OUR LETTER HOME.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXIII, Issue 7484, 25 February 1885, Page 1 (Supplement)

OUR LETTER HOME.

POLITICAL. In offering themselves for service in the Soudan our Volunteers have proved themselves worthy of the high traditions of •their race. Undeterred by the reported refusal of Colonial offers of service, they have remembered only that their comrades of the Army are in danger in a distant "difficult country. Their patriotism was phown to be healthy when the Native Minister accepted their services for the Parihaka demonstration. That, after all, <was only a promise of what more serious ©cession would draw from them. The more serious occasion has come, and they ■are equal to it. The seat of war is a country <•£ bad climate, the enemy is one who 'Cannot be trifled with. In numbers he is powerful, in courage he is heroic. Yet our Volunteers have not hesitated to offer to ,take their place in the campaign. New Zealand has viewed with admiration the conduct of New South Wales. The unhesitating approval which the whole population has extended to their Government, the large sums of money by which the Patriotic Fund has been inaugurated, the generous offers of supplies, the enthusiasm of the whole Colony of New South "'Walee—all these things have stirred the heart of every Australasian. No one en•fjuires into the cause of quarrel. It is enough that a great officer of our race has 'perished at his post, and that a force of •our countrymen is dangerously beset. Immediately offers of service—of officers, •men, money, guns, horses—come pouring in from the whole Empire. Among these offers the Government of New South Wales has secured the pride of place, as well as the honourable satisfaction ,of acceptance. The Sovereign has sent them her thanks personally, the Commander in Chief in the field and his soldiers have them a hearty response. We regret that the pride of place was not seized by ■this Colony, which came to the front the •other day to such purpose in the Samoan affair. At all events, the Volunteers of the Colony have secured for their land a place on the list of offers. That place the whole population is, we have no doubt, quite iready to make honourable with numbers. In equipment, as far at least as Artillery is •concerned, there is not the same possibility. It is a source of pride that the •first of the New. Zealand offers have come from Canterbury and Otago commanders. Captains Hamersley (Timaru) and Martin .(Christchurch), and Mr Frederick Fulton (Dunedin) have made a name for them•\selves which will not soon be forgotten. .Mr Bennett's name too will be remembered ibeyond Auckland where his offer was made. V The Imperial Government has behaved , poorly, and inconsistently. It has permitted the appearance for the first time in history, of an Australian force on an Imperial battle field. At the same time it has •SLuars £E£r Viy giving a number good ground for dissatisfaction. Nothing would have contributed more to the unity of the Empire; nothing would have established a warmer feeling between the Mother Country and her Colonies. Nothing would have caused the Empire to be more respected abroad than the presence of a Colonial contingent .in the field, soldiers from all Australasia, Canada and the Cape, side by side with Imperial troops, under the Imperial General, shedding their blood as freely as their comrades of the Imperial army, -taking their place in all despatches with them, drawing their pay, supplies and all . expenditure from their respective Governments. The thing was worth doing, and worth doing thoroughly. By doing it partially, the Imperial Government has missed a great opportunity of cementing the unity of the Empire. It has also, by . neglecting to take the greatest advantage of the public opinion around them, failed to regain some of the prestige which the ■ fall of Khartoum has taken from it. In all the enthusiasm of this matter, the Victorian Government alone seem to have remembered the constitutional aspect of the question. That Government felt it necessary to announce that in the event of the acceptance of its offer by the Imperial authorities it would call Parliament together to ratify its action. The difficulty is more theoretical than practical, for we venture to say that not one of the Parliaments of Australasia would hesitate for ■ one moment to ratify such a course of its Government. Colonial public opinion has endorsed the action of the Governments—in New South Wales they are coming forward with splendid subscriptions to a Patriotic Fund, which ha 3 made them independent of Parliament—with emphatic assent, and Legislatures always endorse ihe decrees of public opinion.

