The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Tuesday, March 12, 1989. NEW ZEALAND'S HOPES.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 272, 12 March 1889, Page 2

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

Tuesday, March 12, 1989. NEW ZEALAND'S HOPES.

Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim'at at be thy country's, Thy GhJd'a, and truth's.

The Melbourne " boom ” promises to be an excellent lesson to all the colonies that mushroom growth is not substantial, and that genuine prosperity can only be attained by steady progress, unadulterated with that speculative mania which may benefit the few, but means ruin, or a near approach to it, in the majority of cases, Mr Bendix Hallenstein, who has lately returned to New Zealand from Victoria and New South Wales, gives an interesting account of his impressions. After referring to the “ boom ” in Melbourne and the reckless nature of the gambling which took place, he says:—

Timea will be bad in six months, they will be Worse in twelve months, and still worse in eighteen months—how much longer it is difficult to lay. As yet every shop, every warehouse, every office, and every workshop is occupied; but what will be the position when the many buildings now in course of erection in the city are completed, and when the thousands of private houses which are springing up in every direction require tenants? Then the army of men which has collected from all Australia and New Zealand will be disbanded, and with it the circulation of the almi ;hty dollar will cease. The clank of the hammer whieh greeted the ear from morning till night will be heard no more, and the proprietors of the great iron founderies and workshops, who never earned money sp fast before, will have to lessen their hands; and every manufacturer, every importer, and every shopkeeper, will gradually be compelled to do the sama. Melbourne, having taken three paces forward where it ought to have taken one, will have to retrace its steps. Already in every direction buildings in all stages—some with the foundation barely laid, others nearly completed—are stopped for want of funds. Gradually, however, the downward process will be arrested; the energy of the people will assert itself, and again will the industries and commerce of Melbourne flourish; but the boom will not be forgotten in the memory of those who have witnessed it. Some may have benefited thereby, but the majority of people will hold it in memory as worse than " Black Thursday.”

That portion of the letter gives us a very fair idea of how Victoria is now and will shortly be affected, but the lesson which has been conveyed to New Zealand is what more directly concerns us. Mr Hallenstein continues :—

Permit me now to say a few words about New Zealand. Happily, we have sown our wild oats ; and, if I rightly grasp the spirit of the people, we are determined to forge our way steadily ahead. Though Victoria and New South Wales are rich countries, we bid fair to equal them in our mineral resources ; while as an agricultural country we stand pre eminent in the southern hemisphere. Our coal, our climate, our pure water, and our immense water power are material factor* in developing our manufactures, in several of whieh we have already made a name for ourae’vea. The present prosperous season has given heart and renewed confidence to onr settlers, many of whom, even previous to the turn for the better, had by industry and economy sue oessfully overcome former difficulties. It will take a few good seasons before there is any marked expansion in trade, but bualneaa la much sounder. Banks and wholesale houses bare determined to restrict credit and confine it to legitimate traders, and every, one, after years of losses, ia determined to make a profit on bls labour and capital. Agricultural properties are saleable at pi-ices at Which people can make them pay. It is ruinous to the country that they should be higher, and if the mortgage companies and financial institutions who hold so large a slice of the country are wise, they will reoog niae that it is to their interest to sell land at prioes on which the farmer or rnnholder can make a fair return in average sea-ons. Anyone purchasing on a basis different b om this must eventually lose hi< money. To some extent the same rule refers to town pr perties, where the average income must form the basis of its value. Where this is largely deviated from, as has lately been the case in Melbourne, the result must be ruinous. In cono’uUon, I desire to say thar, looking at all the advantages with which nature has gifts I our colony, I havn no doubt in my mind that gradually New Zealand will become the most populous colony in Australasia, and oae in which wealth will be most evenly distributed. I may be too sanguine, but I also believe that ip not 'ery many yoavs Now Zealand Government debentures will stand ea high, it not higher, than those of any of the ftjlonies. I have always had unbounded faith fa JUew Zealand, and it is a gratifiaition to |»« that * both in the neighboring colonies aufi St Home onr great resources are being daily more recognised.

Taken wiiti the above, the telegraphic intelligence from ali pvu of New Zea'and is of an exceedingly hopeful nature. Two telegrams which are exceedingly gratifying are given below i— Nelson, Saturday.—At the annual meeting yesterday of the Nelson Chamber of Commerce Mr J. H, Cook delivered an able address, in which he referred to the improved state pf the colony and the district. He oonsidered that the new tariff has bed >n unexpected advantage in leading to increased thrift, and he felt satisfied that the economies now being prevised in public aud private affairs, combined with tha Jnpreawd prpduotlod «i ths ooiony, must soon restore Its erad It tuiiyi nt witni »|ib

the largely increasing exports of the colony, now two millions in excess of imports, and gave a number of interesting statistics. Mr Sclanders and others spoke of the bad odour in which the colony stands at Home in consequence of its indebtedness, and a resolution wae carried unanimously as follows : —“ Tha' it be an in-.iruetion to the committee to use its best influence during the coming year to prevent any increase to the public debt of New Zealand.”

Invercabgill, Saturday,—Since the New Year the weather has been exceptionally fine, and the harvest prospects are good. This, with the probability of great outside demand at high rates, is making the farmers jubilant, A very larce area is now in crop, principally in oats, and settlement appears to have received a fresh impetus. The turnip crop is exceedingly good, so that the outlook for stock is of the best. Large blocks of land are being secured for the flax industry, which is likely to assume considerable dimensions, as there is flax in abundance. Many people now believe that tin mining will speedily be in full swing at Steward's Island, and this, with the development of gold mining in various quarters, ia causing business people to take a hopeful view of the situation. Already a general improvement in trade is noted.