IMMIGRATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXVI, Issue 3108, 27 January 1871, Page 3

IMMIGRATION AND PUBLIC WORKS.

q, . We take the following from the " Press," extracted from the speech of Mr Richardson, elected member of Christohurch west : — " Another question about which he had been asked repeatedly was immigration. It must go, as had been said by many other candidates, hand in hand with public works. It had been said that when they brought in immigrants they brought down the price of labor, but his experience, extending over eighteen years of a colonial life, went in an entirely opposite direction. In Australia, where shiploads of immigrants were coming in, the price of labor stood steady and even .went vp — went up for this reason, that the Government knowing what what they were about, had public works going on, or other outlets for the labor coming in. The consequence was that men with their savings went into buying land or into< other businesses. Whatever might bs said about this subject, he thought that any scheme of immigration to be successful must be under the General Government, and carried on under a general system. The present scheme had not worked well, and if the General Government took charge of the public works, the introduction of suitable immigrants to those places in which they were required, should be also managed by the General Government. To show them that the General Government had thoroughly considered this question he would ask them to allow him to read a short extract from the speech of Mr Yogel, delivered the other day at Dunedin. The extract was as follows — ' From whatever point of view you regard it — whether from the highest social or the narrowest pecu niary view, immigration is a profit to the state, if the immigrants can settle down and support themselves. If many thousands of immigrants, introduced at once, could earn a livelihood in the colony, I would not hesitate to usk you to vote the money to pay for their passages. Loiig before the money would have to be paid, supposing it to be borrowed, the immigrants would recoup the amount by contributions to the revenue. But it would be cruel to bring out immigrants if you do not see the way to their finding the means of self support. As every immigrant who becomes a settler will be a profit, so every immigrant who leaves the colony, or is unable to procure a livelihood in it, will be a loss. We therefore say that we will introduce immigrants only to those parts of the colony which are prepared ' to' receive them. What tho nature of the preparation may be it would be impossible now to define. It might be land for settlement ; it might be employment of an ordinary nature, or on public works. ; it might be that facilities for establishing manufactories, or aiding special or cooperative settlements, were offered." He thought that this extract would show them that the framers of this large scheme were prepared to deal very comprehensively with immigration. It would be found that when these large schemes were set in motion, and immigrants began to arrive here in commensurate numbers to the large public works going on, the thrifty laborers who had saved from their earnings, would begin to spend their money in land, and it would thus find its way into the Treasury again, to the great benefit of the general community. As an instance in point, he would state that the laborers in their .employ had, from their earnings bought and settled upon—in most cases profitably— no less than 24,000 acres of land, and they would find that largo numbers of men would settle on their lands if these schemes were allowed to go on.