THE MONTHLY SUMMARY OF THE LYTTELTON TIMES WILL BE PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY, MARCH 14. The Lyttelton Times. SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1865.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1368, 4 March 1865, Page 4

THE MONTHLY SUMMARY OF THE LYTTELTON TIMES WILL BE PUBLISHED ON TUESDAY, MARCH 14. The Lyttelton Times. SATURDAY, MARCH 4, 1865.

The Government came down to the Town Hall on Thursday evening, prepared with a statement which was certainly more than satisfactory to the meeting. Like the last great public meeting held in the same ball, the objects, to promote which it had been called together, were effected before resolutions could be passed to affirm their desirability. But in this case there had not been time even to modify the resolutions, and the singular spectacle was presented of a Ministry and a people face to face, playing very gravely a game of popular Government. This was well enough ; but with a little more art the game might have been played in a much more interesting way. Had the members of the Government only kept silence for a few minutes, and feigned a slight reluctance to take step after step according to the programme which the resolutions set out; and then, on each resolution being passed, had they given way to the expression of popular will, what a climax of interest might have been reached! Imagine the Provincial Secretary declaring that " owing to the powerful arguments advanced by Mr. Ollivier the Government would immediately proclaim a goldfield, and the Gazette should come out the very next dayor the Secretary for Public Works, admitting the force Of his honourable friend Mr. Moorhouse's observations, and promising that road works should be prosecuted and an escort established without delay ! Why, the whole opposition might have been won over for ever! At any rate the excitement of the meeting would have been immeasurably increased. As it was, however, the Government had the best of it. They occupied the whole ground which the speakers had intended to take; and it was almost impossible to point out on the spur of the moment any new direction in which the energy of the Administration ought to be directed in addition. We may say at once that-we are much gratified with the statements made by Mr. Bolleston and Mr. Hall. It may be and probably is the case that the mere announcement of the meeting had the effect which the meeting itself was intended to have. But at any rate the Government have bestirred themselves; they have initiated action at last in the right direction; and their programme seems as full and as well-designed in most particulars as can be expected. The meeting was very anxious indeed that an escort should be established at once to bring the gold down to Christchurch, instead of allowing it to be sent to Nelson; and the Government seem ready to make the attempt. We are not sanguine about the result for many reasons. But an escort is not like a road or aj bridge ; if it is useless, it may be stopped at any time. The attempt, doubtless, should be made, and a strenuous effort maintained for a long time to keep it up, in spite of any difficulties which may arise at first, so that the real value of an escort may be thoroughly tested. But after all, success in bringing the gold itself to Christchurch will not do everything for Canterbury which goldfields are expected to do for the territory in which they are situated. It will not settle the question of the course of trade, nor secure, to Canterbury the market for supplies. This point deserves consideration.

The banks are the purchasers of almost all the gold produced on any goldfield; and it is to them the Government will have to look for patronage of the escort. It is probable that, if the journey can be done with safety against all hazards, the banks will trust their gold to the overland carrier, and even prefer that route to Bea carriage, on one condition, that it shall cost less. If on the one hand freight and insurance have to be paid by the steamer to Nelson, and the risk of carrying the gold for shipment to the port and placing it on board has to be borne; and if on the other the gold can be taken from the bank coffers on the spot to the bank coffers in Christchurch, free of cost as well as safely, then the escort will be patronized. That is to say, a well-appointed escort, travelling on a moderately good road, and doing the work for nothing, will succeed in bringing down gold from the West Coast to Christchurch. But all these conditions are necessary to success ; and they are all summed up in one word—expense. Next, we have to consider the value to the country of the work when done. Q-old itself is wholly unproductive; it may lie in the bank coffers, or be shipped in vessels away from our shores, without doing the place a particle of good. The value of raw gold for creating trade and circulation lies in the act of purchase by the bank from the digger. It is the price paid for the gold, not the gold itself, which does good to the territory in which it is produced. The money paid maintains the miners, and circulates far and long; but the gold never passes into circulation at all: it will come down to Christchurch like so much wool and be sent away; and the price' which it fetches at home will merely enable the bank to buy more gold and pay more money away on the spot where the gold is produced. It is this money and the trade that goes with it that we want to enjoy the benefit of, if it can be managed. We have spoken of the escort as chiefly serving the banks. But, of course, to some extent private consignments of gold will come down; and there will be deposits made by diggers to the extent of their profits, through the bank also. These are what the escort will really give to Christchurch. But the extent of these remittances must not be calculated too largely. In the first place, even if the diggings are in a state of prosperity, they are not of a kind to give large hauls to anyone; the gold is widely distributed, and all may do moderately well. This means that absolute profits, after paying all expenses, will not be very large; the greater part will be spent in maintenance, even if the goldfield is rich, because the rate of expenditure on living always expands with the increase of wealth. Now, merchants will see at once that the profits which are to be made out of the sums spent in maintenance of the miners cannot be secured by an escort. They will belong to the successful titors in the open market for supplying the diggings. We believe that the merchants of Canterbury have a chance of taking a large share of the trade. Most articles, —almost everything but meat —will go by sea; and on the sea, though Nelson will always be a little to windward, the advantages in her

