THE Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 1880. CHEERING PROSPECTS.

Manawatu Times, Volume IV, Issue 88, 10 November 1880, Page 2

THE Manawatu Times.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 10, 1880. CHEERING PROSPECTS.

" "Words are things, and a drop of ink falling like dcv/ upon & thought, produces tb*t -which makes tfaoiia»ndj,.p»thap» millions think."

Notwithstanding the period of very great commercial depression through which the colony has just passed, and, as was supposed, the complete stagnation of trade and commerce, the following comparative Bgures will bo read »itli pleasure, and will t»ke most people with surprise. It is now ten years since the great Public Works Policy was initiated, and almost two years since the last of the borrowed millions were squandered, and yet, strange as it niar appear, the table of exports just past will bear favorable comparison with its predecessor. By tbe way of contrast, we qi p o the ezports of the various commodities for the years 1870, 1878, and 1579, as by such a course our readers will be able to see m what position the Colony stood as an exporter prior to the Public Works Policy ; how it was situated when its loan was swallowed up ; and lastly, by giving statistics for 1879, they will be able to see whether we are retrograding or advancing :

From the above figures it will be soen that m the dora-lo the export of wool has exactly doubled itself; and although the yield of gold has fallen, it is more tliHn cooipcngated by the export of produce, which fro-n £184513 m 3870, had risen to £7G3.G35 m 1879, nnd actually an increase of quarter of a million between that year and the preceding year of 1878. With wool and t.allon 1 doubling itself, and produce mnUiplviug five-fold, the colony may well affunl to see a decline m the yields from its gold mines. It is from the land ' and the products that all permanent wealth and true national greatness springs, and m order to show that our prosperity under that head i 3 neither evanescent or ephemeral, we will quote the exports for the past fire years : — Yeara. Produce. 1875 £?fi2,9<2 1576 ... • 595>,374, 1877 433,741 1878 52S 1.00 1579 763,655 We imagins the above statement should mo*fc conclusively silence the croakers who doubt the future of New Zealand. Mr. Sacxoeus, and nil such Cassandra-like growlers, may prate about repudiation, and make great capital out of the fact that the Colony is £30,000,000 m debt ; but tbev forget to add that the money so borrowed has not — as m other countries — bcon frittered away m expensive wars, but devoted to the prosecution of reproductive works. They do not tell that the Colony, young aa it is, has at the present time 1,153 miles of railway open for traffic ; with telegraph communication extending for 8,434 miles. It is m such useful and reproductive works as these that tho borrowed millions have been invested ; but quite independently of that source of wealth, let us see what a^e the assets of the Colony, or what she has to fall hack upon before Mr. Sadndkbs 1 repudiation scheme has to be resorted to. The following are the Crown lands disposed of, ov remaining, on the 31st of Marcb, 1850 :— ACT?.T!S. Total area sold or otherwise disposed of 14,126,772 £. Price realised ... 11.321.045 ACHI3S. Or>en for seW.;ion 14,293,800 Total areii re-naiion;? for future fIU. von A, exclusive of area m preceding item and Native J.mdn 20,013,832 From this it will be seen that quite independently of Native lands — which, when bou slit- at from 5s to lQs. per acre, would renl'se a handsome profit — there are no less than 31,532,611 acres of hml yet to he disposed of, which at C 0». an acre, find m addition to 'lie profit on N; tire land, would psy the present indebtedness of tho Colony twice qver.

Year. "Wool. GoM\. Produce. IS/0. ...J31.70.X9 1'i ...£2.103,91.0 ... £181.513 1878 ... :?.a» 1.3)7 ... 1,'iW,079 ... C 83.100 IS7O ... 3,120,139 ... l,1.:Jl-.Gtl .... 763,6:"* Y(!:u-. TV'ow. K,<v-A G.u-03. Tioibo". 3570 ... f;7r,,553 ... JE175.074 ... £18,500 1378 ... 175,5;W ... ... 1573 ... l-"3,505 ... 117.535 ... 35,502