The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, MAECH 27, 1866.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 20, 27 March 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, MAECH 27, 1866.

When the gold discoveries of Westland had first attracted a large population to that District, aud Hokitika had become a place of considerable importance, the Canterbury Government resolved to connect their chief town with the new El Dorado, by means of the Electric Telegraph, it was imperative upon them to do something of this sort ; for the two portions of their province were so separated by the mountainous and impenetrable nature of the intervening country, that ordinary means of communicatiou throughout the year was practically impossible, aud the Government officials in the newcountry had to receive their instructions frequently from the seat of Government. But s although a telegraph was absolutely necessary for the use of the Government, still it was doubtless considered desirable that every inducement should be held out to the mercantile community, to cause them to avail themselves of its use upon every possible occasion, for the transmission of business messages, so as to yield a good return for the outlay. The use the Ch.ristcb.urch merchants could make of the telegraph is very limited ; for, although Ilokitika is within the Canterbury province, the principal business connections of its merchants and traders are with Nelson aud Dunetlin, and if the mercantile community make use of the Canterbury line it must be in connection with those ports.

Now, the telegraph lines of the General Government, from all the ports of the Middle Island pass through Christchurch, and the Provincial Government line is connected with them; therefore it is by that means available to all the provinces of the island. Anyone would have thought that the Canterbury Government would have been most anxious that the merchants of every port should make use of their line as much as possible, and would have offered them j every inducement to do so ; but no, this enlightened administration of the model i province seems to have decided that their line of telegraph was only for the use of their own people, and that if any of the inhabitants of the other provinces required its use they should pay double charges. Setting aside the fact that these double charges can be easily evaded, it is evident that such a policy as this must speedily work its own downfall, its tendency will undoubtedly be to restrict the use of that line by the inhabitants of the other provinces to the most important subjects, and so to prevent it being brought into general use ; situated as Canterbury is with regard to its western population, this line is absolutely necessary to preserve the unity of their province ; but the Canterbury Government will soon discover that the occasions that their own ]3eople will have for the use of their telegraph will yield but poor returns, and as both Nelson and Dunedin have such frequent steamboat communication with Westland, an advantage which is denied to Christchurch, they can without any great inconvenience dispense altogether with its use ; therefore as the Canterbury Government cannot afford to keep such an expensive concern merely to look at, we may expect soon to hear of an equalisation of the scale . of charges.