ANOTHER REPLY FROM SIR JULIUS.

Western Star, Issue 143, 3 June 1876, Page 6

ANOTHER REPLY FROM SIR JULIUS.

Wellington, May 25. I hare the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 13th May, in reply to mine of the 3rd inst. Whilst I desire to bring this correspondence to a conclusion, I foci it necessary to explicitly explain certain points concerning which you clearly misunderstood me. I did not say, or desire to say, that there never wore any able en- 1 gineers in Otago. I meant no moro than the words I used implied—that tbs Province has suffered, which docs not mean always suffered, from inexperienced engineers. If the Government are correctly informed, some of the branch railways in Otago amply corroborate this statement. The memory of the past engineering talent is no substitute for present inexperience. You still fail to see the views of the Government about the land sales. They have not expressed any opinion as to whether or not it was desirable to sell the particular pieces of land. Their objection has been to the manner of the proposed sale. Using a power delegated hy the Governor, it was contrived to give certain persons an exclusive privilege of purchase. To this the Government objected ; and seeing that youi Honor and your Executive were acting under a delegated authority, the Government has clearly the right to object. They did not, however, attempt, ns you suppose, to coerce or guide the Board. They obtained information which was patent in Dunedin as to the supposed feelings of members of the Board, and they were glad to be able to think there was no necessity for interference. If your Honor will only give proper notice, the Government have no objection to the lands in question being sold; indeed they are quite at a loss to understand why the lands have been given back to the ruuholders, instead of the latter being compensated, and the land properly submitted for sale. The Estimates for the six months now current wefe prepared by your Honor before the land sale was stopped, and you have represent,ed that the very large land revenue there set down was because of expected sales in Hundreds, not because of the sales of mountain tops. I have not objected to branch railways ; the objection I stated was that you constructed them without the means to pay for them. The logical position is this: you incur expenditure; to meet it you propose large land sales. On one occasion you toll us you look to the sales of land in Hundreds for the necessary means; on another occasion vide memo, to Waste Lands Board) such sales are condemned, and you state that you rely for expenditure on the sales of mountain tops, and that works will have to be suspended in consequence of the sales having been stopped. Subsequently you write that you still consider your estimate of revenue reasonable, and rely upon obtaining the amount j whilst at the same time you send a copy of your memo, to the Waste Lands Board, which conveys quite an opposite impression. Amidst this labyrinth the Government can find no path, excepting that of upholding the law and deprecating its violations. I subjoin extracts from the correspondence, showing the contradictions to which I refer. Notwithstanding your Honor’s ejaculatory remarks, I am unable to discover any breach of faith from which Otago will suffer. At the time the Colony, under the Public Woi’ks policy, began to perform Provincial work, it was stated that if the Provinces proved to bo inconsistent with that policy they must give way. That policy has done for Otago what Provincialism failed to do, and could not have done in a much longer period. I have already expressed the opinion that the idea of making Otago a separate Colony is purely chimerical; such a step is altogether opposed to the received policy of the day. To make a miniature Yictoria and Now South Wales out of Otago and Canterbury,, with a border duty question on the Waitaki, would ho as injudicious as impossible. The notion of a separate Colony for one island is now equally chimerical, and let me say, excepting to Otago, would bo wholly distasteful to the rest of the Middle Island. Apart from the wholly chimerical nature of your Honor’s views as to isolating Otago, I am constrained to point out that such isolation would not benefit Otago, nor bo in ac» cordanca with the large business connections which have grown into existence between it and the other Provinces. If Otago has made : wonderful progress, so has the rest of New Zealand ; and the people of Otago have just as much reason to be proud of the advancement of the whole Colony as of their particular portion of it. lam of opinion that there exists in Otago, together with a desire to manage locally local affairs, a much larger Colonial pride and spirit than your Honor appears to recognise. 1 thank your Honor for the courtesy you hare displayed throughout this correspondence, and I reiterate my feelings of personal regret at the want of agreement between us on the-points which have been raised. I hope, however, as the s proposed measures assume shape and form, that your Honor’s objcc--1 ions will yield to your convictions of their suitability to the wants and wishes of the country. I am also indebted to your Honor for the use this correspondence has been to the Government, in enabling them to place before tlio people much information it was desirable they should possess, oven before Parliament meets, in order to counteract the effects of the misconception which previously existed. Freed from the prejudices those misconceptions excited, thousands of thoughtful people in Otago will form their own opinions, and regret their previous hasty reliance upon the statements of those in opposition to the Government. Julius Vogel.