favour are not so great but that they may be counterbalanced bv energy and prudence on the part of Canterbury merchants. As to the savings made by miners, the attractions of Canterbury land will bring a good deal this way in any case, and the facilities for remittance, by means ot the escort, will certainly tend to increase the amount sent for investment. And it Canterbury merchants and storekeepers can manage to supply goods as well as those of Nelson, the escort will be taken advantage of by the traders on the West Coast to send down gold in exchange. But not otherwise. The escort will be used because the market will be available; but orders will not be sent to a bad market merely because of the escort. The advantages of a goldfield to a commercial dep6t consist to a very small extent in the gold coming down to it, but to a very large extent in supplies going up from it in return for the gold. If we have to divide the process and take only the first part for ourselves, Canterbury will certainly not profit in proportion to the expense of the escort. There are some contingent advantages, however, which ought not to be overlooked. An escort encourages the transit of passengers, and protects the carriage of any valuables besides gold which may be worth sending overland. It acts as a postal service also, and is very convenient to the Government which has to perform its functions at so great a distance. Except to the small extent indicated above, the really valuable traffic of passengers crossing and recrossing the province will not be affected by the escort; and this at any rate, it appears, will fall largely to the share of Canterbury. We have assumed, in the above considerations, that the escort can be established successfully. But this will not be very easy of accomplishment. Without a road —which, if formed at all, must be made at great expense—from the mouth to the gorge of the Teremakau, horses must ford and swim the rivers; and we greatly doubt whether the escort horses, loaded with gold in saddlebags, could be taken up so. This, of course, is an objection equally to either route of the two now in question. There is the alternative of boating up the gold to the gorge, and starting with the escort proper from the upper side. But the risk of Buch a proceeding would be too great. If the escort is to be put on at all, it should be done properly ; and it seems to us that the Government, having once decided on establishing it, should undertake to make such a road as will be really useful, as soon as possible. Their ideas on this point, as propounded on Thursday evening, savour of half measures, which in such a case would be worse than useless.

The diggings may fairly be looked upon as permanent and tolerably extensive; though a pretty strong reaction after the present rush must be expected as a matter of course. We are not prepared to anticipate very glowing results for the province from the discoveries; but we shall not be discouraged by the despondent men who are sure to return pretty quickly. What is done now should be done in the confidence that a population, as large and wealthy at least as that of all Marlborough, will be settled on the *West Coast in no long time. There is a reasonable prospect of such being the case. And anticipating this, we believe that the Government may fairly go to a large expenditure in connecting the two sidies of the province. One expedient for the purpose is quite within their power. An electric telegraph may be carried out to the Okitiki or the Grey very easily. The poles are laid already to the Hurunui, from which point timber is abundant. A very short time and comparatively little money will be wanted for this work; and the first cost is all; for the expense of maintenance will be little more for 200 miles than for 20. If it is to be done, the Provincial Government must do it, even though the line should ultimately be sold to the General Government.