III.

1. It is essential to well-being and well-doing that agriculture should thrive. But farmers by sheer mistake have sometimes formerly frowned on their best friends. The special want for Auckland is successful and vastly increased agriculture. It is believed that Auckland has built up its town to the neglect of its country,—has prepared a fine market-place, as the town may be called, with a miserably insufficient regard to the likelihood of a perennial, unfailing supply of country produce. After all, the way and the order set forth of old by Solomon—strenuously enforced by Dr. Lang as advice to the intending emigrants to Geelong 17 years ago—cannot be improved upon, "Preparethy work without, and make it fit for thyself in the field, and afterwards build thy house." The contrary brings into exemplification the adage, "One builds and another possesses."

2. I have deemed the 1858 forty-acre scheme altogether a great good to this district of New Zealand. Undoubtedly, however, it might have been worked much better.—I have often had occasion to remark that the fatal omission in the forty-acre Act, and that chiefly which brought odium upon it instead of the highest praise of which it was otherwise decidedly meritorious, was the not demanding a material guarantee that every portion of land awarded for simply coming hither should be occupied, or cultivated, or else at least as much money spent upon it as government demanded for land when selling, ere a Crown Grant could be had. Such a guarding clause alone would have done more for desired occupancy than any other device. Its diversified operation for this end is too obvious to need particularising. And it could not have been deemed oppressive. And had it checked and steadied the tide of immigration, so much the better. During the first three years there was an injurious rush.

3. Again, it was a gross perversion, after having, by that measure, obtained the requisite increase of population, to rest cunningly contented in the one single incidental yet inevitable result of that increase, viz., that the labour market was easier—that workmen's wages were reduced. The natural and due course consequence of such shortsighted selfishness was the gradual draining away of the people, and so the frustration of the project.

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4. Possess ye the land and subdue it. Providence, and human politics, public and private, alike urgently demand it. For this every facility should have been previously provided and ostensibly proffered. Neglecting this has occosioned a break, Hundreds of the best forty-acre men desponded before presented impracticability; threw up the concern as a bad job; and become competitors with the townsmen for town work; or else went away from the province or the country altogether. The loss to Auckland will never be fully known, from the crass, stolid neglect by the Auckland rulers of the very simplest provision, viz. accessibility. I know men of considerable capital who had prepared to come out, but were stopped by adverse accurate reports from their friends who came first.—Many scores of thousands in hard cash, have been, during the five years last past, paid away by Auckland to America and to Australia for bread and beef. Doubtless the regular irruption of imperial troops into this island during that period produced a wholly factitious state of affairs amongst us, and did put trade and commerce into an abnormal condition. But it is now showing itself very ill that commissariat expenditure ultimately found its way abroad. Everyone here consequently suffers. One contractor who often dabbled in sums of twenty and thirty thousand pounds lately found himself without so much as one golden sovereign sticking to his fingers. This fact would, certainly, have been a much lesser evil had those large sums been distributed over this country. And a Victorian contracting company, during same rush, located an emissary here (Johnson) who nobly drove his carriage, and shovelled the cash proceeds of his extensive agency out of this country. Now, the best business men of Auckland are perpetually using the expression, "There is no money!" All the rest are asking Judge Moore to insist on their creditors squaring up and settling for from 9d. to 9s. in the pound. Cause and effect, Auckland province, with fair play since the famous year 1858, could and would have supplied all, or nearly all the extraordinary, strained demand adverted to. It is a vast district between here and the North Cape,—our peloponnesian peninsular, north of the isthmus, or the line across from Waitemata to Manukau,—and to most of us a terra incognita;—and since the evacuation of the Bay of Islets—for occasioning which the darkies cannot forgive themselves—has been as peaceful as the interior of England. The quiet North could and should be occupied.

5. But irrespective of the adventitious circumstances alluded to, it is no news to state, that with all our vast tracts of land, and our comparatively very sparse population, we have never yet grow it even our own daily bread. Oh, but, then, the climate! the climate! Look at Adelaide, the granary of Austral-Asia, with more heat than north New Zealand, and, like it, without snow. Why, Adelaide exports breadstuff' vastly. Now, this is not asked for the large province of Auckland. But it is demanded, every national consideration, that the small population of this page 26 large tract of country feeds at least itself from its own fields. This, as yet, it has never done, by a long chalk. Now, surely, this demand is very small; it is designedly and calculatingly put at its minimum. Of course, every wiseacre will promptly put himself into a bold, forward attitude to tell you confidently that this province won't grow wheat to pay. I don't quite believe it. That the whites have not, as yet, been able to do it, is another and a rather different thing. Seven or eight years of potato and maize growing has perhaps altered the soil for full fitness. Some best agriculturalists believe it has. But, anyhow, settlers might save themselves the expense of carting breadstuff's some thirty miles to their homes. That saved expense should be in effect as a protective subsidy on home growth. So, surely, they may profitably grow enough for home consumption whilst our voluble Utopians are advocating corn-laws to enable them profitably to grow, and desirable but unattainable railroads and canals in order to enable them by easy conveyance lucratively to sell.

6. But, then, after all, even were it granted that the statement is correct that this province cannot be made to produce wheat for sale profitably,—merely suppose it so,—it by no means thence fairly follows that agriculture won't pay here; although many seem to reckon this a matter of course consequence. There are many things other than wheat. There is the variety of animal food. And this country might certainly be one of the best in the world for fruit-growing; and by this alone many countries have got their wealth and do now flourish (wines, preserves, &c.) Again, here is analogy; England consumes more tea than any other State in the world. It grows none. Do these two plain facts condemn its agriculture? Aye, or nay. Clearly, were it proved that this province is unadapted to wheat-growing, it would certainly not therefore be condemnatory. All know it grows beef. And as for potatoes—galores! Not bad prog for a hungry tike!

7. During 1866 New Zealand imported

Grain—cash cost	£157,834
Flour—cash cost	249,829
Oatmeal—cash cost	6,519
Biscuits—cash cost	5,728

These figures show the terrible shortcoming of New Zealand agriculture! What an import!!