AN AGRARIAN LAW FOR NEW ZEALAND

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 1652, 2 September 1887, Page 1 (Supplement)

AN AGRARIAN LAW FOR NEW ZEALAND

BY OHABLES W. PURNELL. j i I

I A&PIXMID 10 TBI YOTJHQ MEH 07 188 Coi/ONT.

" Thus man pnriaei his weary calling. And wrings the hard life from the eky, While happiness ansoen i« falling Down from God* boiom silently."

* { «*N London, daring the winter months, from 180,000 to 150,000 & persons are dependent upon public charity for the means of supporting life. In summer the numbers are smaller, but evon on the 30th June last, there were 100,8X7 m receipt of relief either in-door or out-door, and this, too, m a year of unusual prosperity for the humbler classes of society. On the 80th June, 1871, the Poor Law Board reported that 123,898 people were Uring upon public charity. In the whole of Great Britain, on an average, nearly one million of our fellow-countrymen are habitual paupers, with all self-respect crushed out of them, useless to the State, useless to the world; nay, worse than useless, for they hang like a millstone round the necks of their more fortunate compatriots. There are, perhaps, two millions more staggering on the verge of pauperism, whose minds are constantly racked with the dread of falling into that horrible pit, where— " Jjaoioi et altrices posaere eubilia curie ; PaUentesqae habitant Morbi, tristirque Senectas, Et Metus, et m»lesnad» Fames," and vice and sin of every description; and from which, when once the victim has fallen into it, there is little hope of escape. These people, amongst whom are to be found the bulk of the labouring class and of the lower middle class, are compelled to devote the whole of their time and thoughts to obtaining the means of satisfying their animal wantß, with the painful consciousness ever present m their minds that some trifling chance may render their exertions unavailing and plunge them into all the miseries of destitution. It is impossible for them ; under such circumstances, to enjoy the pleasures to be derived from the intellectual gifts which God has bestowed upon them, life to them is but a brute existence, whose pains are rendered keener by their possession of higher faculties than dwell m brutes of the field ; and when death comes they can only look back upon a series of years spent m bitter struggles to obtain bread, This is the Civilisation of Manufactures. This is the goal to which the inhabitants of New Zealand are told by those who have seated themselves m high places, the Colony must haste with all speed, To rear up great cities, to get twenty per cent interest on money instead of six or eight, to cover the land with machinery, to -nako a few men gods m wealth, and the rest mean drudges toiling for the smallest possible pittance, m order that it may " pay " to invest capital m large commercial undertakings — such is the -winning post to which we are exhorted to look as the ultimate aim of our political existence. But the ghastly being which stand! there waiting to receive ut» is veiled, and the veil is

ehblazoned with the word " Progress," than which there was never a word more misused, or which has more deceived those who use itv "No word," remarks a recent writer m the Quarterly Rtvieio, commonly said to be Lord Salisbury, " has ever achieved so brilliant a success m bamboozling mankind. But surely its career of deception is nearly run." Every man who has reflected upon the state of his country and desires its weal, must echo that wish ; for let it not be supposed that I impute a deliberate design to any body of men to reproduce m this Colony a repetition of the social evils that exist at home. My object is to point out that the golden word " Progress " is leading us on to such a destiny. A short time ago, I read of a colliery-owner and ironmaster m England being the employer of no less than 20,000 persons. The writer spokr* of the fact as though it were one of which Eng'and had a right to be proud ; but to me it seems a dreadful thing that 20,000 human creatures should depend for their daily bread upon the will of one man. It is related by historians that Mohammed Alee, wishing to construct a canal between Alexandria and the river Nile, forced a multitude of Egyptians to labor at the work. Out of the whole number 12,000 died m the course of ten months from the severity of the task imposed upon them. This incident is often quoted as an example of ruthless tyranny, and of the evils of autocratic government ; but how much freer, so far as regards their compulsion to serve, are these 20,000 Englishmenthan the Egyptians who obeyed the commands of Mohammed ? True, the law permits them to leave their present master for another, but circumstances do not ; and the majority have really as little choice m the matter as they would if the slaves of a despot. They are indeed slaves of a despot — the worst of all despots, accumulated money, supported by a form of society artificially constructed for its own purposes. To revolt is impossible ; it would be the contest of a pigmy with a Cyclops. The old system, under which the industrial arts were followed by individuals on their own account, or by masters with half-a-dozen journeymen m their service, who looked forward, as a matter of course, to ultimately becoming masters themselves, has long since vanished, and m place thereof we have en the one hand Brasseys employing their 70,000 men at once on works m all parts of the globe, and on the other large bodies of artisans and labourers, who can aspire to nothing higher than occupying a well-paid position under the firms whom they serve, and from whoso control they can never hope to escape. They may, if fortunate, reach a position where they will enjoy a certain amount of comfort, but it will be a comfort that is liable to be snatched from j them at any moment, and their minds will be dwarfed by a lack of independence, and the want of that spring to exertion which is given to a man when he knows that he will reap the whole fruit of his labour.

