The Evening Star TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1876.

Evening Star, Issue 4011, 4 January 1876, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, JANUARY 4, 1876.

It is said that no ono can properly understand the period in which he lives. Perhaps this is true. The state of $e world, or a nation at a given moment, the. consequence of a variety of i widely differing causations, some imme- ; diate in their results, while others are I hidden in the fur past. And were it possible for anyone to possess the means of collating all the impulses that have given form to the social and political phases of his own time, he would hardly be an impartial critic, because ■to a greater or less extent he would necessarily be biassed by sympathy with classes whose desires, ideas, and ( feelings coincide with his own. Yet imperfect as such a task must necessity be, it is advisable to look back at stated periods, for it is only through knowledge of the past that we prepare wisely for the future. The year 1875 has gone. It has not apparently been a very eventful one for the historian. There have been no startling events tending suddenly to shake the stability of Provinces or Kingdoms. There have been wars and rumors of wars, but they were confined to nations whose influence is limited. The disturbance caused by their movement has not been felt much beyond the limits

of their own nationalities. In many respects 1875 may be regarded as a year of harvest, for during its progress the fruit has been gathered of seeds of error sown years ago. There is a fashion growing up among the younger race of scientific men of applying Darwin’s theory of development to the exposition of social and political questions. Divested of the attributes which seem its chief charm --novelty and mystery—the maxim is revealed, “ That which a man sows he will also reap.” Years are required oftentimes for the growth of the plant from good or evil seed, but its growth is sure. Commerce in 1875 reaped the evil of the civil war in America, and of the speculative system of railroad monopolies of the United States. Many, who could not see beyond the immediate effect, imagined the evil consequences of that war were fully felt in the ruin that fell upon the Southern States. Few ever thought that the victors would suffer, and with them the world—none can tell how long. It was predicted by enthusiasts that the abolition of slavery would be followed by prosperous reconstruction. But it has not. The loan, by the help

of which the Northern States crushed the South, hangs a, dead weight upon the industry Q f the nation, inducing wide-spread poverty and bankruptcy at Recurring more or less according to the results br the people’s labor. The year 1875 was one of them. There was nothing in the state of the world, apart from financial derangement, to interfere with the commercial prosperity that has marked the history of the past four years. There might have been a slight decrease in demand at Home for manufactured goods, because as wheat 'O© in price living cost more, and hn OciDS-'i used to say “ a man causiOt put his money on to his buck and, into his stoma, oh too/’ So, if he

speodfi all in buying fo#d, be bas not wherewith to buy clothing. But there was no reason, excepting that America could not pay its debts, for the bankruptcies, the tightness of money, the slack trade, the reduction of wages, and the fall in the price of wool that took place in 1875. Men are slow to accept the lessons of history, or statesmen would be wiser. Our reading of the matter is, that the world is reaping the bitter fruit of an influential nation going a wrong way about a right thing. It was right to abolish slavery, but wrong to do it by war. America has to pay interest on an immense loan, wasted in war, and on a war that ruined the reproductive powers of the country. It was literally for

the purpose of cutting its own throat. It is doubtful whether even yet more bleod will not be shed, for a war of races is by no means improbable. To moral, social, and , political derangement—the fruit of war—is mainly owing the comparative dulness of trade during the past year. We trust the result upon the trade of Great' Britain and New Zealand, as a con-; sequence, may be considered past,; at any rate for this crisis. Should seasons be favorable, trade will revive. It is gratifying that in this Colony, amidst the party and political strife that have been evoked, so little depression has followed the adverse commercial current of 1875. It is undeniable that the effect was to put a drag upon our progress, which many will attribute to other and more specious causes. A popular mistake in this matter is much to be feared, as it may lead to a pressure being brought upon the , Government to adopt measures 'calculated to intensify rather than to cure the evil.

So far as politics are concerned nothing need be said. Every one knows the questions of the day, and enough has been said concerning them to enable all men to make up their minds. In the present state of the elections, no one can predicate the course of events for 1876. A Ministry with a definite policy has always an advantage over an Opposition without one. It has something predetermined; while the other seems to wait for the chapter of accidents to take advantage of an Executive blunder or a popular impulse. This is the position of New Zealand at present. The Ministry is to all appearance united—the Opposition divided. Fortunately, although governments can assist or retard progress they cannot stay it. Development rests with the people, who are really the Government, and we trust no act of theirs will throw any impediment in the way of 1876 being a happy and prosperous year. That it may prove so to each of our readers is our earnest wish.