The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, SEPT. 13, 1877.

Oamaru Mail, Volume II, Issue 430, 13 September 1877, Page 2

The Evening Mail. THURSDAY, SEPT. 13, 1877.

The development of our local resources must ever be of the last importance to those who wish well to Oamarii and the district at large. The man who makes two blades of grass grow where only one grew before is said to be a benefactor of his species, and there is much of truth in the aphorism. We, therefore, cordially approve of the project initiated yesterday by a few gentlemen largely interested in the welfare of the borough, and we fervently trust their efforts will be crowned with the success which they so abundantly deserve. No one who has paid the least attention to the subject can doubt for a moment the entire feasibility of the scheme proposed —the inexhaustible nature of our stone quarries, the rare beauty and extreme durability of the stone itself, and the fina field P ~»on*od iu tins, and'the neighbouring colonies for the operations of a company such as that proposed. One able writer has epitomised the profound and highly interesting science of political economy as consisting of three things, viz., production, distribution, and consumption. If our existing arrangements were tried by such funiirmntal tests what would we disover? The production of the material, is it all that can be desired ? Lst anyone visit the quarries in our immediate vicinity, and observe the laborious nature of the occupation, the want of suitable appliances -those great handmaidens of labour—and with one praiseworthy exception the entira absence of suitable machinery, and they would be irresistibly forced to the conclusion that in the production of such an important local industry much remains to enlarge the operations, to cheapen the processes, and decrease the expense at which the commodity may be placed in the market. We hav" referred to one lauda+ile exception, and it would be unfair to Mr. Munro in treating of our stone quarries to underestimate the importance of the discoveries he has made. All honour to him, we say, and we trust that with increased means, and a trade more assured, that he will be able not only to perfect his present appliances, but to contrive others that may conduce still more effectually to develop such an important industry. The fields are indeed " ripe unto harvest;" we have only to put in our sickle and reap! So likewise with reference to the second fundamental principle of philosophic thinkers, viz., distribution. Have we availed ourselves of the best methods? Are our appliances the best conceivable? The completion of our railways, doubtless, has largely facilitated the means of distribution, but have they ever been utilised to the utmost? We think not. Not only so, but in our opinion the means of distribution on a large scale can only be secured by a wealthy proprietary or a company with ample means at its disposal. It is by encouraging labour and reducing. to a 'iiinimum the price at which the commodity can be put.; into the market, that our. success may fairly be realised. It will be for this company, in the larger operations which we may fairly anticipate, to show how much yet remains to be accomplished in this direction. Of the last proposition' fortunately there cannot be two.opinions. There is Melbourne absolutely destitute of any suit-

able stone for building purposes; as she' is of the coal which so largely. Before, can rely upon aiiy sustained and extensive consumption either tb|re or = thaigihe j I supply <&i?;a \ warrant, professional ;men caicirlitionsfeand estijnatei- it. /All this and much more can.only be done, or atleast best done, by .such a company as that suggsted. We regard, therefore, the proposal with unfeigned pleasure, and we look forward without a particle Of hiisgwihg to the result of the measures already' adopted. We live in an age in which reality, excels fiction; in which energy and enterprise eclipse the dreams of poets and of sages ; in which capital in the manifold means for its investment is revolutionising, as it is blessing -and.. astonishing, the world. We' have, not the cap of a Fortunatus nor the philosophers' stone, but in the abundant resources with which a beneficent Creator has snrrounded us, we are infinitely better endowed. .'We shall, therefore, watch the progress of this new enterprise with much interest, and in the meantime we wish, it the success which it so well deserves. - - ■■