Five years' residence in New Zealand; or, observations on colonization

Front matter

FIVE YEARS' RESIDENCE IN NEW ZEALAND; OR, OBSERVATIONS ON COLONIZATION. FIVE YEARS' RESIDENCE IN NEW ZEALAND OR, OBSERVATIONS ON COLONIZATION. BY FRANCIS FULLER, ESQ., LATE CAPTAIN 59th REGIMENT), A RESIDENT IN THE PROVINCE OF CANTERBURY WILLIAMS & NOEGA T E, 14 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON AND 20, SOUTH FREDERICK STREET, EDINBURGH. 1859. LONDON : RICHARD BARRETT, PRINTER, MARK LANE. (fntai" at j^tatioiurs' Jfjall. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE THE LORD LYTTELTON HAGLEY PARK, SSorcrstersbtK, CHAIRMAN OF THE CANTERBURY ASSOCIATION, THIS VOLUME (BY PERMISSION) IS INSCRIBED AS A TESTIMONY OF REGARD AND ESTEEM. DEDICATION. Mt Lord, The high and undeviating position sustained by your Lordship, over an illustrious Association, by whom a very interesting Colony has been founded, on principles which excited obloquy and abuse from those whose pleasures in life arose mainly from experiencing immediate returns from their money invested, had gained my entire admiration, and causes it to be felt as a high honour to be now permitted to dedicate to you the experience of five years, which have been regarded as a happy time spent in investigating a subject which has presented almost daily something new and interesting to be learned.

The example set in avowing our obligation to support the ministers of our professed religion was not lost on the early Colonists ; and the consistent opposition shown to speculating in the Waste Land of the young Colony, as being detrimental to material progress, in withdrawing attention from the more serious business of raising crops for sale, has been duly appreciated by those who look beyond the present moment. The example of personal sacrifices made by your Lordship will be remembered, and will ever endear your name to posterity, in the Colony you have founded : whose residents sincerely hope they may some day have the pleasure of seeing you visit it. The kindly aid you and the Association yon presided over gave in obtaining from the Imperial Legislature the boon of self-government— affording thereby scope for individuals whose minds have been duly trained to lead their fellow-men, and direct their attention to higher aims than the pursuit of mere pecuniary gains — has been felt not only in this, but in adjacent Colonies ; as having led to the first exercise of their present privileges.

Knowing your continued interest in the Canterbury Colony, it is hoped this description of its life and occupations will prove acceptable to your Lordship. I remain, my Lord, Your most obedient Servant, FRANCIS FULLER.

Preface

. Emigration is now allowed, throughout the United Kingdom, to be one of the most important social questions of the day, regarded as a means of improving the material comforts of all placed in reduced or strait ened circumstances, who are possessed at the same time of ordinary rigour of mind and body, to withstand the rougher modes of life which residing in new countries entail. But the Colonies of Great Britain are very numerous ; some are situated in tropical countries, with a considerable foreign population ; others in more temperate climates, but still with an admixture of a foreign or a convict population; but New Zealand has been colo nized principally with a hardy yeomanry, brought out direct from the Parent Country, and presents corres ponding advantages, distinct from those presented by other Colonies.

These may be expressed as presenting a field, — not for the accumulation of rapid fortunes, but — for enabling those who desire rural pursuits to con tinue their calling, with the same freedom, and among a society actuated with the same feelings as those which are maintained in Great Britain ; but possessing, with a fertile soil, and a far healthier climate, a greater amount of room for exerting their energies, than the crowded state of the Parent Country permits. The attractions of a rural life differ greatly from

PREFACE.

. those of a town. And to a rural population different arguments require to be used than those required by the inhabitants of towns. Thus information on the topics, philosophical or otherwise, usually discussed in Colonial society ; some autobiography or antecedents in the lives of those who have gone there in order to know what style of people may be met ; discussions on general policy, to hear what the Colonists think of the Institutions of England, after they have tried a new country ; but, above all, a statement of the principles that appear to regulate the economy of investing money, in order that those without previous experience may have some guide to follow on first embarking on a business new to them : are all points on which a rural population like to be informed, though they do not present the same interest to residents in towns.

