The Lyttelton Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1894.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXXXI, Issue 10269, 10 February 1894, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1894.

The local Conservative journal has returned this week to its congenial task of preaching depression, inculcating despair and creating public I alarm, and it seems that we are in some way responsible for this departure from good sense and patriotism. It will be remembered that a few days ago we mentioned the very eulogistic reference to New Zealand -t lately made in Edinburgh by the | Chairman of the Scottish and New Zealand Investment Company. This is the red rag that has excited the wrath of our contemporary, and the Colonial Treasurer has made matters worse by . showing that the remarks of our Scottish critic were justified in every particular. The Chairman of the Investment Company had the temerity to express himself as pleased by the financial soundness and bright prospects of New Zealand. We quite understand that such eulogy coming from such a source is very distasteful tq our Tory friends. But for a New Zealand newspaper to show such downright party spite as to bitterly resent praise of its own country is, we hope, a novel spectacle. We are not aware that when the New Zealand Conservatives were in office, as they often were for long periods. Liberal newspapers thought so much of their party and so little of their country as to deliberately try to besmirch tbe latter’s credit and standing. We think the columns of Liberal newspapers would be searched in vain to find one single article attacking a financial institution at the other end pf the world simply because its chairman, had dared to praise this colony. Our contemporary, not content with attackingpolitical opponents, . and rehearsing its dreary jeremiads upon the mournful condition of the colony, goes on to sneer at the financial position of the Scottish and New Zealand Investment Company. Henceforth persons connected with English companies doing business in New Zealand will know that they must not venture to speak well of this country so long as a Liberal Government has the had taste and obstinacy to remain in office; If these financial gentlemen have not sufficient discernment to recognise that New Zealand cannot possibly fare well unless the Conservatives are in power, then they must expect that their praises of New Zealand will draw upon them and their companies the attacks of New Zealand newspapers. Surely this is the oddest way in the world of acknowledging a compliment. Having expended its bad temper upon the unfortunate Scottish and New Zealand Investment Company . our contemporary makes the amazing misstatement that no “ respectable journal ” in New Zealand has ever said that the colony would be ruined by the measure of taxation already imposed. Why, our contemporary itself, so far from waiting for the imposition of the new taxation to talk about ruin, commenced its appeals to public timidity only a few days after the general election of 1890. The instant it appeared that the popular verdict was against the Conservative Party, it informed its readers that the result of the election, combined with the strike, had ruined the local industries of Canterbury. The ruin it seems was not even a thing of the future; it had actually taken place, and from that hour to this our contemporary has been frightening such of its readers as would attend to its predictions of bankruptcy, ruin and' dismay. It will be amusing,’ at least, to recall for a moment some of the expressions employed by the “ respectable journals,” which have never, according to onr contemporary, predicted disastrous results from the new taxation.. Here are a few taken at random from a largo collection. “ The Ministerial measures, combined with the still more unwise Ministerial threats, have shaken the confidence of the money market, and something akin to a panic is a by no means unnatural result.” “The proposed taxation looms in the distance as confiscation.” “The borrower will be ruined; ho will lose all he possesses.’ ’ “ The work of years will be lost.” “This is the sort of thing which is being brought about by the attacks snade - on . and^

threats uttered against capital by thd blatant and short-sighted politicians who are now in the ascendant,’* “If the ■ withdrawal of capital ig not speedily checked it will become so general and so extensive as to result in national disaster.” “Large numbers of onr most industrious and thriving settlers will be ruined and :■ sold up.” “ Every branch of industry will be crippled.” “ Absolute ruin is the goal to which the colony is at present drifting all too quickly, » ruin which will 'affect of the community.” « The outlook is a terrifying one.” “The compact majority of Socialistic Radicals who do duty for statesmen in the spirit of a truculent bully have got the minority in chancery and are determined to punch till they can punch no more.”

These are but a few specimens .of the Conservative style of criticism, and yet our contemporary presumes so far on the readiness with which the public will forget this sort of wild trash as to coolly declare* that no “respectable journal” ever said that the new taxation would bring New Zealand to ruin; The other symptoms of our contemporary’s relapse are neither new* nor alarming. Once more we see the trite and utterly unjust insinuation.: that the decrease in the value of our exports is due to the policy of the Liberal Government. The public knows perfectly well, however, that there has been no decrease in the volume of our exports, and that the falling off in value is due to lower prices. The Opposition would have v people believe, apparently, that Mt Ballance and Mr Seddonhave caused , the prices of wool, wheat and frozen —' meat to fall in London. Surely the force of midsummer madness could go no further! Not only are we treated this time to the venerable ■ fustian about the withdrawal of , capital owing to the imposition of the land tax, but our contemporary also asks, with an air of admirable whether money is not at present difficult to obtain at old rates of interest, and whether land is not difficult to sell. It is true that within the last few months money has gone up quite one-half per cent, . but this is due, as our contemporary knows perfectly well, to the Australian banking crisis which was recently described by the Chairman of the Peninsular and Oriental Shipping Company as the greatest national financial disaster that ever descended upon any community. The party bias 1 that will cause any sane critic to ignore these causes and attribute everything to the land and income tax and the Liberal Government must indeed be all powerful. Our contemporary has appealed to Ministers to change a system which it alleges is doing injury to employers and workers alike. We do not, as a rule, care to employ the iu quoque retort ; but we . are tempted on this occasion to suggest that it is high time for our contemporary to change a system of reckless attack, in which facts are perverted, and everything made to lead to the one necessity of abusing the Government.