SIR JULIUS VOGEL.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4860, 19 October 1876, Page 6

SIR JULIUS VOGEL.

Sir Julius Vogel, recently Premier, and now Agent-General for the colony,, has during the last seven years so intimately interwoven his name with the whole public and political ex*, istenoe of New Zealand, that he has become identified with its fortunes to a degree ■ never previously attained by any man who has made a mark in its brief but eventful history. It is not too much to say of Sir Julius either that it is unlikely if in the near, future; any statesman will become for so many years the apparently ,be all and end all of our politics that he has been. The time .will come, but not soon, when in New Zealand, as in older countries, the ascendancy of party and of individual leaders of party will be main-, tained through a generation; but in the new and hurried political .life of the colonies parties and leaders come : and go, rearrange and readjust, themselves, with almost kaleidoscopic quickness. Since he first entered a Colonial Ministry Sir Julius Vogel has offered' a remarkable contrast to this rule; With a brief eclipse of a month, the planet of his policy has with himself .been , steadily in the ascendant for over five years, and had he not himself resigned the Premiership, it is improbable that . the changes and, chances of political warfare would have driven him from office for several years to come. But for reasons which he fully and satisfactorily explained at the time, and which. appeared in full in the last mail summary of the New Zealand Times, Sir Julius quitted the arena of party strife, and having accepted the AgentGeneralship, leaves with his family for England by the steamer sailing te-morrow. > The present time has seemed to us not inappropriate for presenting our readers with a portrait of the new Agent-General, to which we may now be permitted to add some few particulars of his life and public career. . Sir Julius Vogel was born in the year 1835, received his education at the London University School, and subsequently entered the office of his grandfather, a South American merchant. Whilst there he became attracted by the glowing accounts sent Home of the colony of Victoria, the gold discoveries in which were exciting England. Accordingly he relinquished his prospects in mercantile life,, and left

Londonfor Australia, arriving In Victoria .in the end of 1852. His career in Victoria was one of varying success, throughout which, as throughout his life in New Zealand, he was dependent upon his own exertions, and tested to the utmost that spirit of self-reliance which seems to be a prominent part of his Character. He was connected with and part owner of several country newspapers in the sister Colony, and finally stood as a candidate for election to the Legislative Assembly, for the, district of Avoca, one of the largest in .Victoria. That he had then identified himself with the political views of no small section of the electors, is. shown by the fact that he polled some , 2000 votes, but nevertheless he was 1000 votes below the next on the poll. Partly in annoyance at his defeat, partly probably attracted by the accounts of the Otago goldfields, he came to this ■ colony, in 1861, landing in Dunedin, and at once became connected with the Press there, soon after his arrival starting the first daily paper in the colony, which still holds: a leading position—the _ Otago Daily Times.' He entered the Provincial Council of, Otago in 1862, and in 1863 was returned to the House of Eepresentatives. He was for several years a member of the Provincial Executive, but resigned in 1869, having ceased to be connected with the Daily Times,, and. intending to leave .Otago.. He made arrangements whereby he became connected with: and acquired an interest'in the DaSy Southern Cross, Auckland, and was to have assumed control at the end of the parliamentary session; of. 1 ,69. During that session, however, the Government of Mr. Stafford was defeated, and Mr. Fox ibeing entrusted with' the formation of a Ministry, pressed Sir Julius, then. Mr. ! Vogel, to accept the portfolio of Colonial Treasurer. Mr. Vogel consented to hold office until .the end of the session; but was subsequently pressed to retain office, and continued to do so. In 1870 he brought down his Immigration and Public Works policy, which, has since received by trial the approval of the colony, but which was opposed bitterly at the time by many- who are now readiest to admit the enormous advantages it has conferred on Near, Zealand. He went on a mission to England, during which he was , absent from the., colony ■ for . seven months. ,; His mission was. the necessary outcome of the adoption, of . his policy by tho House, and its subsequent endorsement, under the.test of a general election. Whilst in England he arranged negotiations for the loan re-, quired for . carrying, out his. policy,; effected arrangements whereby the one million guaranteed loan procured .by the late Dr. Featherstonand the present:Sir Dillon. Boll'should fit-in with the new loan, and procured the' services pf,';thej present Engineer-in-Chiof, Mr. Carruthers. In 1872 the Fox Ministry had to

