PROSPEROUS VICTORIA.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1438, 8 December 1885, Page 2

PROSPEROUS VICTORIA.

In previous issues we have shown how wheat was sailing in Melbourne at from 4< to 4s 31 per bu-ltel, while it wne hardly saleable here at from 2s 6d to 2s 9d per bushel ; and that wool was sold thereat from lid to Is while the price here ranged from per lb. We have since cjiiib across a little bit of information which shows what the effect of these prices is. The Australasian of November 7th says :

“ The prosperity of Victoria is almost without its equal in the history of the State. Taken en bloc (alluding to the races gathering) it is a sober and good humored crowd, and, well-to-do appearance. The Cup day of 1885 has fallen iu die midst of a period of exceptional prosperity as regards the wage-earning classes of the community.”

Almost the whole world is in an exremely depressed condition, jet here is protected Victoria enjoying prosparity such as it has never before ex (i-rifnced. 'I he Australasian is the organ of Freetrade ; it did not attribute the national prosperity to Protection, hut the fact remains undisputed—and ii is a fact that every man ought to r< fl- ct upon—(hat the country is exceptionally prosperous, and that ir. owes it to Protection, Mrtjr. A. Sala Said in one of ids letters that there was not a city in (Miropp in which one could live so cheaply as in Melbourne. lie was right, A man can get six meals in a restaurant in Melbourne for half-a crown. And yet in the face of these fads flatulent humbugs and antiquated fossils, whose mental vision is darkened by that hallucination called Freetrade, undertake to prove that Protection must increase the cost of living. What is our own experience in this colony. In 1879 M j r Atkinson increased the Customs Duties from 10 to 15 per cent., and what is the result ? dimply that tlnse goods are a great deal cheaper now than they were thin, and the reason is because they have to compete with localijproduced goods which the increased duties called into existence. NEW POLtUY. The Wellington correspondent of the Otago Daily Times telegraphs to that paper on last Saturday to the eff ct 'hat Sir Judns Vogel contemplates laying heb re Parliament next ses>i n the following highly sen-ational policy -

“That New Z‘«land shall at once mid-itvke the cm slrm tion and corntde* lion, with the utmost possible speed, of til> m-dn trunk lines throughout the Colony, including the Otago Get tral, Canterbury and West Coast, Nelson and West Coast, Noith Island Trunk line, and East and West connection through Munawatu Gorge.

“ That at the same time assisted immigration shall be resumed on a large scale to provde the labor required beyond what New Zetland can furnish.

“That simultaneously there shall be a vast opening up of land for Betti- ment oh such favorable terms as to settle the laboring classes on the land as employment on the public works gradually ceases.

“That where necessary lands for this purpose shall' be acquired from Natives in the North Island, and purchased back from large property owners at fair market prices, as suggested by Sir George Grey in his draft bill of last session, to he disposed of in small allotments on very easy terms for bona fide settlement.

“That inducements shall be offered to large and small cap t*l iats to imrnig-ate, by enabling them to come out at the -ame rate of passage money as to colonies nearer England, the Government contributing the balance or refunding its value in land, and aff rding other facilities for the settlement of persons who would improve the land and employ labor.

“That every effort shall be made to start new industries, and assist them by Stite aid, either through a moderate Protective tariff or otherwise, so that ks public wotks ar« finished those engaged on them may find other employin'nr on land for settlement ready to their hands. “ Th it for these purposes a large loan of eight or ten millions shall he raised ut the earliest favorable opportunity.” The correspondent says he has good grounds for believing this to be correct, and adds that if the policy is not acceptable to Parliament Sir Julius Vogel will .appeal to the country. He thinks there will be dissensions in the Cabinet over it, but Sir Julius Vogel will aopeal to .the country against his own colleagues. It is not easy to beliove this, but at the sarao tinm we must remember that Sir Julius Vogel is at thehel n of the siiip of State, anil that he is capab'e of any extravagance. The policy foreshadowed above would certainly remove depression, but unless great care was exercised it would be a( a tntn ndous cost. A day of reckoning would com . Sir John* Vogel recently said that every LI.OOO.t'OO we added to our N >ijonal D bt meant sending over L4O 000 out of the country annually in the -linpe of interest. To carry out the «b >ve policy would therefore nr an paying interest to the tune of about half arnil ion annually. If we increase onr National D. bt by LlO 000.000 WP must pay annually to the English capitalist about 12.000 000. If Hir Julius Vogel included in this policy ft National Bank ; and if his policy of Prot*ctmn were also adopted, the whole combined would bring back "ermanent prosperity. If the LlO 000 000 were spent in the scatter-cash manner that past loans have been squandered, this colony would not be fit to live in afterwards. But it is not worth discussing until we know whether there is anything in it.