104

called the assertion of a fact—namely, that Otago is essentially a Scotch co-
lony—an offshoot of the Free Church, but embracing all other Presbyterians
(together with those in general who can adhere to the Presbyterial form) under
the generic name of the Church of Ota-
go—and that of such parties does the
mass of our colonists consist, whilst at
the same time the colony is as free to
all other persons, British or foreign, as
is Scotland itself to the same parties.
A reference to the “Otago Witness,”
No. 79, at the time of our elections,
will show with what care a candidate
had to clear himself from having un-
wittingly given his name to a party that
had been playing into the hands of a
hostile Government, and whose object
was, by falsifying statistics, and calum-
niating our people, to deprive them of
their nationality and their rights. Un-
doubtedly, then, the principle referred
to—that of upholding the fact of our
being a Scotch colony, was one, and
that too the leading one, that affected
the elections. It was upon this fact
that I stated my objections and asked
a reconsideration of your alterations in
the home Agency Bill. In your re-
fusal to do so, you did not, and could
not, deny the realities of our popula-
tion, and its antecedents; but never-
theless, you adhered to a change which
was calculated, by a side wind, and at
any risk, to neutralize the fruits of
former selections of labour for Otago.
The Company had never been able to
accomplish a selection to its wishes, and
it was not the least of its objects in the
Otago Scheme to secure an improve-
ment. The selection in this case in-
cluded the British Islands, as seen by
our population from first to last, but
at the same time, the root and strength
of the matter consisted in the cultiva-
tion of hopeful localities in Scotland,
so as to draw labour, and especially fam-
ilies, of undoubted character and ability
for the work from each of those locali-
ties—being confident of this, that the
correspondence of those Immigrants
with their friends and kindred at home
would progressively enlarge the circle of
attraction among the best adapted for
our future supplies. The founding of
these local connections was accom-
plished at considerable expense and of
its successful issue your Council and
the whole Province has just had a sig-
nal proof; so that in regard to the
special cultivation of London by the
erection of a separate and rival agency,
I can only express the hope (which I
doubt not the public will participate)

that the agent will have declined the
office and have left the applicants in
London, as elsewhere, to be attended to
as formerly.

The first labour emigrants for New
Plymouth were carefully and success-
fully selected in Devonshire; and New
Plymouth has the advantage of it to
this day, by the correspondence of its
people with their friends at home, and
thus drawing supplies from the same
good stock.

The Superintendent of Nelson lately
proposed to me to unite in sending
home an agent (one), to be salaried at
the joint expense of the Provinces.
My answer was, with respect to labour
emigrants, “Our means of selection
for this Province are already perfect.
It was made an essential part of the
Otago Scheme from the outset, and
its work is now faultless so far as we
can supply the means. It has this
character moreover, that it can interfere
with no other selecting agency what-
ever, and is yet so effective, that, where
we can make room for one family, our
correspondents must necessarily refuse
many others who compete for the pri-
vilege.”

Gentlemen, you may be liberal—and
I have no wish to gainsay it—but as
for me, I cannot afford to be liberal at
the expense of a people’s rights. They
themselves may renounce their origin
and say—“We are not Scotch” (a rather
unlikely thing however), but I will in
no degree do it for them and without
their consent. Nay, more, I would
advise them against it, because of my
conviction that English Guardsmen and
Scotch Highlanders got on all the bet-
ter at Inkermann (as on many other
hard fought days), because of the in-
spiring nationalities of each corps, to
their mutual respect and unbounded
confidence in each other; and even so
also I believe it to be in regard to the
peaceful and somewhat arduous tug of
the Canterbury and Otago settlements.

W. Cargill,
Superintendent.

17th September, 1855.

N.B.—Since the foregoing was draft-
ed upon receipt of your address, two
parties have applied for friends in Eng-
land—one of them a sailor by the “Sea
Snake” in April last, and the other
by a settler from Derbyshire, who ac-
companied myself in the “John Wick-
liff;” all others are still north of the
Tweed.

W. C.

Printed for the Provincial Government by Daniel Campbell, Dunedin.