CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume V, Issue 164, 14 July 1870, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE FINANCIAL STATEMENT,

To TnE Editor op the Nelson Evening Mail;

Sir— l have read in the Colonist of Tuesday last a report of the proceedings of a public meeting held in Nelson, and the comments on those proceedings in the same paper, in which tlie writer dwells on the folly of those who were the first movers in this matter. I think, Sir, the sarcastic tone of the writer's remarks was scarcely deserved, as I can quite imagine persons being startled by such a proposal as that of borrowing ten millions of money by a colony like this, already in debt beyond all reason, and the people taxed immeasurably beyond their means of paying. It really seems so much like a dishonest trader, in a hopeless state ol bankruptcy, borrowing as long as he can obtain money, and paying the interest of the old debts out of the new loans, that I cannot disabuse my mind of the feeling that there is a large amount of recklessness about this scheme, and what is more, I fear from the confidence with which Mr. Yogel talks of appealing to the country, that if the matter is not very j carefully considered by the electors, should they have to decide, it has a chance of receiving more support than such a proposition deserves. The country is in so depressed a state and so many people see failure and bankruptcy staring them in the face, that, like drowning men who catch at straws, it is just possible they might record the'/ votes in favor of men to represent them in the new Parliament' who might perchance support such a scheme. I hope it may not be so, and that Mr. Yogel may , prove a false prophet, and would earnestly beg of tliose who may think of doing so, to pause ere they give their support to such a proposition, for they will find the scheme will never be fully carried out. Although the million to be guaranteed by the Imperial Government will be obtained, investors in Europe will look with suspicion on fo reckless a scheme of borrowing so large an amount of money to be added to the already large consolidated debt of this Colony. And in what is this money to be spent ? In making (if it ever gets beyond the first start) railways through the length and breadth of New Zealand, such railways passing as tbey would through, in many cases, long distances of barren and worthless country. How is it posi sible that they could pay the interest on the i money they cost in their construction ? Even 1 after years spent in the developement of all the available rescaurses of the better parts of the country, they would scarcely be likely to do so. When it is considered that with all the large traffic and high civilization of the old countries of Europe their railways do not pay, how much less likely is it that they do so here, but in the meantime the interest on the borrowed money will have to be paid ; that part of the speculation will certainly have to be fulfilled as long as the money can be extracted from the people; of course there are some portions of our population who would benefit, such as traders and merchants who, for a time if the money were borrowed, would have a chance of making large profits, by much such a style of trading as is pursued on a goldfield. everything being of a temporary and precarious character the trading would be as reckless as the actions of the Government. A few would make : their-for-tunes, but many would lose'their-a11.7 7 " '; ;

Referring again to the proceedings at the meeting, the first resolution, and the. amendment, it appeared to- me in reading . the report that the supporters of the amendment dweltjbut little on the loan business; but more upon the- expediency of some protection being accordedLto; local industries; this bugbear of protection being mixed up with the wish to. express an opinion against this tremendous proposal of borrowing ten millions, was a- mistake; for there are no doubt many who would agree with ime that it would be; wise to assist to develop -local industries by affording them a moderate .amount of protection; but. who would also with ; me object altogether to such wholesale-borrowing. There is little doubt that without some such assistance it will be many years before we are able to start manufactories to any appreciable, extent in New Zealand, and therefore such protections or hounities become almost necessary, .again it is worthy of consideration, whether, 6d -per bushel being levied upon imported wheat, is worse -than the opposite result of £319:000 going out bf th£ country annually for imported grain and flour.

The Colonial Treasurer says he does not think the taxation of the country-will be increased by this scheme • as a good financier and one who assisted tri oust the late ministry .od the plea, of extravagance he should talk of some plan to rer duce the taxation, instead of simply referring to tte possibility of there being hoTricrease. There will, without doubt, be the same fictitious appearance of prosperity while spending this borrowed money, which till within this last year or so we have been enjoying by -somewhat similar arrangements, with this difference, that formerly there was some appearance of giving security for the money borrowed, in the first place by nearly every, private person having mortgaged his property, and afterwards by the Governments, General and Provincial, borrowing equal amount on what we may , call a second mortgage, it is now proposed to repeat the process, by mortgaging" our colonial honor, for we certainly have no other security to give. lam really not at all surprised that certain persons in Nelson were sufficiently startled to make them (without, perhaps, sufficient consideration), propose a resolution em-: bodying principles, which would : have been better put in two separate propositions; It is to be hoped our representatives in the Assembly: will give this proposal of Mr. Yogel their most serious consideration, for as one of the speakers at the meeting said, the spending of this borrowed money will be very jolly while it lasts, but will; be very-serious afterwards. ( • , -• j I cannot understand those : supporters Of our old; cautious Nelson-Provincial policy now giving their countenance to this wholesale proposri of brrowing. i One of them at the meeting said that the scheme, merited favorable consideration, because thei Ministry had been so successful in stamping out: tfi'e Native 'war. I canriot conceive what connexion

