The Invercargill Times WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1863.

Southland Times, Volume 2, Issue 98, 7 October 1863, Page 2

The Invercargill Times WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1863.

No NEvvsrArEU which has ever come under our notice has brought the art of falsifying tile truth in a plausible manner to such a pitch of perfection as the Melbourne Argus. Whenever the object in view cannot be obtained by speaking the truth, then, without the slightest hesitation, recourse 'is had to an elaborate system of lies. Years, net a few, have passed since the soubriquet of the " lying Argus" was bestowed on the journal wliich at one time had byfar the largest circulation of any iv the Australian Colonies. Iv the present day the circulation is considerably reduced, but the old vice remans as strongly developed as ever. One of the latest specimens of this propensity is to be found in an article on the Gold- fields of New Zaaliiud, or, rnora properly speaking, of Owigo, for no mention whatever is made of Nelson. We must let the writer say a few words for him self, in ordei that it may be clearly seen that we ourselves are strictly adJieiing to the truth when accusing our contemporary of wilful and deliberate falsehood : — "At the time when the spirit of restlessness w<is filling ship- load after ship-load with ad venturers for the Middle Island — when the charms of the goldfields of Victoria yielded to the boasted aunicuuMs oi utago — we warned t h e emigrants against the fate of those who allow themselves to be seduced by a will-o'-the-wisp. We had no interest in being alarmists. We did not begrudge them any prospects of good litck they mi"ht have detected on the Dunstan or Shotover. Their departure has not influenced the fortune of the districts they turned their heel on. No doubt, indeed, it was a pity that our own gr- und should be deserted, that its riches should be left unexplored, that the bone and muscle of the colony should have been enticed away in the pursuit of a shadow, — for a shadow they must now, if ever, feel it to have beet). It requires an effort, in .leed, to recollect a more signal instance of a wild-goose chase than that exodus turns out to be. We could not have a better illustration of the old saying about going farther and faring worse, than that which the various accounts from Otago afford u<." There is some little truth in the above paragraph. The Argus certainly did warn " the emigrants against the fate of those who allowed themselves to be seduced by a will-o'-the-wisp," but it went farther —it denounced the New Zealand gold-fields 3S an utter sham and delusion, and, from time to time, published letters purporting to come from unfortunate men who had visited the diggings, and were reduced to the last stage of want and misery. One thing the Arrjus was unable to do, it could not stop Lie gold from being brought into Melbourne, it could not very easily falsify the escort returns, nor could it, with any chance of success, greatly exaggerate the HHinber of miners who were engaged on the ground. Everything that could be done was done to prevent an exodus of the mining population from 'he worn out goldfields of Bendigo, Castlemaine, Dunolly, and all the other rich spots, where a hardWorking man can barely obtain sufficient by his labor to keep body and sour together. Now that returning Spring promises to renew the emigration from S'ictoria to this Island, the Argus takes up the subject, and treats it with more unscrupulous mendacity than ever. It is true that its " own correspondent" in Olagj is guilty in nearly an equal degree, for he has drawn a picture of misery and distress, such, as his chief says, " has not been experienced since the clays of the Port Curtis rush." But the information which reaches a newspaper office comes from many sources besides the letters of " own correspondents." Of facts of public interest, perhaps no one is so well placed for judging asan Editor, even though the oc curences may happen thousands of miles from liis snnclum • ; and he can in most cases, by a careful comparison of the varied statements which come«before him, arrive at an approximation to the truth. Thy Argus is no worsC off in this respect than any other journal, and the letter of its own correspondent, and the article from which we quoted above, must Lave

