The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men. Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. TUESDAY, JAN. 10, 1888.

Waikato Times, Volume XXX, Issue 2418, 10 January 1888, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men. Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. TUESDAY, JAN. 10, 1888.

In last Saturd.-iy's Supp'etnenfc, we published a verbatim report presented to the Canterbury Chamber of Commerce, on the 19th ultimo, by Mr Maitland Gard'ner, the Viee-Prnsi-dent, in which he duals with certain phases of the existing depression in this colony, and advocates the adoption of specific measures which, iu his opinion, are necessary to revive confidence and prosperity. There are many statements in the report which will be endorsed by those who are familiar with the causes that have so long been operating against the colony, and leaving it in the wake of the Australasian communities. In our last issue we compared the present financial position of New Zealand with the principal Australian colonies, showing how unfavourable to us that comparison appears. Speaking generally, we Itavo been dragging very much behind our neighbours in the race ; our great national indebtedness has been overpowering our natural energies, aud the absence of elasticity in our annual revenue has been a bar to the lessening ol ! the heavy load of taxation. All that is, unfortunately, only too true. But, as we have before frequently expressed, the natural resources of New Zealand are boundless and- require no more than wise management and careful manipulation on a judicious economic basis, in place of reckless and thoughtless wastefulness, to enable us to regain the position Nature has intended for us in tho van of Bx-itain's self - governing dependencies. The bitter experiences we havo passed through will prove an enduring lesson to us for our past prodigality, at the same time there is no reason for taking a pessimist view of the future of the land of our adoption We are in possession of a magnificent inheritance, which, under wiser auspices, and lirough the conspicuous energy and perseverance so characteristic of the AngloSaxon in every quarter of the globe, will become developed as fully and as successfully as the resources of our sister colonies.

Mr Gard'ner quotes the following appropriate remarks from a late article in the '' Australasian," which touch a vital point in the policy that should be pursued to facilitate a healthy recovery to a career of onward progress : —" Supposing that instead of a few thousands there were as many hundreds of thousands on the land, tho demand for every conceivable article would be infinitely larger. Every man who comes to the colony can only bp a competitor in one department, and he must be a consumer in many. If he takes up a selection, he does not compete at all with the working classes. If he is an artisan, lie can at most only compete with members of his own trade, and lie helps to give employment to all the others. His arrival, therefore, must bo a distinct gain, for, while it is not probable that he will be the cause of any large reduction of wages, it is certain that his wants

will aid to the general employment. Scarcity of work is more likely to be clue in the long run to the present system of staving off competition," It is incontrovertible that in a steady influx of fresh population lies the main spring to the prosperity of a new country, and, where such now country has embarked in a course of heavy borrowing, the annual interest of which must be a first charge on the public revenue to foe paid unfailingly to tb? foreign

creditor, it becomes fill the more necessary to encourage by every possible means the introduction of a stream of immigration of permanent settlers in order to lighten the burden of debt and widen the incidence of taxation over an increased area of tax-payers. Serious objections arc frequently made to further immigration. So great were these objections that State-aided immigration was stopped, in compliance with public demands. This action was not altogether unjustifiable ; but the agitation arose from the centres of population, where skilled labour, such as artisans, artificers, etc., were to be found in excess of local requirements, and formed the ranks of the "unemployed." Sympathy with the position of those classes was very proper, for we are quite of the opinion, from our personal knowledge of the question, that we should I not encourage the entry of more skilled labour into the country ; we have more than sufficient of it for all purposes for some time to come. The class we do need, however, to come over to our shores steadily all the year round, are people who will steer clear of the large towns, proceed at once to the country, and settle on our rural lands. That is the policy which has produced such marvellous effects in the United States of of America, and has enabled that country to absorb with such extraordinary ease the tens of thousands who fioclc to her borders every year. This is the policy adopted by Canada, British Columbia and New South Wales, in each ease with perfect success, as the enterprise and clan exhibited by those vigorous young nations display. Prosperity attends them, and with it, amazing growth, expansion and bright hopes. I We have in the colony, as is pointed out by Mr Gardner, unsold lands chiefly, Crown Lands, amounting to over 48,000,000 acres, irinspection of Native Lands the bulk of which in the course of time will fall into the hands of the Crown. A vast quantity of this land is adapted for settlement in some shape or another. At the present given sufficient inducements, there are numbers of practical British farmers and graziers who would relinquish the adversities attending the agricultural industry in the old country to begin life afresh with sufficient capital inthis colony. Such is the class of immigrants the State should seek to encourage into the colony : they would be consumers as well as producers, would be employers of labour and would quicken the circulation of ready money. The stimulus given to trade by tliis class of settlers would be perceptible in the course of a short time and would be felt in industrial circles to a very material degree. We agree with Mr Gardner when he says :—We require, therefore, but to increase our population with a class of men such as originally settled in this country, men who had the courage and endurance, the ambition, and the determination to succeed ; then if we have confidence in ourselves, and the many resources of which the country is posssessed, it will enable our colony to take its proper position, as one of the best of all England's many splendid dependencies. The report also gives in tabulated form the increase in the chief products and staples of the colony since 1881, showing that, notwithstanding the serious commercial stagnation and fiscal collapse, the natural vitality of the colony has never been extinguished, but that substantial progress has been made since that period in production and wealth. Thus the export of wool increased from' 5'J,-!15,9-101bs in 1881 to 90,853,74-llbs in 1880 ; coal from 6,0:21 tons to 40,130 tons; butter from 2,l2ocwts to 23,175cwt5; cheese from 3,os6c\vts to 16,429 | cwts; frozen mutton from nil to 34G,055c\vts; and timber from 13,180,280 feet to 29,-349,789, and so on with other articles of production in fair proportion. Then amongst other statistics we find that whilst horses and cattle have decreased, sheep have increased from 12,985,035 to 16,004,595; land under cultivation from 1,768,192 acres to 6,843,177 acres; (Saving Bank deposits, balance to credit, from £1,549,515 to .£2,133, 801. The number of industries increased from 1,643 to 2,268 and the number of hands employed from 17,938 to 25,655. It will lie perceived from the above summary that elements of progress are sound, and that with a steady influx of population, which must be recognised as an absolute economic necessity, all that is required further is safe and prudent administration to push us ahead and re-inspire confidence at home and abroad.