Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLDFIELDS GAZETTE. CROMWELL: TUESDAY, NOV. 7, 1871.

Cromwell Argus, Volume II, Issue 104, 7 November 1871, Page 4

Cromwell Argus, AND NORTHERN GOLDFIELDS GAZETTE. CROMWELL: TUESDAY, NOV. 7, 1871.

Tus telegraphic summary of news brought by the steamer which arrived at llokitiki on the Ist instant, contains a goo 1 ileal of matter more than usually interesting to j New Zealand readers, —although repair 1 tions of former telegrams are, as usu d. interspersed through the despatch. Uf all the intelligence, probably the most gmti-j tying portion is the welcome announce- 1 meet that wool is 1-Z. to Ud, higher than the closing rates at last sdes, with an expected further advance of It/, to 3 d.; and that of 12-12 bales of New Z “aland 11 ix offered, 950 were sold at advanced rates. For several years past, station property has decidedly decreased in marketable value, and srpmttar.s have not had such | profits on the produce of their flocks as to ! induce muen sitisfaction. With this noteworthy increase in tho.price of wool, how- i ever, and the prospect of a firm and active market, our squatting lords should become jubilant. The high prices realized by the majority of the bales, of, f] ix nllered.i.s also ■matter of cmVgiVf.iiliifion. The flix uiannfaetn re - must, bo'looked upon as one of the .most important of our industries. Very! large sums have been invested in the flaxdressing business in nearly every Province in the Colony, both in the erection of buildings and the purchase of machinery, and it affords employment to large numbers of penp'e. The state of the fli.x market is, therefore, a matter of considerable importance to this colony.—Thu announcement that Dr Fr.ATHXir.TON lias taken offices in London, and intends to proceed j to Germany,-.in order to .promote.emigration-, deads us'to speculate why Germany is selected a$ 4iie- couhtf/ NVhence wa are to

reeaiv.i our i.u nigrati m sa,>, > ins, uu 1 tlie British Li I>-m arts practiodiy The Germans make go) I colonists, arc huM : working, so 1 ►or, an I woriay momoers ot* society. But wo cannot soowhit re is m can be adduced to show that they will be more eligible colonists than natives of Britain.—We scarcely understand the next item, “ It is understood that Mr C/Bnoaj dux has obtained a contract,..subject to its acceptance by the New Zealand Government, for the Nelson and Gobdeu railway.”. It is telegraphed as news', so it cannot refer to the proposed general contract with the Messrs Urosdex entered into by the Hon. Julius Vogel. Perhaps this is another; of those <l horrible blunders” which Messrs l Greville and Co. promised should never occur again ? The details of a proposal to make a railway from London to India, at' an estimated cost of £10,000,000, complettdy throw into tba shade our New Zealand railway schemes. The project is a most gigantic one, yet the promoters undertake to complete the line in three years. The journey from England to India would occupy only five days ! The construction of the railway would be undertaken on the joint guarantee of the two countries.—The frequently-recurring strikes among artisans in England have yet another to be added to the already long list; wirh this peculiarity, that the foreign workmen (in the engine) trade who had been brought from the Continent to take the places of tlure who had struck, have now struck also ‘‘Strikes are assuming alarming proportions, and the principal industries are'deranged.” There is evidently a screw loose somewhere in the machinery which should regulate the relations of employers and the employed. In consequence of a strike among the Newcastle colliers, the masters imported 3,000 foreign workmen. It "is easy to conceive what grave evils such a state of things must give rise to, no in itter though men bring it about by their own act. The root of the evil lies, we believe, in the long hours which mechanics and labouring men have to work, in the Old Country, for low wages. Over-work and i under-pay cannot fail to breed discontent, and cause serious collisions between cm plovers and workmen. It is irrational to suppose that the Great Creator of all ever designed any class of human beings should he degraded into toilers and mere beasts of burden in order to enable another class to live in luxury and affluence. Until the rights of labour are fully recognised, and all real ctuses of discontent removed, we may expect to hear from Knzland of these alarming “ strikes,” with their dark train of accompanying evils.