248 Auckland Provincial Government Gazette.

General Government, to entrust him with the Governor’s powers which are now delegated to me, to be exercised in my absence?

Please reply soon.

J. Williamson,
Superintendent.

No. 4.
Honourable Colonial Secretary to Superintendent.

TELEGRAM.

Government Buildings,
Wellington, 14th November, 1874.

To His Honour
The Superintendent,
Auckland.

The Government cannot recognise any necessity for your proceeding to Great Britain, for the purpose of promoting Immigration, and the formation of Special Settlement Associations. Mr. Vogel, himself the representative of an Auckland constituency, will be soon in London and will be prepared to receive and to act, if practicable, on any representation which your Honour, in the interests of the Province of Auckland, may think right to make, with respect to Immigration or the formation of Special Settlements; but an independent and possibly antagonistic action such as you propose, could, we think, have no other effect, than to embarrass the general operations of the Government, without procuring any special advantages for the Province of Auckland.

Under these circumstances and in the hope of thus preventing such action on your Honour’s part, His Excellency the Governor will not now be advised to make any delegation of his powers to a Deputy of the Superintendent of Auckland.

Daniel Pollen.

No. 5.
Superintendent to Honourable Colonial Secretary.

TELEGRAM.

Auckland, 17th November, 1874.

To
The Honourable
The Colonial Secretary,
Wellington.

Your telegram, re delegation of Governor’s powers, duly received yesterday.

Will reply by post.

J. Williamson,
Superintendent.

No. 6.
Superintendent to Honourable Colonial Secretary.

Superintendent’s Office,
Auckland, 21st November, 1874.

Sir,

Adverting to my telegram of the 17th instant, I have now the honour to address you upon the subject of your reply to the application which I made for a delegation of the Governor’s powers, under certain Acts of the General Assembly, to be conferred upon my Deputy, during the period of my projected visit to Great Britain on public business affecting the welfare of this Province.

In the first place, I must express my surprise and regret at the course which the Colonial Government have considered it necessary to take in this matter.

From the initiation of the Immigration and Public Works Policy, (of which Policy I have always been an earnest supporter,) until the time of my entering upon the duties of my present office as Superintendent, the Inhabitants of this Province have found fault, and, I think, upon sufficient grounds, with the manner in which they were being treated in reference to Immigration. Their objections were made both as to the number, and as to the quality of the Immigrants despatched to this Province by the Home Agency. While other parts of the Colony were receiving a large and constant stream of Immigrants, the number sent out to Auckland was not nearly equal to the requirements or capabilities of the Province. The disproportion in this respect was so manifest and serious, that the Colonial Government admitted the injustice (which doubtless had been unintentional on their part), and undertook to remove all cause of complaint for the future. I acknowledge that the Government have redeemed their promise, as regards numbers; and we have had for some months past a steady supply of Immigrants, nearly equal to the demand. The objection, however, as to quality, still remains.

In saying this, I do not wish to be mis-understood, as reflecting in any degree unfavourably upon the character or moral conduct of the Immigrants themselves. Taking them altogether, I presume they are neither better nor worse than any similar number of residents in the Colony. The objection to which I have referred is, that they are almost entirely selected from one class of the Home population, and are almost exclusively composed of labourers, and artizans. The evils which arise from this system are obvious. In the first place, the Immigrants of the artizan and general labourer class, having no knowledge of farming or country pursuits, are disposed to remain about the centres of population, thus adding to the number of inhabitants of towns which are already too populous in proportion to the sparse population and settlement of the country districts. In the second place, those who belong to the class of farm labourers, though they possess a knowledge of farming, have not the means to enable them to take up land and to become settlers on their own account. It is quite true that they now find but little difficulty in obtaining employment; but it must be borne in mind that at present the labour market is in somewhat of an abnormal condition, owing to the large demands being made upon it for the execution of public works. At no very distant date, the bulk of the Colonial works will have been finished, and then several thousands of men will be thrown upon the ordinary labour market. I foresee that much hardship and distress will be the consequence; and that, as a remedy, there will probably ensue a large exodus of the people from the Colony, thus bringing it to pass that the money of the people of New Zealand will have been expended for the ultimate benefit of other Colonies. Another fact of the most serious importance, in connection with this subject, still remains to be considered.

There would be no reasonable ground for objection, if the introduction of population, and the settlement of the country, were proceeding hand in hand. We could then afford to look forward, without apprehension, to the time when the public works would be completed; because the increase of settlement and cultivation would then enable the surplus labour to be absorbed without much difficulty. It is a remarkable circumstance, that little or no occupation of new country is taking place within this Province, under the present system of Immigration. I believe I am quite correct in stating that, out of the whole number of people who have come into the Province since the beginning of the present year, not one per cent have taken up land. Notwithstanding the earnest and unremitting exertions of those entrusted with their location, the Immigrants have not been induced to go, in any large numbers, into e country districts. By far the largest portion remain