New Zealand Times.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4259, 13 November 1874, Page 2

New Zealand Times.

The other day we published an extract from the Mount Ida Chronicle, showing how immigrants were treated in Otago. We do not think the statements in the articles in question were in any sense exaggerated. It is right to add, however, that they had reference to one particular district only. The weather has been exceptionally bad throughout the colony during the whole of last winter, and Otago more particularly has had a long succession of cold and inhospitable weather, which rendered the task of distributing immigrants in the outlying districts a work of considerable difficulty. Added to this, there was also the want of house accommodation, which is specially felt in those parts of Otago where labor is most required, and this made matters worse. At the same time, there is really no excuse for the wretched mismanagement which the Mount Ida Chronicle exposed ; and we respectfully submit that the Commissioner for Immigration should make inquiry touching the facts, with the view of fixing responsibility, and preventing a recurrence of such a discreditable state of things. Unless this is done, public confidence will be deservedly shaken in the management of the Immigration Department. But there is another and a very serious evil, to which, in this connection, we must refer. Owing to the mismanagement of the immigration office in Otago, the demands upon private and public charity are on tho increase. The now arrivals are not sent where work and good wages await them. They are maintained in barracks at the public cost until they find employment in or near one or other of the towns where they happen to be, or are “ crowded out ” by tho new arrivals. This is not a healthy state of things, nor is it one that should be allowed to continue. The colony cannot afford to import people and maintain them in idleness, at once taxing industrious colonists and demoralising tho free immigrants. But this is precisely what is taking place in Otago. This is the outcome of it all, as appears from the Otago Daily Times of the 7th inst, : - One result of the introduction into the province of a mixed lot of immigrants is, that very heavy calls are now being made upon tho treasury of our local Benevolent Institution. Unfortunately, along with tho claimants for relief that are being introduced, we have no compensating influx of a class from whom donations to the institution may bo expected. The result will be that if tho present state of things continues, and all the destitute are to be relieved, the comparative few who ore in the habit of subscribing yearly to the funds of the institution will have to increase the amount of their subscriptions, or the Government will bo called upon for a larger grant-in-aid. -If some means bo not taken to increase tho revenue of tho institution, tho committee will be comjielled to refuse assistance in many cases of real distress. In addition to the inmates of tho institution building at Caversham, the committee are at present contributing towards the support of some 350 souls, consisting mostly of women and children. Many of these constitute the families of late arrivals, who have. loft Dunedin on various pretexts, but who have taken care to leave no trace of their whereabouts. House room —a roof over their heads—is tho one cry of these unfortunates, and to supply this want, the committee have had to search far and wide, and often in vain, Email cottages, that a few years agobroughtin a rental of four or live shillings a week, cannot now be got under twelve or fifteen shillings. The committee, in view of the difficulty of obtaining house accommodation for the out-door relief cases, lately applied to tho Provincial Government for the old Immigration Barracks as a temporary home for tho destitute. The application was at once considered by tho Executive, and was promptly granted. So that for a time tho funds of tho institution will bo somewhat relieved of tho call which was being made upon them for house rent. But oven tho removal of this burden will not place tho committco in a position to relievo to tho necessary extent all the cases that are being presented for their consideration. No ship arrives from Great Britain almost but brings her quota of persons who, on their arrival, are dependent upon charity for their bread. Some of those cases are tho result of misfortune, but too many, as wo have already said, are brought about by tho heartless desertion of the head of tho family. It is necessary that it should be known that tho demands for assistance upon tho institution are increasing and are likely to increase, so that tho

purses of the charitable may bo freely drawn upon when the collector comes round. We shall bo sorry to see the day when a poor-house, supported by rates, becomes a necessity in our midst; but unless the reasonable claims of the Benevolent Institution upon the purses of the public are freely recognised by that body wo can only expect that a *raovcmont to get some such institution established will bo the natural result. Now, we hold, that were the Immigration Department conducted as it should be, such a state of things could not possibly occur. The control of this department has been given to the Provincial Governments elsewhere than at Wellington; —at least, the provincial authorities are permitted to do pretty much as they please, under the impression that, in the interests of their respective provinces, they will arrange for the distribution and care of the immigrants more efficiently than an officer directly responsible to the political head of the department at Wellington can possibly do. But we fear-that this idea is a delusion. We think it will be found, on inquiry, that provincial management is much more costly, and relatively less efficient, than the work done by the department at Wellington. This is a matter which should be looked into at once. The country cannot permit the fine province of Otago to become a byeword for its pauperism and crime, —because the two are inseparable,—simply for an idea, and to minister to the vanity of its provincial administrators. This is truly a Colonial question. Articles like the one from the Mount Ida Chronicle which we published on Wednesday, and that which we quote above from the Daily Times, must seriously injure the colony in the Home country. The evils complained of, however, are clearly preventible. They are the consequences of our own neglect and mismanagement; and in the interests of the whole colony we hope measures will at once be taken to prevent their recurrence.

