m this respect) upon being a practical politician, and ridicules those who invite him to go deeper into things, and see whither his proposal tends, as theorists who must not be listened to m a young Colony. But he is the theorist, not they. What would bo said of a body of men who were erecting a building whose form and •trootare had not been previously determined upon — laying here a few beams of wood, and there a few courses of stone, here erecting * Corinthian pillar, and there a Gothic arch ; and all the time ridiculing the architect who suggested that not only would the building, when finished, possess neither symmetry nor other beauty, bat might also tumble to pieces ; and that, before proceeding further, they should settle upon its design? We, the colonists of Few Zealand, are the buildcre. We are trying to rear up a great Colony, which shall fee worthy of the nation to which we belong and add splendour to the Empire ; and we are doing our work without any definite end m view, or consciousness of what may be the final result of oar exertions . We are feebly imitating the vices of our native civilisation, and not its virtues ; and, as surely as night follows day, will the darkness of pauperism overspread the Colony, unless we take steps to prevent it. How can this be done ? There is but one way— to settle the people on the land, and make pro vision for their permanently abiding on it. Wo must not let our humbler settlers be driven into large cities, for the purpose of making them toil m unwholesome factories by day, and of being Herded together at night m miserable hovels, where decency is violated, and the refinements of life are unknown. Dwelling m cities may develope a certain acuteness of intelligence, but pare morality and that love of simple pleasures which charms the heart of man and draws him nearer to Heaven, must be \poked for m the country home, and it iB there that the sacred fire of patriotism burns J clear and bright We must offer the most liberal inducements to people to enter on the pursuit of agriculture ; to cultivate the land, that Bona Dea, who always rewards her worshippers with ample gifts. Much, however, has been done m Wellington and other places, to promote settlement by rendering small blocks of land available on easy terms ; but a more important matter has been overlooked. To sell land on easy terms, or to giva. it away to bond Jldt cultivators, Is not sufficient m itself to compass the end m view, namely— to prevent an undue accumulation of labourers m the towns. We must also adopt measures to prevent a recurrence of the state of things which prevails at home, by which the freehold of tbe greater portion of the available land of the kingdom has passed into the hands of comparatively a few individuals. I would even go Bo far as to propose an AGRARIAN LAW, and to prohibit, by legislative enactment, and binder penalties of forfeiture, any person or family from holding beyond a specified area of land. Unless we restrain the unlimited acquisition of the soil, we shall inevitably see ft large portion of the country converted into huge estates supporting tens of human beings where thousands might dwell m comfort ; and our unhappy people, instead of enjoying modest independence, slaving m factories at the will of greedy Masters. The present f tate of affairs tends towards such a consummation . Buns form a Bucleus around which Manufacturing Civilization can ba built ; and when we are referred to the extensive trade created by runs as a proof of their utility, we must remember that a far larger question lies behind . In England the small landowners have been almost extirpated . It is estimated that eight-tenths of the landed property of Groat Britain are held by less than 10,000 persons. A quarter of all Scotland is owned by three noblemen; and the fee simple of the whole of the United Kingdom is held by it ii said about 80,000 persons. The latter figures are taken from the census returns; but doubts have been raised as to their rigid accuracy. The precise number, however, is of little consequence $ the fact remains, that the fctnall landowners, as a body, •re a thing of the past. The process of extinction has gone on •lowly, hut unceasingly, just as it will go on here unless barred by imperative law. There is no other means of preventing it. The desire for the acquisition of land is the universal passion of civilized man ; and the large landowner, with ample capital at his command, can wait, and wait, until his poor neighbour falls into difficulties, and then buy him out. In some parts of the Middle Island enormous freehold estates have already been created. Sir George Bowen, m a despatch to the Earl of Kimberley, dated Ist April, 1872, describing his visit to the Kaikonras and the Amuri district, writes : — " I was everywhere most hospitably entertained at the houses of the leading settlers, many of whom have acquired very large estates m freehold," and adds m a foot note, — " I stayed with one gentleman whose freehold estate exceeds 160 square miles, or 100,000 acres of good land." Two years ago 45,000 acres' of fertile land m Otago were sold to the late