Vast masses of capital, when accumulated m the hands of one man, are terrible enough ; but still the human element' is left intact. The workman is not a mere cogwheel m a machine. He can m case of need appeal to the heart of his master ; and some of the largest employers of labour have gained a happy reputation for the wisdom and benevolence of their dealings with the multitude of people dependent upon them j so that, vicious as the principle may be at the core, there is always this redeeming feature about it. When, however,, capitalists combine together, and make financial associations for mercantile purposes, the relation between employer and employed is wholly changed. A company is simply a money-making machine, and its servants are portions of its framework, Human feelings are not taken into account, save m so far as it is necessary to do so m order to en- i sure the payment of handsome dividends. The company is formed for a specific purpose, viz., — to make money, — and its whole efforts are concentrated upon that object. Of course, m practice, the company is swayed in^its operations by human feelings, and its raison d' Hre does not supply the whole of its vital force, more especially when it is a small undertaking, commercially speaking ; but such is its theory, and that theory is carried out very closely m large associations. The evil is a growing one. The power of associated is bo much greater than that of individual capital, that year by year the latter is less and less employed ; and it seemp only a question of time when all commercial undertakings of any magnitude will be carried on by means of companies, before which the independence of all persons who rely upon their own labours for a livelihood will hopelessly vanish. But, however undesirable such associations may be for the good of the State, abstractedly speaking, it would be absurd to expect that capitalists should refrain from joining them. A rich spring of amorpatrice may exist m the hearts of Englishmen, and may pour forth a copious flood of patriotism when struck by the rod of peril, but m ordinary times we all run after our self-interest, withoat troubling ourselves much whether our actionß will injure or benefit the mass of our fellow-countrymen. The capitalist clears fifty per cent from a speculation, and rejoices thereat, without caring a rush for the circumstance that bis gain has been effected by grinding down the faces of the poor to famished want ; and the workman gets as high wages as he can (nnd frequently doeß aB little ac possible for them), nor recks how his demands will affect the fortunes of his master. Therefore, although large monetary combinations present an appalling danger to the social liberty of the bulk of the community, we are not to charge thoße who engage m them with being worse than other people. But as the surgeon must probe the wound with a firm and searching hand before he closes it, so we must strive to thoroughly comprehend what evils are produced by the association of capital m the usual manner, before we attempt to deviße a preventive of their occurrence m New Zealand. To appreciate the extent of these evils, let anyone review the effects which large monetary combinations have* produced m countries where they abound. Let him look at England, where the moneyed classes now rule, and until quite lately held the reins of Government, and see whether this virulent disease of modern civilisation has not corrupted the entire nation. Honour is now made subservient to pecuniary gain m her Government. What could be more contemptible than the discussion os to whether the Colonies should not be separated from the Empire, because a direct money gain would thereby be effected ; or, than the settlement of the Alabama claims by England submitting to a retrospective law being enacted against herself, under which she would have to pay damages ? Next let him turn to the United States, where gigantic railroad combinations control not only the legislation of some States, but even the Courts of Justice, and shamelessly perpetrate the most disgraceful frauds. France, Belgium — all countries where the eternal fall of the steam hammer is heard, and capitalists join bands together, exhibit the same mournful spectacle — degraded man toiling for the priests of Mammon, and crying for help to a God who appears to have forsaken him. It is not alone mechanics and labourers who have been injuriously •fleeted by the undue accumulation of capital ; a vast number of head-workers likewise have been stripped of their independence ; but' it is the former who have most loudly rebelled - against it. The latter, better educated, bare a keener pence of their immediate)

self-interest, and the yoke presses less heavily upon them perhaps, althuugh it is none the less real. The former have endeavoured to meet combination by combination ; they have formed Trades' Unions, and co-operative associations ; they have devised socialist schemes ; and their laßt great effort was the " International ;" but none of their schemes has effected the desired object. Trades' ' Unions have frequently compelled a rise of wages at an earlier period than when it would otherwise have occurred, but it is questionable whether such triumphs have ever been of permanent benefit to the workmen ; and, on the other hand, it is obvious that TradeB 1 Unions have failed m their main object ; while the fact of their giving rise to such atrocities as have been committed at j Sheffield and elsewhere, proves that a vicious principle lies at their ; root.^ In no way do they increase the liberty of the workman, who by joining a Trades' Union, merely becomes subject to his fellowservants as well as to his employer. Henceforth he must sail between the Symplegades. The Trades' Unions of Europe brought forth the " International," a great project, but rotten and evil m its design, now happily vanishing from the face of the earth, leaving the blood and smoke of the Commune behind as its memorial. To an outsider it would seem that the members of an association which sought to improve the condition of tho workmen, by burning the Tuilleries and wantonly destroying life and property m the fashion of a horde of Goths and Huns, altogether failed to comprehend the problem whioh they had to solve. It is not by tho demolition of property, of whatever kind, nor by the slaughter of human beings, that modern society can be renovated, but by a re-arrangement of its elements, which shall enable all classes to live with a fair share of happiness, and the means ot cultivating the moral and intellectual faculties. Nevertheless, while we condemn the excesses of Trades' Unions and tho " International," let us also reflect how horrible must be that mass of human woo which finds a vent m these dread actions.

