THE Grey River Argus. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6,1866.

Grey River Argus, Issue 102, 6 September 1866, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 6,1866.

— T . The. question of affording facilities for the prosecution of agriculture on the West Coast is of vast importance to the community, ancl deserves much greaterattention than it has received. It is a gross mistake to suppose either that agriculture is not a necessary: ingredient in the prosperity of .the district, or that there are special obstacles io its being established. We are aware tliat a prejudice exists among the mining community against granting opportunities for the occupation, of the soil for agricultural purposes, arising - out of au undefined feai'" that mining interests will necessarily be interfered with/ At the late election for Greymouth one of the candidates pandered to this prejudice by declaiming against any proposition for setting aside land for farming purposes,, al* though he could "not bring forward one single argument in favor of his opinions. We remeinbei'very well how strongly this prejudice made itself felt during the early days of the- Otago Gold FieldsEvery effort to promote agricultural settlemenVon'-the Gold Fields was -met by the same threadbare a^d stupid objections that it would interfere with the rights of -miners, and fthat agriculture was not .wanted and would not be followed. . It., was said that the mining community did not Contain any-impor-tant number of intending settlers*that the majority only wished to get as much gold as 'they could, .and then leave a country which to them \was inhospitable and presented no inducements -for permanent residence. How 'completely these objections have been belied can be seen by the condition of [the-golel mining districts of Otago at this time. It has beeaprovedthat not only can agriculture be pursued. with success by, those who haye adopted it as\ an avocation, but -that it has^bcen productive' of immense . beofofit . to. the- whple'miuing population.

Pevmanent and thriving ' cominixnities have been established in every important gold district, whilst, so far from the rights of the miner being infringed, the facilities for agricultural occupation . haveresulted in compensating the minersI for their reeliiced . earnings^ and in reiihtlering their: social condition in every I way more comfortable and prosperous,. And precisely similar effects would follow the planting of agricultural settlements on the West Coast. We deny altogether that there is any settled determination on the "pai-t of the miners not to remain in the country. Even if this- did exist there is a law of necessity which no man can evade, and which, under any ctrcum-^ stances, will ensure at least the detention of a consielerable number of the uoinaelic population. But, as a rule7 men, whether they be eliggers for 'gold, or any other class, will settle down where they_can best '.ensure remunerative occupation, and it is this view of the question that induces us again to point out tUe -necessity of improving the condition of the minei-s by affording facilities for the pursuit, of agiiculture in the Gold Fields' districts. Ib surely does not need any argument for us to prove how much the comfort and pecuniary interests* of the miners can be'benen'tteel by their being able to obtain agricultural proeluce at a cheap rate. The most common articles of food for man anel beast are almost beyond the reach of the population in the interior. Every item of agricultural produce consumed on the West Coast is imported at great cost from other places, whilst "the expense of transit actually prohibits -the ; use of many necessary articles, of food in the inland diggings; But this is not all. There is absolutely no inducement for the miners. to enteiv tain the idel of settling down- in the country. Those who have families, or who are elesirous of forming a home, cannot find an opportunity of either placing their families in decent comfort or of establishing themselves in the country. It is a favorite argument with the opponents of agricultural settlement that the West ,Coast country is. -utterly unsuitable for the profitable pursuit of agriculture. This we denyThere are no difficulties which can be considered insuperable oi* even 'great. Some of the most thriving agricultural "districts in New Zealand at the present time offered quite as apparently serious difficulties on tli'eir first days of settlement as the W/est Coast now docs., We appeal to those of our reaelers who may remember the . condition of the early settlements when first they were formed, whether we are not correct in what". we say. We are . told the West Coast country is t0.6, thickly timbered, that the climate is too humiet-and the soil unsuitable, and so ojn. But is there no open country, 'and; is timber necessarily, an insurmountable obstacle 1 Ask some of the farmers of Auckland Taranaki, anel they will tell \is that bush land is the Best and most prolific, and that the ' humidity of the climate rapidly disappears before agricultural settlementBut tre write now, not so much in the interest of agriculturists as in that of the mining- population. We desire to see an element of permanence introduced into this young and promising country and we are convinced that one of the greatest agents in establishing a permanent resident population would bethe provision -of facilities for the occupation of the soil for agriculture. There are thousands of acres scattered about the Gold Fields where agricultnrc>could be established, without any risk of tres. passing on the so-called* rights of the miners — although we deny the right of any class to exclusively monopolise the country. We would run the risk of "infringing the assumed privileges of the miners rather than shut out agriculture without which- even our Gold Field s v will continue to suffer the evils of high cost of livings and the want of useful necessaries.^ We should like to see some liberal plan * propounded that would encourage the acquisition of aproprietory right in, the soil by. the miners, ancl lead to the establishment of communities like those of Otago. What has been done in.that Province can be. done here, and we sincerely trust that the" ensuing session of the Council will result in the adoption of some planithat will enable those willing or desiring to settle in ihV ■country' to do so. * AjL**^