AGRICULTURE IN NEW ZEALAND.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IX, Issue 2520, 22 February 1872, Page 3

AGRICULTURE IN NEW ZEALAND.

To the Editor of the Hebald. Sib, —In last week's edition of your valuable paper I see a letter by Mr. Andrews, on immigration, in which he says that " Somerset " forgets the trip of Messrs. May and Mart.yn, and asserts that those practical men could not recommend laborers to come to thij sterile province, &c., and that if they came there would be no one to employ them. Why, then, was the mission undertaken ? No one knows better than I do, from practical experience, the difficulties of settlement, and in what is looked upon as the worst part of Mr. Andrews' poor province. I find that if ever the old adage applied to any country or people, it does to this; for, verily, " The man that by the plough would thrive, himself must either hold or drive."

The experience of tho latter gentleman is not so thorough by any means as that of the former, but I should think of all men our successful friend, Mr. May, could most emphatically highly recommend the poor hard-worked and ill-fed laborer of England by all means to try New Zealand. For my part, I cannot seo how Mr. Andrews, in the face of existing circumstances, can bo so ready with the wet blanket, and if these gentlemen did not succeed in their mission, it was not for want of an honest theme on which to spend their eloquence, as far as the adaptability of the country to (ho peoplo and the people to the country.

I was highly pleased at the sheep (air, seoing so many of the old identity, and the though!, forced itself upon me, if in any part of the old country, at a similar gathering, so many farmers could be found so substantially welt to do ; nor must we for one moment shut our eyes to the fact —and, to the honour and credit of the old settlers be it said —that they found their way here at their own expense, had no free gift of land, nor roads to get about; not only thai., but had to work hard for years before they were able to purchase their land; and now how are they ? Why, those that have been industrious and thrifty are as well off as any in the province. Mr. Andrews says there are no employers. Why tho fact is, that to think of employing at the present state of things, farming in no part of the world would stand it. ilr. Maclean was right when he said in his place in the Council that he could not do without the pensioner*, and why ? Because they

are to much fixed labour in his immediate locality. And had it not been for the fixed labour of these settlements, those parts of the country could not possibly have advanced as they have. As to the sweeping assertion of the infertility of the land, I don't believe it. If we could work the land more in the proper eeuso", and fall in love with draining, with three or four hundredweight of bonedust to the acre, we should have good paddocks. As to free grants of land, I don't think much of it, for X have not yet seen the man that meant work who could not very soon save money and buy land—for all it costs, — and he gets what is most essential (experience), before he can go on it.

i say sell the land and spend the money in roads to get at it, if there is no one to employ now, who, in all conscience, was there here to do so twenty yaara ago ? A.t all events, Mr. Andrews goes in for a big tbh.g. He to cure all the ills of the colonist, would give the best land, a ready made road, school and schoolmaster in waiting,—free passage of course. vVhy not tack on two years' rations, or say at once a pension for five years to the farm-laborer of the right slump who would favor this unfortunato country with his services, even though he ca:i get in one week, at, the very lowest rate, as much as he can earn at home in three weeks or u raontl^. —I m, &c.,

• TT7 , T-, , SoMEKSBT. .-Wainu.'; Wado> ebrila, 'J 20,1872.