SIR JULIUS VOGEL

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 6, 6 July 1935, Page 16

SIR JULIUS VOGEL

RANK AS A STATESMAN

HIS COURAGE AND RESOURCE

MODEEN APOLOGIST

The political career of Sir Julius Vogel was traced in a highly interesting manner in an address given to the Otago Historical Association by Mr. N. S. Woods, who sought to dispel some of the atmosphere of mistrust and misapprehension that surrounded the statesman's name, reports the Dunedin "Evening Star.", Dr. J. R. Elder, who occupied the chair, said that Sir Julius Vogel was a man of peculiar interest to Dunedin, and had exercised a great influence in the ,city, while his borrowing policy had had repercussions which lasted until the present day. Mr. Woods said that Sir Julius Vogel' left New Zealand more hated than any other public man of this country, but despite that he deserved to rank very high among New Zealand statesmen. If the speaker could dispel the mean and parochial feelings against • Sir Julius Vogel's name he considered he would have done something for New Zealand's history. Vogel was born in England of Dutch parents, his early training fitting him for mercantile pursuits. While still a youth of 18 he went to Victoria, where he gained his first impression of colonial life. He did not join the gold rushes, but became editor of a small newspaper, and evinced distinct political aspirations. In 1859 he endeayoured to gain a seat in the Victorian Parliament, but was unsuccessful,,and' in 1861 he came to New Zealand, settling in Dunedin, which was then.a settlement of only thirteen years' standing. His character was an interesting one, for he was resourceful, determined, and adventurous, and, although' he was essentially a gambler, he was safe in his speculations. He wielded a useful peri, his aim being a political career. NO IDEALIST. He was not an idealist, but a visionary/ with the unusual ability of being able to project his plans into the future, envisioning their practicability not in the circumscribed wprld,.in...which, he then lived, but in the'fexpanded.Avdrld of the future. His;motive'was-not to make a great name for himself,'.but to wield tremendous political''power, to be the originator' of "things and-to be the pivot on which 'vast f new;plans were to turn. ,;At this timej.New Zealand was at the^pornmencenient'of the gold rushes, and 'also of ;ithe Maori .War \ The first mentioned: stimulated" Mmi--gration and made for interesting times, while the Maori War also made for interesting times of a somewhat dif- • ferent nature. The Government of the country was then divided between the Central Government and the nine Provincial Governments, all the most important political activities being • the function of the latter, which were not constituted for progressiveness. When Vogel arrived in New Zealand the Provincial Governments had almost reached the limit of their usefulness... The provinces were jealous1 of each other, and lacked the pooled resources a Central Government could command, and their consequent lack of finance hampered the development of the country. In .addition, the Maori War was piling up a debt which was getting the country deeper and deeper into financial difficulties, which were not improved'when the South Island repudiated its responsibility for a campaign which had been waged principally in the North Island. AS JOURNALIST. Vogel first c.turried'^ his,' attentions .to journalism, and purchased a" half-share in the "Otago'Witness," shortly afterwards establishingo'the • "Otago Daily Times.". Almost immediately .his activities showed/his ..mental vigour and venturesome: nature. <At ..that'.. , ; time Otago was providing' one-third of the' total revenue of the country, and Vogel advocated separation, but the Otago people were not interested. In 1861 he turned to land and immigra: tion development, putting forward a scheme whereby money could be borrowed with land as security. He desired to reform the Provincial Council, and advocated railway and harbour expansion, road construction, theestablishment of acclimatisation societies, meteorological offices,'' Universities,' charitable asylums, and the'1' improve-, ment o"f the city's wat,er supply and drainage facilities, while'he also urged the colony to waste no time in linking up with America and other countries by means of fast steamship traffic. To all this the Dunedin people were rather lethargic, but after/a hard struggle he . succeeded, in 1863, in rallying public opinion. He gained a seat on the Provincial Council, and fr.om 1866-t0v1869 was the driving power behind that body, while from 1863 onwards he was a member of the Central; Government At first he attacked the Government, but in 1866 he changed his outlook and ''became definitely^national in .his viewpoint, and began to talk.clbout a postal service and a public works policy for the whole of New Zealand. In 1868 he unsuccessfully moved a vote of noconfidence in the Stafford Government, but in the same year he persuaded the Government to set up a committee of ten to consider the country's financial position. .:■•:.'. -; SENSE OF AUTHORITY. At about this time his sense of authority became noticeable in his speeches, and in 1869 he caused the fall of the Stafford Government.. A new .Government was set up by Sir William Fox, who appointed Sir |blius; Vogel Minister of Finance. At this stage the country was in a serious plight financially, and the people were getting impatient with the Government, which had to act quickly. Vogel was the man to come to the rescue, for he was a genius with figures, which he could twist convincingly to his own purposes. He established the Government Life Insurance Office, his first national scheme, : and in '1872 he founded the Public Trust Office. In 1870 "he was ready with his public works plan, which took the Government completely by surprise. The country at that time was disunited, and the magnitude of his scheme caused quite a shock. He'proposed to borrow £10,000,000 for railway and road schemes, the first essential of which was that they were to be national. The money was also to be controlled centrally to prevent wastage, and the scheme was to be a complete one, with especial reference to railways. For security for the loan Vogel proposed to buy the land through which the railway passed, and when the of that land consequently improved it was to be sold at a profit/" which was to be applied towards the liquidation of the debt. He also proposed to levy a betterment tax, whereby the land served by the railways and thereby increasing in value would contribute towards the repayment of the loan. Parliament was, however, strongly opposed to these schemes to repay the loan, all the members being themselves land owners, but the suggestion to borrow £10,000.000 was supported. Vogel did the weakest . thing in his career by accepting his Bill as amended by ..the House. ALWAYS S A GAMBLER. Had he held aloof he would have saved his reputation, but he was always a,,.gambler. and^allojKgjLJ^JSilLl0 — £2.

