The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men. Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1889.

Waikato Times, Volume 2656, Issue 2656, 20 July 1889, Page 2

The Waikato Times AND THAMES VALLEY GAZETTE. Equal and exact justice to all men. Of whatsoever state or persuasion, religious or political. SATURDAY, JULY 20, 1889.

Fak too many people continue to leave the colony. The number of departures is seriously in excess of those that enter our shores. The Premier explains the cause of the exodus to he the cessation of large public works with the expenditure of borrowed money on the same unlimited scale as formerly. The reason given is a very plausible one, and is no doubt, true to a certain extent. Most people, however, not influenced by considerations of place and power, ascribe this desertion of the colonv by such numbers to the excessive" taxation, the _ Propertytax, especially, which discourages capital and cripples industry and enterprise. With such a supeib country, lit in every respect as to natural resources, climate and soil that should attract and absorb a constant influx of new population rather than repel those already here, the wonder is that the balance of migration is not considerably in tho colony's favour. The burthen of the song heard on all sides is, bettle the people on the land. That is the remedy prescribed for overcoming the difficulties which beset the country. The truth oi this is universally recognised; the more people we can bring into the colony to occupy the vast areas of land crying aloud for humai hands and industry to till it, the li"liter will our national burdens become by the addition of othei shoulders to share them with us The soil being the source of al f wealth, to increase the occupiers o the soil is to increase the productioi of national wealth and pel manent prosperity. All that is un deniably sound. Hence, theamoun of joy and congratulations indulgei in over the increased demand fo

land, under the provisions of the > Lund Act, during the past year or , so This movement ou to the u\nd, i however, is confined to the people already here, and is not due to outside immigration, which would also add to our fixed population and confer the benefits already described. Reform in the system of taxation, no more borrowing in foreign markets, and state immigration and colonisation would lie direct agents in producing those benefits. Ihere is, however, another great factor, frequently spoken of and as often disregarded; namely, tho colonial railways. They should be the most powerful artificial auxiliary towards promoting settlement and national prosperity in the possession of the people. They are, unfortunately, the reverse. In spite of all the bitter complaints made in every part of the colony, of all representations and urgings on the part of the public, there is no change in the. railway policy favourable to the advancement of settlement and agricultural interests. Ihe railways have apparently become wedged in a rut out of which it is impossible, or nearly so, to move them, and the barnacles hold them down tenaciously. When the Board of Commissioners wasappointed some hopes were inspired that, removed from the shackles of political influences, a more popular system would be introduced, and the chief reason offered for Mr MeKerrow's appointment. was his great sympathy for the cause of settlement. After interviews with settlers by two of the Commissioners some concessions weie made, which were hailed as an earnest of an important new departure in the general policy. Modifications in the charges on small parcels of agricultural requirements, and an alteration in the minimum scale for produce, were all these concessions principally referred to. The policy itself remains the same, and is, of course, antagonistic to any extensive movement for the occupation of the land. We have the last revised issue of the railway tariff, which is identical in shape witli its predecessors. The grain rates are the only ones which appear to differ, the scale being gradually lowered for long distances. Under the old scale the rate for 81 miles was lis 3d per

ton, under tho now it is 10s lOd ; a dilTt'i'cnco of iivepcnce, or one eights of a penny per l.usliel. For 101 mil or, old scale, the freight was 12slid ; new tariff, lis 3d ; for 141 miles, tho reduction is from 16s 3d to 13s 4d per ton. This is beneficial to formers in a district like Canterbury who are growers on a large scale and have long distances (o reach the seaports. Bat, to Waikato fanners, who are comparatively small settlers and within the least favourable limit of distance, the difference is not appreciable ; the reduction of one-eight of a penny or one farthing a bushel would not be sufficiently felt by them to be encouraging. It is impossible to understand why the cumbersome and bulky tariff, with such a confusion of classes, is necessary at all on a railway more than it is on ocean steamers. Why cannot goods by rail be charged by weight or by measurement, irrespective of their nature, as is the custom with all other public carriers? The reason is that the official mind decrees it otherwise. What is simplicity and rational to ordinary mortals is to the former an outrage on the sacred traditions of red-tape; therefore, the people and country must suffer.