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A Colonial Statesman.

Sir Julius Vogel was born in London, on the 24th of February, 1835, In early life he had very delicate health, and was chiefly educated by Masters at home. In his thirteenth year he attended the London University School, where he remained until he was past sixteen. At this time he lost both his parents. After he left school he entered an office in the city. It was intended he should acquire a knowledge of mercantile pursuits, with the view of proceeding to South America where through his connection, good prospects would probably have awaited him. But when the Victorian Gold Fields became famous he was seized with the restless fever to visit them, which attacked so many young men, and he proceeded to the new El Dorado at the end of the year 1852. Before leaving, however, he went through a course of study on the chemistry and metallurgy of gold and silver at the Royal School of Mines, Jermyn Street. He was page 2 Dr. Percy's first pupil in the Metallurgical Laboratory of that Institution, and from that gentleman took with him to Melbourne a certificate of proficiency in the art of melting and assaying the precious metals. Some time after his arrival Mr. Vogel was concerned in various business pursuits in Melbourne and on the Goldfields. To oblige a friend who was ill he wrote an article for an up-country newspaper, and so first became connected with journalism, to which he afterwards devoted himself. He became editor of the Maryborough and Dunolly Advertiser, proprietor of the Inglewood Advertiser, and part proprietor of the Talbot Leader.

In 1861 he stood at the General Parliamentary Election for Avoca, an enormous district. He was unsuccessful, though he polled over two thousand votes. At the close of 1861 he proceeded to Dunedin, New Zealand. Gold had been discovered in great quantity in the province of Otago, and Dunedin speedily rose from a small town to an important city. Many thousands of people came over from Victoria. Mr. Vogel purchased a half share in the Otago Witness. He at once started at the same office the Otago Daily Times, the first daily paper in New Zealand. A few days after its commencement the office was entirely burnt down. Chiefly by the disciplined assistance of a company of the 70th Regiment stationed at Dunedin, a great part of the plant was saved. The fire occurred on Sunday morning, and, as a good page 3 example of the energy displayed in the early Gold-field days it may be mentioned that the paper came out as usual on the morning following with an account of its own disaster. Mr. Vogel edited both the daily and weekly papers for several years. In 1862 he became a member of the Provincial Council of Otago, and in 1866 became head of the Provincial Executive, a position he held until 1869. It should be explained that the Superintendent of the Province was elected periodically and that he acted with the aid and advice of his Executive who had to enjoy the confidence of the Provincial Council.

In 1863 Mr. Vogel was elected to the House of Representatives of the General Assembly (the Parliament of the Colony), which then met at the Seat of Government, Auckland. After this year the Seat of Government was transferred to Wellington. In 1869 Mr. Vogel had determined to leave Otago to take possession of and edit the Southern Cross daily newspaper at Auckland which he had purchased. On his way up he attended the Parliamentary Session at Wellington, during which Mr. (now Sir William) Fox turned out the existing Ministry, At Mr. Fox's earnest desire Mr. Vogel joined the Government as Colonial Treasurer, Post-Master General, and Commissioner of Customs, on the understanding that he was to be free to retire at the end of the Session. Mr. Fox was Premier and Colonial Secretary, and Mr. Donald McLean was Native Minister.

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There was no time for filling up the other portfolios. Despatches were received from the Imperial Government peremptorily recalling the troops. The outgoing Government could not be expected to take action. It was necessary that the new Government should be immediately formed. In making his first announcement to the House, Mr. Fox thus expressed himself: if As far as we have been able to obtain an insight into the state of affairs at this moment, we are, I might almost say, dismayed to find the extent to which we are now involved in general hostilities with the natives, and at the enormous cost of the operations conducted against them at so unfavourable a season of the year as the present. We believe many of those operations to be attended with the most ruinous results and imminent peril to the forces in the field, and that the amount of wear and tear and the costliness of these operations, caused by the time of year at which they are carried on, and by other circumstances, is such, that it is impossible for the country to face it. The intention of the present Government is to retire as far as possible from aggressive operations to throw themselves more into a defensive position."

