The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1889. AUSTRALASIA.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1965, 5 November 1889, Page 2

The Temuka Leader TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 1889. AUSTRALASIA.

The Banking Eecord has published a preliminary summary of the statistics of the Australian colonies for 1888, as prepared by Mr Hayter, the Victorian statist. In this colony the Grovernment publishes a volume of statistics, but they are generally two years old, arid practically useless. For instance, we have not as yet received anything as regards the statistics of 1888, and we shall not until well' towards the middle, or perhaps end, of next year.This made General Edwards say recently that he found statistical means of finding out information in all the colonies, except. New. Zealand, where no such thing was to he found. This is a reproach to our Government. They go to the expense of publishing statistics, and surely they might as well get them ready, within reasonable time as delay them until they are practically useless. But Mr Hayter has by some means,been able to get. the statistics of this colony as well as those of other colonies, and through his instrumentality ,we have them now before us in the Eecord. We gather from it that the total population of the Australian colonies was' in 1888 8;678,004, The increase from the

previous year being 136,295. The increase in''Victoria was 54,750, in New South Wales 42,821. in Queensland 20,523, in ’South Australia 862, in Western Australia 351, in Tasmania 8671, in New Zealand 4019. Since, however, New Zealand has lost about 12,000 of her population,' so there is nothing to boast of. It is really most extraordinary that while the population of all the other colonies is increasing ours are flying away; and, as it is population we want, we ought to make an effort to prevent them from leaving ua. The birth rate in New Zealand is the lowest of any, being only 31.22 per 1000, while Victoria comes next with 32.49, South Australia 33 OG, Tasmania, 33.10, Western Australia 35.88, New South Wales 36.20, and Queensland 87.77. The death rate of New. Zealand is still lower, being only 9.43, while Victoria is 15.34, Western Australia 15.91, New South Wales 13.54, Queensland 14.66, South Australia 11.83, and Tasmania 14.11 per 1000 of the population. New Zealand is equally low as regards the marriage rate, which is only 5.97,

while Victoria is 8.42, New South ' Wales 7.87, Queensland 8.63, South Australia 6.58, Western Australia 7.18, Tasmania 6,59, Thus New Zealand is lowest in all the rates. The following tables are very important:— ! . HOOIOO 05 ' O t* I O I ® rH rH rH 1 r*H I ; ! 1 o CO I 00 j q, M rH rH H j H r.j 03 05 ?0 r-l «D !0 0)N I W >« H H (M H ri H h . ' OJ * 3* 1 U3«050t»0o|oo3-"tf N 1 O r-l(M(MO— 1 03 03 CO H . o, H H H H r* ' S |NC3Jt>l>oo O H 05 U 5 ‘ H UIHHHH NH J-* . i o hn m ig r— i ri rH s S £ ■<? N 03 03 W 3 T(l O-tf N 1 M ; 0> rH rH r* rH j gj I ®5 R (M O CD CD l ■ S2 oo to to os ts coco a , S __J3 j-a , U 3 O 1> CO O ■<? iH I H 3 ; “ • M M'- O U 3 00 05 N CD CO 03 ‘ 00 i 2 r M H H , l-o v S J> 00 001>05 '■Jl CO 1 Jf- ' a a «rt V w _ __ * 5Cj | I ‘S' C 3 I (M va 00 H rH CO 00 I CD .«£- rag ! o H 05 O 03 CO 50 m com o r e} H a H rl . pH, MH g 2 * ' (NNHfllN'tf N (M CO CO >= 5 H « « ij B *■■■——— , ■■ 5 w ».l Jl I 00 aw 03 tn rH rH S S COI>O3CDOO O CO 50 pH O > H H iS W A • l> 00 05 1> 00 00 ''f* CO *> ■ 2* ‘ M eft :* : : : : : ; : : a ; OS ’ ■ mi 2 “ -S a 1 . "j 2 C g i . : t»> ® i :t3 -p 1 ■ 0 • t> • js 3 ” - B Si i ° . ja 5 H 5 A < ! o -g S H a « : CJ a 3 _ <3 _ ® ; S”|3- , O ;a O ; .S ® S 3 £ H S 5 * t>jgC?(g£ ' HIZ 'l' From this table we can draw pn e i consolation, viz., there are others mbre deeply in debt and more heavily taxed than we are—-at least, this was the case in. 1888, But the question is : ’ Sow do we stand now?. Since 1888. j Sir Harry Atkinson has added £2,000,p00 i to our indebtedness; he has increased > taxation by something like 20 per cent., and he has frightened about ’ 12,000 people out of the colony. 1 Every man who leaves the colony increases the debt of those he has left behind 1 him; so it is probahlb now we are just about as deep in the mire as any of the colonies. These tables , alsoshoW 1 that we are not half so extravagant as other people. This is shown by the small amount of im- ( ported articles we consume per head as t compared with others. Another point 3 to which we attach most importance to is the fact that, notwithstanding > the way we have increased production b in this colony, we export less per head of population still than any of P the other colonies, with the exception of sleepy little Tasmania. One man 1 can produce nearly twice as much in • this colony as he could in any of the r others. The climate is healthier and t the soil is more productive, and altogether the advantage is on our side; in the face of this it is most extraordinary that we export less per head than any of the others. This shows that our 3 population is not industriously: employed ; that our people are idle, and that we are not producing as much as we ought. We have pointed out the , same thing before, and we now repeat ‘ that in this lies all the danger. In order to meet our liabilities we want to produce and export more, and we cannot do that so long as the land is ■ locked up. It is to everyone’s interest that the land should be producing, and to keep it lying almost idle is a social crime. ; ! CHARITABLE AID. i How to avoid giving charitable aid is i exercising the attention of those ' who ■ can best afford to give it. In a lecture on colonial pauperism, by Tvlr Oliver May, a member of the Auckland Charitable Aid Board, that gentleman said the population represented by the Auckland Hospital and Charitable Aid Board • was about 88.000, and of that number 1300 received aid. This was a less proportion than existed three or four years ago. ’ If the same rate • bxistbd in: other parts of the colony there would be 9000 or 10,000 paupers, costing £90,000 or £IOO,OOO a year. Last year charitable aid in the Auckland district cost £12,241. Of the average number of patients receiving treatment m the hospital, about 75 per cent, contributed! nothing to their . support, and many were quite content to remain there by the year if allowed. Impoature,was very, difficult to detect, and the remedies for professional pauperism were difficult to find. He would get rid of State charity in toto , and do away with the Charitable Aid 1 Board, as soon as local control with energetic committees to distribute the fund, and watch ; imposture, were ieatablished. He thought this the best plan under present conditions to alleviate, if not,extirpate, this evil of so many people living on their neighbors’ thrift and industry. We do not know Mr Oliver May, but his utterances stamp him as belonging to the same species of man as the Frenchman who told the poor they could go and eat hay. The Frenchman’s utterances had a deal to do with hastening on the French revolution, and so will the 1 callous-heartedness of the Oliver Mays of this colony result in a revolution of another kind. At present the cost j of charitable aid is mainly borne by the tax of twopence per pound placed \ on tea specially for that purpose. < The Oliver Mays begrudge the poor 1 this; they would like to appropriate it, E so as to reduce the property tax and £ let the poor starve. Let them, how- r ever, look to themselves. The people 1 of this cohriy will not tolerate such s wrongs as are being perpetrated, and c the day is not far distant when the u Oliver Mays will have to pay the tax. C

They cannot have the cake after having eaten it. They have so governed this colony that the poor have not the means of earning a livelihood, but this cannot last for ever, and such heartlessness as shown by Mr Oliver May will expedite the change,