SUMMARY FOR HOME READERS.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXX, Issue 5115, 14 January 1874, Page 6

S UMMARY FOR HOME READERS.

A i r.w days earlier than was anticipated the mail for the piesent month loi ] Ameiica .uul England is to be dispalihed fiom \ew Zealand. This speed v depaituie is due to the fact of the ' Mikado,' the second hteamer of the new San Fi.vncisco service, and which arrived at Port Chalmers (Otigo), in this colony, on Fiiday last, having gone diiect to Sulney to r«>fit altei hci vov.ige from China. It was at one time expected on the arrnal of the ' Mikado' thai she would come up the coast from the South to Auckland, and proceed hence with the mail to Kandavu, connecting theie with the branch boat from Sydney, and then proceeding to her destination, San Francisco. The necessity of refitting took the 'Mikado' to Sydne}', and we in New Zealand must be content to wait at least another month for despatch direct, from this port, of the main line steamer to Ameiiea. It is not surpi'ising that at Iho oiil^c t of a service so great, and which has' really been rapidly organised, there should occur some little hitches ; but the fact that arrangements are pi omptly and successfully made to convey the mails, and prevent any delay until the requisite fleet of steamers are fairly at work, may be taken as an indication of the vigour of the contractors, and of the certain and firm establishment of an effective and vigorous mail service. A\ r e may add here, what is noticd in another column, that another steamer — the 'Cyphrenes' — will arrive ]ii Dunedin a few weeks hence, and v ill, it is expected, come direct to Auckland, and sail thence next month foi Kandavu and Fan Francisco. Foremost among the events of Mie month bearing on the condition of the colony is the growth of our revenue, as n .mated in a speech by the Hon. Mr. Vogel, the Premier, at a banquet in Dunedin at ■which he was enteitained last week } in recognition ot the great services he had performed to the colom , by the bold line of policy which he inaugurated in his scheme of Public "Works, Ltaihvays .md Immigiatiou. The honorable gentleman, to whom a handsome testimonial was presented, is being most cordially greeted throughout Otago, one proof, if proof wenwanted, of the thorough adoption by the countiy at large, North and South alike, of the policy of which he is the authoi. The following arc the ligures showing the re\enue receipts foi the half periods of the four years ended with December last . —

3 This shows an increase on the halfyoai |ust terminated of vcrv nearly 27 per cent, as compared with th.it immediately preceding, and taking an average of the thiee periods to Decembei , 1872, gives an increase of nearly i >( > per cent, in favour of the half-year just closed. This great advance is unquestionably duo to the vow policy, lot it was only during tho last year that the effects of immigration and tho extension of our means of communication, the varied employment of the people, their additional comforts and consumption began really to bo fell on the levenue, the increase of which is a true indication of the in proved social condition of the people. It is a remaikable fact also that whilst this increase in tho revenue indicates also a considerable increase in the quantity and value of the articles imported (over and above this increase of Customs duties arising from the new tarifl iates of last yeai) there is also going on within the colony, a steady increase in articles of manufacture for our own consumption. All this is proof of oui great progress, of which wo are as yet only leaping the first fiuits. Much error prevails regarding the actual condition ot Xew Zealand debts. Mr. Vogel gave details ot these. Including all the loans negotiable on 1 he ' J 0 1 1 1 Juno last, of the sums authorised to be borrowed to that date, and the additions foi < ompleting lailways authorised by .Parliament to June 1872, the total debt authonsed as at the end of last iinancial year (.luue 30, 187-)) would he £U,XG0,OOn. Of this amount upwaids of £3,000,000 are provincial loans secured on the land fund of the provinces, and as land is everywhere rising the security is , cleaily improving. In this total is embraced also all the war loans of the past, the telegraph expenditure, and all our other indebtedness pvi^r to and since the institution of the Public Works and Itailway and Immigration policy. When that sum is sp< nt wo shall have laid out a million on immi gration, £200,000 on the purchase of native lands, £100,000 on the consti notion of roads in the North Island, and £; 1 »00,000 on goldh'elds works, and shall possess 7C7 miles ofiailwayin the colony. This sum of £13,860,000 included £6,000,000 for public works, chielly railway 5 *, and as, on .50th .June, 1873, only 02,000,000 of this lattei sum had been expended, theie was then actually a balance of C 1,000,000 still unexpended, and not even full} Moated. .All the recent loans are being spent, not on worse than wasteful wars, but on those Avorks of modern civilization and sochl improvement, which carry with them a wider civilization, and a greater improvement, more social happiness, comfort, and national wealth. In Otago, Canterbury, "Wellington, and Nelson, many miles of railway aie ui processof construction and uuden ontract, and more are beiug prepared for In the first-named province there are 7 "> miles ot line open for trail ic, and Canterbury is following fast in her neighbouring sister's footsteps. Among the call} hues are some now yielding satisfactory profits, which were at first deemed certain to be productive of los^ In this North Island, a few week^ ago, a portion of a line now in progress