been inserted, not only with the conviction that they were calculated to mislead, but with the knowledge that they contained a large number of pointblank falsehoods. The Melbourne thunderer has exhausted all its arguments, expended all its eloquence, and taxed its powors of lying to the utmost, in order to persuade the miners of Victoria not to quit their present places of: abode. They are reminded of the numberless instances in which they have been before deceived, they are asked to believe that they are impetuous, nay, even foolhardy, and entreated, just for this once, to be more careful, and pause before they rush ■ headlong to certain destruction — or, in other words, to the New Zealand Goldfields. The Shotover catastrophe is called into service, and each accident by flood and field which lias happened during the winter, now drawing to a close, is made to do duty a second time us a warning to all who may be thinking of takiug ship to the land of the Maori. They are told that men, women, and children are perishing from cold, exposure, and want; that, in one instance, there is good reason lobilieve' that Jive hundred men have lost their -lives ; that in Dunedin five thousand of the able-bodied men of the community arc starving; that two clerks are wanted, and the struggle for preference creates a sensation in the toivn. " The streets are deserted. The dip-gings are worse off : cold, floods, avalanches, are decimating the rriners.' 1 Such is the story that the Argus tells with "no wish to exaggerate, atid no object in making capital of it." Let us sec if we can put matters in a rather more cheerful light; admitting, as we do, that accidents have been of too frequent occurrence on the goldfields during the winter, and that general business in Dunedin might have bjen brisker with advantage to all parties. In the first place, the quantity of gold exported from Otago during the current year to September 18th, amounted to 450,00-3 oz.* (exclusive of that exported from Southland direct to Melbourne) : — The (imnlitv previously exported is ns follows: ]Sil " IST.'MW 18J-2 ... ... 31»7,i)U2 55.3,'2»7 Making a grand total since the discovery of the gold lie ids" (if ],o;;/:>,!>o-_>oz. Tiic escorts have brought down the fallowing (Hiantilies of gold during the current jcar : — oz- dwt.

The Argus will scarcely be able to show figures to match with these, particularly wiien it is borne in mind that in Otago and Southland combined fie number of miners falls considerably short of 25,000. But, enough on that point; we have before us a packet of letters, thirtyeight in number, received at various times during the last five months, from persons on the goldfields of Otago — for the most part on the Southern diggings. These le'-ters were the production of seventeen individuals, only two of whom could be supposed to have the s'ightest interest in placing things in a more favorable light than they actually were, and a letter from one ot those two is, by a curious coincidence, the gloomiest of the lot. In turning over a second time these pages, which were never intended to be pub lished, we can discover no such symptons of wide-Spread misery ps the Argus says exists. A few of the writers have realised very handsome sums by their winter's operations, and all, with the exception of three, have cleared their expenses, during the worst season of the year. There is mention made of an accident of a serious nature which happened to a miner-— the next sentence tells how, in this land of starvation and misery, thirty pounds were collected for him in the space of three hours. There are accounts of floods and snow storms, and, further on, we learn how British pluck and endurance were found suffi cient to repair the damage done by the first, and to wait patiently till the fury of the second was expended. One lucky wight, who had persuaded his wife to come over from Victoria, to share what the Art/zis would doubtless call his want and misery, speaks of establishing himself permanently in a country wl-.ich seems to him " well adapted for farming, with the certainty of having a good market for one's produce." Throughout these letters, which are a hundredfold more Valuable as an index of the prooperity of the New Zealand gold fields than any number of " Own Correspondent's" letters, there is a tone of contentment not to be mistaken ; but from time to time we have been shown others which fully bear us out in saying that the miners and storekeepers generally hold most favorable opinions as to the richness and permanency of the Middle Island gold fields. We could refer to the newspapers of Dunedin, of the diggings, and of Invercargill, for a confirmation of those opinions, but the objection might be raised that they are interested in promoting a rush, and

* These returns arc taken from the Otago Daily Times.

