SIR JULIUS VOGEL

Evening Star, Issue 22067, 28 June 1935, Page 6

SIR JULIUS VOGEL

REBDUROEFUL, DETERMINED, AND ADVENTUROUS HIGH RANK AMONG NEW ZEALAND STATESMEN l The political career of Sir Julius Vogel was traced in a highly intorest- ; ing manner in an address given to the Otago Historical Association' last night i by Mr N. S. Woods, who sought to dispel some of the atmosphere of mistrust and misapprehension that surrounded the statesman’s name. Dr J. i R. Elder, who occupied the chair, said that Sir Julius Vogel was a man of : peculiar interest to Dunedni, 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 sneaker could dispel the mean and ' parochial feelings against Sir Julius Vogel’s name he_ considered ho would have done something for New Zealand’s history. Vogel was horn 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 colonjal lire. He did not join the gold rushes, but became editor of a small newspaper, and evinced distinct political aspirations. In 1859 ho endeavoured 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 13 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 pen, hia aim being a political career. 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 world in which he then lived, but in th.e expanded world of the future. His motive was not to nipke a great name for himself, hut to wield tremendous political power, to be the originator of things and to be th? pivot on which vast new plans were to turn. A* this time New Zealand was at the commencement of the gold rushes, and also of the Maori War The first mentioned stimulated immigration and made for interesting times, while the Maori War also made for interesting times of a somewhat different 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 jealous 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. . Vogel first turned his attentions to journalism, and purchased a half share in the ‘ Otago Witness,’ shortly afterwards establishing the ‘ Otago Daily Times.’ Almost immediately his activities showed his mental vigour and ven- j turso/no nature. At that time Otago was providing one-third of the total revenue of the'country, and Vogel advocated separation, but the Otago people wore not interested, fn 1861 he turned to land and immigration development, putting forward a scheme whereby money could bo borrowed with land as security. He desired to reform the Provincial Council, and advocated railway and harbour expansion, road construction, the establishment or acclimatisation societies, meteorological offices, universities, charitable asylums, and the improvement of the city’s water 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 from 1866 to 1869 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, hut in 1866 he changed his outlook and became definitely national in bis viewpoint, and began lo talk about a postal service and a public works policy'for the whole of Now Zealand. In 1868 lie unsuccessfully moved a vote of no confidence iu the Stafford Government, but in tlio same year he persuaded the Government io s«4 ftp a committee of 10 to

consider the country’s financial position. 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 Julius 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 liis own purposes. He established the Government Life Insurance Office, his first national scheme, and in 1872 lie founded tho Public Trust Office.

In 1870 lie 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 value 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 m his career by accepting his Bill as amended by the House. Had he held aloof he would Itave saved his reputation, but he was always a gambler, and allowed the Bill to. go through without any provision being made for tlie repayment of the loan. In addition he formulated an immigration policy, the immigrants to be employed on tne 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 w r as Cut into operation. Vogel wished to orrow £10,000,000 in 10 or 12 years and to have it administered centrally. Parliament, however, borrowed £12,000,000 in five years, and diverted £l,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 before the 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 obtained 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 £4,000 per mile to construct, but the actual cost was £7,000 per mile, for which Vogel was forced tp accept most of the blame. 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 bo 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 lie said that when the railways came the provinces bad to go, and bis 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, and he was compelled to resign from the position of Premier, which be had held since 1873. From 1876 to 1884 he held tho post of Agent-general 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 fo 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. Tic cou!d_ with every rHit. lie called a nation hiiildc”. although he was not so designated in tho history books. After the lecturer had answered a number of questions, he was accorded a hearty vote of thanks on. the motion of Mr. A, Eccles.j