The Dunstan Times FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 1872.

Dunstan Times, Issue 538, 9 August 1872, Page 2

The Dunstan Times

FRIDAY, AUGUST 9, 1872.

Beneath the Rule of Men entirely just the pen is mightier than the sword

The influence of German and Scandinavian immigration with which we are promised, the first batch of whom is expected shortly to arrive* will be of questionable benefit, -not only to New Zealand Colonists, but to the

immigrants themselves. Population is doubtless very desirable ; but, when those already here find difficulty in obtaining profitable employment, it is an act of folly to introduce more. Labor, like water, will always find its own level, and, without any large expenditure of public money, it will of itself find its way to where it can he best- remunerated. Considering our great< distance from Europe, assisted immigration, to a certain extent, is necessary ; but there must be a limit to its application. There cannot be any wisdom in importing labor at the cost of the colony when there is little for it to do, Scandinavians and Germans make admirable colonists, as experience in Victoria, and more especially in New South Wales, proves. But the field is not extensive, nor do w e find that either of these colonies have expeNded public money upon introducing these foreigners, their immigration having always been voluntary. ’ We will not go so far as to say that none but our own countrymen have a right to come here ; but we really do think we are perfectly justified in assuming that it is a grave mistake to expend our money upon introducing strangers to compete with our own people in the labor market It is quite possible that, there is a difficulty at present in obtaining immigrants from Great Britain ; but why exists the difficulty 1 It is because employment is plentiful there, while in New Zealand, although highly paid, it is extremely precarious. The work man in England reads the Family Herald and other favorite and reliable rerial publications, where he finds out for himself that high wages in the colonies means desultary employment; “Good wine needs no j.bnsh,” and the intelligent working classes at home must have learned that there is something unreal when, to induce them to emigrate to New' Zealand, the assistance of paid lecturers to stump the country has to be resorted to. If assisted passages will not bring us immigrants, it is very clear that people at homo consider themselves best off where they are, while, at the same time, ous intentions towards them are of an intensely selfish nature. The Public Works and Immigration scheme lias been launched at a very inopportune. Things are dull here ahd lively at home. New Zealand possesses im mense natural resources, but it is isolated in situation and limited in extent, and from these circumstances alone it cannot be made to go a-head at high-pressure speed. There are difficulties to be encountered here which do not exist either in America or Australia. The conformation of the country does not favor any scheme of great magnitude ; at the best it is a long straggling island ; there is no central entrepot like New York or Melbourne ; each little town or hamlet possesses its own sea-port; railways into the interior will lead to nowhere, and if we connect- the sea-ports with each other by means of a railway, that it will prove remunerative is extremely questionable. Had we a vast interior to open up the Public Works and Immigration scheme might lead to profitable results ; but to construct railways and import population at the same time, upon borrowed money, must eventually lead to disaster. Our Colonial Treasurer is,without doubt, a man of great sagacity, I ut he is in advance of the times ; in fact, it wants a country like America to hold him, and it is a great pity there is not sufficient scope for his talents here. To introduce immigrants for no other purpose than to share with them our indebtedness, or increase by their presence the value of landed properties, is to practice on them a fraud, which, if found out, will make New Zealand the opposite of attractive in the eyes of future intending emigrants, while to over-run the count.iy, and bring the colonists into hopeless competition with the German and Norseman, must only result in the defeat of those who conceived the idea. Take 'he up-country of Otago as a sample : there is no opening for any sudden influx of laVr. To increase the number of miners, more water-power must be made available. Agricultural pursuits present no opening, the supplies being already in excess of the demand, while the present season promises a considerable surplus. Of small tiadesmen there are plenty ; all consumption is limited to local wants, and we have no hesitation in saying that any improvement must be by the slow course of events.' That ws shall be able in time to support a much larger popula-1 tion there can be no question of a ! doubt, but it requires patience to 1

wait —the forcing system will not do. There is no alternative but to adopt Lord Russell’s advice, and “Rest and be content” sfor the present.