The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 1874.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume IX, Issue 189, 11 August 1874, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 1874.

We give below an extract from Mr Vogel's speech, in reply, upon the question of the second reading of the State Forests Bill, in which he alluded to Mr Fitzherbert, the Superintendent of Wellington, as the "blue gum of New; Zealand." Our object in doing so is td show how unfairly the Province of Nelson has been, and is still to be, treated, as compared with what has been done for Wellington. In reading the figures given by Mr Vogel, it should be remembered that for our own province, with a population but very little short of that of Wellington, the sum authorised for railways is £222,000. Of course it would have distressed us to hear our Superintendent called " a blue gum," but it might, perhaps, have been better for us had he possessed some of the ravenousuess and ferocity ascribed by tbe Premier to Mr Fitzherbert. If instead of £222,000, we could, like Wellington, boast of having £644,000 voted for our railways we could hava put up with an opprobrious terra or two being applied to the beud of the Province. The following is from the A^.Z. Times report of Mr Vogel's speech:--" He held in bis band a statement showing the amount of tbe expenditure of the General Government on the Province of Wellington during

tbo years 1869 to 1874, Ave years; and hon. members would bo startled to know that the total expenditure by the Colony, or hy means provided by it through loaoa, had boen no less than £770,939. As tbe return of the revenue of Wellington was only made up for three years he would compare the three years. The Provincial amounts were— reeeived from land, £92,000; from Provincial revenue, £63,000, or a total of £156,000. During three years the Colony spent in Wellington £623,000, as against £156,000 provided by tbe province itself. The peace of mind of the members of the General Government had also to be considered, for he could not conceive a more disagreeable position than living in a city where the lesser Government made it its business to;do all it possibly could to teach every man, woman, and child in tbe place, that the Colony was their natural enemy. He knew of a case where some small sum— £s or £10— was asked for from the Provincial Government, and the reply was, " Really, we have no doubt about your claim, Mr Voge! is doing all he can to make the Province bankrupt, and we must bo just before we are generous." (Laughter). Just fancy living io a town where this kind of thing is going on! If they were to have the extra duties to perform, they had better do them; but he would rather be a constable than a detective. He would rather know what duties he had to perform, than to constantly be under a sense of pain fulness about what was really taking place around him. After what had been done for Wellington, it was shameful ingratitude on tbe part of (he Superintendent oi Wellington to come down and make such charges against the General Government and the Colony which bad done so much to advance the interests of ihe Province. Let them look at these things. He had a statement of the expenditure op immigration. Up to June 30 last, £162,000 had been spent, of which amount Wellington obtained £83,000, against £79,000 for the rest of the North Island, Then £5,575,000 was altogether voted for railway purposes, of which Wellington, with one-tenth of the revenue and a tenth of the popula- ( tion of the Coiony, bad already been J voted £644,000 for railways; besides which the Government had a^ked for £112,000 for the line to Wanganui, £30,000 for the Masterton and Foxton lice, £50,000 for the Patea-Wanga-nui line; and provision would have to be made for Wanganui-Manawatu, one of the gaps not yet completed, for which something like £300,000 would have to be voted this or some year. And tbat was the manoer the Colony was assisting this poor Province that all were so {inclined to sit upon. This was the Province tbe House was asked to ehed tears over, and the condition for which the member for the Hutt so pathetically described."