Mr. Clarke, of Victoria, m one block, and by the Provincial Government too 1 45,000 acres of God's free earth, with all its beauty and richness, given over to the exclusive possession of one man, who was previously the lord of hundreds of thousands of acres m Australia 1 200 acres of fertile land m New Zealand will support an industrious family m comfort ; thus, upon these 45,000 acres 225 families might live m independence and comfort, if the soil were their own ; but they cannot do so if compelled to pay a heavy rental to some wealthy owner of the fee simple. In this Colony ft heavy rental means, to the farmer, heavy borrowing, years of care and the ultimate passing of the fruits of his arduous toil into the hands of his rich creditor. When this land was sold by the Pro vincial Government no stipulation was made as to how it wag to be used ; and Mr Clarke was at liberty, if he chose, to turn the whole 45,000 acres into a sheep or cattle walk, where half-a-dozen shepherds or stock-drivers would lead a dreary and demi-savage existence while tending their master's sheep or oxen. This, how ever, is only one instance out of many m New Zealand where vast areas of land have been transferred bodily to rich capitalists. Messrs Kermode and Moore, who were among the largest station holders m the country, recently dissolved partnership, and their estates were brought to the hammer m Christchurcb. Two of the largest runs — the Glenmark and the Ashburton — were bought by G. H.Moore himself, who thereby, m addition to his other landed property, became the owner of 42.780 acres of freehold land, to say nothing of tens of thousands of acres of leasehold. He also pur chased the Waikare station which contains 8,000 acres of freehold. Other illustrations might be given of this monopolizing of land m the Middle Island, but is not everybody who has travelled there acquainted with the existence of vast territorial domains m that island ? Through the Native difficulties and the generally superior quality of the soil, similar estates have not been created m the North Island, although the quantity of land m the possession of many individuals is far too large for the public weal, and during the last year or two blocks of land have been purchased by individuals m this Province which do not look contemptible even beside the princely domains held m the Middle I&land. In Hawke's Bay an agreeable process has been going on for some time by which certain run holders and storekeepers are constituting themselves lords of the manor with vengeance. This matter would be presented, more vividly to one's mind if there were any official record of the number and jfiie of the vwioui holdings m the Colony. No &uch record, so j

far as I can discover, exists m the blue books. It should be given m the agricultural statistics, but it is not, the Registrar having confined himself to publishing the total area of land held m fee simple and m leasehold.! We ought not to overlook bo dangerous and significant a circum stance as that just mentioned . If the mass of the laboring classes are unable to find a home m the country, they must perforce collect m the towns, and work for whatever wages are offered to them. In place of being their own masters they must become FervantP, and de pendent upon the -will of others for their daily bread. The influx of settlers from the country -will be joined by the crowd of immigrants from Europe, the towns will swell to an inordinate size, the price of labour will fall, manufactories of six and seven stories m height will spring up, and the hideous cancer which blurs the face of European civilization will break out here, m the sunny islands of New Zealand. We are. constantly told about the necessity for encouraging local industries. By all means let us encourage local industries ; let us foster everything that will open new fields for the employment of labour, and quicken the faculties of our colonists. But do not let us become tho tools of capitalists, or deceive ourselves as to the motives which incite tho chief promoters of the cry for " local industries." It is not human happiness they seek ; but a means of filling their Own purses. A member of the House of Representatives persuaded the Colonial Industries jCommitte3 to propose tho grant of a bonus for the manufacture of a certain quantity of paper ; and why ? Not because any important public benefit was thereby to be gained, but because he was engaged m the establishment of a paper manufactory, and a bonus was necessary for the success of the enterprise. Ido not mention this as aninstance of senatorial depravity, but simply to show what lurks at the bottom of the cry of Protection to Colonial Industries. We must look to ulterior consequences, and not unwittingly prepare the way for the ultimate enslaving of tho bulk of the people to the insatiable Demon of Manufactures. Man was not born merely to toil m factories, or to make railways, or roads or bridges; although, to hear most of our politicians talk, one would imagine that the highest work which the Colony can achieve is to speedily crowd her soil with people and cover tho land with a