The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning. Tuesday, October 23, 1888. THE COLONISATION SCHEME.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 212, 23 October 1888, Page 2

The Gisborne Standard AND COOK COUNTY GAZETTE Published every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday Morning.

Tuesday, October 23, 1888. THE COLONISATION SCHEME.

Be jiist'and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s, Thy God’s, and truth’s.

The details befog now to hand we must confess to a feeling of disappointment at the coloiisation scheme whtch has been propoundsd by Mr W. L. Rees. Its magnitude is btwildering ; its practical fulfilment is very doubtful. We do not for a monent believe that the seneme can resit, as some people assert, in the mre transportation of hundreds of pauers. In this respect Mr Rees appeas to have been very careful. Th. Cofters are known to be a hardworlcig and industrious people, and it is tolerably certain that they wouldthrive and be happy under circumstaces in which a less hardy people wuld only eke out the most miserible existence. But there is not much charce of the scheme, as propounded bang brought lo a successful issie. In the first place the /■joo.ooo has to be found, which, however, a things are at present, may not be s difficult as some would imagine. Hees has taken advantage of a very pportune time, when men’s minds a« becoming concentrated on the great problem which he seeks to solve, ant when the fact is making itself sternf felt that the congestion of populationin the old country is becoming a publi danger. It is witlthe practical details of the scheme thawe find fault. If the human mind were differently constituted, and men could ive together in that sprit of harmony wiich we read of in story books, then might be a splendid prospect of the scheme being a gigantic success, no tatter how great was its magntude. B>» Rees is going to get thefamilies scried out in the con. venient way wb«h he anticipates is a

coinpiek pijzie us. Three fourths of the emigms are to be married men and women, ith an average of three children eac and there aie to be 350 maidens an 250 unmarried young men. Thesehappy family arrangements are cightful to contemplate, and their realition would undoubtedly result in mucblessedness even in our little cotpmuiy as at present con-

stituted if the pial scale could be thus nicely balanc. Allowing that the estimate for importation and settlement may bepproximately correct, the stlbsequenprovisions are hardly likely to be sa'factory. Men in this country requirenore ttu” shik % Week „ a * r food has been Provided for. Fatjies are only to be charged i;s a rvk for rations, while single men have> pay I2S . So [hat tne sooner a manets married and the

more rapidly histmily increases, his cares are even I® than those of the S'ngie man withit any such ties. Wi th regard to the ages they are in our opinion, for illushary reasons, based at a very low rate, nd it means that if tins rate is accept! those who do so

must be brought irj competition with other wage earners. What we want is settlers with sufficht capital of their own to carry out whi they undertake—- “ by co-operation s much the better. By this scheme as ve understand it, the settlers start withi mortgaged proP n fty A, 1 succeedi well and good, all will be happy, lit fails then we not only pity the pooisettlers, but we pity those working mn who will be brought into compettion with the hardy new arrivals L t he settlement does not succeed there <bes not appear the W"* ? settlers to the land beyond the forte. of circumstances. They will cometo New Zeaand with the intention of bettering themselves, and if they find they can do better by competing with other workers, no one can blame them for doing so. then again it is simply ridiculous to talk of putting families on from four to six acres, even of the best land. It appears 111,000 acres will have to keep 10,000 people and 100,000 sheep and

5000 milch cows. Well, we should like to know where «e have the land in the Cook County that is capable of doing this besides yielding large profits to pay interest, etc. On carefully considering the whole scheme We must acknowledge that we have little hope for its being successfully put into practice. Mr Rees

appears to have got beyond his depth. If the scheme were greatly modified, as possibly it may eventually be, the best of results might be expected; in its present shape we can see no prospect of any gain to the Crofters or to those who are expected to advance the money, but we can see that very damagsooner see w ocneue. We would failure than that there should be" an attempt to carry it out in its present shape. However, it will most likely take more practical form before any steps are taken towards its actual fulfilment.

But even if this scheme is not successful there will be no denying that Mr Rees has done a vast amount of good in the way of advertising this

district, from which some tangible result must ensue. We must all wish him success, but in a scheme so ambitious as now before us we can see no prospect of success, and therefore wish that something more pratical will be substituted, or else that matters may be allowed to drift their natural course.