NOTES BY COLONUS.

Bruce Herald, Volume VI, Issue 363, 12 April 1871, Page 6

NOTES BY COLONUS.

THE FINANCIAL SCHEME. I have already had several raps at this ) scheme, but I feel it incumbent on me to have another, for 1 am convinced that the people of New Zealand are not thoroughly ; aware of the shameful and ruinous cha- » ractpr of the proposal, nor thoroughly alive > to the oreat and imminent danger which • is threatening the country, while there exists any chance of its. being carried out. What/let im ask, is the nature of this i scheme to raise four million sterling, and i guarantee intere-t on a large amount of • railway work ? What is the spirit of it? > What sort of a transaction, as between private individuals, does it resemble ? It F is as if the directors of a public company, which company was already over head and i ears in debt, and doing- a very poor business, should resolve to borrow a large sum of money and invest it in a highly specu--i lative undertaking, in the hope that the company might thereby greatly increase s its business, and obtain a large profi.r. If i the speculation turns out well the company • becomes well established, and does a ' thriving trade ; if the speculation turns out bad the shareholders lose their money, i some poor people being utterly ruined, and perhaps the creditors of the company lose all, or a great portion ol what the company owes thorn. It is bad enough for the directors of a public company to commit an act of such dishonesty (for it deserves no milder term), bur, what must we think of a whole nation committing such an act ? | The thing is beyond belief. It is so pre- j posterous"that it borders on the ridiculous. j What is it "that- is proposed to be done ? Our rate per head of taxation being, at present, close on fire times as much as that of Great Britain and Ireland, and more than twice that of Victoria; yet, because there is a certain dugree of stagnation at present in New Zealand— because immigration is not setting in here as rapidly as we could wish—we say we will borrow money, and incur liabilities, so as to, it seems, about double the present enormous amount of taxation. And this just as a speculation, in the hopes that by contracting this further debt we may perhaps send the country ahead. There are two things we should consider before incurring these new and enormous liabilities. 1. Whether the resources of the country, and our present liabilities allow us to borrow this vast sum, and incur further liabilities. 2. Whether the money proposed to be borrowed is likely or not, when laid out, to be reproductive ? The resources of the country, as respects its borrowing power, is population. Now, not only is New Zealand at present very thinly populated, but there is no tide, and no appearance of a tide of immigration settino- in here* If there were some appearance of voluntary immigration setting, in here, and there were a likelihood of rhere being soon many more shoulders to bear the weight of debty the case would be somewhat different. As to indebtedness, our present national debt per head of popu - 1 ation, exceeds, by a large amount, that of any other British colony, and our present debt is enormous* It .seems we propose to borrow and incur liabilities. so as to.about double it. Thus— first, both our present amount of population, and the improbability of a speedy increase of population through immigration, forbid us to borrow this vast sum> Secondly— There is not only no assurance that the manner we pro pose to apply the loan will make the money laid out reproductive, but there is every •appearance that that portion (probably considerably the lesser portion of the loan), that does not stick to the fingers, or is absolutely wasted or squandered, is pro-

posed to be laid out in works, many of which may not be reproductive for many - — perhaps a great many— years to come. Tfi am not mistaken, with such vast sums at the disposal of Government, we may look forward to much foolish application of the public money. Probably the waste iof cash will be something frightful. As to works, we hope — but we bave not any assurance tliat. it will be the case — that our railway works will draw laborers here, and so help to populate the country. Undoubtedly the works will attract laborers. These men will go where tbey have the chance of a job, but there is no certainty at all that they will stop hero when the work is done. It was proposed in the Assembly to give, or sell, workers on the railways land in the neighborhood of rhe lmes, so as to settle the workmen in the country. But. there-are numbers of wen, probably the largest proportion of and some of the most skilful workmen, who will not care a jot about your land. When the work is done they will probably wanto pocket their wages and be off, and go where "they think best, probably to search for a job elsewhere, and will not buy little plots of land, and settle in the wilderness just to benefit New Zealand. Then you propose, with a portion of " this loan, to promote immigration. That is, you will bring* out ship loads ot p ople here and turn them adrift, while men are crying out for work in every direction. A mode* rate amount ol money, carefully spent in the introduction of well selected immi- , grants, might be all very well, but to lay , out a vast sum — one million pounds — in tliis sort of wholesale immigration, is utterly preposterous. In California money laid out by Government in water work*for the goldfields seems to have been only wasted ; but probably some careiul applica* tion of money in this direction — perhaps on the system of supplementing private enterprise, might do great good; also* money spent in the making district roads is very well applied, and almost certain to be reproductiv \ Supplying water for the goldfields, and supplementing district road*making, are, however, only the. smaller . works proposed by the Act ; the main proposal is to make gigantic roil way lines, and inundate the country with immigrant-*. This country is far too poor to engage in any such extensive railway work, and suddenly flooding the country with immii grants is likely to do more harm than good. I may here observe, that I believe it is the case — and T say so with sorrow, regret, and shame — that there is a class of people in New Zealand, aud that not a small class, who look upon this scheme favorably as likely to give a temporary impetus to business, enabling them to make their piles nnd leave the country, and who, as long as they can do that, care not one jot whether the subsequent effect of carrying out the scheme shall end or ; not in the rnin of tbe country. As for my part, I am by no mean** sure that incurring this great debt will give even a temporary impetus to business. Perhaps, however, it may be asked— what are we to do then ? Are we to sit quietly, and make no effort to send the country ahead ? Do ? T will tell you what not to do. Don't follow the example of the frog, wbo tried to swell himself out as big as the ox, and burst himself in the operation; don't make yourselves a byeword, and the laughing-stock of the world by crying to carry a "weight of debt you are no more fitted to bear than a three-year old child is fitted to carry a sack of flour* ; don't discourage or put an end to all immigration here, and drive settlers out of the country by laying on an insupportable amount of taxation to pay the interest of an enormous debt ; don't, put yourselves into a position in which you may find a difficulty, perhaps an impossibility, in satisfying the public creditor, and be obliged to resort to what would be an everlasting disgrace to the country — repudiation. But I will tell you a few things to do. In the first place, do away with land monopoly. By sale, and having public commons, apply laud for the benefit of men, and do not let it be idle in the hands of a few squatters and foreign capitalists. Encourage settlement on the land. Has it not been said that a liberal land law is what li is greatly tended to the populating and prosperity of Victoria ? Our present Genial G >vernment seems uncommonly find of centralisation, and assuming to itself powers hitherto delesated to the Provincial Governments. If the General Governmant — instead of exerting its power, as it his done in the case of Otago, to stop the beneficial application of the public lands— would insist that all the provincas would freely open lip hnd .of sale, and deal with the waste land in such a manner as to encourage settlement, the General Government would then be doing* a work of vast utility, and raise itself greatly in public estimation. Again, if you are anxious to make railway works, make them only where the population is thickest, and there is at least some decent chnnce of tbeir becoming*, within the space of a moderate time, useful and remunerative ; but make such railways in good faith, and well, and not djing little bits of line, just as an electioneering dodge, and to quiet and shut the mouths of those who oppose a nefarious scheme. Do justice tithe counti-}-, and make just laws, before you are generous with other men^s money. Then, when you have made good land laws, let the people at home know, through public lectures and the printing* pressj that as lar as climate) soil, and general resources go there is hardly a finer country in the world to emigrate to than the Middle Island of New Zealand. So en* courage a tide of voluntary immigration to set in here, which will be worth much more than importing labor here, much irt the same way as Fiji planters import labor from the Pacific Islands. .In short, act within your means, like honest and reasonable men, and riot far beyond them, like fools) spendthrifts, and rogues.