LORD ONSLOW INTERVIEWED

Evening Star, Issue 8772, 12 March 1892, Page 1 (Supplement)

LORD ONSLOW INTERVIEWED

While at Sydney our ex-Governor was interviewed by representatives of the local Press. The representative of the 'Telegraph ' directed hia attention to reports of dissatisfaction felt by the New Zealand Government at not being consulted in the appointment of his Buccesaor. Lord Onslow had seen these statements in print. "I Bee it is stated," he said, "that there was a promise that the name of tho new Govornor should be communicated to the New Zealand Government for approval, so to speak. There never was anything of the kind. No promise of any sort or kind was made. One or two names were suggested to me, and I was asked for my private or personal opinion with respect to them, but there was never any question of consulting the Government or inviting them to nominate my successor. Probably what really happened was this: that some gentlemen of the Press, who are very smart and frequently find out these things before they aro Wanted to, got the information that Lord Glasgow was to be appointed, and telegraphed it out to the colony before it could be officially notified—which was unfortunate, I have no doubt the Queen herself, who is always annoyed when those things are made public before the appointment is announced, disliked it just as much as the coloniol Government. Personally, I don't see how the colonial Governments can satisfactorily nominate Governors. For instance, how many people in New South Wales knew Lord Carrington when he was appointed to this oolony ? If the principle of accepting only tried men had been followed, you would probably have lost one of the most popular Governors you have ever had in Australia."

Dealing with labor representation, Lord Onslow said: "The difference between labor representation in New Zealand and in New South Wales is this: that whereas in New South Wales the Labor party has not joined either of the two great parties, in New Zealand they have allied themselves with the advanced Radical party, and the consequenoe is that that party has become paramount in power. The effect will necessarily be that the party which owes so much of its power to the support of labor members must consult labor interests, But I do not anticipate any of the dangers which seem to be feared by some people as the possible consequence of labor representation. I have made the acquaintance and learned the views of many labor members, who are

the most conscientious and straightforward members of Parliament I have ever come aoross. I can only tell you generally what I said at Dnnedin the other day, that I have no fear for the future of the Umpire because of labor members taking a share in directing the counsels of the Empire. What wo have more cause to be afraid of is the smooth tongue of the plausible demagogue —the man who is not really a labor repreBentative, but who uses the people by climbing up on their shoulders. However, that olasß will gradually die ont, I think, Apparently the truo labor class is coming to the front now. No doubt in years to oome there will be a great ohange in the tenure of property. Wealth is gradually becoming more equally distributed. But the change which takes many years—perhaps centuries—to accomplish does not affect any individual particularly—at least not seriously. Land may esily cotno into the hands of a great many more persons without any confusion or disturbance of existing rights." During his residence in New Zealand Lord Onslow acquired an exceptionally wide knowledge of the oolony, over nearly every part of whioh he Has travelled, from the snowclad back districts of Otago to the semitropical regions in the north ef Auckland, Having also seen every variety of its people (including the uncivilised Natives in the wild Uriwera country), he is able to speak authoritatively upon the colony and its prospects. "There is no doubt," he says, " that New Zealand will improve in the future. The best l>; tare of the whole colony is the fact thai she has pulled up and showed that she can live upon her own resources, and her progress would be very rapid if she could get rid of the terrible debt that overloads her. I don't think there is much truth in the rumors we hear of people withdrawing thoir capital from the colony. There has been a great scare at Home, started in some cases for political purposes, and capitalists are always timid, of course. A certain amount of capital has been withdrawn, no doubt, and probably a great deal more would be withdrawn if it could be got out on advantageous terms. But Ido not think the people who have a stake in the country have the least notion of cutting and running. Depend upon it the colony which, with a population no bigger than the City of Liverpool, exports L 10.000,000 worth in a year cannot be in a very bad way. It offers an enormous field for the investment of capital by small men. I don't think the country is ever going to be one for great capitalistic; investments no colossal fortunes will be made there but tho small dairy farmer, combined in dairy associations as in the South Island, may do very well, and in fact many are doing very well." Touching upon the village settlement scheme, Lord Onslow said it had been thoroughly successful where it was tried with men who vent on the land voluntarily, determined to make a living out of it; but it had failed where, iu order to appease the cry for labor for the unemployed, men had to be taken off the •streets and put into the settlements. These latter were inclined to say: *' The Government put ub here ; we didn't want to come, and they must get us out." In the north of Auckland two village settlements might be seen close together, one a success, and tho other a failure, for the reason he had mentioned. Certainly, said His Lordship, there were men unemployed in New Zealand, but if a man was capablo of bush-felling there was more work in that way waiting labor than the labor of New Zealand could supply for many years. "The dairying industry," Lord Onslow said, with respect to the trade of the colony, "is a very considerable one in New Zealand, and all it wants are proper appliances and proper methods of packing, the latter being the problem that has not been Bolved yet. The Middle Island Dairying Association are doing extremely good work, one of their best resulta being a uniformity of quality, which you cannot got without association, and which enables the producer to rely on his market. The pastoral industry, of course, is a leading one, and in the South Island merino sheep are doing marvellously well. But the great trade of the colony is that in frozen meat, which has made immense strides ever since I have been in New Zealand. And a curious thing is that it does not affect the price of meat in England. It seems to create a fresh class of consumers, who probably never tasted moat more than once a week, and who can have it once a day now. Thus there is increased consumption without lowering the price of the English meat."