THE LYTTELTON TIMES ON MR WHITAKER'S HUKANUI SPEECH.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1803, 26 January 1884, Page 3

THE LYTT ELTON TIMES ON MR WHITAKER'S HUKANUI SPEECH.

The following article appeared in the -Lyttelton Times of the Kith inst:— Mr Whitaker has beon enlightening the good people of the Waikato distuct niton tlio present position and prospects of New Zealand, conipating this countiy with Australia, We arc not told in the telegram what was the occasion foi this, but from ceitain internal evidence— cci tain indications given by the speech ltbelf— we should bo inclined to imagine that there must have been some githeiing, directly or indiieotly, connected with land buying. We may, ot ionise, be wrong in this. Thcie miw b.we been simply a dinner of s-omo Rinmis' Club, or, perhaps, a countiy asjiieultuial show ; or Mr Whitakei may have gone down 'there only with the object of giving 111iform.ition to tlie people. But, as wo •have said, time aic certain faintlydefined indications in the teleuiaphio .report which seem to point to operations in nati\c lands, either piesent or prospective However that may be, the speech is a welcome one, and may even bo taken as suggestive in one or two points. Wo arc glad to mid that Mr \\ hitaker, after bis tup to Austialia, has come back to his own land by no means inclined to take a gloomy \ iew of its piospectb, or to .cast envious looks upon the (-iieafc Aus trali.in continent. lie is well a>vau\ ot course, of the depiession which at pietci t exists in gioat pait ot New Zeal aid. That depiession, iiom vanous cause*., some of which we enumeiatcd in an aiticleafeu day* ago, seems to be less felt in Auckland than eis-whe.e. The paiticulai poition of the colony fiom Lake Taupo to the Bay of l&lmdt. seems to be progie sing .steadily, if n<>L veiv. rapidly ; and te commeioiil and srxiil pro-.penly of the < ity 01 Auckland itself, which ekpiiid-*. to a gitdt extent, upo.i -aids winch aie wanting he; fin the South, appeals to be not only b.iiiwicntly ■ ood, but akso peunanent. And Mi lniaker conul, with gicat iitne s «n.l piopueU, comjr.itulate thu dist.iel M which he \va speaking upon the futme in -toie toi it Ho wa-> able, ho .'ever, to do something nioie than tin-. lie 'o no*. a man who, going to a diotant tountiy, keeps Ins eye-> •sliut, o. t.ikis merely a nariow and cutaoiy glance .'t its condition, lie is notibly an oilmen - ant mm : and vvhonlu tutu i^ to X • ,' Zealand, and makes public his im|>i.s sious ot Austialia. thcbo may be liiilv taken as containing niuchth.it is actuate and suggestive Theie is not a gnat deal of oiiginalitv, in the vir>wsc\pi<>sed in his speech. Some >uieh accounts of the supeiioi clnnatc of thib countiv, of oui magnificent streuns and lainfalls, of th • inaptitude of the Australian plains foi small i-ettleis, have been given befoie ; and the leeling that we have iminence physical and clnniLio advantages over New South Wales and Viotoni has been pretty geucial for some time past. Indeed, the point was put with a go ul deal if foicc and ti.itli h\ Dillon BjII, in hia famous p'per lasc jeai. .Still, it is satisf.ietoiy to find a man in Mi Wlutakn s position, letuining fiom an embas-y (a- it might; b ),diuini. r which i c enjoyeil t-picial facilities ot obteivation, cpe( ial opiioiluhities of contact and convei'ation with the bt.st inlcllcots in Austiaha, and espenal chances ot taking full note of all he siw, eini)hasi/in^ on his leluin the eonchib'ons of Sir Dillon Bell, and pointing out to Kew Zealandeis that ll.ey m.i) look pioudl/ foiwaul m spite of <i tempoiai\ dejni'-^ion. We are aUe to a^iee coiduilly with all that Mr Whitakei says on this point. \Ve . giee with him that Kew Zealand need 110t1nthekabtfe.11 the in airy ot An.stiaha. Melbourne and Sydney aie cities iai sin parsing anything which we have heic now, r i die likely to have foi a long tune to come ; but the stiength of Ne-w Zealand will not lie in its cities,, but in its stunl} «n my of settleis thiougliout the countiy. \\ c'•cce '•cc no lca-o'i why .Sn Dillon Bells piognosticatioiis may not come ti ue. But it is pieeisely because we n#ue with thu Ayent Geneial and Mr Whitakei on tins th.it we nic unable to aL'iee with the lattei in the conclusion which, in this bpeee.li of hib, he seems to diaw. All thiongli his leinaik, he seems to lay btiess upon tliu mignifieent stiength of Kew Zealand, the giand piospect opening befoie it, the superioiity^w huh lie e\i)ect& it to attain in a not Jar distant tutuie. And the-n he winds up by the limoand linjmtent conclusion that it is, thcietoie, neee>saiy to fedeiate with Austiaha, to he able to rely for help, piotecticn, s.qipoi ton the Australian Colonies. "By and bye," hi sa^s, "the population of Kew Zealand will be tlncc or foiu tiincs as gieat as that of these other Colonies "' In this phrase, and indeed all tlnon^h ln^ speech, he ui«e& the view that this conn try will excel, not only m populition, but necessarily ako ni wealth, ttiengtli, aud piospenty. We conlesi that we do not see how he diaws fiom this his conclusion that "with confedeuitiou, New Zealand may become a veiv great countiy." It is, as he as^eited, and we agree with him, piugu^'iig now, under pns-'iit condition-., iinfed«'idted, towaiels the position t>f supeiionty which he desciibcs He has uiven no leason (as far as the tepoi t of his speech us) for thinking that tlrs pioiiiess is going to be, in some w ly 01 othci, letarded, impeded, pcihaps actiiallj' pieventcd, bj' the action 01 inaction of Australia. And if this element is wanting in his argument, it is. we think, perfectly fair and lea^onablc to ask him how federation is going to assist om piogiot-s, and how he diaws his conclusion that federation it necesaiiy to us, from his elaborate exposition ot our certain piogress without it. Piobably Mi V\ r hitakei may not again give public utteiance to his views. When Major Atkinson comes forwatd to enlighten the public on the great question, we tiust that ho wdl take the oppoitnnity ot clearing up tins doubtful point.