We have purposely quoted these words, for they are the key to the Policy of Public Works which made Mr. Vogel so well known throughout the Empire, The general idea is that he came down with a policy of Public Works solely because he was convinced that it was desirable to advance the Colony by the stimulus page 5 of extensive Public Works and large public expenditure. To a certain extent that impression had to be maintained, for it would have scarcely been desirable or safe at the time to have admitted how much the Colony had to depend on the forbearance of the Maoris, No doubt he did as a matter of theory consider it perfectly safe to anticipate the future of a colony possessing such enormous natural advantages by borrowing money to qualify it to become the home of a large population. Still the theory cannot be considered the sole key to the situation. When Ministers thoroughly reviewed the position they were confronted with the enormous risks arising from the sealed condition of the interior of the North Island and its small population vis à vis to the large number of the hostile natives, who had been aptly termed "born warriors to whom every tree was a fortified work." We are now able to say that the conclusion Ministers arrived at was that there was but one desirable course to pursue and that was to use every means to maintain peaceful relations with the natives until native aggression was made impossible by an increase of European population, and by opening the interior of the island, in other words by a vigorously pursued policy of Immigration and Public Works. The Government were quite decided in believing that fighting the natives was the most expensive mode of dealing with them, Four weeks after Mr. Vogel took office he brought down the first of the eleven budgets he has delivered page 6 during his official career, without reckoning those presented to the Provincial Council of Otago. He showed by a short return what the natives had cost the Colony in the past. Up to March, 1869, the expenditure on natives and defence amounted to £4,843,000, of which £3,128,000 had been obtained by loans. When it is considered that the Home Government had spent a much larger amount in military, naval, and other operations, it must be conceded that it was expedient on the score of economy to say nothing of beneficence to substitute the policy of Public Works and immigration for one of military operations.

It must not be considered that this was altogether a novel view. Several distinguished public men had urged it. It was notorious that Sir William Fitzherbert had exerted himself to persuade his colleagues in the late Government to take it in hand. It was reserved to the Fox-Vogel Government to give it effect. At this distance of time it appears an easy matter to frame such a policy. But under the then existing conditions it seemed almost hopeless to devise any scheme which would obtain the necessary amount of support. The Colony was divided into two great parties, the Provincial and anti-Provincial, and the advent to power of Fox and Vogel meant the triumph of the former party. Yet it fell to them to inflict a heavy blow on their friends by taking out of the hands of the Provincial Government the construction page 7 of a class of Public Works which had hitherto been one of their functions. There was this difficulty that the Provinces were more or less distinct Colonies. There was a time when the Middle Island had more frequent and rapid communication with Australia than with Auckland. The Provinces too had recognised property in the Waste Lands within their limits. It had been a source of bitter complaint to the Middle Island Provinces that they had had to find out of income or by credit a large proportion of the moneys spent on the natives in the North Island, A policy of Immigration and Public Works in which the Middle Island was not to participate except in the shape of contributing to the cost would have been laughed to scorn. The Government then had to deal with three points. First to establish the necessity of sub-stituting a policy of Public Works and Immigration for that of the previous dealings with the natives, and as regards this policy there was much of importance that it was neither safe nor expedient to discuss or to dwell on. Secondly, there was the need of evolving proposals acceptable to the people of the Middle Island as a whole and thirdly (perhaps the most difficult of all), the necessity to overcome the disposition of the Provincial Governments of both Islands to resent an intrusion on their functions.

On the 28th of June, 1870, Mr. Vogel brought down the policy in the Annual Budget-The House was dismayed, almost paralysed at the completeness page 8 and boldness of the proposals. Some two or three members would have turned the Government out there and then by refusing an adjournment, but the good feeling of the majority revolted at the course.

When the members poured into the lobbies it was evident that they were greatly impressed, but few, if any, deemed it wise to express an opinion. The next morning Mr. Sefton Moorhouse, one of the most distinguished Provincialists and Statesmen in the colony, telegraphed from Christchurch where he had read the budget, a thorough approval of it, and then the reaction from the numbness of the previous evening followed. The principles of the proposals were hailed with acclamation and they were carried through that session, but with alterations, which, judged by the light of subsequent events, were truly deplorable.

