IMMIGRANTS.

Westport Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1224, 30 October 1874, Page 4

IMMIGRANTS.

[WESTPOItT evening star. J The good ship Chile has arrived at Nelson with 217 souls on board. The Nelson Colonist, adverting to the expected arrival of some seven hundred, now on their way to swell the population of Nelson province, says it is to be hoped the Provincial Government will be prepared with some plan of fixing these immigrants to the soil, so that they will not drift off to other Provinces or Colonies, and the money borrow ed to defray the cost of their passages to Nelson, and attendant expenses, become merely an addition to our already heavy debt. In continuation, the Colonist suggests that, " In the Karamea country, prosperous homes may be formed for several hundred families, which would go far to maintain for Nelson its proper rank as a Province, and it will argue great incapacity m our rulers if this is not done. The present Government took office with " Progress" on their banner. They have now an opportunity of making good their claim to be considered as Progressionists, and we trust they will do so ; for we shall be sorry to see them fail through want of statesmanship, and have to confess they are not equal to the task they undertook. The settlement of the Karamea and adjacent country would beneficially affect the trade of our port. Situate as it is on the highway between Nelson and the present West Coast ports, new markets would be opened for our merchants and traders, which could be supplied by every passing steamer. Some of the land is auriferous, and seams of good coal have been met with ; there is no saying, therefore, what benefits may not accrue from the settlement of this fine country." To some extent the idea propounded by the Colonist is good, lias in fact long since been thought out and discussed. There is little doubt that the Karamea country is suited for settlement and would yield decent subsistence to any men or any number of men not afraid of work, provided they were ensured a fair start. Pood supplies for at least six months, tools and implements of husbandry, grain, potatoes and garden seeds. All of which, if the new settlers havj not the means to purchase, need be supplied by the Provincial Government if the success of the new settlement is to be secured. In fact as at Martin's Bay the Otago Government

had to lend a helping hand to the pioneer settlers, so at the Karamea will the Nelson Government have to follow the same plan. Not the least essential to the success of a new settlement, either at the Karamea or elsewhere, will be the easy acquisition of freehold rights by the settlers. Any doubt or misgiving arising on that point will effectually deter new arrivals from building up homes in the wilderness.