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NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 INDUSTRIAL, ECONOMIC, AND POLITICAL 
 
NEW ZEALAND 
 IN EVOLUTION 
 
 INDUSTRIAL, ECONOMIC 
 AND POLITICAL 
 
 By GUY H. SCHOLEFIELD 
 
 BOWEN AND MACMILLAN-BROWN PRIZE- 
 MAN, UNIVERSITY OF NEW ZEALAND 
 
 WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY 
 THE HON. W. PEMBER REEVES 
 
 DIRECTOR OF THE LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS 
 
 NEW YORK: CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS 
 
 LONDON: T. FISHER UNWIN 
 
 1909 
 
 T 
 
(All rights reserved.) 
 
To 
 
 MY MOTHER 
 
 MARION SCHOLEFIELD 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The main business of colonists is to colonise; and, where 
 their history happens to be in the main one of peace and 
 toil, the chief side of it is the narrative of the industrial 
 development of their country. To the more picturesque 
 aspects of the story of New Zealand some justice has 
 been done elsewhere, and by more than one writer. 
 The scenic beauty, the climate and fertility, the adven- 
 tures of discoverers and pioneers, the racial struggles, the 
 political experiments — of all these you may read in a 
 score of books of some merit, to say nothing of many 
 which have no merit whatever. But, so far, the evolution 
 of our trade and industry have never been adequately 
 examined, narrated in sequence, and summarised, at any 
 rate in book form. A wealth of information on the 
 subject is buried in official reports and statistics, in 
 magazine articles, encyclopaedias, and in journals, mainly 
 colonial. But no full attempt to classify facts and weave 
 them into a narrative, made interesting by reflection 
 and deduction, has, to my knowledge, preceded this 
 volume. 
 
 The industry of seventy years has multiplied a handful 
 of pioneers, living on their capital and hopes, into a 
 young nation of a million souls, with an oversea trade of 
 thirty-six millions sterling. The three or four make-shift 
 villages of 1840 are now represented by four substantial 
 cities and a score of thriving little towns. Statesmanship, 
 military courage, capacity for social organisation, have all 
 had their share in making progress possible ; but the 
 chief factor in the advancement of a mainly peaceful 
 community has been steady and intelligent industry. 
 
viii INTRODUCTION 
 
 How often progress has been checked and effort ap- 
 parently baffled by depression and disappointments 
 certain passages of this book will show. The history of 
 the production of food and raw material for the markets 
 of the world during the last two generations has been 
 chequered. Growers who would thrive and continue to 
 thrive have had to cultivate initiative and be quick to 
 adapt themselves to changing conditions. The fluctua- 
 tions in the prices of wool, meat, and wheat have been 
 in New Zealand's case thrown into the shade by the 
 instability of the hemp market, and the ups and downs 
 of gold-mining. The enterprise, scientific skill, and 
 hopefulness needed to apply refrigeration, to build up 
 a great trade in meat, cheese, and butter, were not small. 
 Moreover, after seventy years. New Zealand is still mainly 
 dependent on one great market, that of the Mother 
 Country. Hostile tariffs have restricted the natural 
 growth of her export trade to Australia and the United 
 States. In England the door is open, and year by year 
 New Zealand avails herself more and more of the wide 
 though crowded entrance. But of all England's custo- 
 mers and purveyors our colony is geographically the 
 most distant. She has to hold her own against com- 
 petitors who have marked advantages over her in size 
 and nearness to Europe, and sometimes therefore in their 
 power of obtaining cheap money. How farmers, finan- 
 ciers, and politicians at the Antipodes have endeavoured, 
 not without success, to cope with these disadvantages 
 the writer of this book essays to show. How complete 
 has been the abandonment of the doctrine of laissez 
 faire, how close is the alliance of State and individual 
 effort will be apparent in page after page. Whole 
 chapters are necessarily taken up with reviews of statutes 
 and departmental work designed to stimulate or regulate 
 private industry. 
 
 If it be complained that the book is almost entirely 
 concerned with pacific life and material things, the answer 
 is that it is inevitably a story of development by peaceful 
 labour. The story is worth telling. The author might 
 
INTRODUCTION ix 
 
 have chosen a romantic subject. He had a right to 
 choose one useful and informing, and, having chosen 
 it, to stick to his last. A New Zealand journalist of 
 excellent standing, Mr. Schoiefield has been well placed 
 for many years to enable him to study the country and 
 its settlers. It seems possible that these last are now to 
 concern themselves more actively in Imperial affairs than 
 has hitherto been the case — except during the fit of 
 enthusiasm which caused them to outstrip even their 
 own Government in the zeal with which they despatched 
 mounted riflemen to serve against the Boers. But up to 
 the present their record has been almost entirely written 
 in the internal growth of their very prosperous and 
 sanguine community. To one side of this growth the 
 present volume will do justice to an extent not done by 
 any previous writer. I have, therefore, no hesitation in 
 recommending it to any systematic student of the life 
 and affairs of an ambitious and successful young 
 Dominion. 
 
 WILLIAM PEMBER REEVES. 
 October lo, 1909. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 In a mass of literature which makes New Zealand com- 
 paratively the best-described country in the world, there 
 is not, I think, a single volume which purports to give 
 a survey of its economic evolution. The bibliography 
 of the last ten years— especially that portion which deals 
 with sociology and labour — contains innumerable refer- 
 ences to isolated aspects of New Zealand economy, but 
 practically the only authoritative and intimate account 
 of the development of social conditions appears in Mr. 
 Reeves's book, " State Experiments in Australia and New 
 Zealand." 
 
 The present volume is intended to give a conspectus 
 of the subject, to trace the origin and growth of the 
 social and industrial system of the Dominion and the 
 operation of those laws by the enactment of which New 
 Zealand has gained the title of the economic laboratory 
 of the world. Whether these laws constitute an advanced 
 form of Socialism, whether Socialism in this form is 
 desirable or not, must be left to the student to judge. 
 In his judgment he will probably not overlook the fact 
 that the advanced democracy of New Zealand co-exists 
 with a self-respecting passion of Imperialism so strong 
 and spontaneous that it has more than once prompted 
 the whole Empire to united action. 
 
 In describing the actuating reasons for the different 
 measures referred to, I would not wish to force dogmas 
 upon unwilling subjects further than to insist that every 
 incident and every aspect of legislation in the New 
 Zealand Parliament for the past quarter of a century — 
 every tariff adjustment, indeed — was by intention and 
 
xii PREFACE 
 
 design part and parcel of the great scheme of social 
 reform upon which the country was engaged. Many 
 had not been anticipated and had no apparent bearing 
 on the scheme, but in their time they were just as essen- 
 tial as the main humanitarian acts which they were 
 brought into being to support or reinforce. For in- 
 stance, though a modified form of protection was essen- 
 tial to the establishment of industries and the increase 
 of employment, the present fiscal tarifif, which almost 
 touches McKinleyism, was no part of the original 
 scheme. Yet it cannot now be abandoned without the 
 overthrow of some part of the fabric, and a consequent 
 shock to the social well-being. The best friends of 
 industrial arbitration to-day realise that the good offices 
 of the customs tariff are necessary to its maintenance. 
 
 Critics are prone to the mistake that New Zealanders 
 do not know that these social experiments and this 
 fiscal protection are increasing the cost of living. In 
 point of fact they do know it, and they tolerate it 
 because they are willing to make sacrifices for the 
 sake of preserving fair social conditions. All classes 
 in New Zealand are in favour of arbitration, because 
 it has immeasurably improved the condition of the 
 workers and put decent limits to industrial competi- 
 tion. Practically all classes believe in a measure of 
 protection, because they understand that without it 
 certain industries cannot exist, and if they succumb 
 there will be a relapse to the social condition of twenty 
 years ago. 
 
 The present social system was not built up in accord- 
 ance with accepted economic principles. It is a fabric 
 of expedients, devised by practical men rather than 
 scholars, to meet momentary and changing needs. Yet 
 the Old World may insist that it be justified, not merely 
 by its success, but by the measure of its conformity with 
 the economic principles of the Old World. Since free 
 trade is at present a dormant doctrine in the Australasian 
 States, we may reasonably refer to the standards of an 
 ardent free trader of the Victorian Colonising era. One 
 
PREFACE xiii 
 
 of the reservations of John Stuart Mill closely 
 applies : — 
 
 " The only case in which, on mere principles of 
 political economy, protecting duties can be defensible, 
 is when they are imposed temporarily (especially in a 
 young and rising nation) in hopes of naturalising a 
 foreign industry, in itself perfectly suitable to the cir- 
 cumstances of the country." 
 
 It might be argued that New Zealand has not advanced 
 beyond the limits of this permission. But the conditions 
 which Mill applies are important. He insists that any 
 such protection shall be strictly limited in point of time, 
 and that there shall be good ground of assurance that 
 the industry so fostered will in course of time be able to 
 dispense with protection. He would be a bold man who 
 would promise the one or predict the other for New 
 Zealand. At present any such hope is absolutely for- 
 bidden. 
 
 Though tariff protection was originally merely a cir- 
 cumstance in the general scheme, it has now become 
 the keystone of those modest laws which are recovering 
 the land from the monopolist and creating the finest 
 yeomanry in the world, which have diffused education, 
 capital, and wealth amongst the population, and have 
 made the social conditions of New Zealand incomparably 
 better than those of most other countries. 
 
 For statistical information I am much indebted to the 
 Hon. W. Hall-Jones (High Commissioner for New Zea- 
 land), Mr. W. C. Kensington, I.S.O. (Under-Secretary for 
 Lands), and Mr. E. Tregear (Secretary for Labour) ; and 
 for photographs for illustrations to Mr. T. E. Donne 
 (Trade Representative for New Zealand, 13, Victoria 
 Street, S.W.), and others. 
 
 GUY H. SCHOLEFIELD. 
 130, Fleet Street, E.C. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 vii 
 
 INTRODUCTION . . . . • 
 
 PREFACE . . . ■ ■ • . xi 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 "AO tea ROA" — THE COUNTRY . . . .1 
 
 The Britain of the South — An insular group— The mountain 
 ranges — Features of the Southern Alps — The western fjords — 
 Volcanic activity very restricted — Traces of ancient struggles — 
 Valuable inland waterways — Irrigation and cultivation — Dis- 
 tribution of production — Wealth in rainfall — Temperature and 
 sunshine. 
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 THE FIGHT FOR BRITISH SOVEREIGNTY . . -14 
 
 Discovery by Tasman — The tragedy of Murderers' Bay — The 
 great southern continent — Captain Cook's explorations — De 
 Surville and Marion du Fresne — Whalers and traders — The 
 Mission at Bay of Islands — Fighting for British sovereignty — 
 Mr. Busby appointed Resident at Bay of Islands — The Declara- 
 tion of Independence — Edward Gibbon Wakefield and the 
 New Zealand Company — Opposition of the Colonial Office — 
 Sailing of the Tory — A Lieutenant-Governor appointed — The 
 " accidental " colony — Treaty of Waitangi — Conflict with the 
 New Zealand Company — Death of Governor Hobson — Wake- 
 field's triumph — Responsible Government. 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 
 THE PROVINCES AND THEIR PEOPLE . . '30 
 
 An Elysium of Providence — The dominant race — Rigid selection 
 — The Wakefield ideal — A new English race — New Zealand in 
 the sixties — The provincial system— Political nurseries — The 
 cry for separation — Abolition of the provinces — Where the 
 
xvi CONTENTS 
 
 people came from — English supremacy — A romance of colonisa- 
 tion — The English settlements — Scots pioneers — The Otago 
 pilgrimage— Irish in the North — " Parish " emigration — The 
 gold rush — No concrete influence — The foreign infusion — 
 French expeditions — Scandinavians, &c. —The Chinese — Birth 
 and allegiance. 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 FORESTS AND PROFLIGACY . . . . -45 
 
 Spars for the early navigators — Kauri timber — The kauri forest 
 — Durability of native woods — Tests of strength — The wanton- 
 ness of the pakcha — Axe and fire — Anxiety in Parliament — The 
 forests in 1873 — Vogel's Forest Settlement Scheme — The 
 executioner's warrant — A conservator of forests — A relapse — 
 Foreign imports — The resources to-day — Kauri for eight years 
 — Cutting capacity of the mills — Tree-planting — Restoring the 
 kauri — The age of the trees — Competition of Oregon pine — 
 The rivers of the North — Employment. 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 WHERE THE MAORI LED. — " PHORMIUM TENAX " . .60 
 
 A native industry — Universal utility — Export of native produce 
 — Primitive methods— The last of Maori industry — " Booms " 
 and " slumps " — Regeneration of the flax fields — " Mushroom " 
 companies — Mills and methods — Strength of the fibre— The 
 success of cultivation — Competition of Manila — State grading — 
 A precaution against abuse — Prospects for the future — Export 
 and price — Employment. 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 THE WOOL KINGS . . . . . -JO 
 
 Raw material for England — Wool from Australia — A staple 
 product — The squatters — Sheep in New Zealand — The first 
 large runs — Wairarapa and Marlborough — Selection of breeds — 
 Increase of flocks — The revolution of refrigeration — Readjust- 
 ment of the flocks — The merino basis — Breeding for mutton — 
 "The Corriedale" — Natural increase of flocks — Shearing on a 
 large station — A time of anxiety — Improvement in the clips — 
 Where the wool goes to — Local manufactures — The arrival of 
 the rabbit — A crisis — Eradication of the pest. 
 
