The Otago Witness.

Otago Witness, Issue 1422, 22 February 1879, Page 15

The Otago Witness.

WITH WHICH 18 INCORPORATED THB 'BOUTHBBN

MERCURY.'

DUNEDIN, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22.

The reception accorded to Ms Excellency the ex-Governor of New Zealand yesterday should convince the Government, and especially Sir George Grey, that they have made a mistake in treating his Excellency with such studied discourtesy. The people of Dunedin are not prepared to take up personal quarrels on behalf of Sir George or any of the members of the Ministry. Even those who from party reasons have been disposed to blame Lord Normanby for being too much of a political partisan, disapprove- the slights offered to him in his capacity as representative of her Majesty. There could surely be ncr principle involved in paying studied disrespect to a departing guest, or even to a departing foe. We have not yet unlearned our English good manners, or adopted habits of Eepublican simplicity. We do not feel bound to stretch our ideas of equality to the extent of calling each other, from the highest to the lowest, simply " citizen." We do not feel ashamed yet of exhibiting feelings of warm loyalty to the Queen, and do not feel in the least less free, or less manly, because we still recognise degrees of rank and titles of nobility. The day may come when we shall be willing to dispense with all these baubles, but at present they represent to us the principle of Monarchy — a principle which we have found by experience, under constitutional checks, provides for a high degree of liberty, associated with order and stability. Under a monarchy " Some are, and must be, greater than the reßt," and we are not bound to inquire too closely of what that greatnes* consists, As a representation to the popular mind of the dignity of authority, pomps and pageants are not only allowable, but salutary. There is not the least feat that in these days, and in these Colonies, men will bow down like sycophants before every representative o£ the aristocracy of England, merely because he has a title. The greater danger is that in the popular cry of " Gui bono f the true idea of the essential thing represented by all high officials may be lost, namely, the embodiment of reverence for law and order. Such reverence may be displayed entirely irrespective of the individual qualifications of the person who for the time represents this idea. We have no special reason to admire the Marquis of Normanby. He is a fair average Governor, and has fulfilled bis duties, we have no doubt, to the best of his ability, impartially, and we have no reason to wish him otherwise than well. But he would have excited no great enthusiasm in Dunedin save for the conviction that he was being treated with scant respect by the Ministry. Hence, from their own point of view they have made a mistake, and called down blessings on the head of the man they wished to slight and to punish. They have also given the Marquis the opportunity of saying a last word, of which he has nob failed to avail himself. He has spoken plainly on the subject of Elective Governors, and has warned the people that the true meaning of the demand to elect our own Governor is separation from the Mother Country, We have not hesitated to express the same opinion, but the Marquis had a perfect right to utter it ex cathedra ; and his words will be re-echoed throughout the Australian Colonies. He refrained from arguing the question whether, nevertheless, an elective Governor would or would not be a popular gain, and confined himself to this one point ; because, if that position is accepted in this Colony, the people as a whole are far too loyal to desire a boon weighted with such a disadvantage as severance from the grand Empire of which we are all proud to form a part.

We publish in another column particulars of the New Zealand Agricultural Company (Limited), which appeared in a Northern contemporary. The facts stated in this paragraph, although in the main correct, do not fully represent the object* of the Company, and we are pleased to be able to state that the anticipations of our contemporary that it would be diffi* cult to get British capitaliflta to sub*

scribe the one million of capital required, have .not been realised. On the contrary, we are authorised to state that those interested in the disposal of of the estates, yesterday received a cablegram from Sir Julius Vogel and Mr Larnach, dated London, 14th February, announcing that the Company had been successfully floated. The estates purchased comprise the Croydon and Waimea Plains Estates, of G. M. Bell, Esq., and the Wantwood and Caroline Estates, belonging to Joseph Clarke, Esq. ; also the Longridge, Dome, and Eyre Creek Estates of Messrs Larnach and Driver, comprising 167,000 acres freehold, besides large leaseholds, sheep, &c, as enumerated in the paragraph referred to. As ' one of the main objects of the new Company will be to settle families upon the land, giving them long terms of deferred payment, we congratulate our fellow colonists in Southland, and in fact throughout New Zealand, on the success- . ful inauguration of this most promising undertaking. We may be quite certain that if it is as financially successful as ' there is every reason to anticipate, it will not be the last association of the kind which .■will be formed in England, with the' ; view of breaking up large estates 'in the • best way, namely, by selling them in small lots to suitable settlers, who will be possessed of sufficient capital to work their farms successfully. We understand that in the initiation of this scheme and carrying it to a successful issue, Mr Larnach has had much valuable assistance from Sir Julius Vogel, who by the permission of the Government is one of the directors of the Company, thus adding one more to the many services which he has rendered to the Colony, by introducing a system of . combined capital and settlement which is . the fitting complement to the Public Works policy. Our readers will recollect that a railway has recently been contracted for, to run over the Waimea Plains, from Gore to the Elbow. This railway runs through the properties •now disposed of to the new Company, .throughout its whole length. A considerable proportion of the land is already in cultivation, there being about 2000 acres in wheat and 7000 acres in turnips, besides oats and other crops. The railway does not become the property of the new Company, and it will be a very valuable possession to its fortunate shareholders, in virtue of the increased settlement which must immediately follow. We should, however, be much surprisedif the Railway Company ' is allowed long to retain this line, as the Government should, at the earliest possible date, avail themselves of their purchasing powers under the District KailWays Act.

19 is very satisfactory to observe that while Victoria is complaining that during tha year ending 30th September last the deposits in her Banks have decreased by , £697,413, those of New Zealand, a much Bmaller and younger Colony, have in the year ended 31st December last increased by no less than £1,658,350— viz!., from £7,758,767 to £9,417,107. Even the prosperous and progressive Colony of . New. South Wales only increased her de- . posits by £409,434 in the year. Besides this, a comparison of the New Zealand advances shows that additional resources from outside, not of the nature of deposits, have been used to the extent of about one million. It thus appears that although the increase in advances has been very great, and progres- • eive in its character, resources have .hitherto always been available to meet the increasing requirements of commerce. Should the increase in deposits go on, a • very slight contraction of advances will in a few months put the Banks in a very strong position ; and although there have been some temporary causes to check the influx of outside capital, these causes are ceasing to operate, while the increased caution of the past few months is tending • already to increase trade balances in the Lands of the Banks. The one thing which needed checking was excessive land speculation, a species of trading that , does no good except to a few lucky speculators, and in no way adds to the resources of the Colony. This being efiected, a very short period will enable the markets to recover from the over-imports «of merchandise which have lately taken gflace ; the extent of which we may fairly ixne&flure by the statement that, as com* spared mth the previous year, we received during 1878 five quarters' supplies instead .of four.