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Hawke's Bay Times, Issue 1523, 7 November 1873, Page 6

A company is in course of formation, with the Duke of Sutherland at its head, for the working of a patent taken out by Mr. Pender; M.P., for a system of machinery adapted to the manufacture of a new and apparently highly successful substitute for coal. The process in question is adapted for the production of two or three varieties of fuel, the materials employed being coal-dust, peat, crude shale oil, and shale tar, or other similar substances. The fuel that has been already made of coal-dust and tar has been found highly satisfactory in several important respects. It is capable of standing exposure to the weather, a quantity made at Dunrobin having remained uncovered during the whole of last winter without deterioration. It turns out to be particularly well adapted for the rapid raising of steam. Then, again, the amount of ash produced is so trilling tnat very little stoking is required ; and as for heating power, practical men will understand the value of a fuel which claims to have evaporated OJlb. of water for each pound consumed. With the present price of coaldust, it is expe"ted that the fuel made from it may be offered to the publie at something like 9s a ton. In the case of fuel, the basis of which is peat, a cheapo raw material will render it possible to sell the manufactured article at about 7s a ton.

The late Horace Greeley is credited with the following :—" It is strange how closely men read the papers. "We never say anything that anybody don't like, but we are sure to soon hear of it. If, however, once in a while, we happen to say a good thing, we never hear of that. We pay a man a hundred compliments, and give him a dozen puffs> make speeches for him, and out of nonsensical harangues made on public platforms make him say something brillanfc, and he takes it all as a tribute to his greatness, aud he never thinks it does him any good. But if we happen to say things this man don't like or something he imagines is a reflection on his character, see how quick he gets mad and flares up about it. All our evils are duly chalked against us ; but we never apparently gevft n y credit for what good we do,"

OUR PATERNAL GOVERNMENT. (" Nelson Examiner," 28th October.) It is not one of the least of the misfortunes with which (this hyper-govevned a country is afflicted that its affairs are managed by a set of men who have received their political education heaven knows where ; who, at all events, judged by their public acts, exhibit an utter want of sympathy with the principles of modern British statesmanship. We shall not dwell at the present time upon the avowed pro- ■ tectionist tendencies of the Ministry, though we must be allowed the remark, in i passing, that after the many years of discussion which the question of free trade 1 received from the ablest minds in Europe, and after the unanswerable proofs of its value which the experience of thirty years in England has given, it is most humiliating to hear the stupid old fallacies of protection once more revived, and to see people blindly following an exploded and iujurious theory. The whole tendency and character of the Colonial administration is different from that of England. Here the Colonial Government interferes in everything, even to going into the business of Life Assurance. There the Government limits itself to the maintenance of the great principles upon which social order ' and the national honor are based. In New Zealand, the community is being , trained to lean upon the Government, and t to have everything done for it. In England, Englishmen pre encouraged to help themselves; and they possess, in consequence, an amount of vigor and self-reli-ance which no coddled community will I ever exhibit. In New Zealand, a high 1 scale of taxation is advocated by some ■ of its leading politicians as conducive to ' the prosperity of the country, and dearness ' is encouraged by the circulation of large sums of borrowed money. In England, the great object which each successive '•■ Chancellor of the Exchequer places before ■ himself is to reduce taxation, and in : every possible way to produce cheapness ; and abundance. The policy of England is based upon far-sighted and liberal views ■ of the national advantage, The management of the public affairs in New Zealand ; is short-sighted and false in political '< economy. We have yet to learn what may be the outcome of the lavish borrowing and expenditure of the present period. The wisest, and those who have most to lose, regard it with the utmost anxiety. In England the result of the opposite system has been a development of wealth such as our fathers never dreamed of; surpassing that of any other part of the globe. No doubt within the last thirty years fine cities have been reared in the wilderness. San Francisco, Chicago, and Melbourne are wonderful instances of the sudden development of wealth and population. But the old country has not been standing still. We don't hear much about it, because in the first place Englishmen don't " blow," and in the second place, they are not new places or new prodigies ; but we believe that the addition of late years to the wealth of London, Glasgow, Liverpool, and Manchester, for example, considerably surpasses that of those new cities whose existence strikes the imagination in virtue of their youth. Let us see how the Colonial Government is dealing with one of the most important interests of the colony. Our readers will be able to judge when we have placed the facts before them, whether its action is in accordance with the dictates of a wise and far-sighted system of management ; or, on the other hand, is shortsighted and unwise. On the West Coast of this island, in the province of Nelson, and also in Westland, there is a coal-field of vast extent, containing a great quantity of the mineral of the very best quality. Up to the present time this priceless coalfield has remained unworked, owing to the existence of various obstacles, among which the want of a good harbor, and the high rate of freight ruling, may be considered perhaps as the principal. The result is that New Zealand, with an abundance of the best coal within her own limits, sends annually to Newcastle, and pays large sums of money for an article of inferior quality. The parallel in private life would be that of a man who had a quantity of coal in his back yard, but in consequence of its being lumbered up with other goods which he would have to remove, finds it cheaper to send to the merchant for his coal, and pay the current price out of his pocket as he goes along. Of late, among the other incidents of material activity, a great deal of attention has been directed to this coal-field ; and the Nelson Land Office has been besieged by applications from different parties, residents within the colony, and outsiders in different parts of Australia, all desirous of opening up coal-mines, which shall be at one and the same time a source of profit to themselves and of advantage to the colony generally. There exists, in short, at the present time, a belief that these vast deposits of coal may be profitably worked, and a desire on the part »f many persons to engage in working them. The operations of most of these parties have not extended as yet beyond applications for prospecting licenses, with the exception of the Albion Company, which has been established for some Jmonths, has raised a considerable amount of capital, and is at the present moment actively employed in clearing out the channel of the Ngakawhau river, and getting coal ready for shipment. A steamer, which will carry 150 tons of coal, has been purchased by the company, and in the course of a fortnight will be at the Ngakawhau. The directors trust and expect to be able to export their coals direct from Ngakawhau to any part of the colony; and it is clear that the result of the success of their operations, as regards Nelson, would be this: that being the nearest harbor to Ngakawhau accessible to ships of large tonnage, Nelson has the best chance of becoming a depot for coal, to which steamers would resort for their necessary fuel. As regards the effect of the development of the coal-fields generally upon the