CONTENTS xvii 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 GOLD-MINING . . . . . .88 
 
 An early depression — The Australian "rushes" — Prospecting 
 for gold — Discoveries in Auckland and Nelson — Dr. Hoch- 
 stetter's report — The rush to Gabriel's Gully — Successful fields 
 in Otago — Specialising the work — The river beaches — Starved 
 for capital — Revival of quartz-mining — The romance of the 
 Waihi — Cyanide treatment a magic force — Universal gold veins 
 —Sluicing — Labour-saving machinery — The development of the 
 gold dredge — Its use abroad — Growth of the gold output — A 
 field for capital — Some paying investments. 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 
 COAL AND OTHER MINERALS .... Io6 
 
 Ubiquitous coal measures — Neglected development — Bunker 
 coal from New South Wales — West Coast seams discovered — 
 Imports from Australia — Obstacles to development — Improving 
 the bar harbours — Mines opened on the West Coast — An export 
 trade — The coal that saved the Calliope — Admiralty contracts — 
 Expensive production — Modern equipment — The visible supply 
 — The state coal-mines — Effect of State competition — Growth of 
 the industry — Iron ore in vast quantities — Kauri gum-digging 
 — The Austrian diggers — A dying industry. 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 
 REFRIGERATION AND PRODUCTION .... 120 
 
 A crisis in production — The radius for foodstuffs — At the mercy 
 of the home market — The worthless carcase — Agriculture at a 
 halt — Production suspended — Avoiding the consequences — The 
 magic of refrigeration — Production revolutionised — Extra- 
 ordinary expansion. 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 
 THE FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY .... I25 
 
 Position of sheep-farmers in 1880 — No market for mutton — 
 England the goal — Refrigeration — Experiments in Australia — 
 Mr. Thomas Brydone's venture — Successful shipment from 
 Dunedin to London — Enthusiasm in the colony — Sailing ships 
 ousted by steam — Mistakes and malpractice — Popular prejudices 
 — Lord Onslow's demonstration — Learning the business — Meat- 
 marking legislation — Compulsory inspection for disease — 
 
xviii CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Precautions against injury — Flocks endangered by over-exporta- 
 tion — Culling and replenishing — An industry revolutionised — 
 By-products — The beef question — Competition of America — 
 Government assistance — Regulation and inspection. 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE WEALTH OF THE COW .... I43 
 
 Haphazard dairying — The farmer's dairies — Lack of uni- 
 formity — Co-operative factory system introduced — A mild 
 revolution — The transformation of the country — New settlement 
 — Scenes at the factory — The creameries and butter factories — 
 At the grading stores — Equality and democracy — Into the ship's 
 hold — Growth of the industry — Cheese-making — Australian 
 competition — A change of markets — Elements of disadvantage 
 — State inspection — An experimental station — The dual-purpose 
 cow — Milking at a loss — The cattle census — Healthy herds — 
 The value of land. 
 
 CHAPTER Xn 
 
 THE SEEDS OF A REVOLUTION .... I5S 
 
 Development at a standstill — Decadence of the gold-fields — 
 State of New Zealand in 1870 — The isolation of the provinces — 
 Provincial jealousies — Mr. Vogel's policy of development — 
 Liberal borrowing — Immigration from Europe — Expenditure 
 of borrowed money — Abolition of the provinces — Dazzling 
 prosperity and reckless expenditure — Speculation and land- 
 grabbing — The labour market glutted — Cries of "Halt!" — 
 Imposition and repeal of the land tax — Depression and disaster 
 — Destitution of the immigrants — Spurious absorption of 
 population — Fictitious industries — Sweating and distress — 
 Loss of population, 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE .... 170 
 
 The sempiternal problem — An experimental laboratory — The 
 land-sharks — Limitation of area — Governor Hobson's task — 
 The policy of Sir George Grey — To the opposite extreme — 
 Distribution of the land — Coming to a reckoning — Expedients 
 of the eighties — The liberal policy, 1891 — Land taxation — Closer 
 settlement — The agricultural epoch — Lease in perpetuity — 
 Compulsory acquisition of estates — The Advances to Settlers 
 Office and cheap money — "Breaking in" the land — The 
 prospects of the pioneer— A fashionable occupation — Increase 
 of holdings — Expansion of production — A revision of policy — 
 National endowments — Closer settlement. 
 
CONTENTS xix 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR .... 195 
 
 Labour conditions in 1890 — Sweating and bad conditions — The 
 beginning of trades unionism — The voice of Labour — Emissaries 
 from abroad — The worldwide federation— The maritime strike — 
 Death of worldwide organisation — The Government objects to 
 State "interference" in industrial relations — Entry of labour 
 into politics — The Liberal and Labour alliance — Victory at the 
 polls — The programme of reforms — Report of the Sweating 
 Commission — The Labour Department — The unemployed — 
 Co-operative labour — State farms — Recovery from the depression 
 — Seddon succeeds John Ballance — Another mandate from the 
 people — The Industrial Arbitration Act — The battle for com- 
 pulsion. 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 SOME EFFECTS OF ARBITRATION .... 212 
 
 Delight of the workers — The employers hostile — Awards favour 
 the workers — Steady increase of wages — A wave of prosperity 
 — The dual alliance, Arbitration and Protection — A sacrifice for 
 local employment — Dependence upon primary industries — 
 Immunity from arbitration — The colonial worker — Efficient and 
 conscientious — The "levelling tendency" a fallacy — The under- 
 rate workman — A " loafing " incident — The elimination of 
 apprentices — The shortage of workers — Room for efficient 
 artisans — Improvement of female conditions — Home-work, &c. 
 — The expansion of industry — Hostile critics won over — Security 
 for capital. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 DISCONTENT AlUONGST THE WORKERS . . . 228 
 
 Malpractice of the Conciliation Boards — Payment of members 
 — Professional agitators — The boards superseded — Bitter party 
 feeling — Avarice of the landlords — Mr. Tregear's memorandum 
 — Revolt of the workers against the courts — Recrimination and 
 abuse — "A rude economic lesson" — Proposed Labour Parlia- 
 ment — Talking about strikes — Outbreak of slaughtermen — 
 Arbitration in danger — Loyalty of the public— Strikers fined — 
 Labour irreconcilable — Auckland tramways strike — Punishment 
 of coal-miners — A note of warning — Anti-strike clause in an 
 award — An amending Act — Back to the fountain-head — Con- 
 ciliation Boards restored — Legal procedure eliminated — Punish- 
 ment of strikers. 
 
XX CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 
 STATE ACTIVITIES ..... . 244 
 
 Colonial Socialism — Not of the Red Flag order — State Socialism 
 and Imperialism — Recognised limits of State activity — State 
 grants to assist new industries — Tariff manipulation — Origin of 
 State trading — War against abuses — Government insurance — 
 Public Trust Office — The Liberal-Labour compromise — The 
 Bank of New Zealand case — Cheap money for farmers — 
 Workers' dwellings — Loans for workers — Discount stamps- 
 State coal-mines — A list of activities — Conflict with private 
 enterprise^State fire insurance — Further Socialism improbable 
 — Conservative Liberalism. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 STATE RAILWAYS AND GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT . 260 
 
 Railway enterprise — Originates with the provinces — The 
 Lyttelton line — A standard gauge— The public works policy — 
 English contracts — The General Government assumes control — 
 The Manawatu Railway Company — Resumption by the State — 
 The co-operative system — Its philosophy — Bridge-building, &c. 
 —The North Island Main Trunk Railway— The Midland Rail- 
 way failure — State resumption — An error of policy — -Government 
 management of railways — Interest on capital expenditure — A 
 public utility — Concessions to users. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 A COUNTRY OF ENGINEERING .... 273 
 
 Some natural obstacles — The Lyttelton tunnel — Hon. E. 
 Richardson — Difficult railway works — The North Island Main 
 Trunk — A remarkable undertaking — State engineering — Rail- 
 way workshops^Construction of rolling stock — Shipbuilding — 
 Brigs and scows — Steamers — Output of local yards — The future 
 of shipbuilding — Graving docks and slips — Agricultural imple- 
 ment-making — Competing against England — A healthy export 
 trade — Advantages of competitors — Gold dredges — New Zealand 
 engineers abroad — An industry of small beginnings — The 
 outlook for capital — Wealth in water-power — The policy of the 
 Government. 
 
 CHAPTER XX 
 
 SOME INDUSTRIES — SUBSIDIARY, PROTECTED, AND 
 
 "coddled" ...... 286 
 
 Grain growing — Prolific yields — A restricted market — The 
 Australian tariff — A blow to New Zealand wheat producers — 
 
CONTENTS xxi 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The millers' trust — Wlieat area reduced — Oats, &c. — Fruit crops 
 — Extensive imports — Lack of capital — Fishing — A subsidised 
 industry — Valuable trawling grounds — Heavy imports — State 
 control of oyster-beds — Tanning and fellmongering — Injured 
 by hostile tariff — A set-back towards the primary state — Boot 
 manufacturing — An unsatisfactory position — Expansion of 
 industries under arbitration — Loyalty to the local manufacturer. 
 
 CHAPTER XXI 
 
 SHIPPING AND TRADE .... 297 
 
 The last of the sailing ship — Rapid development of steam ship- 
 ping — A single route — Need for new markets — The Eastern 
 trade nil — Government subsidies for new markets — Lack of 
 competition— Shipping rings — Two New Zealand companies — 
 Development of the trade — The mercantile marine — Union 
 Steamship Company — A national institution — The "mosquito" 
 fleet — The colonial seaman — A wealth of ports — River ports and 
 roadsteads — Artificial harbours — Natural havens — Harbours of 
 the future — The leading ports— Expansion of the North Island. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII 
 
 INTERCHANGE AND MARKETS . . . -312 
 
 A British trade connection — When the State was young — The 
 balance of exchange — The imports — The All-Red sentiment — 
 A single selling market — Everything goes to England — The 
 exports analysed. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 PROTECTION AND MONOPOLIES . . . • 318 
 
 Tariff adjustment — The old revenue tariff — Free Trade 
 standards abandoned — Surreptitious Protection and tariff trim- 
 ming — New Zealand converted to Protection — Protectionist 
 farmers — Retaliation against Australia — Preferential trade — A 
 patriotic arrangement — Reciprocity — Fostering local employ- 
 ment — Protection a vital force — Local industries transformed 
 into monopolies — -Popular feeling against combines — Movement 
 against a trust — Protecting the agricultural implement trade — 
 Not proven — Prices fixed by gazette — The flour millers' trust. 
 
xxii CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE MAORI AS AN ECONOMIC FACTOR . . . 33O 
 
 Extinction of the race threatened — The Treaty of Waitangi — 
 The pre-pakeha Maori — A change in the savage economy — 
 Relapse into barbarism — Pakeha arts discarded — A native 
 aristocracy — A national point of honour — A reign of aloofness — 
 The influence of the " prophets " — The progressive Ngatiporou 
 — A tribe of farmers — Successful co-operation — A domestic 
 movement — The Hon. A. T. Ngata, M.P. — Carelessness and 
 lack of system — The future of the Maori — Technical training — 
 Arrest of the decline — The Maori and the land inseparable. 
 
 INDEX . . . . . . .345 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 LYTTELTON, THE PORT OF CHRISTCHURCH, SHOWING THE 
 CRATERAL WALL THROUGH WHICH THE TUNNEL 
 
 RUNS ...... Frontispiece 
 
 TO FACE PAGE 
 
 THE FRANZ JOSEF GLACIER, WESTLAND, FROM A POINT 
 ONLY 692 FEET ABOVE SEA-LEVEL 
 
 MOUNT TONGARIRO, SHOWING THE RED CRATER, 
 NGAURUHOE AND RUAPEHU . 
 
 MOUNT COOK, THE HIGHEST PEAK IN NEW ZEALAND 
 12,349 FEET ..... 
 
 PART OF AUCKLAND, SHOWING THE HARBOUR AND MOUNT 
 RANGTIOTO ..... 
 
 THE OTAGO BOYS' HIGH SCHOOL, DUNEDIN (BUILT OF 
 OTAGO stone) ..... 
 
 IN A KAURI BUSH ..... 
 
 PREPARING TO FELL A KAURI 
 
 LOGGING AT THE MILL BOOMS ON THE WAIROA RIVER 
 
 LOG DAM AT THE AOROA SAWMILL 
 
 A MILLION FEET OF KAURI TIMBER ON A NORTH AUCKLAND 
 WHARF ...... 
 
 IN A FLAX SWAMP : CUTTING THE LEAF FOR THE MILL 
 
 A FLAXMILL, WITH STACK OF GREEN LEAF 
 
 SHEEP MUSTERED FOR SALE ON A NORTH CANTERBURY 
 STATION. ..... 
 
 SHORN SHEEP ON A WAIRARAPA STATION . 
 
