ENGLAND'S OUTLOOK FOR 1881, WITH GLANCES AT "THEBRITAIN OF THE SOUTH."

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVIII, Issue 6063, 23 April 1881, Page 6

ENGLAND'S OUTLOOK FOR 1881, WITH GLANCES AT "THEBRITAIN OF THE SOUTH."

Gladstone axd Co., the firm now managing the affairs of John Bull, have made great and, palpable blunders. The Midlothian campaign and its' ombarrassing consequents, evidence the fact, that they understood not the. transition character of the present times,' that they foresaw not the approaching inevitable crisis of principles and classes. In the baseless confidence begotten by this hazy' noiU perception, they bade wildly for popularity,' tried to balance conflicting interests; to conciliate opposing factions ; they threw a sop, to each .in turn, were i>rodigal of. promise, , boasted of an economy to result out of a foreign policy of " masterly inactivity," little heedful of the swift undercurrent,'which is so: silently drifting the vessel of state within the eddying forces of the swirling maelstrom of anarchy and chaos, the outcome of the confluent antagonisms of Romanism, Ritualism, " Evangelism " (so-called), Free Thought, and Atheism in the ecclesiastical world, and of Monarchy, Oligarchy, Democracy, and Communism in the body politic. The Denoos or Plebs rising in the power of developing intelligence, are opposed to the throne and senate. Their leaders plan and plot, lie and deceive, promise largely the Utopian and the impossible, all. to augment and aggregate their forces, that they may compass the downfall of their rivals. Gladstone and Co., in their anxiety to rej train the lead, and again assume the reins of I power, pandored to these dangerous elements, not foreseeing the difficulties and strained position into which it would lead them. To secure electioneering support, they held out promises of impracticable oconomies, which, if effected, would involve the stultification of the work achieved by their predecessors in office. The cry of economy enlisted the sympathies of the all powerful money malting class, whose Alpha and Omega in life is, ", Cash," "make itand keep it." Time, the sure uufolder of the future, the righteous indicator of the true character of the true character of the past, will soon make mauifest that, for the greatest and wealthiest nation which has ever existed, heretofore foremost iu everything, leading, controlling, influencing, and not unfrequently dictating the possessor of wealth incalculable, the mart, the exchange, the workshop of the world, and the annual increment of whose wealth amonnt3 to hundreds of millions, whose sous have swarmed .out, to subdue or colonise a third of tho earth's area; for such a nation to be satisfied with a foreign policy of "masterly inactivity," to be paltering and haggling in its Legislative Assembly about tho saving of a few thousands or millions a year, and, in order to effect this, to be deliberately casting about in search of a plausible excuse for the evacuation and abandonment of one of the keys of that nation's Indian Empire, but lately acquired at a lavish expenditure of blood and treasure ; that the plea of such a nation for retiring from Kandahar should be relief from the money-cost of its retention,, is simply national humiliation,- because it is the sacrifice of Great: Britain's dignity, honour, and prestige, upon! the golden altar of Mammon's priests. Under foreign and domestic conditions such as these, the ear'.y x>romise of the opening year, '81, has faded, trade lias stagnated, commerce has declined, Nautilus-like, ,if the ocean surface upon which commerce spreads its sails be .disturbed, if the elements' threaten, it contracts, it declines. Ali its' multiform symbols of employed "or invested capital, shares, debentures, stocks, securities —all the products of its industry and skill— rise and fall in value, indicating the oscillation of the public mind between hope and fear, as the; portents of impending storm; become more or less threatening in either the social or political horizon.

Entertaining these sentiments, these con-, victions, you will not be. surprised to learn that, financially, I have very nearly cleared out of the "Old Country." Ere awhile, I anticipate a serious fall or depreciation. Wo are here so inflated, so overwrought, the strain is so great; the competition so destructive, and the markets have all become so nervously sensitive, that it will require but very little to. produce universal panic. Should, however, the horizon clear, and things settle down at home, and should the coming harvest turn out good or average, then the, early promise of 'SI may be realised, and its course be one of prosperity and content. But should the foregoing conditions turn out adverse, tho public mind will become gloomy, the incubus of apprehension will press upon the brain and body of the toiling masses, discontent will spread, and Gladstone and Co. will have to leave the helm, after a short-lived attempt at the impracticable, and, therefore impossible, and give x)laco to farther-seeing and less unwisely economising men. England must either maintain and vindicate her status aud prestige among the nations, or abdicate her title and right to be accounted a first-class power.

