COLONIAL IMMIGRATION.

Timaru Herald, Volume X, Issue 416, 22 May 1869, Page 4

COLONIAL IMMIGRATION.

[From the Pretm, May 14.] That a general resumption of immigration must be thu first steps towards a revival of prosperity m New Zealand may, we think, be assumed wi'hout further argument. Opinion on the subject is su unanimous that it would be a waste of our time and space to accumulate proofs of what no one seems disposed to deny. But then arises the question, by whom should immigration be carried on / liy the provinces, many of our readers will no doubt unhesitatingly answer. Very well ; but before being satisfied to leave so important a work to the provinces, the country must have some guarantee that they are capable of performing it. As a matter of fuct we know that immigration m their hands has come to a standstill, and that none of them, with one or two exceptions, show any signs of being able to recommence it. The first thing to be done therefore is to guarantee iht; financial condition of each provime, m order to ascertain how much each can afford to expend on immigration, and how far we can calculate on its being conducted on such a scale as the welfare of the colony requires. Beginning with Auckland, every one is aware that Auckland is indebted for the preservation of its existence as a province to the development of the Thames goldh'elds. V\ ithout them it would by this time have sunk into the position as a pensioner on the consolidated fund. Its receipts from the general revenue beiore the goldfields attained their present magnitude were a little more than £'-fo,OOV, while the interest and sinking fund on its loans were nearly £-10,000, thus leaving about AI'JUUU to be taken from its local revenue. Land fund Auckland has none, since whatever land it had it long ago gave away m the shape of free grants to immigrants. In such a state of impeeuniosity was this unfortunate province last year, that the total expenditure which the Government could venture to place on the estimates only amounted to £"-20,000, and even this small amount was -JO per cent, m excess of the revenue, and was proposed m a desperate hope that either the General Government or a goldfield would come to the rescue of the province before the end of the financial year. Things no doubt have - improved since then ; but a goldh'eld is after all a source of expense quite as much as of profit, and by the time the cost of police, wardens. &c, has been met, and the reasonable expectations of the diggers m the shape of public works satisfied, there will be litrie, if any, income left for the province. Taranaki may be dismissed m a few words. Its share of the consolidated tund, as Mr Hail told us m his speech at Prebbleton, will this year be only £30, while its total receipts and expenditure may both be reckoned almost m hundreds. As a province Taranaki exists, and no more. . Hawke's Bay is not much better off. Its receipts from the consolidated fund are rather less than sufficient to pay the interest on its debt; its other revenue is inconsiderable, and scarcely adequate to the necessary ordinary expenditure. Hawke's Bay, m fact, is one of those provinces which are seeking to place themselves under the protection of the General Government. As to Wellington, it was but a few weeks back that we had such a remarkable expose of her semi-bankrupt condition. The total estimated income for the current year is £76,000, more than half of which is absorbed by the provincial charges and interest on debts, and the Government could make both ends meet only by stopping all public works and cutting off subsidies to Road Boards and Education Committees. So much for the North Island. In the Middle Island, Maryborough and Southland are m no position to incur any avoidable expenditure. The former is confessedly m extremis ; and m the latter the whole share of revenue received from the colony is consumed m paying interest on its debt, leaving £13,000 over, which, together with all the expenses of maintaining its provincial government, has to be defrayed out of its land fund. .Nelson is tolerably well off, having an estimated income for the ensuing year of £100,000 — its share of the consolidated fund and land fund (including gold duty) amounting to £69,000. But, as we learn from the Superintendent's speech ou opening the Council on the Ist inst., large reductions m all the departments and the most rigid economy have been found necessary to keep the expenditure within the income. As a proof of how little margin is left, we may mention that the Examiner congratulates the province on its not having been found requisite to stop the vote for education. Canterbury, which receives from the consolidated fund about £27,000, is burdened with debts involving a charge of £56,000. The proceeds of land sales have fallen to not much more than £30,000 a year, and therefore the province, though paying its way, can do go only by the greatest care to keep its expenditure within close limits. The Council, however, last session passed a vote of £12,000 for immigration, which the Goverament propose to expend during the financial year. Lastly we come to Otago, which alone, of all the provinces m New Zealand, seems to be decidedly well off. As we learn from reports of the proceedings of its Council, now m session, it has a revenue of £300,000, out of which £25,000 is appropriated under, a special Ordinance to immigration purposes. Thus we see that there is not a single province m the North Island which can do more than barely provide for its expenditure; while m some cases even that cannot be done unless at a sacrifice of efficiency of government which, if Jong continued, will bring the province to an end. In the Middle Island the pmaller provinces are m a similar condition. Of the three larger, Nelson, thanks to its freedom from debt, is able to cover its expenses, but has no gurpjus | find is besides threatened with

a considerable loss of revenue m the event of the movement for the separation of the western part of the province proving successful. Canterbury and Otago are the only two provinces m the colony whose revenue is not absorbed m keeping 1 up their establishments and defraying 1 the ordinary provincial expenditure. What is the use then, oi talking about leaving immigration to the provinces ? How ciin they undertake it / Where are their means ? Those which have territorial revenue can, it is true, set aside part of their land fund for the purpose ; but they are but two out of nine, and what is to become of the rest ? It is perfectly obvious that, however clearly thes' may recognise the necessity of immigration, and m whatever difficulties they may be placed for wunt of it, they are. not able, and have no chance of ever again being able, to carry it on. They simply have not the money. Over the whole of the. iN'orth, and a great part of the Middle Wand, there is no fund at the disposal of any Provincial Government which is available for immigration. To leave immigration to the provinces means that over three-fourths of the colony there will be no immigration at all. We are induced therefore to one alternative. If immigration is absolutely necessary to the colony, and if the provinces are unable to perform the work, there is no resource left but for the colony to take it up itself. Granting that immigration has hitherto been considered the special function of Provincial Governments, what is the use of their jealously clinging to it as a sort of prescriptive right when the power to discharge it is no longer theirs ? If the provinces were able to do the work, well and good; but the fact, stares us m the face, that they cannot, and they must therefore give it up to those who can. 'Hie progress of the colony must not be retarded out of deference to provincial susceptibilities. We come then to this conclusion — immigration is everywhere needed, and as the provinces have incapacitated themselves from proceeding with it, it must be undertaken by the colony. That immigration has become a necessity to New Zealand is allowed ; it is also plain that immigration on any effective scale is impossible unless it be, not merely provincial as heretofore, but colonial.

It is claimed for a certain ring- lately bequeathed to his daughter by a knight who died at Teignmouth, that it was once the property of the Queen of Sheba, who gave it to Solomon. It was taken from Jerusalem by Titus, brought to Rome, and was given by Clement VIII to Wolsey. From him it passed to the monks of Leicester Abbey, and thence into private hands on the dissolution of the monasteries. It is added that the fortunate owner of this ancient relic is a ward m Chancery. Wire-working- constitutes an importunt branch of Birmingham industry, and it is steadily increasing. A .Mr J. B. Gransby states, and m rhe manufacture of bird-cages alone 1000 persons find employment m Birmingham. The production of wire springs for mattrasses absorbs annually 1000 tons of raw material. The wire made for tying down the corks of soda water bottles weighs 500 tons per annum, and the length would probably exceed 10,000 miles.