The Dominion. FRIDAY, JULY 10, 1814. THE MAKERS OF NEW ZEALAND

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2198, 10 July 1914, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, JULY 10, 1814. THE MAKERS OF NEW ZEALAND

' .The ,- proposal to celebrate, in './a; fitting manner'^the ;soventy-fifth anniversary of the- foundation of Wellington City'-is--.sure ■■ to" meet with the hearty; approval of •-. citizens. The;suggestion was .brought under thenotice of the Mayor'on Wednesdays 'E^rid-.:he; expressed cordial-.sym-pathy with it.',.-■ The proposed cele-: orations will, be held during Anniversary. Weekix arid,'-.the- early part of next year, will also see the commemoration; of'the 'centenary of the first preaching of the Gospel-in this land.: by Samuel; Marsden; During the hundred years which -have passed since MAk'sDEN scfc .foot-' on. these , shores,' New .'Zealand has . under-gonb-a' wonderful transformation. The certainly, prepared the- way/for civilisation; but it was not till about seventy-five years ago that New .Zealand ■really began-to be a white man's" land.. The number of the original settlors, remaining with us is , dwindling only too rapidly, and the coming ■ celebrations will give, the younger generation,a special opportunity of honouring the pioneers and-,the work they,have done. It is satisfactory to know that the preparations are being commenced in good time, and those who have the matter in-hand should receive the whole-hearted support: of the whole community:so that the commemoration may be in every ; way worthy-of-tho occasion.. •

There is a tendency among a. certain, type of people to ipeak,disparagingly' of the men who did the pioneer work of settlement in this country, especially those who have, been fortunate enough to live "long enough to reap the reward of their labour and enterprise. , Some of them arc even spoken of'as "social pests," because they wore not afraid to go out into the wilderness and c'onvdrt. barren wastes, into fertile lands in order to niake homes for themselves and- their, children. Many of these men had to carry their lives in their and in only too many cases their efforts to bring their holdings into profitable cultivation ended iu. : failure! But by patience, perseverance, and effort some: succeeded, and lands, which were at one'time .worth very little have now become very valuable bw. iug to the money and labour expeii'd-

Ed on them and the general progress of the Dominion. Some snort-vis-ionecl people who care nothing about the hardships and hard, work of the early settlers, but only see and envy their present' prosperity, speak as though they regarded every successful pioneer as an enemy of the State, quite ignoring the fact that these enterprising colonists owe their prosperity to their own energy, and foresight in taking up land in places where, in those troublous times, men of less energy and determination showed no inclination to make their homes. The risks of failure were great, and the comparatively small number that pulled through are fully entitled to enjoy the results of their labours. It has become necessary, owing to the growth of population and the increasing demand for land- for settlement, for the State to. take measures.to bring about the subdivision of large estates. That is inevitable; but it should not be forgotten that the settlement of the land in big holdings was a system which served New Zealand well in its day and the. country .'.progressed as it never could have done under a less enterprising class of people.