these two questi ms have with each other. All Generals are not necessarily great financiers, and this is a question of finance, and not of war stamping, any further than as regards the acknowledged fact, that the guineas are the real strength of the fight. The same speakeralso referred to the advantage of having immigrants and capital introduced together.; no one I imagine will doubt the wisdom of that arrangement, but that the Capit:! should be borrowed, and supported by laying a lasting burden on the colony, is a question that deserves very grave consideration. Mr. Yogel says calculations prove (I would remind him of the old Scotch proverb—" That the best calculations of mice and men, &c.) that this proposition would not entail on the colony liabilities beyond what it could meet. " That he did not think extra taxation would be necessary," or "if it was," after three or four years, we should be compensated. I would ask our struggling colonists whether they are prepared to beir for three or fpur' years, greater. burdens than they are at present .laboring under, for the sake of Some' chimerical hope of something better turning up afterwards. I would ask those who art sanguine of the success of this scheme, to think of the 3,000,000 loan and the Waikato settlement scheme, which looked so well in Mr. Domett's memorandum ; at that time we were sure to have all the "money' recouped with a profit in the shape of thriving settlements, bat what did it all turn out, but a goldmine to certain contractors and a millstone about the necks of our taxpayers. . I know, Sir, of old colonists, and young men born here, or who have been so long •in the country as to be properly looked upon as New Zealanders, who have either left for Australia or are looking round them to see where they shall go to try their fortune, in fact, if those three or four years of Mr. Vogel's make things much worse, it will have the effect of driving some of our older population away, while we are taxing ourselves to introduce new immigrants to take their places. • . lam &c. Wm Gibbs. Totaranui, July, 1870.

f In order to discourage suicide, tho jCalifornian Legislature has passed an act authorising coroners and others to hand over the bodies of persons committing selfmurder to medical schools, or to any regular physician, for dissection. We, Australasian, understand that Caplain Noel Osborne, R.N., the agent of the British Australian Telegraph Company has had au interview with the gentlemen who are representing Tasmania at the Intercolonial Conference relative to the propriety of establishing telegraphic communication between. Tasmania aud New Zealand by means of a submarine cable. We believe the representatives of Tasmania have promised their hearty co-opera-tion in, the scheme. Captain Osborn will proceed from Sydney to New Zealand in order to lay his proposals before the Government of the Colony.

Useful Immigrants. — As an illustration of the class of immigrants that w.-re forwarded to the colony from Great Britain, Mr. Vale recently asserted in tlie Legislative. Assembly of Victoria, that a Mayor of an Irish town lately received a vole of thanks upon his retirement from office, the chief ground of such being that he had cleared tbe town of females of qestionable character, by providing thera with passages to Australia. Mr. Vale looks upon Mr. Tor revs' scheme of sending out to the colonies four or five hundred thousand souls before long, as nothing more than an attempt to foist upon the depenencies of tho British Crown a class of immigrants totally useless, aud, from their inability to provido for their families at home, are rapidly sinking iuto pauperism. — Melbourne Weekly Times.

Sporting. — The writer of turf gossip in the Leader notes that. Mr. Studholme's Kuottingley has been entered for the Tasmanian as well as the Melbourne Cup. He also gives us the following information : — That thoroughbred entire, the Peer, is for sale, and the terms are remarkably easy. Such a horse would be invaluable in some parts of the country, and should command a purchaser. He has for some time been located near Kilmore, where he has not received the patronage he deserved. The fact is, the stud owners about Melbourne make the necessary provision for their high bred dames at home, and there are no good mares about. Kilmore. Tliat he is the sire of that grand horse Manuka should of itself be. sufficient to recommend him, for it proves that, when his blood does nick, the result is indeed a rara avis, aod it is still a moot point, whether Manuka is not the best horse ever bred in this hemisphere.

. The- Following version of the authorship of the poem "Beautiful Snow" is given by the 'Australasian as the correct one : — Major Sigoumey was a nephew of the American poetess of. that name, and was first brought,, into notice by an exquisite composition entitled " Beautiful Snow," which went, the rounds of the press in. all English speaking countries. The circumstances under which the poem waa •written were r.omaDtic in. the extreme, and as they eventually led to .his suicide we will relate tHem. . In .early life he married a Miss .Filmore, a lady of great personal attractions, and with her made a voyage (o Europe. ' During their absence rumours unfavorable to her character reached tho Sigoumey family, reports seem to have been' well . founded, for shortly after her return to New York she showed

that the curse of the 19th century — the demon drink -r-had added another to the list of his victims. .'She abandoned her husband^ became aii outcast, and was next heard of as ; an inmate oil. the penitentiary bn BlackwelPs Island. Her'husband's love was still sufficiently strong to induce him to make another effort to save her, and through his'infltiehce ; she : was released, only again, todesert her home. "In the winter of 1853 the papers spoke of a young and beautiful woman having been found dead under the snow in a -disreputable street in New York. Something seemed toHell Major Sigoumey that the body was that of his wife.. . Upon making enquiry he found that his surmises were but too true, and after claiming the remains he had them interred. in that; picturesque; "silent city" which overlooks the-busy harbour of New York. The storynof,. that erring wife was told in the touching language of "Beautiful Snow." ' a ' :r