The JVeiv Zealand Gazette contains tlie trade returns for the September quarter of 1874. We must say that it is rather out of date at this period, and that with the aid of the telegraph it should have been published several weeks ago. These returns are of no commercial value unless they are published promptly ; but we fear that the colony must wait a long time until public opinion forces the RegistrarGeneral’s Department to keep pace with public requirements. Having said thus much, we proceed to analyse the returns. The declared value of imports and exports for, the past September quarter is as under: — Imports .. .. .. ... £2,280,543 Exports .. 1. ... .. £COS,7SS In other words, the foreign trade of New Zealand, for the three months ending September 30th, 1874, was £2,949,331, or at the rate of £11,993,324 per annum. But when we compare the result of last quarter’s trading with the corresponding period of 1873, we arrive at something like a fair estimate of the relative progress of the colony. Thus Sept, quarter, Sept, quarter, 1874. 1873. Imports .. .. £2,280,543 .. ..£1,473,201 Exports .. .. 603,788 .. .. 800,597 The falling off in exports is accounted for under the heads of gold and hemp, otherwise the general exports of the colony have been steadily increasing. Coming to provinces, and taking the principal towns, we find the following results for the last September quarter imports. exports.

The export value fell off considerably during the last quarter, as compared with the corresponding quarter of 1873, but that was principally caused by the decline in gold production. This will bo at once understood when we state that Auckland’s exports are less by £120,427 than the exports for the September quarter of 1873. On tho whole, however, tho commerce of the colony is sound, and there does not appear to be any symptom of. overtrading.

A return of an interesting character, showing the number and amount of the Money Order and Postal Sayings Bank transactions, during the quarter ending with September last, was published in the Gazette yesterday. It shows that the number of Money Order and Savings Bank offices open during that period was ninety-nine, as compared with ninetyfive in tho corresponding quarter of the previous year. These offices issued 1G,58G orders, representing, in round numbers, £68,170, as compared with 14,128 orders, for sums aggregating £59,228, in the corresponding quarter. The orders paid were 11,540, representing £47,209, as compared with 9895, for a sum of £41,408. The chief towns were represented thus : Orders Bepre- Orders RepreIssucd. senting Paid. seating

The number of Savings Bank accounts opened was 2822 (corresponding quarter, 1901), and those closed 1433 (compared with 969). The deposits were £14,085, and the withdrawals £7996, as compared with £10,386 and £5426 respectively. The total amount of tho deposits was £182,263, and the withdrawals £153,244 ; tho amounts respectively in tho same quarter of last year being £149,378 and £108,825. The excess of deposits was £29,018; in the corresponding quarter the amount was £40,552. Tho chief towns already referred to were represented as follows : Amount of Amount of Excess of

Auckland .. .. £510,598 £124,073 Taranaki .. .. 3,175 — Wanganui., .. 17.520 023 Wellington .. 310,586 31,293 Napier .. .. 55,753 4,076 Nelson .. 71,790 9,999 Greymouth • .. 41,148 08,403 Hokitika .. .. 35,216 . 54,594 MMttr;; Sin .. 754,528 210^207 Invercargill .. 51,443 25,851

Dunedin .. 3838 . . £16,000 . . 2007 . . £11,090 Christchurch .. 2072 . . 10,022 . . 1371 . . 5,410 "Wellington .. 2008 . . 10,018 . . 1080 . . 7,003 Auckland - .. 2504 . . 10,137 . . 2422 . 10,315 Greyraouth .. 812 . 3,433 . . 442 . 1,703

deposits. withdrawals. deposits. Dunedin . £48,754 .. £40,307 .. £8,447 Christchurch 39.530 .. 37,154 2,370 AVellington 27,134 22,415 . 5,018 Auckland . 23,455 17,082 0,372 Greymouth 4,730 .. 4,200 530