To the observer of human nature the outburst of patriotic spirit throughout Australasia is most encouraging. The young nation is distinguished by the high qualities of its ancestry. Hitherto it has borne the reproach of selfish devotion to the business of getting rich. "We see now that this reproach is undeserved, the eager pursuit of wealth being, the only outlet for the energetic, enterprising, self-reliant spirit of the people. Nations which have, besides the spirit of valour, generous hearts, and high ideals of duty, have a grand future before them. To those who know the colonists of Australasia intimately, and have seen for themselves how promptly colonial bravery goes to the rescue into collapsed mines and among the furious breakers of the ocean, and how lavishly colonial generosity comes to the help of misfortune of every kind, such reflections are almost unnecessary. But there is a large school of critics who have come to regard the Australasians as essentially a race of money-grubbers. They will be glad, perhaps, now to own themselves/in the wrong.

The two Ministers (Premier and Mines) seem, to have enjoyed their trip among the "West Coast mines, and to have got over the country very fast. Westport saw them last week laying foundation stones and prophesying good things.- GrejTnouth soqu had the same pleasant view, correct as

it was pleasant. By way of variation, here they dined in a mine and were pitched into by the local members; why, the Press Association has by no means made clear. The end of the week saw them back at Hokitika, having inspected Ross and its re-opening prospects. The only remarkable thing the Premier has said (of a political character) during the tour is, that now the mining interest is at last to have justice. We had thoiight that this might mean Mr Seddon's coming appointment as Minister of Mines, but Mr Seddon's free criticism of Ministerial ways at all of the late banquets makes one pause before accepting this version of the Premier's meaning.

The Premier has addressed meetings at Dunedin and Nelson, and was well received. He is back in Dunedin at present. Sir Julius Vogel got a splendid reception at Auckland after his visit to the Waiwera waters. His speech was very successful. He will be in Christchurch in March, tne 12th being appointed for a banquet at which he will preside. Mr Walker, Mr Garrick, and Mr Lance, of the Canterbury members', have also made^ speeches during the month, and have been very well received. The Minister of Mines is now at Nelson, in connection with railway business it is believed. The Colonial Secretary is visiting hospitals et hoc genus omne, and the Native Minister has had some successful meetings with the Kingite Natives. During their visit to the West Coast, the Premier and Minister of Mines inaugurated the Westport Harbour Works amid great rejoicings. A report is current that Mr Larnach is to be called to the Upper House shortly. It is satisfactory to know from Sir Julius Vogel's address that the Government are in treaty to buy a quantity of Native land along the line of the Grand Trunk Northern Railway, and that the land for the line is to be taken in the ordinary way, under the Public . Works Act. Opponents of the Government are protesting that this railway expenditure is going to enrich the Native owners, who are not even to be rated in return. It would certainly be most satisfactory if the Government can buy all the land along the line, but if that is not to be, as long as enough is acquired for extensive bond, fide settlement, there will be nothing to complain of. If the Natives can make anything of the balance why not ? How many owners among the whites, have made money out of railways, and how many of them have given land for the- railways that have made their fortunes ? The protests that the Natives ought to give their lands and be rated for what they keep, are too thin. We suspect that the place where the shoe really pinches is where the destination of the lands the Government is buying comes in. If these lands were to be handed over by Government to speculators, like a certain great Company which made such a sensation some years ago, the Native Policy of Mr Ballance would astonish us with, the, number of fine things that can be said of it.

Mr Ashbury, formerly M.P. for Brighton, having spoken to the Kingite Natives, we see whence Major Te Wheoro got his hopes of Imperial interference in the Native affairs of this Colony. Mr Ashbury was the Major's host many times, and Mr Ashbury has encouraged him to believe that the Imperial authorities can begot to interfere on their behalf. Mr Ashbury is prepared to give lectures, and even if necessary to re-enter Parliament to forward the cause. Fortunately the Maori is, as a rule, a shrewd judge of character. Major Te Wheoro seems to have been an exception ; but then the Major was very ill during his stay in the Old Country. Mr Thurston, Colonial Secretary of Fiji, is declared by the compiler of the Argus special cable messages to have said that Fiji should be annexed by New Zealand. At present we do not like to believe that Mr Thurston has lost his senses.

