The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1862.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1000, 11 June 1862, Page 4

The Lyttelton Times. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 1862.

The publication ot the Census is always an interesting- event, especially during the infancy of a colony, when the population increases at a ratio far above that which may be counted on in an old country, however prosperous. There the excess of births over deaths is the only calculable source of increase; here this source, although proportionately greater, is only of secondary importance in a numerical point of view.. The influx of people from other places cannot be estimated by the amount of immigration assisted by Government; the periodical census shows that there is a large addition to the numbers of the adult population to be accounted for otherwise. But experience has shown that for a regular supply of available labour we must depend almost entirely on immigration from England, assisted by the Provincial Government. Great as has been the progress made by the Province since its foundation, more might have been done had not this immigration been uncertain and intermittent. At last we are in a fair way of getting* an adequate regular supply of labor, for the financial position .of the colony is not likely again to fall so low as to interfere with it. We hope that no other cause may be allowed to weigh against annual votes of money sufficient for this purpose. This year out of an estimated expenditure exceeding £200,000, only £15,000 was voted for immigration, owing, we believe, chiefly to the fear.that, our newly imported immigrants would be attracted to the Otago gold-fields as soon as they landed. We have found that this fear was needless, and that the discovery of gold at Otago has increased rather than decreased our population. But the capital in the province uninvested has increased still more largelj r , and if we do not provide hands enough to meet the demands of next year there will be a certain waste of capital, if it is not withdrawn from the province altogether. We have only to contrast the wealth and resources of the country with* the number of the population to feel the necessity of enlarging our operations in England. Judging from the probable revenue, and "the public works likely to be undertaken next year, the Provincial Government will absorb a great partof the labour that will be available; for every year sees : more individuals withdrawn from the labour market, and becoming proprietors and employers of labour themselves.

Even as a question of Revenue, the importation of labour.is a payin'g. transaction. It is a fair calculation that the Customs duties amount to £2 10s. per head, per annum. A pretty good rate of interest on the amount expended in assisting immigration. This is a minor consideration, but it shows that under any circumstances we can afford to pay for the importation of labour, as long as there is work for new hands to do. Unless immediate steps are taken to meet the wants of the Province at the time of the next wool clip and harvest, the enterprise of farmers will be checked, and land purchasers will feel indisposed to break up and cultivate their sections. A great deal of country has been bought on the faith of the Immigration fund being the first charge on the Land Revenue. For when the Land Regulations were' passed, the only change made in the price of land was the deduction from the price, per acre of the £1 devoted to' Church and Educational purposes. How so important a vote as that for immigration, has latterly become one of such very inferior interest we cannot understand. It is time that it should receive the prominence due to it.

While the population, as shown by the census, is not nearly equal to what it might and ought to be, the disproportion of the sexes is. becoming* serious. This is an evil likely to occur in all new colonies; but one which may be avoided where there are no special reasons for it, such as gold fields or difficulty of access. We find that at the end of last year the population of the Province consisted of 8939 males and 7101 females, and when we deduct all persons under sixteen years of age we find that the disproportion tells still more seriously; the males above sixteen years being 5348, and the females above that age 3737. Besides all the other evils of such a state of things, the difficulty of obtaining female servants has become very great, so great, that we are glad to observe that the Government have taken exceptional steps for encouraging female immigration to a certain extent. But in the face of the figures before us it would seem advisable to initiate a more systematic plan of introducing female

servants, and to spend more money than we now devote to receiving them properly on their arrival. Greater care should be taken to make the accommodation for single women and families more private on board ship, and at Christchurch a home other than the barracks should be provided for the former under the charge of a matron. On arriving in the province, single women should be entitled to admittance, provided they brought a good character with them ; so that they would have a respectable place to live in until they received a fair offer of employment. If such a home were found satisfactory, the advantage of it might be extended to servants out of place, on payment of a sum sufficient to cover their expenses. This, of course, would be an after consideration; but the necessity for a home for female servants apart from and at some distance from the barracks is press-

It is generally understood that the Provincial Council is to be called together soon for the purpose of considering the advisability of voting a further sum to cancel debentures to be issued for the Railway Loan. We trust that it will not be prorogued without taking into consideration also the question of immigration. It is a subject which will not bear delay, if we wish to do justice to the province and to the immigrants themselves.