The Feilding Star. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1884. Land for the Laborer

Feilding Star, Volume VI, Issue 81, 16 December 1884, Page 2

The Feilding Star. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16, 1884. Land for the Laborer

«. I The policy of the Government in opening up the Crown Lands of the colony in such a manner and on such terms ' as will enable every working man who so desires to become a land owner, is gaining favor in every part of the colony, and our contemporary the Christchurch Press is anxious that private land owners should encourage j the establishment of cottage homesteads to assist in the solution of the unemployed difficulty. Thus asking private individuals to take a share in I the good work, our contemporary ■ remarks : — " To say that there is not ample room for ten times the labour we have in this undeveloped colony is absurd, and almost equally absurd it is to say that the capital is not available for its development. It is the i system under which the two factors are brought together that is at fault — a system which must be voluntarily, if gradually, modified to preserve the commonwealth in safety ; a system which, as is apparent to all thinking men, will be materially modified in the coming years, however strenuous the resistance offered may be. Feeling this, we cannot be too earnest in onr endeavors to attract the attention of those who still have the power within their hands. We have no leaning towards rapid and radical changes in any of our institutions, but we are equally opposed to fostering chronic discontent in any class, as is done, we fear, by the present system amongst the labouring classes, and especially the agricultural labourers. We have suggested that the establishment of cottage homesteads, where men could have a few acres of land at a reasonable rate, would do much to counteract this discontent. It would give every industrious man an interest in the country ; it would supply him with a profitable outlet for his labour during the dull season; lastly, it would bring him into sympathy with the landowners of the district, as the welfare of the one would to a large extent be that of the other. We have here all sorts of Societies and Associations designed to promote the progress of the colony and the well-being of its people. Is there none amongst them under whose purview this great question of attaching the labourer to the soil rightly falls ? If none such exists, surely there must be sufficient public spirit and enlightened foresight amongst us for the formation of such a Society, and for the earnest advocacy of the object aimed at, while class enmities have as yet only eaten into the skin, and reconciliation is possible by such seasonable concession from the strong to the weak as is contained in our proposal. .