Immediately after the Government came into office they had despatched two Commisioners, Dr. Featherston and Mr. (now Sir) F, D, Bell, to England to confer with the Imperial Government. After a great deal of exertion these two gentlemen persuaded the Home Government to agree to guarantee a loan of one million for Public Works and Immigration to be spent at a rate not exceeding £300,000 a year. Mr. Vogel, when bringing down his scheme, was able to make this gratifying announcement. His proposals were that the colony should construct a Trunk Railway through each island, that it should expend or procure the expenditure during the next ten years of ten page 9 millions on these Trunk-Railways, on Immigration, on Roads and on the extension of the Telegraph Lines. He proposed to constitute a Railway Estate of about six millions of acres, the land to be taken within the Provinces in proportion to the expenditure therein. He did not venture to propose a loan of ten millions. The colony was not in a position at the time to ask it, But he maintained that the expenditure could be arranged partly by loan, partly by payment in land, partly by guarantee. The plan was adopted during the session, but Parliament would not pledge itself to a through Trunk Line in each island, and the Provincial interest prevailed against the establishment of a railway landed estate. Considering the enormous magnitude of the proposals as compared with the Colony's then position, considering also as already explained that the adoption of the plan for the North Island was a matter of vital need to the security of life and property, the Government had no reason to complain of their success. It is rare indeed that large Government proprosals are carried through in their entirety in any legislature. In most instances there are conditions and reasons the exact and precise nature of which cannot be fully stated. In this case the naked necessity of dealing with the native race by thoroughly opening up the North Island could not be unreservedly dwelt on, nor could the danger of the Middle Island, with its wealth and power largely increased, asking more for itself and feeling less disposed to permit page 10 comparatively unproductive expenditure in the North Island be fully dilated on. Again the land question was a very delicate one and to have sufficiently represented the cardinal mistake of allowing the land to be bought for speculative purposes depending on the enhanced value the railway would give it would have made the Provincial Government still less inclined to part with that from which they might hope to receive such large returns. But there is no denying that if effect had been given to the Railway Estate Proposal, New Zealand would now have only a nominal Public Debt. Equally if not more grievous still to Mr. Vogel's mind has proved the refusal to pledge the colony to a Trunk Line through the North Island, He has probably never felt himself at liberty in the presence of so many contending jealousies to fully state his views. But we happen to know that what he specially desired was, without destroying the Provincial form of Government, to break down the barriers between the inhabitants of the different Provinces. More particularly he desired to give to the thrifty, energetic and enterprising people of Auckland the opportunity to spread themselves to the South. The Trunk Line to Auckland has not yet been completed whilst more than a dozen of what may be termed branch lines of more or less importance have been completed or proceeded with. There are still hundreds of thousands of acres on the Western side of the Island between Auckland and Cook's Straits that by page 11 clearing and sowing with English grass at a comparatively small expense can be made to carry three sheep to the acre. If the Auckland people could have distributed themselves south by railway communication, the whole of the Island would long since have passed into useful occupation. The Wellington and Taranaki people have done a great deal, but the number of the latter was small and the former had much to occupy them to the east and north-east.

Almost immediately after the Session of 1870. Mr. Vogel left for England to arrange besides various other matters the means for carrying out the policy for which Parliamentary sanction had been obtained. In conjunction with Sir Penrose Julyan, Mr. Vogel called for tenders for £1,200,000 5 per cent debentures the first earnest it may be said of the Public Works Policy. The Loan was fully taken up at over the minimum. The net price obtained was £95 Ios 10½d. A few days previously New South Wales had negotiated a small loan at a net price of £97 3s 8d so that the result was considered satisfactory as New South Wales Securities stood higher in the market than those of New Zealand. The Argentine at the same time issued a large loan on terms that yielded to the lenders 7¾ per cent. Amongst the other matters Mr. Vogel attended to was the Californian Service between Australia, New Zealand, and San Francisco, A temporary service was arranged by him during 1870 and it was by one of the boats of this page 12 service he came home by way of America. Whilst there he concluded arrangements for a more permanent service and also the terms of a Postal Convention with the United States.

