IMMIGRATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 879, 3 October 1868, Page 1

IMMIGRATION.

A reduction of taxation is one of the great necessities of the day. The Colonial Treasurer tells us he can make no promise in that direction j so that there is but one method left for accomplishing the object. By enlarging the population of the country, we .can distribute the burdens that oppress it. Immigration, therefore, is doubly necessary. We want it not only for the ordinary purposes of immigration, but for the incidental purpose of lightening our own loads. This is not likely to prove an attractive argument in the eyes of the emigrant, but it is undoubtedly a very forcible one with ourselves. We can look for no other assistance in our present difficulties. Our taxes will not be lessened for some time to come, by any action of the Government; and consequently we must expect to feel their oppressiveness rather increasing than decreasing, in the absence of any great addition to the population. It is a matter of no little interest, in this respect, to ascertain how the rate of immigration stands with us ; since by that means we can form some judgment as to the prospect of an increased population. Convinced as we all are of the solid attractions which this colony must present to the emigrant world, we naturally expect to hear that New Zealand is steadily drawing to her shores an increasing share of the surplus population of the United Kingdom. The 'Britain of the South' ought to be a favourite resort for the Britons of the North. Here they may find their own climate, their own soil, and their own freedom ; and with these inestimable blessings, they may also find that competence which they labour for in vain in the old world. Ct will be no slight disappointment, in the midst of expectations such as these, to find that the rate of immigration is decidedly against us. If New Zealand is not losing its attractions in the eyes of the emigrant, it is certainly not rising in his estimation. From certain statistics quoted by Mr Vogbl, when bringing this subject before the House, it appears that the emigration from the United Kingdom to New Zealand has fallen off latterly to a very strange extent. The numbers arriving during the last ten years stand thus :—: — 1538 5,912 185!) 7,701 18R0 i 6,32!) ISfti 3,047 1862 8,717 i lgfiH » 14.378 1864 » 10,642 1P65 9.541 IPB3 , 4,282 1867 4,4(50 Making all necessary allowance for the effect of the gold discoveries on the emigration returns of 1863 and 1864, it is not easy to understand why those returns for i 866 and 1867 should exhibit so marked a decline. It might have been supposed that therapidadvanceof Australia andNewZealand. since the gold excitement has passed away, would have operated steadily and powerfully in their favour ; but it is not bo. We believe that the emigration from the United Kingdom to these colonies has not kept pace with their undoubted progress during the last few years. The bulk of the emigration flows from Ireland ; and Irishmen apparently find a more congenial home in the United States. That New Zealand is not the only sufferer in this direction is evident from the statistics of the sister colonies. Oar loss is less than that of Victoria, the most attractive field of emigration in this part of the world : for there the number of immigrants fell from 21,600 in 1858 to 8,500 in 1866. It appears, then, that even the potent stimulus of the goldfields has utterly failed to secure a steady and increasing flow of population to these colonies. The strict inference from the statistical tables on this question is, that immigration in this direction has a tendency to decrease ; and that this tendency cannot be wholly counteracted by the action of the colonial Governments. This is an unpleasant prospect — blowing away like a soap-bub-ble all hopes of reducing taxation by means of our immigrants. We cannot accuse our Governments of neglecting this matter. The value of immigration has never been doubted by them/ and the measures they have taken to secure it afford sufficient evidence of their energy in the business. The question now suggests itself — if these measures have failed op to the present time, are they likely to he mois successful in the future ? There ss too much reason &> doubt it. It is mere waste of wordss to .dwell as we do upon the great advantages which jfche polonies hold out to the emigrant, $veiry.

thing [that can be said on that subject- has been said years ago ; and there is no possibility of adding anything new to it. We may hold forth on this favourite topic till we drop with exhaustion, and in all probability our eloquence will not add a hundred to the census. The Government of the United States does not find it either necessary or expedient to establish emigration agents or publish emigration pamphlets. Its great natural resources are known all over the world ; and so are ours. The direction which emigration takes does not depend upon the simple question of natural resources. Many other questions enter into the calculations of the intending emigrant; the cost of transit and the distance from home are of vital importance iv his eyes ; and seeing no great balance of advantage on our side in point of. natural resources, he too often decides in favour of the States.

Since emigration is quite as beneficial to the United Kingdom as immigration is to the colonies, it is somewhat strange that the work should be wholly left to the latter. The motherly interest which the Imperial Government professes to take in the progress of the colonies could not be more effectually displayed than in urging on the flow of emigration ; while at the same time the social and even the political welfare of Great Britain could not be more effectually promoted. The Imperial Government, however, has paid no attention to the matter whatever. It has been blind to the fact that when British citizens carry over their industry and their capital to the States, they aid in strengthening the resources of a power which may at any moment become hostile : blind also to the fact that when British subjects settle in British colonies, they plant their industry and their capital in the very places where the interests of the Empire demand that they should be planted. We may entertain a hope, however, that this blindness — injurious to the mother country and disastrous to her colonies — will not be everlasting. By aiding the Colonial Governments in their endeavours, the supply of our labour markets could be kept up to the proper level without the slightest difficulty. And we are strongly of opinion, that without this co-oporation on the part of the Imperial authorities, the efforts of our own will never be more than partially successful. If the Australasian Governments were to combine in this matter, as they should, they might very possibly succeed at once in obtaining the assistance of the British Government. I Recent events have tended to bring about a much closer and more cordial connection between the authorities at home and the authorities here, than has previously existed. The discussions about our postal arrangements illustrate the growing intimacy between the two. It is impossible to resist the belief that, with so much evidence as we have of the daily increasing interest felt at home with regard to these colonies, there would be little or no difficulty in placing the , Emigration question on its proper basis — that of a mutual necessity and a mutual benefit.