New Zealand Mail. PUBLISHED SATURDAY, JULY 1, 1871. THE WEEK.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 23, 1 July 1871, Page 11

New Zealand Mail. PUBLISHED SATURDAY, JULY 1, 1871. THE WEEK.

It is with more than ordinary pleasure and satisfaction we refer our readers to the important resolutions, relativo to rail and tramways, passed unanimously.by the Provincial Council on Friday, the 23rd ult., which will be found in another column, the early hour at which wo have to go to press having of necessity shut them out of orv last issue. A more businesslike set of resolutions have never been before passed by the Provincial CWneil, nor any so well calculated to remove that despondency with which the public of this province, more than any other, appears to be afflicted. We rejoice that tramways as well as railways are contemplated, and for the solid reasons assigned by the Government. The proviuce can well rest satisfied, for a start, with a railway from Wellington to Masterton on the one side, and from Marton through Wanganui to Patea on the other; and more especially as the intervening distances are to be bridged with wooden tramways, which, owing to our excellent timber, can be so cheaply constructed. The policy of the new Government will rid us of our apathy ; it ought to rid us of our despondency also.

It is at times prudent to remind the young, and also a young colony, of the well-ascer-tained truth, that few things worth having are obtainable without some exertion or sacrifice, and that, as a ride, their worth is estimated in proportion to the exertion used, the sacrifice made, or the difficulties overcome. In the early days of the colony the finest body of men that ever left the shores of England to make for themselves a home in the wilderness were in danger of having all hope, spirit, enterprise and self-help crushed out of them by the hostile course adopted towards them by the Government. For there are difficulties which destroy the spirits by being too great to surmount, as well as difficulties which strengthen the will by the effort madeto surmount them. It was the former kind with which the early settlers had to contend. Since then, what with Parliamentary grants; military aid, x'oads, and expenditure; free institutions, given, not won; receipts from land sales; grants in aid, and freedom from direct taxes, such a pauper spirit has been engendered that we are constantly looking to the Government for aid instead of relying on our own resources for assistance. There is a tract of country in the " far west" of America which is now in the course of settlement, and which is not yet sufficiently populous to be constituted a State, but which has been already divided into townships and counties, each enjoying the advantages of self-government; and though a much younger country, is far in advance in these respects of any province in New Zealand. This district of country is called the " Dakota Territory," and the legislature of that territory in April last passed a bill to authorise the counties and townships to make a railway by a loan secured on tho taxes levied within their borders. In another district we read that the landlords had subscribed two-thirds of the capital required to make a branch or district railway, and had given the land required for the road gratis. Such facts as these are worth knowing just now, as they indicate the reason why railroads are so common in America. The proposed loan of £IOO,OOO will not really exceed more than half that sum j £50,000 having been already borrowed or impounded. This is a great pity, as the whole sum would have set tho prince on its legs, and the interest could have been easily paid out of receipts from tolls. A railway corporation in the United States is about to borrow, on the security of tolls, a half million sterling, to complete a bridge over tho Missouri. It is in conten - plation to build three bridges out of the proposed loan ; one over the Hutt, another over tho Tauherenikau, and the third over the Waingawa, at an estimated cost of £4<OCO each.

Wo learn from New South Wales that the Meat Preserving Companies in that colony are in good spirits, one of them having netted the handsomo sum of £BOO more than they anticipated, owing to a rise of a farthing a pound on their last shipment to England. The quarterly returns from the Inspectors of Sheep are- published in the Victorian G-overnmenfc G-azettr, which contain several important references to the working of the Scab Act, especially to the utility or otherwise of the local boards. From the tenor of the observations we regard them as replies to inquiries. Thus froftx the Coleraine inspector:—" I find the local board a

great assistance in working the act." From Eilmore, "The board of advice for this district ia now meeting monthly, and seems disposed to make every effort to assist in carrying out the act." From Sandhurst, " The board works satisfactorily, and will, I think, assist in the eradication of scab." Limo and sulphur appear to have proved effectual in some cases, but not in others. Reporting from Geelong, Mr Riley observes :—« The persons fined had used lime and sulphur, and confirms my opinion that it should never have been allowed by the Government, for in no instance have I as yet found it cure j" while Mr Elligot, in the Hexham district, says :—" Lime and sulphur has been used in this district with beneficial results. A certain cure of scab has always been effected when carefully applied, and at a high temperature." From the Melbourne we learn that the rain there has not, as in this province, been unfavorable for wheat sowing ; but in the north-eastern part of the colony the area sown with wheat is much greater than it was last year. Tho weather has been so wet in this provinco as almost to prevent out-door operations, and very little wheat has been sown at present. Ploughing matches are now the order of the day in Victoria, but it is only on the West Coa9t where such matches meet with any encouragement in this province. Probably our farmers will take an interest in such matches if the press only stirs them up. In reference to this subject the Canterbury " Times" well observes : —" Tho season for ploughing matches has again come round, and Kaiapoi has been the fivst to move in the matter. We trust the other districts will not be backward on a subject of so much importance to agriculturists. The farmers in the Kaiapoi district have also been discussing the advisability of establishing a club. This is a step in the right direction, and we should be very glad to hear of many other districts adopting a similar course. It is only by combination and mutual support that farmers'can hope to influence the course of events so as to obtain their equitable rights."