Cromwell Argus. AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. CROMWELL: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24.

Cromwell Argus, Volume II, Issue 102, 24 October 1871, Page 4

Cromwell Argus. AND NORTHERN GOLD-FIELDS GAZETTE. CROMWELL: TUESDAY, OCTOBER 24.

The Otagb public", although dilatory, have at length sent to Wellington an expression of opinion on the proposed Bkogßeu railway contracts, one of the results of the Hon. Julius Voqel's recent costly trip to England at the expense. of the Colony. The magnitude of the scheme, and the assurance of the " Great Financier" that th»l Colony had been most fortunate in inducing the wealthy firm of Messrs BrogdSu and Sons to take in hand the construction of our railways on terms far more advantageous than had been conceded to any other country with which they had had dealings, were at first sight calculated to dazzle our eyes. According to the Colonial Treasurer, the Brogden railways, ence initiated and fairly under way, a new era in the prosperity and rapid advancement of the Colony would be the inevitable result. Then in very truth was " the desert to blossom as the rose," and the barren sheep-walk 3 of the Colony to succumb before the irresistible march of the iron horse, and give place to the smiling homesteads and happy faces of a settled people, to the utter discomfiture of the wool-kings, in whose rapacious grasp is held the inheritance of the people. But when practical men came to examine the agreements which the Treasurer took upon himself to enter into, what a different tale is told! What advantages the contractors secure to themselves at the expense of this already shamefully overtaxed country ! What a frightful sacrifice of the waste lands of the Colony is contemplated in that gigantic conception, Contract No. 1 : the absolute and irrevocable alienation to the contractors of acres of land over and above the immense sum of money proposed to be paid for the construction of the works ! The alienation of immense tracts of country in a colony of such limited extent as New Zealand would bo pure madness, and there is no further occasion to refer to Contract No. 1, as practically it has been shelved. The alternative contract, involving the expenditure of £500,000, is the only one, therefore* which there is any occasion to.consider. Mr Vogel says the Colony is in honour bound to ; ratify.his agreement with Messrs Brogden, and, as No. 1 contract is viewed with such disfavour, to adopt No. 2. We entirely dissent from Mr Vogel's view of the question. We do not see that the Colony is at all hound to ratify agreements which Mr Vogel had no power to make. He entirely exceeded his powers when he bound himself down by a clause in one of the agreements to obtain the Governor's signature to one or other of the contracts within three months after the Articles of Agreement arrived in the Colony. And this fact is plainly admitted in the following extract from one of the agreements : " And whereas the said Articles of Agreement have not, nor has either of them, been as yet executed by the Governor, and the said Julius Vogel had not, nor has, authority to enter into an agreement on behalf of the Governor with the contractors upon the terms contained in the said ArI tides of Agreement, or either of them, or I to execute on behalf of the Governor the I said Articles, or cither of them, or these ' presents ; but he has nevertheless agreed | bint in token of his approval he will execute these presents as on behalf of the Governor." In the face of this admission of his want of power to enter into any definite arrangements on behalf of the Colony, it is clear that. Messrs Brogden have no just cause for saying that they would be unfairly treated were the Assembly to decline accepting either of the contracts. And we urge upon the Assembly to adopt this course, even if they have to pay the Messrs Brogden what may seem a heavy sum for expenses already incurred by them. In the long run, we are convinced, the Colony will be the gainer to a very material extent. Past experience, both in this and other colonies, has proved that the construction of important public works can be accomplished more satisfactorily, and at a far cheaper rate, by contractors resident in the colony in which they are undertaken than by the introduction of foreign capital' and labour. We entirely agree with the resolutions passed at the public meeting held in Dunedin on the 10th instant, and call upon the representatives of the Province in the Assembly to one and all make an energetic stand against any proposition to ratify Mr Vogkl's self-made contracts with Messrs Brogden ; and not, as is too common, talk and vote in direct opposition to the wishes of those through whose instrumentality *-b*y were placed in er,

and as they, in their own salf-sutßoiency and inordinate conceit, think beat. No doubt it would be excessively humiliating to Mi' VoQEt. to find his grand scheme. bltiWn into air liko a soap-bubble, but we earnestly hop 3 that sivjh will be the case. Not because we have any desire to humiliate Mr VOO2L, or to wound his amour propre, do we wish this; but because we can clearly see that if even Contract No. 2 is entered intd with the Messrs Brooded, the loss the Colony will sustain thereby will be enormous, and that for very many years the psdple who may unfortunately be compelled to remain in it will be subjected to such heavy extra taxation as will cause discontent, poverty, and misery to exist where before such things were never heard of. In dealing with the question, our representatives must remember that they are not dealing with a trivial matter. The weal or woe of the country for many years is placed in their hands. There cannot be a doubt of it that the large majority of the population of the Oolony is arrayed in uncompromising opposition to the adoption of either of the Brogden contracts, and such being the case, we have every hope that in this instance at anyrate the wishes of the majority will even have Sveight with members who hold opposite opinions.