The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12, 1885. STRANGE FACES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1913, 12 February 1885, Page 2

The Wairarapa Daily. THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12, 1885. STRANGE FACES.

It is some twenty yeara ago since we first saw the Wairarapa.' ' In those remote days, there was a considerable amount of improvements effected throughout the districtand a comfortable sprinkling of settlers, butthere were not then to be seen the "strange faces" that are now every day to be met with in this district, Nine men out of ton in those days were-.settlers or sons of settlers, and there was but a small percentage of floating population. Now-a-. days[the number of men who oome from one knows not where, and go one knows : not when,- and who work. amongst .us for a season is very considerable. Even at this, 1 the busiest Bcason of the "year, there is ( surplus labor and in the winter mojithp, dur- ; ingthe lastyearor two womighthavehad to ; face a serious unemployod d fficulty had it j not been for the. enormous number of t hands engaged up country, by that' toter- t prising firm Messrs Williams . and Bee- c than. What tho floating population J numbers now in the Wairarapa we do not know but it cannot be "far short of a I thousand men. We liavo probably at'

least n thousand adult males, \yho aro not tied to the soil by the ownership of a portion of it, and who • probably do not possess a household qualification, They are "distributed over'railway "and road contracts, among up country stations, and ■farms,, and they aro. also congregated i ( - townships. If every one of tliem were' ..settled on land, ,tho labor market of the district would n,ot materially suffer, The 'best and most reliable labor in the district ■is tli.at which is obtained from fcho wliaresand homesteads'of small settlers wlio have acquired a little land and depend for their | 'subsistence partly upon its' proceeds and partly upon outside employment, Adistrict well stocked with;small holders of land is well, supplied.with labor. The strange faces : that wo see on every hand require to' be aided and -encouraged to settle on. the land, so that they may become familiar faces. With a large floating population there is always a danger of having to ; faco an unemployed difficulty, but with' - a settled population, this evil cannot arise.' " • ■