FOR EMIGRANTS INFORMATION

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 3018, 14 October 1908, Page 5

FOR EMIGRANTS INFORMATION

IS THE PICTURE OVERPAINTEO? I,t is" constantly stated that the publications used to attraci Britons to New Zealand give too rosy a pictyre of these island, It is alleged that the Govern u;eiit helps to pay the passages of persons who may have great difficulty in establishing themselves in this country. 1 A "New Zealand Hatd-book,** issued by the Emigrants' Information Office, London, with the sanction' of the High Commissioner's Office. has been submitted to "The Post" (Wellington) for perusal. "This office," states the first page, "was established by her late Majesty's Government in 1886 tor the purpose of rupplying intending emieranN with useful and tru?t.vorchy info;malioci respecting emigration cmeny .vi the British colonies, and is under the direction of the Colonial Office. . . The notice boards of this office are exhibited, and the circulars may be obtained free of charge, at more thai: 1,100 public libraries, urban districts, councils and institutions." An important' feature of the book is the list of prices which it quotes for land, and the Estimates of the capital required for working it. "Speaking generally," it is written,, , "land may be bought in Auckland :it £8 to £2O an acre; £4 to £l6 in Hawke'sßa- £4 to £2O. in Taranaki, or to rent near a town, 15s to 30s, or in the country 5s to 10s -both with house; from £7 in Wellington; £3 10s to £2O, or an average of £8 to £ls in Canterbury; and £3 to £ls in Otago; but prices tend to rise. Most of the best unimproved land requires clearing, which involves great labour and expense." Referring to Auckland province, the book says:—"There are openings for farmers'with small capital, but the farmer himself must be a working man, and his wife and daughters working, women. Such a man could start on a few acres with a capital of from £SO to £IOO. Taranaki—"A man taking up a small farm section can begin with a capital of from £6u if he works for others during the first year. The province is mainly one of small holdings, and men prepared to undergo a little hardship, and put up with bad roads, can make a comfortable living out of the land." Wellington—"A man could start well on 200 acres with £IOO capital, provided he worked hard himself and felled a little bush each year; but to fell, grass, and fence all the land in one year would cost quite £3 an acre, and £1 an acre for stocking."

Canterbury.—"The average value of agricultural land on the Canterbury Plains within easy distance of a railway is about £lO an acre." "Speaking generally," it is stated, "the cost of living is lower, as compared to earnings, than it is at Home. The rent of' a two or threeroomed cottage is about 5s to 7s in towns; larger houses, with four or five rooms suitable for workmen, cost from 8s to 14s a week in Auckland, 10s to 15s in Dunedin, 10s to 16s in Napier, 10s to 20s ; in Christchurch, and 14s to 25s in Wellington; but rent is less in the suburbs. Rent in the country varies from 4s to 8s Jper week and upwards, and in the smaller country towns 8s to 145." i The book lends itself to some criticism, but cannot be accused of grossly misleading its readers. It warns prosnective settlers that they must be prepared to "rough it," if their capital is small. "Artisans and mechanics," it frankly mentions, "are not in great demand in New Zealand, the local supply being, for the most part, sufficient."