The Tuapeka Times. SATURDAY, MAY 8, 1869. "Measures, not Men."

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 65, 8 May 1869, Page 2

The Tuapeka Times. SATURDAY, MAY 8, 1869. " Measures, not Men."

A more able piece of special pleading than the statement made by Mr. Yogel last Tuesday has seldom been given to the world. But, in spite of the undoubted brilliancy of the performance, there is a false ring about it : the advocate usurps the place of the statesman. Mr. Yogel's great- talents have undoubtedly been servicaeble in many respects to Otago ; but of late, employed as they have been in bolstering up an unpopular and unjust cause, their influence has been for evil. We are content, however, to apply to" the politically dead the charitable proverb, De mortuis nil nisi bonum, and cordially hope that, in a new field of labour, unfettered by pecuniary embarassments, or private friendships, the ex-Treasurer may attain the position his great abilities should command. Our opposition to the principles he held has never diminished our respect and admiration for the intellectual powers of the man.

Tble experiment of introducing salmon ova has been watched with intense interest by every one who remembers the brown streams of fatherland, rushing in fierce impetuosity onward, then swirling into swift eddies, topped with am-ber-coloured foam, or softly sinking into dim silent pools overhung with birch or hazel, To those who can recall such a scene, what a glow of pleasant excitement does - the very thought of an Otagon salmon excite. Visions oi* the carefully-made cast; the fly just skimming the water ; the sudden swirl and gleam of silver ; the wild pleasure of the

struggle between man and fish, until the clean-run monarch of the stream, lying helpless on his side, is dexterously gaffed, and laid admiringly on a heap of brackens, while due libration is made to the naiads for so glorious a prize. Visions such as these send the blood coursing through the veins . of many an old man whose angle was relinquished scores of years ago. How great must be the indignation of all lovers of the gentle art when they learn that the success of the experiment has been impeded by the culpable neglect of the members of the late Government. The Byronic wish, slightly modified, may be applied to such culprits — May they have a good stout hook fixed in their gnlletts, and no small fish, but a regular fresh-run twentypounder, with the ,- sea-lice still sticking to his gills, especially engaged to pull it, until they cry " Peccavi ! " However, the blundering is of a piece with the rest of tqeir career while in office ; in fact, a historian of their blunders would, in spite of the An Poetica, be compelled to begin ab ovo.

How to increase population without over-taxing the productive powers of a young country is a question which has been often answered, but never in a manner worthy of its great importance. The various Governments of Otago have considered the assistance of a large number of the labouring classes to attain our shores a satisfactory solution, and have never deemed it necessary to encourage the influx of the amount of capital requisite to employ the labour thus imported. The natural result of such a vicious policy has been warded off, in our case, by the auriferous wealth of the country ; but it is apparent that this indemnity cannot be expected to continue much longer. Our Governments have been always ready * ( to gratify the demands of the agricultural and pastoral classes for cheap labour, but now, when numbers are to be found willing to accept the miserable pittance of five shillings a day, it is surely time for such concessions to cease. The real object of immigration is surely the settlement of the country, and | this can never be effected by crowding it with men who live from hand to mouth, and who, being without any ties to bind them to the soil, naturally seek out the places where their labour is most highly • remunerated. To attract the class most likely to make permanent settlers, nothing has as yet been done, and the consequence is a steady decrease in population, notwithstanding the large number of immigrants landed yearly on our, shores. Our labour market is already over-stocked, and the result of further importation will be to drive away all the old experienced colonists, substituting in their place men whose colonial education has to begin. To avert so grave a calamity, the immediate cessation of .the assistcd-passage system is required — a measure rendered more imperative by the present condition of the finances. Liberal Land Laws and the circulation of authentic and unexaggerated accounts of the resources of the Province may be safely trusted to do the rest ; but if further encouragement be found necessary, the acceptance of passage warrants as part payment for any land the immigrant may purchase will prove a cheap and satisfactory means of giving it, and also tend to the further settlement of the country. The Colonial Society recently inaugurated in London will be found an able assistant in making public the advantages offered by this Province to intending colonists ; and surely these are sufficient without any deceptive exaggeration. Otago is a field of enterprise peculiarly suited for the large class of small capitalists who are barely able to procure a livelihood at home ; and were these encouraged, a body of independent and intelligent yeomanry might be created, and the progress of the country assured. At present, our immigrants have neither the capital nor the intelligence requisite for such a body ; they come out la- 1 bourers, and unless they turn to keeping a shanty, or other unproductive pursuits, are fated to remain in their original state. During the Session of the Provincial Council ! just opened, we trust this question will receive a fair and exhaustive discussion. i

