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New Zealand Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 4176, 8 August 1874, Page 2

Some further correspondence * between the Minister for Immigration and the Superin-* tendents of the several Provinces has been printed ;and laid upon the tables of both Houses of Assembly. The correspondence relates chiefly to the number of immigrants wliich it may be desirable to introduce, and to the provision of cottages for their accommodation in each of the Provinces. We learn that to each: Superintendent, the Minister, on May loth, sent a circular telegram,,;stating that thei Government proposed instructing the AgentGeneral to partially revert to the system of assisted passages, under promissory notes for £7, .still'givjng free passages to single females, and to; emigrants nominated from the Colony. Before -finally deciding upon this, the Minister solicited the opinion of the Superintendents, and in the correspondence, as now published, we have their replies—replies which are nearly all in favor of a continuance, of, the influx of immigrants, and averse to any change which might be calculated to check it. To begin with Auckland, the Superintendent of that Province says : "As regards this Province, there is no reason to fear that the number of emigrants reported as on their way out to Auckland is likely to prove too large,to meet the demands for labor in the several districts of the Province. In fact, considerable dissatisfaction has been expressed,, and still exists, at the apparent neglect on the part of the Agent-General in not sending out to Auckland something like a fair proportion of the: number of free emigrants despatched by him to the Colony. Whatever course it may be found necessary to take in this matter with regard to the other Provinces of New Zealand, I cannot advise the sudden stoppage of free immigration to this part of the Colony until at least something like a fair adjustment of numbers takes place botweon this Province and those other portions of the Colony whero the demand for the introduction of immigrants has been liberally acknowledged and supplied. In Auckland there is still room enough and ready employment for a very largo number of well-seleoted respectable female servants." In conclusion, he deprecates reverting to the promissory note system. Tho Superintendent of Taranaki telegraphed his view on matter, which was that the Agent-General should bo instructed to send to Taranaki with free passages the number to which tho Province was entitled ; and thiß done he considered that " immigration might bo partially stopped for a short time." The reply of the Superintendent of Wellington was that "the circular had been brought under the special consideration of tho Executive, who were unanimously of opinion that no change is desirable, as far as this Province is concerned, as the immigrants that have arrived here, both as to quality and quantity, have been on the whole satisfactory, and have.been absorbed as quickly as could be expected." The Superintendent of Hawko's Bay trusted that the proposed instructions would be reconsidered, pre-

ferring to see'additional advantages offered to secure really suitable immigrants. Mr. Seymour, the Superintendent of Marlborough, said : " I should be sorry to see the present arrangement altered in any way to prevent our receiving the direct shipments intended to come, here in the , Spring. Beyond this I would not offer any suggestions, as unfortunately I have had no local experience of the working of the system. I must, however, impress upon you that this Province is languishing for want of labor, and that there is scarcely any industry in the place but what is crippled for want of hands. Being a small Province, we could not of course absorb thousands; but hundreds, coming in gradually, would be a great boon." Nelson was an exception, the reply of the Superintendent being simply :—" I quite agree in the expediency of the proposed instructions to the Agent-General respecting immigration." Prom Westland the reply was that the Superintendent would be sorry to see immigration checked by reverting to assisted passages, and suggested that opportunity now offered for the selections of those only best suited for the requirements of the Colony. Canterbury preferred free passages to promissory notes, with good selection ; and the Superintendent of Otago; at greater length, said the same thing, finding no fault as to quantity, but recommending better quality, and care as to the season of the year, with the further recommendation that free passages should be afforded to those selected by the Provincial Agent. Altogether, the advice was, with the one exception mentioned, that free immigration should proceed, the faith of each Superintendent and Executive being that there is still room for the absorption of further arrivals ; and after considering the replies, the Government " came to the conclusion only to instruct the Agent-General t) limit the number of "emigrants despatched by him between the Ist of March and the end of the year to 25,000."