Surely we ought not to make this noble country the abode of a few millionaires and a miserable herd of paupers and semi-paupers. Those are not the principles which guided the heroes of antiquity when founding new States. Tall chimneys, clanging machinery, and thousands of bales of wool, did not then form the standard of glory. Fancy iEneas m a counting-house 1 Yet I wot his name, mythical or real, will live when that of the largest exporter of wool from New Zealand is forgotten. Ido not affect to despise large manufactories, or say that we can or ought to keep them out of the country. lam not so foolish. They form an essential ingredient of modern civilization ; they are bone of its bone, flesh of its flesh. But these largo trading schemes, while excellent servants, are very bad masters. We must not let ourselves become their serfs, as the people m England are doing. We must^ not let them be made the ladder by which all the ignoble spirits of the community can ascend to political power and grasp the sceptre. Yet an examination of the past history and present circumstances of .New Zealand will show that the fear of such a result coming to pass is no idle one. What is the test applied by our rulers when they seek to ascertain the progress of the Colony ? The amount of imports and exports simply. Happy, thrice happy people 1 You exported between five and six millions' worth of goods last year ; and imported a still larger amount. What more do you want ? Could there be a greater Colony, or grander statesmanship displayed m its governance ? But what index do such figures afford as to the happiness of the mass of its people, their advancement m tho scale of intelligence, the greatness of the Colony amongst thecountriesoftheearth? (Supposing New Zealand were blotted out of existence to-morrow, would the world be one whit the worse, or would it have done anything to make its name remembered among men ? That is the test. Of course commercial statistics have their value, but they must be taken quantum valeant, and not used, as is now done, as the sole gauge of the prosperity aid happiness of the Colony. A country may show an enormous import and export sheet, but the mass of its inhabitants may be plunged m misery and vice, and it may be drifting to destiuctkn. The trade of France was never so extensive aB it was just before the late w.ar with Germany,

The fact that a commercial standard is raised for our political guidance is, m my humble opinion, an omen of serious danger to the Colony. It will simply result m the whole political power of tho country falling into the hands of an unscrupulous and, for the most part half-educated body of men such as rule the United States and its destinies will be guided accordingly. This is a matter upon which the young men of the Colony should ponder, for it is they who will be the chief sufferers. The immoral cry of " posterity " which is habitually raised when it is desired to incur loans for which there is no reasonable excuse, actually means that [ the young men of New Zealand, when they attain middle age, will have to pay for the enjoyment of the present colonists. We aro now having a financial " spree;" we are selling our public lands as fast as we can ; borrowing all the money possible, charging interest upon loans ; making railways to improve our property, and such of us as are lucky enough to be m the way of the good things going i aro realising small fortunes. All this, however, will have to be paid for by our successors — that is, by the young men of New Zealand. The waste lands will then havo been sold ; a good many t miles of railway will be m existence, some paying their workingexpenses and others not ; and there will be an unpleasant debt and Btill more unpleasant taxes. Poverty, however, it is notorious, is an incentive to virtue, and we should probably be doing an excellent action m depriving our colonist successors of the means of indulging m luxury. It is doubtful, however, whether we have a right to leave them a heritage of pauperism ; but it looks very much as though we intended to do so. 'ihe whole system of immigration pursued bytho Government tends m this direction. People are imported into the country as though they were cattle. Let a member of Parliament ask a Minister of the Crown how many immigrants are likely to arrive at Wellington or Lyttelton during «, certain period, and he is told that so many have been " ordered " — just as a pig-dealer orders so many pigs from his factor. Ido not quarrel with the phraso, — none could be more appropriate to the pi'oceoding. Men, women, and children are collected m ■ Europe, from England, Ireland, Scotland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Germany, or anywhere else they can be got, and shipped off to ! the Colony, without the least regard to their rxce or religion, or to any other qualification for good colonists. As long as they can wield an axe, or use a spade, or milk a cow — that is sufficient ; they may differ from ourselves m language and customs ; they may have no part or lot m our past national glories, or care for our future fame ; they may settle m villages by themselves, where their own language is spoken, and where a British colonist is an alien — but what of that ? They can perform manual labour, and that is all which our rulers now ask. The grand and only aim is to settle the country, that is to stock it with people. But when it is stocked — when the solemn foi-ests have vanished, and solitude is unknown m the land/ — what then 1 That is a question which seems never to trouble our present rulers, who look upon the country as ab g shop, and conduct its affairs as though it were one. Make a Jot of railways — bring a lot o£ people into the i

