Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price 1d. MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1885. A Vice Regal Opinion.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XVIII, Issue 1748, 19 October 1885, Page 2

Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price Id. MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1885. A Vice Regal Opinion.

Ix the course of hia speech to the people at the luncheon given to him at Palmerston, His Excellency the Governor alluded to the depression, which he attributed to the colony having gone too fast. Pie thought the gradual introduction of more population to help to bear the burden of taxation would make it pass away, and that in the future the colony would bo not only a great agricultural commuuity, but u manufacturing one also. There is some truth in this view of the question. But His Excellency baa hardly realised all the causes of tho existing depression. When, fifteen years ago, Sir Julius Vogel proposed the ten million loan and railways scheme, it was a part of it to reserve—wherein practicable—a certain amount of land for settlement, alongside the railway linos to be constructed. It was also proposed to make the expenditure of tho ten millions extend over a period of ten years. Those wise and prudent conditions were afterwards abandoned ; the millions were borrowed and then scrambled for by the members of the House—everyone trying to get as much expenditure as possible in their own districts. Thus a system of lavish, reckless aud, in some cases, ill directed expenditure, came into force and had full swing. The ten millions were spent in much less than ten years, aud the colony has been borrowing more ever since. Of course, there was reaction and depression as the result of such reckless and extravagant proceedings, and the polony baa suffered from it for some years pa-'t. But other causes have also coumbuted to iho dcpiessiou. The low price of wool and wheat and the fact that the figure realised for frozen meat baa not been so good as mi»ht have been anticipated, have bad much to do with the depression. His Excellency says that increased population is the real remedy for tho depression. That is only partly true. If the additional population were to consist to some extent of people with some small capital who would either go upon laud or establish now industries and manufactures, they would ol course increase tho productive power of the colony and afford addi tional means of employment to the working classes. ’With additional population ol this kind, there might aim be added men and women of the agricultural classes, who, though unpossessed ot money capital, would work (heir way on by means of the labor ot their hands. But any indiscriminate in. I 'diiction of immigrants trom Great Britain to this colony would certainly not decrease the existing depression, Any scheme of that kind would choke ] up the labor market, bring many unsuitable people to the colony, and make tho state of things worse than before. There is too much glib talk about an Increase of population being the one and only remedy for eAiming evils. Certainly, if this fair aud truiiful young laud is to be unionised, aud its apleud'd resources properly developed, there must be a largo increase of populabut that population must bool tho kind which wo have indicated. It would bo a disastrous thing to have indiscriminate immigration and a wholesale shovelling out of paupers trom England, to bo lauded upon tho shores of thiy oolouv,.