Lady Brassey is a member of an ambulance fcoeit'ty, and the otlici ilay wa&ablto tlo all that was loqmied for a i.uly who had broken her leg, until theairiwil of the surgeon. A kixd of religious Pandemonium is said to have been invented in the once Eleasant town of Launceston. A Molourne citizen went to Tasmania for a quiet vuial holiday ; but soon he wrote a dismally dolorous letter, warning other over-worked Victoiians not to seek holiday repose in Launceston. He said thoie were three Salvation armies who had quat relied and. separated into rival camps ; and the noisy Salvation band had also split into three parts, though somehow each part got a ate big drum, so that they made the noise of thiee lival bands thumping and clashing against each other. Some faint show of business continued to be carried on dining the day, but each evening was given up to the Salvation competition. There were three rival processions singing through the streets, the rival big-drummers trying to out-drum each other, thiee sets of Salvation lasses screaming their loudest, varied with loud opposition preaching and more erratic big-drumming. The whole larrikin population joined in the evening saturnalia ; decent people who wished to live quiet lives were distracted with the ranting rivalries, and holiday visitors from Melbourne were driven away in terror at so much uproaiious Salvation. You will do well to furnish your house jrom Garhck and Cranw ell's. They have now the most complete Furnishing 1 Warehouse in Auckland, furnituie to suit all classes, good ttrcr.g, and cheap. They have Tapestry Carpets lrom 2^ 3d per yard, Brussels from 3s lid per yard. Linoleum from 3s 9d to ss, Oil Cloths from Is 6d to 4s 6d per yard, good 12 feet wide Oil Cloths at 3s 6d per yard. Immense assortment of Iron Bedsteads from Infants' Cots to 5 feet wide half-tester Bedsteads. Double iron Bedfteads from 255. 480 Bedsteads in stock to select from. Beddings of all kinds and sizes kept in -vreadincss. Dining, Sitting, Drawing-room Furniture, and and a large assortment of Manchester ' and Furnishing Goods, including a lot of Cretonnes. Book Catalogues sent free to intending purchasers. Garlick and Cranwell, City Hall arcade, Qucon-itroet Auckland;