 SHEARING BY MACHINERY IN A WAIRARAPA SHED 
 
 A CANTERBURY FELLMONGERY 
 
 HYDRAULIC SLUICING IN SOUTH WESTLAND 
 
 A GOLD DREDGE ON THE BULLER RIVER, SHOWING THE 
 TAILINGS ..... 
 
 BRUNNER, A COAL-MINING TOWN IN WESTLAND 
 
 KAURI GUM-DIGGING IN THE NORTH OF AUCKLAND 
 
 FERN AND SCRUB IN THE WAIKATO 
 
 16 
 22 
 
 38 
 
 45 
 48 
 
 SO 
 
 54 
 
 58 
 62 
 68 
 
 72 
 76 
 80 
 84 
 92 
 
 100 
 106 
 116 
 122 
 
xxiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 TO FACE PAGE 
 
 slaughter-house at the wellington meat export 
 company's freezing works at ngahauranga . 130 
 
 fat cattle in the waikato .... i40 
 
 a southland dairy herd .... i44 
 
 a waikato creamery and butter factory, capable of 
 
 making two tons of butter per day . . 150 
 
 logs floating over the wairere falls, on the 
 
 wairoa river ...... 160 
 
 waikato remounts ..... 177 
 
 ploughing teams in the south island . . 188 
 
 agricultural college at lincoln, canterbury . i92 
 
 paper mills at mataura, southland . . . 200 
 
 colonial ammunition company's works at auckland . 220 
 
 view of the valley of the waikato . . . 240 
 
 government inspection of meat in the municipal 
 abattoirs at invercargill .... 246 
 
 view of the state town of rotorua, the centre of 
 the hydrothermal region, from the bath-house 258 
 
 government railway workshop at hillside, dunedin . 264 
 
 ngauruhoe, the only active volcano in new zealand, 
 under winter snow ..... 274 
 
 a canterbury wheatfield .... 278 
 
 harvesting in canterbury : eighteen harvesters in 
 one paddock ...... 284 
 
 chaff-cutting on a canterbury farm . . . 288 
 
 harvesters at work ..... 294 
 
 timber scows at the aoroa mills on the wairoa river 298 
 
 effect of a heavy sea at timaru before the 
 
 harbour improvements .... 304 
 
 ocean-going steamers lying in the artificial 
 harbour at timaru ..... 308 
 
 ocean-going colliers inside the improved bar 
 harbour at westport .... 308 
 
 portion of the sea-front, wellington, the chief 
 oversea port of the dominion . . . 314 
 
 colonial sugar refining company's works at 
 chelsea, auckland ..... 320 
 
 kaikorai woollen factory, dunedin . . . 328 
 
 maori girls cooking in steamholes, rotorua . 336 
 
New Zealand in Evolution 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 "AO TEA ROA"— THE COUNTRY 
 
 The Britain of the South — An insular group — The mountain ranges — 
 Features of the Southern Alps — The western fjords — Volcanic activity 
 very restricted — Traces of ancient struggles — Valuable inland water- 
 ways — Irrigation and cultivation — Distribution of production — Wealth 
 in rainfall — Temperature and sunshine. 
 
 If Cook's motive as he scoured the boundless wastes of 
 the Pacific had been to discover some new England, some 
 rephca of the land of his birth, he must surely have felt a 
 triumphant satisfaction as he lay off the shores of Te Ika 
 a Maui and Tavai PounamuJ There are striking points 
 of contrast, it is true, between the United Kingdom and 
 the new Britain of the South, but the lines of parallel are 
 much more marked. Cook noticed it immediately. Other 
 pioneers emphasised it : and during all the long days of 
 the colonisation it was the final solatium of the venturers 
 as they left the Old Country that they were going at any 
 rate to the Britain of the South. As to latitude, the most 
 we can say is that both countries lie in the temperate 
 zone : in longitude the correspondence is much more 
 accurate.^ In its archipelagic character New Zealand 
 
 ' The native names of the North and South Islands respectively are Te 
 Ika a Maui (The Fish of Maui) and Te Wat Pounamu (The Waters of 
 Greenstone). 
 
 ' The Antipodes, one of the outlying groups of New Zealand, are the 
 nearest land surface directly opposite in latitude and longitude to London. 
 
2 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 closely resembles the United Kingdom ; there are two 
 main islands and a host of smaller. The area coincides 
 roughly ; that of New Zealand is one-seventh less. 
 
 New Zealand. 
 
 United 
 
 Kingdom. 
 
 Sq. miles. 
 
 
 Sq. miles 
 
 North Island ... 44,468 
 
 England 
 
 ... 58,311 
 
 South Island ... 58,525 
 
 Scotland 
 
 ... 30,463 
 
 Stewart Islands ... 665 
 
 Ireland 
 
 - 32,531 
 
 Outlying islands... 1,093 
 
 
 
 Total ... 104,751 Total ... 121,305 
 
 But New Zealand is, in reality, much more insular 
 than either England or Japan. The British Isles and those 
 of the maritime allies of the East both lie adjacent to the 
 largest land area on the globe, while New Zealand is 
 surrounded by the widest expanse of water. There is an 
 uninterrupted moat twelve hundred miles in width at its 
 narrowest part, between New Zealand and Australia. 
 Southward two thousand miles of deep sea separates it 
 from the Antarctic ice-pack; westward the great range of 
 the Andes is four thousand miles distant ; and northward 
 the full sweep of the Pacific is only broken by incon- 
 siderable archipelagoes until it beats on the shores of 
 Japan and Alaska. 
 
 Upon this vast expanse of ocean one hundred thousand 
 miles of land looks no larger than a cluster of gems. 
 Far-flung, too, are the outlying islands which are the 
 complement of the main cluster. The Chathams, a group 
 of romantic legend, lie 530 miles east of Lyttelton; the 
 Kermadecs are five hundred miles north of the ultimate 
 spot whence the Siberian godwits and the spirits of the 
 departed Maori leave on their long migration. A thousand 
 miles in the hazy offing they pass the last link of New 
 Zealand that bejewels the ocean, the beautiful Cook 
 Islands. Far to the south again the trackless ocean to 
 the polar ice is studded with New Zealand outposts, the 
 depots for castaways and sealers at the Aucklands and 
 Campbell Islands. 
 
 The mountain ridge of New Zealand, resembling the 
 
"AO TEA ROA"— THE COUNTRY 3 
 
 backbone of a fish, lies north and south, and is supposed 
 to have some subterranean connection through the polar 
 regions with the Andes of South America. In the flora 
 of the two countries there is some strange evidence of 
 an affinity. In the extreme north of New Zealand, 
 apparently of more recent formation, the mountain 
 chain is comparatively low, except for occasional 
 clusters of towering volcanoes which interrupt the 
 contour. Some of them reach 9,000 feet in height, 
 and are only connected by chains of low foothills, 
 which rarely, even in the severest seasons, aspire to 
 the snowline. It can scarcely be tolerated by science, 
 but Maori legend has the fantastic story that Mount 
 Egmont, the lonely and beautifully symmetrical peak 
 which starts up out of the Taranaki "bush,"' was once 
 an intimate fellow of Tongariro and Ruapehu, and that a 
 quarrel over the love of a neighbouring lady mountain led 
 to his flight to his present position, one hundred miles 
 distant. South of the volcanic zone of the North Island a 
 rugged range from the East Cape converges, and the two 
 go hand-in-hand to the sea, appearing again in the South 
 Island in a much better defined ridge. In general the 
 Southern Alps lie well above the summer snowline, and 
 from the perpetually ice-bound fastnesses a school of 
 peaks rise majestically to upwards of 10,000 feet. The 
 mountain chain is continuous and unbroken, and 
 throughout its entire length is only crossed by pass- 
 able tracks at two points. It lies closer to the west 
 coast than to the east, and, robbing the westerly winds 
 of their moisture, precipitates a heavy rainfall upon a 
 narrow but extremely fertile strip of country on the 
 western side. On the east, too, numerous full-bodied 
 rivers are kept hurrying down to the ocean by the rains 
 and the ever-melting snows. 
 
 The line of perpetual snow lies at from 6,000 to 
 
 7,000 feet above sea-level, so that winter and summer 
 
 the settlers of Westland and Canterbury, who in the 
 
 early days were in one political province, are separated 
 
 ' The term generally used in the colonies to denote forest. 
 
4 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 by a glittering ice-bound rampart gloomily escarped by 
 the bush-clad foothills. ' The Alps sharply differentiate 
 the climate. On the west, where the rain-laden winds 
 from the Tasman Sea strike the icy face of the mountains, 
 there is an annual rainfall of upwards of loo inches. The 
 bush is dense and the vegetation rank, and even in the 
 heat of summer the air is inclined to be humid. If 
 Westland did not abound in mineral wealth it would 
 still, with its luxurious pastures, be a prolific dairying 
 district. A spell of warm weather brings down floods 
 of snow-water in place of rain, and the rivers are rarely 
 low. Glaciers of immense extent creep down with im- 
 perceptible motion to within 800 feet of sea-level before 
 they succumb to the warmth of the earth and the sun.^ 
 On the east how different 1 Here the flanks of the 
 mountains descend less abruptly through ranks of brown 
 foothills and wide plains shelving gradually to the sea, 50 
 to 80 miles distant. Everything is alike tempered and 
 graded. There is no glaciation below 2,500 feet ; the 
 rainfall is very light, less than one-fourth that of West- 
 land. There are vast areas of plains and downs, increas- 
 ing in richness, from the healthy grazing foothills to the 
 deep black wheat-growing land along the coast-line and 
 in the valleys of the rivers. A dozen rivers fed by snow 
 rush tempestuously down the inclines of the Alps, tear- 
 ing away vast quantities of detritus, and rubbing and 
 rounding the stones with subtle skill to fertilise the 
 alluvial flats lower down. Many of the river-beds are 
 of inordinate width, and the local governing bodies have 
 to exercise constant vigilance to check the growth of 
 noxious scrub and prevent the streams in their freshets 
 from striking new courses. Thus bountifully supplied 
 by nature, Canterbury is able to water almost every acre 
 
 ' Mount Cook itself (Aorangi), 12,349 feet, is the tiighest mountain in 
 Australasia. It lies actually to the east of the main range. In its neigh- 
 bourhood are ten other peaks exceeding io,ooo feet. The only pass in 
 the Alps that is crossed by a road is 5,359 feet in height. 
 
 » The Tasman Glacier, the largest in the world, is i8 miles in length, 
 with an average width of if miles, and an area of 14,000 acres. 
 
"AO TEA ROA"— THE COUNTRY 5 
 
 of land, and to produce more from her acres than any 
 other province. 
 
 Entering the province of Otago, the Alps become 
 lower and less clearly defined. In the west they ex- 
 tend to the water's edge, and are indented by innumer- 
 able arms of the sea, into which the cliffs drop sheer to 
 an unfathomable depth. The whole of the western 
 coast-line of Otago is broken up into irregular fjords 
 and sounds more rugged and beautiful even than those 
 of Norway. Here, in the earliest days. Cook, Bampton, 
 and a score of navigators and adventurers made haven 
 for their vessels, whose yards scraped the towering cliffs 
 in perfect security from the swell of the Antarctic raging 
 without. As scenic spots the sounds and fjords of Otago 
 are unsurpassed. Economically they are almost useless 
 owing to the rugged nature of the adjacent country, 
 which cuts off the rich grazing and grain-growing lands 
 of the interior from the seaboard. The railways all lead 
 to less remarkable harbours on the eastern seaboard. 
 
 Perhaps a fourth of the total area of Otago will never 
 be brought into cultivation, but in its natural state it will 
 still exercise an important influence on the climate of the 
 province, conserving the rainfall and the timber supplies, 
 and affording a tremendous supply of energy for indus- 
 tries. In the centre of the province, the semi-moun- 
 tainous regions of Wakatipu and Tuapeka, valuable 
 gold deposits, discovered nearly fifty years ago, still add 
 enormously to the wealth of Otago. 
 
 Volcanoes and earthquakes, with which in the mind of 
 the general reader the name of New Zealand is fearfully 
 associated, have long since ceased to have any terrors 
 for the New Zealander himself. As a matter of fact, the 
 active volcanic forces which formerly played in New 
 Zealand have long since become dormant, and generally 
 the volcanoes of old have earned the blessing of the 
 pakeha^ by providing some of the most excellent natural 
 harbours in the world. The fine, deep bays on Banks 
 Peninsula, Otago Peninsula, and in the Marlborough 
 ■ The white men, literally strangers. 
 
