OTAGO AN INDEPENDENT COLONY

Evening Star, Issue 3820, 22 May 1875, Page 3

OTAGO AN INDEPENDENT COLONY

To the Editor,

Sir —The Superintendent, in his address to the Provincial Couuoil, recommended the erection of the Province into an independent Colon> ; but as far as 1 am aware his suggestions have not as yet met with any response from that body—probably on account of the difficulties which may appear to be in the way of its accomplishment.

difißculty appears to consist chiefly in om liability with t‘>e rest of the Colony for the New Zealand loans; but this might he overcome by taking upon ourselves more than our just share of the debt—say one-third. The whole of this could at once be paid off by going J jondon market and borrowing sav L > 000,000 on the security of mir lands, &c'„ micb lands being reserved from sale and merely leased, and for which an Imperial enactment might be obtained to secure the bondholders • or even some a rangement might be made with the Imperial Government for obtaining the loan direct from it. or through its guarantee on the security of our lands at say 4 per cent, in terest. Theannualcharge on this loan should not exceed L 200.000 or L 250.000 per annum, winch would be met three or four times over by the. evenue derived from leasing the land, thus lea ying a large surplus for public works. &c., and above all enabling ns to dispense entirely wi' ntoe Custom House from our midst—thus iv .ucmg the price of almost all imported arti. les by about one-fourth.

! he advantages of this plan are more than I ''' 1 dilate upon in a single letter hut will sugfe* ■ ' themselves to tnost of your rGcirlsrp It would give to all the lands in this Province neuly equal value to that at Home, and would make Duimdm one of the greatest manufac fcunntf and rommjrcial emporiums in the Southern I am aware that many pe sons, actuated - hiefly by self-interest, are opposed to the leash g system, and advocate defei red payments and 1 1 now not what; but I cannot see any reason why he State should sell laud on deferred payments to n q, w individuals any more than it should sell mv, m-ns or other marketable, commodities on similar t '-ns if they happened to be in its possesiutn. dim State lauds are the property of the State—that is. of all the individuals comprising the community, anil should be used to the be;-t advantage for the benefit of all—not a favored few. I can quite understand that in the early days of a new Colony hind might even be given away to those who would make use of it, but in this Province we are now far beyond that stage. -I am, Ac., r\ j. ~ „ • Taxpayer. Dunedin, May 22.