The Southland Times. TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1872.

Southland Times, Issue 1593, 18 June 1872, Page 2

The Southland Times. TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1872.

Too much publicity cannot be given to the facilities afforded by the regulations for the introduction of immigrants, on the' nomination of their friends in the colony. The provisions of the Immigration Act in this respect are really liberal, and as we believe they are not nearly so generally understood as they ought to be, we deem it right to call attention to them, and we are sure that the Press i generally would confer a benefit on the community by doing the same from time to time. Copies of the Regulations may be had from the Immigration Officers at all the principal towns in the colony — among the rest, Invercargill. From . these we learn that any person in the i. Colony, (desirous of nominating friends or relatives in Europe for passages to New Zealand, may do so by paying at any money order post office, or to the local immigration Officer, the sum of £5 for each adult, and £2 103 for each, child ■under twelve years of age. Single women, under thirty-five years of age, receive free passages, the only condition being that they . furnish testimonials of good character to the Agent-General in London. If the person nominated declines to emigrate, the £5 is returned, without deduction, as soon as the fact of such refusal is certified to the authorities in New Zealand by the Agent- General. One would think nothing could be more liberal. But as it might happen that in the case of a colonist who wished to secure passages for a large number of his relatives at once, say a large family, who were unwilling to be separated, the -.total sum required might prove inconveniently large to pay all at once, a further privilege is granted, by which in euch cases one-half the amount paid down will be accepted, and the other half thirty days after the arrival of the immigrants in the Colony. A considerable number of nominated passages have already been applied for, both in Invercargill and Hiverton, but we are convinced that many more would be were the extreme simplicity »nd liberality of the provisions of the Immigration Act for this pur- . pose more generally understood. we have heard it suggested, as a slight drawback to the usefulness of the scheme in this district, that the Government are not prepared at

present to guarantee the shipment of immigrants direct to the Bluff, but prefer to incur the cost and trouble of sending them round by steamer from Dunedin. Why any difficulty should exist in occasionally sending an immigrant vessel direct to the Bluff, we are at a loss to understand. Ifc has been stated that it is impossible at present to secure a sufficient number of passengers within a reasonable time to fill up a vessel for our "port. But now that the Mataura railway has been undertaken, that difficulty could be met by sending the immigrants in the same vessels that bring out the railway plant. It may be added as an additional inducement to shipowners, that vessels arriving in the early part of the year, are sure of a full return cargo of wool, freight for which has only been obtained with the greatest difficulty by our local merchants for the last two seasons. The absence of • barracks, and of a suitable quarantine ground, has also been spoken of as an obstacle to direct shipments of immigrants to the Bluff. The truth is that the habitual inertia and red-tape tendency, inherent in all government departments, is at the bottom of the objection, and these will have to be overcome by vigorous pressure from without, on the part of the local community. As for the barracks, if there are none, why, let the Government build them ! They need not be very large, nor very expensive, for the present. And as for a site for a quarantine ground, there is Spencer Island, within the Bluff Harbor. There is a deep water channel all the way to the island, which presents every qualification requisite for security and comfort. We trust the public will take some action in the matter, and see to it that the interests of the district are not overlooked.