GERMAN IMMIGRATION TO SOUTHLAND.

Southland Times, Issue 1052, 6 November 1868, Page 2

GERMAN IMMIGRATION TO SOUTHLAND.

* Mr Pearson in speaking to thefol. 1 lowing resolution, at a late session of the 5 -Provincial Council, said— lk£r Speaker, the principle that Immigration is both a r necessity and advantage, having been ' determined by the unanimity with which ■ my previous resolutions on the subject- - were passed by the Goundli preclude! 1 any necessity for me to detain the House in bringing this . series of - resolutions ' under its attention longer thari: ? will'be requisite to explain the difference be--1 tween the two propositions, and. my ' reasons for making this second one. ' As I stated, my first project was for the ' initiation of a purely local scheme for ' effecting so desirable an object as the introduction of fresh capital, ; thews, and ' sinews, prompted by a special offer. My second proposal embraces a wider area being a colonial one, nor will the two militate with one another,, though brought into simultaneous operation. I do not ' think, therefore, that any member will 1 raise objection to the first resolution, as to the desirability of a colonial scheme of Immigration being at once undertaken i by the General Government, of any local or provincial efforts. 1 ' Jbs J io the second, I presume most of members have had time and opportunity— to make themselves acquainted "with, the project of introducing German Immigrants, entertained by the' Colonial 'Government 1862; as published in the blue book of 1863. I have detailed this in the letters I have published on the subject ; I will recapitulate the ; principle features, the Government was to enter into a contract with a firm of high standing in Hamburg, Kessrs J. C. Godefroy and Sons, for the introduction of a certain number' ; of German Immigrants, to be selected sad shipped by that firm, under the supervision of an agent appointed by the (Jovernment, itadvancing the. money, the New Zealand. Government undertaking to pay t£em in debentures, having a currency. of "ten years^ bearing 9 per cent interest, "allocate to each adult on arrival "ascertain number of acres of ' land, the immigrant to repay; to the Government the passage mone/ and price of his land as follows: — A One fifth at the end of the sixth yew. Do , do " - , do ...... seventh do Do'" do " >! do s eighth for Do do do ninth do Do do do tenth do

