The Evening Herald. FRIDAY, FEB. 19, 1869.

Wanganui Herald, Issue 536, 19 February 1869, Page 2

The Evening Herald. FRIDAY, FEB. 19, 1869.

The opinion is daily taking- deeper hold, that sheep-farming will -not pay, and that 'agriculture' must be attempted on an extensive scale if farmers are to keep their ground. It can no longer be said exultinglv that "while I anrsleeping- the. Wool and mutton are growing;" ' for although nature will still carry "on her work thei*e. is such a thing as the wolf coming to the door, if the wool and mutton will not pay the interest on the last mortgage, some other means must be resorted to. He is a philosopher.'that can accomodate Himself to circumstances, and as all men are not philosophers it is likely that wool-growing, and that alone, •will he persisted in until one half of those engaged in it are ruined. We are aware it is said that agriculture does not pay any better; but there are yery few agriculturists in the district and it is time farmers set themselves to learn. H agriculture does not pay in New Zealand, a country well watered and possessing a rich soil, it will not pay anywhere! Strange to.say it pays well in South Australia, and that it is making vigorous, strides in Victoria. Mr Pox, irom personal observation, upon his return to the Colony, described the prosperity of the South Australian farmer, and strongly urged the people here to grow their own breadstuffs. As long as pastoral occupations paid, people were perfectly content; but lately the sight of sheep being sold by auction at Is per head, has destroyed a good deal of the easy-going happiness which prevailed. The first thing the farmer should do would be to form .an agricultural association, and by obtaining local and foreign statistics, to diffuse information, and stimulate their neighbours to try experiments. There are few who know the cost of labour required in the production of an acre of wheat, or whether Irish ilax would pay better than other crops. In farming, " knowledge is power," which Baron Liebeg^has demonstrated, and which Alderman

Mechi is yearly illustrating-. In « Victoria, the large runs are beingcut up and disposed' of for small farms. The squatter will, before long, become as scarce as the Mam-

moth. The fall in the price of wool has foreclosed many a mort°'a°"e and drawn lines through many a 50 square mile mn.- It lias had'about the same effect in the Australian colonies as the abrogation of the laws of primogeniture and entail in England, only it is much quicker in producing- effects. It is not difficult to see that a similar effect is taking- place in New Zealand, a few days since we published an account of a gentleman in the Wairarapa, who is cutting Tip his estate into small farms, which he is disposing of on the system of deferred payments. Mr Fox is doing likewise, and others are doubtlesl following in the same direction. Small farmers are the life of a country. They cultivate every inch, of ground, and stretch the resources of the land to their utmost limits. In this province in particular the sympathies of the ruling class hitherto have all been with the monopolist —• large blocks of land have been alienated at a nominal price, and, if we may so express it, there has been no room for population. In the midst of provincial anarchy a healthier state of things is growing- xip, and the law of necessity will shortly afford facilities -for. the industrial classes to work their way without checks, to their paogress. Those who have these facilities already should make the most of them, and with economy .and -judgrrient now they may attain to affluence in better times.

New Govkrnment House.—Tenders have been called for the erection of a new Government House in Wellington.

The Small Pox.—The Health Officer has submitted the particulars of the late small-pox case to the Superintendent. Cvi hono ?

PnOROGATTOX OF THE ASSEMBLY.—A Gazette,, published on Monday, announces that Parliament stands prorogued until the 14th of April.

Erratum.—ln the report of the Wairoa expedition in yesterday's issue for '■'both those positions were occupied" read, both those positions were unoccupied. -

Accident.—A-horse and dray, bel'onjrin'o; to Turakina natives, went over the left hank of the river this morning, near the lower ferry. The tide was out at the time, and horse and cart were brought|to terra firma again without much damage. ij^iCß of Meat in New Zealand. last Statistical Tables give the following quotations of the price of meat for 1867:

BEEP. MUTTON. PORK. perlb. perlb. per lb. Auckland ... 6| 5| 6 X Taranaki ... 7^ 6i 6 Hawke's Bay ... 3 3 3 Wellington ... 6 6 7 Nelson 7 6 8 Marl borough ... 6 6 7 Canterbury ... 7 5 g Ora^o 6d to 9cl 66. to 7d 8d to IOd Southland ... 9 8 11