NELSON AND MARLBOROUGH.

Southland Times, Issue 1158, 3 November 1869, Page 2

NELSON AND MARLBOROUGH.

(From the Marlborough Exprett, Oct. 9.) The Nelson people seem under a strange delusion with respect to the^attitade recently taken ,by some oft the leading men of this Province in opposition to Mr Vogel's scheme" of * re-annexation — as witness the virulent attacks rmade. upon us by both the Colonist, and the Mcdl. The feeling shown was not towards fTelson but the Ministry, which, while admitting Iwf^d^a^od^clis^ terminating our; existence, as it might be a doctor proposing, to -kill rhia; patient because he suffered from a grevious -disorder; or a Judge sentencing a man to death because^ome one had robbed him who could not be reached; It was cer. tainly necessary that we should, while resisting this action, urge 3 the past as an index to the future, and then we trod on the toes of the Nelson party, but/^re looked to } the, people to assist ' u§ in the pi^ppsed aggrossipn. That we found purselyes to ailarge extent mistaken in this is quitetcue, and had it not been for, the efforts made in JBlenheim f/ , backed up by bur friends in the .Assembly^ we shouldnowhave foundooraelvea politically dead. . : .•• : , ;>:• i(\( .;. We are led to make these remarks by an allusion too the matter made by Mr Curtis in a speechi recently delivered at Nelson. The JSraau/w-says— "Healluded to the t proposal to iraito Marlborough to Nelson, but h?nid therejwu oppou* tion on. the part of Marlborough, and betides the people of Nelson did not want to^reranite, &em•elrea to a hostile population without a ■hilUng ia ita pockets. (Hear, hear, and laughter.) Such s thing would not be for, oar comfort in any shape drwaj;"' (/ - :;■/..•■■ v i /■■ ; What could be the .cause - - of , the pleasure shewn at this apocryphal story. Let us see what were the relative amount* of the JLaad Beredae of the two Pro* yinces during last year:— r Nelson. Mariborongh. Land Sales ... ... £I^oo ... £1»4« License* and AsMMments . ?8l »... 824 Miscellaneous... ... 2^oo ..., 8,181 _ _ ..... _„_ As will be seen, then, our Land He venue (omitting the gold dut;y of course) actually exceeded" that of "N^lsoff- by upwards: of £1,000, a sum calculated to enhance our "comfort" when expended on our roads and bridges. Nor is this the only gain which Annexation would bring to NeUon, for her debts are largely in excess of ours, and' there canjbe i no doubt jiut that we should^ have had to assist in paying them, even if we had not " a shiiling iiiour pockets." From recent returns we find that the; debts of Nelson were on the 3Jst December-last, approxi. mated at £81,350, the charges on which come to £5,681 annually, while that of Marlborough is set down at £15.150 only, and is far in excess of the real amount. Had the two Provinces' therefore been annexed, it follows that we should have had a joint debt of £96,500, and_a large increase, of local taxation^ while the amount of benefit we should dAriveinay be estimated by that received by the Amuri district at the present time. 5i