These latter, being accustomed to greater luxuries, are not as generally willing to forego them for a period, in order to undertake the rougher life of a young Colony, in the hope that by doing so they may ultimately improve their circumstances. The Canterbury Province can especially appeal to the gentry of Great Britain who delight in rural affairs, for hundreds from their ranks have settled there. The writer relates the experience he has gathered in the Colony, trusting it may prove useful to those purposing to proceed to that rising Province, and be acceptable to its friends in the United Kingdom, and that it may also interest the public generally, who desire information from that quarter of the world. CONTENTS. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. PAGE. The class of families among the gentry from which our Colonists are mostly furnished —The information they desire is different from that which is required by other classes of the nation — The purpose of the writer is to meet that information and to avoid subjects which have been entered on by previous writers — A distinctive feature in the Canterbury Scheme of Colonization pronounced to have succeeded — The general plan of the Book ... 1

Chapter I. On The Influence Of Religious Differences Upon The Populations Of

NEW ZEALAND. Colonial life modifies Sectarian Prejudices, but does not disown Religious Convictions — The Political bearing of the influence of Religion is a distinct study — A general knowledge of different Creeds is considered useful, in order to avoid offending the feelings of those who profess them — The mass of mankind study only one Creed — Therefore a summary of different Creeds, with a view to their political bearing, becomes useful— The Historical Definition of Religion — Natucal Religion exists all over the world— Some Dentitions of the Christian Religion stated— A Source stated from which differences with the Church of England have arisen, and produced Separations — The Political Bearing of some differences between Presbyterians and Dissenters with the Church of England stated — All Protestants do meet and worship together in New Zealand — A definition of one prominent difference among all CONTENTS.

X PAGE. Protestants and the Church of Rome— How the High Church party in the Church of England support their doctrinal positions — The recent Oxford Movement noticed— Butler's "Analogy" recommended, as shewing a ground of common belief running through all Protestant professions, and therefore useful in quieting scruples in all such when first acting together 7

Chapter II. To Become

A COLONIST DOES NOT FORFEIT SOCIAL RANK OR POSITION, Prejudices prevail throughout the Public Services againt the occupations of a Colonist — One way to meet these prejudices is to relate the Histories of some who have left these services and become Colonists — The relation of misfortune in the previous history of a Colonist does encourage others suffering under misfortunes to proceed to a Colony — The Autobiography of a retired Military Settler, with his remarks upon some customs and ideas of his former profession. — He is satisfied with the exchange he has made — Some sources of prejudices to Colonization among the upper ranks of Society stated — Only a portion of those who go to a Colony are urged by previous disappointment .... 29

Chapter III. On The Preliminary Work Attending The Inauguration And Establishment Of

COLONIES. The Establishment of Colonies is generally a tedious process — What is the proper office of enthusiasm — The Legal Powers which are granted a Public Company for carrying on Colonization — The Company generally have to borrow money in order to erect Works required in the Colony, and to send out the labourers required — The newly-arrived Colonist generally finds an old hand in the Colony to suit him better than a labourer just arrived in it — The great call for Labour, and how the Provinces endeavour to obtain it — The boon of Self-government being granted to New Zealand, plenty of local business is before them — A notice of the New Zealand Company and of the Canterbury Association CONTENTS. XI PACE.

Chapter IV. On The Price Op Land

The situation of Land enters into its value — Sites for Towns — Values of Town Lands — Value of Land adjoining Towns — The fixed price system compared with the auction system — The price of Waste Lands is now regulated by the Provincial Governments — A summary description of Lands that have been occupied in all the six Provinces, with a view to the circumstances that have regulated the price placed upon them, noticing Markets for export, and general political means of support, and shewing that all have a different policy to support, and must be left to do that for themselves, and that no Province ought to interfere with another — Free-trade policy is not connected with the price of Colonial Waste Lands — Summary of arguments in favour of the " Sufficient-price theory" — The application of this theory in the Canterbury Province, to the exclusion of Speculators in the Waste Lands, and to the great service of the Squatting interest — A large Speculator of Waste Lands in Australia occasioned several Squatters to proceed to the Canterbury Province, where they proved very useful — The same person reported as being willing also to speculate in the Waste Lands of New Zealand ...... . . 59

