SIR JULIUS VOGEL'S SCHEME.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1320, 14 December 1880, Page 3

SIR JULIUS VOGEL'S SCHEME.

What does it mean 1 Is there anything in it all, or is it only a joke 1 At present it has not got beyond the length and breadth of an unauthenticated rumor, but still it is rumored that a gigantic gambling project is in contemplation, in which Sir Julius Vogel and his circle are to be the players, and the public interests of this country are to be the stakes. The scheme, as it has been vaguely sketched in a paragraph which has found its way into some of the papers, is said to embrace a syndicate for taking over the whole of the New Zealand debt, to the great relief of the colony and to the great enrichment of the promoters. What the syndicate are to get from the colony in consideration of this delicate attention on their part, however, is not only not explained, but not even referred to as if it needed , explanation. We have heard something more about the scheme, though, than has yet appeared in the papers, and we are given to understand that the other side of the bargain is intended to consist in the colony handing over to the speculators the railways and a sufficient area of Crown lands to make up in value the balance of the sum total of the debt. It will be seen on reflection that, wherever it may ' come from, this is an intelligible j project, as a financial operation, and we are bound to say that it somewhat closely resembles others which Sir Julius Vogel has brought forward, if he did not originate them. It is, in fact, quite in his style. There is no doubt that such a scheme, skilfully managed, might be propounded with a considerable chance of succeeding up to a certain point. We do not for a moment mean that it could be successful as regards the welfare of the colony. But it might by able and energetic puffing be made sufficiently buoyant to float its projectors to that proverbial Tom Tiddler's ground where gold is to be got hold of for nothing in stupendous quantities. It stands to reason, of course, that neither Sir Julius Vogel nor anybody else could take even the first step towards the realisation of a project like this without the consent of the colonists. Those, however, who profess to have some inkling of what is going on, tell us that that is to be the most brilliant part of the whole aowp. They say that Sir Julius Vogel is confident of being able to lead the colonists after him whithersoever he chooses as soon as the proper time comes for declaring his plans ; and that meanwhile the way is being prepared before him by a variety of cunning expedients. The school prizes and boxes of toys, and other little pleasant mementoes which we have heard so much of lately, are supposed to be neither more nor less than ground bait. We are assured, indeed, that the unnecessarily circumstantial denial given some while since to the report that Sir Julius Vogel was coming out, was merely part of the programme, it being considered inadvisable that any such report should gain ground prematurely. It would never do for him to return to the colony as a man with a grievance. On the contrary, he is to heap coals of fire on the head of the colony for removing him from his office, by giving handsome prizes to all the school children, and presents of one kind or another to everybody who will take them. Above all things, lie is to show that he is perfectly independent of the colony, and only bound to it by that deep interest and those ties of affection, <fee, &c. Open-handed liberality and genial good nature are his line at present. We saw it stated the other day, in a correspondent's letter from London, that when the Agent-General received notice of the reduction of 10 per cent, in the salaries of his subordinates, he duly conveyed the stern decree of the Government to them, but at the same time presented each of them, out of his own pocket, with the amount which he would lose by the reduction. We wonder whether that is true. Whether it is true or not, we wonder how it got into the papers. It is extremely unlikely that the officers oi the Agent-General's department, who are presumably gentlemen and not paupers, would accept a money gift from him ; but it is perfectly certain that they would hold their tongues about it. Is that story ground bait too? The supposition is that all these advertisements of Sir Julius Vogel are contrived simply to bring him prominently and favorably before the eyes of the public in New Zealand, in order to enable him to launch the great aoheine which we have described. The chief hope of success, however, would lie in the tempting character of the scheme itself, which it would be the function of Sir Julius Vogel and his associates to display in the most effective light to the colonists. The prospect of being relieved of taxation to the extent of a million and a-half a year, would, of course, be a very pleasing one to the inhabitants of New Zealand just mow; but that would not be the most seductive of the inducements offered. The completion of all the lines of railway which have recently been abandoned or shelved for the time, would be made part of the project, and settlement on a grand scale on the lands to be acquired by *he promoters, would be a natural .consequence. The inimitable sumaiiug upof tlje natives of % Public

Works policy of 1870 by Mr Borlase, now, alas ! dead and gone, comes forcibly to mind here. " What we want is money. And plenty of it. And soon." That was the motive appealed to then, and that would be the motive appealed to again. Money, under this mighty scheme, would be plentiful while the balls were rolling, wages would be high, and the demand for labour constantly in excess of the supply. A fever of prosperity would prevail throughout the colony. Fortunes would be rapidly secured. Everybody would have a chance. At least that is the picture that would be drawn for the edification of the •electors ; and there is no denying that it might be made a very vivid one. If it had the desired effect, the rest, of course, would be comparatively easy. With a Parliament elected for the sole purpose of selling the colony to a syndicate in London represented by Sir Julius Vogel and a few others in New Zealand, the thing mightundoubtedly be done. It is true the Legislative Council could not very well be packed for that purpose ; but they might easily be made subservient to it nevertheless by a little cajoling, a little bullying, and, perhaps, a little unobtrusive packing too. One or two clever men, bent on their object and knowing their work, might do wonders with that small muddled Chamber. In short, if the constituencies could be gained over to it the scheme would be safe; and then we should see what we should see. Now, is there anything in ill That is just the question that we are not in a position to answer quite to our own satisfaction. There may be something in it though little more than a mere undefined idea, fermenting in one or two restless brains; or, there may be a more fully matured plan, the further development of which depends upon circumstances that we need not refer to here. We must say we are charmed by the boldness and the bigness of it, whether it is a portentous reality or only an airy fiction. If anything would bring out of the people of this country the good true stuff that is in them, that, would. We should have something like a political struggle then, something worth struggling for — the life and soul of the colony as a free and independent community. — Witness.