England is completely overdone in every sense of the word, and is no longer the place for the young man to commence, it may be, with his newly-married wife, the struggle of life. Ho should emigrate. If lie possesses a little capital, so much the better ; if none, let him depend upon head and hand with determined will. Fields of enterprise lie open before him in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. He can choose between Canada, the United States, the River Plate States, New Zealand, and.the Australian colonies. Enduring industry, total abstinence; and the feav o£ the Lord, will bring him successfully through, and the afternoon and evening of his life's day will bo calm and sunshiny, in : the enjoyment of competence and comfort, for which so many in the old country sigh, wearied and wellnigh used up. English capital and its tide of emigration now flow largely to. the United States. The prairie laud, with,its two or three feet of rich unctuous alluvial soil inviting the plough, to be got freehold for some 30s the acre, its accessibility and minimum cost of voyage and travel, incline vast numbers to the north-western States. The new arrival catches the spirit of energy and enterprise, and is soon thruugh the primary but inevitable difficulties. These passed, he is simply on the rails to that most desirable of goals—competence and comfort. His children grow up around him : —"the more the merrier"—the cost of their education is nil, they help on the farm and in tb.o house ; arrived at man's and woman's estate, they wed, branch off, take root, repeat the " old story " as in the days of Noah, and by-and-by the original emigrant young couple have matured and thriven into the venerable patriarch, the great grandfather of an ever-spreading and influential progeny. So, I take it, should it be in Now Zealand. It might be so, but that it is not so I know from personal observation. Your land or its laws have been sadly mismanaged. " Speculators have kept lands worth tilling at a fictitious value. Sharka have swallowed whole blocks, to hold and dole out per acre at treble its real value, obligingly assisting the unfortunate emigrant with the alluring bait of leaving the half of the purchase money as a loan upon mortgage at 10 per cent, for five or seven years. At the expiration of either term the land is generally S °l<l °y auction, and purchased by the mortgagee, at less than the value o£ the mortgage, und the disheartened .colonist begins again iu ' another li na T'Vmm lirii >»t*r\>icr'M-- «■*> **«vil rftT»«i-t *>f

the land in the old country,; ;and IfewZea-.' land as a field for. emigration* is mentioned with a very distinctive shrug of the shoulder.: Similarly tho Australian colonies. The outflow has set towards Canada and the American North-Western States. Pew venture to Buenos .Ayres or to Uruguay, where the Governments are unstable, the people divided into inveterate factions, rebellion and revolution chronic—either in 'esse or hi futitrum. csse —and adequate protection for life and property .entirely wanting. The drawback in Canada and the North-Western States is tho long; cold winter, during which : all out-,of-door work is suspended, and the farm stock has to be tended and fed in the yards and sheds. In this the advantage lies largely with New Zealand. Its climate all that can be desired, much of its soil rich; and capable of yieldiug abundant crops of roots and com. Something has evidently cheeked development,: arrested iprogress, and heavily weighted the industries and commerce of tho '.'Britain o£ the South." Has it been that the true spirit of colonial enterprise and effort—the patient, perseverinc; ." sweat of the brow," by which alone the resources of a new country can be discovered, de : < veloped, ancl macle remunerative—has ■ been stifled or supplanted by a spirit of speculation and official nepotism, which leans lor both the present and the future upon chances. and patronage, , than which nothing is: more emasculating for any community ! May .not the incubus of public and municipal debts, now weighing and paralysing the colony's young manhood's energies, be an outcome of, the spirit alluded to ? May not the evils and failures in. , the legislation of the ; past, whether upon hind, the "native question," or finance be traced to the same cause ? Has not the proximate or ultimate object in each instance—however screened from the public view- by astutely elaborated plausibilities— been tho interest, the enrichment of the few at the cost of the many? But everything works in cycles; the Nemesis at last enforces. the penalty i Tho sowers reap that which they sowed ; but, unfortunately, not alone, honest^industry, patient toil, the "breadwinners " suffer. Depression,, stagnation, crisis do their work ! Experience so dearly bought dictates a change, a better line, niorc honourable, more enduring, because more in harmony with the Second Great Commandment, and the Divine dictum, "Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto yon." j It is not too late to mend —never too late either for individuals or communities ! If the public conscience could be awakened, party faction "banished, personal ambition and avaricious greed restrained by the domination of unselfish, large-hearted patriotism, sustained by the stern will of sincerity and truth, the united and harmonious action of New Zealand's senatora and representatives would soon restore confidence and lay the foundation of an over-developing commercial and agricultural prosperity. If this appears, more anoh: : Anglo-Zealaxdia.