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THE PROSPECTS OF SOUTHLAND.

/';'7V' : Eyom.the.SpuTHi>AND Times, August 11.) 77 Less than two years ago, but before they '('discovery of gold in'th'e river-beds f of the Arrow, Shotover, /-aiid, the numberless streams, gullies; 7' and terraces with which; 'the Lake district .abounds, the people "of .^Southland ,had formed ay highponinion "of the capabilities of tbeir- Province. I- It was, according: to a very7general verdict, to/become one-of the 'first settlements in -New Zealand. Its harbors were as/gpod as 'could be wished; its soil was.magnificeht, and its climate 'perfection,' with ithe exception, , perhaps, of a trifle' too much wind, which occasionally blew down an pdd house or two, or landed some unfortunate skipper, together with his vessel, high and dry on. .the banks ofj the New River. These small: evils were but little thought • of in comparison with the great privilege of being citizens of so highly favored a spot. The fame of Southland, and the glories which were in store for it in the future, .spread beyond the limits of I its own narrow boundaries. Rovers and adventurers of all classes came to spy out the land, and those who returned took back a good report. Population rapidly increased ; land was largely ptir chased, and building lots were at a premium. It began to be whispered that the one thing wanted to cause the cup of our prosperity to overflow was a gold,fi.eld. A good "diggins," witliin a reasonable distance, would very quickly make Invercargill a formidable rival to her elder sister, Dunedin. The fates were propitious,, the goldfield was found, if not witliin the geographical,' at least within the natural boundaries of the Province, and so situated that, with ordinary prudence, Southland might reap the benefits of the trade which would, as a matter of course, spring up. How that trade did spring up; how population flocked into Southland ; how the shipping lists began to swell ; how our railways were initiated ; and how a few short months after there came what may be termed a " crash, "r— , ! is it not written in the memories of all lof us ? Is it not still the every-day subject of conversation, the fruitful source of litigation, and the beacon to guide us in our action for the future ? The causes which led to such a melancholy denouei ment to the bright hopes of the Province I were numerous, and not altogether under the control of the colonists. Leaving the past, let us look at the present, and then speculate on the future of the Province. Such an examination is necessary, because an impression has gone abroad that Soutldand has seen her best days, and for the future must content herself with a very subordinate place amongst the settlements of the Middle Island. We do not share such gloomy anticipations. It is true that the Province has incurred a heavy debt, and will have to incur a still heavier one, before the railways are open for traffic. It is true that at the present moment business is almost at a stand-still, and that the laboring class have great difficulty in obtaining employment; but, nevertheless, we are as sanguine of the future as we were at the close of 1862. No one acquainted with the subject will be inclined to deny that, just previous to I the discoveries of Pox on the Arrow and Shotover, Southland was in an eminently prosperous condition. Her revenue and her population were increasing rapidly. Her waste lands were purchased by bond fide settlers, and the Provincial expenditure was kept within very moderate bounds. In short, if the annals of colonization be searched, no instance of greater or more legitimate success will be found. On the discovery of gold in the Wakatip district, Southland saw a repetition of the scenes which have been so often enacted elsewhere. There was a rush to reap the golden harvest which was looked for. Legitimate commerce, in too many instances, degenerated into reckless speculation. The issue was neither doubtful nor long in coming. It is that reckless speculation which lias, in a great measure, been the cause of the present dulness. We are suffering from the reaction consei quent upon over-trading in almost every i branch. In time the balance will be I restored, and business again assume a healthy aspect. The' prospects of the Province .are infinitely better than they were before the gold discoveries. Southland is still advancing in. material wealth. Both pastoral, and , agricultural settlers are prosperous, and a little careful legislation on the part of the new Council, when it meets, will make them more so. But the birds of ill-omen, who are continually croaking of Southland's decline and fall, will remind us of the debt incurred for railways and other works which would never have been thought of had no gold discoveries taken place. They will tell us that the money is thrown away, and the credit of the Province pledged for no purpose. To this we answer, that the gold discoveries rendered a much larger: expenditure of public money necessary: than was previously the case— an expenditure which could only be. met by incurring debt. The people clamored for .either a -good road or a railway to the dig-j -gings ; they asked for more wharf accom-: modation .;. they called for better police protection ; they wanted, in fact, an ;. expenditure 'many times greater than what has actually been incurred. ; Their representatives in the Provincial; Council went as far as they considered it ! * prudent to go ; and; in bur opinion, they j went ho farther. than/ the dircumstances j ahted f-hem. We do nbtfor.a moment | lose -Big/lit of the- fact, that the Province is j ih great dMeulties^ b^'we 1 corn^d/they] are only of a 'tempoHiy character/ The^ railway scheme-was initiated to meet the ) requirements of the .Lake trade ;. that,, at . 'least^r; was : the source -front 'which r&tne ! greater part of its revenue was/ ;expectedi to spring^fbr ibme' time'tb come^' and-ye't ; the Lake trade is seldom mentioned now without a smile of derision, as a thing not worth /talking ook£ k Let those,howr ever, who are thus wiifihg to undervalue

/wliaf Was/ once looked uponas ihe/'* irunip card ' of Southland, make^iuqiimef to What Is going on in a circuit of many innes'rbund.'Lakjs.WaHtip."; They, will find that a goldfield, originally confined: to the beds ./of one on two, rivers *pf jno great maghitude, ; has -spread,/ oyer! . ° vast ;', tract; 'of C country, , and '/. bpmprjsess every.'-.' variety of -, mining- operations. The miners are commencing to bring skill and ; capital to -bear on their work ; they are alive to the/, advantages 7pf machinery and labor, and the ensuing twelve- months ;^ a very/ large increase. oflpppulation in the Lake district. 7 'fe still;/ therefore, adhere; to ! our original .opinion; /toatyjjhe Northern Railway scheme was based on sound calculations,^ } . and ; will -,/ prove / -of the greatest value, tb the ' Province. We; h.aye /saidlnothirig '. of the other- ways in which this railway. will do us .good service ; of the increased value which will be given to land, and the facilities afforded to upvcouhtry settlers of f or wardmgto.eir- produce to market; . It is 7 of x, tne -last importance that this; work shoiild be .completed, and we are inclined to believe that the necessary" assistance will/hot be withheld by the - General Government. There may De delay* but the thing will be eventually accomplished" and Southland will not have paid*' too -dearly for' what some are at present apt to regard as: an . expensive toy. • " !

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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/ST18640818.2.31

Bibliographic details
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Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 34, 18 August 1864, Page 7

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1,245

THE PROSPECTS OF SOUTHLAND. Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 34, 18 August 1864, Page 7

THE PROSPECTS OF SOUTHLAND. Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 34, 18 August 1864, Page 7

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