The Lyttelton Times. THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1867.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2057, 25 July 1867, Page 2

The Lyttelton Times. THURSDAY, JULY 25, 1867.

The differences id ppinion regarding' the distress in this province are ehewing themseiyes more and more, through correspondence in the newspapers arid: otherwise, But in one respect;' -the. ground ie gradually shifting. When a proposal is made that work shall be provided ;ohYthose terms which it it. ilone* reasonablei and fair for the Government to offer, the objection is farted that labouring, men; did npfc come; out:;here merelyto earn their :fbod.\SThis is the'lariguage}orily : :brthe; idle and intemperate in the ■arid' serves to shew:hovr thoroughly this question ■■of distress, when duly considered; serves to discriminate be- ; 'tween the truly industrious and those disposed to idleness. Wei know no reason why labouring men should be exempt from sharing in the depression which overtakes a {community, nor do we know.of any law: which can prevent periodical; returnsvqfldeprea■lion. The labouring classes had their full share in the prosperity; which Canterbury go long enjoyed/ and must : be prepared to take their share in the; advemty which is for a abort time our lot. No man of moderate intelligence, any caudour, can avoid recogniaingvi how baa been the depression; far. sorae time past ambiig men of;all vclasHes: of ; ; the l;'community, : Merchanta, farmers,- stockowners, shopkeepers, have (alk suffered Severely. If any:class, or men of "any class, claim : absolute, exemption from this suffering, they at themselves beyond the pale of sympathy, or the slightest ;j)rosjiect. of;/asBiHtancel: The best that any, of'us "can do':ig tide over a ; ;time; of difficulty.,;.; Men; who come forward to tell us that they are not making money quite so fast as; they wish, need not look for help from any quarter. But it would be unfair to the great . body of our labouring meu to say, : that the few noisy individuals who make such pretension are by any means their fair representatives; and it would be miachwyous in the extreme to allow tbeir vapid talk to check the outgoingH of public generosity towards those who really deserve it. If there are fair ground fin* averting that distress does or ma'v at l>re*ent eiist, it is a public duty to nwkv provision for its relief. the bravado, winch may come from tbose who make a timed hardship th. season for a profitable

exhibition of their own misfortunes should not be allowed to interfere with or delay the arrangement! for helping those who need it.

We promised lately to refer to »orae of those means by which the labouring classes might help themselves and lay the foundations of futuro independence. Thorou little need of poiutingths moral, or of enlarging upon the practical lesson, if we can socure attention for the facts ou which tho moral or lesson is based. It has beeu assorted by somo gentlemen in this town, well acquainted, with tho habits of the mining population and with tho hardships of the goldfiolds, that a man might, at tho present rate of prices, livo in Cliristcliurch in the samo style as tho miners do, for tho sum of five shillings a week. Now, let us not for a moment suppose that it is reasonable 1 to ask any portion of our population to give up their wooden houses and dwell in tents, or to dispense with, the little conveniences of a liresido and a bed somewhat higher than the floor. We have no right to nsk a man to submit to the privations of the digger, when we cannot hold | out to him the prospects of the digger, j Still, the assertion has been made,' and i challenges investigation—that men may live on the East Coast of Canterbury for five shillings a week, in the same style as men are actually living' and laboring hard upon at the West Coast. Let us take a fair estimate of the .price of food. The estimated ration for a soldier in the British army used to be one hundred and sixty-eight ounces weekly, or twenty-seven, ounces daily. But we believe it has been slightly raised of late years. The Government ration in this province is three hundred and thirty-six ounces weekly, or forty-eight ounces daily, besides an allowance of tea, sugar, and salt, to the extent of nineteen ounces and a quarter weekly, or two ounces and three quarters daily. Taking ordinary prices, such as the shops will afford, let us calculate how these may be obtained. We will follow the details of the Government ration. One' pound of butcher meat at fourpence, one pound of bread at three-half-pence, one pound of potatoes atone halfpenny, half an ounce of tea at' three-halfpence, and two ounces of sugar and a quarter ounce of salt at one penny, give a total of eightpence halfpenny per day, or one halfpenny less than five shillings a week. A family consisting of husband, wife, aud two or three children would require three such rations; and, with the additions of rent, fuel, and clothing, would leave a very small margin indeed out of the 1 daily wages of five shillings, orthirty 1 shillings weekly. But it shews how very much may be done by those who have not the same number; to support/ : vltis sufficiently obvious from these figures, that those men, who decline to do an honest day's work for five shillings, have not felt much of the burden of poverty. . But what we mainly wish tov ; 'urge. is, that labouring men, by looking carefully to their expenses, and paying as they; go; may '" evenjtpthat rate keepthemselvesout of 'debt, and" be free to' take ofs thei-first burst of sunshine that visits us. Many a working man, as he peruses;,these: words, will instinctively think of the annoyances consequent : upon having a bill running on at the neighbouring store, and of the advantages io be de-; rived from co-operative ] v societies honestly .and judiciously, conducted. Such is precisely "the train of ideas we wishltpset: immbtion;