The Invercargill Times. MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1863.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 16, 14 December 1863, Page 2

The Invercargill Times. MONDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1863.

If to record the ordinary progress of a settlement in which one is interested, is a jrrateful task, how much more agreeable is it to call the public attention to unexampled prosperity, and to an unlooked for accession of material wealth. We have before noticed the difference between tlie Cus'oms' revenue and that derived from the sale of land. The Middle I-land is differently situated in this respect from t lie Northern Island, the whole of the revenue derivable from the sale of Waste Lands of the Crown being at our disposal ; the territory is considerable, and, fortunately for us ? frlie quality is such that the supply is never equal to the demand; to escheat it from the Crown is therefore no difficult matter ; but it must be recollected that every acre so escheated, lessens the fund on which we draw. In this respect we are somewhat in the same position as the human constitution ; in youth, prescient with life, and invigorated with vitality, we can draw largely on the constitution, and in ordinary' cases the draft will be honored, but every draft weakens the system, and unless care be taken to re-invigorate it, premature decay rapidly ensues, and exhausted nature refuses at last to come to time. Douglas Jerrold's admirable metaphorical story of " Tile Alan made of Money '' will recal to th j minds of those who have read it the force of our argument ; so long as the unforlunate man could put his hand into his bre .st aud draw oat bank-notes from what ought to have been his heart, spending money was an easy task, and at first little anxiety was felt as to tlie consequences — the evil day was put off, or never thought of, till at last, the fund was exhausted. It is a beautiful fable, that mythical one of -Pandora's box, that when all else fled, Hope was left behind. Of all blessings, what a blessing is tint Hope ? That the L,aml l''un'l can be mads a reproductive ono, if properly administered, there can be no dotibt. Whether it is so administered by u-', or whether like " the man made of money,'' we are madly drawing on our life strings, we will not at present stop to consider, but defer turning our attention to this most important matter to some future d.iy. The agreeable feature to which we would call the attention of our readers, is the state of the Customs' revenue for the Province of Southland during the quarter ending 30th June, 18G3, as shown in the Government Gazette of the27th October last, and the financial statement of the Colonial Treasurer, Mr Reader Wood, in the House of Representatives. Here we have to deal with facts and figures. Here isa revenue, the result of prosperity and progress, of population and trade. On looking over the returns of the Customs' revenue for the June quarter, we find that Southland ranks as third amongst the various Provinces of New Zealand iv actual revenue, being £283 in excess of Canterbury, and o only £5,793 behind Auckland, with all its military and Governmental expenditure, while, as regards progressional increase over the corresponding quarter of 1862, it is immeasurably superior to all the other Provinces: — Auckland showing an increase of only £4,279 ; Otago, £3G,699, havir.g received during the quarter of 1863, £68,295, against £36,699 of 1862; Canterbury, an increase of £4,250, being, in 1863, £16,565 against £12.315 for 1862, while Soutliland shows an increase of £14.391, having received for the June quarter of 1563, £16,848, as against £2,457, for ths corresponding quarter of 1862 ; the other Provinces being no win re in actual revenue, and still less in progressional increase. The return of the number of vessels cleared outwards and inwards this quarter shows, as a matter of course, an equally satisfactory state of progress, in which we take the second place : Otago, 101 against 83 for 1862; Southland, 46 against ll; Auckland, 42 against 42 ; Canterbury, 26 against 20. In the return of the value of imports we also take sccoud rank, Dunediu being £807,788 against £391,456 lor the corresponding quarter

of 1862; Southland, £228,274 against £57-280; '"Auckland, £197,655 against £219,107 ; Canterbury, A' 170,132 against £130,332. The Colonial Treasurer's financial statement shows an extraordinary prosperity for the colony of New Zealand as a whole. It presents a remarkable contrast to similar statements in the neighboring colonies. Not only have the anticipations of the Government been realised, but they have been largely exceeded, and in no case so largely as in Southland. The excess of Otago over the estimate for Customs' revenue alone was considerable ; that of Southland L' 27,214, This remarkable increase is, no doubt, owing largely to the Wakatip Lake diggings trade, and it incoiitesiably proves that we we have the command of a large portion of that trade, although, owing to Provincial divisions, the diggings themselves are outside our borders. There are many, doubtless, who will imagine that a revenue based upon the well known fluctuations of a digging population is not sound ; to those we would answer, that tlie Wakatip Diggings are the richest and most durable in Otago, and we have no fear, but that for many years to come our Customs' revenue will steadily increase. In the meanwhile, the care of our Government should be to expend the wealth we have Secured, so that a permanent population will be induced to settle amongst us, and thus maintain that prosperity which our geographical position entitles us to.