,^*

After arrival at the port of debarkation, title to land to be given on payment of purchase and passage money the immigrant having tne right of paying off the whole or any part of the debt at any earlier period than that stipulated. The third resolution provides for the sale or land on deferred payments and repayment of the passage money, extending over such a period, that while on the one hand it; enables the immigrant to extinguish tiis liability' on! the other it ensures ft steady revenue to the Government, which is preferable to the present spasmodic process. The fourth is necessary in as much as the land regulations in some of the Provinces, in Southland for instance, require amendment to enable the sale of land in deferred payments. The fifth rests the local administration in the Board of Immigration as proposed in my first series of resolutions, which being & non political one, will more efficiently, conduct the scheme in its integrity than any other machinery presently in operation, and render nugatory the argument that a system of deferred payments on land is made a political handle of when occasion and want of principle deems it advisable to prostitute it. Such are the broad features of a project which could be at once undertaken by the Colonial Government. It has the following advantages, that a large body of immigrants could be' promptly introduced without toy immediate outlay as regards passage money, the expenses attendant on which would be defrayed by the immigrant himself before the Government was called on to provide the means — the "Waste Lands of the Crown in those provinces, having any at their disposal, would not only be sold, but profitably disposed of, be planted with men not sheep ; yield a return such as nature, and therequirein'en'ts of (jiviliitatiqn after a certain period in the age of all settlements' demand, and the prosperity and progress of the colony be placed on a stable basis, its ability to bear with ease, and discharge #ith certainty its obligations be no longer a problem for anxious speculation, but one, the solution of which would be determined by the fact of the presence ot a population. I shall I know be met with the objection, that the Germans are an alien race, that if we are to offer such favourable inducements to settlement, why nbt present them to our own countrymen? "Well, Sir, my proposition embraces immigration from Great Britain as well as Germany, and if the Government can obtain as favourable terms from any English firm as those offered by Messrs Godefroy and Son, I see no objection. For "my own part I must confess to a predilection for the introduction to a certain extent of a German population. They are a people which from constitutional, physicial and political, associations are more than ordinarily adapted to succeed in furthering the prosperity of a new: colony. They possess a rare combination of soberity in thought, manner, and habit ; of steady plodding industry ; and 1 above all the invaluable qualities of minding their pwn business, and not being addicted to neglect it for politics. They are, owing to their native institutions, acquainted with most of the elements of education, (I refer of course to the peasantry) and have to undergo a military training which gives them a self reliance in danger and adaptability to protect themselves whichare rarely to be found amongst the peasantry of Great Britain, and which have enabled them to maintain their ground, unprotected by the State, in colonies where the savage fought not ignobly to retain his heritage. Wherever they have emigrated in any appreciable number, they nave stamped with -success the locality. Adelaide, Queensland, Victoria, &c, amongst British settlements testify this, while the far west of the United States, the great grainery of the world, has been mainly developed by them. Nor is it only in the arts of peace they have rendered themselves prominent ; the army of General Grant was composed principally of Germen settlers, and it was this sober, quiet, enduring, persevering race which conquered the South that till then had scattered the hordes brought against it. I have in my letters adverted to what one State, Minnesota, did during the war, in furnishing 14,000 men to the Northern armies, although, she had just emerged from a long and harrassing war with the Sioux Indians. The State of Indiana during the same period, proved that the same men who could conquer the wilderness, were able and willing to prevent themselves from being conquered. To quote Sir Morton Peto — "Indiana, first incorporated into the Union in 1816, when she numbered a total population of less than 100,000, contributed to the armies of the United States no less than 125,000 soldiers during the war, besides a large amount of treasure raised by taxation and voluntary contributions. Where, again I ask is such a record to be found ? And yet at this time the very country of which I speak, was, and throughout the war she continued to remain one of the most thriving of the States. She stands sixth of all the States in her production of wheat, growing nearly 10,000,000 bushels ; ancl fifth in the production of Indian com, growing upwards of 70,000,000 bushels. During the summer of 1863 this State was exposed to a confederate raid under General John Morgan, who mustered 5,100 cavalry, with five pieces of artillery, to invade the best part of the province. Within four and twenty hour* no less than 60,000 volunteers offered their services to drive the Waders from the State; and of these 13,500 were accepted, organised, and •quipped. In addition large bodies of militia and minute men were placed in the field to defend their farms and home- ; steads, composed chiefly of squads of hunters, who turned out armed with their own rifles. The enemy re- : treated and escaped, but the people of Indiana boast that, independently of the ....force they contributed to the regular jurmy, not legs than 20,000 armed inhabiv tjmte weire prepared to drive the uavaders

from their soil." Such arethemenwe want; earnest in peace, ready for war } "who will fight the wilderness, and having conquered it, fight to hold their possessions. It would have been well for the North Island, indeed for the whole colony, had the Colonial Government carried out its intention in 1862 of planting a German settlement at Taranaki instead of being diverted from it to introduce the celebrated military settlers of oar own race, who required, as the first step towards settlement on the confiscated Maori lands', military protection^ If German colonization had been effected in the North, the keynote of the Maori waV song would have been pitched in a lower strain, unless the New Zealand air had operated more unfavorably on their nationality than that of Oaffraria, or the United States. There is, as regards peaceful settlement, an advantage in j introducing German settlers ; they mean farming, real settlement. Accustomed 1 in their own country to small holdings and hard work, when they emigrate to a new one, instead of spending every i shilling they can get in acquiring land, and thereby incapacitate themselves from turning it to useful account, they are content to purchase such a quantity as they can utilize; and thus instead of aping to be landed proprietors, they are honafide farmers, real producers. I do not advocate that the entire attention of the Colonial Government should be turned to the introduction of Germans.Introduce Nova Scotians by all mean's. There is nothing like a wholesome admixture of races. It is this cosmopolitan mixture which has accomplished wonders in the United States. It invites exertion, competition, and emulation ; and if of no other benefit, is profitable in this. What I believe is, that the General Government should at once undertake for the colony, what the consolidation of Loans Act prevents the provinces from doing, namely, the introduction on a large and systematic scale of population, and the simplest, most economical method is by using the waste lands of the Crown as a lever. The Provinces of Canterbury, Otago, and Southland, in the Middle Island, have considerable areas adapted for location, let them be used for this purpose. These provinces will undoubtedly be directly benefitted by such settlement, but the colony as a whole, will be indirectly, by the capacity of the colony to bear its taxation being increased.