Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 28, 1895. Communistic Settlements.

Manawatu Herald, 28 May 1895, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. TUESDAY, MAY 28, 1895. Communistic Settlements.

The difficulty 76f 'settling untrained people upon land from which they have fco make a living is difficult, and it therefore behoves the advocates of suck schemes- to hamper them with as few innovations as possible. The village settlement experiment in Australia is Jiot, as we showed in our last issue, one to our liking or a chance of success. There, as in other details, they have hampered the scheme with the tie of communalism, the settlers being bound to continue the settlementssn these lines until all the land is under cultivation, and the Government is repaid. The fact that the principles of communism are not likely to be in favour with the Anglo-Saxon race is admitted even by the South Australian theorists, for they provide a raean3 whereby the settlers can dissever their connection from it. The principle of a common work for a common object is particularly pretty in theory, but is the deadener of any push and pluck on the part of individuals. It destroys the belief in one's own abilities, and drags the whole party down to the level of the laziest and most stupid of the party. The colonies of Great Britain would not now be what thev^are, the 1 brightest jewels in the «o#n of our Q&een,had our parents been brought up. on . principles advocated, bv jhe j BoutU AttitraiiftQ aoVdSfoffi^Thi '

actual disinclination now exhibited by our young men to go inland and hew a home for themselves out of the bush, points to the harm already done by such coddling principles, and the more the idea is mooted, the greater will be the difficulty to meet men with pluck and independence. Every man of spiiit should believe that what others have done before him can be, as well, if not better, done by him, but then we unfortunately see little of an attempt to undertake the roughing . of the old pioneers of this colony. Fortunately some people imagined that these things could be done, if carried out away from the land which contained their friends, so to make sure, took up land in South America which they styled " New Australia." A letter received from a leading member of the party has been published and makes, at the time our Minister of Labour is boilins; over with land schemes for the regeneration/ of;. the poor and needy, useful reading. He . says that the attempt at communism in the settlement failed, arid that the failure proved that it only renders people more selfish. He .claims that the settlers were at least'not worse than the average specimens cf their respective classes, yet there is not one of them to-day, he says, but will admit that they degenerated under the communistic conditions. All recognise that something is wrong, and a decentralisation scheme is on the tapis, the object' being to settle the members of the association on' laud individually or in groups on the single tax principle. Mr McDonald says that though failure is admitted that is no reason why the settlers should not form the nucleus of a ' successful colony in Paraguay. The -climate and conditions are good, but want of funds is a drawback, and at least 50 per cent of the settlers' labour has been flittered away on unproductive works. He speaks of the wheat crop yielding only a bushel per "acre, and adds that the settlers find it impossible to pay where so much clearing has to be done even by those who have capital. He is convinced, however, they will do well on the Pampas. The settlers are b?yond actual want, though for some time the chance of making anything in the shape of hard cash is very remote. In conclusion, he says those disappointed with the settlement continue to leave."