OPINION OF NEW ZEALAND IN INDIA.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 876, 29 August 1879, Page 2

OPINION OF NEW ZEALAND IN INDIA.

What they say about us in India will be seen by the following paragraph, taken from the Pioneer newspaper, published at Allahabad, on the 26th June last : — " The value of land in^he colonies is again passing through the periodical phase oi depression. The last general and serious fall in the value of landed property occurred towards the latter half of the preceding decade, in oonsequence of the recovery of American trade after the termination of the war which, while it lasted, pushed up the price of wool, sheep, and land to au unnatural height. Small farmers, finding their income increase rapidly with every acre of land, mortgaged the whole .of their property, with the live stock upon it, for the purchase of new estates, which again in their turn were mortgaged for further acquirements. This was especially the case in the new Colony of New Zealand. At last the crash came. The war ceased, America threw its wool into the market, and colonial wool lo_t its abnormal value. The banks foreclosed, and land and sheep became a drug in the market. An acre bought for £6 sold for 5s ; and sheep were almost given away for 6d. a head. Hundreds of young settlers were ruined, and 'their land fell into the hands of larger or more experienced and calculating capitalists at one-fifth of the value which it acquired in a very short timo after the panic subsided. Since 1870 land and stock have been gradually rising in value. But the commercial depression in Europe has now reached the antipodes. Theprioe of wool has again fallen to a low ebb, and brought down with it the'price of wool-producing land. The banks are once more handing uncomfortable letters to mortgagees. The only class of people who can derive any consolation from all this are intending purchasers who have money to back their desire to purchase estates in New Zealand." Let us hope the tempting prospect will induce large numbers of Indian officers and gentle* men to seize the opportunity and come and settle here.