THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 1894.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9490, 20 April 1894, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 1894.

The attention which the press at Home is at last beginning to bestow upon New Zealand affairs, after having for so many years almo. wholly ignored our existence, is an unmistakable sign that public interest iu the Antipodes is increasing in Great Britain. And there can be no doubt that this interest will go on increasing. The commercial relations between N jw Zealand and the Old Country are rapidly extending. New channels of trade are being constantly opened ur,. The means of communication have been enormously improved during the last decade. There is now a regular and ever-growing passenger traffic to and fro over the great stretch of ocean that separates the Brighter Britain from the Motherland, and which in the old days, when the voyage in a lumbering sailing ship occupiedfiveorsix months, so powerfully impressed the emigrant with a sense of the isolation and appalling remoteness of the new country he was going to. The journey can now be performed in magnificent steamers in less than athird of the time. Science has brought the two countries within a measurable distance of each other. The trip to New Zealand is every year becoming more and more popular with the tourist class in search of new wonders in Nature, while the salubrious climate of the colony is attracting large numbers of those whose health does not permit them to remain in colder and ruder climes. It is not surprising, then, that New Zealand should be much spoken of and written about at home. It is of all the Australasian colonies the one that has most impressed the mind of the British people, and which possesses for them the greatest interest and fascination. The early history of its colonisation, the picturesque character of its native population, the thrilling history of the Maori wars, its scenic beauties, its thermal and volcanic wonders, its sublime Alpine heights and solitudes, its Italian skies, its subtropical vegetation, its rolling downs and forest-clad ranges—all have combined to form a picture, that could not fail to powerfully appeal to the popular imagination. New Zealand in this respect stands alone among the group of colonies whose shores are washed by the Southern seas. Her position is unique. She has been called the Brighter Britain of the South, and the Brighter Britain she will always remain. As a better knowledge of her climate and resources becomes more diffused among the thrifty and industrious populations of England and Scotland and Ireland, and perhaps a substantial reduction in travelling fares is made by the steamship companies, there will be, no one can have any doubt, a steady stream of emigration to her ports. There is, in our opinion, no more favourably situated country in the world for settlement by the Anglo-Saxon race ; and if we could but lift a corner of the curtain that conceals the future from our gaze, and obtain a glimpse of what-is-to-be, we would see, beyond all question, a land teeming with a prosperous and contented people—a fair and smiling land of peace and plenty.

It is, however,, with the present that we are more directly concerned, and that our readers at home will probably feel most interest in. On the whole, we are inclined to express satisfaction at the condition of the colony. Considering the severe depression existing in Australia, and the financial crisis that has been experienced in America, the effect of which has been world-wide; bearing in mind also the prolonged and disastrous industrial struggle that has only recently been brought to a close in Great Britain, and which has not only dislocated all branches of trade, but has caused losses to the extent of many millions of pounds, and enormously restricted the spending power of the community, we do not think that New Zealand has any reason to feel other than thankful that she has been so slightly affected by the financial and economic disturbances that have proved so calamitous elsewhere. The revenue is being well maintained, and the Colonial Treasurer will bo able to announce to Parliament that he has a surplus in hand of about £200,000, part of which will no doubt be devoted to providing for a remission of the duties on some of the necessaries of life. (Settlement is steadily progressing in various parts of the country, but where land has to be cleared of heavy bush and roads and bridges have to be constructed, this is necessarily a somewhat slow process. There are plenty of districts admirably adapted for settlement that are practically locked up for want of proper means of access to them. Had half the money that has been spent on railways been expended on roads, it would have been better for the colony. But although railway construction has not yet been brought to a close, we are likely to find that the making of roads to open up the fertile lands that are lying unoccupied in all directions will more largely engage the attention of Parliament and the Government. The question, too, of throwing open to European settlement the vast areas of native land at present unutilised is likely to be seriously dealt with in the coming session. It is a difficult and knotty question which successive Governments have endeavoured to dispose of without success. The time, has come, however, when it must be solved, for it is a serious obstacle to the rapid settlement of the North Island,

and more particularly the Auckland province. Trad© generally is, we believe, sound, although somewhat restricted owing to the fall in prices in the London markets for some of our staple products, more especially gum and flax. It is hoped, however, that these adverse causes will soon pass away.