THE COLONIST. NELSON, TUESDAY, DECEMBERS 20, 1859.

Colonist, Volume III, Issue 226, 20 December 1859, Page 2

THE COLONIST. NELSON, TUESDAY, DECEMBERS 20, 1859.

It is the inevitable consequence of an in-' flux of population that sustenance must be provided for them] this may be done by/ "either oF tvyo methods, the one by., the im-] portation of the necessary food, -and tfyei/1 second by using the natural productions o|; the country so .suddenly overspread. ..The importation of the required pabulum .neces-.? sarily entails a heavy cost to meet the ex- ; pienses of transit,' and ■it would seem' more; rational to' look to that supply of food of whatever kind it might be that sprung from--tne soil newly occupied. If at thesame tjme the pioneers of a new_ Colony' brought with them the seeds which' in/; afte(r/? years should, -produce the require-: nients 6]' that Colony, ;we might expect that at a future,dat.e, and' that /not far'distant^the district /they Voccupied would/feie'self* supporting. For the first .few/- years it caflr upt be doubted but that an artificial supply of food is requisite, and those/who have chosen emigration to a new settlement must*; and with; reaspty:expect to<pay a* high price for these necessary adjuncts for the supply of i which tliey are dependent upon some '; older and more Advanced colony. This however does—or .gbojuld-rrin time-work its' 6wh way. The soil prolific, as all new soils are,; is competent, if sufficient discrimination be used, to1 supply not only the inamediate, wants of those who occupy it, but enafeW" •:tKem to add' to their individual store by/exporting „ their produce and receiving in return either the productions of foreign countries, or an "accumulation of that which riiay'make them still larger in their undertakings. | j Wfyen :a race who averred that they sprung from thej gods, . overran the fertile fields of Etraria,;.they whilst building mild walls also. introduced the science of ,^g4e«lture; - , Aye use the word Science;, and we do : so Tad visedly, for there.is perhaps, n,o fitmly * wbicjj, tends more to the real benefit, of mankind lh.an: that whichy absurd as the sentence may! slem, supplies them with adihner. Without going anfatorriically into the subject, we may. faicly. assert."that [h.unia.n.natur.e,..aadj tkat of an-Englishman "in particular; is dependeKt for its good ot bad hurr.or upon the state ,of!feie stomach. We will take this assertion as-an a?£iom upon which to work, and rather narrow -oar observations by discourging upon the large .^^<?unt of acumen wtych our merchants ;have Ititelj^ displayed/ They could, if they had common' foresight,' have easily learned the state of,, our flo,nr market. ' We, #s well as our con- ; temporary;li«tve amply supplied them "wttlf the' state of other, markets, and it does seem to us, that Nelson contain sleepers of no ordinary somnolence when they will ,allow the flour market to be in such a state that Adelaide' quotes £1 9 a ton. and Nelson -must publish $%p. We have had letters, "and still publish &QWQ on this matter, each disclaiming anything li^e an attempt at monopoly. We have A. Sauoderg tfipt by the " Man with a big .stick," an,dsthey dust cine another, but- still' with no practical benefit to the town or their fellow settlers. We^aa iOnly express'a hope that/or.the future the ©are ]t ( a)feh by the authorities of Australia in',always peeping a sufficient supply of wheat for at • least ##c year's consumption in hand,- be followed here.1 >ft is somew,hat,-,amusing to us though perhaps ,^ot to^oiir readers to notice the arbitrary way" r ifl wrhjch Messrs. Dust and Bran alter the value«f their article; the appearance of. a small/scfroofier i» the offing supposed to contain a few tons of flour brings an alteration of .terms, and naturally enough,; the agent of a vessel expected'here writes to'his correspondent at Wellington to leave' the flour on board there. Then"folio ws rather a dramatic scene. Enter, William and. Alfred, minus of flour to a diacpntented chorus of kns2*y NejsQ-

i nians, who at this moment that, we are ~ writing are depending, for the * staff of life/ upon the few bags brodght by some chancjs sailing vessels'. , *? Enough of anything like levity upon/ a subject which in itself deserves the most , serious consideration. ■ There are duties attached to every calling, and the tradesman who makes his profit out of the wants of a community is as liable, and should be so as any other to be called tb"the bar of public opinion. We accuse no «»e personally, but we do say this, and, we will emphasize it'if It be required, that there aTe some products of the earth which should be looked upon in a higher light than merely as a means of selfish gain. The_ merchant who. professes to -supply the community with one class of goods, the more lucrative may readily and should add to his transactions a certain- amount of care, that the humbler necessaries are provided. T,hey may if they like smooth over their consciences by saying we only deal hi soft, we only deal in hard goods, and not to us should these words be said, we will take a broader, view, and say |his that those dependent upon them fop,supplies have a right to call them to account if they do not provide as well as for the aptual necessaries !eveu though bearing a less profit as' for the luxuries which they strive to malce their principal trade.

4», Meeting on Boxing Day.—A meeting will be held at the German Chapel, Waimea East, as will appear by advertisement, of the German inhabitants of this province, for the purpose of forming an association similar to those now existing in the Australian Colonies. The ends proposed are mutual support, assistance towards increasing the Emigration- from the " Father land," and aiding newly arrived German emigrants unable to speak the English language by finding employment for them. This will we have no doubt become a bond of union amongst all our German settlers in this province, and not unlikely strengthen their political influence. The credit of starting this scheme is to be given to Mr. Droege a gentleman of that nation on a visit here from Otago, where he has finally settled, after having established the first,three jGerman newspapers in the Southern Hemisphere Music and* dancing will we are giv.en to understand close the evening's entertainment at some neighboring establishment*. New ConveVance.—Yesterday,' we observed a vehicle of a novel description, traversing the beach road, imported by Nesbitt and Co., of this town, • To those who have not.seen these vehicles inMek bourne, where they are in constant use, we may describe it as a tastefully, made car, rather wider than, usual, with front and. back seats,.holding, three or four persbns_ on each, but hot- so•■ wgfe; as to spread the'shafts'for more than one horse. Iflias a leather top,"which can either be instantly raised.as a protection against the sun's heat, or folded dowii to form a.backhand-sides to the seats. It. is one of the best of the kind we have seen for the conveyance" bf passengers to and-.from "the steamers, and tfe tiriderstand that tfic-'pYopnetbrs intend in a short time to runjt at regular intervals frpnv Trafalgar-street to the Port. - / ' ■BoAßiroF Works.—The i-atfc payers sliould callat the Officeipfthe Board of Works and examine this year's assessment in order that appeals ;'m£y be jnade, where it'is, thought necessary to do 60, withini the specified time, as a little care in this instance;.may- avoid, much - that cannot afterwards be remedied, vye advise that. no time, Bhoiiid be lost in the examination. ; '

iAitCTioN Sale of JJiANd.—Last; week' Messrs. N. Edwards & Co-sold some lots of land-in,-the Haven Road,, as follows;— The first |ojts starting from the Haven Jtoad* upon. /Bus9eJ T strefit at fifteen shillings per Foot, the 'upper lots.in the same street fetching twelve shillings. The blocks of-from. 6to 10 acres, from/£ls to £20. The gross amount of the sale was about Being upon-rather stringent terms, we are glad to record the amount, and think that it should show an improvement in money matters in our town. ; . ■ : ~. r