The Evening Star THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1872.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2771, 4 January 1872, Page 2

The Evening Star THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1872.

In every country there are alarmists who see in the future nothing but ruin. Nothing goes right in the estimation of this nervous section of the population. If a government moves in any direction, special evil consequences are predicted. Let them sanction no public works “-*ilieii .the

country is to be ruined through inactivity. If they spend money on public works, they are extravagant; if they carry oh a war, they are damaging their own and other countries : if they remain at peace, they are pusillanimous. New Zealand, line all the icst of the world, has its alarmists. During the last two years they have been weaving miseries. The revenue, they say, has been foiling off while public burdens are increasing ergo, the Colony is rushing inevitably into bankruptcy. Things did look gloomy some months ago—that’s certain ; bu in Otago, at any rate, they were not so bad' as they looked. In proof ot this we refer our readers to two returns published in yesterday’s Lvemmj

Star— one giving the year's as compared with that of T I ’ tU l lc the other the yield of gold. It will be seen that, in spite of our fears the Custom’s revenue has not diminished , and this, in the present position of the Colony, means that consumption has much increased. Whatever in ay e the case in countries like England, it cannot be truly considered here, that the Custom’s revenue affords a correct index of the condition of the industrial classes, bo long as we were dependent upon foreign supplies for everything we eat, drank, and wore, the Customs revenue was an index of the consuming power of the population ; but so for from this being the case now, many articles of

large consumption formerly imported are produced in the Colony in sucn abundance that an outside market has to be sought. To the extent at least of the revenue that would have accrued had Customs duties been received on those articles, wo must make addition to the revenue actually received ; and if we could estimate that aright, an approximation might be made to the comparative prosperity of the Province at the two periods. But this would fall short of the truth, for of many articles of Colonial manufacture we have abundance at low prices ; whereas when they were imported, higher prices limited consumption. We used to pay duty on beer, provisions, cheese, buttei, hats, shoes, and slops; but now we manufacture these cheaper and more to our taste than we could import them. It is impossible to calculate what the duty would have amounted to, but taking into consideration that in 1870 and 1871 the revenue was equal; say

about L 194,500, it must be plain that the industrial condition of the Province is much improved. We were not prepared to find the gold return less this year than last, though this may have arisen from the Christmas escort being included in 1870 and not in 1871. If we are correct in this surmise, the yield of this year would appear to have been somewhat larger than last, as the splendid washing up of 17,900 ounces received yesterday, will have to be added to 158,000 ounces* We may, however, say we are disappointed in this result. With our present goldfields population, including Chinese, we hoped to have seen a larger return, although the amount contrasts favorably with 18G8 and 1869. It is evident that mining has not advanced with us ; nay, that so far as the European population is concerned, it has rather gone back than progressed. This may be accounted for by the opening up of different modes of employment amongst us—but this is not the way to prosper: there is no occasion to sacrifice one wealth-yielding pursuit because others are established. It cannot be too often repeated that the Provincial Government have not taken means to encourage mining, but have supinely seen the people leave the goldfields without preparing others to take their place. It is evident, from our Customs revenue, we have been advancing in other respects : it is as evident our gold workings have not kept pace with the development of other industries. Had they done so, all would have been more prosperous, for there would have been a large consuming as well as a producing population. * On reference to the return of last year, we find the Christmas Escort was not included, and that it was larger by above a thousand ounces than this year. Our yield of gold has therefore fallen off some 15,000 ounces.