NEW ZEALANDERS IN AUSTRALIA.

Auckland Star, Volume XX, Issue 102, 1 May 1889, Page 4

NEW ZEALANDERS IN AUSTRALIA.

We are pleased to find that though very many persons have left our shores for those of Australia in the hope of bettering thern_ selves, they have not forgotten their old home. From the tone in which the major, ity of them speak of Auckland, we cannot resisttheimpression that theirheartsare with us — that even tho glamour of the " booming " city of Melbourne has not been sufficient to blind them to Auckland's charms. Doubtless many have found, now they have reached the Victorian capital, that " All that glitters is nob gold," and that things at a distance usually possess an enchantment not experienced in connection with the stern reality of things near at hand. We do nob hesitate to affirm that very many—it migh'o nob be far out to say the majority — have found that in leaving New Zealand they have" taken a retrograde stop. The fact is, no country can, unless in exceptional circumstances, absorb population as fast as the people may choose to arrive ; it takes time for tho new arrivals to fall into their various avocations, and tiie balance of suppty and demand i.s fiuch that any great accession of workers is at first sura to upset the equilibrium of trade to a greater or lesser degree. Now, it is a patent fact that population has beon (lowing into Melbourneand Sydney aba rate faster than was natural--that is to say, faster than was suitable to the requirements of trade in those cities, and as a consequence we find that deputations of unemployed arc agitating for work there, as they were nob long ago in New Zealand. But there is this diflerence between tho unemployed difficulty in Australia and in New Zealand : while deputations have been waiting- upon tho authorities in Melbourne and Sydney, in Now Zealand a large proportion of those who had got into low water have turned their attention to the land, leaving the towns for the countty. The unemployed problem, therefore, is more serious' in (he two cine!: cities of Australia than it is in this colony. Let us give one or two facts in proof of this. In speaking to a deputation of unemployed the other day at Sydney, Lord Canington said that, while, as a constitutional Governor, he could nob express an opinion as to certain suggestions that had been made for dealing with the unemployed difficulty, still he had no doubt, from personal observation, as well as from information which he had received from themselves and from others, that "a large number of industrious, ablebodied men had fniled to obtain employment." Tho Government, however, were advancing as rapidly as possible with the public works, which were, after all, the bedb means oi' providing a natural outlet for labour. The rains which had fallen, and the revival of trade in England and in Sydney itself, must "brighten the pro.spectb" of the industrial classes, and he trusted that privtitu enterprise would also help to remove the "serious depression" which the colony had passed through, and which many of them had so courageously faced.

In Melbourne, too, a few days ago the Commissioner of Public Works received a notification from Gardiner and Co. that they would employ 100 of the unemployed on the reconstruction of the St. Kiida Road for six months. The Minister for Works also was making satisfactory progress in his arrangements for opening up public works ; and it was thought that " in a few days work would be provided for about 200 men," and the officers of the department " hoped to be able to have further work ready for 500 men within three weeks." Now, everybody knows that there must be a healthy balance between town and country if prosperity is to prevail and endure, but people who go to new countries, in the great majority of cases, keep to the towns, which always have a busier and more social appearance than the more sparsely • settled country districts. This tendency to stick to the centres of population has doubtless made matters worse in Melbourne than would have been the case otherwise.

It may be said that we in New Zealand exaggerate when dealing with Melbourne and Sydney, but there is ample proof that what we have here stated is correct. Scores upon scores of those who left us have returned, the gilfc of the ginger-bread having been rubbed off by contact with hard, sober facts. Many more would certainly return but for the consideration that New Zealand has not yet recovered sufficient buoyancy to render their. lob better here, besides which ifc takes money to change backwards and torwardfc from one country to another. Some of the letters received from Melbourne and Sydney, however, should lead people to hesitate before fleeing from the evils they know to others they wot not of. One epistle received a few days since represented the condition of labour in Sydney as decidedly gloomy. The writer stated that at night one could hardly put his foot down in the domains and reserves without treading upon somebody getting a cheap night's lodging; while during the daytime the wharves were simply swarmed with men eagerly seeking jobs of any kiiiJ. With the above considerations before us, we do not wonder that the pakeha-Maoris in Melbourne who met together recently to the number of 100 should speak kindly of their former home ; and we heartily reciprocate their toast of " Success and Prosperity to New Zealand." The proposal at the gathering to form a "New Zealand Natives' Association," together with the eulogiatic remarks on this colony made by Dr. Leger Erson, the Chairman, show that those present on tho occasion are still proud of the country they have left, and they doubtless representthe sentiments of the bulk of those who have resided for any length of time in this colony.