country — the more railways that are made, the more people im- • ported, the greater the Minister. But what policy — what statesmanship is there m this? Neither the one nor the other. We are wandering through Chaos and may reach either Heaven * or Hell. • When millions of borrowed money are m course o£ expenditure, '. and a glow of prosperity has thus been created, it is difficult to ; persuade people that the country is not being wisely governed, The cry of " prophets of evil " is so easily raised ; and when the ' merchant finds his business increasing aad the artisan and : labourer can readily obtain employment at good wages, no exhortation sounds as sweiet as quidquid futurum cras,fuge qwerere, v i It may be proved to demonstration that the short period of rioft will be followed by a general depression of trade and industry of » all kinds, accompanied by heavy taxes — it may be evident that a * reckless finance m the Government is demoralizing the community, v and causing it to regard the" acquisition of wealth as the be-all •' and end-all of ita existence — but every man hugs the hope thafV by some lucky chance, he will share the gain and escape the loss. 1 ' It is not, however, my purpose to dilate upon the finance of the • Colony ; I wish to touch a deeper spring of policy, «nd to urge ' the reader to reflect whither New Zealand is tending as ! ite ( ultimate destination, The laboring population, for instance, is-a'i* present tolerably well off; but how long will it continue to be bo' ? '■•'■ Is its condition improving, or is it deteriorating! Has it been .' hitherto m a comfortable condition because of the favourable! ' circumstances presented by an entirely new Colony, and which will disappear as the ,Colony grows older, or because of the wise policy upon which the Colony was founded? Not the latter certainly ; for, although the various settlements of New Zealand owed their origin to different schemes, the permanent happinetfl • of the labourer was never considered. Mr Gibbon WakefieW, who perhaps, m early days, did more to influence the system of colonization m New Zealand than any other man, disregarded th« mechanic or laborer altogether m his calculations. His idea was • to establish m Australia and New Zealand a counterpart of home society, where the middle classes should have fuller scope for their exertions than they had m Great Britain; and the whole object of his land laws was to keep the labouring class from becoming independent landowners as long as possible. He possessed too much foresight to imagine that he could reduce them to the state of dependence which they occupy at home ; but he was dttermined to bring them as nigh to it as he could. Let us examine Melbourne and Sydney and see what is going on there. Many of my readers here visited both cities \ Melbourne at any rate is well-known. Does it not possess filthy back streets and vice, and misery, and people desirous to obtain employment, and starving for want of it, just the same as some huge city of England? The Melbourne journals publish graphic sketches en* tit'ed " Night fcenes m Melbourne," "The Shadows of Mel* bourne Life," and so forth, and the police reports bristle with the same horrors, though to a smaller extent, as do the police report* of London, or Liverpool, or Manchester, or Glasgow. It is the old/> old civilization, not having yet quite crushed the virgin glories of the land, but half-revealing its hideous face, and soon to disclose its whole features and body. Great manufactories are all that is needed to complete its triumph, and the Protectionists are working hard to effect their establishment. Are not the great cities of the United States simply following m the track of the chief marts of commerce m the Old World ? In New York are " there not squalid lanes where three or four families exist huddled together m one room, clothed with wretchedness, and not knowing whether the dawn will usher m a day that shall bring them a miserable pittance of food or a period of absolute famine ? Is tht lingering death from hunger, or the suicide's grave, so uncommon there as to excite attention 7 Alas, it is not. Yet Melbourne and New York are alike prosperous. Piles of riches are made there, just as m London. Palaces arise, and, at they ascend, the hut of the labourer gets smaller, and filthier, and less fit for human habitation. Under the system of Manufacturing Civilization, day by day the rich get richer and the poor poorer. Industry becomes of less and less avail to preserve the workman from sinking into the lowest deep of poverty ; moral feeling and chivalrous thought are extinguished ; and the short hours of the labourer's life are consumed m a mortal struggle for bread. Th c system m New Zealand has not yet fuH sdope for development, because it is checked by the natural circumstances of the country ; but still it is here — it furnishes the principle of our government, and will, m time, produce its inevitable results. In Melbourne and New York these results are making themselves plainly visible. What we must do, and at once, is to erect a barrier which shall preserve the lower class from, at any rate, deteriorating m happiness, while the path will bo left olear for future improvement ; for I cannot admit that we must regard the working-class of New Zealand as having attained the highest pitch of happiness. Ru skin says "We live to contemplate, enjoy, act, adore," and I agree with him to a great extent ; but it m obviously impossible to prevent the life of a man who has to gain the means of subsistence by manual labour from being otherwise than a period of painful restrictions and hard cares. Yet we can do much to ameliorate his condition by rendering him as independent as possible, so that his fate shall not be involved m that of any individual, whose actions he cannot control, as is the case with the bulk of working-men at home, And such independence will not, as many fear, bring about a stoppage of the necessary works of life, or place the employer at the mercy of the employed. Improved circumstances will bring a higher morality m their train, which will lead the labourer to give an honest amount of toil for the wage he receives — his intelligence will expand, and he will act m this respect m the same manner as is now generally done by persons who are engaged m occupations requiring mental skill for their discharge. Not, however, that the working-class are the only sufferers, although they are the most numerous. There are classes of people occupying a social station just above them, upon whom the yoke rests quite as heavily — perhaps more so from their superior mental cultivation — whose independence is quite as much restricted, and who live m just as much danger of falling into utter poverty from the present social economy of Great Britain. The evil m fact is admitted, and engages the attention of statesmen and writers. Tho whole community suffers from it, and all classes are interested m its removal. Equally m New Zealand is every section of society concerned m averting the mischief from the Colony.

lAM not theorizing but writing hard, practical politics, A man •who brings forward a scheme for the construction of * few roajfo or railways, or proposes a new law upon some subject wnich strikes bis fancy, prides himself (and others accept him at hie owa VAluation