Sir Julias Vogel has given his reply to the charges of the discontented shareholders of the Telephone Company. It only remains to say that the discontented have behaved after the manner of their kind. Sir Julius Vogel never did anything that was unusual with the shares, he never made any statement that was not bond fide, and he never made anything that can be called good in the way of profits. In fact, it may be said of the story of the discontented that there is nothing in it. The proprietors of the New Zealand Times (very august persons indeed, report says) wish they could say as much about their approaching libel action.

As the Chambers of Commerce of Christchurch and Nelson have both, declared that the depression is going, we suppose it must be. But we see that depression .or no depression, the Christchurch Chamber continues to hammer away at the railway rates and other things which in its opinion require to be hammered at. "We trust it will not go on hammering for Boards to advise the railway management, because the practical remedy is the appointment of Boards, not to give advice which nobody ever takes, but to do well the work of management, which is now done badly.

Lyttclton is happy in its Harbour Board, as everybody says every year when the indefatigable Secretary unfolds those simple accounts cf his. "What pleases the business instinct most about the Board is that it always has a balance on the right side. Even last year, when everybody who contributes to the Board's rerenue had a balance on the wrong side, the Board managed to comply with its usual custom. Though the export grain industry suffered a loss of one-half in value and one-fourth in quantity ; though other exports did not make up for the whole of this loss, and though imports fell off, the Harbour Board had a balance to the good. This is pleasing to the commercial instinct. So is the Board's history and position. The Board owes .£200,000. It has assets to the value of j 6500,000 to show against this liability. The Board found only .£300,000 of this—one third out of ordinary revenue, •the balance by the loan above-named.. The revenue is .£30,000 a-year, and will leave this year £IOOO, after providing £OOOO for

dredging. On the whole the Lyttelton Harbour Board's success is a strong argument in favour of local self-government. The Christchurch District Drainage Board is another argument for the same cause. Strangers who see the works of this Board wonder at them, and every year the citizens are beginning to find them more and more to their liking. The newest, development of the Board's history is the sewage farm, which may be learned from the Engineer's report presented during the week to the Board. The farm is small, chiefly because the ground is expensive to level. But of the success of the irrigation on the sandy soil which has been levelled for it, there is no question. The crops are luxuriant, and the summer perfume of the place is not different from the perfume which delights the traveller at this season as he is borne by the railway train through the crops everywhere looking so well. If this sewage farm gets fair play it will not only dispose nicely of a troublesome subject, but prove the beginning of a revolution in sanitary practice throughout New Zealand. Heaven helps those who help themselves. A few years ago people despaired of the effluent water. Now they point to the sewage farm. It will be cheerfully allowed in the not remote future that the ceremony of the other day at Westport is one of the most important ceremonies that has ever taken place in New Zealand. As the Premier said when inaugurating the beginning of the harbour works, Westport is destined to be one of the foremost cities in New Zealand. It is on the cards, in fact, that owing to the enormous demand for the produce of the enormous coalfields of the Westport district, Westport will be the largest and wealthiest city in New Zealand. If this is ever the result of the Colonial guarantee given to the half-million loan for the harbour works (and there seems much solid reason to believe that it will) we can only wish fervently for more opportunities for such guarantees. In discussing this first start of the Vogelian policy—the thing has been very quickly put on foot—it is right to remember that two years ago Sir Julius Vogel, when in Lyttelton at the opening of the Graving dock, said that before long he felt sure the development of the Colonial resources would-be taken in hand vigorously, for it wa3 not to be supposed possible that a country with such a past as New Zealand had no future before it. It,is not given to many men to be the instruments of working out the verification of thoir own prophecies. It is satisfactory to see that the Christchurch industrial people stiffened their backs about the proposed Exhibition charges. There was a time when no amount of stiffening availed to alter the curve of a single Government figure, no matter how insignificant.. But these industrials got a promise of a reduction from Is to 9d. They asked for more, which ■bordered somewhat on the insatiable ; but though the probability was that they would get the 9d, they actually got a reduction to Gd.

