Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878] MONDAY,AUGUST 29,1892. CO-OPERATIVE INDUSTRIAL SETTLEMENTS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume XIII, Issue 4204, 29 August 1892, Page 2

Wairarapa Daily Times. [ESTABLISHED 1878]

MONDAY, AUGUST 29,1892. CO-OPERATIVE INDUSTRIAL SETTLEMENTS.

Being the extended title of the Wairahapa Daily, with which it-is identical.

The amount of money contributed to the various benevolent institutions throughout the colony in tbo. shape of indoor and outdoor relief during ithe last year reached the sum of £ 74,000; and the demand for charitable aid is increasing. Of this large sum the heaviest item is the cost of out-door relief, £41,896 having been spent in this way in 1891. When we are reminded that very considerable colls on private charity are mado by way of supplement to this state almsgiving, we realise the serious condition of affairs, and we should be disposed to give pationt consideration to any scheme which has for its aim the reduction of poverty, the promotion of self-reliance, and the diminution of this drain upon our funds. A proposal which claims to have such objects as these in view has lately been put forward in Dunedin by a prominent citizen, Mr Horace. Hastings; and the attention which has been accorded to it in the South, together with the thoughtfulness and exhibition of details which marked the address of its exponent, induce us to offer our readers a sketch of this latest attempt to suggest a solution of the most difficult problem of the day. The essence of.the plan is that it seeks to substitute for charity some means whereby the able-bodied poor may be enabled to provide for their own maintenance; it invites colonists to adopt a national method of utilising the labour of those who are unable to obtain a livelihood under competitive conditions. Mr Bastings .things that'the Government might reserve two or more large areas of land in this island, and an equal pun); 'ber in the' South, and establish thereon co-operative industrial settlements for thebouefitoftb'eclass known as tho " unemployed," and also for »■ considerable proportion of those at present in receipt of charitable aid. The land should(ip suitable partly for: grazing and partly for agriculture; the area of each selection should be sufficient to support from 1000 to 200,0 persons. The to be made with these blocks is to be developed In four distinct stages, First of all, the-"unemployed" who ip not profitably engaged on cq-operative public works, should be placed on the land. The preliminary' wprk of .consirupting buildings wouldfind employment for carpenters, painters, bricklayers, plumbers, etc., besides a- good many unskilled labourers to assist tbem. Mr Bastings claims that even at this initial stage his scheme would lend to lessen the expenditure on charitable aid, for he points out tjaajb much of this money goes already .to the iyip and children of " unemployed" men wiio'life .''gone away to look for work." The settlement being ready for occupation, a Governm.enjt manager js to be appqinted, and ft draft 'of" unemployed •'■' wjll be sent up to p,der'tako farm labour under competent dh'.eptwn, Tools and labour-saying, appliances would bo furnished, and the negessary Ijvo stock procured. The fruit and dairy industry are" kept steadily in view" by Mr Bastings, and his sanguine eye looks forward to the ultimate establishment of bacon curing, jam factories, tanneries,' ajjd. tjj'ejijfe. ft is unnecessary, however, to follow this prophet of good into the misty future; and we pass at onco.to the mmition of the second stage in the experimental settlement which he proposes. After a year or two of steady farming by the able-bodied men, a .draft o| a, slightly different kin/Jf is \o i/p made—the applicants for bu'(dooi''lreJ|ej'are to be placed on the land, In nntipipalion of an objection, Mr Bastings here points out that only a comparatively small number of those persons who apply

for outdoor assistance are "casual oases/,"/ that ■ the.'' system, has Bhown,itself to be opbn to gross abuse. He thinks that many of the regular recipients of this form of relief could be usefully employed on the settlement, in some of the lighter I' work which the progress of time mil i render possible, us in the fruit depart- ' meot for instance. They would be suitably housed and the children—for it is obvious that children must be admitted—would got a many-sided training calculated to stand them in good stead in years to come. Answering the question," How are you going to provide for thosepeople whose case is really one for temporary relief ?" Mr Bastings proposes.Uiat they shall be provided for as-at present; in fact, the existing system of charitable aid (with a greatly diminishing cost) is to be continued as long as may be necessary, though not to be associated with i the industrial settlements, Appli cants for.out-door relief who are ac all likely to prove capable of supporting themselves under co-operative conditions can thus be transferred gradually to the land; those who do not answer to this description must be provided for through the usual channel. Thus far, Mr Bastings succeeds in being fairly practical. He may be over-sanguine; promoters of social reforms are apt to be, But there is nothing glaringly impossible about . his suggestions as regards the first and second stage of the scheme. Itis when we are taking a step-nay, two steps-further that we begin to suspect Utopianism; we begin to fear that this honest and painstaking effort to settle a difficulty must be relegated to the limbo of nostrums that nobody could iry, Unfortunately we have not space to discuss the remainftfg stages to-day, but we hope to return to the subject shortly. Meanwhile it is only fair to mention that Mr Bastings has not overlooked the financial aspect of the question. He thinks that the initial cost of starting two such settlements as these should not exceed £20,000, and he proposes that this sum should be provided out of the consolidated revenue, in view of the national character of the work inaugurated,