WAKEFIELD'S COLONISATION

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2499, 28 June 1915, Page 9

WAKEFIELD'S COLONISATION

There was a fair attendance in tho Esperanto Hall on Friday, when Mr. P. J. O'Regan, speaking under the auspices of th,e Land Values League, delivered a lecture on "Edward Gibbon Wakefield, his Colonisation and Land Policy." Mr. O'Regan said that, though Wakefield might rightly be called the Founder of New Zealand, it was quite mistake to suppose that he had in contemplation the existence of New Zealand as a portion of the British Empire. Wakefield drew distinction between a colony and a dependency, and in doing so he relied on the historic fact that the colonies, of Greece never had political connection with the parent State. In his book "The Art of Colonisation," he expressly stated that h-j regarded the United State's of America as still colonies of England. Accordingly it was no matter for surprise that when the British Government refused to grant a charter of incorporation to the New Zealand Company, of which Wakefield was the moving spirit, the company proceeded to colonise on its own account. The first settlers landed at Wellington before British sovereignty was proclaimed, and the settlers established a Government of their own with a distinctive flag. The company treated the Treaty of Waitangi witfi contempt and described it as "a praisworthy device for amusing and pacifying savages at the moment." The lecturer contended that the Treaty was not legally necessary for the establishment of British sovereignty, but Captain Hobson was bound by his instructions from tho British Government, and once the Treaty had been made it was both policy and justice to adhere to it. It was evident that Wakefield realised that the labour question is at the bottom of the land question. Dear land was a predominant evil in New Zealand after 75 years of colonisation, and if working men only understood the land question as Wakefield did, they would realise that no scheme of social regeneration was possible that did not provido for cheap and easy access to laud.