THE Mount Ida Chronicle SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1876.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 365, 4 March 1876, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1876.

Two political events to come into prominence in the first.session of Parliament have their shadows already cast beforehand. The one is—a Colonial Land Law for New Zealand, irrespective of Provincial distinctions; the other is an Act authorising the sale of auriferous lands. One thing is quite clear—"Whether Otago likes it or not, her prosperity is to be drawn upon, as for years past, to supply the deficiencies of her less fortunate neighbors in the North. 'The Centralists at "Wellington do not love' the North, although Native lands are dear to them. _ On the contrary, the North Provincialists and the Centralists are as distinct and impossible of fusion aa oil and water. Hitherto the Centralists.have succeeded in taking the place of the oil, and floated uppermost. To,keep up the equilibrium the financial estate of the South is to be broken in upon. Whatever else happens, the present performers on the Ministerial stage must be kept in office. In order to find sons sufficient to purchase Jie support of a majority in the House the Native lands must still be kept in Colonial hands, to be dealt with as Ministers choose. The lands of Otago must also be freed from the present exemption from sale by being thrown open to the pastoral free selector, who has comparatively ruined Canterbury, and now lusts for the public estate of Otago. The local objection to the sale of auriferous lands is a stumbling-block in the way, and has first to be disposed of. The ' New Zealand Times,' of the sth instant, has the following in a leading article:— We have long been of opinion that the real solution of the difficulty which surrounds the goldmining industry in New Zealand is the granting of mining freeholds within Gold fields. This policy has succeeded in the United States amazingly, and we are satisfied it would succeed in New Zealand, which has such manifest advantages in the shape of an equable and temperate climate. If the General Government would introduce a Bill for this purpose next.session, based on the United States Statute |?regu]ating the sale of mineral lands, do more to attract population to New Zealand', and develop the mineral resources of the country than could be accomplished in any other way. Of course the whole system of administering the Goldfields must be changed, as we previously pointed out, but administrative changes have nothing to do with the policy of enabling goldminers to acquire mining freeholds within auiiferous areas. If this policy be carried out, a stream of immigration will soon set in from the neighboring Colonies, and an industrial population will be tied to lands which are now an unsightly wilderness. Disregarding the amazing nonsense of the quotation —the equable and temperate cbmate, the Btreams of immigration—the fact of the intention is evident. The very .depths of ignorance displayed in the article and its kin prove the idea as being advocated to

order. Northing can be more untrue than tbe statement of the success of the system in the United States. At the present time, m California, owing to complications in the ever-changing land laws, ft is almost impossible to buy land outside towns at all. The evil ib so great that occupiers of country for pastoral purposes are springing up who pay no rent to anyone, who nevertheless manage to get occupation, and are in a fair way to keep it, being a law to themselves. Accuracy is evidently not of consequence. It is necessary that the idea shall be propagated, and the ' New Zealand Times' ' tool is as good as any other, with the additional advantage of being handy. It will not be forgotten that the Un-der-Secretary for Crown lands is also Under-Secretary for Q-oldfields. We have a foretaste of the system at Maerewhenua. The Hon. Kobert Campbell, as is well known, secured there 10,000 acres of freehold. No one so vehemently denied the ariferous value of the country as the intending purchaser. Yet now parties of miners have got to pay Mr. Campbell a royalty every year to be allowed to utilise their water properties. The royalty charmed is far greater than the land destroyed is worth as agricultural or pastoral property. It is not clear to us by what right Mr. Campbell is able to assume, regal functions, and take advantage of the mineral value of his lands, against the Crown, in the absence of an Act authorising the sale of regardless of their auriferous qualities. It is not to the purpose to pursue the special case further at the present time. It is emblematic of the future. _ The sale of practically workable auriferous lands—which in nearly every instance are at the base or on the lower spurs of pastoral mountain ranges—would be simply to convert all working men who pursue mining into abject serfs, knowing no will but that of their landlords. The cockatoos in Canterbury at the present time, nearly all of whom are purchasing tenants, give an admirable idea of what would be the rule. At the late elections no constituency in Canterbury, excepting near a town, dared to support a candidate will of the runholder capitalist. In a very few months a Colonial Land Law will be in everyone's mouth. The base of that law will be the Canterbury system. Remembering what the Premier said in Dunedin a short time ago about his disappointment that Otago was sacrificing her lands, and so, to a certain extent, neutralising the public works policy, we may be sure the price will be raised; the deferred payment provisions will be struck off, as "inconvenient ; and free selection will be the law. Nothing but the strongest support of liberal measures by the people will stave off the realisation of the Stafford party's dream. They are content to keep Vogel in power so long as he can be utilised to do for them what they could not do for themselves. The working classes, especially of Otago, will need to be vigilant in time. No one supposes but that when the shoe pinches they will cry out. Their best friends could wish them to protect themselves reasonably always. If so, they would be spared the degradation of rushing into extremes of radical democracy, which destroys the influence they should hold in the intelligence of the country. In such case the lives of their best men would not be spent in attempting almost impossible reform, but in progressive advance.