m this respect) upon being a practical politician, and ridicules those who invite him to go deeper into things, and see whither his proposal tends, as theorists who must not be listened to m a young Colony. But he is the theorist, not they. What would bo said of a body of men who were erecting a building whose form and •trootare had not been previously determined upon — laying here a few beams of wood, and there a few courses of stone, here erecting * Corinthian pillar, and there a Gothic arch ; and all the time ridiculing the architect who suggested that not only would the building, when finished, possess neither symmetry nor other beauty, bat might also tumble to pieces ; and that, before proceeding further, they should settle upon its design? We, the colonists of Few Zealand, are the buildcre. We are trying to rear up a great Colony, which shall fee worthy of the nation to which we belong and add splendour to the Empire ; and we are doing our work without any definite end m view, or consciousness of what may be the final result of oar exertions . We are feebly imitating the vices of our native civilisation, and not its virtues ; and, as surely as night follows day, will the darkness of pauperism overspread the Colony, unless we take steps to prevent it. How can this be done ? There is but one way— to settle the people on the land, and make provision for their permanently abiding on it. Wo must not let our humbler settlers be driven into large cities, for the purpose of making them toil m unwholesome factories by day, and of being Herded together at night m miserable hovels, where decency is violated, and the refinements of life are unknown. Dwelling m cities may develope a certain acuteness of intelligence, but pare morality and that love of simple pleasures which charms the heart of man and draws him nearer to Heaven, must be \poked for m the country home, and it iB there that the sacred fire of patriotism burns J clear and bright We must offer the most liberal inducements to people to enter on the pursuit of agriculture ; to cultivate the land, that Bona Dea, who always rewards her worshippers with ample gifts. Much, however, has been done m Wellington and other places, to promote settlement by rendering small blocks of land available on easy terms ; but a more important matter has been overlooked. To sell land on easy terms, or to giva. it away to bond Jldt cultivators, Is not sufficient m itself to compass the end m view, namely— to prevent an undue accumulation of labourers m the towns. We must also adopt measures to prevent a recurrence of the state of things which prevails at home, by which the freehold of tbe greater portion of the available land of the kingdom has passed into the hands of comparatively a few individuals. I would even go Bo far as to propose an AGRARIAN LAW, and to prohibit, by legislative enactment, and binder penalties of forfeiture, any person or family from holding beyond a specified area of land. Unless we restrain the unlimited acquisition of the soil, we shall inevitably see ft large portion of the country converted into huge estates supporting tens of human beings where thousands might dwell m comfort ; and our unhappy people, instead of enjoying modest independence, slaving m factories at the will of greedy Masters. The present f tate of affairs tends towards such a consummation . Buns form a Bucleus around which Manufacturing Civilization can ba built ; and when we are referred to the extensive trade created by runs as a proof of their utility, we must remember that a far larger question lies behind . In England the small landowners have been almost extirpated . It is estimated that eight-tenths of the landed property of Groat Britain are held by less than 10,000 persons. A quarter of all Scotland is owned by three noblemen; and the fee simple of the whole of the United Kingdom is held by it ii said about 80,000 persons. The latter figures are taken from the census returns; but doubts have been raised as to their rigid accuracy. The precise number, however, is of little consequence $ the fact remains, that the fctnall landowners, as a body, •re a thing of the past. The process of extinction has gone on •lowly, hut unceasingly, just as it will go on here unless barred by imperative law. There is no other means of preventing it. The desire for the acquisition of land is the universal passion of civilized man ; and the large landowner, with ample capital at his command, can wait, and wait, until his poor neighbour falls into difficulties, and then buy him out. In some parts of the Middle Island enormous freehold estates have already been created. Sir George Bowen, m a despatch to the Earl of Kimberley, dated Ist April, 1872, describing his visit to the Kaikonras and the Amuri district, writes : — " I was everywhere most hospitably entertained at the houses of the leading settlers, many of whom have acquired very large estates m freehold," and adds m a foot note, — " I stayed with one gentleman whose freehold estate exceeds 160 square miles, or 100,000 acres of good land." Two years ago 45,000 acres' of fertile land m Otago were sold to the late Mr. Clarke, of Victoria, m one block, and by the Provincial Government too 1 45,000 acres of God's free earth, with all its beauty and richness, given over to the exclusive possession of one man, who was previously the lord of hundreds of thousands of acres m Australia 1 200 acres of fertile land m New Zealand will support an industrious family m comfort ; thus, upon these 45,000 acres 225 families might live m independence and comfort, if the soil were their own ; but they cannot do so if compelled to pay a heavy rental to some wealthy owner of the fee simple. In this Colony ft heavy rental means, to the farmer, heavy borrowing, years of care and the ultimate passing of the fruits of his arduous toil into the hands of his rich creditor. When this land was sold by the Provincial Government no stipulation was made as to how it wag to be used ; and Mr Clarke was at liberty, if he chose, to turn the whole 45,000 acres into a sheep or cattle walk, where half-a-dozen shepherds or stock-drivers would lead a dreary and demi-savage existence while tending their master's sheep or oxen. This, however, is only one instance out of many m New Zealand where vast areas of land have been transferred bodily to rich capitalists. Messrs Kermode and Moore, who were among the largest stationholders m the country, recently dissolved partnership, and their estates were brought to the hammer m Christchurcb. Two of the largest runs — the Glenmark and the Ashburton — were bought by G. H.Moore himself, who thereby, m addition to his other landed property, became the owner of 42.780 acres of freehold land, to say nothing of tens of thousands of acres of leasehold. He also purchased the Waikare station which contains 8,000 acres of freehold. Other illustrations might be given of this monopolizing of land m the Middle Island, but is not everybody who has travelled there acquainted with the existence of vast territorial domains m that island ? Through the Native difficulties and the generally superior quality of the soil, similar estates have not been created m the North Island, although the quantity of land m the possession of many individuals is far too large for the public weal, and during the last year or two blocks of land have been purchased by individuals m this Province which do not look contemptible even beside the princely domains held m the Middle I&land. In Hawke's Bay an agreeable process has been going on for some time by which certain runholders and storekeepers are constituting themselves lords of the manor with vengeance. This matter would be presented, more vividly to one's mind if there were any official record of the number and jfiie of the vwioui holdings m the Colony. No &uch record, so j