6 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Sounds, the splendid harbour of Wellington, and the 
 beautiful land-locked bays of Auckland, are chiefly 
 traceable in their origin to the volcanoes of pre-pakeha 
 and, indeed, of prehistoric, days. New Zealand is 
 admittedly a land of comparatively recent formation, 
 but even the Maori and the tangata whenua^ before 
 them, whose joint traditions extend back to about the 
 eighth century A.D., preserve no records of a volcanic 
 activity more terrible than the whites have experienced 
 since their arrival. There is really only one active 
 volcano on the mainland, the peak of Ngauruhoe, and 
 all evidence of still extant activity is confined to a belt 
 of country extending from that peak in a north-easterly 
 direction to the shores of the Bay of Plenty, and thence 
 under the sea to Whale Island and White Island in the 
 bay. Ngauruhoe (7,515 feet) is the highest of the group 
 of volcanic cones known as Tongariro. It is the only 
 active peak on the mainland, and its worst activity within 
 living memory was a discharge of lava in 1868, repeated 
 in the beginning of the present year (1909). The clouds of 
 steam which rise regularly from this crater, and periodi- 
 cally from a crateral lake on the summit of Ruapehu 
 (9,008 feet) are regarded by the inhabitants of the neigh- 
 bourhood as the safety valves which make serious erup- 
 tions unlikely. So long ago as 1858 Hochstetter declared 
 Ngauruhoe and White Island (a cone rising to a height 
 of 863 feet out of the sea) to be the only active volcanoes 
 in New Zealand, and nothing has since occurred to 
 impugn this statement. The solitary cone of Egmont, 
 before referred to, is one of the most perfect in the 
 world. It has never been active within historic times. 
 Along the volcanic line from Ngauruhoe to the Bay of 
 Plenty the crust of the earth is extremely thin, and is 
 perforated in numerous localities by hot springs, geysers, 
 boiling mudpools, solfataras, and fumaroles. In the 
 larger depressions is a chain of beautiful fresh-water 
 lakes, about which the primeval bush grows in all its 
 brilliancy and luxuriance. This is a region of wonders 
 ■ The original inhabitants : autochthones. 
 
"AO TEA ROA"— THE COUNTRY 7 
 
 and unsurpassed beauties. Here and there the dark, 
 trackless forest comes abruptly to an end in the light 
 of day, and a wide splash of stunted scrub, fern, or 
 tussac grass indicates the pristine devastation of an 
 eruptive volcano. 
 
 Here again the strata of the soil exhibit the extra- 
 ordinary convulsive struggles of former days. The 
 excavations for the North Island Main Trunk Railway, 
 where it passes round the base of the old volcanoes, 
 showed remarkable traces of the upheavals that had 
 occurred in the olden days, before the crust of the earth 
 in this spot cooled and permanently hardened. Marine 
 shells and clay alternate with layers of dry-laid pumice 
 dust from the furious craters of old, tangled here and 
 there by the explosion of some new force from below or 
 the descent of a shower of immense basaltic boulders 
 hurled up from the bowels of the earth and tossed broad- 
 cast by the force of the explosion. Over a wide area 
 surrounding the volcanic group — the plains of Kaingaroa, 
 Murimutu, and Waimarino — low scrub and fern have 
 struggled up through a thick deposit of pumice dust, laid 
 some hundreds of years ago, perhaps, by the last gasping 
 outbursts of the giants. The most recent eruption was 
 that of Mount Tarawera, in 1886, when a hot lava 
 stream overwhelmed some native villages with great loss 
 of life and destroyed the beautiful pink and white terraces 
 which had been formed in many generations of hydro- 
 thermal action. 
 
 The city of Auckland stands to-day upon a cluster of 
 volcanoes long extinct. In the city and its suburbs are 
 evidences of the former existence of " no less than sixty- 
 three points of eruption, which render the narrow isthmus 
 a truly classical soil for the study of volcanic formations." 
 This and the zone further north have been so long extinct 
 that when the white men arrived there were not the 
 slightest traces, in the form of stunted flora, of former 
 activity. The South Island is apparently of greater 
 antiquity than the North. It has no volcanoes whatever, 
 though in parts the formation is distinctly of that character. 
 
8 XEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 New Zealand's volcanoes are interesting purely as a study 
 of the past. They have no importance except as an 
 attraction to tourists, and are not allowed to interfere 
 in the least with the development of the country-. By 
 a liberal computation the volcanic and hydro-thermal 
 region does not exceed 4,200 square miles, or 4 per cent, 
 of the total area of the Dominion. Within this area there 
 is already a large white population, and the land is 
 rapidly being brought into such cultivation as it is 
 suited for. 
 
 The old fear of earthquakes has also died a natural 
 death. \\Tien the white people first settled at Wellington 
 in 1840 they constructed their houses of wood, for the 
 simple reason that it was the only material available. 
 In 1855, before the ordinary period for rebuilding arrived, 
 the settlement was rather severely shaken, and the coast- 
 line was raised a few feet. This shock really conferred 
 considerable benefits on the colonists, but its memory 
 warned them not to build in brick or stone. Conse- 
 quently Wellington vs-as — and still is to a large extent — 
 constructed in wood. But the old fear is now deid, and 
 to-day the bulk of the business portion of the city is 
 handsomely built in concrete and reinforced concrete. 
 Earthquakes are still more frequent than in England, but 
 severe shocks are of rare occurrence. 
 
 Possibly there is no country in the world more 
 favoured than New Zealand in the distribution of its 
 waterwavs. With a length over all of 1,000 miles, the 
 islands are nowhere more than 200 miles in width, and 
 the actual coastline is 4,000 miles in length. The best 
 natural harbours are all on the east coast, the landlocked 
 bays of Wellington, Lyttelton, Otago, Akaroa and Picton, 
 Auckland, and the Bay of Islands. For the South Island 
 this is a happy dispensation, since the great areas of pro- 
 ducing land, both agricultural and pastoral, all he 
 towards that coast. Finer, perhaps, than any of these 
 ports are the deep indentations of West Otago, which, 
 however, have little economic value. The west coast 
 harbours otherwise are generally poor, the bar-bound 
 

"AO TEA ROA"— THE COUNTRY 9 
 
 mouths of the rivers or badly sheltered roadsteads. In 
 the South Island the area that is so inconvenienced is 
 inconsiderable, but in the North the difficulty is greater, 
 since large producing areas lie towards the west coast, 
 and the lack of natural outlets is a distinct drawback. It 
 has entailed great expenditure in the construction of 
 artificial harbours and the improvement of the existing 
 roads and estuaries. 
 
 In respect to inland waterways New Zealand is 
 remarkably wealthy. The North Island is penetrated 
 right to its heart by four great navigable rivers — the 
 Waikato, the Whanganui, the Manawatu, and the 
 Rangitaiki — having a combined watershed of 11,165 
 square miles and an estimated discharge of 2,220,000 
 cubic feet per minute. The Waikato is navigable for 
 small craft for from 75 to 100 miles, the Whanganui for 
 150 miles, and the Manawatu for 40. The Rangitaiki is 
 as yet little used for navigation. Of a number of rivers 
 in the North Auckland peninsula the winding Wairoa 
 carries ocean-going ships 40 miles from its mouth and 
 smaller vessels for another 50. A large portion of the 
 seaborne timber trade of the north plies out of this river. 
 Out of a host of other rivers in the North Island, there 
 are only about half a dozen which do not hurry down to 
 the sea at too great a speed to be navigable. 
 
 The South Island boasts the largest river in New 
 Zealand, the Clutha, or Matau, whose discharge for the 
 year is only slightly exceeded by that of the Nile. The 
 Clutha takes its rise 220 miles from the sea, and has a 
 catchment of 8,248 square miles. In spite of a swift 
 current it is navigated for 40 miles. A neighbouring and 
 more sluggish stream, the Taieri, is navigated for a short 
 distance. Of the succession of mountain streams that 
 tear their way from the Southern Alps eastward to the 
 sea only one, the Waimakariri, is navigated, and it gives 
 waterway to the flourishing town of Kaiapoi. Several of 
 the streams on the westward slope carry more water than 
 those of the North Island, but their treacherous currents 
 forbid navigation, except up to the harbours which have 
 
10 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 been formed on the estuaries. Partly because the roads 
 and railways tap the country, but chiefly because the 
 population is small, the inland waterways of New Zealand 
 are not yet developed to any extent. Their chief and 
 inestimable value for such a country is that they furnish 
 a never-failing water supply at all seasons, so that farmers 
 can embark with absolute confidence upon any branch 
 of agriculture or stock-raising. Here and there, in the 
 natural distribution of the water, there is a serious 
 summer desiccation of the soil, but this has been 
 remedied inexpensively by a system of surface irrigation, 
 which prevents the water reaching the ocean by too 
 direct a course without a thorough distribution. 
 
 By reason of its configuration and the rugged, moun- 
 tainous character of the interior, the South Island has 
 a large proportion of waste land. Practically one-fifth 
 of the whole area will never be brought under cultivation 
 or used for pasture, and about one-third will be suitable 
 only for pasturage. But the natural features of the 
 unused portion are mainly responsible for the great 
 productiveness of the used. Without the great reservoir 
 of natural climatic resources which is provided by the 
 mountain range of the South Island, it would be impos- 
 sible for the cultivable area to produce nearly so abun- 
 dantly as it does. The black alluvial soil of the Taieri, 
 the Clutha, the Waimakariri, and other river valleys, 
 yields bounteously year after year under a rotation of 
 crops. The bulk of the actual cropping is done on the 
 plains and downs of Otago, Canterbury, and Marlborough, 
 and in the whole granary of Australasia the heaviest crops 
 of wheat, oats, and barley are obtained in the paddocks 
 of New Zealand. Any crop that is grown in temperate 
 climes may be grown to perfection in New Zealand, while 
 the northern latitudes produce excellent maize, oranges, 
 lemons, and semi-tropical fruits. The latitude of the 
 South Island corresponds with that of Spain and the 
 South of France. Generally speaking, the farming zones 
 are close to the railway lines, the hinterland being 
 devoted to grazing and pioneering, with its concomitant 
 
«AO TEA ROA"— THE COUNTRY 11 
 
 industry, saw-milling. In the centre of Otago a large 
 population is fixed to the soil by gold-mining, which 
 extends down the courses of the principal rivers, giving 
 place near the coast-line to coal-mining. In Canterbury 
 practically the whole of the land is given up to sheep- 
 raising and cropping, with here and there a dash of dairy- 
 farming. Marlborough, too, grazes large flocks on the 
 foothills of the great Kaikoura range, turning the fertile 
 river-beds to account in the cultivation of barley and in 
 dairying, while the densely wooded sounds produce large 
 quantities of timber. Nelson is similarly engaged. 
 Westland, though primarily concerned in the raising of 
 coal and gold-mining, turns her forest lands to good 
 account in the production of timber, and later, of dairy 
 produce. 
 
 The South Island is, if anything, more self-contained 
 than the North, where certain phases of producing are 
 necessarily neglected. In the North the proportion of 
 land which is practically useless is very small, not more 
 than 5 per cent, of the total area. At the same time there 
 are large areas in the centre of the island surrounding 
 the volcanic zone, which, being covered with pumice, 
 can only be regarded as of inferior quality, and will not 
 carry the same quantity of stock as other parts. Otherwise 
 these areas are perfectly healthy. The North Island was 
 for the most part covered with dense bush, the borders of 
 which have gradually receded from the confines of close 
 settlement. At the present moment the saw-milling 
 industry is thriving on the outskirts of a forest which 
 extends with little intermission from the Taranaki 
 province right through to the east coast at East Cape and 
 Castlepoint, and northwards to the Bay of Plenty. In 
 the north of Auckland, too, the immense pristine forests 
 of kauri are steadily giving place to cultivation and the 
 subsidiary industry of gum-digging. Just south of the 
 city of Auckland, on the vestiges of the older volcanic 
 deposits, is a wide expanse of beautiful downs. South of 
 this the long belt of the Waikato country is generally of 
 poorer quaUty, but is retrieved from the status of scrub- 
 
12 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 land by the presence of valuable coal deposits. These 
 extend through the grazing lands of the King country 
 and thence into the forests of the Taranaki province, 
 which again, further south, have given place to a wide 
 extent of the most fertile downs in New Zealand, the 
 famous dairying country of Taranaki. 
 
 Along the Whanganui bight dairying is less intense, 
 but it thrives again on the rich alluvial terraces of the 
 Manawatu and its hinterland. Another strong centre of 
 the industry is the belt of country, formerly bush, which 
 lies between the provinces of Wellington and Hawke's Bay. 
 Here, where the old Seventy Mile Bush stood in the path 
 between Wellington and the plains of Hawke's Bay, a 
 copious rainfall produces luscious grass in the "clear- 
 ings." Northward, in Hawke's Bay, is one of the 
 wealthiest grazing districts in the Dominion, with alluvial 
 flats of fabulous fertility. Southward the land opens out 
 into the lighter plains of Wairarapa, where sheep-raising 
 thrived long before the settlers made bold to attack the 
 summer desiccation by irrigation. Gradually the growth 
 of population and the construction of surface channels 
 is relieving this difficulty. The Wairarapa has no port 
 nearer than Wellington, which lies across a steep moun- 
 tain range. Hawke's Bay, the home of the graziers, ships 
 from an open roadstead at Napier the produce of the 
 finest flocks and herds in the Dominion. 
 
 A feature of the North Island which adds greatly to its 
 productiveness is a wide belt of ancient marine deposit 
 (papa),^ which coincides roughly with the remains of the 
 inland forest as stated above. Wherever this occurs the 
 settler rejoices. Papa country produces the readiest 
 crops of grass, and carries a payable quantity of stock 
 both winter and summer. 
 
 In considering the producing capabilities of a country, 
 climate and rainfall can scarcely be placed second even 
 
 ■ Papa sometimes contains as much as 30 per cent, of lime. When 
 first exposed to the air it closely resembles blue slate, but disintegra- 
 tion is rapid, and in a few months a solid papa face will be covered 
 with rich grass. 
 
