THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1870.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 80, 26 August 1870, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle. FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1870.

On tbe--subject of Immigration the- conduct of the Provincial Government of Otago would appear.to be impolitic and imbecile, if not dishonest, in the- extreme.: : The present aspect of affairs in Duuedin fully, we think, justices us in this remark. The 'Daily Times f teems with 1 letters from the unemployed—the '' unfortunate victims of misplaced confidence." Reports also of 'interviews between the newly arrived immigrants and bis Honor the Deputy Superintendent are of but too 'frequent occurrence. All, however, point, to one conclusion, namely, tbat a number of men .with

their families, as also single men, hare been induced, by false representation, to leave their country, and cast in their lot amongst us here in Otago. Moat gladly do we welcome them, though we cannot justify the means by which their 3 presence has been obtained. There can j be no doubt that most of these men left home with the full persuasion that, a : agricultural laborers, their serf ice* would be it* full and good demand at - the published rate of at least &s. per day of eight hours. Such of them as are shepherds had an equal conviction » that* in capacity, a single mar* would have no difficulty in obtaining employment at £SO, and _a.'married man at between ££o and £7O per annum, in both cases with rations. No doubt such are the nominal: wages- at present obtainable, but the demand i& limited, and the arrival of only a fewimmigrant's immediately gluts the mar- k ket, and. reduces the rates. It cannot' of course be expected, neither do we think it desirable, that the present high rate of wages for agricultural servant* ' and shepherds should continue to rule;, hut still we see a great differeiie'e tween a fair wage and a " stone being lieu of bread." Great ind3ed, and just, mast have been the indignation of these new arrivals to find,, instead of the happy home, and that, by the prospect of whiMi they' had been induced to leave their nativeland, nothing but work of the utmost hardship and- drudgery could be offered to them. Many poor fellows of stout heart were veiLling to attempt even* stonebreaklng,- but ala&! that i 3 an employment to the uninitiated of the- j übniost hardship, and one at which none* but an expert can, at existing rates,." expect ov hope to> win more than sale Neither doe* it appear that many of the- newly arrived came here possessed of the wherewithal to obtain the necessary implements for such labor. .is„ indeed, a,sadTstate of affairs, and onefor which We see" no other remedy than patience, and a gradual absorption into* the community at a somewhat reduced, rate of wa*ge-; The reckless expendi- /■ tare of the Pro-vincial Government in. bringing this- class of people here at . heavy expense is both inexplicable and ■ reprehensible.. It is •well known thatboth the agricultural and pastoral in- i interests are at the present moment in a: ] state of depression, and that really theI only interest which i* holding its is that of mining. Yet to this interest the Government have ever turned, and i eootinuedto- turn, a deaf ear, and treat, all efforts at reform and improvement i with coolness, if not contempt. Our readers may remember that when many of the miners on the West Coast and! j at Auckland wished to return to Otago- : bis Honor the Superintendent declined to. listen- to. their petition for a free passage, j and hunlredp,. and perhaps thousands, who would have aided and : assisted hi the development of our i i-cipal interest were thus lost. 1 o us for ever,j and irt lieu we have men fb-r whom, we cannot find employ meat, and for whom.the Province o&ers little or no induce- : meat In spile, however,, of the lessons ,which, the past should have taught,, our go-ahead Superintendent still carriesin his-hand the same banner, inscribed with the same motto* —Immigration,. { Railways-, Progress!" 1 What cares he for the unemployed,, or what effects have the expostulations-- | of disappointed men upon hhn? \ Pro* gress r or rather apparent progress, is or would p-ppear to-be,, the sole aim and object of himself and compeers, Though no. doubt out of the nim<ipa-ted loan-of a million, for gfenersl immigration this Province will receive its quota, hi.T Honor wilt'find that, in the saihe way- 4 in which a man -may bring a horse the water,, and be unable to- make drink, so' in,/like manner;, though by questionable means he may deluge the: Province by a class of immigrants for ' whom there is neither room or mentj. he will yet find his inability to. make them remain therein. We cannot but agree with the recent caustic remarks made by one of the Victorian, papers on this-subject, which cooly an- , ticipatea the time when the effect of the New Zealand Immigration loan of., one million will only tend to. increasethe population of that country at the expense of our own.