CIRCUMSTANCES ALTER CASES.

New Zealand Herald, Volume III, Issue 677, 12 January 1866, Page 6

CIRCUMSTANCES ALTER CASES.

(From tho Otago Daily Times.) "Witen t tho Otngo Gold Fields were Erst discovered, the people of Canterbury were by turns kindly sympathetic and calmly contemptuous, at what they were pleased to consider so great a misfortune. And the burden of the song thoy wore never tired of repeating was, that thoy could nover show themselves sufficiently grateful for escaping such a disaster. It is true that tho pretence was very palpable, for coincident with tho thanksgiving at their escape from the misfortune, there was a notieeablo desire to meet it, in the s'liapo of anxious endeavors te discover within their own province the much calumniated Gold Fields. Nevertheless, as long as tho precious metal could not be found in Canterbury, it was convenient to decry its discovery in Otago. And the I'ress and tho public man of Canterbury did decry it. Otago had lost caste —its population had become a nomadic one, there was no longer aDy stability in the Province. During tho session of 1863, Mr. Fitzgerald, who did the talking for Canterbury, was never tired of enlarging upon tho theme of Otago's demoralization. A fair deduction to be drawn from what ho said was, that in his opinion the Province should be outlawed. Suddenly a chango has come round. l?ich gold-fields have been discovered in Canterbury, and, without hesitation, Canterbury's representatives laid the greatest stress upon j tho increase of population and of the Customs duties ; conseqnent thereon —tho very features they had depreeated, when in a much leas grand way some credit was asserted on behalf of Otngo, and some little consideration was asked for it on account of tho vast progress it had made. When it was argued, Otago is the heaviest populated and tho wealthiest Province, and Dunedin the most, important city in tho colony ; the reply was, it is all tho work of tho gold-fields, the fuiry pnlaeo may be demolished in a day ; and so Otago .actually suffered because of its progression. The reverse of tho picture is instructive, l ast session, the importance of Fast Canterbury could not bo sufficiently magnified, because in West Canterbury gold-fields had been discovered. Because, iu a part, of tho Province accidentally attached to Canterbury, but more separated economically from Canterbury than from any other Province in tho Middle Island, gold had been discovered, therefore Canterbury was entitled to ask the rest of New Zealand to bow down before its new idol.