In London he entered into negotiations, afterwards concluded by Dr. Featherston, for the assistance to be rendered the service by the Engish Postal Authorities. In connection with this service Mr. Vogel strongly recommended that the Navigation Islands should be placed under British protection a course quite feasible at the time. Had his advice been taken, the long train of disasters which were only recently terminated by the International Treaty between Great Britain, Germany and the United States would have been avoided.

Mr. Vogel made strong representations to the Colonial Office to permit the Colonies to enter into reciprocal tariff arrangements with each other. Lord Kimberley, the then Secretary of State for the Colonies, was very averse to the proposal. But the other Colonies took the matter up, a long correspondence ensued, and finally when the papers promised to become very bulky the Colonial Office gave in, and the Australian Colonial Duties Act was passed through the British Parliament in 1873, It is singular that up to the present time the Colonies have made no use of it. Sooner or later it is probable they will

Amongst the matters Mr. Vogel was instructed by the Government to most earnestly attend to, was that page 13 relating to the defence of the Colony by land and sea.

Mr. Goschen, who then presided over the Admiralty, consented to give instructions that the vessels on the Station should show themselves on the coast of New Zealand as often as possible. It was feared at the time that the total removal of the troops might lead the Maoris to think that the British Government had deserted the colonists.

Mr. Vogel had several communications at the instance of the Colonial and War Offices with Colonel (afterwards Sir William) Jervois, who was considered one of the greatest authorities on coastal defences. Colonel Jervois drew up the outlines of a scheme of defence of the principal New Zealand towns. Singularly when he became Governor of the Colony some years after he largely assisted to give effect to and elaborate his earlier proposals. Before he left England Mr. Vogel wrote the well known letter to the Standard, in which he urged at great length the policy of Federation of the whole British Dominions, This was probably the starting point of the consideration of the question which has extended over so many years but with scant results. Mr. Vogel also wrote a paper in the same cause in Frazer's Magazine, and during all the subsequent years he has frequeutly contributed articles on the subject in the Nineteenth Century, Fortnightly, and other magazines.

It should also be added that Mr. Vogel entered into a provisional arrangement with the firm of Brogden page 14 and Son for the construction of some part of the railways by guarantee. This was afterwards varied into a firm contract for construction which proved not profitable to the English firm.

Mr. Vogel returned to New Zealand in time for the Session of 1871. He was away from the Colony only seven months. It was during this year he was made a C.M.G. After his return he negotiated with Colonel (now General) the Hon. W. Fielding, who visited New Zealand at Mr. Vogel's suggestion, the sale of 106,000 acres in the Manawatee District for the purpose of forming a special settlement, subsequently known as the Manchester Block. It has become well settled, possesses a considerable population and one chief town, Fielding, and two smaller ones.

Up to the end of 1874 Mr. Vogel was actively engaged in co-operation with his colleagues in developing the Public Works Policy, He visited Australia twice, on the second occasion he was one of the delegates to the Inter-colonial Conference held at Sydney, in Jan. 1873. The principal object of the Conference was to settle the vexed question of the European Mail Service. On this occasion Mr. Vogel arranged with New South Wales to bear a share in the cost of cable communication with New Zealand.

In Sep. 1872 the Fox-Vogel Government was defeated by a majority of three, on resolutions moved by Mr. Stafford, Mr. Fox devolved on Mr. Vogel the leadership of the opposition to the Government which page 15 Mr. (now Sir Edward) Stafford formed. This Government was defeated upon a want of confidence motion moved by Sir Julius Vogel within a month of their taking office. The Governor refused them a dissolution and sent for Mr. Vogel to form a Government, The Hon. Mr. Waterhouse accepted the Premiership together with the leadership of the Upper House, and Mr. Vogel led the House of Representatives. Some months afterwards, when Mr. Vogel was in Sydney, Mr. Water house resigned on the ground that not having formed the Government he had not sufficient influence in it. A temporary arrangement was made until Mr. Vogel returned to New Zealand, when he became Premien

It is time now to refer to two most important and lasting institutions, which Mr. Vogel succeeded in establishing, namely the Government Life Assurance and the Public Trust Department.