"AO TEA ROA "—THE COUNTRY 13 
 
 to the fertility of the soil itself. Many of the drought- 
 stricken parts of Australia possess soil which, allied with 
 a requisite amount of rainfall, would produce enormous 
 wealth. Apparendy poor soils, on the other hand, would 
 often be sweetened by a fair amount of sunshine. To 
 the earliest explorers, even amongst the Polynesians, New 
 Zealand seemed to be a country pre-eminently wealthy 
 in respect to the twin considerations of soil and climate. 
 Lying in a latitude which varies from that of Morocco to 
 that of the middle of France, and surrounded by a vast 
 expanse of water. New Zealand in the north can grow 
 grapes in the open air and ripen maize and oranges, 
 while in the south the winter frosts and snows absolutely 
 arrest growth. There are all degrees of temperature, 
 from the genial warmth of Devonshire to the sub-tropical 
 heat of Egypt. In the whole of the North Island it is 
 rarely necessary to house stock at night. In Auckland 
 the mean temperature ranges from 51 '4 degrees in July 
 (the coldest month of the year) to 66-6 in the midsummer 
 heat of January, the variation being a great deal less than 
 at either Naples or London. The mean temperature for 
 the year is 55-4 degrees in the North Island and 5i'8 in 
 the South. Even in the extreme south the diurnal range 
 for the year is only i6'5 degrees. 
 
 Rain falls on an average on 166 days in the year at 
 Wellington, on 122 days at Christchurch (where the 
 Southern Alps have robbed the winds of their moisture) 
 and on 177 days at Hokitika, on the western side of the 
 Alps. The average fall for the year is 41 •68 inches at 
 Auckland, 25'i6 inches at Christchurch, and as much as 
 ii5'59 at Hokitika. Sunshine, the main requirement of 
 a well-watered country, is abundant. Observations taken 
 in Hawke's Bay registered 2,692 hours in a year, or 62 
 per cent, of the possible duration. In Canterbury for 
 the same period the sunshine extended to 2,133 hours. 
 The average in the southern part of the British Isles is 
 1,600 hours (36 per cent.) and in Italy from 2,000 to 
 2,400 hours (45 to 54 per cent.). 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE FIGHT FOR BRITISH SOVEREIGNTY 
 
 Discovery by Tasman— The tragedy of Murderers' Bay— The great 
 southern continent — Captain Cook's explorations — De Surville and 
 Marion du Fresne — Whalers and traders— The Mission at Bay of 
 Islands — Fighting for British sovereignty — Mr. Busby appointed 
 Resident at Bay of Islands — The Declaration of Independence — 
 Edward Gibbon Wakefield and the Nev? Zealand Company — Opposi- 
 tion of the Colonial OfBce — Sailing of the ror;y — A Lieutenant- Governor 
 appointed — The " accidental " colony — Treaty of Waitangi— Conflict 
 with the New Zealand Company — Death of Governor Hobson — 
 Wakefield's triumph — Responsible Government 
 
 While William the Conqueror was making the passage 
 of the Channel for the conquest of England, the Maori 
 people were the first navigators of the world. North to 
 the Sandwich Islands, east to Tahiti, south to the very 
 fringe of the Antarctic ice-pack, the Polynesian seamen 
 pushed their adventurous prows. The Pacific was their 
 own sea. It was rudely charted, and the frail double 
 canoes put forth fearlessly on voyages as long, occasion- 
 ally, as from Queenstown to Sandy Hook. But peace 
 and luxury succeeded to the ardours of those pioneering 
 days : the voyages became shorter and less frequent, and 
 after the middle of the fourteenth century the different 
 branches of the Polynesian race remained secluded 
 within their own island borders. 
 
 There is small reason to believe that Abel Janz Tasman 
 was not the first adventurer from the outside world to 
 break in upon their seclusion. Vaguely founded sugges- 
 tions on behalf of Spanish and Portuguese navigators 
 have failed to rob the demure, intrepid Dutchman of the 
 credit. Though not infallible, the legendary lore of the 
 
THE FIGHT FOR SOVEREIGNTY 16 
 
 Maori is usually too distinct to omit such an event as 
 the appearance of the huge seabirds which brought the 
 pale-skinned men from the other world. Nor, on the 
 other hand, would the archives of the great maritime 
 nations of Europe have failed to record such a triumph. 
 Both Tasman and Cook were greatly impressed by the 
 Maori and their country. The Maori were too distinctive 
 a race to have escaped special notice amongst the Kaffirs, 
 the Tasmanians, and the Australian blacks. 
 
 Eastward from his latest discovery, "Van Dieman's 
 Land," Tasman had been sailing drearily over the sea 
 that now bears his name, in search of the great southern 
 continent which had become the visionary goal of all the 
 navigators of his time. The fact that he had already 
 coasted along the southern seaboard of Australia did not 
 destroy all hope of finding something still more 
 immense. On December 13, 1642, his hopes were 
 raised by the appearance, right ahead, of the sombre, 
 surf-beaten coast of the South Island of New Zealand, 
 with rising ground in the interior. His expectations 
 were tragically disappointed. Cruising cautiously north- 
 wards, the Heemskirk and the Zeehaan turned into the 
 large bay at the northern end of the island. Here for the 
 first time natives were seen, and the ships anchored close 
 inshore in the hope of opening up trading relations with 
 them. The Maori canoes, fully manned and armed, 
 paddled inquisitively about, but refused to hold inter- 
 course, and the lowering of a boat from the Zeehaan was 
 the signal for a furious onslaught by the natives. Three 
 of the Dutchmen were killed outright and one mortally 
 wounded ; and the Maori, avoiding the fire which the 
 vessels opened upon them, escaped with the body of one 
 of their victims. 
 
 Tasman left behind him the title of Murderers' Bay, 
 and could hardly find the courage to continue his 
 investigations of such an inhospitable land. Still faintly 
 hoping that he had found the great southern continent, 
 he called it " Staten Land " (after the States-General of 
 Holland), in the belief that it might extend across to the 
 
16 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 recently discovered island of the same name off the coast 
 of South America. His attempt to pass eastward through 
 what is now known as Cook's Strait was bafHed by 
 adverse winds. Sailing up the coast past Cape Egmont, 
 Tasman discovered and named the Three Kings. The 
 heavy surf and the sight of some very tall persons armed 
 with staves and speaking in loud, harsh voices, dis- 
 couraged his desire to obtain water, and the Dutch 
 expedition said farewell to " Staten Land." The insular 
 character of the South American discovery of the same 
 name was ascertained almost before Tasman's achieve- 
 ments were known in Europe, and the States-General 
 then gave the name " New Zealand " to Tasman's land. 
 
 About the thoroughness of the period of isolation 
 which followed Tasman's appearance in New Zealand 
 there is no speculation. It was absolute. Spain, 
 Portugal, and Holland fell away from the spirit of 
 enterprise which had marked their domination of the 
 seas, and the Polynesians themselves now stayed severely 
 at home. 
 
 The name for which the British race has been most 
 universally revered throughout the Pacific is that of 
 Captain James Cook, whose three voyages of discovery 
 put the coping-stone to the story of British maritime 
 enterprise. The high personal quahties, the humanity 
 and integrity of the man himself, were no less remarkable 
 than the unfailing courage and the consistent thorough- 
 ness of his work. On October 7, 1769, Cook first 
 sighted New Zealand. Nicholas Young, the ship's boy 
 after whom "Young Nick's Head" was named, was the 
 first white man to see New Zealand from the eastward. 
 Cook, too, more practised than Tasman in intercourse 
 with native races, could not avoid a conflict with the 
 barbarous inhabitants. The safety of his own men had 
 perforce to override his reluctance to shed blood on his 
 first meeting with the Maori, and on three successive 
 days the Englishmen fired on small parties of the natives, 
 each time with some casualties. For the last conflict he 
 had not the same justification, and Cook always looked 
 
THE FIGHT FOR SOVEREIGNTY 17 
 
 back on the incident with keen regret. Observing two 
 canoes crossing the bay (which he named Poverty Bay 
 on account of his failure to obtain supplies), he deter- 
 mined to intercept them and win the goodwill of the 
 natives by means of presents. The Maori did not stop 
 when called upon, and replied to a musket-shot which 
 was fired over them by seizing their weapons and fiercely 
 attacking one of the boats. In the combat several of 
 them were killed, but some who jumped overboard were 
 captured and well treated. In his subsequent intercourse 
 with the natives Cook was fortunate enough to avoid 
 further conflict. He observed a transit of Mercury at the 
 Bay so called (in the Coromandel Peninsula), and there, 
 on November 15, 1769, he took possession of the North 
 Island of New Zealand for King George III. 
 
 Just a month later Cook missed by the merest chance 
 meeting one of the most famous of the French navi- 
 gators, M. de Surville. The St. Jean Bapiiste first sighted 
 New Zealand on December 12th, and the same storm 
 which prevented de Surville from coming to an anchor 
 until the 17th also drove Cook off the coast for the 
 first time since he touched it. The Endeavour was over- 
 hauled at Ship Cove, Queen Charlotte Sound, and here, 
 on January 30, 1770, Cook took possession of the South 
 Island also for the King of England. Having circum- 
 navigated both islands, he finally departed on March 31st 
 from near the spot where Tasman had his fatal 
 encounter. 
 
 Meanwhile de Surville cruised about in the north. 
 According to the accounts which have been handed 
 down, he was guilty of a grievous outrage in burning a 
 village and kidnapping a chief who had shown con- 
 spicuous kindness to some of his invalid sailors. The 
 ttiu I due for such an insult was wreaked two short years 
 later with terrible ruthlessness upon the expedition of 
 Marion du Fresne. The commander and a boat's crew 
 who were at work ashore were attacked, overpowered 
 and eaten. Only the coolness of the lieutenant, Crozet 
 
 ' Revenge. 
 
18 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 saved the other shore parties and rescued the ships, 
 the Mascarin and Marquis de Castries, from a perilous 
 position. Crozet, too, ignorant of what Cook had done, 
 took possession of the North Island for the French, 
 under the name of " France Australe." The ill-fated La 
 Perouse was making for New Zealand when he was last 
 heard of, and the relief expedition under D'Entrecasteaux 
 was on the coast for a short time in 1793. 
 
 Year by year New Zealand became better known. 
 Ships of the Royal Navy which had convoyed transports 
 to Australia made a practice of calling at the northern 
 ports to obtain spars from the magnificent pine forests. 
 Close upon the heels of the explorers came whalers and 
 traders from the Old World, New England, U.S.A., and 
 Australia. The natives learned the value of timber, flax 
 (Phormium tenax), and preserved human heads, and the 
 pakeha saw a prospective value in the vast tracts of grass- 
 land and forest. The Bay of Islands became a busy 
 emporium, frequented by lawless, adventurous, loose- 
 living, but not entirely unworthy men. They were the 
 real pioneers of civilisation. It was through them and 
 the perils they faced that the savage Maori first learned 
 the advantages of trade and civilisation. White men 
 lived with Maori wives, and were eagerly sought for by 
 the tribes as agents for increasing their power and 
 prestige amongst their rivals. Gradually settlements of 
 free pakeha were formed at the more frequented spots. 
 Escaped convicts drifted across from New South Wales, 
 and even they were assets of value to the Maori tribes, all 
 anxious to acquire new crafts. 
 
 So well did these irregular pioneers open the field that 
 Samuel Marsden, the chaplain to the colony of New 
 South Wales, was able in 1814 to establish tranquilly a 
 Church of England mission at the Bay of Islands. 
 Cook had given pigs and potatoes to the natives ; 
 Marsden brought horses, cattle, poultry, and wheat. 
 And it cannot be gainsaid that these were factors at 
 least as potent as the Gospel in uplifting the Maori from 
 the degraded condition of barbarism in which Cook 
 
TWJ^ FiUirrTFUETSUVEREIGNTY 19 
 
 discovered them. The transition was a slow one, and it 
 was attended by many sad lapses. One of many shock- 
 ing reactionaries was Hongi, the great Ngapuhi chief who 
 visited England in 1820. Feted everywhere, and much 
 benefited, it was thought, by what he had seen, he was 
 sent home laden with presents. These he astutely con- 
 verted at Port Jackson into a species of currency much 
 more highly valued amongst his countrymen — muskets 
 and ammunition — and thence onward till his death in 
 1828 a bloody warfare ravaged the northern tribes. The 
 feuds which he aroused were not set at rest until British 
 authority was firmly established. 
 
 Until the jurisdiction of the New South Wales courts 
 was extended to New Zealand, in 1828, the lawlessness 
 of the white settlers vi^ent unpunished. Even then justice 
 was a mere figure of speech, and the position was in no 
 wise improved by the casual visits of British warships. 
 Although importuned on all sides — by the Maori desiring 
 protection from the outrages of the pakeha ; by the 
 pakeha fearing the sovereignty of France — the British 
 Government set its face steadfastly against the proclama- 
 tion of New Zealand as a British colony. The position 
 was little short of a scandal. Cook for England and 
 Crozet for France had taken possession of the country. 
 France had by treaty recognised the sovereignty of 
 England ; New Zealand had naturally become an 
 appanage of New South Wales, and the resort of 
 hundreds of British settlers, some outlaws of the worst 
 description, others esteemed and law-abiding citizens. 
 The Maori themselves had petitioned for protection 
 against the warfare, rapine, and licentiousness that were 
 rampant. Again France turned covetous eyes towards 
 the country. Still England withheld action, denying the 
 protection and the liberty of the British flag. 
 
