THE Otago Daily Times. "Inveniam viam out faciam." DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 28

Otago Daily Times, Issue 659, 28 January 1864, Page 4

THE Otago Daily Times. " Inveniam viam out faciam." DUNEDIN, THURSDAY, JANUARY 28

The improvement of the dwellings of the •'wblrkitiglclasaes, ?and in particular of the agricultural 'laborers,;-is a?fsubject which ha 3 for some time past :■■ been occupying public attention in-England. It be well if the necessity were recognised of promoting the erection of more suitable dwellings for the working classes in this colony. It is a singular and almost unaccountable thing that even in infant cities in a young colony are to be found reproduced with faithful accuracy the wretched tenements, and filthy back slums of a crowded English town. And yet so it is, there are localities in Auckland and Dunedin, and possibly in the other colonial towns which present all the evils'of the low quarters of Leeds or Manchester Small inconvenient dwellings are crowded together without the slightest regard: for decent comfort; ventilation,.and other sanitary arrangements are entirely neglected; filth of every kind is 'allowed to accumulate, in most cases, in consequence of the total absence 0f,,-means of disposing of it without danger* to'health; and all the concomitant : evils of such' conditions of existence are" to be found in the sickly dwellers;vlll.health, filth and crime, associate together in the purlieus of our colonial towns, and yet the evil is allowed quietly to fester and accumulate. It is a fact that a large proportion of the poorer classes resident in the more populous towns in the colony are miserably housed. And not only is this' the case, but the wretched accommodation is purchased at a cost which ought to secure de cent bMserbom. 'Take" Dunedin for ex-

ample, and compare the crazy, packing case. Jiovels and flimsy calico shelters which are crowded together in some parts of the city, with the rents paid for the privilege of existing in such habitations, and some idea may be formed of the disproportion between the price paid and the value received. Wretched paling-built huts, which cost perhaps thirty or forty pounds, if so much, are rented at ten, fifteen, and even twenty shillings a week. And even at this exorbitant charge they are eagerly taken Tip, for they are the only alternative to. living in a thin calico tent. As to the tent-dwellers, it is almost in» comprehensible how human beings can exist under some of the canvas coverings scattered about the city. Tent-dwelling on the green sward and surrounded by the healty invigorating conditions of the country is a very different thing from a residence in a tattered tent, pitched on the damp dirty soil in the back slums of a town, where filth is spread about in all directions, and where room is so valuable that there is hardly «pace enough to breathe. But in each case whether a man live under a few feet of canvas, or in one of the rickety cramped hovels which it is a libel on the word cottage to apply to them, the absence of all decent comfort is the same.

