MR BROGDEN AND THE GOVERNMENT.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 252, 28 November 1872, Page 5

MR BROGDEN AND THE GOVERNMENT.

When the Wellington City M.H.R 's, Messrs Hunter and Pearce, addressed their constituents last week, Mr Travers, who is the legal adviser of the Messrs Brogden, made a speech, in the course of which he attacked the Government for refusing to release ris principals from their engagement to introduce immigrants, theresmtof which, he said, would be that they would lose L 60.000. Mr Travers asked that meeting .whether it was worth the while of Mr Brogden to come out to New Zealand to make L 750.000 worth of railways— whether it was fair, while Mr Brogden was introducing to the Cjolony the ve,ry bone and sinew which could make the country— was it fajr to ask hvm ■ because lie might ' be making money with one jpand to throw it away with the other. The facts of the case as stated by the fndepen<fe>/<t are .;th'ese :—: — Wben Messrs Brog'ien had entered .upon contracts for the construction ef railways in this Colony, the question of a sufficiency of labor at once suggested itself to their minds. The ordinary immigration arrangements of the Government were not considered equal to the emergency, for several reasons — not the least of which was that whilst the Government was desirous of encouraging the immigration of families of the settle? class, the cmtractois required a very different stamp of people. Moreover, the contractors did net care to deueud for labor upon chaiice ; £hey were anxious to secure their own hands from England, engaged by them to work for t&e §rjn for a specified period on their arrival in the Colony. Negotiations took place between % Mje^srs Brogden and the Agent-General in London, and after considerable discussion it was agreed that Messrs Brogden should select and engage a certain, number of in England; that they should be brought o#t by the Government, Messrs Bregden giving jbbpir promissory notes for the repaynienf of the passage money — LlO per head — and the firm changing jfcbeir immigrants with I 4£ per head to cover risjc of losses through nonpayment, and charges fob o'ujbtU;. There is no necessity £o .discuss' whetner or not Messrs Brogden laa&s a good or 'a bad Bargain. They thought it WW sgopd one, and it was one deliberately entered, into. But they miscalculated their ablility to control the men they exported, and could not obtain the class of mm they expected. Strikes took place, and the invidious position in which Messrs Brogden's workmen occupied as compared with those brought oat by the Government helped ,te increase the difficulty. Then Messrs Brogden applied that their men sSould fee allowed to come out at the same rate as the C-pvernment immigrants ; but here was the difference which at once raised an objection to this cWrae;— The men brought cut by Messrs Brogden were' imported by them for their own special purr ; poses ; they were bound to work for a certain period only for the firm, and it was harly fajr to expect that the Colony would make a present to Brogden and Sons of L 5 per head of the number of their workmen, as would have been the .case. Had any of these men applied for passages in the ordinary way to the Agent^G^neral, they wpuld ! have been brought out 2 at the' same rate as j other immigrants. Mr Brogden, finding that thJB arrangement was likely to be a source of

a groat deal of trouble and embarrassment, and possibly of loss, applied to be relieved of the contract. Mr Travers stated at the meeting that Mr Stafford had offered to release Messrs ftrogden from their coritract, but that Mr Yogel bad refused to do so, and that the result to the firm would be a probable loss of -.60,000. Iso wonder that it was so much to be desired that Mr Stafford should be retained in office. Upon this matter Mr Travers unwittingly proved that Mr Yogel prefers the interests of the Colony to. those of the contractor.