network of railways. But when that is done, what then 1 Will aught have been accomplished to render the people happy, or the nation more famous ! If all were blotted out would the world be one whit the worse off, or have cause to regret the catastrophe 1 Roads, j and railways, and manufactories, and the providing of facilities for settlement are means, not ends, and ought not to be wor shipped as though they wereDivineconceptions announced through some De'phic oracle, for the guidance of the Colony m that dark path of destiny which, like all other countries, it must explore ftr itself. A change m the administration of.jthe waste lands of tho Colony should have been part and parcel of the Pubic Works and Immigration Scheme of 1870, but" Mr Fox's Ministry carefully shirked tho land question, as it did a'l other questions connected with that scheme which involved statesmanship and a fight for office. Safeguards should have been provided to check the squandering of the waste lands by the Provincial Governments — their being sold regardless of to whom, or m what sized blocks, so long as the purchase-money found its way into th© Provincial chests. The General Government ought to have placed a firm grip upon the land, and not have parted with an acre without knowing what was to become of it. They ought to have managed it so that it would be a reserve for the immigrants who are imported at so much expense to sett'e upon, by which means, m time, these people wou'd become independent farmers, not living m luxury, or above doing manual labour, but small yeomen, tilling their own holdings, free and proud through the consciousness of being their own masters ; not factory hands degraded with hopeless toil and subjection to the will of others. And this might have been accomplished without interfering ! with the claims of the Provinces to the management of the waste lands, and the enjoyment .of the proceeds of their sale. But tho Ministry, like Galiio, cared for none of these things. It was not until last session that they even attempted to make provision for the settlement of immigrants ; wh«n they intro duced and carried a miserable Immigrants' Land Bill without originality or power to accomplish its purposes, and which m no sense solved the land question. That question will, at no distant date, be forced upon the Government ; and an essential part of it will be how best to conserve the land of the Colony, so as to make it available for all tho people, rich and poor a'ike. The waste land of tho Colony is the property of the Empire, held by us m trust for the who'e British nation. We have no right to make it a mere chattel, to be bought and sold without regard to anything else than the price given for it. We have now, what we may never have again, the power of dedicating it as a perpetual endowment for the whole coninrm'ty, and of preventing it from becoming the peculiar appanage of wealth. In England the land is covered with legal meshes, which it seems almost a hopeless undertaking to attempt to clear away ; but here there is nothing to debar us from resuming possession of tho large tracts which have already fallen into the hands of individuals, and enacting a stringent law prohibiting any person from holding above a certain acreage of land . Compensation would, of course, have to be paid m extinguishment of vested rights ; but the value of the land acquired should be equal to the money paid for it, so that no addition to the permanent debt of the Colony would be made if my proposal wero carried into effeot. On the other hand, the owners of the land resumed would have jio more right to complain of the proceeding than the owners of land taken for railways or other works. The quantity of land which it should be permitted to one in dividual to hold m fee simple is a minor point, but I think that 640 acres, or a square mile, for a single person would be suffi cient to enable farming to be conducted en scientific principles, and thus to prevent a check being given to agricultural enter prise. In order that tho law might not be evaded by several members of a family holding 640 acres each, the extent of land which might be possessed by one family (meaning thereby, father mother, brother, and sister) should also be restricted to say 1,000 acres. As to land fitted by its nature for pastoral pur poses only, it could, as at present be let on short leases ; but m no case should the fee simple of the land save to the extent mentioned, whatever its quality, be allowed to pass into private hands . The object is not to baulk agriculture or the rearing of sheep on a large scale, but to prevent the monopoly of ownership of the soil. It has been suggested to mo that, m the case of large families, 1,000 acres would not be enough. Perhaps not ; but the precise area which it should be per missible for an individual or family to hold is a matter of

