The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, AND Saturday Morning Thursday, January 17, 1889. AN IMPORTANT VISIT.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 248, 17 January 1889, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, AND Saturday Morning

Thursday, January 17, 1889. AN IMPORTANT VISIT.

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s, Thy God’s, and truth’s.

The uncertainties which, so far, have attended everything connected with oil matters must not cause us to overlook the importance of a visit which has been paid this district by a gentleman from Sydney, Dr Storer. An erroneous impression has been circulated, to the effect that this gentleman has done us the honor cf his visit, merely to satisfy the minds of a few discontented shareholders in a petroleum company—a visit, by the way, which would not be accepted by an ordinary mind as an honor to the district. Dr Storer, we understand, is in mining matters an expert whose ability entitles him to the highest respect, and he has come, not in the capacity of a kind of detective, but to make a report on all matters connected with the oil industry in this district, and especially to give an opinion, on which the Sydney speculators can place the utmost reliance, as to the prospects held out for the advance of capital. An opinion of this description is just what we should very much like to hear: if it is a favorable one—which we have every reason to believe it will be—it will not only dissipate our own doubts, which many affect to have in no small degree, but it will be the means of introducing that capital and energy which are so much required, beyond what has already been done, to develop the at present unproductive resources of the district. If, on the other hand it is not favorable, then by all means let us knew the truth. If the mineral prospects are not what we believe them to be, there are other resources which cannot be ignored in the near future, though their development may be retarded by the apathy of the present. If there were no oil prospects to tempt us to look beyond the steady path of progress the probability is there would be much greater attention given to the difficulties which surround the opening up and cultivation of our waste lands. The people’s attention being centred on this important matter, they would perhaps not cease to agitate until these modern Tite Barnacles had been compelled to initiate a more rational state of things. To refer to this may seem wandering from the subject, but we are dealing with the matter from a self-interested point of view, for this district’s political experience has been the nearest possible illustration of the Scriptural text that to him that hath shall be given, and from him that hath not shall be taken away even that little which he hath.

Whatever may be the outcome of Dr Storer’s visit, the importance of it may not be lightly estimated. He comes at a time when there is so little enthusiasm in the matter that his judgment is not likely to be influenced by anything of the kind—there has been no fine speechmaking or demonstration of any sort that would denote Dr Storer’s presence in our midst, or singularise his visit from that of hundreds who come and go with no particular object in view. Still, our own impression is that we may expect a great deal more good to result from Dr Storer’s visit and observation of the district than we can expect from the whole Government and Parliament of the country—with regard to the latter expectation, experience has taught us to expect so little that we may always lay claim to the blessing of not being disappointed. An influx of capital, backed up by the energy which it would be certain to educe, would make things move along much more rapidly than they are doing at present.