' cannot therefore be depended on ; we admit the objection to a certain extent, I but contend that the Melbourne press is interested, in even a greater degree, in sounding the praises of the ancient diggings of Victoria. One more quotation and we have finished. The Argus snysc — "A firm in Creswick, but | a few days since, included among the causes of its insolvency the 'scarcity of iabor at the current rate.' If this be correct, and the current rate means seven shillings a day, where is the excuse for crime or the plea for emigration.'' We can find an answer to the question Private letters reach the hands for which they are intended with as much certainty as newspapers, and whilst the Argus is having lying letters inserted in its columns for the purpose of leading the miners astray, Tom and Harry, seated by their firesides, may be perusiug the last good news from old frimds on the Arrow, the Shotover, or the Dunstan ; and pausing to think how soon they will be able to raise a sufficient sum to Lake them to their old comrades. The accidents of the winter will not deter them from paying New Zealand a visit in the summer, leaving behind them the scorching winds, the bad water, aoj die miserable remuneration of the Victorian gold mines. « Bettkr — or, at any rate, more extensive — accommodation is wanted for the immigrants who are weekly arriving, than is afforded in the Depot on the Government lleser've. Tins Depot does not go much beyond a dark old rookery, where birds of a feather are huddled together, without any regard to air, light, health, or comfort. The cconomisation of space is. there impressed upon new arrivals in ft manner which they will not be able to forget soon, and which they will probably describe in homeward letters in a style so glowing, that the nomad class — though appreciating the consideratiou of the Provincial Government in offering to pay half their passage money — will be almost afraid of trespassing upon [nvercargill hospitality. In earnest truth, a barrack of a more roomy description is required. At present, m-.Mi and women are placed in a sort if pound, where there is more juxtaposition than is exactly suitable ; the single men by the Sir William Eyre, were quartered next door to the single women. To obtain a situation in a respectable family, a female servant's reputation must be like that of Caesar's wife. Now the present arrangements of the Immigrant Depot in re crowding together, are of a character which, though perhaps designed for the best, yet give an opportunity to the malicious to insinuate. Not that the female wards should be turned into a convent, or the male into a monastery ; but a better line of demarcation might be drawn : that is, the buildings of the two classes might be advantageously situated with more remoteness. The rcvclationc of Mi'^j ltyc in regard to the Depot of smother town, which must be fresh in tl c minds of our readers, are a sufficient pio)f of the reasonableness of what we adduce. True, the female immigrant is not, as in Dunedin, placed in close proximity to good-looking policemen; hut yet there remains to Phyllis the Corydoa of a lon<j sea voyage, and, in a worldly point of view, it is as well, either as regards a happy matrimonial speculation, or the good reputation of both, to keep them asunder, and at a respectful distance, till their respective ways of life in the new land have been marked out for them. Another thing — a foyer hospital, or, to judge from the bolts and bars, an asylum for violent lunatics, is not, the most pleasant association to twine round the dwelling of fresh importations. An Institution of this kind, )io doubt very complete, forms part of the Depot Block. With what intention it has been placed there we cannot imagine, unless to impress upon the Immigrantthesalutary example of the Anchorites, who, for the more seriouscontemplation of the instability of human affairs, always kept in the house a ready-made coffin. Neither an hospital nor an asylum arc, however useful they may be, a cheerful prospect, nor exactly calculated to encourage people in the outset of their career in a strange country. We do not think, then, we are outraging common sense iv suggesting an immediate removal. Again, the domestic appliances of the Depot are sadly inefFicient • one instance will suffice to prove it. For the whole barracks, there is but one fire-place ; and at that the inmates — married couples, single men, and single women, numbering at a time perhapsone hundred, perhaps two — have to wait their turns to cook their food ; and this fire-place is fitted up with no s'ove or cooking apparatus of any description. The most dismal stories are told of family men, who, getting up at unearthly hours in tl.e morning, with the liopvi of first turn at the fire, have, found it crowded, and been obliged to linger hours and hours before the matutinal coff.:e could be boiled. It is even said that upon one occasion there was a battle royal for precedence, which resulted iv a £ood many broken kettles and heads. Were we to be ieve information received, we should understand that at meal time, in fact all times, a perpetual anarchy reigns. The solitary fire-place has long been the cause of bickering aud disturbance, every man's teapot has been against his neighbors', and the best friends have become mortal foes. But, indeed, this sort of thing passes a jest. Constant complaints have been made of the miserable accommodation for immigrants presented by this province. First impressions arc enduring; and if new arrivals arc not received and housed with comfoi t, order, and cleanliness, we shall find hereafter, to our Own cost, that the better description of immigrants will seek a more congenial home. If something beyond the tiding over of the hour is to be looked

to, and if the fu.ture colonisation of the province is to be considered of any importance, an immediate reform must be begun on the Government reserve. A new Immigration depot must be constructed on a totally different system ; the sexes must be placed at a greater distance ; the domestic arrange- j ments must be assimilated to numbers, a:d the immigrant, assisted though he be, must no longer be regarded in the light of a wild animal, whose food is carrion.

January 10 •• 2-J.:J'>l » Fobru:m\> .. 81 10 '21 .. 3T.-HH 4 .M.Vch 7 •• " 11;W 17 „ 17 •• l^' 2 '"'- I*> A ril 1 •• 1" >!) - 5 *' 7 ... li.'in 15 •' 14 .. l'i.s">s 5 I 22 . • 1:2,7— -S 5 Miv 5 .. l"-.WiJ 5 I 12 .. 12 311 5 " ]<) .. 10.531 ]0 2ti .. li:W2 5 Jui.o 2 .. l-'-'^ 5 H5 .. 13.517 J) 2!5 . . ».>S-10 0 " y,, .'. i/V.i«2 19 t.,i' 7 . 4.7-13 1 " ii '. 10,frJ(; 5 L>l .. 5.509 ]3 „ 28 .. 1) 51 J- 8 August 4 .. 3,272 15 „ 11 .. 0 5*5 1.5 „ IS .. 5,259 5 „27 .. 7.756 12 Sq.t 4^B .. 22,703 0 Total .. 4-03,031 7