The Globe. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1878.

Globe, Volume XX, Issue 1471, 2 November 1878, Page 2

The Globe. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1878.

Anything more crude or ill-considered than the proposal of the Hou. J. Macandrew with regard to direct steam communication with England coidd scarcely be imagined. The series of resolutions proposed by him would, had they been adopted by the House, have committed the colony to an enormously expensive service tor live years with nothing like an adequate return. It would hardly be attempted to be asserted that a direct lino, such as proposed, would supersede our present mail route. If wo were to pay a largo subsidy for the insuring of direct steam communication with England, wo should not be able to utilise it as a moans of carrying our mails. Therefore the present subsidies to the San Francisco and Sue/, linos would have to bo continued, and in addition, this new burden. As it is now the colony has just as much as it can do to pay the cost of the two lines, which are of practical benefit, in the shape of conveyance of mails. What then would be our position with a third subsidy added, in return for which wo should receive nothing except the honour and glory of a large steamer arriving at our ports every month P It will thus Ijo soon that the warmest advocates of the scheme cannot claim for It any credit on this score. It was further proposed by the resolution that the Government should guarantee 800 statute adult immigrants per month during the period of live years, for which the contract was to remain in force. It is worthy of notice that 1 ho mover of these resolutions, though proposing to cast upon tho colony for five years, not only the payment of a very heavy subsidy, but the cost of a scheme of immigration, which would, as a patter of fact, be far wore

costly than our present one, did not give a single statistic or quote one solitary figure to show what the cost would he, or to prove that advantage would accrue to us. The one point which appears to have been urged by him as a reason why the House should accept the proposals was that it would promote immigration, particularly female immigration. The member who followed the mover most completely disposed of this theory by asserting that to carry out the system of immigration as proposed by Mr. Macaudrew would cost £150,000 per annum more than now. This not being denied in any way, and in the absence of any figures to support the arguments of the proposer of the resolutions, must be taken at any rate as approximately correct. No stronger proof could be given of the utter want of preparation or rather of consideration of the matter than this. A member of the Government brings down a proposal of the most important character to pledge the credit of the colony for five years, and is unable to bring forward any tangible arguments in favor of its being adopted. Nay, more than this, a portion of his scheme, so far from being a saving of money to the colony, is stated to impose an extra charge of £150,000 per annum without, so far as we can see, being the slightest improvement on the present arrangements. Of the probability of the colony having to pay a large subsidy there can be no doubt. To establish a line of steamers such as the one proposed would cost a very large sum of money, and would require a company of great resources. The trade of this colony that they would get would be, compared to the enormous cost of such a largo fleet, hardly anything, and therefore, as the only means of paying interest on their capital they would have to depend almost wholly upon the subsidy of the Government, which, therefore, would have to be exceedingly large. We confess it is impossible to see what advantage wo are to derive from the establishment of this costly line. We cannot send our mails by it, and our immigration can be conducted much more cheaply and quite as effectively by the present system. What then do wo gain ? Nothing. On the contrary, apart from the question of subsidy, we contend that the establishment of such a lino would prove disastrous to the colony, and more particularly to one of its local institutions. Supposing the line of steamers proposed to bo largely subsidised by the Government, and also given a monopoly of the immigration, they would bo enabled to take cargo at such rates as would drive one of our most important local institutions, the New Zealand Shipping Company out of the field, It may be said that the shippers, i.e., the public will bo the gainers by low freights. True, so they will, but it must also be remembered that they are paying heavily for it in another way through the public treasury, besides aiding in the suppression of a local institution the profits of which remain in the colony and are invested therein. We trust that a firm opposition will be shown by the House to every scheme of this kind, proposed without any information as to probable results being afforded, and so committing the colony to an almost indefinite expenditure for a term of years.