The Southland Times. MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1866.

Southland Times, Issue 612, 31 December 1866, Page 2

The Southland Times. MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1866.

The year is drawing to a close. Before another sun has risen we shall have entered upon a fresh period in our history. The year 1866 will become a thing of the past, and this is not an inopportune time to take a retrospective glance — to take stock, so to speak, of the path we have trod, the progress that has been made, and striking the balance as to the good that has been accomplished as compared with the mistakes that may have been made. It is not the province of the journalist to sermonise upon the moral and religious progress of individuals or even communities. His duty is to take the broad and expansive field of universal progress. How short the time since the last cry of " a New Year" seems ; yet great has been the events. In that short period 'commercial crises have been experienced and overcome ; continental wars of a more fierce and sanguinary character than any ever before witnessed have been fought, and the disputes settled by the reconstruction of nations and principalities. Wonderful inventions of destructive implements of war have been perfected, and prcred to be destructive to an extent hitherto unknown. Ministerial changes have been experienced, and the troubled sea of politics has been agitated in nearly every part of the world. Sfcill, eventful as the year has proved, the wheel of progress has continued to revolve, the cause of liberty has advanced, and the dark and ominous clouds that mantled the universe at the dawn of 1866 have been rent, and in a measure dissipated. Although the New Tear will not make its advent under a cloudless sky, it appears under more favorable circumstances than marked the inauguration of its predecessors. To apply ourselves nearer home to the events that have been most conspicuous. New Zealand during the past year has not retrograded ; if we cannot boaat of brilliant progress we can at least take credit that it has not gone backwards. Politically, it is still convulsed with the agitation for reform, but the character of that agitation has wonderfully improved ; the zig-zag utterances, the undefined and unintelligible demands for a reconstruction of the constitution of the colony has assumed a more systematic and enlightened complexion, and promises to make the era we are about to enter upon a red letter chapter in the history of the colony. The native difficulty, if not overcome, has been considerably diminished in importance ; new gold-fields and other mineral products have been discovered ; financial difficulties diminished, and steady advancement made. With the exception of a few dark spots that have disfigured the criminal calendar, social progress has kept pace with material improvement, and the great work of colonisation has steadily moved onward. Let us hope that the experience gained during the expiring year will be profitably applied in controlling events during the incoming one ; that the indications that have been given of a rising public activity, a general disposition on the part of the people to study the politics of the country, and apply themselves with wisdom and prudence to those reforms that are essential to the permanent prospect of the entire colony. Should this spirit animate th,e people of each Province, we may bespeak for New Zealand during the year 1867 a more brillant record than it is now in our power to indite. As far as Southland is concerned the events of the year have not realized all the sanguine hopings of many of its inhabitants. At the commencement of 1866 it was generally expected that the Bluff Harbor and Invercargill Railway would have been almost immediately opened, and other public works finished that would have largely given an impetus to trade. Owing to a series of unfortunate circumstances such expectations have been doomed to disappointment; notwithstanding this, however, Southland has not been destitute of signs of future advancement. The financial difficulties that then clustered round the government have in a measure been removed ; a large quantity of land has been sold, and the debt to the General Government diminished by about £170,000. Agricultural progress has been most satisfactory, gold-fields, although not as yet of great richness have been discovered, and are being worked ; the commercial interest has assumed a sound position, and confidence in the future of the Province has become more and more marked. It is to be hoped that the year upon which we are on the eve of entering will be conspicuous as one of improvement and hope. There are many circumstances that justify us in predicting that such will be the ease. The coming harvest, it is expected, will be far more prolific than has yet been obtained ; the wool crop is heavy ; much new ground is being taken up for immediate cultivation ; the Bluff Harbor and Invercargill Eailway will shortly be in operation, and new industries have sprung up. The past year has essentially been a year of consolidation; the prospects of the future of Southland have been carefully weighed, and the conclusion arrived at appears to be that patience, energy, and stable-mindedness on the part of the colonist must eventuate in success. The fertility of the soil has now been proved. British capital is being employed in this Province to an extent far greater than in any other province in New Zealand, and it is not visionary to believe that as the resources of Southland become more extensively known, her progress will be greater. There is no ground for despondency — there is every ground for hopefulness — and if the eoloawtu are true to themselves, Bteady

prosperity is within their grasp. To this end, wisdom, perseverance, and energy is demanded from all classes, and, with a hope that such will be displayed, we wish our readers a Happy New Teas. — Non progredi est regredi.