made for the repayment of the loan. In addition, he formulated an immigration policy, the immigrants to be employed on the public works and to be given holdings along the various railway routes. The scheme as a whole promised to have any number of difficulties, but more developed when it was put into'operation. Vogel wished -to borrow. £10,000,000 in ten or twelve years, 'and to have.it.administered centrally. Parliament, however, borrowed £12,000,000 in five years, and diverted £1,500,000 to small provincial schemes to keep the provinces happy. This tremendous influx of capital brought about inflation, followed by speculation in land, the value of which went up tremendously. Then. Canterbury stepped, in and destroyed the continuity of the railways scheme by demanding and getting branch lines befpre the1 Main Trunk line was completed. Other provinces followed suit, and the main line-was left unfinished. In addition. Vogel wanted the railways to be constructed'by an. English firm that was experienced in such work, and obtain^ ed a tender for the whole operation. "Then it was found that a small section of line near Balclutha could be constructed by New Zealand engineers at a price per mile that was much cheaper than the English quote, and people rose up in-arms and declared that Vogel was'wasting money by .giving the construction to an outside firm. New Zealand engineers eventually got the job, and many and ludicrous were the mistakes that were made. Sir William Fox estimated that the railways would cost about-£4OOO per mile to construct, but the actual cost was £7000 per mile, for which Vogel was forced to accept most of the blame. HIS ERROR. Then Vogel made a mistake by bringing too many immigrants into the country. However, in 1869 there were only 783,000 acres under cultivation in the colony, and in 1877 this ,area had expanded to 2,250,000 . acres following Vogel's public works scheme. The provinces proved to be obstructionist-in their attitude. Vogel, who was in sympathy with the provinces at'first, was accused of treachery, when he adopted, the national view. In 1865 he said that when the railways come the provinces had to go, and hfe eventual decision in 1874 to abolish the Provincial Governments was not the decision of a moment. The natural sequence to the inflation of land values caused by the tremendous amount of speculation came about in 1876, when a trade depression, for which Vogel was blamed, occurred, ancj he was compelled to resign from the position of Premier, which he had held since 1873. From ] 876 to 1884 he held the post of AgentGeneral for New Zealand in London, and that was practically the end of his political career, for, although he returned to New Zealand and formed a coalition with Stout, he showed nothing of his old dash. In 1887 he was defeated, and returned to London, where he died in 1889. Sir Julius Vogel, more, perhaps, than anyone else, bound together the nine provinces of the colony and founded the Central Government, without which New Zealand's development would have been seriously impeded, said Mr. Woods, in conclusion. He could with every right be called a nation-