THE WEEK.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 62, 13 March 1875, Page 2

THE WEEK.

Mr Yogel appears to have accomplished the chief object of his visit to England. He has made arrangements for obtaining four millions more than we owed before, so that public works are likely to be proceeded with for some time longer. For this he is entitled to the thanks of the New Zealand public, for the tack he had set himself was a difficult one, and required the exercise of no little tact in bringing it to a successful termination. He was right in telegraphing that the money was not to be obtained upon such favorable terms aa the last loan, which, if I remember right, stood at 955, while the present one is quoted at 93. This reduction of 2\ per cent appears to be, and is, but a trifle when dealing with hundreds only, but when we get into millions it becomes a matter of Borne little importance. For instance, in the present case the difference between 93 and 95J means on the four millions a loss of £100,000 to the colony, or, say, the price of a Nelson and Foxhili railway, so while we rejoice at getting the money we must not forget that we have to pay for it pretty handsomely. However the cash was necessary to our welfare, and essential to the carrying out of our present policy, so I suppose we must be thankful for getting it at any price. It is a fine thing to have such a lot of money to spend, but it is just as well when we are talking about our undoubted present prosperity, and boasting of our vigorous prosecution of public works to keep in view the fact that a day of reckoning has to come. With plenty of borrowed funds in the chest, wherewith not only to undertake new works, but to pay the interest upon the cost of those that are completed, we could not well be otherwise than temporarily prosperous, but what is our position to be when thrown entirely upon our resources, when the Rothschilds, instead of advancing more money, want to be paid out of our income the interest upon that already lent to us, for which interest we are to be entirely dependent upon the funds accruing from the works constructed with the money borrowed ? I have no desire to croak, or in nny way to assert that the returns from the expenditure of our loans will not be ample to meet both interest and sinking fund, but I think it just as well that we should not be too much elated with cur present prosperity to give an occasional thought to the future, or to remember the terms J'pon which our temporary well being ia purchased. Therefore a writer in the press only does his duty in now nnd then reminding his readers of what are not matters of speculation but actual facto. "You'll see. CUKngwood will one of these days prove as rich a mineral district as any iv the colony." Has not everyone who has resided in Nelson for a few years often heard this stntnraeut, sometimes been disposed to believe it (Perseverance mine for instance), and at others thought it was all noueense? (Perseverance again, for this celebrated mine illustrates both sides of the quesiion.) Well, there really appears now to be a very good chance of the prediction so often uttered and so fondly believed in, proving correct at last. [ suppose directors and managers of Companies always try to put as favorable an aspect as possible upou their prospects, but the reports recently published by the Para Para Company deal more with facts than hopes and prophecies, and when we learn what has been done, and the little that remains to be accomplished before the coal from the Collingwool mice is brought into the market in large quantities we cannot but feel a little sanguine as to the results of the works that are being carried on. The supply of coal once ensured, there will be very little delay in commencing operations upon the iron, so that ere the current year ha 3 passed away we may hope to see two very important and wealth-producing industries in full work iv the now belauded, now despised, district of Collingwood. In addition to this, we are informed that the West Wanganui coal mine has been handed over to a new proprietary, who expect to be very shortly in a position to plpce a good supply of tho well-known coal to be found in that part of the country in the market, and we also hear most encouraging reports of the yields and prospects of the Anatori reefs, so that on the whole I think it is not too much to say that Collingwood (which in the generally accepted sense of the name embraces the whole district between Blind Bay and the western coast) ia decidedly looking up. And after all the fluctuations through which it has passed, I think it will be generally admitted that it is quite time it did. There is a popular belief that readers of newspapers are not satisfied unless the columns of the journals to which they are subscribers occasionally contain something that is sensational. News of this particular kind has certainly not been wantiog during the present week, but the sensation, unfortunately, has been of the most painful kind. First there was the intelligence of the wreck of ihe Gothenburg, although we were left in doubt concerning the fate of the passengers; this was speedily followed by the full particulars of the loss of the Cospatrick by that most awful of all calamities at sea— Ore, with all the harrowing details of the burning of the ship, the awful loss of life by which it was accompanied, and the fearful sufferings of those who escaped in the boat that was picked up; and then

there came the fuller news of the Gothenburg disaster informing us that on that occasion nearly one hundred lives had been lost. It is long since the columns of New Zealand newspapers have been so crowded with news of so melancholy a nature. Still longer may it be before they contain such another painful list of disasters so fatal to human life. Within the last two or three months these terrible mishaps have been only too frequent. The Coßpatrick, the La Plata, the Japan, the Mongol, and the Gothenburg have all been lost within that time, and on each occasion has there been a most lamentable loss of life. Truly may it be said that naiafortuues do not happen singly. Just now we certainly have had them in battalions. If writing weekly letters for the newspapers were not so remouerative an occupation, 1 should certainly be disposed to go in for hop growing. What matters it that there was a severe gale last year, which damaged the crops and deprived the proprietors of the gardens of many a score of pounds? All that that has been forgotten long since, at least by those w ho were not personally interested and now we bear of hundreds of bushels having been gathered in excess of the yield of last season, if not of the anticipations of the growers, and we know that the prices ruling are far superior to those that have been obtainable for some years past. No wonder if the housing of the last load should be celebrated by a little jollification, or if hoppickers rejoice over ihe extra number of bushels they had to be paid for gathering, or the hopgrowers over the additional bales they required for packing the produce of iheir gardens. Yes, I really should like to be the owner of a large number of acres of hops, always provided that 1875 crops and 1875 prices were unfailingly to be obtained. But not having such good fortune I must content myself with the pleasure — and I can aesura them that it is a real and a sincere one — of congi'atulating the growers upon the successful termination of their year's labors. F. {For remainder of News see fourth page.)