MR WITHY INTERVIEWED.

Auckland Star, Volume XIX, Issue 257, 31 October 1888, Page 4

MR WITHY INTERVIEWED.

It would be almost churlish on the part of the Auckland press not to take some notice of the views enunciated by Mr Withy on New Zealand affairs, which that gentleman communicated recently in Sydney to an in. terviewer from the " Evening News." The time devoted to the interview appears to have been all too short. It began just as the member for Newton took his seat in an express train en route for Melbourne, and closed as the train gob in motion. _ This, it must be confessed, taking into consideration tho slightly complicated aud altogether perplexing aspect of affairs generally iv this colony, would hardly give even Mr Withy time bo make things clear to his interviewer. The latter asks Mr Withy a very pointed and leading question—" Arc times likely to improve in New Zealand '." This, under tho circumstances, was a most natural question. The Sydney "Evening News" was evidently anxious to convey some information upon the point to its numerous leaders, and as that paper introduces Mr Withy as "a gentleman who from his outspoken and common-sense treatment of the questions of tlie clay has gained for himself a large influence iv the political life of the colony," the reply o'iven by him would be received in Australia as carrying great weight, if nob indeed finally settling the question. We in this colony aro extremely anxious to know if, when, and how times will improve, therefore his answer is also of very serious concern to us. Here is Mr Withy's reply :-- ---" If the Government exercise extreme care in the spending of the money, and do away with the wages class, I think that the colony will recover itself and become prosperous again." This is a deeply mysterious utterance, and wo should think would hardly convey much satisfactory information to the Aiistvaliati public. It is, however, tho exact wording as given in the report of the intarview, so our friends on the other side can make the most and the best of it. Mr Withy appears, fortunately, to havo been provided with copies of his address recently delivered in Auckland to Jhis Newton constituents, and one of these he proffers to his interviewer. Deponent say eth nob whether tho offer was accepted ; we should imagine nob, or if accepted it was not carefully studied, for the interviewer would .have discovered in those eloquent pages ft clear interpretation of the mystic utterance. „md had he been enlightoned he could hardly havo published such a reply as that with winch he credits Mr Withy.

Mr Withy, id the same sentence as he offers his address, modestly states thab he came out to New Zealand only four yoars ago as au emigrant. This is a poinb that might be veil wovk&d up by New

Zealand's well - wishers. What one man has done, another man can do ; here is an emigrant of only four years' standing who has already by his outspokenness and common sense—attributes by no means uncommon, or at all events easily acquired—gained a place and position that makes him the cynosure not only of all eyes in New Zealajtd, but in the neighbouring colonies.

But let us analyse for a moment Mr Withy's reply to the important question put to him. First of all he says the Government must " exercise extreme care in the spending of the money." It is perhaps hardly fair to comment upon why " the money/ unless it is a sly reflection upon the smallness of the amount at their disposal, but we will tako it for granted that he means generally the national funds. ViTell then, we agree with Mr Withy, the Government will have to exercise extreme care ; they will have to do something more, they will have to solve that hitherto unsolvable mathematical puzzle, twos into one. It is almost as pertinent advising the Government to exercise extreme care in this particular a? it would be to advise an individual whose property was heavily mortgaged and whose importunate creditor impounded all his income, to exercise extreme care in spending his money. All our available income goes away in interest to the foreign creditor; the amoun is is lixed, and no exercise of care can alter or reduce it. If the Government would exercise extreme care in stopping the exodus from our shores and again make the country popular to emigrants, as they could, might, and ought to do, it would be much more to the

i purpose. I The second proposal which the "Evening News " reporter credits Mr Withy with is to do away Avith the Avages class. Well, they are going as fast as ships can take them, and the policy of the Government has precisely tho effect indicated by Mr Withy ; but there must be some mistake here— what Mr Withy no doubt said or meant Avas, that wages must be lowered. This was Mr Withy's cry in Wellington, it was the main theme of hia explanatory address to his constituents, and it is imperishably embalmed in the ! pages of the pamphlet he carries about with him. Wo have already more than once taken up the cudgels with Mr Withy on this question. We think he is altogether and entirely wrong, and thero is no use in going over tlie old ground. Unt there is another aspect of the question which may perhaps not have j occurred to him. He is referred to in tho Sydney "Evening News" as a "retired wealthy ship-builder." This is the fact, and it is no doubt greatly to his credit that he should have amassed wealth iv so short a time and been ablo to retire at so early an ago. But he himself did not build the ships ; he supplied the capital and paid the Avages, and the result was ships. The leal builders of the ships j had, no doubt, the long hours which prevail in England, and the current rate of i Avages, which latter in plain English means just enough to keep body and soul to- j gethcr, and enable tho muscles to recu-pet-ate and continue toiling from day to day. From one point of view, i.e., the j labour, it seems altogether unfair that one j man.becauseheistheemployer, shouldamass i immense wealth in a short time, over ship- j building for instance, Avhilst the real | builders of the ships are no better off when the ships are finished than they were when they wore commenced. Of course, Aye j are well aware that this to some extent is j inevitable under present social and industrial conditions —that even the distribution of the gains of one employer among j hundreds or thousands of workmen would ! not make a very material difference in their i position or comfort; but granting this, it i J3 surely a questionable panacea for tho de- I prcssiou which New Zealand is suffering, to j suppose that the people themselves Avould be better off if they were brought nearer j to the English standard —in point of fact, if they were to voluntarily accept^ less wages in order that capital may earn | more. Such adjustments, moreover, are j scarcely dependent upon the Avill of the Avorkers-although they naturally resist aj downward tendency as long as they j can—because competition and the neces- j sity to live compel the acceptance of! loAver wages. That this has been the case j in New Zealand in nearly every branch of j business must be within the knowledge of j everyone who is acquainted Avith the labour j market. Capital has unquestionably earned less, and too often nothing at all; j but thi?, like the suffering which has been i borne by labour, is a misfortune Avhich may { be equally charged upon the contraction of trade and the sapping of the blood of tbe colony to pay fcreign creditors from wham Aye have borrowed too freely and to whom avo ntill send for luxuries which Aye could A-cry avcll do Avithout, thus uselessly wasting capital which might be more profitably used in employing our own labour and incieasing the productiveness of our own country.