detail, which, with many other questions involved m the present proposal, could only be settled after careful enquiry. The most convenient preliminary steps towards enacting an Agrarian Law would be, first, for both Houses of Parliament to pass a Resolution affirming the principle ; and, second, a Boyal Commission should be appointed to enquire how existing interests m the landed estate of the Colony would be affected by the proposed law, the probable amount of compensation that would have to be paid, the minimum area which could bo fixed without checking the progress of scientific improvement, and so forth. The report of this Commission would enable Parliament to proceed along a well lighted path, without fear of doing mischief by blind gropings after the desired end. In deciding upon the area which might be held by one family, two things must be remembered — (1.) That unless this area were strictly limited, the law would be constantly defeated by the accumulations made by large families ; (2.) That the adoption of an Agrarian law would not lessen the variety of occupations to which the inhabitants of the country now devote themselves. No civilised people was a evor wholly agricultural one however high a place m its roll of honor the tillage of the soil might occupy. Borne paid the utmost respect to husbandry, but her citizens attained distinction m other arts. Even an, essentially agricultural people like the ancient Peruvians, amongst whom the soil was minutely divided — while no man had a firmer tenure of his plot of ground than a year's lease, and whose energies were crushed by the most irresistible despotism which the world has yet seen — produced crowds of handicraftsmen, skilled m the manufacture of wool, gold, and silver, and many other artie'es which, by man's inventive genius, have been made subservient to his bodily comfort, or pleasing to his mental taste. An Agrarian Law is no visionary scheme for rendering all men free and equal by compelling many to follow a pursuit for which their natural bent of mind unfits them ; no project which, if carried out, would deaden the mental faculties of our fellow-countrymen by narrowing the scope of their ambition ; no advice by which, under the gnrb of cosmopolitanism all patriotic feeling would be extin guished. It would mno way disturb the arts and manufactures, but rather invigorate them by the fresh intelligence ever flowing from the mind of the man who is not oppressed by the consciousness of almost hopelesß dependence upon another for his daily bread. But manufactures would be carried on here m a different manner to what they are m Europe and America. New Zealand would not possess overgrown cities— unartistic and offensive to the refined taste, and shocking benevolence by their squalid homes, their vice, their destitution, their human woe m every shape and form — but towns of moderate size, while throughout its length and breadth there would be scattered a population, amongst whom wealth might perhaps be rare, but comfort would be widely diffused, and there would be as full Bocial independence as can be attained under modern civilization. The wisdom of enacting an Agrarian Law might bo urged on another ground, although a much lower one than that on which lay argument has hitherto rested. Tho quantity of agricultural land m the Colony is too limited to excuse the bestowal of largo tracts of it upon individuals. New Zealand, it is estimated, con tains about 73,000,000 acres of territory. This is an extensive area, but a large portion of it is unfit for cultivation. A chain of lofty mountains runs through the South Island ; there is conse quently little land on the West Coast suitable for the plough, and much of the eastern slopes of the ranges is either barren or in accessible, or only capable of affording pasture for cattle . It may also safely be affirmed that large districts m Nelson and Marl borough will only be useful as sheep runs — leaving out of sight, ot course, the possibility of metals or minerals of economic value being found there. Then, tho northern and southern ends of the other inland are rugged and mountainous, whilo m the centre there are pumice tracts upon which flocktmay graze, but corn will never grow. Making allowance for the less of land thus occasioned, 16,000,000 acres may perhaps be set down as the outside quantity available for tillage m New Zealand.! This is not a large amount to meet the wants of the armies of immigrants whom it is proposed to bring into the country, particularly when it is remembered that the 16,000,000 acres includes land m remote spots which, while capable of cultiva tion, is not likely to be put under tillage for a long time to come. So far as the North Island is concerned, much of the best land re mains m tho hands of the Natives bqt 1 apprehend that before many years have lapsed, this difficulty will have vanished, and it need not, therefore, be taken into account. A want of perception of the actual resources of the Colony m this respect has been the prime cause of the reckless dealing with the waste lands of the Crown by the Government. We havo been as lavish of our waste Innds as of our forests. Timber has been cut down and wantonly destroyed, as though a forest could be grown as easily as a field of wheat, and th-.! waste lands have been sold, as quickly as possible, to any one who would buy, just as if there was an unlimited supply of