The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1876.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 179, 20 July 1876, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. THURSDAY, JULY 20, 1876.

Since the news has reached us of the death of Dv Peatheraton, the AgentGeneral for the colony in London, we have perused with more than ordinary interest the letters addressed by him from time to time to the Government in New Zealand. Among these is one concerning the notorious meeting of "the unemployed in Dunedin," held during the latter part of last year, the resolutions passed at which were forwarded to the English papers, and it is worth quoting as showing that in Dr Eeatherston New Zealand had a man who was ever ready and on the look-out to defend the colony he represented against the aspersions of those who desired to bring it into disrepute, whether they resided within or without its boundaries. The paragraph which caused him to take up the cudgels for the colony was the following, which appeared in the London Timss of 20th December, 1875:— Emigrants in Nkw Zealand.— The following communication has been addressed to the Liverpool Albion:— " At a meeting held in the Temper nee Hall, Dunedin, October 6, where upwards of l?00 persona were present, the following resolution was unanimously passed, and ordered to be signed by the chairman on behalf of the meeting, and sent to the Hou.e of Representatives:— 'That thiß meeting of unemployed workmen, now asBemb'ed in the Temperance Hall, Dunedin, vi'.'ws wiih increasing alarm the action of the Government of New Zealand in bringing emigrants to this country, which is alrealy crow.ied with unemployed workmen, who are utterly unnble to find work of any kind. This meeting respectfully req. :ests the Government to stem the tide of emigration, and to fiud work for the unemployed residing in this province, and who are now bordering on starvation. Signed, John Morris, Chairman.' Atamo'tiag ot upwards of 600 in the same place, October letli, the following were unanimously pissed :— 'l. That the present policy of flooding the New Zealand 1 ibor market with ahoils of poor emigrants is subversive oE the beet interests of the colony, destructive of the best interests of thousands of starring operatives in the co'ony, and ca'culated to demoralise the whole body of the population. 2. That tha Parliament of New Zealand has treated with silent contempt the comp'aints of the unemployed, anl in the iuterests of the capitalists and landowners part ; cu"arly has voted half a million sterling for the introduction of emigrants, and thereby intends to perpetuate their present wicked and abominable policy, and reduce the rate of w \ges to the lowest possible scale. 3. Therefore, in self-defence, the operatives of New Zealand are constrained to have reourse to stringent measures with a view of opening the eyes of their deluded rulers, as well as Hcquainting the people of Great Britain wi h the real state of the country, and ths miserable fate which such as intend to emigrate will have to encounter on their arrival iu this much beUude ), but corrupt and mis governed, corner of the Queen's dominions. James Thomas, Chairman. Dunedin, Octobar 23.'" On the 23rd December, Dr Featherston wrote to the Minister for Immigration on the subject, and from his letter we make the following extract: — " I herewith transmit extracts from the Times newspaper of the 20th and 2 1st instant, in which you will observe I replied to these resolutions by means ot an extract taken from the statement made by you in the House of Representatives, as well as by a few additional remarks. I also sent copies of this extract at once to my principal ngentd, and to some of the papers which had published the resolutions I then earned the extract to be printed and to be sent to a large number .'of newsP'pesinall parts of the Unite! Kingdom, t igether with a letter similar to that which I addressel to the Times. 1 trust that these roeasur* s will to a great extent neutralise the effect caused by the publication of resolutions which, i£ uncontradicted, would deter many suitable persons from emigrating to New Zealand.' His letter addressed to the Times was accompanied by an extract from a statement made by Major Atkinson in the House last year which was published at the time in most of the colonial journals, and was as follows: — "Sir -Referring to the paragraph in the limes of today's date coutaining the report of teraia resolutions passed at a meeting held at Dunedin, I would ask you to publish the enclos d extract from the statement made in the New Zealand Parliament by the Minister f >r Immigration, and which, I think, wilt Le read with satisfaction by those persons who have friends in New Zealand, or who intend to proceed to that c )lony. I would also refer you to the statements made by your own correspondent in New Zealand, under dale of Octobir 21, published in one of your papers of last week, in which he etat' s that it is a I fact ' that, even if the public works were to cease altogether, there is ample means within tho colony to employ all the available labor within it, and that we can safely continue to import immigrants iu large numbers for some time to come.' I may add that by the latest advices the following are the rate* of wages paid in the Province of Otago, of which Dunedin is the principal town:— Cirpenters, losto 12s per day, eight hours ; bri k'aycrs, 12s to 14s; blacksmiths, 12s; masons, 12s; bricklayers' laborers, 10s ; general laborers, 7s to 83; married couples (farm and station work), £70 to £80 per annum and found; ploughmen, .