The Dunstan Times FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1873.

Dunstan Times, Issue 586, 11 July 1873, Page 2

The Dunstan Times

FRIDAY, JULY 11, 1873.

Beneath the Rule of Menentirely j ust the pen is mightier than these word.

Notwitiistandins all that has been said against Air. Macandrew and his supporters by the Eeid party, that they wore in league with the squatters and opposed to opening up the lands. We find his Honor's Government readily endowing such sweeping measures as those proposed by Messrs Stout and Lumsden. Eoth of these gentlemen have won for themselves the gchleu opinions of every wellwisher of progress, and those who desire the settlement of the people upon the lands of the Province in particular. We never doubled, withal election cries, to the contrary, but that Mr. Macandrew had die peoples welfare at heart, and that whenever the time came when he might be called upon to throw more land open for settlement by increasing the facilities for its occupation, he would go heartily into (he matter. i\l r. Stout's motion to increase the area to be thrown open under the deferred payment system from thirty thousand aces to one hua- j dred thousand, together with Mv. I Lumsdeu's motion of reseiving two hundred thousand acres in Southland for similar purposes, is pretty good evidence of their intentions for ihe future. Still, we cannot accord them the honor of initiating the movement, that came from the Governmeot itself, it is rather an estentiun of their 1 measures for the settlement of the country. To a fertile mind Jikc Mr. Maeandrew's, it must have beea plainly oppaicnt that to advocate immigration upon an extensive scale was absurd, unless some employment was : found for the people when they came j hero, and the only recourse was to ; s;ttle them upon the lauds on the easiest terms j ossible, and this could] only be accomplished underthodefmed j payment system. This principle of occupying a country has answered the most sanguine expectations of its promoters wherever it has been tiied, aud however it may have been opposed by tin most strenuous conservatives, 'ihey have always been compelled to give in, It was the making of New South Wales and Victoria, and after a long struggle, even South Australia had to adopt the same pi inciplc, or that colony would have been depopulated by the emmigrat'DU of its settlers, many of whom although o: long standi g, were leaving for ibe mere attractive countries on the Upper Murray and (he Wimmera. In the case of this Province the deferred payment system has only had a small trial, which was initiated on the Gold (ields, and the result has been that bleak, barren hills are occupied and made to produce all the necessaries of life, besides finding employment for thousands in their culth aJion, which were said by flock owners to be scarcely worth paying the most nominal rent for as pastures for sheep. People will do almost anything with ihe land if they only have the chance given them, and oven the most wild, bleak, places may be made serviceable when once there is a determination to do so. Recent facts have proved that Ota go presents move facilities! for occupation than was hitherto supposed. The agricultural lease system has amply proved this an 1 when we find that so much has been accomplished on the gold-fields under the defei red payment system why iu the world should not the same be applied elsewhere. Common sense dictates that this mush be the case, and we may very safely prophecy that it will bo so very generally alt over New Zealand. The land is the only inducement we have to offer the immigrant, aud when we can hold out to him the certainty that the result of a few years industry in Otago wil

make him Lis own freeholder, ho will not le.it.ite to come here and settle With an extensive occupation of the lauds other employments will iollow, but the work ot colonisation must be oegun at the beginhing, and the first and most important step is to settle die people on the 'lands. With such advocates of settlement as Messrs, ’’dout and Lumsden, we feel assured that his Honor the Superintendent', will find no difficulty in carrying out his most cherished idea in the progress and prosperity of Otago.