Wanganui Chronicle, AND PATEA AND RANGITIKEI, ADVERTISER. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." FRIDAY, 1st MAY, 1874.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume XVII, Issue 2420, 1 May 1874, Page 2

Wanganui Chronicle, AND PATEA AND RANGITIKEI, ADVERTISER. "NULLA DIES SINE LINEA." FRIDAY, Ist MAY, 1874.

The fundamental question which underlies all our colonising efforts, our making of roads aud railways, our bringing the waste lands into cultivation, our building of towns and stamping the country everywhere with the mark of the nations foot, is this — Shall we introduce into New Zealand the same civilization as prevails in Europe 1 This mighty problem is discussed in a pamphlet written by Mr C. W. Purnell, and just issued from the press. The author's connection with this journal precludes us from criticising the literary merits of the work, but we may, with propriety, poiut out the line of argument used. The social state of Great Britain (which is but a repetition, in all essential matters, of the condition of society on the Continent) is known from personal observation, to most persons in the Colony. It does not need an acquaintance with political economy to enable a man who has walked through the filthy alleys ot London, or any other great city of England, who has seen with his own eyes, or even read, of the misery and destitution which exist there, side by side with riches and luxury ; who knows how vast a number of people in Great Britain are constant paupers — many born to that dreadful heritage ; and how slender is the boundary which separates the condition of tens of thousands more from the of pauperism — to understand that some radical defect impairs the beauty of modern civilization. A shoit period of reflection will show where the defect is. The hidden cancer which afflicts modern civilization is of quite recent origin : it began with the era of machinery and manufactures on a large scale, and its growth has coincided with that of the cities. The small freeholders have almost oecome extinct in England, and those persons srho otherwise ■would be cultivatiug small farare, are now working in factories. Here, they are reduced to a state of absolute dependence upon the will of i heir employers ; and dare not rebel, since rebellion meaus starvation to themselves and families. Emigration has, hitherto, afforded some relief, but may not do so long ; and what then presents itself but the horrors of Communism 1 It is shown in the pamphlet that in the United States the same evil is manifesting itself. Hitherto, it has been kept in check by the vast extent of waste land awaiting settlement, which has served as a 'seton to the disease ; but in New sTork, San Francisco, and other cities, precisely the same vice, destitution, ani conse quent utter degradation of the moral and intellectual faculties of man is to be found as in London, Liverpool, or Paris. Even on youthful Australia the demon has planted his foot, as everyone who has visiti d Melbourne or Sydney must be aware. New Zealand is walking on the same track. The writer of the pamphlet says : — " To rear up great cities ; to get 20 per cent, interest on money instead of six or eight, to cover the land with machinery, to make a few men gods in wealth, and the rest mean drudges toiling for the smallest possible pittance, in order that it may ' pay " to invest capital in large commercial undertakings — such is the winning post to which we are exhorted to look as the ultimate aim of our political existence. But the ghastly being which stands there waiting to receive uh is veiled, and the veil is emblazoned with the word " Progress," than which there was never a word more misused, or which has more deceived tho*e who use it * * * T et it not be supposed that I impute a delibeiate design to any body of men to reproduce in this Colony a rej petition of the social evils that exist at home. My object is to point out that the golden word " Progress " is leading us on to such a destiny." This thoughtlessness of ultimate conpequences displays the utter want of statesmanship in what is called the "- Public Works Policy " of the General Government. By that policy we are required to look upou the construction of railways and the introduction of immigrants by scores of thousands, without regard to aught but their possession of bone and muscle, as the be-all and end-all of colonization. Railways, roads, and bridges are treated as though their construction was the main end for which mau was born. These things, however, are means, not ends ; they should be rendered subservient to man, not mau to them. Nor can the introduction ot tens of thousands of paupers, of various nations and tongues, be deemed other than a reckless proceeding. The aim should be to create a Colony where human happiness will abound, and whoseconduct will shed lustre upon the empire. We do not want here, on the one hand, a compara: tive.ly few rich pecple, and on the other, a mass of paupers and semi-paupers, reft of all independence. Ot course we cannot get rid of manufactures and their correlatives, even if it were desirable to do so. They have become interwoven with the framework of modern society. But we can reduce their evil accompaniments, by preventing the overgrowth of the cities, and scattering the people over the country, thus securing, to parody a well known maxim, the lai-gest amount of independence to the largest .number of'people. To effect this end, it is proposed that an Agrarian Law

should be- enacted, limiting the quantity of land which any person could hold, either in fee simple," or under lease. What this quantity should be could only be settled after careful enquiry, bub it is suggested that probably 640 acres, or a square milo, for a single person would be sufficient to check monopoly, while it would not prevent fanning being conducted on scientific principles. The law would absolutely prohibit holdings beyond a certain acreage under pain of forfeiture ; and to guard against evasion by. families accumulating, it would piovide that no family (to include father, mother, brothers, and sisters,) could possess altogether more than 1000 acres Thus, the monopolising of land, which is become so grievous an evil in Great Britain, would be absolutely impossible, and the laud would be held by a numerous body of freeholders. The extent to which the laud in the Bouth Island has already been monopolised by individuals, is scarcely known here, where the holdings are comparatively atuall. But estates of 40,000 or 50,000 acres . are not uncommon in the other Tsland, and one gentleman, if not more, is the absolute lord of 100,000. acres. Every person, whatever his opinion may be about the proposed Agrarian Law, must admit that it is injurious to the commonwealth for such large tracts to be private property. These estates, and others beyond the specified acreage, would, so far as they exceeded that acreage; be resumed by the State, and full compensation paid for them,/ just the same as when land is taken for railways, voads, or other public purposes. No injustice would thus be done to the individual ; nor would the rights of property be interfered with — that, indeed, would be committing one injustice to remedy another. The object is not to injure any class of men, but to benefit the whole community, and save it from the honors! of pauperism. In averting such an evil, all classes are equally interested; the squatter, the farmer, the merchant, the professional man, the clerk, and the day labourer. Further remarks must, however, be deferred to a future occasion.