A COMPLAINT.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 233, 26 February 1876, Page 23

A COMPLAINT.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NEW ZEALAND MAIL. Sir,— l am the possessor of a land order warrant to tlie value of £2O, having conformed as yet to everything contained in the Immigrants Land Act, 1873, but I cannot possibly get any further than I am now, viz., holding the order ; for should I take up land, I must go into the back country to seek it, while it would be a piece of absurdity for me to expect £2O worth of land to return me at least £IOO a year, and lose £l5O to £2OO, which I can earn in a town. But I am told that the Act was meant for those who could live on the land, so living rent free, getting their food by the cultivation of the soil, and obtaining money for clothing. &c., by working for the settlers round. But if the Act were intended solely for this class, why are the certificates given to all who pay their own passages out ? Now, Dr. Featherston certified that T was a suitable emigrant, &c., and the result has fully justified his opinion, for I obtained work directly I landed, and have remained in full employment ever since. Now, why should I be debarred, practically, from taking advantage of the Act, under these circumstances ? for I am of more use to the colony, living in a town, earning more money, and spending more, than any man can possibly be on £2O worth of land, just scraping a living and haggling about every penny ; while, should I take up more land, adding the £2O worth to it, I should then, although being lifted out of tlie class for which the Act was passed, obtain the full benefit of my order, while my more unfortunate friend, who had neither the money, constitution, nor inclination to settle on his order, would altogether lose it, as I have before shown. Now, sir, this is a crying injustice to all like myself (and there are a great number). First, because the original settler must have engineers, carpenters, and other trades, which are quite as needful to the success and advancement of a colony as the actual settler himself. Second, because before they embark they are led to expect by advertisements that their order will be of use to them, which it can’t possibly be ; and third, it lowers the respect that they might otherwise have for a Government that can pass such an Act, making them grumblers, and perhaps leaving the colony and giving it a bad name elsewhere. —I am, &c., One of Many.