The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 1866.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume I, Issue 75, 1 June 1866, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 1866.

I_f no country in the Avorld have there been more attempts to force agricultural settlements tliau in New Zealand. From the days of the New Zealand Company to the present time there has been a constant succession of schemes with this end in view ; but the whole of these schemes have been based upon one principle — the settlement of communities of very small farmers ; and an objection evidently exists (if we may judge by the opinions expressed by the newspapers) to alienating the laud in sufficient quantities to induce men with means to embark in farming pursuits. Now it is evident that if farming pursuits in this colony ar/<3 to be remunerative in the face of tbe competition of other countries and with the high rate of wages prevailing here, it must be carried on with the aid of the most improved machinery and upon a pretty extensive scale. This will not only require the aid of moderate capital, but also that each farm should be sufficiently extensive to enable machinery to be used to advantage. These views have always prevailed in America, where the average size of the farms are about 200 acres, and the sections of land which are obtainable under the "Homestead's Law" are of 160 acres each. The consequence of this comprehensive spirit is that that country is the granary of the world, while New Zealand, where soil and climate are both unsurpassed for the growth of all kinds of cereals, imports largely from otlier countries. It is idle to say that we want population, as we constantly hear from the North Island, because population will not come here unless it has inducements to do so ; neither will tbey stay unless they can be profitably employed. "While in New South Wales, with tlie advantage of good roads, the intending settler can select from 40 to 320 acres of land upon the payment of a deposit of ss. ail acre, the trained colonists from Australia are not likely to be seduced by the offer of small allotments in tbe Waikato district, and tbe experiment of introducing emigrants from England at tbe expense of the colony, has been the cause of considerable trouble to tbe Auckland province, as those people having no means required employment to be provided for them, and all attempts to force settlement will end in similar disappointment.