Colonial Experiences (Paperback)

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER III. DISCARDED. Me. Ttjckett, the chief surveyor, was with the party at the Wairau, but being a member of the " Society of Friends," and therefore not countenancing any steps of an aggressive character, had remained at a distance from the korero, and when he heard shots nred retreated at once to the boat at the mouth of the river, and was taken on board the brig. After the lamented death of his chief, he was for a time acting agent of the Company at Nelson, and during his brief tenure of the office, made fresh efforts to extend the small farm system that Captain Wakefield had initiated and encouraged. As there were so few employers of laboureither engaged in farming or other works, there was a great redundancy of labour in the settlement; in this respect there was a failure of Edward Gibbon Wakefield's ' Theory of Colonization,' as capital had not been attracted in sufficient proportion to properly balance the labour element, or if attracted, it had been repelled by the pernicious system of allotment before referred to. From whatever cause, the fact remained that there was a large number of men and families solely dependent upon the Company's -employment; and when that should cease, with no tie to bind or attach them to the settlement. Captain Wakefield therefore endeavoured to establish cottier farming, but with very limited success. About twenty families were settled in the Eiwaka Yalley, who being supplied with seed wheat and potatoes gratis. land upon easy terms, and employment in forming necessary roads in their neighbourhood, began vigorously to devote such little time as was not occupied in road making, to ihe cultivation of their land. A few provident families had been induced by the same encouragement to settle at the Waimea and Motueka; but the chi...