The Waikato Times "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA" SATURDAY, MARCH 20,1875.

Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 445, 25 March 1875, Page 2

The Waikato Times "OMNE SOLUM FORTI PATRIA" SATURDAY, MARCH 20,1875.

3/r was with a feeling of disappointment that we , read the report of Sir George Grey's speech at the Thames. We should have thought that his good taste ■would have prevented his talking with the apparent object of eliciting applause from a mixed crowd. Th«- first suggestion that miners wives should be settled on farms, while their husbands pursued their ordinary avocations, is on the face of it, absurd. It appears not to have struck the speaker that it is of very little use tto settle I*. woman on a farm. His denunciation of the present system of immigration, of isourse elicited cheers from his audience, we all know that a feeling prevails among the working classes that the large importation of labour that has takel^-place of late, cannot fail to reduce the rate of wa^es, they cannot understand that the demand has increased faster than the supply, and that in most districts wages are higher than before a single free immigrant was imported into the country. It was Sir George Grey's duty to explain this, rather than indulge in unmeaning declamation to a mob. He should know, if he be fit for the office to which he aspires, that it is impossible to introduce immigrants suited to the requirements of the Colony ; they have necessarily much to learn. We are prepared to admit that in some instances, the cl&ss has not been what we require, tout in considering the question, we must not overlook the fact that all those imported have been ab- 1 •sorbed into the population. The lower the class .and the less their adaptability t} the Colony, therefore, the greater the evidence of the necessity of procuring labor. Sir George Grey tells us that the ■squatters should import labor at their own cost .•and not " have the audacity to tax other people to <enrich themselves." He applies his remark to * jSouth Australia, where he. states the squatters jacted on that principle. It is not difficult to understand a recluse enunciating such a doctrine. There -.are many matters which have to be dealt with in a ■(very different manner to that in .which theory ■\would dictate, theory, without practical experience, iis worth little, more particularly in a colony. Sir 'George ought to know that squatters require very ]little labor, it is the small farmer who principally rsufiers from the want of it, and he as a rule, is "living from hand to mouth, and not able to advance Tinoney to bring out labour and take the risk -whether it be good or bad. Sir George has come foru ard as the champion of the working man, the (Colony and the Province looked for other .- -must not be understood to mean that the advocacy of the cause of the working man is a despicable duty, but we hoped that Sir George would have Tbeen above the calibre of a class agitator. Sir <George asks " why construct railways in particular V The question insinuates an untruth, ; it is true that only portions of the railway scheme have as yet been attempted, but Sir George Grey jßhould know that thia is not the case hy design, but -.necessity. He asks " what was it to him that the -property of cort'dn individuals was beuefrttud hy railways." This insinuates that railways have been .constructed for the ape cial benefit of private individuals, we h»,\(i yet to learn that this has been .done. W<" have look<d through the statement of Air Kichaidson and can only find that railwajs 'iiive boon constructed which may, and should be eoubuK led, poitioni of the trunk lino, on the conduction of which, iili cUe agii'ed. Sir George Grey a^p^ars (o ilimk tli to the ropr .\.witution oi lumoiiiv-> is uiijujL. If hi-» Uea. c the distribution of s ,i'U^ m ])i yjitio.j to t iiy%iJ.iwOii were canied out,

a^^eati|^dfeht tsp same, the country districts would fee outvoted on every question on which the interests of theWo divisions of the people clashed. Had amy other man than an antiquated politician ur&ed the irriposition of a tax on wool, 'we should have' attributed the utterance to dinner" -Jt BQme^ other enlivening cause, Jt is little to be wondered sit that a man who in this 19fch, century advocates J&& imposition of an export duty, should be stigmatized as a Rip Van Winkle, As we wrote above there is a vast difference between that which is theoretically sound, theory being based on false premises, and that which is practicable. Weha:l a right to, and expected 'more than we have received, from the veteran politician, who ig our cjiief Magistrate. He has evidently much to learn and much to unlearn ; -W& fear that the task will prove insuperable ; mon are not ready to learn at the age of Sir George Grey. We are- disappointed that he has rtOt taken the trouble to make himself conversant with the politics of the day and of political economy as enunciated in the time of his father. We have. Sir G\ Grey as a Superintendent, but not the Sir G. Grey that we had a right to look for. He was to have been the saviour of the country, he may prove so, but we can see nothing in his public conduct at present which justifies the belief,

The New Zealand Manganese Mines Company (Limited) hao just been registered with a capital of £35,000., in XL shares. The object of the com- : pany is to acquire mining rights in the Island of Wacheki and elsewhere in New Zealand. xThe Right Rev. the Bishop of the diocese will visit ths Waikato this week, and will officiate at NguarailWahia and Hamilton on Sunday next. He will Confirm^ at each pl aces « Sir George Grey addressed the electors of the Provinoe at the Choral Hall on Monday evening. The report occupies five colnmns of the Tuesday's issue of our contemporaries. We will give a digest of his utterances in our next.