THE Otago Daily Times. THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1872.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3254, 11 July 1872, Page 2

THE Otago Daily Times. THURSDAY, JULY 11, 1872.

Whbn a copy of tbo printed Regulations which Dr. Fratueiwtox had issued for the guidance of his subagents reached ! our hands,. we took occasion to criticise them, and from thftir character to draw certain inferences aft to the unfitnftfw of the Agent-General for his important post. From former knowledge of the public career of this man, and from such information as to the course he has pur> sued since he made his appear*" ance at home charged with dutiesj the right fulfilment of which is of such moment to th<* people of this Colony, we arrived at the conclusion that he is a ' square man in a round hole,' In so far as the business of our Agent-General is that of an Emigration Agent, Dr Featherston is quite unstated to the appointment. He is a conscientious man, and will therefore try do his best. He will not knowingly lend himself to a job, nor will he*, by inattention to Ins duties, let the Colony suffer. When these things are said, all is said that can be in his favour as an Emigration Agent. He is unfitted for the post by temperament and by long acquired habits, and he wants both the experience and the special mental qualities which are required to enable any person, be he as clever and as wellintentioned as he may, to discharge its duties to the satisfaction of the public and to the benefit of the Colony that employs him. As Dr. Featheuston is a man who is deservedly very highly and very widely respected, we makes these remarks about him with regrets When his appointment was originally made known we hesitated to criticise iti —to say what we thought about it—; because we felt that a fair trial ought to 1m) given to everyone before he is condemned. History furnishes veiy many examples of appointments to high oflice which when made were looked upon with grave disapprobation by the public, but which nevertheless turned out to have been felicitous ventures. It was upon the cards that this appointment would turn out to be another instance of such popular mistake. Wo therefore refmined from remark until evidence that the grave doubts we entertained on the subject had only too much justification, came before us in such a Biiape that we could no longer ignore those doubts which so many persons had long entertained, and that discontent which was beginning to display itself in all parts of the Colony. The conclusion to which we gave expression, that Dr Fkathkrston, as Agent-General, having supreme control of the business of promoting Emigration to this Colony, is not the right man in the right place, has very quickly received unexpected and most vexatious, confirmation. The curt and half-petu-lant letter addressed by him to Mr Galiuiaith on April 27th displays his weakness as a man of business, or—shall we rather say?— the weakness which results from his not being and never having been a man of business. It also shows how little he is able to understand the true i character of his mission to England. ' Instead of pointing out to the owners of the vessels sailing from the Clyde any discrepancy between their rates of 1 passage money and those charged by the London contractors, and seeking to make an arrangement with them for a continuance of the line of emigrant ships from Scotland, he appears to have been rather glad of the excuse to throw them overboard. Certainly he has taken no pains to provide shipping at the Clyde for persons desi rous to emigrate from the north of the kingdom. In this omission—irrbspectivo of the particular circumstances connected with it, which have been disclosed—he has shown himself to have but a poor conception of his duties. From a passage in Mr Galbraith's reply, we incidentally learn that besides concentrating the despatch of his vessels at London — about the most inconvenient port ho could have chosen for the majority of emigrants—he has tied himself up by a two years' contract with one firm. He has, no doubt, been haggling for cheap passages, under the impression that this was one of the most important of his duties. Like most inexperienced people who go marketing, he will, we fear, learn in the end the meaning of the old adage about' cheap and nasty.' His contract with Shaw, Savill, and Co. is not likely to be very tenderly handled at this end of the world. These: people may be very estimable in thenway, but they certainly do not .appear to have the art of making themselves popular in a Colony with which they have transacted a profitable business i for a long course of years. They have raised for themselves a great many ] enemies in Now Zealand in the persons of men who are not without their influence both in and out of Parliament." If, as we suppose, Dr Feathehston has in any way tied himself up to give the Government business to this firm, he will certainly find that he has drawn down the wrath of these men upon his own head. And most assuredly, if he has made this contract an excuse for dragging emigrants from all parts of Great Britain to London, he will have virtually deceived the large number of persons who have paid deposits on the faith of having their friends sent out to them from Scotland. He will subject all emigrants from the North to such inconvenience and expense that he will certainly check emigration from that quarter. If the Government of this Province had not taken a bold course, and instructed Mr Auld to re-open the direct channel of communication, there would have been a complete cessation of applications for assisted passages here. Otago, however, is not the only Province whose interests are likely to

be damaged by the unbusinesslike conduct of the Agent-General Scotland has at all times been noted as. a field for the operations of an Emigration Agent. By the course he has pursued, Dr Fkathersto.v will not rmfocJStew Zealand an attractive place to'tbeenterprising folks of the North. Various American States and Railway Companies, Canada, and other Colonies, am sparing no pains to attract those who have the fancy and the energy to seek ' fresh .fields and pastures new.' But Dr JPeatukrhton evidently thinks that no effort is needed to attract people to New Zealand, and that his sole mission is to regulate and moderate the stream of emigration, and get the rate of passage reduced to the lowest farthing, which means, as everyone but himself is well enough aware, to render it as uncomfortable as any human being can be expected to bear. His shipping arrangements are on a par with his instructions to local agents, and the sooner both are remodelled by a new hand the better for the Colony.