Early in the Session of 1869, before he took office, Mr. Vogel moved a resolution affirming the expediency of the Government undertaking the business of life insurance. As soon as he joined the new Cabinet he took the matter up and carried through an Act during the short remainder of the Session. He subsequently obtained from Sydney a set of tables to enable business to be commenced. The institution has proved an enormous success. The following figures show its position at the end of 1890:—Income during the year, £313,000; Accumulated Fund, 31st December, 1890, £1,71 5,000.

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In 1872 Mr. Vogel carried through an Act for constituting a Public Trust office under the management of a Public Trustee. The idea was suggested to him by the Hon, E. C J Stephens, of Christchurch, Canterbury. Power was given to the Public Trustee to administer intestate estates, estates under wills, trusts, and the estates of lunatics. Also to manage property of absent heirs, devisees, or owners. Special trusts for native estates have since been added. The Institution has been a great success, although lately the management had to be reorganised.

In 1874, Mr. Vogel presented to Parliament an elaborate set of papers he had prepared relating to forestry, and to the forest systems of different parts of the world. He also brought down a bill to establish State Forests in New Zealand. He proposed to take about three per cent. of the whole of the land for forest use, and to dedicate it to the purpose of extinguishing the public debt of the Colony, The objects to be specially served were the preservation of existing forests, the creation of new forests, and the establishment of forest industries. The measure was passed with some amendments by which the land was to be taken from time to time, with the concurrence of the Assembly or of the Provincial Governments. An annual subsidy of £10,000 was provided for expenses. Unfortunately, when two years later Mr. Vogel left the Colony to become Agent-General, this Act was repealed by his successors. It was during this year, page 17 1874, that Mr. Vogel introduced his celebrated proposals, to incorporate either by Charter or Act of Parliament a Company to take charge of the trade and government of the unclaimed Pacific Islands, Experience has proved the wisdom of those proposals, and both the Colony and the Imperial Government have reason to regret that effect was not given to them.

Before the end of the Session of 1874, a resolution was affirmed which subsequently led to the abolition of the Provincial Governments. The Provinces of the North Island were only at first concerned the reason being that their finances were unequal to the strain they had to bear. The resolution that the Provincial form of Government should be abolished in the North Island, proposed by Mr. Vogel, was carried by 46 votes to 21.

At the termination of the Session about the end of the year. 1874, Mr. Vogel went to London to arrange for the negotiation of a large loan, and for the establishment of cable communication between New Zealand and Australia. On the way home in Italy, he was seized with serious illness, and it was with great difficulty he reached London. There, in conjunction with Dr. Featherston and Sir Penrose Julyan, he arranged for the negotiation through the Rothschilds of the loan for four millions at 4½ per cent. In May, 1875, Mr. Vogel received the distinction of K.C.M.G. Although still very ill, Sir Julius continued the negotiations for the electric cable, and finally page 18 concluded an agreement with the Eastern Extension Company to lay a cable between Sydney and New Zealand. Sir Julius was empowered by Act to commit the Colony to an expenditure of not exceeding £20,000 per annum for not exceeding 35 years. He succeeded in arranging for the construction of the cable for a subsidy of £5,000 a year, for ten years, from New Zealand, and for £2,500for the same period from New South Wales.