The Times thus expatiates on the subject of improved dwellings for the working classes:—"Good laborers' cot- " tages are a question of propriety, of civili- " sation, of material progress, of utility, of " the public weal, and, no doubt, also in "some degree of morality. All the reasons "which induce men of a higher class to " desire good houses tell much more in fa- .'" vor of the first step from a bad cabin to " a good cottage. The wish for that first 1' step is much more sensible and meritorious " than the ambition which prompts a man to " leave the East-end for the West, to ex- " change a house in a row for a mansion, or " a mansion for a castle. In the first step it "is much more a question of self-respect arid " a determination to be distinguished by a " broad interval and sharp lines from the " brutes that perish. But it is pre-emi- •' nently a matter of public weal that the '• laboring class should be well housed and " otherwise comfortable. They are thereby " more tied to their families and homes. " They are placed on the ladder of " industry and promotion. They acquire " sympathies with the classes above them. "They give pledges to order and peace. " They work longer and harder, and bow ." their necks to the yoke more steadily, "inasmuch as they want more than just a "hole to lie in, with partners as rough as "themselves. In the management and "maintenance of a good house they learn to " appreciate the difficulties and costs of the " great social fabric. They become adapted " for higher employments and ambitious of "them. We seem to hear it objected by "some pious people that all this means "nothing but making men worldly. There " are, in fact, those who think that so long' " as a man worships in a magnificent church, " and contributes to it, no matter what hole " he lives in. But such objectors are seldom " consistent. They do not prefer to live in "holestbemselves." As we have said before, there is no pretence of any necessity for the existence of the cheap miserable hovels that our working population are compelled to live in. As a rule, labor is very well paid in this colony, and the laborer, can earn means that should enable him to purchase suitable; accommodation for himself and family, if ;he had one. With the settled resident working man, the remedy lies to a great extent in his own hands. If he be frugal, he may soon save enough money to build a house of his own, and those very excellent institutions—the building societieties—afford great facilities to the careful industrious working man. But there is a large shifting population-—men who are always on the move, working a month or two in .town, and then going up to the 'diggings; diggers and.others, whose residence is only pi a, 'temporary character, and newly arrived immigrants, who have to spend sometime in town prior to selecting the locality of their future pursuits. For such as these, is there the greatest necessity of decent and economical accommodation. Oar Canterbury neighbors have set an example worthy of imitation; in ( undertaking the erection of model cottages. A company has been formed under very promising auspices, the capital of which is fixed at £15,000, in 7500 shares of £2 each. \ The object of this Association is, to quote the prospectus, "to raise " sufficient capital to purchase blocks of land "in various parts of the City of Christ- " church and its immediate neighborhood^ " which to erect detached and semi-detached '• cottages, which will in 3ome degree supply " the want that has been so severely felt for " nearly all classes of persons flocking into " this Province?5" That which is how pro- *' vided for the laboring classes is of a very " inferior description; and of such 'a limited " character thajfc the common-decencies of " life are necessarily ' totally disregarded, " but such is the demand forsresidences of " any description that even houses with the "most limited accommodation are im- " mediately let at exorbitant rates, " The result of this state of things "is that in small cottages of from " three to five rooms each, several families " are living together to the detriment of " health, and, if continued, the increase of " immorality. To remedy the evil it is pro- " posed to erect a number of cottages of from " three to five rooms each, with all modern " improvements and finished -in such a ", manner that will ensure their occupancy "by good tenants. The prompters, there- " fore, of this undertaking, appeal, confij " dently to the public generally to assist " them in their, attempt to improve the " moral and physical condition of the work- " ing men." ,- v;

The company calculate on being able to erect suitable. cottages, let them at a reasonable price, and yet make a profit of ■from 16 to 18 per cent per annum. Why should not such an association he formed in Dunedin? Why should not an institution framed on the principle of the Sailors/ Homes be organised and carried out ? The boon to the working class would be incalculable, particularly to the ■migratory population. We are sure the thing would pay handsomely. The success of such institutions, however, depends on ihe amount of support they receive from

the working men "themselves. Our contemporary the Canterbury Press says, with reference to the association to which we have directed attention :—

In this country it is a mere farce to set the?e •'cheraes on foot as charities or .as patronised by one class for the "benefit of another.' There is no class in this country so; rich, in one sense, as the class which lives by wages. It is true that capital properly invested obtains a much higher interest here than in more settled countries, but the rate of wages is far higher here in proportion to wages at home than interest on capital. Notwithstanding the great cost of the necessaries of life here, prudent and careful working men, even with families, do manage to save considerable sums of money, whilst at home such is not commonly the case. Tha working men can, therefore, if they choose, build themselves good homes, if not each man for himself, afc lea it on the cooperative principle by shares. Now, what the Working Men's Home proposed to do for single men, and the Servant's Home proposes to do for single women, this cottage building scheme proposes to do for families. There can be no doubt that if the shares b3 taken up the thing will pay. Rents are enormously high. House building is one of the best speculations going at present, and must continue so as long as the immigration continues: hut, knowing how scarce money is at present, knowing that capitalists have all their money locked up in all sorts of investments already, we do not believe that, especially after the experience of the. Working Men's Home,, the share li3t of of this Company will be filled up, unless it be done mainly by the class whom it is intended to benefit. But we would appeal to the working m m themselves, not to let this second scheme fall through. There is nothing more, clearly establisSied thin the immediate and intimate action and reaction b toveen wretched hovels and debased tates. It ig impossible that fema'e modesty can be preserved when men and women ars compelled to piss the night as well as the flay without real, almost without formal separation of apartments. It is impossible to maintain habits of cleanliness when it is hopeless by any labor to keep a place clean. And itis a most shocking thing to bring up a family indifferent to cleanlinesj or to shame. Yet these are the necessary concomitants of living in hovels. We call upon the working men then to come forward in defence of their order, and assist to reform the style of their cottages. Many who were once living in huts have now been able to build themselves good houses ; these are those who ought now to help the families who must for some time longer live in hired, tenements. : There would be flo difficulty in raising the capital-if the mas 3of the population chose to do

if. But will they?