them. In either case, the country has been richly endowed ; but the endowment must be managed with care, otherwise, instead of a blessing, it will he a curse to us. We must pull up. Wo have been living the life of the spendthrift, but it is not too late to amend. This Colony must be made something more than an immi grant-introducing, railway-constructing, bill-discounting community. It is exciting, doubtless, perhaps lucrative, but scarcely honorable, and certainly not calculated to odd to our national fame. There is no knowing, of course how, the future may view our actions. Human opinions of things are ever changing, and it may be that our coming historian will write, " Behold this great and glorious people — it spent twenty millions of other folks' money m constructing two or three hundred miles of railway and importing immigrants at the rate of thirty thousand a year I" Modern canons of criticism would, however, result m a different verdict, and, on the whole, is is safest to guide our course by them. An Agrarian Law would, it must be confessed, be a violent innovation on our present mode of dealing with land . On this subject we have naturaljy brought to the Colony the notiens which were infused into us at bonrc. Ihere political circumstances have placed land m an entirely false position. The forcible seizuro by William the Conqueror and his followers of the soil of England established a system which absolutely precluded the erection of legal safeguards against the accumulation of landed property ; and when the mercantile class rose into power tho land came to be treated as an ordinary chattel, until finally it was bought and sold like a bale of merchandise, with moro formß and ceremonies, indeed, but with no more veneration. Land, however, is not a chattel by its nature. It is the common inheritance of mankind ; and although, for convenience of cultivation, it may be parcelled out to individuals, the law of humanity forbids large area/} to be engrossed by single persons for purposes of pleasure or the increase of wealth. If the landed possessions of a State be monopolized by a Bmall class, it is simply impossible for the mass of the population to be m easy circumstances. The natural relations of man to tho soil are

overthrown, and an artificial system, wicked and rotten, is reared up to degrade the poorer part of the community. As a chattel,' however, land is regarded m England, and we cannot feel surprised " that the planters of English colonies should have neglected to impose restrictions upon the acquisition ot the waste lands of the Crown, bo far from attempting to do so the most systematic colonizers of modern times have striven to keepthe small freeholder off the land as long as possible, deeming a plentiful supply of cheap labour the one thing to be desired . Many who took leading parts m the effort which was made some years ago to found colonies on , scientific principles were fully capable of appreciating the desire to form societies where the working classes of England might look forward to something more than a mere increase m their daily wage, but they were controlled by circumstances, and the necessity of * returning handsome dividends for the capital invested forced them ; to work up to the mercantile ideal. Hence " cheap labour "is the refrain of our colonizers' song. So it is now. Let us hate r abundance of cheap, labour and the Colony will prosper. That is, - capitalists will prosper. We know the often quoted saying of the ' French king, « L'etat, e'est moi." "The Colony, we are the Colony!" gay the capitalists, and pretended capitalists. Never mind about the future weal of the rest of the community, so long as we get cheap labour now and handsome interest on our money. ' Great advances have certainly been made latterly towards liberalizing our land laws, so as to encourage the settlement of : sma 1 farmers. The principle of deferred payments, for instance, is ' • pretty well accepted throughout the Colony as a convenient method- ' of attaining that object. lam not going to discuss the soundness : ot the principle, which can best be shown by its actual working. - But it will not of itself prevent the M^due accumulation of landed property. The experience of Vi V slutts that the system of' deferred payments induces many persons to take up land who hare neither the capital nor the ability to cultivate it ; mortgages follow, • and additions to the territory of large freeholders. What we have . to do is to erect a peremptory barrier, firm as human skill can . devise, against the expansion of holdings beyond certain limits, \\ is simply useless for us to create a lot of small farmers unless we provide against their farms being coalesced into vast estates. Ido not think we can instantaneously produce a race of small farmers by adopting the principle of deferred payments, or by any similar project .; it will require time to change the habits of the community. . lhat, however, is a subsidiary question. Let us pass an Agrarian ■" Law, and small farms will spring up as a matter of course. 