Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 1898. THE EXODUS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume XX, Issue 4585, 30 August 1898, Page 2

Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. TUESDAY, AUGUST 30, 1898. THE EXODUS.

Some weeks ago we drew attention to the fact that the arrivals m and departures from the colony had been for some time before showing a steady balance m favor of the departures, and pointed out that m spite of labor legislation that was supposed to make a working man's paradise of New Zealand working men declined to stay m it, and were hurrying away to other colonies, lo the United States, or going back to the Old Country, We pointed out that the majority of the departures were working men, as the larger portion of the passengers carried by •learner were people who traveled m the cheaper berths, and were presumedly workmen ; but at the same time many provident workmen, with little or no encumbrance, can afford to travel m the more comfortable berths, so that not a few of the saloon passengers, at least for the Australian colonies, were working men. Nor hav<; they been simply going on a short holi day. Had that been the case sufficient time has elapsed since we first noted the exodus for the tido of holiday makers to begin its backward flow. But it does nothing of the kind, and instead the difference is more marked every month. Here are the statistics for the last six mouths : —

.Now, here is a loss shown of 2493 of the best; of our population m six months, for most of those who went away were artisanb and laborers., with perhaps a few — perhaps a good few — small employers of labor. How doe 3 this fact compare with Mr Seddon's peroration m hie budget speech about our increasing population, With such a climate as ours, so conducive to robust health, and with abundance of nutritious food available to all but a very small percentage of the people, it would be amazing if the expess of births over deaths were not satisfactorily large. But against this increase has to be placed the exodus of breadI winners pointed out by the figures quoted above. The exodus of today | is greater than that which caused Sir Harry Atkinson to make his memorable remark regarding the good thing that it was, seeing that the men who httd run away from the then existing de pression would only find that the other colonies were similarly situated, and m those colonies would learn the value of the one they had left, and return at the first opportunity, and be better colonists for their experience. As a niatter |of fact the rats who fled because they i thought the ship was sinking, as one j speaker put it, did return, and brought many o£ the Australasian colonists with them. But MrSeddon said at the time that his blood boiled withia him because Government declined to put the colony any further m debt to make work to induce the emigrants to stay. The premier m his Budget said that all the workera were employed, that the swagger scouring the country m search pf work was now a thing of the pagf ? tbftfc & Jpright and prosperous future j was m store for us, and so on. But j the veiy next night heprassed the House to hurry up with the discussion of the finances of the colony, so that he should be able to obtain money to giye employment at public works to thjeorowds of men who were wandering about all over the country begging for employment. Aud very impressively he laid at the d r oor of the Opposition the responsibility if they delayed giving him the money at .once, the half-million he asked — to say nothing of his boasted half million o£ surplus- they would] meet at next election the punishment that was the due of such recalcitrants. £g jj£ $ straDge world, my masters ; and he was a wise man who made the remark — Behold with ho\y little wisdom the world is governed. JiO^itll I.JE2A.

Arrivals. Departures February ... 1558 ... 1856' March ... 1527 ... 2407 April ... 117G ... 1593 May .„ 1211 ... 1614 Junß ... 1043 .., 2305 July ... 985 ... 1208 7490 9983