THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1882.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6562, 28 November 1882, Page 4

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28, 1882.

The emigrating farmers of South Aus tralla are turning their sfps to New Zealand. An Adelaide telegram, datec the Iffih inst., tells us that some havs already sold out and are leaving roi this colony, and others are preparing tc follow. \\"a anticipated this when the intention, of numbers of those men tc seek new homes, bringing capital with them, was first announced by the Ade laide papers. The want of water is ? terrible obstacle to agriculture on thai 1 continent, and South Australia as a whole particularly suffers, being a country of vast unsheltered plains ex i posed to a strong sun. In the old time at the end of every seven years a sue cession of years of drought used to b« " regularly looked for, but it seems thai of late, even in the more broken anc elevated parts of the continent, the old periods of exemption from th« hardship can no longer be reliec on. The wholesale removal of tht ferests has made things abnormal in thf best of years in the best of those r colonies, and in South Australia tin desire to emigrate lias spread amonj the farmers, heartily tired of fighting the battle. Some eight or ten months ago, as we referred to at the time, thej sent delegates to neighbouring Victoru to look out sites for settlement there but it was easy to foresee that thej would not be content to plant them selves where they could expect only i Mitigation of the evil they were flyinj from. As they resolved to emigratt they were pretty certain to go furthei a-tield. Already the first batch has sailed for our Middle Island, and we may • soon expect others in thii part of the colony. The telegran from Adelaide says that " the South Australian Farmers' Association an circulating a large number of guidf books and papers about New Zealand and its agricultural advantages anc prospects are exciting much interesi here." It may encourage our ambitioi and enterprise to observe that not onlj in the Old Country, but in new ones the natural advantages and fine pros pects of New Zealand are now comin; to h<! cL-arly understood. No othe: colony is attracting the same amount o attention, because it is seen that n< other is rising, or must rise so fast, bi reason of the variety of her mani fest opportunities. The last numbei of the llo;u.> News talks about th< Mata;'.ra and its frozen cargo o: several kinds of food from New Zea land. The ship is a sailing vessel, and because of the disturbances in Egypt took the long voyage round the Cape. The voyage occupied nearlj a hundred days, and for twe months of the time very hoi weather was experienced. Nevertheless the freezing process, maintained at an insiguitieant expense, kept the whole cargo in the iinest condition, as fresh as when shipped, and the consignments —which included not only butchers' ' meat, but also fish, butter, rabbits, and a variety of game—were eagerly bought up and fully appreciated in London. A-s the English journal says, such facts prove grand prospects for the trade. It does indeed present a, great lookout for fanning and grazing, as well as for other industries still too Little considered here. Distance is

nothing in this matter now. The thousands of leagues of ocean are no longer an obstacle. Any amount of foed we are able to send will be welcome in the English market, and they can receive it fresh from our pastures and our seas, and as it left the mill, the dairy, the orchard, or the garden. A similarly assorted cargo was forwarded from Melbourne not leng since, and had the same -welcome reception. But the Australian climate every now and again interferes with the pastures, and it can never ad-uit of a regular export of such things as dairy produce or juicy fruits, and neither has Australia the same rich fisheries or fishing opportunities possessed by these islands. At this side of the world it lie.? with New Zealand to become the regular standing purveyor for the English table. And what a trade opening that presents' Look at the enormous cities in Great Britain. London and its suburbs hold five millions of people, as many as were in all England in the year 1700. Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Birmingham, and their suburbs have immense copulations : and after these in the multitudes they contain are more than a scoreo: otker great towns, while there are various manufacturing districts like the Staffordshire potteries, which in the density oi tkeir inhabitants resemble vas' outspread cities. To feed such masses oi people supplies of food are. drawn from all pans of the globe : and for all varieties of food, if of good quality, the market is ever enlarging, is practically illimitable. Here is encouragemeni for our productive energy ■ But with this varied outside market staring us ir the face, demanding all our surplus produce, it is certainly too bad that the local market should be still so scantilj and imperfectly furnished with, suet necessaries or life as fresh fish, and fresh fruits, and vegetables—not from the absence of resources or always oi productive industry either, but from lonsr neglect of some simple, obvious arrangement or organization which would bring to our tables such faveurs of Nature and products of industry. We must first make the two ends meet in the local matter if we are tc properly avail ourseives of the outside one. And the English market presents tc our enterprise a further stimulant They will be glad to take from us in the Old Country not only product which is like their own, but also com modities which thev cannot raise there and for which they pay specially high prices. And this Island will some daj ship the semi-tropical produce for whici the Mediterranean countries, tht warmer Atlantic islands, and certair parts of America yearly draw greai profits from the English market. We in us* recollect that where such thing : can be cultivated they bring the largest rewards of any. and their establishment here oughi to be hastened by the encouragement offered to our husbandry by this new food trade with England. The movement in South Australia shows the attention and interest Xew Zealand i≤ now exciting. There ia nothing remarkable in emigration from an old country to a new one, but einij giation from one new country tc i another is a fact as significant as i novel.