The New-Zealander. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 15, 1847. NATIVE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 161, 15 December 1847, Page 2

The New-Zealander. WEDNESDAY, DEC. 15, 1847.

NATIVE AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE.

Be just and fear not: Let all the ends thon aims't at, be thy Country's, iliy Goo's, and Truth's.

Of all the measure* which have been suggested for the civilization of the Native race, there is not one which wi 1 bear a moment's comparison wilh the formation of a practical school of agriculture. The more one thinks on the effect of &uch an Institution, the more convinced will he be that an incalculable amount of good will be the result. The suggestion is one so p radical, so decidedly applicable to the present condition of the aboriginal population, that it stands in "bold relief to devices such as those emauating from parlour theorists, or morbid philantrophists. Let us first explain what is meant by an agricultural college. We simply mean a model farm and garden, where the natives can be instructed in European agiiculture and gardening, with the care of dairy and other cattle. Here is a very simple lever ; but it is one which would extract the roots of barbarism to give room for those of civilization. How is the good work to be commenced ? There are manyjjways. It may be begun by subscriptions ; or by the natives themselves But would tne Government ever permit the honour of its foundation to pass into other hands ? Could the Government sit so immoveably by, without affording the assistance it can so easily grant ? We believe it would not run the risk of incurring such a calumny. Suppose then» an eligible piece of ground, properly fenced in, with a house for the resident Superintendent, lodgings for the Native students, and necessary buildings and yards for cattle. Procure a respectable and industrious farmer, as a resid* nt teacher, with a man of liberal education and scientific acquirements to govern the institution ; and the machinery is ready. Once started, — we have no fear of its not going well, A pair or two of each kind of domestic cattle ; a few fruit trees, and seeds of plants best suited for cultivation in this colony j and the necessary agricultural implements being obtained ; no farther expense need be incurred. It will afterwards support itself. Natives are very fond of acquiring practical knowledge. They are also very fond of gain. We are sure that no New ' Zealander could withstand a combination of these attractions. It might be sufficient for every native who entered the proposed establishment, to get practical instruction in return for his labour. But we would give him more. He should have a share in the produce also. The *' model farm/ would not long remain a small one*, nor would tha amount of produce from it be insignificant. And now, before we examine results, let us take a glance at native agriculture as it is ; by and by we will see what it might be under an improved system. A clearing is first made in some bush land, the wood is burnt off, and the ashes with new soil, afford for two or three years pretty abundant crops. The land j now gets exhausted, the natives know nothing j x of the application of manure to correct ex- j haustion, or of the rotation of crops to prevent ' it. They have but one alternative, another j bush must be cleared and destroyed, and this moving about in search of productive soil, has an evil effect on their social habits, the effect of which is 1 ttle understood. Greater results would flow then from an acquaintance with European agriculture than a mere increase of cultivation. rJative habits ■would be improved by a fixity of residence ; "by a knowledge that he could reside on, and raise remunerating crops perpetually from the same spot of land, under a proper system of farming. Then would he fence his land substantially, and build houses of some durability — a step towards social improvement which will at any time take the pas of book learning. An acquaintance with the rotation of crops and the pioper application of manure "would, we are satisfied, produce in a short period a more radical change in the social amelioration of the New Zealander than all that has been attempted during the last forty yeais. But to succeed, the acquaintance must be a practical one ; it must be made under the eye of a master. In the *' model farm," the natives would learn the management of the dairy, as well as the .care of sheep They would find that their love of acquisitiveness could be gratified by paying a little attention to these animals, of -whose treatment they are now so ignorant. | Well might a writer on New Zealand thus exclaim, "It might be expected that having so many missionary establishments amongst them, they would already be in the possession ! of stock; but this, except in one or two in-

stances, is not the case" And yet we know of no people, who are so fond of, and who show such marked kindness towards domestic animals. Does not the missionary know this, and is he not sufficiently versed in history, to perceive that in proportion to the civilization of a people, so in proportion have they the power of fully understanding and appreciating the truths of Christianity ? Well then, with the production of milk, and butter, and wool, and spinning jennies, and " home-spun," instead of blankets, we think we have opened up rather an extensive field of employment. The old proverb about idleness is rather " musty withal.'' Asjain, the *• model farm," would be made a School of Horticulture. The cultivation of fruits for which this country is so admirably adapted, is unknown to the aborigines. How cau they have .orchards who know not how to plant them ? Or how can those be expected to plant them, who do not know their value? AH this must be shown, The different habit each kind of tree possesses, the various modes of grafting and pruning, all must be learnt. The natives are very sweet-toothed ; they like honey amazingly. They would not be long in learning the management of bees ; and the traveller would soon meet with beehives, the emblems of industry, in his visits to the interior. The natives would not only know where to procure the best information on culture, but moreover, the best seeds for propogation and scions. They need neither leave the institution with empty heads or empty hands. And by awarding periodical prizes for the best animals and iruits, their vanity might be, turned to a good account, by encouraging a proper spirit of emulation. The subject grows on us faster than we can write. It now becomes apparent that the benefits of an agricultural college should not be confined to one district. The first institution must become the parent of others. It should be made a normal school for the instruction of native teachers ; and these men, having obtained a certain degree of proficiency, "{flight take charge of other model farms iv various parts of the interior. An engine of unlimited power for the working of good. We will now look at home a little, and see if our fellow colonists would derive any advantages from the institution proposed. It may be rationally concluded that an increase of produce would soon be visible. Our exports wduld be increased ; produce would pour down the Waikato and Waipa, the Piako and the Thames : and Auckland would no longer have it cast in her teeth, that it is dependant for itsprbsperity on the Commissariat expenditure. Settlers would then be able to procure what cannot now be obtained — farm servants— we do not mean servants who merely labour and often labour in vain on a farm, but those who know what is to be done, and how to do it. Now to bring this matter to something like a conclusion ; for verily as soon as we think we have despatched its Hydra heads we only fiad that inumerable others have sprung up — there is no plan so likely to make the na» tives'good neighbours, and peaceable subjects If one tenth part the social teform could be achieved, which we anticipate would be thus effected, neither Auckland nor Wellington need any longer be garrisoh towns. A man possessing property,and that property only con firmed to him during peace, is not generally the first to call down on himself the retaliation of his neighbour by committing' acts of aggression. Viewing the proposition then in all its bearings, it becomes essentially one for the adoption of the Government. No other party could start it with that eclat, so necessary at first to arouse the native mind. And who next the natives themselves, would be the greatest gainers ? The Government, unquestionably.