The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1871.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 95, 24 April 1871, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1871.

We recently published an article from a Melbourne paper entitled *' The Want of the Colonies " which has attracted some attention among our country* readers. The article was selected a*; being peculiarly appropriate to the province of Nelson, and it is therefore a source of satisfaction to us to find from numerous communications wo have received, and conversations we have had with country settlers on the subject that it lisjS opened the eyes of many persons Io what is as great a drawback to the material progress of our province as it is stated to have been to the advancement of Victoria, namely, the absence of the true colonising spirit among those who are growing up iu our country districts. For instance, we very rarely hear of a move being made iu the direction of our up-f'.ounlry districts by any of the young men who are to be found in such numbers in the Waimeas and other suburban districts, although there aie numeious -.snols where those who were really desirous of doing so might find small blocks of laud on which they could soon create comfortable homestt-ads and surround themselves with all the necessaries, and many of the comforts, of life, and where they might settle down and lead a thoroughly independent life. But this dons not appear to be the great, desideratum with tbe rising generation. Their fathers before them, the pioneers of the province, were content for many years to undergo hardships without a murmur, and to puss through trials which their sons appefar unable, or at least unwilling, to face,' not reflecting that, the comforts which surround their parents in their old age are the fruits of tho toil, the drudgery, and the manifold discomforts with which they were content to put up in their younger days. But the youth of the present time appear to have sadly degenerated from the good old stock from whom they have sprung, and who converted the wilderness 0f^1842 into the smiling farms of 1871. They want to reap the fruits of the labors of their fathers without having borne their share of sowing the seed from which such results have accrued. They are more luxurious, more gregarious, in their habits, and are not content to push further back into the country, but prefer to lead » more dependent life in the parts already settled, where they can receive their newspaper regularly, and meet once or twice a week at their club, institute, or similar places of gathering, and gossip over recent events". This is all very well where those who indulge in such comparative luxuries are in a position to do so; where they have, by their previous labors, earned a right to such comforts, but is this the case with the young meu of our agricultural districts? Would ..it not be far more conducive to . their interests to swarm from the parent hive and to push their way into tho hitherto unsettled parts of the province? Not to make a fortuue. They must have no .such high flown ideas as that, but, if they enter upon such undertakings, it must be with the full conyiotiou that they are simply about to make"' homes for themselves, to which eventually they may take wives, and there, with their families growing up around them, spend a happy, industrious, and contented: life. To do this would he to evince the true colonising spirit, and those who thus undertook the "planting" of the country would be. benefitting themselves at the .same time.' that they were promoting the welfare of the, colony at large. There' are numerous openings for such colonists did they once make up their minds not to bo deterred by trials and hardships which, however formidable they might at first appear, are not, as has been shown over aod over again, altogether insuperable. The Upper Bulier, and the valleys of its various tributaries, afford scope for thousands of persevering iu- . dustrious settlers, and the country iu this direction is possessed of advantages of no ordinary .description for such a class of inhabitant,- as gold digging on a small, scale -can-, always be : combined', with agricultural and pastoral pursuits-, and the small' amount' of [money' that would'be'required for the purchase Of such necessariesas would not be afford pel' by the farm could, in almost every instance 'be raised from ' the groutid'ln- the :; shape ' 6 ; f : 'goYd diisti !; ■Ag a .iD>.. there are hundreds upon hundreds of acres on the other side of the Bay, .especially .in , Jhe, •Tajcakiy ■ djstrjct.viwh-erer the ,riehtest of l.Jaud itf-fo!be-.ffouaU>i:bual£ laud, tt is tru^*;Whlo^--'Wo^ld i; *rV^lrd , iime u Slabcfrp-aria fyatWrice'-to turn it to account, but with reference to which we would adopt

the quotation from Bacon, made use of by our Melbourne contemporary. "Planting of countries," he says, "is like planting of -woods ; for you must make accouut to lose almost twenty years' profit, aud expect your recompense io the end." We would earnestly recommend this subject to the consideration of the numberless young men both in the town and country who, at the present moment, know not which way to turn for a living. They have perhaps a few pounds in their pockets but have not the. least idea how to lay them out to advantage. Cau they do hotter than-.set to work iui. something like the way \fce-\ark indicate^ In,, America, we hear everyMhow and. the^onk' high spirited young men having tinmen to themselves wives and waggons and -started off to found a new settlement, shaking off for ever ihe dust of cities from their feet and prepared to live the same life and acquire a ' competency in, the same slow au-i^suro way as i heir ancestors.'' Here is an 'Sample to our young men, who, we are sui^e, if once they give the; matter sufficient serious thought, are quite'-." Aigh spirited" enough to act in a similar manner. Whether it would be quite judicious to provide themselves with wives at the outset is open to question, we think not, and here we would once more quote Bacon as an authority — tbe italics are our own — " When the plantation grows to strength, then it is time fo plant with women as well as with men. that the plantation may spread into generations, and not, be ever pierced from without." In the article irom the Melbourne paper which has given rise to these remarks there is a somewhat sneering allusion to the "prosperity to he secured by Acts of Parliament," but although we are quite of opinion that no amount of legislation can command. success unless an earnest eudeavor be made on the part of the settlers to help themselves, we are equally eertain that "Acts of Parliament" are necessary tq ensure the prosperity of such undertakings as that we are now advocating. These out settlers must be assured that by a small annual payment they can acquire as their own freehold property the land on which they have made their homes, and to enable them to do so special legislation is necessary. Iu the Provincial Council last year a series of resolutions bearing" upon this point was brought forward by Mr. Shephard, and, if we remember rightly, adopted unanimously, but, unfortunately, they were disallowed by the Legislative Council. One of them ran as follows^; — "That an applicant for a lease desiriug^to purchase may require the Waste Lands .Bo&i'd to assess the land he applies for at its value for sale, and, on payment of ten per cent per annum on such iease, for a term of fourteen years, he shall be entitled Va Crown Grant of the land comprised in such lease, provided that it be not more than 200 acres." We hope, in the approaching session, to see this resolution re-affirmed,, and trust that it may be carried through the General Assembly, as some law of this nature would without doubt tend to the settlement of our hitherto neglected outdistricts.. Another point of perhaps as great importance is the opening of the communication with the - ' interior, and to this we hope to see our Provincial Legislators direct their earnest attention. We may then look for, not a roviug population who are here to-day, and gone to-morrow, their remaining in the country being entirely dependent upon the richness of the auri-, ferous ground as compared with that of other provinces or countries, but for a permanent settlement of the country : by a body of men whose interests are identical with those of, the : land; in which they .have made their homes. Which of tbe\two classes would prove more beneficial tip the colony is beyond all . question.. \