Chapter V. On The Investment Of Small Capitals In New Zealand

The amount of Capital which is generally taken to a young Colony — Those without previous experience must notice that persons embarking to begin a "Farm or Station" of their own must expect little returns for the first few years ; and this is only analogous to the circumstances of England and Scotland— A notice of the Products generally raised, with their recommendations- — The Pastoral occupation is generally considered the most profitable — Mercantile and Professional employments generally obtain the quickest returns — Persons without a previous experience in business are now advised to put their money out on mortgage on arrival— The necessity of caution in beginning to Farm on Waste Lands — Erroneous estimate of Colonial occupation formed at a distance — Labouring men advised to turn immediately to different employments, instead CONTEXTS.

XII PACE. of keeping only at one — Labourers from the rural classes most desired in the Canterbury Province — Money is generally invested so as to draw an income from several sources — Young single men recommended to move about, and learn different occupations, before they determine ultimately where to invest their money — Observations on the Winds and Climate of New Zealand . . S4

Chapter VI. Commercial And Financial Matters

The small amount of Goods passing through a Merchant's hands in a small Colony, obliges a greater profit to be put upon them — Manufactures have generally sold in the Province for three times their cost in England, and the supplies have been drawn chiefly from Australia — Men to produce articles for export more wanted than men of the mercantile classes — On whom the high prices of goods ultimately fall — It is injudicious to send large ventures of merchandize to young Colonies — The Bank accommodation restricted to bills drawn through mercantile firms — The advantages to a Farmer of payments in kind — There has always been sufficient money in the Province to obviate recourse to " the Truck system" — Rates of interest, and why they range high — The high price of stores induces families to take as much goods as possible with them ; but the expense of taking them to where they reside is not always considered — On the postal communication, the Panama route desired ......... 105

Chapter VII. On Farming Fob

A PROFIT IN NEW ZEALAND. The details of the Garden and Farm are given in the Almanacks of the different Provinces — Old Colonists do not advise Capitalists to farm Land — The difference between treating timbered Land and level untimbered Land — The appUcation of Contract Work instead of yearly service — Advantages of Machinery — Rotation of Crops inapplicable — Observations on breaking up the waste grassy Lands of the Canterbury Plains — A notice on Ploughs — The adaptation of the artificial Grasses to New Zealand — A description of the Soil of the Canterbury Plains, and modes of choosing a good section for CONTENTS. XIII PAGE. Agriculture — Hints to small Farmers — Application of the Land of the Plains to farms of a few hundred acres, laid in artificial Pastures, for Sheep or Cattle — Notice of dividing a Capital to be invested in different ways — A comparison with Australian Farming — What products are advised to be grown for export . . . . .124

Chapter VIII. On

" SQUATTING " FOR PASTORAL PURPOSES. Terms used in the system — Insecurity of Tenure the objection to the system — The value of its Products counterbalances the expenses of Carriage — The continuance of the Native Claims in the Northern Island has prevented the development of the system there — Further details on the Economy of the system — It is avoided, notwithstanding the profit it offers, on account of the rougher life it entails, by some persons — Comparison of the system of Australia with that in New Zealand — At the commencement of a Colony the Price of Stock is always high ; after a few years it falls, and the price of the Right to a Pasture equals in value the Stock it will maintain — A New-comer is advised not immediately to start a Station far inland — A notice of Prices and the Capital required for the occupation — Details of commencing and general management of a Station — The prospect of improving the Feed upon a Run — The number of Sheep generally obtained upon a Station before the Owner leaves it in charge of a Manager — Rates at which Sheep are kept upon Terms — The values that Runs on the Canterbury Plains have already obtained — How the Scab disease is cured — The economy of a Cattle Station — Mode of breaking-in Heifers for milking — Notes on the Produce obtained, and prospects of selling it— A mode of beginning a Dairy Station, requiring little labour — Notes on the price of Cattle 146

