The Waikato Times.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 697, 2 December 1876, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

Equal and exact justice to all men, 01 \thatuver stute 01 j>ei suasion, loligioun or political # # # * # Here shall the Presi the Pkoplb'b right maintain. Unawed by influence and unforihed by a;ain.

SATUJiJJAY. DECEMBER 2, 187 C.

It never seems to have struck our Auckland contemporaries, that the proposals nnde by both Mr Broom hall and Mr Pntchard were yery one sided arrangements. The principal inducement to the Waste Lauds Board held out by both these gentlemen was, that the company on behalf of which each is working would introduce a large number of immigrants into the Province. The company Mr Broom hall represents will sell the land again in England, but guarantee to introduce an emigiant for every 50 acres sold. , To quote from Mr Broomhall's proposal, he says : — " Every person in Europe to whom we sell 50 acres of land, improved or not improved, we shall require to send out 1 emigrant at least — the purchaser und his wife and children to count." " A purchaser of 250 acres must, therefore, provide 5 emigrants, i.e., himself, wife, and 2 childreu, counting 3 ; in addition, 2 emigrants, 2." '■ A purchaser of 500 acres must provide 10 emigrants; ex., himself, wife, and 2 children, 3 ; in addition, 7 emiganls, 7- -10." " A purchaser of 1000 acres must provide 20 emigrants : i,e., himself, wife, and 2 children, counting 3 \ in addition, 17 emigrants, 17- 20." " We shall place no restriction on the purchaser as to whom he shall Bend, nor as to whether he or the emigrants pay the passage money, convinced that he will study his own iuterests, and that any agreement should be mutual and mado between themselves; but, the purchaser will not be placed in possession uTTtil he has proved to having imported the fixed number of immigrants." Mr Piitchard aitnply bound himself to send out 1200 inaruigi i anfcs as payment for the land asked for. iNovr, anxious as we are to see population and capital introduced amongst us, and tne waste lands of the North settled and colonised — for it means additional weulth and prosperity secured to , those already settled here — we cannot express a very lively regret that the Waste Land Board acted as they, did, in the matter of both applications'. With respect to Mr Pntchards proposal, we need suy nothing, for it was declined unconditionally* -But that of Mr Broomhall nuy orop up, again, and therefore we would draw attention to a matter which seems to have altogether escaped notice — the want of any guarantee whatever that the immigration, which is to form so large an inducement to part with the land, is worth anything at all, nay, that it may not become an actual curt>e to tho Province and Colony, liven in the case of the 50 acre imraigiant settler himself, we have no guarantee that he will bo a suitable immigrant, while, m the case of the 500 acre immigrant, the seven additional immigrants he is bound to provide may be the oflscouriugs ot the pamh workhouse, towards whose passage even the Poor Law Guardians at home might bo glad to largely contribute for aught that is guaiauteed (.o tho contrary. Having once landed these immigrants, the selector of land is entitled to claim possession from Mr Broomhall and his company. The latter distinctly state that they leave the matter of dealing with the immigrants in the hands of the purchaser. It may be, that such purchasers would bring out suitable immigrants, or it may be that, looking to the mutter as forming part of the purchase to be got over as cheaply as possible, they would Bimply take the first that offered. Another objeotionable feature in the dchenio is, that Mr Broomhall and the company become simply speculators to sell the land again in England. Their object la clearly te make money out of the re-sale. That it may be desciibod as «i very Eden, for beauty and fertility, that settlement may be depicted as the easiest and most agreeable of occupations, a sort of perennial picnic, or buoolic " bee," where the only work done is that of gathering in abundant harvests, would be only natural. At least we have no guarantee that this shall not be the case; and in a plain, hard, business transaction, such as this should be, in parting with these lands to a company, such precaution ought to be taken. For, if it is not, and if the purchasing settlers on the one hand, or the immigrants they introduce on the other are misled in this matter, who is it will suffer ? The Province and the Colony most assuredly, und not the company speculating in tho re-sale of our lands. Their land would bo disposed of at a profit, and we should havo received in return a worse than useless addition to our population. We do not say' that tins must necessarily be so, but this we do say, that any agreement which would have left such a state of

things possible, waa not one which tho Waste Laud Board should have accepted, even if there had been .sufficient land at their disposal to satisfy tho demands of the applicant, and we trust in all future proposals of the kind, whether from the same parties or others, some guarantee that any immigration we may receive as part purchase of, or inducement to part with our public lands, shall be of such a class only as is sterling- value for the laud to be alienated.