WHAT IMMIGRATION HAS DONE FOR VICTORIA.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 666, 12 July 1870, Page 4

WHAT IMMIGRATION HAS DONE FOR VICTORIA.

In a recent debate in the Victorian Legislative Assembly on the vote of £65,000 for assisted immigration, the Chief Secretary, Sir James M'Culloch, is reported to have spoken as follows : — Let the House consider for a minute in what way the resources of this colony would have been developed if the population here had not been added to by immigration, not only by voluntary but by assisted immigration. In what position would they be at the present day, making every possible allowance for the attractive influence of the discovery of gold, if the colony had not come forward and granted assistance to people to come here ? They wou^ not have been in the position they were in now, but in a very different one, with regard to the occupation of the lands of the country to advantage. Many lion, members who opposed the present regulations had long advocated th&t the lands should be given away almost without charge ; but if there was no population, or only a small one, what was the advantage of opening up the lands ? It has been said with regard to America that the countries there were receiving a very large proportion of the population of Eng'and, and that they received it without in any way offering assistance to immigrants. 1 he case was altogether different as regarded immigration to this colony and to America, for emigrants could go to America for £3 per head, whereas it cost a large sum for people to come here. It was, therefore, proposed by the regulations submitted to ask the House that immigrants should come here on payment of £5. Irrespective of the attractions of the one country as compared with the other, or of the one being nearer than the other, there was an almost insuperable barrier to the people of the United Kingdom coming here, from the large outlay they were called upon to make in the way of passage-money, and all that th : s country was now asked to do was to contribute just so much towards the passage of immigrants here as would bring the passage-money to about the amount it was for taking people from England to America. The population of this colony in 1841 was 11,738; in 1846, it was 32,000; in 1851, 77,000 ; in 1661, 540,000; and at present it was 750,000. Now, how many immigrants had been brought here from the year 1851 to the present date by means of assisted immigration ? There had been brought here as assisted immigrants 135,000 people. Take the natural increase of those persons so brought here, and the number would be made up to 250,000. The increase he had mentioned was a small estimate ; but even by that estimate it would be seen that if the colonists bad not carried out the system of assisted immigration to this country, there would have been at the present time 250,000 persons short of the present population. — (Hear, hear.) Mr Vale : How, many have left. Mr M'Cullrch said that, irrespective of how many had left, there would have been 250,000 less. They were dealing with the people here, and but for the system of assisted immigration there would have been 250,000 less than 750,000.— (Mr Longmore : No.) Well, the figures were clearly stated in a document laid on the table that 135,000 had been brought here by means of assisted mmigration, and they might safely regard the increase on those persons at 120,000, making altogether 250,000, without whom the population at present would hive been only 500,000. Was therein overcrowded population in this country now ?— (No.) Would the country have been settled now if there had been only 500,000 people in it ? Would it have been possible to construct the railways that had been made if the country liad not had the assisted population ? Would it have Keen possible to raise the large amount of taxation now raised in the country if there bad not been the population here ? If they estimated that those 250,000 persons contributed to the revenue in proportion <o the rest of the population, say at j£3 per head, the average received from them from customs and other sources was £75Q,0C0 rer annum. He could not for the life of him see why the working people of th's country should for one moment object to imm grants being introduced by the State, seeing that the working classes here would receive benefit from all who came.