Chapter IX. Employers And Employed

The marked change in the manners of Workmen induces men of education to inquire into the origin of the relations that subsist in the United Kingdom between the Employers and Employed— Philosophers have taken interest in tracing the changes in the laws b CONTENTS. XIV PAGE. of the Kingdom from the time of Serfdom-It takes tune for a Nation to adapt itself to these changes-Tne effect of these changes in producing various classes of Workmen-The crowded conation of the Labour Market in the United Kingdom occasions trouble to those dismissed from employment ; but it is not so in a Colony, where Workmen almost regulate their own Wages and Hours- Mode of proceeding for a steady Labourer to become an independent Yeoman— A notice of Sailors as Workmen in a young Colony— They are accustomed to run away from their ships on arrival in a Colony where Wages are high — The local Market in a Colony fluctuates greatly ; it is therefore necessary for Workmen generally to take a turn at different Trades — The necessity of addressing Workmen in a proper manner in a young Colony, where they number strong upon the Electoral Roll — An improvement in their condition sometimes acts for the time injuriously upon them — Their generally improved circumstances in the United Kingdom noticed, compared with that of a Foreign Empire which has retained Serfdom ......... 175

Chapter X. The Political Import Of Certain Ideas Prevailing Among Persons Living

ON FIXED INCOMES, CONTRASTED WITH THAT OF THOSE LIVING BY TRADING OR PRODUCING OCCUPATIONS. The necessity of considering these contrasts — Objections to study Political Economy, and the answer to them — The diminished proportion of the Agricultural Population noticed — Some pressure is generally required to induce people to emigrate, but, when undertaken, there is disinclination to settle again in the United Kingdom — Some wants of the Gentry considered, and the opening the Canterbury Colony presents for making up the incomes they require — People cannot live in the gay world and bring up a large Family without they possess Private property — Colonial life inculcates self-reliance — The horror of Colonists at a return to the ideas of Feudal Times, and connecting Monasticism and Asceticism with Christianity in a Protestant country — How persons retired from a Profession often lose the money they have saved and invested to insure a fixed income — Some disadvantages experienced, by young CONTENTS.

XV TAGE. persons who have not been brought up hardily, on first entering upon the world — The political system of Representation in the British Isles considered as differing from that of New Zealand, where Political Demonstrations are regarded with more alarm — Gentry find they have much of Civil Law to learn, when commencing business in a Colony, and lose much of the regard they formerly entertained for appearances . . . . . . .197

CHAPTER XL SOME OF THE TROUBLES THAT HAVE BEEN EXPERIENCED IN THE

CANTERBURY COLONY. Two schemes proposed for the carriage of Goods from Port Lyttelton to the Plains ; one by a road not yet completed, and another by a steamer, which is now at work — The custom of the Banks restricting advances to Mercantile Finns, rather a surprise to the Agricultural interest — How afterwards altered — The fluctuating price of Grain very annoying to Farmers — Merchants charge 10 per cent, upon accounts, if not paid quarterly — Two unpleasant occurrences, in consequence of confusion in business, related — A Local Court , installed to take cognizance of Debts up to £100. — Troubles in dividing Partnerships — Mistakes made between Friends at the starting of the Canterbury Settlement— The necessity of maintaining a public spirit in it — The readiness of the Colonists to act as police, and the comparative absence of crime, allows a very small Police Force to be maintained — The absence of Beggars — On the troubles individuals feel in adopting a new line of life, and the difficulty of effecting changes in the practice of any profession or public office in a country— The troubles the Canterbury Colony have had to undergo at starting, are considered light to what other Colonies in its vicinity have undergone 224