The rapid passages of the direct steam liners have brought about an unexpected announcement. It is that the larger shareholders have discovered that the pace is too hot to last at the subsidy. The advantages of rapid communication are so great that Parliament should increase the subsidy. Doe 3 anybody expect the owners of property to sacrifice it for the public benefit ? THE WEATHER AKD THE CROPS. Those who, emboldened by the unsettled spring and summer, prophesied a repetition of the wet harvest of last year have so far been disappointed. When our last summary was despatched the outlook was not a pleasant one, but in the following week the elements became more settled, and we have now had three weeks of the most favourable weather it is possible to conceive for harvest purposes. The natural result has been that the crops ripened off rapidly, the harvest was soon in full swing, and a considerable area of grain ha 3 already been cut and stacked in the best possible condition. The yield promises to be fully up to, if not over, the average, while the quality and condition of the grain are beyond question. At present everything seems favourable to a continuance of good harvest weather, about three weeks of which will now be quite sufficient to see all the grain crops safely housed. As the hay harvest was an excellent one, and turnips, mangels, carrots, "&c, have done well, there will be an ample supply of winter keep, which in these days of meat export is a very important consideration. [Since writing the above, we have had a heavy fall of rain ; but the jveather is now clearing, and it is to be hoped it will keep fine long enough for the harvest to be completed in a satisfactory manner.] THE LAND MARKET. It is beyond expectation that a lively land market should exist during depressed times, still there seems a disposition on the part of capitalists to acquire any good central city property that may offer. There are several large buildings in course of erection to the order of established Companies and traders, which will further centralise business quarters, and fix values. The most notable sale in city property during the month is that of Messrs Maling's warehouse and offices in Worcester street (Cathedral square), which has been purchased by the General Government for office purposes, chiefly in connection with its Life Insurance Department. The price paid was .£10,500. The Government have also purchased an unoccupied plot adjoining, having 22ft frontage, for .£6B per foot. Five dwellinghouses, at the junction of Montreal and Gloucester streets, well known as the property of the late Mr Tombs, have also been offered' and sold at prices ranging from J 21250 to .£6OO. Money rates for mortgage investments are unaltered. There is a great dearth of securities, and plenty of money offering at 7 per cent. SHIPPING. There have been no arrivals of sailing craft at Lyttelton from the United Kingdom this month, but the two steamers of the N.Z. Shipping Company and the Shaw Savill and Albion lines have passed through Lyttelton, both vessels making Wellington their final port. The Aorangi, of the N.Z. Shipping Company's E.M. line of steamers, made a best on record to Port Chalmers, arriving there at 3 a.m. on Jan. 30. She called at Lyttelton on Feb. 5, left that port for Wellington on Feb. 11, and filially left for London at 4.45 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 14. The lonic arrived at Wellington on Jan. 20, and, after calling at Pot Chalmers,

arrived at Lyttelton on Feb. 2, left for Wellington on Feb. 4, and that port for London on Feb. 15. Both vesselstook big cargoes, the 1 Aorangi also taking the contract mail and a large number of passengers. The Shaw, Savill and Albion Company's steamer Doric arrived at Auckland yesterday (Feb. 23), after a smartrun of 46 days' gross time, or including 22 hours'' detention at Teneriffe, 39 days 14 hours 22 minutes actual travelling time. She is advertised to leave on the return trip on March 22. The N.Z. Shipping Company's new steamer Eimutaka was due at Hobert on her maiden trip yesterday. She will make Lyttelton her final port, and is time tabled for March 14. Sailing vessel departures include Banffshire, N.Z. Shipping Company, Feb. 4; Scotia, same agents, Feb; 23 ; and Wave Queen, Feb. 22, John Inglis, agent. The two latter dates are those of the actual departures. These clearances do not call for special comment. Two Home vessels are due here. The barque Norman M'Leod, 116 days out, should turn up with the first southerly breeze. The Invercargill, 88 days out, should turn up inside a week, as she is a smart, powerful ship. The Union Steamship Company's large cargo steamer Tekapo arrived here on her first intercolonial trip on Sunday, Feb. 22, and left the following day for Wellington and Sydney (N;S.W.)