The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1872.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2788, 24 January 1872, Page 2

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1872.

The energy with which the General Government are pushing their Immigration plans is an earnest of success. The Colony needs population, but not to be indiscriminately peopled. The appointment, therefore, of an AgentGeneral whose long public experience has eminently fitted him to superintend this, amongst other departments of European business, has been most judicious. It proves that New Zealand is not intended to be a mere place of refuge for the waifs and strays of English and Scottish society. These are not what we want; they may find their way hither, but they will not be assisted by the Government. It is much better that they should remain where they are than encumber us with their presence. The Colonies are infested by quite a sufficient number of loafers to render any addition undesirable. Important, therefore, as are the arrangements for inducing emigration to this Colony, it is equally necessary that there should be unity of purpose and design in the system ; a plan that may be depended upon, involving no breach of faith on the part of the Government, nor any necessity for misrepresentation on the part of the Home agents. The absence of organised arrangements by the Province has been a serious drawback to past colonising operations. The agents at Home have represented New Zealand as a promising field for emigrants. They have told of extensive goldfields unworked; of splendid agricultural soil uncultivated obtainable on reasonable terms, and of a demand for labor ab a high rate of wages. We who are here know well the truth of all these tempting themes. But as a set-off, •innumerable letters from disappointed immigrants appear in the Home papers, detailing the miseries, difficulties, and neglect they have had to endure on landing. Making every allowance for exaggeration induced by the bewilderment of, perhaps for the first time, being thrown amongst strangers in a strange land, there has been too much room for these statements : at least in Otago. Many times we have felt it our duty to call attention to the insufficiency of our provincial arrangements for the reception and distribution of immigrants on arrival. Many times have we pointed out tire inhumanity of inviting persons to leave their native laud, their homes and friends, and on their arrival here, putting them on shore literally to shift for themselves. Were they sheep or cattle they would be placed in prepared pastures ; they would have plenty of shepherds or stock drivers to lead them to good feed and water. And just in proportion to the more complex needs of human beings, should there be humane and sufficient arrangements made to meet them. But, instead of that, our Immigration Barracks have been less adapted to human requirements than the merest sheds for stabling horses. True, we appointed a master and matron, who are both equal to the work, and have ever shown themselves kind and considerate in the fulfilment of their duties. In saying this we do them only bare Justice ; but notwithstanding their earnest efforts to render all as comfortable as possible who availed themselves of the temporary use of the Barracks, they had not the means, nor were they expected to carry out those plans, by which the newcomers are converted into producers as well as consumers immediately after arrival. Much more than we have done is necessary. The Government in introducing population should be contributing towards the increase of national wealth. The cost to the country of assisted immigrants will be barely five pounds per head, estimated by what has been the average for the last few years in Canterbury, and one year’s residence in the country nearly recoups that in contributions to the revenue through consumption of goods on which import duties are payable. So that viewed merely in the light of contributors to the revenue, the first cost of an immigrant is repaid with cent, per cent, interest in two years. But this implies much more ; for there must be production to precede consumption, and the amount of revenue contributed is but an index to the value of the produce of the immigrant’s labor. It follows that in an economic point of view, every day of idleness is so much national wealth absorbed—adds so much to the cost of immigration ; and it therefore behoves the General Government, as part of their scheme, by every means in their power, to facilitate communication between those who wish to employ labor and those who tvish to ho employed. la the neighboring pro.

vince of Canterbury much more attention has been paid to this necessary feature in a system of immigration than with us. We have been allowing ourselves to be impoverished by internal dissensions about land theories until we have been unable to pay a staff whose services were indispensable to making the best of our immigrants. We have committed that to private enterprise, which, to be successful, should have been under Executive supervision and authority j and although we believe the gentleman who undertook the work, in con sequence of his long experience, has been able to do good service, his hands have been comparatively tied, and the assistance he has been able to give has been limited. We gave a slight sketch of the proposed measures yesterday, and from their adoption, if well worked, anticipate happy results.