The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 1891. The Exodus

Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 22, 20 August 1891, Page 2

The Feilding Star. THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 1891. The Exodus

! The Ministry some time ago made a promise to the effect that they would make some efforts to put a stop to the exodus which was depleting the vital energy of the colony by the continued . withdrawal of the best class of young men, who were leaving to try th-eir fortunes in other lands. They must have found the performance of that promise more difficult than they anticipated, because the departures still -continue at an average of about one hundred per week, and it would seem as if tho -earl can only come when there are none left but the poor property or land owners, the aged and the destitute, who cannot possibly make their escape. The newspapers ; of the otiaer colonies hold out no in- : ducements for these people to leave : New Zealand, nor do private itulivi- ' cfuals who are settled there, because the latter give 'the moat discouraging ; replies to friends here who write over for information. As a case in point, we quote the following extract from a letter received from Melbourne by an Auckland rflnideiit, from a relative in that city. He is an artizan, and ! says : — " There are over 11,000 men •out of employment in Melbourne. The, . Government has responded to a wide- 1 spread agitation, and provided work! up country for those who care to go ; stone- breaking and scrub-cutting. It I is believed they would not have done ! tliia 'but that the elections are approaching, and they are afraid «f the lal.or vote. To give you an idea of the di6tre«B caused by the strikes, the depression, ami the floods, I may tell you that I .see crowds of fine muscular fellows waiting every d;ty foe a basin of soup. It is pitiable. Some of them are well dre6sed ; the majority of them clean. If some of the worktnen in your colony saw this sort of things they would think twice before

coming to this ' land of gold.' " This picture, sad as it is, is absolutely true, we firmly believe. We also believe that these stein facts are known to every man who leaves the colony, but each and all of them npnear to prefer to lace the known or on en own dangers and privation e possible in another country, to remaining in New Zealand where political affairs are so badly managed and the possession of wealth is a crime. We do not hold the present or preceding .Governments responsible. We hold no one responsible but the people themselves who, iu the first instance, sent men to represent them in Parliament aud who, on their part with a few noble exceptions, have in the end proved utterly unfit for ao honorable a position. Let any man look back on the history of Parliament for tire last ten or fifteen years, and he %vill learn the causes which, during the whole of that period, have been steadily at work, and producing the effect iQow known as " the exodus." The most direet cause has been that folly known as " Party Government." That system may be, and no doubt does very well in an old country like Eng*land, but it is no more suitable to the circumstances of the Parliament of New Zealand than to those of a vestry or Road Board. The malevolent con • sequences of this inherited foolishness, and the faddic legislation it has permitted to be inflicted on the people, are becoming more and more apparent every day, and unless the system is utterly abolished, the downward course we have followed 3b many years will continue until we arrive at the final catastrophe of bankruptcy. We do not expect there will be any great change for the better, until that day comes when the Electoral Laws are so amended, that the electors will choose their candidates, instead of, aB at present, the candidates choosing the electors. Only then can we expect the people to be truly represented. So far as this district is concerned where the land is good, and the best class of settlers have been encouraged to settle upon it, there has been a positive increase in the population, as was shown by the last census ; but we fear we are the one glorious exception in the colony, which tests the rule.