PUBLISHED EVERY EVENING GISBORNE MONDAY, JUNE 2, 1890. IMMIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XVII, Issue 5783, 2 June 1890, Page 2

PUBLISHED EVER Y EVENING GISBORNE MONDAY, JUNE 2, 1890. IMMIGRATION AND SETTLEMENT.

In Saturday's issue we published a telegram from Napier containing resolutions passed afc a meeting there on the subject of immigration. The meeting was convened by the Chamber of Commerce to consider resolution pr.ssecl by ; the Chambers of Commei'ee of Christchurch and Auckland. The commercial element is very powerful in New Zealand, and no doubt the Government will pay great attention to expressions of opinion from the leading business people of the principal'towns; but both Ministers and Parliament will be very chary of renewing State immigration, assisted or otherwise. In view of the number of persons that are now leaving our shores, the matter requires the gravest consideration. It has been the experience of more than one Australian colony to introduce innnigranfrs for the benefit of its neighbors,' in n[iito of penal enactments against removal for a statdd period after arrival.

Mr Miller was one of the principal speakers at the Napier meeting, and ,he moved: — " (1) That in the opinion 'of this Chamber an increase of the population of New Zealand is essential for the l«o«ress of the colony, and for the prosperity of its existing inhabitants. (2) That tbe Crown lands .of fch/2 epjony should bp surveyed without delay, -aid made available fpr settlement' upon suqh terms — ,eyen to the e^tpnfc of leasing them at nominal rentals— as w.oujd be Jikely to attract desirable immigrants. (3J That in #uch fiasie limitations should be put upon the ar#a of land ayajjajble f^r ' lease by each Crown tenant, and rpg/^'itiflns. fyamp.d for making such holdings non-transferable for speculative purposes. . (4) That immigration bureaus should be established in JQf'eat Britain for the purpose of giving publicity kf) conditions of settlement and general infoi"mation and advice to intending settlers, as well as for facilitating thpjr economical conveyance to their destination " The mover stated that the colony had 66,000,0Q0 awes* of land with only

800,000 of d population. The above certainly showg that there is room for a vast increase of inhabitants, but; the figures do not prove that New Zealand is nofc progressing afc a rapid rate. With the single exception of Victoria, all the colonies of the Australian mainland have a much larger area in proportion to population. Increase of production is far and away the best measure of progress, and judged by this standard New Zealand has during the past year or two advanced ab an astounding rate. The figures which were published in our issue of Friday on laud settlement show a satisfactory rate of progress in this direction. The country is far from standing still. However, it is evidenfc thafc the rate of progress cannot be maintained for any length of time unless a grand effort be made to increase the area available for settlement. This brings us to the remarks of Mr Ormond, who did nofc agree with Mr Miller's resolutions. He said that Parliament would nofc for a moment consent to any general system of immigration. He said, looking afc the question from a North Island point of view, the question was, had they the land to put the men ou : certainly nofc. There was nofc enough of land in the Hawke's Bay district to last another twelve months ; ho meant; land suitable for people to go upon. Mr Ormond then alluded to the twelve million acres in the hands of the Maoris. The Government; should endeavor to secure as much of fchafc land as possible. We. have frequently expressed the opinion fchafc the above course would be the speediest and most practical way of extending settlement in this island, and we are glad to see bhafc Mr Ormond is certain to suppyrfc a proposal for the extensive purchase of Native lands. In fact, we have nofc yeb seen any expression of opinion against the scheme. Mr Miller withdrew his resolutions in favor of those moved by Mr Ormond. We attach very little importance to the resolution that stops be taken to encourage the introduction of British farmers with means. They are., a class of people to whom assisted passages offer very little attraction ; indeed, proffered assistance of thafc kind is ! more likely to give rise to suspicion than to anything else. : If" the Native lands of this island were thrown open , for occupation, there would be no lack of people to take them up, without hunting for settlers in Great Britain or anywhere else.

The brethren of Turanganui Masonic Lodge meet this evening atS sharp.

A Maori was brought before Mr Booth a R. M., and cautioned and discharged for drunkenness.

Mrs Caro, surgeon dentist, has arrived from .Napier, and may be consulted at the Masonic Hotel.

The funeral of the late Mr Owen McGrath was attended by a large number of people, including some forty Druids, yesterday afternoon. Bro. Johnston, A.D., read the service of the order at the grave.

Yesterday morning the Rsv Father Kehoe was taken somewhat ill, and at an early date the reverend gentleman intends leiving Gisborne for a shot time. Father Kehoe will temporarily exchange livings with a clergyman at the thermal springs, Rotorua.

The Borough Schools re-opened this morning, over 200 pupils were absent. The Committee request parents to send all children to school who are (it to attend. La grippe is only responsible for the non-ap-pearance of a very small number of the absentees.

The weather on Saturday night and at intervals yesterday was very boisterous, a strong southerly gale raging accompauied with rainstorms and excessive cold. To-day this storm has inodented somewhat, though the wind still blows at gale force and t.he cold continues. There is a heavy sea running in the bay.

At the Trust Commissioners Court to-day a certificate was ai'anted to a judgment of the Supreme Court D McDonald v. Hirini te Kani and others, reserving on the registrar the interests of the defendants Hirini te K-mi and Hapi Hinaki in the Whangara, Pakar.ie Nos 1 and 2, and Manukawhitikitiki No 2 blocks.

The annual meeting of the Gisborne Licensing Committee was held in the Court House at noon to-day, when there were present — Messrs Lewis, Hepburn, Mayuard, Nasmith, and Humphries. All the licenses were renewed, and permission was granted to the publicans to extinguish their lights at midnight if th-y choose. Mr R. Findlay, licensee of the Gisborne Hotel, was warned that such conduct as of which he had been convicted — viz., allowing gambling on his premises — would bo likely to endanger his license if repeated.