far as I can discover, exists m the blue books. It should be given m the agricultural statistics, but it is not, the Registrar having confined himself to publishing the total area of land held m fee simple and m leasehold.! We ought not to overlook bo dangerous and significant a circumstance as that just mentioned . If the mass of the laboring classes are unable to find a home m the country, they must perforce collect m the towns, and work for whatever wages are offered to them. In place of being their own masters they must become FervantP, and dependent upon the -will of others for their daily bread. The influx of settlers from the country -will be joined by the crowd of immigrants from Europe, the towns will swell to an inordinate size, the price of labour will fall, manufactories of six and seven stories m height will spring up, and the hideous cancer which blurs the face of European civilization will break out here, m the sunny islands of New Zealand. We are. constantly told about the necessity for encouraging local industries. By all means let us encourage local industries ; let us foster everything that will open new fields for the employment of labour, and quicken the faculties of our colonists. But do not let us become tho tools of capitalists, or deceive ourselves as to the motives which incite tho chief promoters of the cry for " local industries." It is not human happiness they seek ; but a means of filling their Own purses. A member of the House of Representatives persuaded the Colonial Industries jCommitte3 to propose tho grant of a bonus for the manufacture of a certain quantity of paper ; and why ? Not because any important public benefit was thereby to be gained, but because he was engaged m the establishment of a paper manufactory, and a bonus was necessary for the success of the enterprise. Ido not mention this as aninstance of senatorial depravity, but simply to show what lurks at the bottom of the cry of Protection to Colonial Industries. We must look to ulterior consequences, and not unwittingly prepare the way for the ultimate enslaving of tho bulk of the people to the insatiable Demon of Manufactures. Man was not born merely to toil m factories, or to make railways, or roads or bridges; although, to hear most of our politicians talk, one would imagine that the highest work which the Colony can achieve is to speedily crowd her soil with people and cover tho land with a network of railways. But when that is done, what then 1 Will aught have been accomplished to render the people happy, or the nation more famous ! If all were blotted out would the world be one whit the worse off, or have cause to regret the catastrophe 1 Roads, j and railways, and manufactories, and the providing of facilities for settlement are means, not ends, and ought not to be worshipped as though they wereDivineconceptions announced through some De'phic oracle, for the guidance of the Colony m that dark path of destiny which, like all other countries, it must explore ftr itself. A change m the administration of.jthe waste lands of tho Colony should have been part and parcel of the Pubic Works and Immigration Scheme of 1870, but" Mr Fox's Ministry carefully shirked tho land question, as it did a'l other questions connected with that scheme which involved statesmanship and a fight for office. Safeguards should have been provided to check the squandering of the waste lands by the Provincial Governments — their being sold regardless of to whom, or m what sized blocks, so long as the purchase-money found its way into th© Provincial chests. The General Government ought to have placed a firm grip upon the land, and not have parted with an acre without knowing what was to become of it. They ought to have managed it so that it would be a reserve for the immigrants who are imported at so much expense to sett'e upon, by which means, m time, these people wou'd become independent farmers, not living m luxury, or above doing manual labour, but small yeomen, tilling their own holdings, free and proud through the consciousness of being their own masters ; not factory hands degraded with hopeless toil and subjection to the will of others. And this might have been accomplished without interfering ! with the claims of the Provinces to the management of the waste lands, and the enjoyment .of the proceeds of their sale. But tho Ministry, like Galiio, cared for none of these things. It was not until last session that they even attempted to make provision for the settlement of immigrants ; wh«n they introduced and carried a miserable Immigrants' Land Bill without originality or power to accomplish its purposes, and which m no sense solved the land question. That question will, at no distant date, be forced upon the Government ; and an essential part of it will be how best to conserve the land of the Colony, so as to make it available for all tho people, rich and poor a'ike. The waste land of tho Colony is the property of the Empire, held by us m trust for the who'e British nation. We have no right to make it a mere chattel, to be bought and sold without regard to anything else than the price given for it. We have now, what we may never have again, the power of dedicating it as a perpetual endowment for the whole coninrm'ty, and of preventing it from becoming the peculiar appanage of wealth. In England the land is covered with legal meshes, which it seems almost a hopeless undertaking to attempt to clear away ; but here there is nothing to debar us from resuming possession of tho large tracts which have already fallen into the hands of individuals, and enacting a stringent law prohibiting any person from holding above a certain acreage of land . Compensation would, of course, have to be paid m extinguishment of vested rights ; but the value of the land acquired should be equal to the money paid for it, so that no addition to the permanent debt of the Colony would be made if my proposal wero carried into effeot. On the other hand, the owners of the land resumed would have jio more right to complain of the proceeding than the owners of land taken for railways or other works. The quantity of land which it should be permitted to one individual to hold m fee simple is a minor point, but I think that 640 acres, or a square mile, for a single person would be sufficient to enable farming to be conducted en scientific principles, and thus to prevent a check being given to agricultural enterprise. In order that tho law might not be evaded by several members of a family holding 640 acres each, the extent of land which might be possessed by one family (meaning thereby, father mother, brother, and sister) should also be restricted to say 1,000 acres. As to land fitted by its nature for pastoral purposes only, it could, as at present be let on short leases ; but m no case should the fee simple of the land save to the extent mentioned, whatever its quality, be allowed to pass into private hands . The object is not to baulk agriculture or the rearing of sheep on a large scale, but to prevent the monopoly of ownership of the soil. It has been suggested to mo that, m the case of large families, 1,000 acres would not be enough. Perhaps not ; but the precise area which it should be permissible for an individual or family to hold is a matter of

