UNKNOWN. UNKNOWN. UNKNOWN.

Te Aroha News, Volume IV, Issue 168, 4 September 1886, Page 3

UNKNOWN. UNKNOWN. UNKNOWN.

'#f r G.J3. Alderton, whcThas just returned , from a visit to England and America, has' furn^fc|ed a reporter with. } tne following ',{&(&<& 'his impr&^ion^-^-Ybu would like^ ,tpj«odw,,.l suppose,*. what has. made the.. l |h4upeBt iinßWs»v>ii f p^»3l?a|nd mdurlng m durIng ms| ;; } |ourj §[£111 nd^.^^rhero'^j^B> >to lJn |Amerlto«,^l|ro(|t|-|p|pgreag was . iapg< < patenfe o£all udw'jsfc&y§ atWeWof^ewL ;Th> State mvtmmvatitkm pepplej^ witH each other in proclaiming to the world 1 particular section is , not only .thVsibpstj apd; cheapest iv.'; .Am«rica, but- nowhere ;■< etee iin the' world* cou|d % man make: s fo&un'e "go quickly said % ©ate: Th> Ra i iiif4d''Cdmpanie^^V JiaVe land for.salo' advertise it. every where ,and! in • • everj^'/'febweoivAble form, 3Jrlt& jlooh ill«»V^?0iaer8», t t a S , th'ef issue it is no w.oncU^ibab^eo linatiy'pepple: larja induced to go and*, see- the landis In England I ~found*--three out of iting emigration, as „ ; farmutg at ' Home riiiider present circumaita'ttcM means certain bankruptcy for^he, rqajptity M you an instance of the state of farming in England, T-may^'say that' t- stayed with nine different farmer^,je^ch-,o£ whpm- ( >v > as; v fa,rm- • ing iron} 20Q to I,OQO .aoregu of^lapd^. and, these men reckoned to' lose this year from' ,£2OO to £600 Another gentleman I s met ! .owned three farms. i 'Fromitwo r df these he jipa'd received* no rent if or three, years.; fro'ncr the>otheY no^rehtJor two years, and t is 1 tenants proposed that he should: find them | •capital to put the land into .^orchards, „ X -suggested .to such of theee p.e^pl© aa^ I met >fihe ad viability of selecting (/^ealand'aB their futurehom©, bufel was met, with »this unfavourable reply,:, U OH. ribiife v then*,.'New 'Zealand ia so terribly, in debjt that if ,w 4 e go, -there, we .should, find taxation aslba'd as it is here'!", Tb^ri there iathaKwre^cheji'tio'o.k of ■Fronde's '" Oceana,"' with ita^hdueand and one fallaciou* statements. That book hashad a tremendoua circulation. ' Every farmer in England must have read it. I saw pas'Sen-I gora reading it on the steamer crossing the Pacific I 1 . iav id on the train crossing America ; and I saw it on the Atlantic "boat.: Everywhere was' ** Ocean*,". and speak to an English farmer about going to ;New Zealand,- and he would ssat;,y t ;, V3ut have you read Frbude's ' Oceana ' ? .Froude says New Zealand is so heavily in .debt that' the colony may have to repudiate; that the colonists can never bear such taxation as will bo required to cay interest on borrowed money !" This in England, on the Atlantic steamer, and in America. Always the same dismal tale—" New Zealand is so heavily in debt that presently her colonipts will refuse to be ground down with the heavy taxation, and openly repudiate." And the English presii assist >to < disseminate these views, being > largely - influenced :by the great ' land companies, who, having * purchased immense ■ - areas of land in America, naturally .want • to direct English farmari acrosa the Atlantic to buy their land. This little game, however, is now played out, as the Senate baa passed, a law by, .which aliens cannot own landjn the United States, and Englishmen will have to reside there six months before they are qualified to own, land.' _ Then ther« are the agents and leotureri of all these companies, and of all the different colonies, running up and down England" decrying New Zealand while lauding; up their,,- own I countries. And what . -does New Z'ea* land , do to defend, herself against all these libels ? Nothing; absolutely nothing. Anyone can say, or write what they like. about New Zealand in England, and ne one will contradict it. What does the Agent-General do ? Well, he seems to be a nonentity in so far as guarding the reputation of the colony is concerned. He may be a good agent in regard to financial matters, etc, but in other matters he ia not a success, if one is to judge by common repute. He is said to be unapproachable, and rarely attends any publio demonstration as the representative of New Zealand, and it is laid to his charge that he is not the most fervent believer in the colony as a field for settlement, j His memorandum to the Minister of Land la«t year regarding the new land regulations and the superior advantages offered by Manitoba clearly showed he could not conscientiously recommendemigrantstogo to New Zealand. Then there istheColonial Exhibition. That, l contend, musb do New Zealand harm, because matters have been so botched in regard to the colony's exhibits that, by comparison, New Zealand is the least productive and progressive of any of' the colonies. When every other court of the Exhibition was crowded,, there was always lounging room in the New Zealand court. What was the oause of this, and who was' to blame ? It is well enough known in ' London who is to blame. ! The cause of the • failure was a bad arrangement of the Court. What I mean is this: An English farmer, on> going • into the' court, 'would of couwo look - around to find what products the colony had* to exhibit.* Well, he "could not : help being disappointed. ■ In every otheri Court, a colony's products •'were all- grouped • to-; gether in a manner that at once impressed the visitor with- the productive- wealth "of that colony;' but in the New Zealand- Courts things were about and the best spaces occupied ' with " exhibits of ' a scientific character. The walls were covered> with great geological,, maps, ; in .w,hich probably one in .ten thousand, visitors might be interefited,jand_there waa on thefloor a great ugly topographical* diagram ot the oolony, cploHred jso< that jit looked like the entrails of sdnfe pooV be% tfiaVKad f§Uen from a great height and-keen smashed into a jolly. This .. map to the ordinary observer the impression that New Zealand' was •a^maagt'of mountain-tops, and. that land suitable i-for^ farming was very scarce. aa being a great mistake in 'ttie* New Zea- r laWd Oodrt #ar the placing &fthtf*exhibitd bf' : Maori ''curios —fighting 1 "Weapons^ mats, ca^ved'hou'Be3,' l &cV— iri'the entrance to' the eduW The exhibit; itself, >aaian exhibit, was of a interesting oharacter, and reflected" * great ' W - Dr. • ; Buller, ' the owner • and'the'Pi?in6^ of ' Wales was so imprefised^with th»' beiiuty of the. Maori girls whose paintings 'adorned the 1 walls of the courV that Dr. 'Buller^-presented one of them Ho *the 'Ti«iric^.-> But <tn*e >imprelision made u^dff? me *on "entering the ' k ( court ' -and 4 ' saeirig 3 the <■ ('exhibit was "not 1 ; a ' favourable * one. "I had - come from the other courts, •Hvhere M eyery thing looked bright' and ib.usineds 'like : * but here 'vras.the first ihdic^tiotf'bf aavagety t a wild country with^wild^ niitiveSi 'And is that not' the impre6sioh { 'thatVwbuld be'left on the minds of English* country people ?* '^ * ' ,Now', thdseTlßinfes-could^nbt help irapres- -" New^ZeaTandeY' f'in> Condon,^ land causing him to reflects. OhWy-return-'to^New »York,;l' obtained ! at; thtfFifth 'A venue Hotel copies Auckla'tfd^papW^ for June, and I devoured .their, contents with gieat intwest, : a a d srheni *?I ? |ead .that .the.GQvarn-, imentpi^pose^xaisin^anoiiher^l^^^^ attempt being made to at traot to the colony the imaU jfrmwa W'i^lak'd^WW