By the advice of several eminent physicians, Sir Julius instead of returning to New Zealand for the Session of 1875, went to Wilbad in Germany to take the benefit of the waters. He returned to London much improved in health. He devoted himself during the rest of his stay in England to making the arrangements which afterwards were embodied in an Act to authorise the inscription of colonial stock. For some years before this time Mr. Westgarth had continually pointed out the inconvenience, unpopularity and risk of debentures, and advocated a system of registering debentures. Though the evil was admitted, the objections to the proposed substitute were too great to allow of Mr. Westgarth's plan being adopted. Sir Julius Vogel consulted the Solicitors in London to the Government of New Zealand, and became convinced that what the colonies required was a system analogous to that adopted with Consols. He first applied himself to making an arrangement with the Bank of England, and after lengthened negotiations page 19 succeeded in concluding a working agreement which still continues in force. He was then advised that to give it effect an Act of the English Parliament was necessary. He had a Bill drafted, and consulted Sir Stafford Northcote, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, about it. That statesman warmly approved of it, as did also Lord Carnarvon, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, and the Governments of several of the Australian Colonies. When, however, Sir Julius returned to England early in 1877 the progress of the Bill had been stopped by disputes between the Treasury and the Bank of England regarding inspection of the Register. Another difficulty then cropped up concerning the right to sue the Colonies in England and their rights to sue. Sir Julius Vogel with the support of Sir Archibald Michie, Agent General for Victoria, and of Sir Arthur Blythe, Agent General for South Australia, and with the indefatigable assistance of Messrs. Mackrell and Maton, the solicitors before alluded to, managed to overcome all the difficulties, and the Bill was introduced into the House of Commons. There it met a new obstacle. One of Mr. Parnell's supporters blocked it, and Sir Julius Vogel was informed that if the block was not withdrawn the fate of the Bill was hopeless.

A representation to Mr. Parnell smoothed over the difficulty the block was withdrawn on the 3rd of August, 1877, and a few days afterwards the Bill became law. On moving the second reading in the page 20 House of Lords, Lord Carnarvon said, "a great deal of the Bill which would be extremely valuable both to the colonies and England was due to the ability of that distinguished colonist. Sir Julius Vogel, who was Prime Minister of New Zealand for a long time and was now Agent-General for New Zealand in this country." The anticipations as to the effect of the measure were amply justified. It saved the colonies large sums by enhancing the value of their loans, Up to the present date 1891, fourteen years since the Colonial Stocks Act was passed, Stock has been brought under its operation to the value of over one hundred and fifty-million pounds sterling.

We have, however, anticipated events.

Sir Julius returned to New Zealand early in 1876, and received on his arrival in the Colony a splendid ovation. It was during the ensuing session that the death of Dr. Featherstone took place and Sir Julius Vogel resolved to accept the appointment. He found his health was too broken to stand the strain of the Parliamentary Session. He continued Agent General until Feb. 1881, but for a considerable previous period he was holding the office only until the arrival of his successor. At the end of 1879 he in conjunction with the Crown Agents, negotiated the loan for five millions. The needs of the colony at the time were most urgent, and probably it was only by the use of the new Act for inscribing Stock that the loan was floated. Option was given to the subscribers to substitute for page 21 their scrip or debentures Inscribed Stock under the new act. Upwards of twelve millions sterling were applied for in a few hours at and above the minimum of £97 10s. od.

At the General Election in Great Britain in 1880, Sir Julius stood for Penryn in the Conservative interest. He was defeated by one hundred votes. In 1884 Sir Julius returned to the Colony on private business. He was at once urged to return to public life and he joined the Government of Sir Robert Stout known as the Stout-Vogel Government. The position was very critical at the time. The out-going Government over which Major Atkinson presided had left a deficit of £152,000 for the year 1883-4, and during the present year when Sir Julius Vogel joined, a further deficiency was accumulating. The Colony was in a state of great depression owing to the low price of its chief products and fresh taxation would have been very unpalatable and burdensome. Sir Julius Vogel at once conceived and carried into effect a plan which was to give great relief to the colony for several years. In the early days of the Colony before 1870, large loans had been contracted, repayable by Sinking Funds or drawing funds, These were accumulating in 1884 at the rate of about a quarter of a million a year. Without at all interfering with the operation of the drawing or the sinking fund, Sir Julius Vogel arranged for the creation of debentures in aid of the revenue to an amount equivalent to the accretion of those funds.

