The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1887. MORE THAN RETRENCHMENT NEEDED.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1648, 29 August 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. MONDAY, AUGUST 29, 1887. MORE THAN RETRENCHMENT NEEDED.

Those who hare the requisite amount of courage, perseverance and leisure to enable them to go through the electioneering addresses of,~~we will not say all, but — the more prominent candidates who are wooing the sweet voices of the election just now will, no doubt, have been struck with the singular unanimity of the speakers on the question of retrenchment. Th-y will not fail to notice also that those Tylio advocate the most drastic measures m the direction of economy meet with the greatest applause. It would almost seem as if the people thought that retrenchment was the one thing needful for the— we will not say, salvation, for the colony is safe enough, but for the — prosperity of the colony. We venture to differ from this opinion. We are convinced that there are other factors required to make us prosperous. Retrenchment is a very good thing m its way, and for the last five and twenty years has been a popular electioneering cry but we want something more than retrenchment to make us prosperous. We want population of the right kind. We want men with a little capital, who have been # brought up to agricultural pursuits. Our immigration schemes have not been of a satisfactory character. When the Public Works policy rendered the introduction of additional labour imperative, the most crude and ill-considered plans were adopted for supplying the demand Agents were despatched m hot haste and were paid "by results." We have heard it asserted, and have never heard it contradicted that m those good old days agents were paid at the rate of half-a-crown per head for all who were sent out, without regard to age, sex, or condition. We may be well assured that with such a potent incentive to exertion, efforts were not wanting on their part. And a pretty nice olla podrida. we had of them — the sweepings of workhouses, poorhouses, refuges, and other philanthropic institutions, the halt, the lame, and the blind, spavined toothless old women, who had passed the natural span of life, and palsied old men of another decade or two, were sent out m thousands. Most of the latter, however, were re-shipped, as undertakers' bills m those days were something to foe remembered, but even then the supply was m e«xess of the demand and free immigration received its coup dt grace* There is once more a cry for immigration — but of a very different kind. The call now is for farmers with a little capital, and though this, want has been recognised m high places, we are not aware that any very strong efforts are being made to supply it — we certainly did see m one of our exchanges that one family of agricultural proclivities and a single man of like persuasion had come out to settle m New Zealand. But such efforts m the way oi immigration as these " will not act tfce Thames on fire" nor will they cause a return of prosperity " by leaps and bounds." We are glad fo gee that Sir Julius Yogel is fully impressed with the recessily of securing a flow of immigration of the right kind. When the House meets no doubt the Colonial Treasurer will satisfactorily deal will the subject