OTAGO.

Colonist, Volume IV, Issue 372, 17 May 1861, Page 3

OTAGO.

(From the Witness.)

MR. DILLON BELL ON WASTE LANDS. [We extract the following on this subject from a speech delivered to the inhabitants of the new Province of Southland :—]

It was quite unneccessaiy for htm to urge that the question of. questions with them must be—how to bring people into the Province? And it was equally clear that the fund on which, whether directly or indirectly, every colony relied for the introduction of people, was simply the Waste Lands of the Crown. In order that they should understand clearly what..he. would presently say to-them, it would be as well to refer briefly to the plans under which the waste lands of the crown were disposed of in the several provinces of New Zealand. [Mr. Bell hereexplained the principal points in the various land regulations now in force, and proceeded.] For his own part he had become convinced that the plan now in force in the Province of Auckland was one of the best that had been attempted, and he thought it might be introduced here with a remarkable prospect of success. Under that system the Province of Auckland offered free grants of 40 acres to every adult immigrant irom the United Kingdom or other parts of Europe, and from the United States and British American colonies, who should pay their own passages to Auckland : providing at the same time for grants of 20 acres to the children of such immigrants and for the sale of land at the uniform price of 10s. an acre to all comers. The plan went under the name of the " Whitaker Land Regulations," (having been originally propounded by the present Attorney-General), but practically brought into operation by the present Superintendent of Auckland, Mr. "Williamson : under it thousands of people had voluntarily come into the Province, and successfully established themselves in their new homes; and if the Maori war had not broken out and given a temporary check to the immigration, there would in a very short time have been, not 26,000 people in that province, but nearer 40,000, so rapidly were the people coming out. (Hear, hear.) j Now the danger that had always been pre- '■ dieted as certain from the introduction of; this system (and at one time believed by himself to exist), was chiefly that the offer of free grants of land would bring out numbers of people without any means to occupy the land, while the influx of capital to employ them would be altogether checked, so that nothing but ruin would ensue. Now at Auckland the result had been, not ruin, but, on the contrary, a very remarkable success. Undoubtedly much discouragement and disappointment occurred to many j persons who availed themselves of the sys- j tern, although they were utterly unfit for! making good colonists; but he could aissure the meeting, from his own expeiience and iknowledge, that on the whole the system &ad worked eminently well. It was no j wonier .that some disappointment had occurred. Most of the best land in the Province of Auckland was still in the hand* of the Maoriee"/ The General Government had great obstacles to contend with in acquiring scattered districts of small extent from the. natives; acd the Provincial Government hud numerous difficulties before them in the feet, that the districts <o acquired contained generally poor land, hard of access from Auckland by land, more or less hilly in character, so making tHe laying out of roads a most tedious and expensive work. There was nowhere a great tract of level fertile land ; and if there had not been such excellent -\v£ter communication everywhere, the plan could not have been carried out. In 6pite of all these difficulties, however, the Auckland Government persevered; and now in several parts of the province flourishing settlements had sprung into existence, and great numbers of people were established in comfort «nd independence, and had made happy homes for themselves and their children. Thus far with regard to the immigrants. But another result had occurred unexpected even by the most sanguine advocates of the plan. It was found that these immigrants, instead ot being paupers, as had been predicted, brought out with them a very large amount of capital. The capital of each was perhaps small, but when all came to be added together, the total was surprisingly large, and the man who perhaps was the most astonished .was the Manager of the Bank, who found that every ship brought out thousands and thousands of pounds in small Bums, which were immediately deposited fcith him. This capital, following its natural law, of course immediately sought investment; the value of land already in the hands of the settlers rose; the customs revenues jumped up at once; a larger demand necessitated a wider supply, and trade grew rapidly. A larger choice of

goods, of a "much moro varied quality, enabled every one to lay out his money ..to. tetter advantage; the tradesman, selling more at a time,.jcpuld afford to take a less profit on each article, and prices became lower accordingly ; in.the midst of a great demand in all directions for building material, timber fell in price, for the mills were doubled in power and more capital applied to bringing the logs to the saw—so that the best heart-of-kauri could be got on the wharf at from 10s. to 12s. the hundred; and Auckland became the cheapest place to live at of all the Provinces (cheers). —These were some of the advantages which had been derived in that province from its system of dealing with its waste lands ; and this in the face of very great difficulties and drawbacks—benefits participated in as much by the old settlers as by the new comers. In fact, these advantages were after all the natural results of carrying out the one thing needful in a colony, namely, the bringing people to it; the land was made to do its vyork directly, . instead of indirectly; instead of selling the land first and then sending the money home to England to bring out the people, they made one transaction of it: they made the land itself bring out the people at once_ (hear, hear.) Now (continued the hon. speaker) —now, if in a province where so many difficulties existed this system had been successful, why should it not succeed here in Muiihiku, where there was level, fertile, and bush land withdut stint? Why should not the plan be tried here of bringing out thousands of people, to give value to land which was worthless without them ?