do more than propose to share the benefits of a loan equally between the two islands ; nor has it dared to ask to localise the liability. The Native expenditure is clearly an insurance fund giving value to Northern property, but the Treasurer does not see his way to doing more than asking that the principal shall be borrowed, so that when it has to be repaid the North Island may be so much more populous than at present as to pay one-half of it. On the principle that half a loaf is better than no bread, we look upon Mr Yogel’s scheme as very much in advance of what has ever before been devised. On that ground we support it, for we do not see with Mr Cargill that it will stop the cry for Separation. Let us have the one, but do not let us abandon the other. The Middle Island has been dragged into paying twice over the value of Northern property. It is time now that all future outlay should be paid by the owners, A sense of justice' ought to tell every man in the Middle Island that he is bound to make a stand ‘ against further misappropriation of the revenue to local purposes. The North has no equitable claim upon the South, but it is evident that unless a determined front is shewn, every farthing they can get will be as eagerly appropriated as hitherto.