[was loi in. illy opened I'm tiallic, .aid s now being <4o.ulil\ workid between .ul and Onehunga , whili tlic \.oiks fiom Jim e to Meieei,on tiie Waik it" nvcr some JO nuks distant, arc pi or. i easing, .ind ire. -\\ aitiny the iiiival «>(' lails ami other plant. with the Auckland and Kuipan 1 it*, wliiili is ready for the rails 'I I < \> ■ now opened will, nt its close, w,t many miles additional o! railway m legulav opeiation, find bearing passengeis aud produce and merchandise, not only in this province, but in otheis in the Southern parts of the '.olo'\v. On Saturday last "was taken one ot the most important steps inthedhect it hi of railway extension that could have been taken in New Zealand. This v\.is tlie turning of the first sod of the railway extension from Mercer above-mentioned to Ngaruawahia, now called Newcastle, distant about eiglitv miles from Auckland. The ceremony was performed at Newcastle itself, a locality which, some six or eight years ago, was the head-quartei.s of the rebellious " King" of the Maoris, and where Europeans were then debarred from entering, [t lies at the junction of two liveis, the "SV.iikato and Waipa, both, c^peeialiv the former, important streams The lino is to bo formed fiom Newcastle downwards, and the navvies are . enrolled militiamen, camped on the , ground and armed. A corps of 250 , men arc em oiled, and the woik will pioceed foithwith. This is more as a j ? precautionary measure than one winch ■• indicates any danger. In fact no danger is apprehended ; but the object oi the Government is to prevent the possibility of its occuirence by being , prepaied, while prosecuting thewoiks of peace and civilisation, to maintain that peace intact, by the veiy fart ol ' being leady to meet all contingencies. But theie irf no likelihood of these oceun ing, loi the natives aie now ah\e to the advantage^ to them as well as to \ oui selves, of this opening of the , countiy and the spread of wealth and settlement which will follow in its tiam. These new works are the i pioneers of national wealth, of new industiies, of profitable production in regions where, but for them, production ', would bo impossible. They secuie the advantage of a large population, of iapid , tiansit, and a sure and cheap io.ul fiom far inland districts to centres of the people and to ports of shipment — advantages which will moie than com , pensate for all the outlay inclined , They foim, as we have moie than oik e L shown, the teproductive assets of the > colony, and open channels foi new industiies, which aio even now attraet- > iug, and will yet moie and more j attract, capital and enterprise, and find employment for om sons and daughter, and lay the foundation of luture gieatness for one of the most pioinismg of Britain's colonial possessions. | These .sentiments aie not new to our i column 5 ". "We have repeatedly, when timid, hare-hearted, and cantankerous politicians have professed doubt as to the wisdom of this policy, — which every reasonable man must peiceivo is lining the, foundation ot its i progress and success, — declared our full i.ntli in the future in store for New Zealand. And if any incident could prove the sound basis on which that faith is founded, it is the prices given for land in the upper pait ot the AVaikato, some hundred miles distant from the City of Auckland, as well as a( Newcastle and elsewhere in what were formerly disturbed districts. Pi ices were given for these lands ranging from 200 to 300 and 500 per cent, above the upset price ; and that latter advance was paid for allotments within a few miles of the locality where, last April, the unfortunate man Sullivan was killed by a native. "When capital thus finds investment in these regions, and under .such competition as was displayed at th" land sales yesteidav, there needs no better test of the lapicl progiess of the count i) and the cei tain pacification of a territory lich and valuable tor settlement and foi agiieultui-e, tis any land in these seas, j Progress is likely at last to be made j in establishing a giaving dock in Auckland fitted for the requirements of this port, and sufficient to accommodate such steamei.s ns those of the New Oalifbini.in line, which is really the kind of dock wo re«|uiie. Mr. Mori.uty, the eminent Government engineer of New South Wales, has arrived in Auckland to examine and leport on the site best fitted for a dock, and the si/e and capacity which that dock ought to possess, with a view to the growing trade of one of the most important of New Zealand's sea poi ts. While here, Mr. Moriaity will be engaged in examining and reporting on the best scheme for providing a , water supply for Auckland, a necessity which has too long been unsupplied. Mr. Monai ty's engineering skill, and his high standing in Now South AVales, are looked to as the basis of a careful and well-digested scheme foi each of these great and useful works ; and their success when in opeiation, if his advice is taken, and proves in practice what we earnestly trust it may do, will be a Luge and lasting tribute to his ability and judgment. A large body of Chinese arrived at Dunedin by the sle.unei 'Mikado,' diiect from the " Floweiy Land" They are destined lor the Otago gold fields, whore they vvoi k hard, and many of them are veiy clever in manufacturing spuiious gold They generally contrive to save a few lumdied pounds in the course of a i'ew years, and in mo.st cases return to China with their savings, which form a foi tune for them in that laud of ingenuity and cheapness. The Chinese, however, aie not favourites with the mineis, noi oidiimrily with the settlers. The Chinese quarters in the goldfield townships of Victoria are too often sinks of filth and infamy, and it is considered by many that the Chinese aie not desirable as settlers. Tn fact they do not sottle. As golddiggera they hoaid up the gold and take it away with them, spend very little among the colonists, and aie not considered colonists but Imdsof passage, who, as was too common among Europeans at one time>

' male -> tl (mi folium 1 " «»nd tli'p.u t lo >],en ( l it in foieign < lnne^. It will not be smpiisiiig >f a collision between them ;m<l the Ota^o mineis should arise , and some are prepued to advocate a special tax on every Chinaman that entcis the c<>l<>ny. r l" i following table shows the value ■ ' nature of the exports fioni the I 01 fc of Auckland for the year 1873 : — Gold £430,123 Silver 0,850 Gum . 8o,81G Flax 27,783 Wool ... 80 047 Cotton . . .. 29,002 Cotton Seed . . . 2,102 Leather . , .. . 0,0-1.°, llides 4,00S {002,324

Revenue for half-year end- £ ing December, 1870 474,000 Drtto, 1S71 .. 4Si;,00() Ditto, 1S72 . 494,000 Ditto, 1873 . G'J.kOOO £ 12,000 8,000 131,000