11ns pamphlet, or rather the substance of it, was written two or three years ago ; since when a movement for the " Nationalization of the land has taken shape m England, and found advocates i. ,!T ustralfa and N< w Zealand. The notion is that freeholds should be abolished and the State resume possession of all the land within its borders, afterwards letting it ont upon lease to all applicants. A cogent argument used m favour of the scheme m the Colonies has been that the proceeds of the land might thus be made to pay the greater part of the cost of Government ; but at home the movement was but the painful cry of the poor, suffering amid irant and disease, with their heritage right before their eyes. There seems to me, however, so far as New Zealand is concerned at all events, one fatal objection to the scnerae. It would place m the nands ot the Government a power too vast for any British Govern ment to possess ; and would create an army of officials whose existence would destroy the manhood of the people. Corruption of all kinds would almost certainly dwell beneath its shadow ', nor would there be any guarantee that, by means of favouritism, large tracts of land might not be given over to individuals, whose free holds they would be all but m name. A land tax has also been mooted as a means of chocking the tin due accumulation of land by individuals ; but there is this fatal objection to the proposal— it would be a class tax. Moreover it would be a roundabout way oi reaching the desired goal, when a straight road to it was open. The unrestricted acquisition of land is either right or wrong—if right, it should not be interfered with, by special taxation or otherwise ; if wrong it should be peremptorily forbidden. r J While an Agrarian Law is foreign to the spirit of English legislation, it is not an untried idea. The Jews, the Greeks, and . e .. Komans » all P nfc ifc into practice with success, and it was only m the days of Home's decadence that hei nobles owned vast es tates. On the Continent, the want of Agrarian Laws (m tha ancient meaning of the term) is supplied m most countries by a subdivision of the land which enablea it to be occupied by a numerous body of small proprietors j although, from other causes tne advantages of a peasant proprietory have not been fully deve loped. It js, however, neither to the ancients nor to the moderns that we must look for guidance. A mighty evil is threatening us, unknown to the past and the terror of the present ; an effectual safeguard is to our hands, and we must seize it, not allowing our selves to be shackled by precedent, or to lose the precious moment while gazmg around for the guidance of others. In these days, when social and political revolutions follow one another m rapid succession, it would be preposterous to hesitate m making the most radical change conceivable m our land system, if it were shown to be conducive to the public weal. We ought not to blindly copy the example of the mother country m this matter, i, for one, love and revere England. I wish we followed her footsteps on the path of great principles more closely than we do ; and did not confine our imitation to matters of trifling consequence. But we must nevertheless copy with discrimination. England's path is encumbered with the wreck of past ages, which impedes her progress, and sometimes compels her to turn aside altogether. No such hindrance bestrews our road to social and political happiness. Our way is clear; let us walk on it boldly and freely. The nation which dares not think for itself is damned It is not for us, above all men, with a new and prolific country at our disposal, to wilfully enthral ourselves m the vices of modern civilization. The good can be eliminated and the bad rejected. In the Southern Seas a new and glorious civilization m*y be evoked, where the mass of mankind shall not be fettered to remorseless toil, and m the fierce pangs of hunger forget their divine nature. Without making all society tremble by violent changes— without Com munistic Associations or International Trade Unions, dread refuge of despairing men—we can, if we please, construct the social fabric m so capacious and just a manner, that it will afford efficient and pleasant shelter to every citizen. Such is our fortunate lot. But if we despise the fearful warning given to as by the old Kicgdoms of Europe ; if we blindly throw all power into the lap of wealth. and allow the sacred heritage of the entire community— the land— to be mado the luxury of the rich, we shall find the machine of the State move more and more slowly as its wheels become clogged with human suffering, until at last its movements cease altogether. CHARLES W. PUBNELL. Wanganui, February 187$.

SUPPLEMENT TO THE ASHBURTON GUARDIAN, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2> 1887.









Printed by •• Tub Ashbobton Publishing Company, Lxmitbd," at thtir offiMfli Burwett Street, Aihburtoo.^FiWay, September 2, 1857,



fNoTE. — Since the appear&r>oe of my pamphlet, an offloial reqord of this kind bag been published,— C.W.p. ' I



tNoxE,— This estimate q! the quantity of agricultural land aeema to bo too )Qir { buj jny argument is not affooted by thQ uader.estimate.-Q.W.P. I