resign under.anad verse vote, and Mr. Stafford came into office. Mr. Pox, at -his own wish, relinquished .the leadership of' his; party to Sir Julius Vogel; and in one month the Stafford Ministry fell before a want of .confidence .vote moved by ' that gentleman, who formed a Ministry in which the > Hon. Mr. Waterhouse, a member, of ; the Upper .House, took , the Premiership.' Owing to circumstances ■ which did not redound to the dignity of Mr. Waterhouse, he resigned i; th"e/ Premiership, which, Mr. Vogel /being absent from the/colony, was temporarily assumed by Mr. Pox until his return. In 1874 Sir Julius Vogel; again went to England, and being unable - through ill health to return to the colony, for the Parliamentary session of 1875, the Hon. Dr. Pollen took the Premiership' for seven months previously to his return in the early part of 1876. . On returning he again assumed the Premiership, but ; resigned it, as has been previously stated, during the present session, partly because of ill. health, and partly because his colleagues desired that he should take the Agent-Generalship. One of his colleagues, the; Hon. Major Atkinson, on Sir Julius Vogel's resignation, formed a • Ministry, which now holds;office, and which appointed Sir Julius. to. the position that his former colleagues had wished him to accept. The chief .measures with,'which Sir Julius Vogel has been identified are the Public Works and Immigration policy, the establishment of a system of Government Life Insurance, the appointment, of a Public Trustee, , the alteration of the old system of provincial partnership in the surplus revenue, the abolition of the provinces! the conservation’ of ; forests,, and the establishment of the Californian mail service, although he was originally opposed to its inception; ' He attended one conference of representatives of all , the . colonies in i Sydney on postal matters, and has frequently visited Australia in connection; with, the; negotiation of loans and the postal services. He originally moved and proposed the ■ laying of. the Cook’s Strait telegraphic cable, ‘and 1 carried through the negotiations ifOr connecting, the colony by telegraphic .' cable with' Australia, and the rest; of the civilised world, .and having passed a> Bill through, the Assembly for the purpose, made the arrangements which are so favorable to the colony. . Sir Julius Vpgel has been always, most anxious to see authority, given to allow trust, funds in England to be invested in colonial securities and lands, and the arrangements he has effected with the Bank of England for the inscription of: New Zealand stock are likely to lead to the desired result being attained.. At any rate this arrangement will probably lead to a great improvement in the position of, colonial loans, and must enhance the value of . our’own, ■Whilst Sir Julius Vogel wasiMinister for Immigration he arranged the system by which

the Superintendents of the different provinces were entrusted with the distribution of the immigrants, establishing country depots and building cottages in the - country districts ; in fact, enabling the colony readily to absorb the enormous number of immigrants that are now living over its length and breadth. He also took a prominent part in the correspondence which led to the Imperial Government giving to the colonies powers, to enter into reciprocity treaties. i .

.As a member of a Ministry Sir Julius Vogel is especially remarkable for his capacity for work. During several sessions the manner in which he had taken upon himself and successfully conducted ■an enormous share of .the Ministerial business has been conspicuous. He has held, too, iat one and the same time, the portfolios of Premier, Treasurer, .Minister for Immigration, Postmaster-General, and Commissioner of .Telegraphs, and- in no instance whilst holding, those offices has the condition of the departments; under his control been made the. subject of complaint. As a matter of course, Sir, Julius Vogel’s success has made, him many and bitter enemies.,, Pew men, by the exercise of their own abilities,'achieve the success, in public . life, that he has done without .attaining a similar result,‘.and this result by sensible people must be taken as a proof that a man has something in him beyond the common, and has honestly fought his way to the front instead of -coming there by means of creeping Qtweqaipudy: through, the ranks of those arbuijdGiira.i Put if ;Sir Julius, Vogel has made many‘enemies, he r has also made many niore staunch and enthusiastic friends, and of these not a few in men who have never interchanged a word, with him throughout their lives, but have recognised the good that his hard work and his boldly conceived polioy has done, for-the country, for themselves, and for their children. - . , ■: ; Sir Julius ,is of the: Jewish religion.- He was made C.M.G. ,iit 1872, and K.Q.M.G, in ,1875, in reference to which last, distinction we have good, authority for saying that, in bis letter announcing the bestowal of .this honor, Earl, Carnarvon expressed himself in. most cordial and flattering terms to its recipient. - .

