PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY U, 1891.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XL, Issue 8981, 14 January 1891, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. PUBLISHED DAILY. WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 14, 1891.

Earth-hunger is said to be one of the greatest causes that drive persons from | the over-populated parts of the old world to new countries, where acres are many and people are few, and, therefore, it has been thought by some Governments that to hold up a grant of land at the end of his journey is a powerful temptation to an immigrant, ! Canada has agents all over England and Scotland, and they are backed up with money and liberal offers to get people to go out to that colony and settle on the land there. New Zealand is at a 'great disadvantage in this respect, for with the exception of Mr Courtney, who, at his own expense, is devoting the best part of his life in bringing before the people at Home the advantages they may derive by emigrating to New Zealand, and Taranaki in particular, there has been no one to enlighten the British public about New Zealand. ".Taranaki, the Garden of New Zealand," is as well-known on the railway book-stalls in England as the "yellow back" novels, and Taranaki should be well-known, for Mr Courtney has lectured . hundreds of times in all parts of England, exhibiting hig photographic views of the place bylimelight. Except through the means of Mr Courtney, the people of England know but little of the liberal provisions .of the land laws of the colony. One man, however — handicapped as he has been — can do but little ; but he has nevertheless been the means of keeping the name of New Zealand before the English public for some years, and, with a little aid from the Government, would have been the means of getting a larger number of the class of people most suited for the colony to come out and settle on our lands which are now lying idle. Mr Courtney's limited means have prevented him reaching numbers, who if they were aware of the perpetual leasing clauses of our Land Act — that they could for threepence halfpenny per day obtain a hundred acres of as good land as ever a ploughshare went into, with the right of purchase any time within thirty years at a reasonable 'price — would be only too glad to avail themselves of the opportunity to^ecijrfe it. . It does not folj&w that because one person makes a mistake and finds he is not fitted for a colonial life, 'that all who come out are so. It often happens, however, that those who know least of farming or the ways of bush life, have turned out the best of colonists. There is, perhaps, no class of men to whom the idea of " sitting under his own vine and figtree " is more captivating than the cityborn workman, who neither knows how to plant, nor to train, nor to prune the ■ figtree or vine, when he . comes into possession of the coveted opportunity. If anyone were to visit the small holdings, and were to inquire from the owners or occupiers of them, they would find the majority were new to the life when they started, having been brought up to some very different occupation. When immi-, grants find their way here at their own cost, we have, of course, very little check over the class of people that may come ; yet ft is of 'great importance we. should get the right sort of men, and those who< have come here through Mr .Courtney's 1 advice are for * the most part of that, class. We continually are hearing the cry that farming will not pay, or as our northern contemporary Tlie Luminary says, " that the poor farmer is unable, to earn his salt ;" but the fact still remains that the land being our only and greatest asset, it must be made to pay, and the settler must look to himself. At present New Zealand is toddling in its infancy. We have land, climate, and ready enough markets, superior to any other country in the world. If the " poor farmer " can now only realise the low and absurd price of 4d per lb. on his butter, he must combine with his neighbours and fellow-settlers far and near in such a manner as will secure to himself a fair price for his produce. The six million acres now locked up owing to the ridiculous native land laws of the country must assuredly be smartly and judiciously legislated upon, in view of giving the thousands 'of willing ones ' anxions to make independent homes for themselves an opportunity to do so." The above j extract is outspoken and to the point. Our future prosperity rests with the cultivators of the soil. It is from the land alone we can expect to increase the wealth of the colony, and the larger the ! area we get settled and made to yield food the morethriving and well-to-do will the rest of the community become.