detail, which, with many other questions involved m the present proposal, could only be settled after careful enquiry. The most convenient preliminary steps towards enacting an Agrarian Law would be, first, for both Houses of Parliament to pass a Resolution affirming the principle ; and, second, a Boyal Commission should be appointed to enquire how existing interests m the landed estate of the Colony would be affected by the proposed law, the probable amount of compensation that would have to be paid, the minimum area which could bo fixed without checking the progress of scientific improvement, and so forth. The report of this Commission would enable Parliament to proceed along a well lighted path, without fear of doing mischief by blind gropings after the desired end. In deciding upon the area which might be held by one family, two things must be remembered — (1.) That unless this area were strictly limited, the law would be constantly defeated by the accumulations made by large families ; (2.) That the adoption of an Agrarian law would not lessen the variety of occupations to which the inhabitants of the country now devote themselves. No civilised people was a evor wholly agricultural one however high a place m its roll of honor the tillage of the soil might occupy. Borne paid the utmost respect to husbandry, but her citizens attained distinction m other arts. Even an, essentially agricultural people like the ancient Peruvians, amongst whom the soil was minutely divided — while no man had a firmer tenure of his plot of ground than a year's lease, and whose energies were crushed by the most irresistible despotism which the world has yet seen — produced crowds of handicraftsmen, skilled m the manufacture of wool, gold, and silver, and many other artie'es which, by man's inventive genius, have been made subservient to his bodily comfort, or pleasing to his mental taste. An Agrarian Law is no visionary scheme for rendering all men free and equal by compelling many to follow a pursuit for which their natural bent of mind unfits them ; no project which, if carried out, would deaden the mental faculties of our fellow-countrymen by narrowing the scope of their ambition ; no advice by which, under the gnrb of cosmopolitanism all patriotic feeling would be extinguished. It would mno way disturb the arts and manufactures, but rather invigorate them by the fresh intelligence ever flowing from the mind of the man who is not oppressed by the consciousness of almost hopelesß dependence upon another for his daily bread. But manufactures would be carried on here m a different manner to what they are m Europe and America. New Zealand would not possess overgrown cities— unartistic and offensive to the refined taste, and shocking benevolence by their squalid homes, their vice, their destitution, their human woe m every shape and form — but towns of moderate size, while throughout its length and breadth there would be scattered a population, amongst whom wealth might perhaps be rare, but comfort would be widely diffused, and there would be as full Bocial independence as can be attained under modern civilization. The wisdom of enacting an Agrarian Law might bo urged on another ground, although a much lower one than that on which lay argument has hitherto rested. Tho quantity of agricultural land m the Colony is too limited to excuse the bestowal of largo tracts of it upon individuals. New Zealand, it is estimated, contains about 73,000,000 acres of territory. This is an extensive area, but a large portion of it is unfit for cultivation. A chain of lofty mountains runs through the South Island ; there is consequently little land on the West Coast suitable for the plough, and much of the eastern slopes of the ranges is either barren or inaccessible, or only capable of affording pasture for cattle . It may also safely be affirmed that large districts m Nelson and Marlborough will only be useful as sheep runs — leaving out of sight, ot course, the possibility of metals or minerals of economic value being found there. Then, tho northern and southern ends of the other inland are rugged and mountainous, whilo m the centre there are pumice tracts upon which flocktmay graze, but corn will never grow. Making allowance for the less of land thus occasioned, 16,000,000 acres may perhaps be set down as the outside quantity available for tillage m New Zealand.! This is not a large amount to meet the wants of the armies of immigrants whom it is proposed to bring into the country, particularly when it is remembered that the 16,000,000 acres includes land m remote spots which, while capable of cultivation, is not likely to be put under tillage for a long time to come. So far as the North Island is concerned, much of the best land remains m tho hands of the Natives bqt 1 apprehend that before many years have lapsed, this difficulty will have vanished, and it need not, therefore, be taken into account. A want of perception of the actual resources of the Colony m this respect has been the prime cause of the reckless dealing with the waste lands of the Crown by the Government. We havo been as lavish of our waste Innds as of our forests. Timber has been cut down and wantonly destroyed, as though a forest could be grown as easily as a field of wheat, and th-.! waste lands have been sold, as quickly as possible, to any one who would buy, just as if there was an unlimited supply of them. In either case, the country has been richly endowed ; but the endowment must be managed with care, otherwise, instead of a blessing, it will he a curse to us. We must pull up. Wo have been living the life of the spendthrift, but it is not too late to amend. This Colony must be made something more than an immi-grant-introducing, railway-constructing, bill-discounting community. It is exciting, doubtless, perhaps lucrative, but scarcely honorable, and certainly not calculated to odd to our national fame. There is no knowing, of course how, the future may view our actions. Human opinions of things are ever changing, and it may be that our coming historian will write, " Behold this great and glorious people — it spent twenty millions of other folks' money m constructing two or three hundred miles of railway and importing immigrants at the rate of thirty thousand a year I" Modern canons of criticism would, however, result m a different verdict, and, on the whole, is is safest to guide our course by them. An Agrarian Law would, it must be confessed, be a violent innovation on our present mode of dealing with land . On this subject we have naturaljy brought to the Colony the notiens which were infused into us at bonrc. Ihere political circumstances have placed land m an entirely false position. The forcible seizuro by William the Conqueror and his followers of the soil of England established a system which absolutely precluded the erection of legal safeguards against the accumulation of landed property ; and when the mercantile class rose into power tho land came to be treated as an ordinary chattel, until finally it was bought and sold like a bale of merchandise, with moro formß and ceremonies, indeed, but with no more veneration. Land, however, is not a chattel by its nature. It is the common inheritance of mankind ; and although, for convenience of cultivation, it may be parcelled out to individuals, the law of humanity forbids large area/} to be engrossed by single persons for purposes of pleasure or the increase of wealth. If the landed possessions of a State be monopolized by a Bmall class, it is simply impossible for the mass of the population to be m easy circumstances. The natural relations of man to tho soil are

