IMMIGRATION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1057, 25 April 1882, Page 2

IMMIGRATION.

(Christohuroh Press,) Now what we want to dwell upon particularly is the duty that rests on our Government of giving this immigration question very careful attention in future. We do not oppose immigration. But we say, let us have immigration that is worthy of the finest little oountry in the wojL'ld. We have but a limited space, and we need notiear but that space will be filled up all in good time. Let us rememberthat ; wfl are laying the' foundations now of a great.nation; and let us take care so to lay them that those who. come after us shall have cause to bless us. We are completely masters of the situation. Let us offer no encouragement to anybody to come to New Zealand who wjll not be a genuine acquisition to those who are already here. Other colonies take precautions to thai/ endj Why should not we I The Government of'the Cape of Good . Hope, a poor and strangely unprogvessive plaoe—unprogressivebeoause thoroughly | badly colonised at first—are oonduoting immigration now on wise prinoiples, They, bring out only people who are wanted, and who, instead of being a burden, will be a help to the oolony. Thus in 1881, they got 4163 immigrants, of whom 324 were railway laborers, and 486 recruits for the local force, The rest were artisans and servants forprivate employers and agriculturalists of a superior class. Ths'fl|ast brought with them no less a sun} in' pash tlijin £15,465, or over £2O pgr head of njetj, wonjqn, q,nd children. If we can get immigrants on thatfoofjqg, by all means let us get a few j but if not we had better trust to natural causes for increasing our population for some years to come.