"Wellington Harbor is now declared by the Premier to be unequalled in New Zealand, unless, indeed, by the Waitemata. Those who know the harbor, with its deliciously variable breezes, will be aware that such flattery would be very grateful to Wellingtonians. Yet in case the.compliment should be taken in too practical a shape, leading to political pressure for local borrowing powers to improve perfection, Sir Julius cleverly added that a harbor of sucn magnitude and value should be considered a Colonial possession. The beauty of innocence has been pointed out too often for additional examples to be paraded. We venture yet Jone more. Wellington believes in this harbor, flattery, and already reckons herself the commercial centre of New Zealand. As proof for the sceptical, she points to her great proved capacity of absorption of and superfluous cash. The imports value of the imports at the principal ports for 1875 was—at Dunedin, £2,747,586 ; Auckland, £1,558,355 ; Wellington, £1,201,648; and Lyttleton, £1,184,964. The same ports sent out exports valued—Dunedin, £1,719,792 • Lyttleton, £1,219,036; Auckland, £695,418 ; and Wellington, £673,752. Prom these figures clearly Wellington's commercial greatness is at present a greatness of absorption. Invercargill and ; Grey mouth jointly contributed more exports than the great central port. On the strength of these figures the ' New Zealand Times ' prophecies that in a few years Wellington will take the stcond place in the Colony. We are not told what distressing circumstances are to occur to retard Auckland and Lyttleton in the race of progress, but we are told of one little difficulty. The harbor is excellent; the powers of absorption are great; but thore is a mountain in the way-'' When the tunnel through the mountain is finished" a P*ff ailwav communication has been es"' the commercial supremacy of Wellington in the Colony will be assured." It has been conjectured that the tunnel spoken of is allegorical, and meant to represent latent commercial inactivity, i-he local advocate naively adds—" Until then (the piercing of the tunnel) all we can do is to make the best use we can'of our opportunities." No doubt, as the need is great, the opportunities available will not be neglected. Wellington is evidently prepared to go any length in the direction ot communism of goods. Nothing but separation of the two Islands under one federal head will be suflicient to cure the evil.

It will not be surprising to the readers of the above that Wellington supports a Philosophical Society. This Society held

its annual meeting lately. The proceedings were of a lively and learned ter. In an orthodox way, the proceedings were commenced witb the inevitable discussion about moa remains—the Hoh. Mr. Mantell expressing his belief in t}»~ existence of the living species, one or" which he yet hoped to bag for the institute. Among other erudite papers announced as having been read daring the yearwas "Notes on Gerygone Flavlventus." This was a debateable pamphlet in reply. A more striking enquirv still appears to be paper 7—" Is Access to the bea Necessary for Eels ? " No. 10—" On a ne,v species of shag, proposed to be called ' phakcrocorax finschi." It would be anticipating the scientific readers' pleasure to dip further into this very entrancing catalogue, telling what is in store for them when they procure their copies ot Vol. VIII. of the " Transactions and Proceedings/' We commend the papers to the editors of the New Zealand Magazine as a hint towards suggestive titles. Our non-scientific friends will be relieved to know that the learned pundits of Wellington had enough of the flesh and blood element left at the close of the evening to talk of a possible social indulgence in "tea and coffee.