Our Indebtedness.

Southland Times, Issue 9091, 15 December 1885, Page 2

Our Indebtedness.

TO THE EDITOR ' V ' . Slß,—Sir Julius Vogelmuat sorely possess ' a most contemptible opinion of the people of New-Zealand when he dares to affront them; £ by inviting them to take a fresh plaoge into — that abyss of indebtedneas which aas already ' proved ao raimous to their interests and pros* pects. His audacity is appalling, if bis present charlatan-scheme- were to be adopted all prospect of the colony recoyexing itself would be lost. - Thoagh gwevoaelj' icjared, it woald yett be certdiQ to recore^ if Mett to. itself; butia'taen|meof comnio^wcnMfeaad ' patriotism preserve itin future froln Abec¥m« ing the preyof political qaacks aid adjeji* takers. Let the bitter,lessons of^the^all prove onr salvation for the'fatnr«| Asi'd bnrntcbild- dreads fire so let ua-keep SjTr iff Yogel and his schemes' at- a distancl: sinae whose advent to,power &. deependet>r«Sfoa ,hA« prevailed than' the floloDy< evar^esperi. ■enced before, A The main cause of the present noparalleled depressioa iaHhe 'abslrgctibu every year to be spent elsewhere of the enor« "* poos sna ot eisteen hnndrad tiousand poqmfo, e^qe§«c4 m Ql tkfl sawing? tf ft

hard-worked and overtaxed population. This it the only tangible result of the pern'cious policy of 1870— a letraoy.in the shape of annual interest to be paid by the odooy, of o«er a million and a half. And .yet Sir Jalfau and his partisaai tell u« Uiat the bnr. dens of the proposed loan! of ten miU\on< would solely fall on posterity. All tho ad. vantage* would he ours— tfc« drawbacks anil burdens , posterity V Bnt they know better. • This is a transparfnt device wherewith to deceive' the public Immediately a loan is raised a most important burden connected with it begins in the annual inteiest we have to psy, on it. This is not reserved ■olely for posterity. Every five millions we borrow mea^s a permanent addition of #200000 to our annnal remittances to tba oldcountrv. And remember, the large tribute we hav# thus to pay is «pent out of th 4 colony, is absolutely and forever lost to it, and vory ,<liff< t^nt in Us tffect* to the in.terert payable on the Briiish national debt, which circulates amongst and is ntilised by the very people who have advanced the principal to their Government. Another point in connection with the so-called Public Works scheme of , 1870 is, that, simultaneously with it* initiation, new taxes were - oreated, the Stamp Act, which is a heavy and inconveoient burden on the public, being one] of, them. Since that ever-memorable year m'the history of our gigantic iodebtednesione ti tha principal function* of our Parliament appear* to have been the levying of fresh imposts on the public. B fore the period referred to, (his country was' comparatively free from the inenbusof tfization, but since then, in order to provide the funds necessary ; to mcct 1 the enormous annual charges fur interest onr legislators have been put to 'their wits'' end in inventing new methods of taxation and in intensifying the operation of the old ones, until at length the colony is actually staggering under the fear- | Inl baldens placed opon it. And this state of things is the direct and natural consequence of ♦heexceteive borrowing commenced by Bir Julius Yogel in 1870. Posterity was to bear all the burdens 'connected with these Joans : surely posterity must have" appeared prematurely on tbe scene; as the bitteof burdens resulting from these loans are already felt, But as if infatuated, or deeming the colonists a set of simpletops, in spite of the ex^nsnw'of the pwtr the Colonial " TwMunsr|igaitt'invitet them to repeat "the disastrous experiment oi former years but nn-der-ha more uotkvoar&ble circomstances. Vli^tte^,»4>on fefihlin h im>*nobV Vthtf the ten millions he proposes tor borrow wou.'d add a pei maneovt annnal burden of £400,000 in the shape of interest, on the already oove r trained finance*: of the colony, would not ,alleyi»te .opt- present conditioo, and would; s be soon wasted^in chimerical >and unproductive undertakingfl.. Soutblaßd, we^ may be ; iure, would get /*yery •:;iittrev-pf' ft, but would |ttll> hate- to f pay its e share of the interest, and in . the coprse of a few months we should find ourselves in a worse position tfeansefW* -Theipublic generally would be very CODsider«ble losers.; bn>. what matters this: to the; magnanimous; Sir iTulins? ;jHe Could ! defeat'the h^eroic.conduct of past years, J" pack np^insti-apsV* and betake himself to «. pas'txresnew.' 1 The proposed loan having Seen raised 'and "well nigh spent ; come " Meiggs and -5G0." having realized a large fortune; the astute .Colonial Treasurer, on iome prettrice or other (no donbt alleginj? a highly patriotic molive),;would timely retire from tbe fresh calamities impending over tbe »aplets : coionist», and, safe in his retreat in the old^country, would find it difficult not to iWulK^ now andrjtheri, in a smile at tbe fimpUcity of the autipod'eans, who, for the Jecbnditim ", alJowiwl him to cajole them into "digging the giave of their own prosperity. Oae VQ l^ m ° re> F e oft^ a a€ar i 5 wged. by toe partliaoß of the Colonial Treasurer— who, in this case, take the cue from their leader— ;^t''^/TFsqnrcei^6f:':ine*^«>lony are pra> tjcaUy^inixhaustibreiibut thi« is not true. The resources of :no country are practically inexhaustible? Moreover^ it is a most dangerous doctrine to advance, and is used as a reply to those -snggtsstions of prudence and common«ieh«e which would induce some hetitalaon i«rei crushing headlong into debt and certain i embarrassment, We know that the finest horse in the worldcah be over*handicapped; that the .greatest millionaire may exhaust his resources by reckless extravagance and imprudent'speculations ; that the most vigorous constitution may succumb to excess and abase of its strength j and in like manner, however the natural reeources of a country^ they may be paralysed and overstrained until the most imminent danger threatens and overtakes it. This I hope may not be tbe fate of this fine country, bat in order to avert the' most fatal conKquenceß, it should be at once lesoaed from the malign influence and control of Sir J. Yogel. — 'lam.ikci, ' - OldColohibt. . Invercargili, December 12th.