LETTER TO THE EDITOR.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 7, Issue 336, 26 March 1863, Page 3

LETTER TO THE EDITOR.

Rangitikei, 13th March, 1863. Sir, —Some few weeks since, I wrote you regarding, the desirability of taking advantage of the intended operations of a society established in England, that proposed, partly as a philanthropic and partly as a business arrangement, to send out emigrants from the old country to the colonies to which they wished to go—thus benefiting the emigrants, the persons left behind and the colonists amongst whom the immigrants came. At the time of writing, I urged the desirability of steps being taken here, to secure the advent of some of the persons who would, leave their homes in Britain to form fresh homes in the colonies ; and although this could be better done by a Government than by private persons, yet so great was the need, that, no steps being likely to be taken by tlxe governments, it only remained for to unite and introduce the labourers they required for their farm and other work, or absolutely to let their lands and capital lie idle for the want of labour, which could not be had even at 10s. per day.

In my former letter it was stated that 1,000 men and women were required on this coast, and from what I have since learned, 1 am led to the belief that more than that number could be absorbed, f in the following year. In the Rangitikei district, between the Rangitikei and Turakina rivers, a large number of men and women sej vants are required, if the work that, the farmers and others require is to be done at all, or at any price that the employers can afford to pay ; and so great is the need, that certain individuals have authorized an agent to proceed to Otago, and, if possible, induce labourers to come up here to do the fencing and other necessary work. To give you some little insight into the position of things here, I may tell you that the men who formerly came to this district as labourers, have now, by their industry, perseverance, energy, and thriftiness, ceased to be labourers, and, having purchased and settled upon lands of their own, are removed from the necessity of going out to work for others, and are themselves ready to employ labour. This is as it should be ; but what we now want is more labour to replace that removed from the market; and if we do not get it immediately, not only will our roadmaking cease, hut the necessary fencing to lands for pasturage and tillage cannot he done at all this winter, which will lead to serious evil from trespass and impossibility of growing crops &c. The absolutely necessary fencing this year will be very large, one proprietor now being willing to give out contracts for 320 chains, another for 200, one for 300, one for 310, another 270, one 190, another 240, and a considerable number of small quantities ranging between 20 and 100 chains. Besides the fencing, 14 or 15 miles of road have to be formed, and" bridges and cu'verts made, and all. this in addition to the ordinary ploughing' harvesting, clearing, and the other usual work on the farms that has every year to be done, and for which there is never enough labour to be had, and the small farmers after a good deal of trouble are induced to assist in helping each other. From this deficiency it follows that in this district where enough coni

could be grown to supply all the present population of New Zealand if labour was to be had: : we are obliged to buy a great part of our flour &c. from other places. T need not point out to you the large quantities of flour being imported,wbioh, if we had labour, we could grow in the province of Wellington ourselves, nor need I advert to the fact that good settlers are 1 caving us and going elsewhere. We are not increasing our numbers as they are in every other province of these fertile islands, nor are farmers, attract- < ed from the old.countries to this province where they could do so much ■ better than they can at home, where.their lands cost as much for one year’s rental as they do here for the purchase of the fee simple, where the winters are nothing in comparison with those at home, and where all their work could be carried, out with greater certainty and more sure results,. if only the one 'thing wanted was to be found. To talk of th 3 native difficulty preventing them coming is. a mistake. Britons,are not so soon frightened .; they might make that an excuse, hut witli 100,000 agricultural labourers between Taranaki and Wellington the native difficulty would be removed very quickly. Bring in tlie people, . and the. land-will soon be obtained. The customs revenue woiild increase ; the interior would, be. opened by roads to settlement; the natural advantages of this part of the island ivauldthen attract so large a farming and grazing population that it would take its fair and proper place amongst not only the other provinces, but the emigration fields of the world. The very first thing required in every now country is Labor. It is that that has made Canada and America what Canada is-and America was.before the war The , 200,000 labourers aylio left tlie shores of Great Britain and Ireland annually went there and made those countries advance as rapidly as they did ; and if we can only attract a tythe of the number to the shores of these islands, we shall prosper in a quicker ratio than they did in those countries where for six months the ground is covered with snow and work on laud is impossible; The present population of Wellington is about; . 12,500 ; in 1850 it was about 5,900. Thus, in over 12 years it has little more than doubled itself, so that in spite of our fine agricultural land, our good harbours, forests, rivers,' and excellent climate, we liave not advanced as rapidly as far worse places. That this may not longer continue, it is desirable that tlie proper means be used to introduce labour, male and. female, into this Province, and to give publicity 4 to the fact that farmers with ca2>it‘al can do well here. If nothing else is done, and no perfect, and comprehensive scheme is carried out, the following might lie tried as an experiment by the Council or Executive with the assistance of the settlers :

Let one thousand pounds be put upon the Estimates, that fifty labourers, whose individual passages should be £2O, each; be Brought to this place ; they should sign bonds both at home and before landing here, to serve iti tlieir several capacities for six months, to thus repay by tlieir work the price or cost of their passages ; persons requiring tlieir service should state to the Government the kind of labourers they require* whether ploughman,"shepherd, dairyman &c., and upon receiving tlie labourer from the government should " enter into bond to repay at the end of six months the £2O that the immigrant cost the Government, which the labourer would then have worked out as. wages and would have thus repaid his own passage money ; after which the immigrant would be free to do as he pleased—either to work for the same employer or to engage with' another. If the men were well chosen at home, of good characters &c., they would lie of the greatest service to the place, and if careful and industrious would iu a few years’ service here work tlieir way to the possession of lands of their own. At the end of the first six months other immigrants could he sent for, and thus a small stream of useful immigrants would be constantly coming in to supply the places of those who would go to other localities, and no difficulty would be found in getting the right sort of men to enter into light engagements to repay by their labour the amount of their passage money during their first; six in this country, and during which time they would be preparing themselves with a knowledge of the wants and customs of the labour market, and then knowing that during this six monulis they would he creating a. good or had character for themselves, according to the way they wrought out tlieir first six months’ engagement, they would try to do their best for their employer during this term. With the working details it is here unnecessary to trouble you, but as for the agency to choose the men at home, the Society before referred to would do ; if not that there are plenty of others—the clergy and philanthropists in the several country places, many different societies, poor law officers and others, colonists returned home, and several others, and eventually a paid agent who would go about thro ugh the counties, choosing the men and making known the character of the land &c. in this province to the farmers and those* who w ould emigrate from the capitalists’ class. There would he no difficulty about shipping them, as any slip agents or brokers would he only too glad to bring them for £l6 or £l7 a head, as third class passengers ; and if the fifty came in one vessel this arrangement would be bettor for all parties concerned.

1 had hoped that we should have had a candidate for a seat in the Provincial Council holding meetings here, when we could perhaps have induced him to advocate the important subject of immigration in his place ; but as that is now impossible, it duly remains to ask jou to bring that peaceful engine, the press, to bear upon this matter, and never to allow it to rest until we see a constant and steadily increasing stream of labourers and capitalists setting in upon our shores. And for thus far trespassieg on your patience, the only apology I can urge is the great importance of the subject to tin* Province in general, and the vital importance to ns here, that labourers should be at once, obtained. I am &c. . S. M. Cum.. M. D.