£55 to £G0; farm laborers, £50 fc° £52; Bhei-herds, £60 to £65; dairymaids, £36 to £40; general servants, £30 to £35; housemaids, £20 to £25 — Inm, &c, I. E. Feathbrston. Agent-General." Dr Eeatherston also forwarded to the Minister for Immigration a copy of another letter which appeared in the Times of the same date, signed " A Sheep Farmer," and ran as follows;—

" Sir —In your paper to-day is an account of a meeting of « distressed operatives " held at Dane lin, New Zealand. As a useful com- . mentary on thiir resolutions, I give an extract from a letter received from tha manager of my sheep station iu New Zealand, dated October 8 :—" I hate to giro 30a a weelr for this summer's wo.rk| hand* will not come for, less To show how independent they are, ; Allport (whom you miy remember) leavea to-morrow because, he being a yearly servant, I give him 255." When it ia known that, in addition to these wages, me:i g^t as much good food as they can eat, vox will agree with me that New Ze<ilmd still' offers inducements to men who re illy wHi for work. — I ■ have, &c, A Sheep Farmer." From the above it will be seen that Dr Eeatherston was fully alive to the importauce of not allowing any baselesa slander upon the colony to go forth to the English public uncontradiefced, and also that New Zealand settlers on a visit to the old country do not lose their interest in their adopted home, but are prepared to stand up for it when occasion requires. While on the subject of Dr-Feather-ston, we cannot refrain from publishing one of his letters to the Government, not as a proof of his regard for discipline or subordination, but as being thoroughly characteristic of the man who wrote it. It is in. reply to a despatch complainiug of the unbecoming character of one of his communications, . and stating that its whole tone was such that the Government had deemed it advisable that the record of it should be erased and the letter itself returned to the writer. Under the circumstances we shall make no comment upon it, but will allow Dr Teatherston to have the last word: — " Sir — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your despatch dated the 10th April, No. 89, Informing me that, in consequence of the unbecoming character of my letter of the 10th January, No. 5, you h*d thought it necessary to bring it under the consideration of the Government, and that they had ia consequence directed that the . record of it should be erased and tha letter returned to me. (2)1 h3ve already submitted to the Government my correspondence with the Hon tho Premier on this autjeur, to which I have nothing tj add. (3.) I am induced to hops that the very full and caadid explanations which I have given on the subject miiy induce the Government to reconsider its decision, and allow a letter, written on very mature consideration of the important questions referred to me, to take its place in the records of your deparlment. With this view, I have the honor, with the utmost respect, to transmit another c?py of my letter of the 10th January. No. 5, for the further consideration of the Government.— I have, &c, IE. FfiATiiEßjjTosr, AgeufcGoneral." Evidently, Dr Featherston was nofc a man to be trampled upon, but rather was one who, whether right or wrong, was quite able to fight his own battles.. The De Murska Company passed through Nelson to-day on their way to Wellington, after a most successful season in Auckland. Judgment was given in the Magistrates' Court to-day in the case of Levien (Hingston's estate) v. Brown ior £10 3s 7d, which was heard before a Bench of Justices yesterday. The judgment was for the" plaintiff for £7 25s 7d and costs. An evangelistic service will be held at the Temperance Hall this evening. We have received several complaints regarding the manner in which Waimeastreet is being metalled. Huge boulders, it is said, are carted on to the street during the day, and as they are delivered more quickly than they can be broken, they form dangerous stumbling blocks at night, when a horse suddenly finds himself flouadering about on a river bed. It is suggested either that care should be taken to break the stones during the day, or that a light should be placed at night to show where the smooth road ceases, and the " river bed " commences. The Stmousen Opera Company, who will shortly visit Nelson, are performing to crowded houses at Napier, where they are now playing for the third week.