ANNEXATION OF SOUTHLAND.

Otago Witness, Issue 919, 10 July 1869, Page 2

ANNEXATION OF SOUTHLAND.

A telegram from Invercargill which appeared in our columns some days ago, informed us that a resolution in favour of the annexation of Southland to Otago had been rejected at a large meeting held for the purpose of discussing the subject. The accuracy of this statement has been called in question by a Southland paper, and a rather warm discussion has taken place in reference to it. The facts of the case are not easily determined in the face of direct contradiction. The meeting broke up in confusion, so that an unequivocal expression of opinion could not have been given. As a test of public opinion on the subject, the meeting was consequently a failure ; but nevertheless it shows that a very Lively interest is taken in the matter by the people of Southland. This no doubt arises from the fact that the annexation of the province to Otago is regarded by many as a panacea for all their sufferings. Southland is not progressing, and dissatisfaction is a natural result. The advocates of annexation have formed themselves into an Association for the purpose of promoting it. One of these advocates, in a letter addressed to a local newspaper, puts the case for annexation in averystrong light * The population, generally,' he says, ' is in a very dissatisfied mood. There is a marked absence of hope ; some of the country settlers are actually watching for a chance to leave the settlement altogether ; and the cause of all this is not very difficult to discover. In the first place, the roads in most parta of the province are in a very bad state, and the local Government is confessedly unable to do anything in the way of keeping them in repair. That alone is sufficient reason for soliciting a change of system, as it is utterly impossible for the people to defray the cost of making the main lines of road out of their own resources ; and it was always understood by land purchasers that the greater part of the land revenue was to be reserved for that purpose. Again, our market for produce seems to do slowly but surely dying a natural death. We have scores of men in this settlement possessed of energy, skill, and means sufficient for their calling, the very class of men who are eminently valuable in a new country, and yet these men havo no encouragement to extend their operations, as it iH useless to go on producing articles that there is no demand for. But would re-union with Otago bring relief ? I consider that it would bring speedy relief. It would restoro confulooce j it would give stability j monied men would tlien luvve confidence in the placo ; they would come across the Mataura to have a look, and after they looked a while, they would buy.' The state of affairs is still moro graphically described in the words of a resolution, passed almost unanimously at a recent Annexation mooting at Riverton. This resolution declared that « tho existing state of tho province — which by maladministration and other causes has been brought to the verge of ruin — is such as to render it essentially necessary that a decided, specifio, and effectual rewaudy bo #t unco demanded.'

An impression appears to prevail among our neighbours in Southland that wo are prepared to receive them back into provincial fellowship upon any terms they may think fit to dietote. Rwnrln to this effoot were

imade at the InvercargiUjmeetnfg "f hibh^ strongly such fad im'preasiqn.^ However desirable we may consider an-J negation to be, we are not ■at/.'all/'dis-' posed to admit any assumption of Jhe kind. The advantage , of , annexation would be greatly on the side of Southland ; indeed, the immediate disadvantage to Otago is such as to induce many to hesitate in endorsing the policy of that measure. Eight years have elapsed since Separation took place. What has been accomplished by Southland in t the interval? With the exception of the Invercargill Railway and the Bluff Harbour Pier, few if any public works of much utility have been constructed. Practically speaking, Southland can scarcely be said to have advanced since it obtained its independence. Notwithing the revonue it derives from several of our goldfields, it has done nothing to facilitate the development of those districts. Its public debts admittedly amount to £50 per head of the population, and its revenues have been impounded for payment of the interest. The total amount of debt, as we find it in the Financial Statement of the Treasurer, is £411,240. Our own debt is nearly £750,000. The annexation of Southland would therefore at once raise the amount of our indebtedness to upwards of a million of money. The profit of the transaction is not quite so clear ; but we do not consider | that a question of this kind is to be settled by a simple statement of account. It is a matter of some political moment that a weak and struggling province should be absorbed into a strong and flourishing one — not for the immediate benefit of the latter, but for the ultimate benefit of both. The relative geographical position of the two provinces renders it evident that they should never have been separated. They should form one territory under one government. To cut off Southland from Otago is merely to deprive it of those material advantages, in the shape of public works especially, which the greater energy and resources of the latter are competent to secure. A comparison of the road system alone in the two provinces will demonstrate in the most practical manner the loss incurred by Southland as the result of dismemberment.