The Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5,1877.

Manawatu Times, Volume II, Issue 92, 5 September 1877, Page 2

The Manawatu Times. WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 1877.

j The general reports of Immigration i-officers for this Colony have been I received at head quarters, and passed through the hands of the Government Printer. These reports all -agree in deprecating themdiscriminate importation of nondescripts to the Colony. We need not go very far; to witness some of the hardships suffered by immigrants who are unfit for colonial work, and if the importation of such were to continue to any considerable extent, the' whole Colony would soon become distinguished for its unsettled and pauper population. As a rule .the suitable

immigrant will at once settle down m his place, begin to plod at his trade or labour, establish for himself a local interest, and become an acquisition to the community among which he dwells. But there is a large proportion of the immigrants who have come.out under the system of free or assisted immigration, of whom this cannot be said. In the old country they have belonged to lines of' industry which have no place m the colony, and • they are totally unfit to take part m such industries as are colonial. Such work as is offered they 'cannot earn wages at, and accordingly cannot settle, but wander hither and thither like restless ghosts. Instead of -helping to enrich, they impoverish the country, and send forth concerning it an unmistakably evil report. Now it is very obvious that however poor such people were m the old country, there they should have remained, and eked out their eventless lives m the routine o£ familiar work. More than any other class of men this country wants agriculturists, or laborers who may be transformed, into agriculturists. We doubt not the facile acquisition of small farms is a certainty close at hand, and the more urgent and* frequent the demands become for small holdings, so much the more surely will the interests of the small farmer prevail over those of the ' acquisitive speculator. The colony wants- mechanics, too, but there is this one cardinal truiih that should be uppermost m the minds of all immigration agents and nominators : the mechanics which the, colony requires are those who use not their fingers only, but their hands. We import our childrens' toys and the various knickknacks that make up the stock-in-trade of the fancy warehouse, therefore' we do not require that the manufacturers of these tinselly gauds should be imported also. There is, as yet, no place for them m the colonies'. According to the various reports thera is a great dearth of good female servants throughout the colony." 'This statement- is verified by a very general "experience. v Considering the low rate of wages that domestics receive at home, it is surprising that more of them do not embrace the opportunities afforded, by the colony to earn and save. A similar- dearth was experienced m the early days of New South Wales, but this was partly obviated by the laudable exerinons of the late Mrs Chishol^who iuduced a systematic immigration of good female servantSj-.and established them m a home until their services wererequired. Thereis good prospect, however? oFthe system of immigration by nomination that is now com-, ing into general use largely helping . to adjust the supply of laboivto the wants of the country. This system provides that persons may be brought out as immigrants at the instance of friends already m the colony. It is to be assumed that those who have acquired colonial experience t .would scarcely- nominate friendß vwhose callings would not procure them a livlihood m the colony. Hence it is probable that we have seen the most of that great evil of immigration — ' the unsuitable immigrant.