overthrown, and an artificial system, wicked and rotten, is reared up to degrade the poorer part of the community. As a chattel,' however, land is regarded m England, and we cannot feel surprised " that the planters of English colonies should have neglected to impose restrictions upon the acquisition ot the waste lands of the Crown, bo far from attempting to do so the most systematic colonizers of modern times have striven to keepthe small freeholder off the land as long as possible, deeming a plentiful supply of cheap labour the one thing to be desired . Many who took leading parts m the effort which was made some years ago to found colonies on , scientific principles were fully capable of appreciating the desire to form societies where the working classes of England might look forward to something more than a mere increase m their daily wage, but they were controlled by circumstances, and the necessity of * returning handsome dividends for the capital invested forced them ; to work up to the mercantile ideal. Hence " cheap labour "is the refrain of our colonizers' song. So it is now. Let us hate r abundance of cheap, labour and the Colony will prosper. That is, - capitalists will prosper. We know the often quoted saying of the ' French king, « L'etat, e'est moi." "The Colony, we are the Colony!" gay the capitalists, and pretended capitalists. Never mind about the future weal of the rest of the community, so long as we get cheap labour now and handsome interest on our money. ' Great advances have certainly been made latterly towards liberalizing our land laws, so as to encourage the settlement of : sma 1 farmers. The principle of deferred payments, for instance, is ' • pretty well accepted throughout the Colony as a convenient method- ' of attaining that object. lam not going to discuss the soundness : ot the principle, which can best be shown by its actual working. - But it will not of itself prevent the M^due accumulation of landed property. The experience of Vi V slutts that the system of' deferred payments induces many persons to take up land who hare neither the capital nor the ability to cultivate it ; mortgages follow, • and additions to the territory of large freeholders. What we have . to do is to erect a peremptory barrier, firm as human skill can . devise, against the expansion of holdings beyond certain limits, \\ is simply useless for us to create a lot of small farmers unless we provide against their farms being coalesced into vast estates. Ido not think we can instantaneously produce a race of small farmers by adopting the principle of deferred payments, or by any similar project .; it will require time to change the habits of the community. . lhat, however, is a subsidiary question. Let us pass an Agrarian ■" Law, and small farms will spring up as a matter of course. 11ns pamphlet, or rather the substance of it, was written two or three years ago ; since when a movement for the " Nationalization of the land has taken shape m England, and found advocates i. ,!T ustralfa and N< w Zealand. The notion is that freeholds should be abolished and the State resume possession of all the land within its borders, afterwards letting it ont upon lease to all applicants. A cogent argument used m favour of the scheme m the Colonies has been that the proceeds of the land might thus be made to pay the greater part of the cost of Government ; but at home the movement was but the painful cry of the poor, suffering amid irant and disease, with their heritage right before their eyes. There seems to me, however, so far as New Zealand is concerned at all events, one fatal objection to the scnerae. It would place m the nands ot the Government a power too vast for any British Government to possess ; and would create an army of officials whose existence would destroy the manhood of the people. Corruption of all kinds would almost certainly dwell beneath its shadow ', nor would there be any guarantee that, by means of favouritism, large tracts of land might not be given over to individuals, whose freeholds they would be all but m name. A land tax has also been mooted as a means of chocking the tindue accumulation of land by individuals ; but there is this fatal objection to the proposal— it would be a class tax. Moreover it would be a roundabout way oi reaching the desired goal, when a straight road to it was open. The unrestricted acquisition of land is either right or wrong—if right, it should not be interfered with, by special taxation or otherwise ; if wrong it should be peremptorily forbidden. r J While an Agrarian Law is foreign to the spirit of English legislation, it is not an untried idea. The Jews, the Greeks, and . e .. Komans » all P nfc ifc into practice with success, and it was only m the days of Home's decadence that hei nobles owned vast estates. On the Continent, the want of Agrarian Laws (m tha ancient meaning of the term) is supplied m most countries by a subdivision of the land which enablea it to be occupied by a numerous body of small proprietors j although, from other causes tne advantages of a peasant proprietory have not been fully developed. It js, however, neither to the ancients nor to the moderns that we must look for guidance. A mighty evil is threatening us, unknown to the past and the terror of the present ; an effectual safeguard is to our hands, and we must seize it, not allowing ourselves to be shackled by precedent, or to lose the precious moment while gazmg around for the guidance of others. In these days, when social and political revolutions follow one another m rapid succession, it would be preposterous to hesitate m making the most radical change conceivable m our land system, if it were shown to be conducive to the public weal. We ought not to blindly copy the example of the mother country m this matter, i, for one, love and revere England. I wish we followed her footsteps on the path of great principles more closely than we do ; and did not confine our imitation to matters of trifling consequence. But we must nevertheless copy with discrimination. England's path is encumbered with the wreck of past ages, which impedes her progress, and sometimes compels her to turn aside altogether. No such hindrance bestrews our road to social and political happiness. Our way is clear; let us walk on it boldly and freely. The nation which dares not think for itself is damned It is not for us, above all men, with a new and prolific country at our disposal, to wilfully enthral ourselves m the vices of modern civilization. The good can be eliminated and the bad rejected. In the Southern Seas a new and glorious civilization m*y be evoked, where the mass of mankind shall not be fettered to remorseless toil, and m the fierce pangs of hunger forget their divine nature. Without making all society tremble by violent changes— without Communistic Associations or International Trade Unions, dread refuge of despairing men—we can, if we please, construct the social fabric m so capacious and just a manner, that it will afford efficient and pleasant shelter to every citizen. Such is our fortunate lot. But if we despise the fearful warning given to as by the old Kicgdoms of Europe ; if we blindly throw all power into the lap of wealth. and allow the sacred heritage of the entire community— the land— to be mado the luxury of the rich, we shall find the machine of the State move more and more slowly as its wheels become clogged with human suffering, until at last its movements cease altogether. CHARLES W. PUBNELL. Wanganui, February 187$.