drifted mto a ayetemwWobron the faco of it, Wfor«itS dbjeofctKe^bYrowittgtbf money *° .?PMwe|9^» && 0 J&* n ffim\i & Qfcthe K day..tQ M u|icj^ to .kK^M.^ ':WlPfP^enl^2t,Bnd^ ) iji m e, t ti^erib£with' $&JPty&fr. o ivMB n dfe?Rdy!,Jw{>o t well i J9 fhe pohcy wa have drifted inVTand mP ilfB^s6W¥tVB^''m f rrt^S''f6r^ard and ,openafi>i3the9f6ye.&oftothet' oito/. the] ,aa iger * ! thot T iithreatenB:.-tbeai^ it trill ;go , i badly »wifchlthe cdlon.y presently* HOwqan u^Qf_.a''me#i)haridful;-of people,- less than 1^09,000; -leea 4h»n?that bf iany state orjterri otory of tHdiUn^ted-Staties, or of-anyrcounty, m lEngland, and less than the population £of any.«gcond T rate town^of.Greafc-Britain- , goon 9Q^in P a;iyborr i o.^g ! a,million a A d .st halfj£,yearj unlew-.we mcreaae/our lpoduRation %i What pos^ibjl.ean^rest/fcan -.there W, l P,MZ'g°W$ /on, making "; rail way a; in s s gfWcMWl^&wbm «n\e.sa by V doing \f* W iPeopl.e . to^the,. country td takepup^nd .settle, our glands ? -The "sane*onin gt .^Tsuch/ajpoljqjr, b'y^ .Parliament" mf hqus , Mating ..upon, % goiijg^han^-in-hapd with a policy of land settlement spems, to ,me the most recklesß gambling. There neyerwaEf a timß* Whe^a colony had a s Better ! ch&ncB*6f securing'the most desirable class • of settlers than the present, bnt the 60-vernmefiti'-appears 1 satisfied with merely framing -land regulations which in their yiew 'are ]iberal, bufc^make nof attempt toj -^acc[daint w * tW '■> probable, emigrant 'with' thY nature 1 of regulations., We bWrowa million and a half a year to be squandered on public works, to ba parcelled out 'with a lavish hand amongst those members of Parliament ' who for the time, being are supporters of the Government ; but to get "a small 'sum of money for any useful purpose is an? impossibility. If, for instance, anyone should suggest, that A colony that can afford, to borrow a million and ahalf a year ", should set aside £5,000 or •£10,000 a year to be spent in England in .advertising th&~ colony and promoting colonisation,;' that person would be looked upon as a crank., lam that crank, and I suppose much, travelling has put me off my head/ but it is a pity the. gentleman who , may,, for the time being hold the position of Minister of Lands is not sent Home every now and again to! get a more correct idea, of the " proportion of things." , And he too would, become a crank, and perhaps less money would be fooled away in -useless works to secure votes, and more to promote the progress and prosperity of the colony.