Attached to the report of the Select Committee appointed to take evidence on the subject of the Excise Duties, there is a statement by Mr. P. M. Eobertson, one of the partners in the firm who entered into the business of distillation in Dunedin, which is worthy of being quoted, as exhibiting the extent of the industry which they initiated, and the difficulties which they had to overcome at its commencement. Much of Mr. Robertson's statement, however accurate, is written of course with the object of illustrating what effect the proposed alteration in the excise duties would have upon their enterprise, but we quote only what relates to the past, and to the gradual development of the Dunedin distillery up to the present time. Mr. Robertson states, on behalf of the' firm, that by reason of their own inexperience in the business, the impossibility of obtaining in the Colony experienced hands, the inferior quality of the barley and other grain at that time obtainable, and other causes too numerous to particularise, they at first made heavy losses in the business, amongst which he enumerates the spoiling of 22,000 gallons of spirit, in consequence of their having attempted to utilize " kauri " in making vats, the gum from which tasted the spirit, and rendered its re-distillation necessary at a considerable loss, besides delaying jpusiness for nearly a year and a half, by postponing for that period the time within which they could bring into consumption a matured and marketable spirit. Owing to the discovery that colonial "woods were unsuitable for vats, and partly to the fact that, having been deceived as to the thickness of the copper of which the stills should have been constructed, they wore out in less than three years, instead of lasting for over ten years, as they should have done, and necessitated having others made in the Colony at a cost of over £2OOO. The whole expenditure, including the new vats, &c, was upwards of £6OOO, besides the expense incurred in keeping the men idle during a period of over three months, and the loss involved in the stoppage of the business. Siuce the renewed plant has been in working order, the firm have been able to produce a superior article, and in larger quantities, at the same expense of management, and have thus accumulated a stock of spirits over and above the quantity required to supply the demand ; and this stock is gradually increasing, so that in the course of two or three years they hope to be in a position to send out nothing but a fully matured spirit. Prom the .time they commenced business in Octobei - , 1869, up to the last balance in December, 1873, they had manufactured about 179,000 gallons of spirits from 98,743 bushels of malt and grain, all of which, except about 2000 bushels of malt made from barley imported from California (and on which a duty was paid), was grown in this Colony. Of this quantity they had up the end of the year 1873 sold 144,386 gallons at an average of about 7s. per gallon. Mr. Robertson mentions that the reason of their using Californian barley on the one solitaiy occasion on which they did so, was that the entire stock of barley in the Provinces of Otago and Canterbury became exhausted, and they were obliged, in order to prevent a stoppage of the business, to send to California for a consignment of 10,000 bushels, 8000 of which they sold, partly to farmers as seed barley, and partly to brewers in the shape of malt. The above-mentioned quantity of 144,386 gallons was sold in the proportions following, viz. : Prom Oct., 1869, to Dec, 1870, 20,990 gallons „ Jan., 1871, to Dec, 1871, 27,757 „ „ Jan., 1872, to Dec, 1872, 40,639 „ „ Jan., 1873, to Dec, 1873, 54,999 „ Showing an annually increasing demand for the spirits manufactured at their distillery. The annual returns from the business (including sales of malt manufactured) have been as •follows : £ s. d. From Oct., 1869, to Dec, 1869... 773 6 0 „ Jan., 1870, to Dec, 1870...10,371 19 9 „ Jan., 1871, to Dec, 1871...17,360 18 2 „ Jan.,1872, to Dec, 1872...28,034 11 5 „ Jan., 1873, to Dec, 1873...41,038 13 8 Of the 200,000 bushels of barley mentioned in ' the firm's petition as having been consumed in: their business as distillers and malsters, above 100,000 bushels were converted into malt, and sold to brewers, Mr. Robertson explaining that it is necessary to carry on the two businesses of malting and distilling in conjunction, for the reason that, although malt may, for certain reasons, be unsuitable for brewers, it is yet available for distilling. One of the departmental reports lately presented to the Assembly is that of Lieut. - Colonel Moule, Commissioner of the. Armed Constabulary, with appendices consisting of reports from the Inspectors of the force in the different districts. Prom it we learn that at the commencement of the year ending June 30 the force consisted of 709 of all ranks ; that "during the year there has been an increase of 156 and a decrease ol 179 ; and that its strength at the date mentioned was, therefore, 668, being 56 under the authorised number—a circumstance attributable, it is said, to the difficulty of obtaining suitable men, owing to the great demand for labor and the high rate of wages ruling throughout the Colony. Of the condition, conduct, and quarters of the force, the .Commissioner is able to give a very satisfactory report, and he instances the institution of libraries, gymnasiums, gardens, &c, as contributing to their comfort and well-being. He directs particular attention to the " exhaustive report" of Inspector Broham, of Auckland, as referring to " several matters worthy of serious attention," and, turning to that report, we find that the Inspector makes some very sound recommendations or comments, on. at least four subjects—lunacy, education, insurance, and the crime of specimen stealing. He thinks, and others will agree with him, that it is especially worthy of note that, perhaps, the majority of fifty-three persons arrested on the charge of lunacy were suffering from delirium tremens, arising from the effects of drunkenness, and adulterated liquors. Notwithstanding Dr, Hector's roportof analyses of liquors, so far as these have gone Inspector Broham accepts it as a fact, that " it is well known that most of the spirits sold in Auckland, and elsewhere throughout New Zealand, are highly adulterated, and, if taken in large quantities, are a dangerous poison. On this subject, he adds :—" The Adulteration of Pood Act, 1806, could, with a few amendments, be made effective in the prevention of

the Bale of such spirits ; but in its present form it must remain a nullity, as it compels the purchaser of food or drink to deposit a '»m not exceeding five' pounds, with the view of having the article analysed by the Colonial Analyst. If the Act were left to the police to enforce, a vast improvement would soon be effected in the quality of liquors sold in public houses." He admits that good effects have already arisen from the Education Act lately passed in the Province, but suggests that the efficiency of the police force is none the less worthy of attention, the educated criminal requiring an equally educated policeman to look after him. The prevalence of fires, he fears, is attributable to incendiarism, and he deprecates the facility with which premises or stock are occasionally insured, without due inquiry as. to their value. As to the operation of the Act for the regulation of quartz crushing machines, he considers its results to have been most satisfactory—■ the police and the society for the prevention of specimen-stealing having under its provisions been able to convict several persons, and, what is more to the purpose, to deter others from following their evil example. The statistics he supplies point vex-y much in the same direction as some which we recently quoted in illustration of the character of crimes in the Province of Otago. The total number of persons arrested in the Auckland City district during the year was 2385, and of these 1292 were charged with drunkenness, 233 with being drunk and disorderly, and 218 with vagrancy, obscenity, and habitual drunkenness. It may be well to add that, to whatever influence it was due—to the Licensing Act, the presence of Good Templars, or the importation of innocuous liquor—■ the charges of drunkenness were less by 258 than they were during the year 1872.