 There are only two pleas that can be entertained in 
 extenuation of the action of the Imperial Government. 
 England had not yet learned the art of colonisation, and 
 made no secret of her objection to any further extension 
 of the boundaries of the Empire. In the second place, 
 
20 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 the missionaries, for reasons which we dare not im- 
 pugn, strongly disapproved the introduction of British 
 sovereignty. One English expedition which had at- 
 tempted to colonise the north in 1825 fled in dismay at 
 the sight of a Maori dance. The condition of the country 
 was deplorable. War raged on all sides. There was not 
 sufficient public opinion amongst the Maori to unite any 
 two tribes, and the petition of thirteen chiefs for the 
 protection of King William was merely the outcome of 
 a patriotic and timely project on the part of the better 
 class of pakeha to anticipate a French occupation by the 
 proclamation of British sovereignty. Jealously desirous 
 of avoiding such a possibility, but determined still to 
 have nothing to do with such a hornet's nest, the Colonial 
 Office maintained its neutrality by sending James Busby, 
 a civil engineer practising in New South Wales, to 
 establish himself as " British Consul " at Bay of Islands. 
 He was carefully denied the customary authority, and no 
 military escort was detailed to ensure him a reasonable 
 chance of surviving the alarms which annually threatened 
 the settlement. In peace Busby was something in the 
 nature of a harbourmaster, to clear and enter British 
 ships ; in war his voice was that of a prophet crying in 
 the wilderness. He was as powerful and as useful as the 
 limitations of his authority permitted. When a French 
 faddist, the Baron Charles de Thierry, threatened to 
 establish a kingdom in his own person on a tract of land 
 which he had commissioned one of Marsden's catechists 
 to purchase for him. Busby was too patriotic to rest 
 inactive or to be bound by his own very limited powers. 
 He was determined not to let the country go by any 
 default of his to France. Knowing full well that the 
 Imperial Government was not kindly disposed towards 
 New Zealand, and fearing to delay while he consulted 
 his own immediate chief, the Governor of New South 
 Wales, he took upon himself a responsibility which he 
 had exercised in a minor and harmless manner in the 
 previous year. 
 All the chiefs within reach were summoned to a meet- 
 
THE FIGHT FOR SOVEREIGNTY 21 
 
 ing at his residence at Waitangi, where on October 28, 
 1835, they signed a document declaring their country an 
 independent State under the designation of "The United 
 Tribes of New Zealand," and signifying their willingness 
 to grant protection and facilities to any British subjects 
 who desired to resort to New Zealand for the purpose of 
 trade. De Thierry's project fell to the ground for the 
 fundamental reason that his purchase of land was only 
 valid to a small extent, and his subjects were only too 
 glad to take service in the dockyard of Lieutenant 
 McDonnell, who had been appointed an additional 
 British Resident. This gave the Governor of New 
 South Wales an opening to reprimand Busby for ex- 
 ceeding his authority and perpetrating what he called 
 a "silly and unauthorised act" and "a paper pellet." 
 
 But there were now other powerful forces at work in 
 England to compel the Colonial Office to take responsi- 
 bility for the good government of New Zealand. Edward 
 Gibbon Wakefield, the prophet and genius of colonisa- 
 tion, had just withdrawn from the South Australian 
 Association, an organisation which in face of the stubborn 
 opposition of the Government had courageously em- 
 barked its private resources in the enterprise of founding 
 systematically a new colony in Australia. Before a 
 parliamentary committee he complained of the "slovenly, 
 scrambling, and disgraceful manner" in which New 
 Zealand was being colonised. "The country," he said, 
 " is one of the finest in the world, if not the finest, for 
 British settlement." 
 
 In 1837 he had a scheme afoot for the proper settle- 
 ment of the new country, and from that moment the 
 reluctance of the British Government to take control 
 developed into a furious and at times bitter conflict of 
 wits with the directors of the New Zealand Company. 
 There can be no doubt that the objections to British 
 sovereignty in New Zealand were greatly aggravated in 
 the official mind by the importunities of the Company. 
 
 A Select Committee in 1838 adduced ample evidence 
 of the moral obligation that lay with England to step in 
 
22 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 and curb the licentiousness of British subjects, to hold 
 the scales of justice evenly between them and the natives, 
 and to check the devastating career of those Maori 
 tyrants who, having acquired arms and ammunition 
 from unprincipled traders, kept all the tribes in a con- 
 stant state of fear. The nation which had felt the 
 regeneration of Europe from the tyranny of Napoleon 
 to be a duty could not possibly repudiate its obvious 
 responsibility in this less important sphere. But the 
 British Empire has truly been described as an "acci- 
 dental " empire. Almost every important move towards 
 the present great achievement has been the unauthorised 
 act of some far-seeing pioneer, and many a bold patriot 
 has merited the reprimand of the central authority which 
 he has pledged to some line of public policy. Nowhere 
 was the building up of the Empire more strenuously 
 opposed by the Imperial Government than in the 
 Australasian colonies. 
 
 Imbued with the highest ideals, the directors of the 
 New Zealand Company originally decided that no 
 member should have any pecuniary interest in the object 
 in view. It was to be a chartered company responsible 
 to Parliament. But, strangely enough, this was exactly 
 the feature that attracted the suspicion and disapproval 
 of the Government. Lord Glenelg wanted the Associa- 
 tion to form itself into a limited liability company. The 
 Association refused point-blank to do so and antagonised 
 the Government by trying to get a Bill through Parlia- 
 ment sanctioning its own scheme. When this was 
 rejected the idealists were compelled to fall in with the 
 desires of the Government, but before the Company 
 could be financed a change of Government took place 
 and the next application for a charter for the Company 
 was curtly met with the intimation that as the directors 
 had once refused to comply with the conditions laid 
 down the Government could not deal further with them. 
 
 Meanwhile, those who were interested in New Zealand, 
 both at home and at the Antipodes, were much agitated 
 by the activity of the French explorers and by certain 
 
THE FIGHT FOR SOVEREIGNTY 23 
 
 " purchases " which were claimed to have been made of 
 the natives by French subjects. By the middle of 1839 
 definite assurances reached England of the organisation 
 of a French company for the colonisation of the group. 
 The New Zealand Company bombarded the Government 
 with warnings of what would occur and urged the pro- 
 clamation of British authority. Still the Colonial Office 
 withheld action. At length, though still without a 
 charter, the Company boldly intimated that it was about 
 to despatch an expedition to form settlements. Within a 
 fortnight the pioneer ship Tory sailed from Gravesend to 
 prepare the way for the first emigrants. 
 
 The Government was compelled to take action. Crest- 
 fallen and reluctant, Lord Normanby announced in June 
 that certain portions of New Zealand would be added to 
 the Colony of New South Wales, and that Captain Hob- 
 son, R.N., would be sent out as Lieutenant-Governor. 
 The Tory had already arrived in New Zealand, and the 
 first shipload of emigrants had left England before 
 Captain Hobson embarked. When he arrived he found 
 at the northern end of the North Island the large body 
 of independent settlers who had drifted thither from 
 Australia and elsewhere, and at the southern end the 
 organised body of selected emigrants, already busy 
 selecting the lands for which they had paid before 
 leaving England. 
 
 The war between the Company and the Government 
 was transplanted to the Antipodes, and continued there 
 with equal vigour. Both parties were animated by a 
 high-principled desire to do fairly and honestly by the 
 natives, and both were fully determined that the acquisi- 
 tion of native lands for settlement should be carried out 
 equitably. Both had set their faces against the validation 
 of alleged unlimited purchases made in prospect of settle- 
 ment, and against unrestricted "squatting." Long before 
 the Treaty of Waitangi gave the Maori privileges never 
 before enjoyed by a native race, both the Company and 
 the Government had avowed their intention of protecting 
 the natives from exploitation by land-sharks. Sir George 
 
24 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Gipps, too well apprised of the abuses which indiscrimi- 
 nate squatting had inflicted on the infant colonies of 
 Australia, issued a proclamation declaring void any 
 private purchases of land that might be made in New 
 Zealand. According to the claims lodged for recognition, 
 four-fifths of the country had already passed from the 
 natives. The Government seems to have lost all sense 
 of perspective and proportion in the single desire to void 
 these transactions. Barbarous in the last degree, dis- 
 united, warlike, and without leaders, the Maori were 
 nevertheless approached by the Government on terms of 
 equality as an independent people, and the sovereignty 
 of England, which was proclaimed within a few months 
 of Captain Hobson's arrival, was the result of a treaty 
 of amity mutually negotiated and entirely irrespective of 
 England's rights by discovery. Busby's "paper pellet" 
 was evidently accepted as binding on the Government, 
 for Hobson's instructions were not to proclaim sove- 
 reignty, but to treat with the natives for the cession of 
 sovereignty and territorial rights. 
 
 The treaty was prepared by Busby, whose prestige was 
 somewhat improved since the advent of British authority 
 with guns behind it. Hobson himself was too ill to 
 leave the warship Herald, which had brought him to Bay 
 of Islands, and he had to rely largely upon Busby and 
 content himself with revising the draft which the latter 
 prepared for his approval. Hobson convened, and him- 
 self attended, a gathering of chiefs at Waitangi, and there, 
 on February 6, 1840, the first important signatures were 
 affixed to the Magna Charta of the Maori. 
 
 Imperfectly considered and fortuitous though it was, 
 and independent of any pronounced public policy, there 
 is no incident in the history of the British Empire that 
 redounds more to the credit and the justice of the nation 
 than this treaty. Nowhere else can history show such an 
 example of humanity and generosity to a comparatively 
 helpless savage race. It has been argued, and no doubt 
 with some force, that England had not even yet aban- 
 doned hope that the Maori would prove to be capable of 
 
THE FIGHT FOR SOVEREIGNTY 25 
 
 self-government, and so would relieve Downing Street of 
 the undesired responsibility of administering another 
 colony. If that is so, then the scrupulous observance 
 through many troublesome years of a compact so entered 
 into is all the more creditable to the party which expected 
 to be relieved. 
 
 The pregnant portion of the Treaty is Article II. : — 
 
 " Her Majesty, the Queen of England, confirms and 
 guarantees to the Chiefs and Tribes of New Zealand, and 
 to the respective families and individuals thereof, the full, 
 exclusive, and undisturbed possession of the Lands and 
 Estates, Forests, Fisheries, and other properties which 
 they may collectively or individually possess, so long as 
 it is their wish and desire to retain the same in their 
 possession : but the Chiefs of the United Tribes and the 
 Individual Chiefs yield to Her Majesty the exclusive 
 right of Pre-emption over such lands as the proprietors 
 thereof may be disposed to alienate, at such prices as 
 may be agreed upon between the respective proprietors 
 and persons appointed by Her Majesty to treat with them 
 in that behalf," 
 
 Neither Hobson nor the Maori signatories could have 
 imagined what the effect of this treaty would mean to the 
 future of New Zealand. To the Maori it was the Magna 
 Charta of their liberties. It gave them rights and 
 privileges never before enjoyed by a native race living in 
 proximity to a civilised ; it fortified them against the 
 land-grabber ; it gave respectability to the intermarriage 
 of Maori and pakeha ; and it afforded a safeguard against 
 pauperism. To the pakeha also it was full of import. It 
 led to wars and misunderstandings ; it hampered develop- 
 ment and was often a barrier against bond-fide settlement ; 
 it encouraged malcontent tribes to live in sullen seclu- 
 sion ; and it created a Maori aristocracy which is to-day 
 in some measure supported by the rents of white settlers. 
 As against all this, however, it afforded the New 
 Zealanders an opportunity for the display of self-reliance, 
 magnanimity, and generosity to an inferior race. 
 
 The New Zealand people have cheerfully fulfilled, at 
 
26 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 great sacrifices, an obligation in perpetuity which was 
 assumed for them by the Imperial Government in the 
 remote expectation of having to carry it out. In face of 
 great temptations, costly wars, and exasperating hin- 
 drances to their national development, they have never 
 seriously entertained the idea of repudiation. The 
 Treaty of Waitangi is as binding to-day as it was 
 seventy years ago, and New Zealand presents the unusual 
 spectacle of a white and a black race which have lived 
 together on terms of civil and political equality — and 
 generally of amity — through a period of more than half 
 a century, in which the domination of the country has 
 passed indisputably from black to white. 
 