Chapter XII. Political Matters

Self-Government was not obtained in New Zealand without a struggle The presence of a large warlike Native Population was supposed to furnish grounds for deferring the boon — The Natives were con- CONTENTS. PAGE ciliated by the arts of Peace, viz., giving good wages or their labour, and also trading with them — The relative numbers of the two Races by the Census of 1857 — The Financial Debate in the General Assembly — The result is that a Loan of half-a-million of money is obtained on security of the Land Fund, with the guarantee of the Imperial Government, to be paid off in thirty years — A Steam Service contracted for — Opinions in the Colony on the position of Elected Superintendent — A source whence future political parties may arise — The Scarcity of Labour in the Canterbury Province explained, with the provisions made to meet it — A Bet made that the Exports of the Province in 1861, her twelfth year, will amount to £500,000. — This is compared with the exports of South Australia and the Victorian Colony — Agricultural capabilities of the Canterbury Province, and her Census of 1857 — Probable future Legislation in favour of the Pastoral Interest — The Canterbury and Otago schemes for obtaining the emigration of labourers compared — A topic of complaint with the Colonists of the Northern Island, against those formerly administering their government .......... 248 ERRATA.

Page 2**> line 26, for to slavishly copy, read closely to copy. Page 37 line 10, /or hero, read subject. Page 57 Hue 89 for commencing, &c, read which were at first required for commencing the ordinary business of the Colonv. Page 93 line 12, for transverse read traverse. Page 96 line 6, for employment, read some employment. P.'ge 111 line 30, for no less than, rœA as well as. Page 141 line 6, for to manure, read manuring. E1YE TEARS' RESIDENCE IN NEW ZEALAND. INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. The class of Families among the gentry from which our Colonists are mostly furnished — The Information they desire is different from that which is required by other Classes of the Nation — The purpose of the writer is to meet that Information, and to avoid subjects which have been entered on by previous writers — A distinctive Feature in the Canterbury Scheme of Colonization pronounced to have succeeded — The general Plan of the Book.

Among the numerous gentry of tlie United Kingdom are some families who have been so long accustomed, generatiom after generation, to follow each one their pre decessors in the several departments of the public service, civil, naval, or military, that they become a society in themselves, andacquire a tone of thought and feeling different from that of the nation at large. They have no knowledge of the value of trading or producing occupations, and in many cases, deem that their fami lies sink in position if any of its members enter upon such occupations. Such families, however, generally find, after a few generations, that their private pro perties have seriously diminished, that their means are not equal to the station they traditionally claim, and that something must be done to improve their finan- B FIVE YEAKs' RESIDENCE cial status.

These ideas are generally regarded, par ticularly by the thriving and energetic middle classes, as partaking more of the spirit of the middle ages than as being in accordance with the modern estimate of what constitutes the true wealth and greatness of nations. And yet such families exist likewise through out the States of Europe. To all such States as border upon the sea, including the United Kingdom, colonies have for the last few centuries, presented a convenient opening for recruiting their finances. That is to say, the younger members of a family can pro ceed to enter upon trading or producing occupations in a colony without offending the feelings or prejudices of their older relatives, whom they feel bound to respect, while at the same time they have the con viction that emigration promises better prospects in turning a small capital to account (when they are willing to work with it), than the crowded condition of an old country offers them.

Tht necessity for removal to fresh fields of enterprise, may be more readily understood by considering that the incomes attached to the various public offices and services in a free country, under constitutional government, though possibly calculated on such a scale as will, with prudence, enable the persons holding them to keep up appearances in their respective grades of society • yet afford no opportunities for laying up money to accumulate into fortunes ; consequently if one or more in a generation be of extravagant habits, or others are charged with bringing up a numerous family, the private property must be continually reduced, and may ultimately yield an income barely adequate to the support of even the smallest family. This frequently happens in the ordinary course of affairs, without special blame being attached to any.

Some other resource then becomes necessary, and thus it is that persons are often met with in a colony engaged in producing even the first and simplest necessaries of life, and living in the humblest manner, whose families have formerly been in high positions in the mother country. Now it is to be observed that such persons, entering upon trading or producing occupations when it has been their previous habit to live in a fixed style, and on a fixed income, begin at a disadvantage, in having to compete with those whose training from childhood has been directed to trading, raising raw produce, or in manufacturing it when produced by others. There are also other families, who, from having been brought up in circumstances of ease and opulence, or from being engaged solely in the practice of professions, have no knowledge how trading or producing occupa tions are carried on.

