The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1875.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume X, Issue 16, 19 January 1875, Page 2

The Nelson Evening Mail. TUESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1875.

In the Manchester Courier, of Nov. 11, we find the following under the heading, "Government Emigration to New ' Zealand:"— " The Government of New Zealand having In course of construction railways and other public works in various parts of that colon p, and there being also a considerable demand for agricultural laborers and female servants, are prepared to grant free passages to the following clawes of emigrants :— Navviea, general farm laborers, ploughmen, gardeners,

nhepherds. and a few country mechanics, &c. Free p ssugps are also given to female domestics and dairymaids, &c. The above is an official announc ment issued on Monday, but from letters which have been received in Oxfordshire it appears that New Zealand is not turning out the land of promise Hint was anticipated by the fgdcultural laborers. Duri g the last six months (e^ys a recent letter) marly 20,000 emigrants hare lauded in the colony, and as work could not be lound for them all, hundreds have had to be maintained by the Government. To pour thousands of laborers into the country, in tbe middle of winter, when there was not labor to be found lor thone who were there, seems to the writer of the letter madriess. The emigrants are said to bring out all sorts of diseases with them, and have to be kept in quarantine for weeks on landing. Mmy have died on the passage out, and complaints are numerous as to the hardships the en igrants have endured during the voj age, which lasted four months in some cases. On their arrival the emigrants are housed in barrack*, but ns the barracks were full, the last batches of emigrants were put into goods-sheds. Altogether, tho letters sent home by the emigrants are not of a very cheering character. The colonists complain tint the men sent cut are not agricultural laborers, but the offscourings of the town " It is quite possible that in some instances there may have been grounds for complaint among the immigrants, but, as a rule, we have reason to believe that they are very well satisfied with the result of their migration from the old to the new couutry. To grumble because " hundreds have had to be maintained by the Government/ is simply absurd, because one of the reasons for introducing them from Great Britain is to meet the demand for labor occasioned by the prosecution of public works. Why any objection should be raised to their being employed by the Government instead of by private individuals we are at a loss to understand. As a set-off to the above, we vow republish the following extract from a recent issue of the Wellington Evening Post :— "It is satisfactory to find that maDy of the better class of immigrants evince anxiety to get their friends out here to join them, and that nomination*) in considerable numbers are sent home by every mail. In one of the nomination papers which we have just seen, the man, who has been four months in tbe colony, strongly advises his friend to emigrate, saying — ' This is a fine country, I have no wish to return. There h plenty of work for those who ate willing to work. I get double the wages I did at home, and work less hours.''