The Evening Star MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 1871.

Evening Star, Volume VIII, Issue 2476, 23 January 1871, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, JANUARY 23, 1871.

“ When your case is bad, abuse the “ opposing advocate,” is an old legal dodge. It is very convenient to have somebody or something to abuse, in order, if possible, to turn popular attention from the hollowness of an argument, and to endeavor to excite sympathy under the plea of being badly used. We suppose it is on this ground that Mr Heid abuses the Evenhiy Star. Unfortunately for himself, such a style of dealing with men and newspapers may injure his cause—but it cannot hurt them. It does not in the slightest degree prove that they are wrong and he is right; but most assuredly it lays him open to the suspicion of not being able to clear himself otHhe charges that have been urged against him, of preventing measures being brought into operation calculated to do good to the Province. Granting that he is sincere in his opposition to them, that sincerity only proves his incapacity for administration ; hut if he has taken his present crooked course for the purpose of gratifying personal ambition, he should on no account be held eligible for the office to which he aspires, for he then proves himself capable of sacrificing the public interest to his own. He took occasion on Saturday, by a figure of speech, to endeavor to turn a proposal made by Mr Macandkew to introduce' a number of immigrants here, in a certain number of years, into an election cry. He called Mr Macandrew’s proposal to bring 16,000 men, women, and children into the united Province of Otago and Southland and Stewart’s Island, as “ flooding ” the country with immigrants. There may be differences of opinion as to the best way of bringing people to the country ; and we do not know any subject which is more likely, and which has a greater right to be watched with jealousy by those who live by labor, than assisted immigration, But Mr Reid must have a very short memory, or think others have, if he imagines the people have forgotten his own remarks on that subject at the Masonic Hall. ,He did not express his disapprobation of a Government scheme of immigration then. He said, under the delusion that it would attract popular sympathy (we quote from the Doily Times) \ —

A. Government scheme of immigration should be one that would induce people to come here in order to make homesteads for themselves, and would at the same time provide land ready for them to settle on.

He said also, as faithfully reported in the Evening Star, but omitted from the Daily Times :—

He would like to see homesteads with a pig in a stye, and cows grazing on the natural herbage round them. When therefore two men are agreed as to the main principle, that immigration is desirable, and differ only as to details, it is for.us to ask which scheme is likely to be the best for those who are in the country and those whom we wish to come. We were not surprised that Mr Reid’s sketch of an immigrant’s home, as he would have it, was received with disapprobation. The pic ture that he drew of what he considered desirable, was that of an English agricultural laborer squatting down on unimproved land without the means of improving it. It came spontaneously from him, and shewed his notions of an immigrant’s paradise —a pig, a stye, and kine grazing on natuml grasses ! For this a man is to exchange a cottage home in England—a pig, a stye, and cows grazing on the town common I For our own parts, we had rather endure the serfdom of Home, with its comforts, than own a few acres of land in the Colony, which we had not means to improve, and which placed ns at the mercy of settlers who can see happiness in such a miserable picture. Our readers need hardly be told that such an immigration scheme as is indicated by Mr llejp, is not one that is calculated to benefit the Province, It is one that brings men into it, to compete for labor with those that are here, and in the present dearth of employment, could have no effect than reducing wages. Neither Mr poji’ his |frie«ds weed think we have any gthcr

purpose in view than truth. Wo (0 not say that reduction of wages is M* Reid’s object; but we do say tlur. would be the effect of his notions o* immigration, if carried out. Mr Macaxdrew’s scheme, on the contrary, would tend in the other direction—-it would tend to raise wages, and be no expense to the Province. Nor must it be forgotten that Mr Reid’s Executive opposed it: it might be in ignorance—but they opposed it. Let those who live by labor remember that wages fall when there are too many people engaged in one kind of employment. If everybody is engaged in agriculture, farmers cannot make profits, and farmers’ servants can get no work. In order that a country may prosper, there must be eaters and drinkers who are not producers of food and beverages. In short, in order to avoid ruinous competition, there must be variety of employment; and in this single proposition Mr Macaxdrew shewed how much clearer his views are than Mr Reid’s. Mr Macaxdrew proposed to bring coal miners to open up our coalfields, woodcutters to people Stewart’s Island, flannel makers to establish flannel manufactories, miners for the goldfields. He did not limit his notions of an earthly paradise to a pig in a stye and unimproved land—he proposed not only to bring in agricultural labor, but labor to support it, and to find wages for it. Mr Reid’s sneers at such a scheme, and his advocacy of a narrower one, as well as his misrepresentation of the General Government plan, must be weighed against the truth. Neither the General Government nor Mr Macandrew over proposed to bring people here to reduce wages. If they had, we should have condemned their plans ; for wo maintain that the worst sign in any country is low wages. The opinion ot the General Government is thus described by the Colonial Treasurer

But it would be cruel to bring out immigrants, if you do not see the way to their finding the means of self-support. As every immigrant who becomes a settler will be a profit, so every immigrant who leaves tho Colony, or who is unable to procure a livelihood in it, will be a loss. We therefore say that we will introduce immigrants only to those parts of the Colony prepared to receive them. What the nature of the preparation may be, it would be impossible now to deline. It might be land for settlement; it might be employment of an ordinary nature, or on public works ; it might be that facilities for establishing manufactories, or aiding special or co-operative settlements, were offered. We see nothing to condemn in either these opinions or Mr Macanduew’s plans ; but we do see, if properly carried out, that they would lead to something better for an agricultural laborer than the serfdom of “ a pig in a stye, “ and cows grazing on the natural “ herbage ” ; and for every other working man they promise the means of competence, if not fortune.