Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] Being the extended title of the Wairarapa Daily, with which it is identical. SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 1892.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4067, 19 March 1892, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] Being the extended title of the Wairarapa Daily, with which it is identical. SATURDAY, MARCH 19, 1892.

There lias been a good deal of feeling lately that tbe present Government is inclined to legislate for tbe towns at the expense ot the country. Some* thing may be gathered from a careful study of tbe New Zealand Twins under its present editorship, as tbe managing editor is a member of tbe Ministry, A few week ago the said editor wrote" New Zealand is furnished for a big population. Every house lias « fine view of tlie sea or something else equally line; everyone is within five minutes' walk or thereabouts of a railway station, a school bouse, a post office, a bridge, a traro« way, a theatre,—ofall those things, in short, which between them makes a grand spelling for the word civilisation, Speaking with the genial ex* aggeration permitted to prospectuses and advertisements, that is the condition of New Zealand. But there are only GOO,OOO people to enjoy it, mstead of six millions, If the Old World only understopd tbe place properly, the six millions would not be long in coming," it afirst glance one would say that our contemporary bad got tbe situation upside down. The ordinary idea is that if a certain number of people have got bold of a good thing, they should keep it to themselves, If, with our present population, tbo employed difficulty exists, wliat svould | jits magnitude be if the millions sol lightly alluded to were to flock in ? There is no question that the main attraction for tbem would be tbe high wages obtainable here. But an influx of even a few hundred thousand would at once bring wagos down. Suppose a number of them had capital, it would not much mend matters. Th.ereis,asyet, a capital here except in land, and the supply of that would not Mftrty equal the deiljand. Yet the Times goeso'n, roferfing to the six' pillions f°r whom we hare room" How arfl they to be informed and induced ? Tiii Emigrants' Aid Bureau is informing them, and il the Colonial Government were to assist, that Bureau might wake up into a really useful institution." This reference to the Emigrants' Aid Bureau shews clearly that what the Ministry hope to see is a rush of the Bort of people who would seek tbe assistance ot a bureau; that is, labourers and artisans of all sorts. There in no doubt that a certain section of our Bheep farmers would be propitiated by such immi • gration.' They complain that at present they pay unreasonable rates for fencing, ploughing, draining, and all similar work. They say that if wages were 5s a day' instead of Bs, • all contracts would be take:) lower, 1 and this would lead to immense, sums being spent on rendering the soil i more productive. The more philo l - ' sophical. amongst them see that the j benefit (to the landed classes) ■ would i only be temporary. A great fall in .1

labour would mean a rise in. land, so that in twenty years .time : a min starting as a farmer would have to pay more for his. laud,. Hence they prefer to see land low and labour high, ' The only explanation we o«i offer of the article in the New'-' Zealand Times, \i that the piedioted influx of new chums will benefit the towns, This we think it will do. There is no question that all over the world population is tending to fill cities at ihe expense of the country,''and if a million people were to enter New Zealand probably more than half' would stay for a long time, if not jermanently, about the towns, causing a great increase in the volume of the building trjde, and giving n great impetus to the various small shops in the suburbs. A suddou increase in the flouting population of a town always benefits those who are residents and in the way of piofiting by any inoreased demand for accommodation. But the country districts would certainly suffer, and later on the towns might suffer too, if the new arrivals had to take refuge in factories and bring down the wages there. To really benefit us, the Government should rather keep out undue competition for work, by making pub'io the way we have to provide relief Works for tho unemployed; and maintain the rate of wages here by raising the price of produce. This might be done, we believe, by a few trial shipments of carefully selected and graded products :to well chosen markets, It would be a very delicate business, and it would not do

to spend too much money on it, but it is quito on the cards that if parcels of wool, butter, kauri gum, and other products were sent to new markets, trade might be developed that'would raise their value. At present we ship almost everything to London, whence it is distributed, If shipments could be made direct to the place of consumption much higher prices might be realised, This, however, would benefit the country, about whose interests the present Government do not seem anxious.