, 1874-04-22

tic can ascertain for himself. If then the
Council thinks that the time has come
when we must be more saving, it is in this
branch the saving must be effected, either
in the way which we have preferred or
in some other manner the plan with a
man-of-war stationed here may be mention
ed as one that would be feasible. We
suppose that the Budget Committee APP
pointed the other day will bring in Drafts
Tor the changes they recommend the Coun-
Gil to adopt if they do not, we shall have
the old story over again: plenty of talk,
more writing, and-nothing done.
1t has excited some little establishment
that the Council did not put upon this
Committee those members who spoke most
in favour of it, but others, who either did
not say a word, or spoke against. But
let us not attempt to scrutlnize those little
freaks. If we, row., were called upon to
give advice to the Committee, it would be
to let all minor matters alone, and attend
to those that are really important. The
saving ola few dollars here and there is not
what is wanted, but, as one of the mem
bers said who spoke for a Committee,
something is wanted that will affect the
financial status. He who goes a-borrowiug
goes a%-sorrowing, and there will soon be an
end to borrowing unless we can show our
capability aud Willingness to create q sur
plus to pay the debt. Next year may in
deed be a year like II or even better, and
many individuals may partly or wholly re-
cover from the shock they have received,
but they may leave a place where industry
partakes so much of the nature OF q lottery,
but how will the Treasury recover in the
same manner. We must strain every
nerve to make all the improvements pos
sible in agriculture and manufacture and
in every branch of industry but that is
not enough, as we know that such i'm
provements will, from the nature of things,
be slow. If the result of present inves-
LEGATIONS be that Central Factories are to
be established here, we may, if the utmost
dispatch be employed, have one two
years hence. To create a safe existence
for the Island as u self-supporting Colony,
we must also retrench our public cxpeu-
diture, in the same manner as by these
improvements we reduce private expendi-
ture.
If the Mother Country would take us
back again, it would be different of course.
The matter might then be left to her.
But if we are to carry on something like
an independent existence, reductions must
be made in those departments of public
expenditure which will not suffer from
such reductions, and that too with some
thing like the same dispatch we have been
glad to observe in the endeavours of gov
eminent to enhance the production of the
Island, not indeed by petty "pickings,"
which might be injurious to the public SER
vice without having the advantage ofbetter-
ing the finances, but in a way that will effec-
tually influence the balance of the Budget,
which must be achieved FIVE do not mean
to go a-begging cat home' in the same
pitiabIe manner as we have done before.
If we are prepared to do this, we need
not retrench, for we would then always
have the coffres of the Mother Country to
fall back upon in our need. But will she
receive us in the old way again, and, if
she would, which we do not think, would
it not be more honorable for us as a Com
munity, once having said that we can
stand on our own legs, to make. an effort
to prove that we can do SO, both by in
c~reaSing our resources and decreasing our