The Southland Times. MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1866.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 248, 30 April 1866, Page 2

The Southland Times. MONDAY, APRIL 30, 1866.

It is wonderful with what facility we forget, or act as though we had forgotten, matters of pressing importance, or events of ' a disagreeable character, when the immediate cause of the pressnre is lightened, or the disagreeable features removed from our view.. Hot unfrequently the evils which at one time was felt to demand the uttermost activity- and perse verancein order to accomplish their removal, andmade resolvesfor future action to that end, upon becoming partially obs"cured are left to grow and intensify without a thought being bestowed upon the probability of their again presenting themselves in a worse and more dangerous form. In Southland this is : the peculiar characteristic of the public mind. No very long time since the question of • internal communication was taken up, and debated by every class of the community : It was tne topic of the day ; everybody appeared interested in it, Communication with the interior was the subject on which everybody waxed eloquent. The newspapers were crowded with letters suggesting the adoption of this track, or 1 that route 5 and advocating this Bystem, ( or a resort to that expedient. All agreed ' that the policy should be to act with ] promptitude — to connect with the least ( possible delay the various centres of ■ population— that; indifference or delay '. would be fatfrlto th© beat interests of the i

Province. Latterly we have heard but little about the matter : the Lake trade has almost entirely passed from Invereargill. Because the railway blundering^ ; has absorbed all the "available capital of the Province, shall no eftort be made to render the connection complete? Has the railway policy been so large, and the progress of the works so rapid, that all future exertion is unnecessary ? Have the evils which two years ago were so loudly complained of been removed ? That the evils still exists is a patent fact, and although the hope of the completion of the railways becoming an accomplished fact may have deterred agitation, it is now plain that Invercargill is losing its opportunity of an up-country trade — especially with the Lake District — for the want of communication. The Provincial Council will meet on "Wednesday next. What is the ministerial programme ? Ifris a fact that the P^Fbvinciaf Government have but little funds at its, disposal, and its credit is not first-class ; stiil something must be done.. The question of internal communication is not receiving that attention at the hands of the Government or the people wbich its importance demands. Opportunities are being lost, and the Province languishing for the want of a few thousand pounds which, if wisely expended upon the highway to the interior— before winter had set-in, would have' secured an amount of up-country trade of the highest value. At the present time the Lake District cannot obtain their supplies from Dunedin, and were the means of communication from Invercargill to Winton in fair condition the whole of the trade of that district would have been secured. True it is that the Provincial Government are desirons of by any .means to obtain the completion of the Oreti rail to this point, but it will necessarily be a work of time ; it cannot be made available for traffic during the present winter season, therefore it' behoves the Government to make an effort to secure such temporary repairs to the North Koad from the point at which the railway now terminates to the good road which leads from thence to the Lakes. This, if accomplished, would be the turning point in Southland's progress — the one thing essential to its future prosperity. It would, under existing circumstances, be as foolish as it would be unjust to censure the Provincial Council for not having provided for this work last session. There was no money at its disposal, and even now it must be obtained from the General Government. Our aim is to to urge upon the Provincial Government and the Provincial Council the urgency of thoroughly discussing the position in which Southland stands with the General Government, in order to come to some more equitable and satisfactory arrangement. It is a palpable fact that a fresh contract must be made. With the exception of the Bluff Harbor and Invereargill Eailway, all public works are suspended ; trade is " cribbed, cabined, and confined,-" the land sales are insignificant;: and settlement almost at a stand-still. A determined effort to alter all this must be made. The Provincial Council meets on "Wednesday, the 2nd of .May, and it is to be hoped that his Honor the Superinwill be prepared with a scheme calculated to relieve the Province from its present embarrassments, and enable it to at once undertake those public works that are indispensable to progress. The General Assembly will meet at the end of the month, when there will be a war of the Provinces. Southland must be prepared to take its part in the battle. The onesided contract which has been made — which hangs like a plague cloud over the Province— must bealtered and expanded. Southland has a right to demand similar assistance from the General Government as is awarded to Auckland, 'Wellington, and other Provinces; and it is the province of the Provincial Government and Council to construct and perfect a scheme by which Southland will be relieved from the fetters which now entangle her, deadening enterprise, and retarding progress. It is acknowledged that Southland has most de-sii-able land — second to none in the colony ; still it is not saleable. Why is this ? Simply because in the past there has been no settled policy. It has been offered at ten shillings an acre at one time, twenty shillings at another, and forty shillings afterwards. It has been again reduced to twenty shillings, but no guarantee has been given that this is to be the fixed and unchangeable price. It is but natural that capitalists should draw back : the hap-hazard system which has hitherto prevailed has prevented them from risking their capital, and the Province is at a stand- still—snot that it is destitute of the elements of prosperity, but because it has been shamefully misgoverned. Biverton is a goldfield, and should be proclaimed as such. The Council will fail of its to the country if in the coming session it does not fully and determinedly take up the subjects to which we have alluded.