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The plan, though much questioned at the time£ has proved to be a great relief from the increased taxation, Sir Harry Atkinson when he took office in 1887 adopted and continued to adopt it, and Mr. Baila nee in the latest' formed Government has done the same. The years 1885-86 and 87 were very dull owing chiefly to the low price of productions. Towards the end of 1887, after a general election, the Stout-Vogel Government retired. It was in office a little over three years. The chief measures with which Sir Julius Vogel was associated during this term were an Act for the encouragement of Fisheries, an Act for incorporating Charitable Institutions and Hospitals, an Act for providing for Government Loans to Local Bodies, and various Financial Acts, including the one already referred to relating to the Sinking Funds, He also in the face of considerable opposition obtained provision for the purchase of large quantities of lands from the natives for the exclusive purpose of the North Island Main Trunk Railway. He contributed an elaborate paper to the Jubilee Conference at the Colonial Office on the subject of cable communication between the Colonies and England, He also greatly interested himself with his colleague, Mr. Richardson, in securing the construction of the Midland Railway to establish communication between the East and West Coasts of the Middle Island. The arrangements his Government had materially advanced were completed by the new Government, As a great deal has page 23 been said about Sir Julius Vogel's Loan Expenditure on public works it is but fair to him to give a summary of an official paper issued late in the year 1887, showing the distribution of expenditure during the years 1870 to 1887. The total amount of expenditure out of Loans on Immigration and Public Works during that time was £24,609,000, Of that amount £5,912,000 was spent whilst Sir Julius Vogel and Sir Harry Atkinson were in office together. £7,662,000 during the rest of Sir Julius Vogel's term of office. £8,339,000 during the rest of Sir Harry Atkinson's term, and. £2,698,000 during Sir George Grey's Government Sir Julius Vogel's average per annum was £1£508,000, Sir Harry Atkinson's was £1,781,000. Sir Julius returned to England in 1888 in a sad state of health from which he has gradually recovered. Beyond occasional contributions to Newspaper and Magazines he has not since taken part in public affairs. In 1889 he published a novel "A.D. 2,000," which we believe has had a good circulation.

Such is the bare outline of a busy and much occupied life. Sir Julius Vogel has always been attached to the Conservative party in England, because, as he has frequently stated, he attributed to the Conservatives a strong desire to maintain the unity of the Empire. He has uniformly urged that steps should be taken to strengthen the union of all parts of our dominions. He has repeatedly pointed out the danger of delay, because, as the Colonies page 24 progressed and became alive to their own powers, the difficulties of coming to terms would be increased, In New Zealand he has been an unceasing advocate of the development of the industrial resources of the Colony. It has always been his favourite maxim that high wages meant general prosperity, and he has opposed every measure tending to artificially reduce the rate of labour. He conferred a vast benefit on the whole of the Colonies by the share he took in procuring the Act by which Colonial loans can be inscribed. The pecuniary gain to the Colonies from this Act has been enormous. Had the Act not passed when it did it would probably never have passed, for the local Governments of Great Britain were becoming aware that the Colonial inscribed stock would prove a strong competitor with municipal and local body loans. He will always be remembered in New Zealand as the parent of the Public Works and Immigration policy, and it is generally recognised that it is owing to the departures from his original proposals that the results have been somewhat less beneficial than they might have proved.

The Insurance and the Public Trust Departments (the latter of which as we have already mentioned was introduced by him, though at the suggestion and recommendation of Mr. Stevens) will probably prove enduring monuments of his industry and ingenuity. The want of support accorded to his proposals for securing to New Zealand the control page 25 of the islands of the South Seas, and the abolition of his policy for conserving forests, will constantly, in all probability, be a source of regret. Whatever success Sir Julius has achieved he has owed to his own exertions. He had no extraneous influence to help him in raising himself from a humble position in life to one of great prominence. He married in 1867 the eldest daughter of Mr. W. H, Clayton, architect to the Government of New Zealand, He has four children, of whom three are boys already grown to manhood.