These, likewise, from various causes affecting their financial condition, are accustomed to furnish recruits for young colonies. However, the great mass of those who proceed to a colony have been generally brought up to trading or producing occupations. But the information which is required by persons in the former condition of life is very different from that which is desired by those in the latter condition. Their tastes, objects, and desires, are distinct; and even the language which is generally adopted by persons brought up as traders, is often found to be too terse and abbreviated, requiring much previous information on the topic written upon, in order to be comprehended by others not similarly brought up, b Moreover, the feelings which actuate those comprising one division are not entered into by the other ; and thus a publication intended to meet the enquiries of persons in one class, may appear to those in another to contain much that is unnecessary, cumbersome, and perhaps puerile ; though it may still contain much that has not been previously written upon, and may convey infor mation on topics which they had never previously considered.

In the heat of party contests, newspapers in the trading interests may sometimes seem to ignore the pre sence of families in the kingdom who are not acquainted with their pursuits, as if the laws did not contemplate them ; but they do exist in great numbers, and require for their guidance, or inducement to begin industrial occupations, information on a variety of topics, which the latter do not understand the necessity of stating. Now persons who feel really interested about New Zealand have read many of the books that have been published upon it, and gathered thereby considerable information on the subject of outfits, and the domestic inconveniences to be experienced. The object of the present work, therefore, is rather to avoid what has been previously written upon, and to endeavour to enunciate some of the principles that regulate the ordinary business of the colony in an elementary form, in order to meet en quiries that are generally made by persons commencing business in it as employers of labour.

Nevertheless, notice is taken how labouring men raise themselves into a condition of independence, how trade is conducted, and the general prospects of the colony. The writer has no party to serve, but wishes to circulate such infor mation upon the general condition of the colony as may be relied upon. His object is not to amuse, but to convey knowledge of an useful aud practical character. He has not resided in any of the neighbouring colonies, but refers to them incidentally, as visitors to the Canterbury Province describe them, or as information is gathered from trustworthy publications. It was a noble scheme to start a young colony, where gentlemen from different ranks might find profitable occupation, with sufficiently agreeable society, and which should serve to contradict a foppish idea prevailing in the United Kingdom that emigration can be regarded by gentlemen only as a last resource, when other hopes have failed them, and then ought only to be resorted to until sufficient money has been saved wherewith to return to England, — England, or the Continent, being deemed the only place fit for them to live in.

When the government of a colony is conducted practically by an office in the parent State, there is room for such ideas to prevail ; but when the gentry and industrious classes feel that there is a security for life and pro perty ; a freedom for the exercise of their respective abilities, especially in the right of making laws for the government of themselves, equal to what they enjoyed in the Mother country, then, living in a colony comes to be regarded in a different light, and attachment to it follows. It becomes a new home, to be loved with new affections, — not unlike those with which the bride rejoices — in the home, which she and her husband create, with a joy not inferior to that kindled by the recollections of her own infancy. Observations bearing on the philosophy of coloni zation are sought after by educated men, even when engaged in trading or producing occupations ; for the ideas of those living by such employments contrast greatly with those living upon fixed incomes ; and, what ever may have been their previous experience of business in the Old World, all persons find there is a great deal to learn on arrival in a new country.

The basis on which a colony is organized and governed exercises a material influence on all questions in which its inhabitants are personally interested. It will therefore take the first place in the subsequent pages, and be followed by chapters relating to land, capital, labour, produce, &c. The disturbance and confusion of mind of one brought up in the refinements of an old and highly civilized country, when newly arrived in a new settlement, are sometimes great ; his previous notions of distinctions of classes and propriety of demeanour appear to be greatly violated : but a recurrence to first principles of life and conduct affords the true explanation of those difficulties that perplex him, justifies the reasons of experience, and points out the way to meet them. The following chapters may turn attention towards the proper direction in which to look for the solution of some of the matters that surprise him, and be advantageously entered on previous to treating upon the general business of the colony.