: In addition to the above remarks wo reproduce from the /Saturday-Advertiser, the leading weekly newspaper of otago,'the following Sir Julius yogel is about to leave the colony for England, after haying resigned the reins of ; the State coach, which he has held for the remarkably long term of seven years. The duration of. his service is in itself a proof of, his ability as a statesman; tor it may be safely said, that without strong trust in his character as , an administrator no , man. could , command the confidence of ’ Parliament for part of

three successive Parliaments, including seven sessions. Hemusthave had three different sets of members to face, and yet to the last he had the support of a powerful majority. That he has left his imprint for good, as a whole, no unprejudiced person will deny, and those who have followed his lead firmly believe that his masterly, policy has done more to raise the colony but of the slough in which he found it, and to give it an impetus towards future and maintained prosperity, than any other scheme which could have been devised. On his accession to power, along with Mr. Pox, in 1869, the country was literally bleeding at every pore. The excitement consequent on the outbreak of the goldfields had been followed by the usual reaction of dulness. The fall ,in the prices of station property and produce had ruined numbers. Mercantile credit had been almost destroyed. Twoof our local bankshad stoppedpayment, and property of all kinds was greatly depreciated. In the North Island the Maori troubles were a source of disquietude and danger, operating against settlement. Everything combined to depress the condition of the colony to the lowest possible point, and many sensible men, heedless of our resources, became affected with distrust, and . talked of leaving: the country; Some did leave, and tried other pastures, who found afterwards to their regret that they had acted hastily and unwisely. At this particular juncture, Sir Julius Vogel brought the whole weight of his powerful intellect to bear upon our affairs. The key-note of his policy was to render the recurrence of Maori insurrection impossible, by the construction of roads through , the North Island, and the temporary establishment of a force of Armed Constabulary, thus repeating General Wade’s experiment in the Highlands of Scotland after the’4s ; and also to stimulate the productive energies of the country by the introduction and settlement of immigrants, the supply of water to the goldfields, the purchase of Maori lands in the North Island as a public estate, and the construction of a grand system of trunk lines of railways extending, through both islands. His daring proposals astonished the timid and fainthearted, so much as to take away their breath and deprive them of the power of protest. The general public stamped them with approbation, and the Parliament of 1871 was returned expressly to carry . them into effect., The vigor of a master’s hand was felt in every branch of the administratipn. Immigration was conducted on a large scale ; parliamentary roads through disturbed districts were completed ; and railways which Provincial Governments had boggled at or dealt feebly with, were at once contracted for. Nor was there any recklessness in expenditure. The guaga of railways, which had been initiated by provincial authorities at s£t., Sin. and 4ft. B|in.,

was reduced to 3ft. 6in., and everything done to unite economy with stability of construction. Accommodation has been provided for the public of New Zealand at an average cost of £6OOO a mile, for which our Victorian neighbors have had to pay £35,000 a mile, and our English cousins £30,000 a mile.. Our indefatigable Minister did hot rest content with successfully starting such generally useful measures. He developed the inland telegraph, and finally united-us by an ocean cable to the rest of mankind. In domestic legislation, he promoted numerous measures affecting the welfare of the colony. With two his name will be specially associated, db they are unique in their kind, and are certain to bo followed in other, countries. These are tho Government Annuities. Act, and the Public Trustee Act. By the former, the humblest workman may make a prudent provision for his family ; and it is not unlikely that by-and-bye compulsory life assurance may become law, and the curse of poorlaws prevented afflicting the country. By the latter, the risk of trustees wasting estates entrusted to them is wholly removed, and an anxious parent, placing his means in charge of the department, may die in peace, in the faith that his will.shall be executed to the letter,land strictly according to law. New Zealand has had many able men presiding over her councils, but without a doubt Sir Julius Vogel stands at the head of the list for acuteness of intellect, amounting almost to genius, for indomitable courage and strong will, for generous breadth of view, for ability ia administration, and for untiring zeal in the discharge of his official duties. While occasionally suffering pain which would have incapacitated men of less strength of will, he has calmly transacted business as if it had been an anodyne to him. It is a mistake on the part of some ' when they think he was selfwilled and overbearing. No ; gentleman could show greater deference to the opinion of others before his own mind.was made Up. He. was accessible to all . who wished to speak to him bn any subject, and his courtesy and consideration to his colleagues and the heads of departments whom he had to consult, inade it a pleasure to do business with him. That his personal friends became warmly attached to him, is strong evidence of the finer elements of his character, and that in , his private re-’ liltioriships ho merited the strong; iregar’d entertained towards him. , He can leave the Government, after such a lengthened tenure of office, with' the proud consciousness that while the .success' which has attended his policy has enriched many,' he can say of , himself, “ These hands are clean.” During this last session virulent ' and unfounded attacks have been made upon him

by parliamentary new chums, unable from prejudice to form a sound opinion. When the heat of the present political excitement has died away, his brilliant.efforts for the good of the country will be universally recognised, and the recent bitterness on the part of his opponents will be regretted. He has well earned the honors and comparative ease of the AgentGeneralship, and we have no'doubt the colony will be benefited by his administration in that office!'