TELEGRAPHIC DESPATCHES.

Southland Times, Issue 759, 4 December 1867, Page 2

TELEGRAPHIC DESPATCHES.

WELLINGTON. Saturday. Mr Clarke, late manager Australian Intercolonial Steam Navigation Companies, committed suicide by cutting his throat. He was taken to the Hospital, where he died in ten minutes. News has been received from Dr Hector, who has reached Tongariro. Waiwera natives have sent to Napier proposing peace — this will secure the afety of the East Coast settlements. The HawJce's Bay Herald says the Bundisturbed occupation of the interior by Europeans may be considered accomplished. Desperate . efforts have been, made during the past week to get up a banquet for Mr Ktzherbert, previous to his departure to England. These have been unsuccessful, the Provincialists standing aloof. In the Supreme Court, Hawke's Bay, Eobert James Curtis, warehouse keeper, H.M.s Customs, pleaded guilty to embezzlement of £500. Sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labor. Dunedin. Session commences to-day. Heavy calendar. Three cases of murder. Monday. Sir Q-eorge Bowen is to arrive first week in January. Defence Secretary, Holt, has been offered the lease ot the Kawau, with a purchasing clause. Westland County Act has been proclaimed to carao into operation, oa the first Qf January,

LETTERS ON OTAGc( It has been the practice fcf. some discontented people in the \eighboring Province of Otago to write liome disparaging accounts of the prosprfets of that Province, with the view of diapuraging immigration. In each case t*j statements advanced have simply beena tissue of falsehoods. The following is t c latest specimen, which appeared in a 1 Scotch paper — the People's Jou/rnal—hi'mg a very "extensive circulation: — ~ '■•" > Sir — I see a letter in your colimns of date April 13, 1867, from a ploug iman of Otago, and also one from about f< rty persons here, against that letter. I pay, at the outset, say that I am a plouglman of six years' standing here, and biya had seven prizes given me at home. 1 have served under Mr Ayson, Mains dij Errol, Carse of Q-owrie, and other well-mown practical farmers in Scotland, and I regret the day 1 ever left the old land fur this part of the world. I can endorse every word in your correspondent's letter It is the truth, but not the whole truth, which would occupy a volume. This place at present is very dull, and getting worse daily. I know a female wh> was actually seduced by a very near rdation of one of our members of Parliament. "Ploughman's" letter on that majter is true to the letter. Sir, I hard not -the ability, nor can you spare the- space for such a description as I could send you of this place. But I hereby 'ecclose you a copy of a paper (the Saturcay Beview), which will unveil for you tie real state of Otago. I could get one tiousand men to attest the truth of whab is written therein en the letters forwarded to you. May I beg, for my own sate as well as for those of my suffering trethren here of all shades of tradesmen, tiat you will transcribe in your Taluable paper the article on Otago, in order that poor people at home may not be deceived by the false representations made to them by interested parties. They vant people here to reduce wages down to a starving pomt — even below the home level. A working man here, even if he got constant employment, could not work more than six months in the year, because, according to meteorological observations, extending over many years, and I can speak from experience as to the truth of these, there are about 185 days wet in Otago. 8s is the current wages, and your correspondents would like wages so low as 4s a-day, and, according to the present high rates of market, a man could not even subsist upon such wages. Sir, I fearlessly forward you my name and residence, and am able to abide by, and to prove the truth, of what is here forwarded for your kindly consideration. Thanking you heartily for inserting " Ploughman's" letter, I remain, Sir, yours very gratefully, John M'Donald, Maclaggan-street, Dunedin. July 1, 1867. Mr Auld, the Q-overnment Agent, writing from Edinburgh on September 12th, says — But for the fact that a great proportion of the working classes who would better their position in life by going to New Zealand, and of whom the Colony is greatly in need, do not keep themselves imformed of the actual state of matters there, from authoritative sources, aud are apt to accept of, and be misled by, such misrepresentations as are made by those and similar letters," it would be wholly unnecessary for me to take any notice of them, as all who take an intelligent interest in New Zealand affairs are aware that the very opposite of what is there stated is the fact. As Home Agent of the Provincial G-overnment of Otago, I am in constant communication with the Government of that Province, and am aware that for a considerable period of time back farm-servants and shepherds have been in great demand, and have been receiving nothing less than £50 per annum with board, while some are now being paid as high as £100; and the wages now being given to female domestic servants are not below £30, and in some cases are as high as £60 per annum with board. These are the only classes encouraged to emigrate by the Government, who assist them to the extent of one-half of the passage money. This, however, amounts to a large sum annually; and, as I stated in a former letter in your columns, in answer to the, "John Rogers," it humbly appears to me that the mere fact that the Government in this way expends many thousand of pounds annually, must, by every unprejudiced person, be deemed conclusive proof that those classes of emigrants are in great demand, and consequently that the rate of wages is high, for, apart from the expenditure, nothing could be' more suicidal on the part of the Government than to encourage the emigration of classes of whom the colony really does not stand in need. I am quite aware of the fact that, notwithstanding the care taken to select suitable emigrants, and so to expend the funds of the Government to the advantage of the Colony, some parties (though, I believe, very few in number), who have been incapable of doing anything useful at home, have, by means of " got up" . certificates, contrived improperly to obtain assisted passages to the Colony, while others have been sent out afc the expense of friends here desirous to get rid of them. These are just the persons who, incapable of improving their position wherever they may go, endeavor to thow the blame of their failure on the Colony, instead of on themselves, and who are prone to vent their abuse in letters to newspapers, either anonymously or under the shelter of some unknown name. lam very far from objecting to full and frank discussion of the subject, satisfied that the more it is fairly ventilated the more it will result in benefit to the Colony; but the Colony is entitled to claim that unscrupulous communications shall not find so ready access to the public press, as they sometimes dO| without proper inquiry and, rtentioatioßi ihf position, and $Wrg«

ter of their authors cannot be readily^ detected or discovered at this great distance, and, if false, they are calculated seriously to injure the interests of a. large and prosperous community. Of your correspondent, " John M'Donald," I know nothing ; but without ranking him in the class of persons to whom I have already alluded, I cannot help suspecting that, if a ploughman, he is one of that class in New Zealand who are so short sighted as to think that the Government will, by encouraging emigration from among the working classes, prevent wages from getting higher, while they altogether keep out of view the fact that, unless labor can be obtained at such a rate as to leave a reasonable profit to the agriculturist, there could be no encouragement for capitalists to emigrate, and that monied men already in the province would soon cease to be employers. " John M'Donald," however, does not state that he now professes to belong to any of the classes encouraged to emigrate by the Grovernment, and the opposite inference is to be drawn from the fact that he dates his letters from Maclaggan-street, Dunedin. It would be an easy thing to confute the statements made by your correspondent by letters from many industrious cmi-: grants, who, being willing to work, have found labor abundant, and have succeeded; but nothing can attest the untruthfulness; of the statements more fully than the fact that hundreds of the class just mentioned send home annually, through my agency, passage warrants to enable their friends not so well off in this country to go out and join them.