WELLINGTON.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 4, 30 July 1874, Page 3

WELLINGTON.

(From a Correspondent, ,)

present not unforseen- prosperity.

Rain ! Rain as usual in Wellington, which the web-footed citizens blame to members of Assembly, the previous month of June being so remarkably fine that only three dry days are recorded. The Governor's speech, weak and frivolous, shows the sort of pabulum which is considered suitable for honor-, able members, who swallowed it with due thankfulness to " that great man (as he is called by some ranting- Taranaki fparson) to whom the Colony is indebted for its great prosperity." In the Lords Mr Waterhouse made one of the most able speeches ever delivered in the New Zealand Parliament. Disposing of the cetcecian propensities displayed by the Hon, R. Campbell, he proceeded to criticise ihe Premier's colonial tour of " public eating and public speaking," in a manner both sarcastic and humourous. How Nelson had been aroused from its somonolency by the prospect of having L 250,000 of borrowed money for its Council to spend ; how the fate of Auckland hung on a big pump, and how, upon the strength of said pump he enabled the Superintendent to tell his Council that he had got a gratuity of LSOOO, with a further advance of L 40,000 cash down, upon the security of land which had yet to be bought from the natives for the Province by the Colony out of borrowed money which had yet to be borrowed. Taranaki and Napier were not visited, but amongst other hopes the former was cheered with the expectations. of getting the former a breakwater, and the latter a pier, while Wellington, " the Province of very great expectations," was only promised some L 40 t OOO. He showed that instead of L 250,000 being expended on immigration during 1874, as sanctioned by the Legislature, the cost would be fully L 700,000. As this, with former expenditure, will nearly exhaust the total loan of L 1,000,000 for immigration, more money will have to be borrowed, or immigration must cease. Now it would certainly have been better to have husbanded our means to the introduction of nominated immigrants instead of shipping by the ton, French playactors, v Asiatics," and the scum of European towns as experienced agricultural laborers or efficient domestic servants of good character. The hon. gentleman showed that one reason why people do not readily appreciate the consequences of recklessly introducing suoh a mass of immigrants is the present prosperity with which they are content without' considering or caring to consider what may be immediately in store for them, that so long as the stream of immigration flowed the labor requisite for housing and providing for immigrants would for a time more than equal their productive powers and thus create an increased demand for workmen, especially for those engaged in house-building j but after about a year the reaction would set in, and then it would be found that capital would be required to keep these immigrants from starving. "So long," he said, "as a Treasurer possesses the purse of Fortunatus, so long will any falsehood thrive. And so long as' we see money derived from borrowing thrown broadcast, he knew it to be hopeless to ask the people to reflect, and consider what may be the effect of the prosperity with which they are now surrounded." He showed that in our prosperity we had not . only used up all. the deposits, but had lai-gely encroached, upon the capital of the banks to the extent of £10 per head. " That is five times as much," he said, "as the people of Victoria, and political economists there are alarmed because they see the public are overtrading ajid encroaching on the capital of the banks to the extent of ,£2 per head." If we have used up all our capital, and so largely encroached on the paid up capital of the banks invested in New Zealand (which, at variance with the Colonial Bank advertisements, .amounts' to nearly £l,500,000)j a capital which a ■ crisis in Australia, or even higher in- ' terest elsewhere ; may largely withdraw

from the Colony; where then .are the means Tor employing the" vast mass of chiefly indifferent immigrants who are being* recklessly poured on our shores, even should there be no hitch in ■ our

I purpose -in my next to give you an account of the Forest Bill; which seems devised to occupy a large amount of the time of the House, and which gave. the Premier the opportunity of inflicting' a prosy speech on <the House, and introducing a number of extracts from authorities which few heard, and. which would have been better embodied in a pamphlet; this wijl no doubt now be done, as the Premier evidently spoke v to Hansard" -with that intent.'

The Government has promised to come down with a new Schedule of continuation of Main Railways, in which that from Lawrence to Teviot will be included.

In . reply to a question from Mr ThomvSon, the Minister of Works said that the plans for the Clutha to Mataura Railway are ready, and that tenders will be called forthwith, but he could not say in how many contracts.