Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price 1d. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1886. Is the Colony Going to the Bad.

Wairarapa Standard, Volume XIX, Issue 1875, 25 August 1886, Page 2

Wairarapa Standard Published Tri-weekly, Price Id. WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1886. Is the Colony Going to the Bad.

Ocb contemporary tbe New Zealand Times devotes a column or two of its space now and then to publishing articles from people who desire to give publicity to their own particular views on public questions. The Times takes'no responsibility for the opinions thus expressed. In this column, there was recently published an article written and signed by Mr J. M. Twomey, of Temuka, the main object of which was t« prove “ that tbe colony is going|to tbe bad at the rate of £6OOO- - (fivemillionsayear).” This rather startling article of about two columns in length was not only published in tbe New Zealand Times, but also reported in the New Zealand Mail, just at the time when the English Mail was leaving, so that this assertion about " New Zealand going to the bad at tbe rate of £5,000,000 (live millions) n year would doubtless find its way into tbe bands of many people in Great Britain, and possibly be productive of a certain amount of misconception and.hnrsm. Mr Twomey a few years back was, for a short period, a shipping reporter for the Evening Post. After that he went to the Middle Island, and became proprietor of a country paper called the Temuka Leader. But in the calm, country retirement of Temuka, Mr Twomey has evolved great ideas and grand schemes. Some two or three years back he evolved a plan by which tbe Government were to build cottages for laborers all over tbe colony and give them land besides, on a sort of perpetual leasing tenure. This scheme was sent to Sir Jnlins .Vogel, who used the idea in a speech but didn’t carry it out in practice. It was as well that Sir Julius did not burn his fingers tdß the scheme in question. because its details were of snob an impracticable 'character that its trial could only have resulted in a complete fiasco, and a considerable loss of public money. Mr Twomey’s latest effusion about the indebtedness of tbe colony and its alleged general " going to the bad ” may possibly do some mischief. Mr Twomey estimates' 'im the aipoaut for which the colony .a ads indebted-including loans raised by the General Government; loans raised by local bodies ; and loans raised on mortgage of their real estate by private persons— reaches n sum of £75,000,000 (seventy five uiillioi-s). Tbe interest payable on this be estimates at £4,500,000 a year. Then be add “ that as all this money baa been borrowed in Eng. laud, the £4,500,000 a year of interest, must be sent out of the colony each year to England.” Furthermore, Mr Twomey says “ that the colony has to find money for imports, for dividends payable to foreign shareholders of all our monetary companies, and for incomes payable to absent colonists, which, he estimates, will bring tbe total payable to L 0,000,000 a year. Mr Twomey then sums op his esse by putting forth a balance sheet of his own for the colony, in which be tries to make out that setting receipts against expenditure, " there is a going to the bad of £5,000,000 a year. Ur Twomey has made rather a puddle with his figures, which are altogether misleading. The idea that the colony is thus travelling rapidly on the roau to ruin is altogether chimerical. No doubt tbe amount of public and private indebtedness is very areat, but then the real wealth of the colour is steadily increasing and it has abundance of assets to more than meet all claims against it. From a return compiled by tbe Property Tax Depart, mert, and summarised by Messrs T. K. Macdonald and Co. forth* Property Gijida, it will bo found that tbe total value of real estate in the Colony is estimated by tbe Department at £101,000,000. (This value is, however, about 25 per cent less than tbe real selling valne of the properties) From this must be deducted £5,000,000, value of Crown lands still on band, and £6.000,000 for Native lands, and there is left e sum of £66,000,000 as tbe value of tbe land belonging to the colonists. If to this be added the sum of £64,000,000, the value of personal estate belonging to tbe inhabitants, a total is broagbt out of 142 millions sterling. Bat to arrive at oar trne position we must deduct our indebtedness. First, there is a sum o 30 millions private mortgage debt; and ■•cond, an amount of fourteen millions due Private creditors ; making out per contra 44 mitooto. Ccd ? o, L“» 112 millions on tbe credit side, a the good is left of 98 millions sterling. 'iUn», is nut bad for a handful of people.