material progress of the colony, it is hardly possible to over-estimate its importance. Population, manufactures, and wealth exist in other parts of the world in the ratio of the abundance and cheapness of coal—-if, indeed, we, may [not add to this iron, of which it appears also that this colony is fortunate in possessing a large suppply.

Now, under existing circumstances, what should be the duty of the Government of the colony! Here is a source of wealth of the highest value, and a number of individuals, some at work and others prepared to go to work, to make it available. It would be quite competent for the colony to say—we will keep this coal-field in our own hands, and we will work it ourselves, and reserve to ourselves the accruing profits (if any). That, at all events, would be a consistent course of proceeding, though not an advisable one. This sort of thing has often been tried, and has always proved a failure. The style of doing work known as the " Government stroke," comes in the way with fatal effect, and proves an effectual bar to financial success. The true policy of the Government is to take advantage of the individual enterprise which is being brought to bear upon this most important industry, and to give every fair and legitimate facility to those persons who are risking their capital, and giving their time and labour to an object from which, if successful, the community generally will reap so great an advantage. It wants no statesmanship to see what should be done under the circumstances. Any tradesman or man of common sense will tell you that the qommunity should give every encouragement to those who are developing its coal-fields. There is another course. Coal leases are in demand, and the colony may make a few pounds by doubling its royalty upon coals raised, and increasing the dead rent per acre. There is an unpleasant rumor afloat that something of this sort is going to be done, and that the plea for such a miserable and suicidal proceeding is that it is necessary to create a security for the repayment of the railway to Westport. It is further reported that the Colonial Government has required the Superintendent to warn the Albion Company that unless they carry out the terms of their lease to the utmost tittle, it will be forfeited. The Albion Company has been working without intermission since its formation, and is working away at the present moment in an honest and bonil fide manner. One of the conditions of its lease is that it is to get out 5,000 tons of coal in the first year. Notwithstanding the unremitting labor of the directors, there remains now only six months to fulfil this condition. It is not likely that the company will be able literally to do this, although they have been doing their best. It is Shylock over again. The Colonial Government instructs the Superintendent to demand his pound of flesh, and if it cannot be given the company is to be extinguished. It is high that the colony should know how the Government treats private enterprise, and it is not an inopportune time, seeing that a general provincial election is coming off, that the people of Nelson should know how the General 'Government proposes to deal with a company the head-quarters of which are in Nelson, and from the operation of which Nelson may expect to receive very substantial advantages. It is quite possible that in this movement a suspicious eye might detect the effects of a Westport influence. Westport very probably looks upon the Buller coal-field as its appanage; and demands as a matter of right that all the coal of that coal-field shall be shipped at Westport, The development of the most important coal-field of the colony is to be subsidiary to the aggrandisement of Westport, or in the eyes of the inhabitants of that rising town it possesses comparatively little value. The General Government has undertaken to make a railway from Ngakawhau to Westport, and to protect the banks of the river at Westport itself from further encroachments from the floods. This railway, when made, will be of very considerable service to the Albion Mine. It will afford an opportunity of shipping an amount of coal much greater than can be sent away by the Ngakawhau river alone. But the Albion Company is anxious to lose no time: and having the Ngakawhau river within a few yards of its mine, it desires to commence shipping the coal at once. If the Ngakawhau river proves available, and there is every reason to think so, the Ngakawhau coal will be in Nelson in a very few weeks; and the first step will have been taken towards the solution of the problem of the development of the Buller coalfield. We venture to say that it will not generally be believed throughout the colony that a company rendering such services as those described will mee* with anything but the most considerate treatment and support from the Colonial Government, and yet it is reported upon very good authority that it is threatened with forfeiture of its lease. The Government may be very strong, but there are things that a Government cannot do. It cannot defy all principles of fair play, justice, and common senss. People only want to know it; and when they know it, they won't stand it. The development of the coalfields of the colony is of too great importance to bo marred by any such narrow-mindedness as this.