 As we have seen, the New Zealand Company in its 
 genesis was almost a philanthropic organisation. It 
 originated in the high aspiration of Wakefield (to whose 
 mind commercialism was abhorrent) to supplant the 
 haphazard and lawless exploitation of New Zealand by a 
 properly ordered system of colonisation, in which an off- 
 shoot of the British race should be transplanted, with its 
 social classes, its traditions, and its institutions of civilisa- 
 tion complete. The directors had no desire to make a 
 profit out of the undertaking. They were chiefly men 
 who, perceiving the destiny of England as a colonising 
 Power, were anxious to bring the Government of Eng- 
 land to the same view. The history of the first years of 
 the Company and the difficulties in which it was soon 
 enmeshed, must not be taken in derogation of the high 
 principles by which the directors were animated. They 
 were to a great extent due to the hostility of the Govern- 
 ment both in England and on the spot and to the 
 blunders of some of its own officials. 
 
 In a document which is preserved, the directors im- 
 pressed upon their officers as they were departing for 
 New Zealand the following general instructions : — 
 
 " We recommend that you should on every occasion 
 treat them with the most entire frankness, thoroughly 
 explaining to them that you wish to purchase the land 
 for the purpose of establishing a settlement of English- 
 
THE FIGHT FOR SOVEREIGNTY 27 
 
 men there, and you will abstain from completing any 
 negotiation for a purchase of land until this, its probable 
 result, shall be thoroughly understood by the native pro- 
 prietors and by the tribe at large. . . . The danger to 
 which the native owners are exposed, and which they 
 cannot well foresee, is that of finding themselves entirely 
 without landed property, and therefore without con- 
 sideration, in the midst of a society where, through 
 immigration and settlement, land has become a valuable 
 property. In accordance with a plan which the Associa- 
 tion of 1837 was desirous that a legislative enactment 
 should extend to, in every purchase of land from the 
 natives, as well past as future, you will take care to men- 
 tion that a proportion of the territory ceded, equal to 
 one-tenth of the whole, will be reserved by the Company 
 and held in trust by them for the benefit of the chief 
 families of the tribe." 
 
 Although working on parallel lines and to the same 
 end, Hobson and the New Zealand Company came at 
 once into deadly conflict. The question of the sovereignty 
 of New Zealand was settled for all time by proclamations 
 in May and June, 1840, and a French colonising expedi- 
 tion, destined for Akaroa, was fully apprised of the fact 
 by the establishment of a British court of justice there in 
 August. 
 
 Hobson, who had his headquarters at Bay of Islands, 
 viewed with suspicion the action of the Company's settlers 
 at Wellington, the new town on the shores of Port 
 Nicholson. He professed, and pardonably enough, to 
 consider as disloyal and improper certain defensive 
 measures taken by the Company's settlers there. They 
 were without any military protection against the turbulent 
 tribes by whom they were surrounded ; but in this 
 respect they were scarcely worse off than any others of 
 the four thousand Europeans then dotted about in 
 isolated settlements in New Zealand and separated by 
 seventy thousand savages. There had been several 
 skirmishes in the neighbourhood of Wellington, and the 
 defiant attitude of two of the chiefs could not well be 
 
28 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 overlooked. Hobson himself visited Wellington after 
 firmly ordering the Company's flag to be lowered and 
 substituted by the Union Jack. He received sufficient 
 assurances on that visit that the steps taken by the Com- 
 pany's settlers were purely of a temporary nature, pending 
 the appearance of the constituted authority, but there 
 were other circumstances which prevented a permanent 
 understanding being arrived at. A man of unquestioned 
 integrity and honesty of purpose, he strove to do justice 
 to the natives and at the same time to encourage genuine 
 settlement. He can be pardoned, in the light of the 
 antecedent disputes, for failing to appreciate the fact that 
 in the peculiar circumstances of New Zealand almost the 
 only safe and practicable form of settlement was that 
 which vi^as being attempted by the Company. The 
 interests of the whole Colony would have been best 
 served if he had made the Company his allies instead of 
 antagonising them. There were, of course, faults on 
 both sides. The Company's chief agent in New Zealand 
 (Colonel Wakefield) and the Governor became of neces- 
 sity as bitter partisans in the Antipodes as the Company 
 itself and the Colonial Office were in England. 
 
 The rivalry of the two authorities was disastrous for all 
 parties. Harassed and opposed at every turn, the Com- 
 pany was first of all compelled to retrench and delegate 
 some of its powers to affiliated companies (which 
 organised separate colonies), and finally, when its funds 
 were reduced and its credit was destroyed, it had sorrow- 
 fully to surrender its charter (1850). Hobson himself, 
 worn out with the worries and anxieties of his position, 
 unpopular both in Wellington and in Auckland, disliked 
 by land-grabbers and genuine settlers, had died in har- 
 ness in September, 1842. 
 
 It was a sad prospect for New Zealand, but out of the 
 ashes of the Company's hopes there survived seven sturdy 
 colonies. All that Wakefield fought for was achieved. 
 The British flag floated over New Zealand, and the 
 foundations of the future Dominion had been laid, broad 
 and strong, upon a basis of free, intelligent, and regulated 
 
THE FIGHT FOR SOVEREIGNTY 29 
 
 colonisation. A charter granting representative govern- 
 ment had actually been issued, though subsequently with- 
 drawn for amendment. In 1852 the Constitution Act 
 was finally passed by the British Parliament, and Wake- 
 field himself went to New Zealand and sat in the General 
 Assembly. He wrote triumphantly in 1854 : — 
 
 " New Zealand has undergone neither more nor less 
 than a revolution. The change, though enormous, has 
 been peaceful, and will' be very conservative in its results. 
 The mutilated constitution has been healed and brought 
 into vigorous action. It means that, after trouble and 
 annoyance and disappointment and suffering without 
 end, I am as happy as any one can be in this world, 
 having a full realisation of what I have hoped and longed 
 and striven for during so many years." 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE PROVINCES AND THEIR PEOPLE 
 
 An Elysium of Providence — The dominant race — Rigid selection — The 
 Wakefield ideal — A new English race — New Zealand in the sixties 
 — The provincial system — Political nurseries — The cry for separa- 
 tion — Abolition of the provinces — Where the people came from — 
 English supremacy — A romance of colonisation — The EngUsh 
 settlements — Scots pioneers — The Otago pilgrimage — Irish in the 
 North — "Parish" emigration — The gold rush — No concrete 
 influence — The foreign infusion — French expeditions — Scandi- 
 navians, &c. — The Chinese — Birth and allegiance. 
 
 The forests, the fields, the natural resources, and the 
 mineral wealth of New Zealand might well seem to have 
 been cast down by a conspiracy of Providence to make a 
 highly delectable land the home of a people of high 
 economic efficiency. Any race might have made itself 
 powerful there. The troubles of the Maori arose from 
 their own quarrels, not from any difficulty of living. If 
 tribal jealousies had not made of the Maori a race of 
 warriors, the ease of living might have made them a race 
 of Oriental dalliards. 
 
 Similarly, when the white men cast covetous eyes at 
 Te Ika a Maui, they might easily have found it the 
 Utopia of their early Victorian dreams if the presence 
 of the tangata whenua had not implanted in the soil a 
 barbarism rarely surpassed in the lore of the times. 
 War had made of them a highly specialised race. Ipso 
 facto none but a highly specialised race could hope to 
 co-exist with them. By a chain of evolution Providence 
 set out to provide such a people. In every respect the 
 white race which was soon to become the dominant 
 
 30 
 
THE PROVINCES AND PEOPLE 31 
 
 factor in New Zealand was rigidly selected for the 
 role. 
 
 The selection commenced at the very beginning. 
 The whalers and sealers who found their way to Bay 
 of Islands from the southward track were not altogether 
 men of no consequence. In their rough way many of 
 them were men of high character. They had courage, 
 enterprise, and many of the primal characteristics of 
 honesty and straightforwardness. Most of them came 
 from England, some by the way of the Australian 
 colonies ; a few were Americans from New England 
 and Rhode Island. Some were " Dutchmen," to wit, 
 French and Prussian traders, Scandinavian whalers, and 
 a casual Spaniard or Portuguese. 
 
 A sprinkling of these foregatherers went to live amongst 
 the Maori. They were joined by drifters from Australia: 
 some free-men or time-expired, a small minority escaped 
 convicts from Botany Bay and Tasmania. On the 
 whole, the Mother Colony itself was not so well founded 
 from a social point of view as this pre-pakeha community 
 in New Zealand. 
 
 From the late stage at which British sovereignty was 
 declared the selection was of the most drastic. The 
 body of men and women who left Gravesend by the 
 Aurora were the survival of a triple selective agency. 
 They had survived the wholesome and often exaggerated 
 fear of the barbarous country to which they were going. 
 They had survived the physical scrutiny of an organisa- 
 tion which set high standards for the new social organism 
 it was about to found. They had survived, finally, the 
 test of both capital and character which this courageous 
 pilgrimage entailed. Edward Gibbon Wakefield would 
 never subscribe to a scheme which proposed to transplant 
 in new countries any of the bad or immoral elements 
 of the old society. That was his quarrel with the old 
 Colonial Office. He had a passionate admiration for 
 the British social system, and he desired above all 
 things to plant it intact in the new colonies. A due 
 proportion of labourers and peasants was essential, but 
 
32 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 he set his face steadfastly against any proportion of 
 moral or physical deficients. 
 
 "The aim of this Company," wrote the directors of 
 the New Zealand Company in 1847, " is not confined to 
 mere emigration, but is directed to colonisation in its 
 ancient and systematic form. Its object is to transplant 
 English society with its various gradations in due pro- 
 portions, carrying out our laws, customs, associations, 
 habits, manners, feelings — everything of England, in 
 short, but the soil." 
 
 And the companies of the Aurora and of many ships 
 after her were carefully selected samples of British 
 society in all its grades. Scotland sent ships, too, filled 
 with emigrants selected from the agricultural and artisan 
 classes and largely drawn from the lowlands. But for 
 all purposes the colony of New Zealand which entered 
 into the consideration and the recrimination of the 
 English politicians of the day was, in the first ten years 
 of its existence, an English one. The adversity of that 
 time had already made a new English race, which in 
 1853 cheerfully accepted the responsibilities of self- 
 government, and, ten years later, in the hour of its 
 darkest trouble, actually demanded to be freed from the 
 help of the British Government and to carve out its own 
 salvation from the wilderness of difficulties by which it 
 was surrounded. 
 
 New Zealand in 1850 was a quaint congeries of com- 
 munities dotted about along the coasts, separated from 
 each other by hundreds of miles of sea and long, 
 interminable land tracks. The English had colonised 
 Wellington, Nelson, Whanganui, and Taranaki more or 
 less directly. From Nelson the English pastoral province 
 of Marlborough hived off ; from Wellington that of 
 Hawke's Bay. Auckland was settled haphazard (with a 
 striking preponderance of Irish) by independent men 
 from Australia, the Islands, and the home country. 
 Labourers, too, drifted surreptitiously away from Wel- 
 lington and Nelson to share in the prosperity of Govern- 
 ment expenditure at Auckland, where Hobson had 
 
THE PROVINCES AND PEOPLE 33 
 
 placed his capital. The Scottish backwardness had 
 been repaired in a signal manner by the settlement of 
 Otago in 1848, under the auspices of the Free Church 
 of Scotland. The English retort was the foundation two 
 year later of the province of Canterbury, to which, at 
 first, only persons belonging to the Church of England 
 were admitted. From Otago the new and even more 
 Scotch province of Southland was severed ; and from 
 Canterbury later the cosmopolitan mining province of 
 Westland. 
 
 In these days of political federation the New Zealand 
 of the sixties makes an interesting study. In their 
 isolation the six chief colonies were rapidly growing 
 into separate nationalities. At one time sixty thousand 
 people maintained nine separate Parliaments, each with 
 its ministry and its speaker, each with a remarkable 
 dower of talent and administrative ability (the outcome 
 of Wakefield's wise prevision), each dealing with its 
 own lands and revenues, building its own railways and 
 schools, and administering its own police. In the early 
 days of isolated settlements the provincial councils did 
 invaluable work. They were, of course, subject to the 
 general enactments of the central Parliament (then 
 seated at Auckland), but any encroachment of the 
 General Assembly on their prerogative was fought tooth 
 and nail by the whole force of provincialism. 
 
 It was many years before the expansion of settlement 
 from these scattered centres brought the outposts of the 
 different provinces into touch. In the meantime each 
 little community had pursued its own train of thought, 
 worshipped its own gods, created its own institutions, 
 guarded its own privileges. In some ways it was a 
 disastrous policy, as when it conducted the country to 
 the verge of political separation. The South Island in 
 its peaceful prosperity chafed at the expense of the 
 native wars in the North, and for a while the demand 
 for separate government and separate responsibility was 
 entertained. The councils were the nursery of the 
 politicians of the future. A brilliant coterie of men of 
 
 4 
 
32 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 he set his face steadfastly against any proportion of 
 moral or physical deficients. 
 
 "The aim of this Company," wrote the directors of 
 the New Zealand Company in 1847, " is not confined to 
 mere emigration, but is directed to colonisation in its 
 ancient and systematic form. Its object is to transplant 
 English society with its various gradations in due pro- 
 portions, carrying out our laws, customs, associations, 
 habits, manners, feelings — everything of England, in 
 short, but the soil." 
 
