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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 44

Introduction

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Introduction

So many enquiries are made at the Offices of the Agent-General concerning the land laws of New Zealand, that I have thought it desirable to reprint the latest Acts. It will not be easy for people who read them without previous acquaintance with their nature to thoroughly comprehend them. Each provincial district has different land regulations. To some extent there has been an assimilation. The Crown Lands Sale Act, printed herewith, provides that land open to selection without auction shall not be sold for less than £2 per acre, and if sold by auction shall not be submitted at a less upset price than £1 per acre. Good land is, however, generally considered land possessing a special value, and when offered for sale a heavier price is placed on it. There are provisions for selling on deferred payments both agricultural and pastural lands. But hitherto the Government have found it difficult to submit sufficient land on these terms to meet the local demand. The price at the limited auction to applicants often rises very much on the upset rate fixed by the Board. I mention this, because it would be folly for emigrants to proceed to New Zealand under the impression that they can procure good land at from one to two pounds per acre. It would be difficult, however, to say at what rate they may hope to obtain it, its price varies so much according to its character and locality. The nature of the soil, the amount of bush page 6 to be cleared, the distance from a railway, the distance open of that railway to a market or harbour, the number of people in the neigbourhood, the proximity of gold fields, and a dozen other circumstances affect the value. The emigrant is not altogether dependent on Government lands. At various times when land commanded a mere fraction of its present worth, large estates were purchased by private individuals. These, in a great many cases, are now cut up, and emigrants may obtain farms on leases with deferred payments on purchase by paying a portion of the cost and leaving the rest on mortgage.

It is impossible to satisfactorily fix the sum which the emigrant who proposes to enter upon farming pursuits on his own account should take with him. So much depends on himself and his belongings. If his family is small, if his habits are frugal, and if he is active, and able to easily make up his mind, he may do more with a small sum than another with expensive habits, or with an indecisive mind, might do with a much larger amount. In my opinion, a man who intends to rely on farming on his own account should not land in the colony with less than £250, and he should, with this amount, remember how all important it is to him to set to work at once. If he cannot get Government land, he should try to lease with a purchasing clause private land. In any case he should see before him the prospect of becoming his own landlord. He should not go to New Zealand to remain a tenant farmer, though it may suit him at first to pay rent so as to leave him a larger command of the limited capital he possesses. But he should take care that his option of purchase is full and satisfactory; and if he has any doubt on the subject, it may be worth his while to take legal advice. In naming £250 as the minimum sum the farmer should land with, I am expressing my own opinion. page 7 I am aware that some people would name a larger sum whilst others would think a smaller one would do—and so indeed it might if a farmer were prepared to undergo many difficulties and hardships at first. For instance, he may put up a rough turf and wooden erection, in which he might live for a year or two. If his rent were moderate and his way of living frugal in the extreme, and he wasted no time in the town after landing, £150 in his hands might suffice to lay the foundation of his future fortune.

The responsibility of advising in matters of this kind is very great, and my readers must exercise their own judgment. Some farmers think they may readily find temporary occupation whilst they look about them, and learn the ways of the country. It is right to warn them that this is not so easy as it appears. It is true there is an almost unlimited demand for farm labourers. But farmers accustomed to work on their own account, and to employ men, are not as a rule good labourers in other people's service, and there is frequently a feeling amongst employers that they would rather take on servants than masters. These general remarks must be taken for what they are worth. To all hard and fast rules there are many exceptions.

As New Zealand becomes known in Great Britain the inclination to emigrate to it increases. To judge by the applications I receive from all quarters, and all classes, I should say there would be no difficulty in inducing a large fraction of the entire population of the two kingdoms to transfer their domicile to the Great Britain of the South, as New Zealand is frequently termed. The desire to emigrate to this colony is not to be wondered at, for it possesses a climate and soil which have no equal amongst British colonies. It is free from the frosts and cold of Canada, the droughts and heat of Australia, and the still page 8 greater heat of India. The quantity of its producing and fertile land, in comparison with its area, has few, if any, parallels in other countries. The average of its grain crops without the use of manure challenges comparison with the best producing countries in the world where farming is carried on with adjuncts unknown to, and happily unnecessary in, New Zealand. The varied nature of its resources makes its very insulation an advantage, because its people grow to a recognition of the mutual aid, the component parts of a well ordered community may render to each other. Still, it must be remembered that the principal want at present requiring satisfaction is the cultivation of the land. Labour, skill and capital, to bring the land under production, are needed to a practically unlimited extent, and persons able to farm with sufficient means at their command can scarcely make a mistake. It is incredible that people possessed of capital and intelligence can submit to be tenant-farmers in Great Britain, working solely for the benefit of their landlords, whilst in another part of their own country—for such New Zealand is—they may enjoy independence, attain to wealth, and find openings in life for their children. Here, they are virtually social slaves, surrounded by countless miseries and annoyances; there they may be free and happy men with that legitimate ambition in the future, without which life is a sterile pathway.

Besides the Acts published herewith, there are two Maps showing the land tenure in each island. Some Government statistics, some letters from emigrants and others, and some newspaper articles are also added.

An original paper by the Rev. Mr. Berry, who has a large acquaintance with New Zealand farming, is especially worthy of attention.

7, Westminster Chambers, London,