THE EXODUS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2234, 30 July 1891, Page 4

THE EXODUS.

ITS CAUSE AND ITS CURE,

Sir Bobert Stout, who has been staying at Auckland for a short time, was intervievyed by a representative of the Herald with regard to the exodus of the people and the possibility of neutralising the effects. Sir Robert expressed himself as follows ; “ The exodus began with the. defeat of the Stout-Vogel Ministry, at the polls in the end of 1887. The Public Works policy had been gradually abandoned —that is, employment was getting scarce. We saw that the only remedy which we thought could be profitably devised was the settlement on the land of the surplus labor, especially the encouragement of village settlement. We also had a scheme, in a small way, of looking after our forests, and that also would have employed considerable surplus labour. However, we went to the country, and it would have none of our village settlement scheme. Im? mediately after that there came a boom in Melbourne, which was caused by the investment of foreign capital in Victoria, and also by the Exhibition and the opening of the silver mines. Great: building operations were carried on in Melbourne and suburbs. This caused considerable demand for builders, carpenters, bricklayers and mechanics generally. Our artisans connected with the building trade very properly went to Australia, where they could obtain work. It will, therefore, be seen that

THERE WERE TWO CAUSES

for the beginning of the exodus. First, through no provision being made for the surplus labour and unemployed in New Zealand by the Government; and, second, the demand which sprang up in a neighbouring colony for workmen. That having been the cause of the beginning of the exodus, workmen who had gone to Australia, and who had got anything to do, naturally and properly sent for their families. This kept up the drain upon New Zealand. Then when the workmen* artisans and labourers left, there was less left to do for the storekeepers and tradesmen : houses became empty, and there came to be no employment for those in the building trade who remained behind. Labour, instead of getting more in demand by the exodus, found that there was less demand, and this made the exodus continue, for work got scarce, Then there was no effort put forward by the Government to try and fix the people to the soil. On the contrary, the small village settlement scheme was put an end to, and no encouragement given to people of small means to settle, and instead of those who left us becoming, as was predicted, ‘ immigration agents,’ they became emigration agents. These are, I believe the causes of the exodus. Now, as to

THE REMEDY.

“I believe that the remedy will be to follow the scheme propounded by us in 1887. Eor example, we had a Labour Bureau in Dunedin, which we found excedingly useful., That was put an end to by : our successors. In my opinion the Government will have to consider it to be part of its functions to see that its people are employed. I am not advocating Government workshops-—that may have to come —but the Government will have to do something while not interfering with individual enterprise and exertion. It should establish Labour Bureaus all ,over New : Zealand to help and direct the people. It should encourage the village settlement scheme. It should spend some thousands a year in working up the fruit industry and in directing the people how to prepare and export fruit. It should import a fruit expert, Just as we have a dairy expert to help our farmers. Then ! should have the Whangarei Forest andFiuit school kept on,and not. deprived; as at present, of funds; and it., should form a nucleus for the diffusion ■ of education suited for the north. I was very grieved when the Hon. Mr liichardson put an end to what we had done in this direction, and I think the Education Board should give scholarships to pupils who would; attend the Forest and Fruit School. The Government should look after forest culture, especially in the north, and it should encourage the village settlers by helping settlement for two or three years, till they get attached to the soil. How this may mean what we*anticipated it might mean, £40,000 to £60,000 a year. In my opinion, the expenditure of - £40,000 A YEAR, judiciously done, would have stayed to a large extent our exodus, and created a hope for many people who have seen no brightness in their future. It is not necessary that I should go into details as to how this could be carried out, but I see no difficulty in accomplishing what I have stated, and I exceedingly regret that the prophecy that I uttered in 1887 as to what would be the result of abandoning and opposing our schemes, has been ' unfortunately fulfilled. I believe the ; present Government is fully alive to i the position, and. if the Parliament t would soon prorogue and leave it time 1 to deal with this exodus, it would be i found that it would be able to stop it i to a great extent. I know the 1 members of the Ministry are thoroughly 1 -dive to the position, and I have every 11 QtQnfidonce iw their ability. You mayfc i

remember, about two years ago, tha some of us in Otago proposed a

CO-OPERATIVE SETTLEMENT SCHEME, and got a sufficient number of men, farmers and others, to offer to take-up a block of land: in Otago on perpetual lease without any right of purchase, and we undertook that there should be one settler and his family to every hundred acres given us. We offered to make our own roads, and we intended to have a village in the block, and start one or two industries, but the Minister for Lands declined to give any land, and denounced our attempt at co-operation as. an attempt to monopolise lands, One of the men who would have, joined us went to Tasmania,,,and the others got so disgusted that I do not know whether more than one or two went on the land at all. Our scheme was in a sense Socialistic, in so far as the general increase from the value of the village lands and some other things went to a general fund, but each was allowed by ballot to get his selection according to his interest in the.concern, from twenty to two hundred acres. I personally had little interest in the matter, and only joined to help those interested in the matter, but the Minister was so narrow, and apparently so opposed to me politically* that he condemned the scheme. Now, I would like to see settlement of this kind started on a co-operative basis. Practically, it is something like that which General Booth has proposed, only our scheme allowed for greater individual exertions. He had to deal with a different class of people—people who needed guidance and control. I may add that there are many ways in which the Government may help .the industries of the country; and if our Parliament considered it to be its highest duty to be always trying to encourage settlement and industries, and to,, perhaps, ignore, many: abstract questions which now trouble them, there might be evoked an, enthusiasm, especially among our ,young people, in favor of settlement such as influenced the minds of the early settlers when they left Horae to become colonists in New Zealand.’’