We will .content ourselves for: the present with leaving the subject to the careful and thoughtful consideration of our readers, and will revert to it at some future opportunity. " .'

We have on several occasions had to complain of the great and unnecessary delay which takes place in the publication of the quarterly revenue returns, and other official statistics, and particularly those of the Custom's Department. The; value of the authorised -rettsnre is very materially lessened by the unconscionable length of time which elapses between the end of a quarter and .the publication of the statistics. It is generally sometime aftgr the end ,of! the second quarter,jthst the returns of the first are published. Their utility is thus very much impaired ; and instead of being Really serviceable guides to the commercial transactions and financial position of the Colony, they becbme dry and comparatively uninteresting records^ We are again reminded of the necessity for a 1 radical change iv this matter, by noticing in the Victorian journals the publication of the Revenue Returns for the last quarter of 1863. Our neighbors ' are thus able to send by the very first mail to England, details of the yearly commercial and financial transactions of the Colony. It is quite needless to exaggerate the importance and value of the authorised statistics of a Colony. They are absolutely the only reliable records of its transactions, and are calculated if only published promptly, to greatly influence its commerce. Merchants, both in the colony and out of it, who are interested in: its trade; financiers who seek investments in its debentures; and persons in the old country who are looking for the most promising field to which to emigrate, must all be' influenced a good deal by official statistics. , How necessary it is, therefore, that there should be no delay in their publication. Who knows how much Mr Reader Wood's mission to England might have been furthered, if he could have taken home the official returns of its trade and revenue for the.year just expired. As it is, they will not be published probably before March or April.

It may be urged in excuse for this delay that a considerable time must necessarily elapse in compiling the various returns sent up to Auckland from the several Provinces. "W> admit that this is the case ; but surely a fortnight would be amply sufficient for the transmission and compilation at the central office of the provincial returns. There is nothing in the revenue returns that could not be made ready for the Gazette in twentyfour hours if they were accurately made out at the sub-offices. The blame rests with the Customs authorities in the Provinces;, the returns find their way to the head office very irregularly; dropping in one after the other —some at one time and some at another—instead of all being transmitted by one particular mail. .It would be difficult to conceive worse arrangements than obtain at the Dunedin and other Custom Houses, with respect to the making out of the quarterly returns. The whole work of this particular branch of the department at Dunedin is fearfully behind hand, and under existing arrangements cannot fail to remain so. Ever since the gold discoveries caused the great increase to the work of the Customs Department, it has been getting into arrears, and no wonder that it should, seeing that—at least so we understand—the compilation of the returns is notfeven the sole work of one individual, but made an additional task to an official; already with his hands full. And, with very few exceptions, our remarks will apply equally to the whole of the New Zealand ports. In fact, we have occasionally seen in the return?, published in the " Gazette," a memorandum that" from1; some particular port no return had been received. Just before the departure of the last English mail, we called at the Custom House to obtain, if possible, the detailed statistics of the last Quarter of 1863; being desirous of sending to England,a full account of the transactions of the Province for the year; but we found, to our astonishment, that it was impossible to furnish them, Very likely we shall find

it equally impossible to publish the returns next mail. Now we noticed in the "Lyttelton Times'"' monthly summary for the last mail.complete details of the trade and revenue of that"port for the quarter, which information must obviously have been obtained from the proper authorities. Why should not there be the same promptitude here? Why should not the monthly or quarterly returns be made out, say within a week, aa is the case in Victoria and elsewhere ? What would be said of a merchant if he systematically kept his ledger three months behindhand. If extra clerical assistance be required it should be employed, but we fear there is a want of system as regards the sending in the returns by the several officials. There is not the slightest necessity for the great delay which now takes place, and some remedy ought at once to be applied to so unsatisfactory a state of things. The returns from every subtreasury should be made out regularly and immediately after the expiration of the quarter; in fact the records should keep pace with the transactions. We trust the Chamber of Commerce will pass a resolution calling upon the Chief Commissioner of Trade and Customs to take steps for ensuring the more early publication of the official returns. The fact is, the official returns as at present published are almost valuless; if they were made public immediately after the expiry of the period to which they refer, they would become very valuable and important documents.