IMMIGRATION.

New Zealand Herald, Issue I, 1 April 1864, Page 4

IMMIGRATION.

To tho Editor of the New Zealand ITehalp. Sir.—The subject of immigration is a vital one for any new country ; but for one situated us is this colony at present, it is even of more than ordinary importance. lam not quite certain, however, that our leading men have risen to the "height of this great argument," if one may judge by the various means, taken as a whole, that have been adopted to secure a large ilow of ihe tide'of emigration from Great Britain to these shores, and to secure the permanent .settlement of the i)umiyrants in this colony after they have once set their feet upon it. All thinking men, who look, not simply at ephemeral prosperity, but at -what is required to lay a solid and substantial basis on which a safe and stable structure sound and lasting can be creeted, must of necessity be convinced, 1 think, of the truth of Mr. Buckland's remark the other evening, that our present state of prosperity is entirely fictitious and ad-' ventitious. A large expenditure from the Military Chest directly and indirectly, su<th as is now going on cannot last for ever. When that golden stream with its numerous little rills ceases to (low in its thousand channels, the effect will speedily and very generally be felt. The real mainstay of the country is, after all, the latttly and what is produced from ami out of the land. At present the hind of New Zealand is not only not producing anything worth speaking of to export, that- is to sell to other countries, or to give in exchange for what we require from them, but it does not produce sullicient food to feed our own population. We have to send large quantities of gold to buy food, clothing, and the thousand-and-one things that are required. But this is not a healthy and natural state of things ; and the country cannot be in a thoroughly sound and satisfactory state for permanent prosperity that cannot barter the growth of its own fields, or the manufactures of its artisans, for some at least of the articles it may require from other countries. AH these arc simple truisms of political ceonomy ; but like a gn at many other sober and plain truths they are liable to be lost sight of amid the glare and flash of brilliant and pleasing meteors that cross our vision for a short time, and of which we forget that however beautiful they may be they are only temporary — " Like shadows come and so depart." Having thus laid down what I consider two main and axiomatic truth?—first, as to the class of immigrants that Mill be of the greatest value to the future and permanent prosperity of the colony ; and

secondly, that the land must he looked upon as our real F1 Dorado, the prime and lasting source of wealth. I will make a few remarks on the subject of immigration looking at it in a broad and general as well as in a particular light. First, then, we urgently need a large body of immigrants who will not simply be birds of passage, picking up all they can here, and then leaving as soon as possible; hut men who, with their wives and families, will settle down in the province and maxe it their home. And according to the propositions I have laid down, these should be men who will settle upon the land and win it from the desert state in which, practically, thousands of acres now are. Men who will replace the fern, the ti-trce, the scrub, and the bush generally with rich pastures, on which will feed numerous fiocks of sheep and herds of cattle ; with fertile fields of golden grain and valuable roots, and smiling orchards laden with fruit, all producing food for man and beast sufficient to support our own population and to give in exchange to other countries for articles that wo find it desirable to obtain from them. Hence, if this be true, and if it be also true, that orders have been given that only agricultural laborers who aro single men are henceforth to be sent out, I think a great mistake is made and a very short sighted policy. Single men "are here to-day and away to-morrow." But we especially want immigrants who will be with us to-morrow. To gain this most desirable consummation means should be taken to bring out the married agricultural laborer of an intelligent and ambitious turn of mind. A man who will work hard and save hard in order that one day he may have his own little farm, and thus work out the colony's and his own prosperity at one and the same time. But in addition to- this class, in moderate proportions, a large number of small farmers might and ought to bo induced to come and settle in ibis colony. These men, the most enterprising of their class, 'should, I think, have every advantage and aid that can possibly be given them to start them as cultivators of tho soil as soon as practicable after their arrival, and so pave the way for their ultimate prosperity, and with it that ot' the colony. Artisans of various kinds being met with in the large towns, chiefly in the mother country, generally know more of the labor market of other countries, and being almost always certain of obtaining employment, arc not either so ditlicult to be induced to emigrate, nor do they require the fostering care of a government when they arrive. Their labour is at once a marketable commodity, and the market where they can readily sell it at a good price is at their doors. With the immigrant farmer the case is the reverse. He must spend some capital at least before he can commence operations ; he must also expend a great, deal of labour spread over a lengthened period before the fruits of that labor realise him anything; anil when he has succeeded in winning something from the soil, he is practically often altogether shut out from any market where he can profitably and speedily dispose of his little produce by reason of want of proper roads and means of easy access to adjacent or distant towns. The immigrant farmer of small means, as compared with the labouring.man or artizan, is thus heavily weighted at the onset of the race he is running. But, as 1 have said, it should bo the object of a wise, farsighted, and liberal government, to lighten that weight as much as possible, by every means in its power. The sooner it can place him in a fair way toward success, the sooner will lie bo able to write rhtßring new;, to the inendh he left behind him, and

adduce his own improved prospects as a reason why they should follow his example and try their fortunes in this province, tt is well known that thousands upon thonsands have been induced by tills very molhod to emigrate from Ireland to America. Tliov have hoard glowing accounts of tho success of their friends and relatives, and received tangible proof of that success in the shape of a draft payable at sight, to defray their own expenses in "crossing "the Atlantic.

And this, after all, is the most solid, tho most beneficial immigration scheme. .Spasmodic efforts may occasionally be made, and bo somewhat successful, in inducing a considerable number, especially of young single people, to come out, but the most lasting and the best will be, to sec.ire a regular stream of the great tide of immigration that flows from tho mother country to these shores through the recommendation of those settled in the colony.

In conclusion 1 may mention a p dpable illustration of the little hold a new country has 011 young unmarried men, or on many of those who have not rooted themselves in the soil. How many of the Wiiikatu volunteers, I would ask, would have lel't Australia had they been settled down with their wives and families on snug thriving farms j* lint I have trespassed far too much already, much more than I intended, and I will invite you to look at the subject trom another of view in a future letter. Yours, &c., Delta. Auckland March 31st.