The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1884. HAS NEW ZEALAND GONE BACK?

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1737, 16 July 1884, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 1884. HAS NEW ZEALAND GONE BACK?

We were pleased to notice that Mr Hogg, in proposing Mr McCardle as a fit and proper person to represent this electorate, advocated his claims on broad grounds and not on any petty personal issue. He maintained that New Zealand had gone back under the Atkinson Ministry, Now this is a fair issue to put before the electors, and one we are quite prepared to accept. To prove his assertion Mi' Hogo referred to tho number of unemployed men in the colony. This is hardly sufficienttoestablishhiscase. During the twenty years we have been in the colony we have been accustomed to see some men looking for work, and hoping they would not find it. At any rate in this district work was never more plentiful and wages were never higher than they are at the present time, and it taxes the ingenuity of Mr McCardle's friends to find grievances for the working man. We will, however, take tho broad ground, " Has New Zealand gone back?" What do our statistics show for the period to which Mr Hogg alluded, viz,, the present Ministerial reign. In 1878 the population of the colony was 432,319, and in 1883 it was 540,877. Is there any sign of going buck here 1 In 1878 the outward shipping of the colony was 400,609 tons, and in 1883 it was 438,351 tons. In 1878 the exports from the colony were £6,015,700, and in 1883 £7,095,999, Tested by statistics the argument of Mr Hogg falls to the ground. We agree with him that the time has come for making changes in the Ministry but we cannot admit that the country owes other than a debt of gratitude to the Atkinson Ministry. We hold that the new element that promises to leaven the Ministry is Sik Julius Vogel. The Opposition party in this district are virtually' Greyites' but they have not the courage of their convictions. They dare not raise a Grey flag for fear of their ship being scuttled, They sail along without any flag at their masthead, If Mr McCardle were returned as member for Wairarapa North the flag would be hoisted at once, The electors are entitled to know under whom he will serve and he is only befooling his friends by keeping back the information,