Owing to the bad weather, and the general inclination shown by all classes to stick to the fireside, we are hard run this week for local matter. The season, unfortunately, forbids the solution of the difficulty by means of " gigantic gooseberries" or wonderful cab-

bages;" nor are we inclined, to follow the example of some ' of our contemporaries and fill oui* local columns with unacknowledged clippings. Two ways of escaping -our difficulty being thus closed against us, our dernier resort and last chance is the weather. And although this can hardly, at the present season, be called a fruitful subject, it is one we have forced upon our attention on every side. Snow, sleet, rain, fog, frost, wind, and hail, the seven deadly discomforts, have visited us during the week, and.left many a trace behind in the form of influenzas, sore throats, and with the older folks, painful fits of "rheumatLz." The "stormy wind" has blown with a vengeance during the week, and although the damage done to property is trifling, the damage done to temper is incalculably great. From the large fall of rain, it is feared the district will be visited by floods, and if this apprehension be well grounded, a great destruction of property, and perhaps of life, is imminent. A voyage to the Chinese Camp might be pleasant enough were it made willingly, but when executed perforce, presents a less cheerful prospect ; yet to such do the apprehensions of the inhabitants of Ross-place point. It's an ill wind that blows nobody good, and the miners are rejoicing at the very showers which so alarm some other classes. May they use it so successfully that our gold yield will be doubled ; and at the same time, may our good burgesses preserve dry their " cork-heeled shoon."

Retrenchment is both a good and a popular policy, but unless judiciously carried out, is apt to injure rather than benefit. A mania for reducing the expenses appeared to seize the Government some three months ago, but the reductions were confined to the lower orders of officials, the big bugs being considered too ornamental to the Province to be interfered with. As far as it went, the pruning knife was applied vigorously, and in most cases judiciously enough ; and now the mantle of economy appears to have fallen on the shoulders of the member for Tokomairiro. This gentleman has given notice in the Provincial Council of one of the most insidious and pernicious motions ever laid before that august body. Its result would virtually bo to throw the whole representation into the hands of a few wealthy Hunedin merchants or squatters ; for limiting the honorarum to £20, as proposed by Mr. Gillies, would prove a most effectual way of excluding representatives of the miner and settler classes, whose private means are seldom large enough to warrant any extra expense. Were this alarm to prove groundless, another and equally fatal objection to Mr. Gillies' proposal presents itself. The temptation to hurry over the business of the. Session within the twenty days w,ould be almost resistless, and the carelessness consequent would, we have little doubt, prove that, in reducing the present honorarium, a penny-wise and pound-foolish system had been adopted. A false shame, a very mistaken delicacy, prevents many members from voting on a question like this ; and private means make it a matter of indifference to some ; but the duty which they owe to their constituencies should make them true to their posts, even when the task is so unpleasant as the voting of payment to themselves must prove to many of our high-souled members. After all, the division, list will prove a curious instance of voluntary valuation ; the members who are conscious that their actual worth is £20 will vote with Mr. Gillies, and those who have a higher opinion of their own and their constituents' abilities will oppose it.

The new Government have been formed, and whatever else may be said of it, it must be confessed that a more complete surprise could hardly have been devised. Mr. Maclean, who holds the most important office, is the very youngest member of the House, and has never displayed abilities of an extraordinary order. Mr, Gillies, who is also a recent importation, although not without experience, must have grown rather rusty. The other two gentlemen are admirably qualified for their posts. It would be unfair to criticise this strange Ministry before it has declared its policy. Let us hope it may prove better than it is bonnie.