The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1886. A PITIFUL STORY.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VIII, Issue 2235, 4 March 1886, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY, MARCH 4, 1886. A PITIFUL STORY.

One of the saddest records wbich we read in a New Zealand newspaper for many a long day comes from Chriatchurcb. It is only a periodical market report from a leading business firm, but the bitter feeling manifested in it presents the saddest picture of commercial reverses which we hara met with since the panic of iBB7-8-9. The following is the extract to which, we referr

Land and Propkbtv. —The yelping of the political jackals, who have so persistently followed fclio trial of progressive measures, has so paralysed the position of trade that for the time being exchanges of freehold are few and far between. The voice of the croaker has been long and loud; so much so that discreet men declined to sell, and the would-be buyors (of whom there are plenty) decline to operate until a definite outlook is placed before the country. The sooner affirmed and progressive measures are definitely laid before the people the better, unless it bo the wish of mcrtgagecs to collar the country. The depeopling of our Province seems the object of some, while our desire is to see a considerable augmentation to our population under enlightened laws, and upon the rails of steady and assured progress, The physicians of "wait and see" the while are floating over the carcass of depression, in view of the hope of early absorption, Our candid advice is hold—do not offer, do not sell, unless the vyce of extortion has so tight a grip that you must; make an effort, struggle and hold—tha darkest hour is before daylight,

The paralysis of trade on which so much stress is laid, is no doubt in a measure attributable to the low prices which have preyailed of lute years for colonial produce, but low prices only partly account for the severity of the depression. It is undoubtedly the case that Canterbury is now also suffering from over-borrowing. .Jn the flush of prosperity which followed the expenditure of borrowed millions in the Middle Island, Canterbury settlers made engagement? which they apparently are now unujble to meet, Calling their creditors naijies Kay relieve their feelings, but will!scarcely help them out of thoir' difficulties. We presume mortgagees down South are merely asking for their own, and to insult .tlietn when their right cannot be contested is futile in the extreme. From a Christchurch point of view moneylenders, when the time of borrowing is on, uro saviours, but when the time to pay baok arrives they become jackals, The remedy tliab Canterbury desires for its present unsatisfactory condition is fur.ther debt to be incurred by the colony .for its spscjal advantage. Canterbury, jf it 1 getsits oro way, would place the colony •in the position which it now ocoupies, and juefc as it now calls j,ts .creditors Jackals, we .may someday have to call. tlje London money-lenders wolves, i because tjiey may refuse us .credit at .some jfojjjnw 4'ateJ T|ere. are few i settlors jn ; the Ityrtjb ssid yho .will no,t sympathise jvitjh tjfiie /Je/pßsion which prevails in tjhe South, .yho would not desire to rejjeve j&, first consideration must be safety of the colony. If New Zealand interests are secured, Canterbury must

participate in the safety of the Oniony, out if, on the other hand, the interests of the Colony are sacrificed to givo a temporary relief to a seotion of the; middle island, a time may come when New Zealand will be powerless to help Canterbury. In Mastortori seven yearßago we pissed through a trial similar to that which is now being endured in the South. We had as bitter an experience of the reverses which follow over-speculation, and many a man who succumbed in those days, has not yet retrieved his position, Still, looking back on the past we must confess that we, in the district, had only ourselves to thank for the embarrassments of those days, Masterton learnt lesson by the bitter experience of the panic year, and by exercising prudence and economy for a time, not only retrieved its position, but attained a solid prosperity which contrasts strangely with its former factitous progress, The Colony never came to our aid in Masterton, and we righted ourselves without political interposition. Our duty now to New Zealand is to keep the wolf from its door, and so save it from the spectre which now haunts Canterbury, and whioli onco troubled Masterton,