 And the companies of the Aurora and of many ships 
 after her were carefully selected samples of British 
 society in all its grades. Scotland sent ships, too, filled 
 with emigrants selected from the agricultural and artisan 
 classes and largely drawn from the lowlands. But for 
 all purposes the colony of New Zealand which entered 
 into the consideration and the recrimination of the 
 English politicians of the day was, in the first ten years 
 of its existence, an English one. The adversity of that 
 time had already made a new English race, which in 
 1853 cheerfully accepted the responsibilities of self- 
 government, and, ten years later, in the hour of its 
 darkest trouble, actually demanded to be freed from the 
 help of the British Government and to carve out its own 
 salvation from the wilderness of difficulties by which it 
 was surrounded. 
 
 New Zealand in 1850 was a quaint congeries of com- 
 munities dotted about along the coasts, separated from 
 each other by hundreds of miles of sea and long, 
 interminable land tracks. The English had colonised 
 Wellington, Nelson, Whanganui, and Taranaki more or 
 less directly. From Nelson the English pastoral province 
 of Marlborough hived off ; from Wellington that of 
 Hawke's Bay. Auckland was settled haphazard (with a 
 striking preponderance of Irish) by independent men 
 from Australia, the Islands, and the home country. 
 Labourers, too, drifted surreptitiously away from Wel- 
 lington and Nelson to share in the prosperity of Govern- 
 ment expenditure at Auckland, where Hobson had 
 
THE PROVINCES AND PEOPLE 33 
 
 placed his capital. The Scottish backwardness had 
 been repaired in a signal manner by the settlement of 
 Otago in 1848, under the auspices of the Free Church 
 of Scotland. The English retort was the foundation two 
 year later of the province of Canterbury, to which, at 
 first, only persons belonging to the Church of England 
 were admitted. From Otago the new and even more 
 Scotch province of Southland was severed ; and from 
 Canterbury later the cosmopolitan mining province of 
 Westland. 
 
 In these days of political federation the New Zealand 
 of the sixties makes an interesting study. In their 
 isolation the six chief colonies were rapidly growing 
 into separate nationalities. At one time sixty thousand 
 people maintained nine separate Parliaments, each with 
 its ministry and its speaker, each with a remarkable 
 dower of talent and administrative ability (the outcome 
 of Wakefield's wise prevision), each dealing with its 
 own lands and revenues, building its own railways and 
 schools, and administering its own police. In the early 
 days of isolated settlements the provincial councils did 
 invaluable work. They were, of course, subject to the 
 general enactments of the central Parliament (then 
 seated at Auckland), but any encroachment of the 
 General Assembly on their prerogative was fought tooth 
 and nail by the whole force of provincialism. 
 
 It was many years before the expansion of settlement 
 from these scattered centres brought the outposts of the 
 different provinces into touch. In the meantime each 
 little community had pursued its own train of thought, 
 worshipped its ovi'n gods, created its own institutions, 
 guarded its own privileges. In some ways it was a 
 disastrous policy, as when it conducted the country to 
 the verge of political separation. The South Island in 
 its peaceful prosperity chafed at the expense of the 
 native wars in the North, and for a while the demand 
 for separate government and separate responsibility was 
 entertained. The councils were the nursery of the 
 politicians of the future. A brilliant cotciie of men of 
 
 4 
 
34 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 the highest intellectual attainments and the best breeding 
 had emigrated to New Zealand. By the providential 
 selection which has profited New Zealand so bounti- 
 fully, each province had at the head of its affairs 
 personalities of commanding character and attainments. 
 Featherston, Fitzgerald, Moorhouse, Fox, Dillon Bell, 
 Weld, Macandrew, Whitaker, Stafford, Stout, Rolleston, 
 Seddon, Grey, Fitzherbert, and Hall were all members 
 of the provincial councils, and most of them were 
 vigorous champions of those bodies when their abolition 
 was imminent. 
 
 The good results of the work of the provincial 
 Governments in the earliest days cannot be exaggerated. 
 As boards of works on the spot, as the representative 
 institutions of communities far separated from the 
 governmental centre, they were invaluable. The whole 
 foundation of the political life of New Zealand was laid 
 in these primitive Parliaments, from which the leaders 
 passed with clock-like regularity to the larger assembly 
 at the capital. The immediate and close intimacy of the 
 people with their own public affairs was the basis of 
 that strong political acumen which has distinguished 
 public life in New Zealand from that of all the other 
 colonies, and which has made it impossible for New 
 Zealand to produce serious scandals and malpractice in 
 its administration. 
 
 If we except the lack of uniformity in the land regula- 
 tions, then the rift which appeared when the South 
 Island desired separation from the North was perhaps 
 the clearest evidence that provincialism had had its day. 
 There could be no possibility of a separate government 
 for each island, and it was positively dangerous that 
 provinces enjoying such a variation of national responsi- 
 bility as the peaceful development of Otago and the 
 tempestuous wars of Auckland should be allowed to 
 work out their destiny on independent lines. Year by 
 year the responsibilities of the General Government were 
 becoming heavier. It had in one Act assumed the whole 
 burden of native affairs, in another dispensed with the 
 
THE PROVINCES AND PEOPLE 35 
 
 assistance of British troops. These things meant nothing 
 to the South Island, but it meant much to the General 
 Government that the resources of the country were to a 
 large extent under the control of the provinces and could 
 not be drawn upon for the work of the nation as a whole. 
 Provincialism was doomed. But it did not yield without 
 a struggle of Titans, nor die without leaving behind a 
 monument to its great usefulness. When the councils 
 passed irrevocably out of existence in 1876, New Zealand 
 lost a set of institutions which could still have done good 
 service as local boards of works, and Parliament was 
 burdened with a great deal of technical detail which 
 should never have engaged the councils of the nation. 
 The abolition of the provinces coincided more or less 
 perfectly with the point at which the spread of settlement 
 had effaced the natural divisions of the provinces. The 
 people of Canterbury and Otago, Wellington and Hawke's 
 Bay, were fusing already, and the multiplicity of social 
 and political institutions must have caused unending 
 friction and economic loss. Otago, the most shrewdly 
 progressive of all the provinces, had an education system 
 far in advance of anything else in the colony, and was 
 steadily attracting to i^s halls the better-class youths from 
 all the other provinces. Canterbury, the pastoral pro- 
 vince, was the richest of all until the goldfields brought 
 a new prosperity to the Otago Scots. In Westland was a 
 cosmopolitan population of miners who had sought self- 
 government chiefly because pastoral Canterbury, across 
 the mountain barrier of the Alps, had little sympathy 
 with a development which it neither understood nor 
 loved. Nelson possessed a quiet, unprogressive popula- 
 tion of agriculturists, Marlborough an equally unpro- 
 gressive offshoot of pastoralists. In the North the people 
 of Wellington had never been free of the fears and 
 turmoils of war : those of Taranaki had made gallant 
 efforts to cultivate their threatened holdings. In Hawke's 
 Bay the squatters had time and again been summoned 
 away from their flocks to stall off the minatory tribes- 
 men ; and in Auckland, of course, development had been 
 
36 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 hemmed in close to the root of the peninsula by the 
 sullen Waikato tribes. Almost without exception the 
 pioneers had been through a careful and rigid selection. 
 There was no influx of hereditary paupers, no surrep- 
 titious infusion of criminals or convicts. Every stream 
 of emigrants that reached the shores of New Zealand had 
 run the gauntlet of selection, if it had not actually been 
 through the fire of experience. And this is the story of 
 the whole immigration policy of New Zealand, except 
 for a decided and dangerous laxity towards the close of 
 the Vogel regime. 
 
 Let us see where the men came from. 
 
 Though some of the most distinguished of the early 
 pioneers were Scots, the senior nationality was all along 
 the most prominent in the New Zealand field. They 
 provided the great discoverer Cook, whose name is much 
 more closely connected with New Zealand than that of 
 his predecessor Tasman. They, through the medium of 
 the Anglican mission of Samuel Marsden, planted the 
 first abiding settlement in the land of barbarism. This 
 settlement, which was never dislodged, made its appear- 
 ance at Bay of Islands a quarter of a century before the 
 British flag was hoisted. An English expedition reached 
 Hauraki in 1825 with the intention of settling there ; but 
 a native war-dance so destroyed their peace of mind that 
 the emigrants sailed incontinently away. The only mem- 
 bers who stayed behind in New Zealand were four Scots, 
 the pioneer industrial settlers of that race. 
 
 It fell to the English, too, to give the world the most 
 heroic incident of colonisation since the days of the 
 Mayflower. The story of the New Zealand Company is 
 altogether a romance. It is the narrative of an idealistic 
 propaganda in the Old World carried out as a political 
 vendetta to the New : a romance of courage unflinching 
 and purpose unalterable in the face of every obstacle 
 that a hostile Government, a savage barbarism, and great 
 physical discomforts could interpose : a narrative of 
 humble men staunch in loyalty to their object in life, 
 and of a better class foregoing all the pleasures and 
 
THE PROVINCES AND PEOPLE 37 
 
 luxuries of idleness to be the leaders of a struggling 
 and menaced little England in the wilderness of the 
 Pacific. 
 
 The character of the English emigrant has shown itself 
 faulty in more than one colony. It lacks the shrewd 
 instincts of adaptability and practicability which are 
 necessary in all the little affairs of the emigrant. But 
 the courage of the men of Devon and Cornwall, the 
 same who pioneered the pilgrim States of America, has 
 helped to make brilliant the story of the English in New 
 Zealand. While the haggling of the Government and 
 the Company was proceeding in all its bitterness, the 
 affiliated associations planted thousands of English 
 settlers in all parts of New Zealand. In Wellington 
 they were thrown down landless in a labour market 
 chronically overfull. In Nelson, where their ways were 
 easier, they suffered depression by fear of the wrath of 
 the Maori chiefs, who had exterminated a Nelson expe- 
 dition at Wairau. In Whanganui they gradually pushed 
 their outposts, their sheep, and cattle into the bush and 
 the rolling h'-sentinelled downs. In Canterbury their 
 path was smooth. Taranaki is the outstanding triumph 
 for the English character. Again and again the rank 
 and file of the West Country folk have had to take the 
 field in defence of their holdings. 
 
 All the earlier English settlements of the New Zealand 
 Company were cosmopolitan as regards the nationality 
 of the emigrants — Wellington actually received several 
 companies of Scots direct from the Clyde — but Canter- 
 bury was designed to be exclusively a settlement of 
 adherents of the Church of England. In view of the 
 galaxy of men of good birth and great intellectual 
 attainments who had already settled in the other 
 provinces, it is amusing now to read the resolve of 
 the Canterbury association, as expressed by one of its 
 directors : — 
 
 " (The directors) have determined that no person shall 
 emigrate under their auspices who shall not be a bond- 
 fide member of the Church of England. Without a 
 
38 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 certain provision for religion and education the gentry 
 of England, who are religious and educated men, cannot 
 be expected to emigrate." 
 
 Before the new settlement had received any serious 
 hurt from a restriction which eventually must have proved 
 harmful, the directors thought better, and withdrew it. 
 Ten years later we find the province granting assistance 
 to emigrants of whom just over one-third were English. 
 In the first provincial councils of New Zealand 86 out of 
 143 members were English, and to-day persons of Eng- 
 lish birth constitute 42 per cent, of the total immigrant 
 population of the Dominion. 
 
 In individual pioneering the English yielded pride of 
 place to the Scots. Even the four sawyers of the Rosanna 
 expedition were not the first Scots in New Zealand. The 
 city of Auckland, which for a quarter of a century was 
 the capital of the colony, was established on land which 
 had been purchased from a Scots offshoot of one of the 
 abortive New Zealand companies. The first settler on 
 the shores of the Waitemata harbour was a Scot.' Then 
 came Canterbury. While the Company's emigrants were 
 penned in at Wellington without hope of securing the 
 land for which they had paid, half a dozen Scots built a 
 schooner, explored the South Island, and established 
 themselves as independent settlers on Banks' Peninsula. 
 The peninsula and the. adjacent plains were peopled 
 thinly by Scots before the organised colony of English 
 arrived. Scots pioneers were farming in the province of 
 Otago three years before the regular settlement arrived. 
 Up to 1842 only one-sixteenth of the immigrants who 
 came to New Zealand under organisation were Scots, and 
 the greatest difficulty was experienced in filling up the 
 ships from the Clyde. 
 
 Otago was, perhaps, the most remarkable colony of the 
 whole Victorian era. Mr. George Rennie, of Lothian, a 
 
 ' Dr. (now Sir J. Logan) Campbell, born in Edinburgh in 1817 ; M.D., 
 F.R.C.S. ; arrived in Auckland, 1840 ; member of first Provincial Council ; 
 Provincial Superintendent, 1855 ; member of the House of Representa- 
 tives, 1855 ; Mayor of Auckland, 1900 ; knighted, 1902. 
 

THE PROVINCES AND PEOPLE 39 
 
 son of the famous agriculturist, simply describes its ideals 
 thus : — 
 
 "Their resolution to emigrate was taken under the 
 condition that their minister and their schoolmaster 
 were to go with them, and they have provided a fund 
 to endow them, so that the community shall be consti- 
 tuted similar to a parish or county in Scotland. Do 
 away with this and the party will be broken : maintain 
 it, and a more promising colony of industrious and 
 efficient settlers never left the shores of Great Britain." 
 
 The Otago settlers were late in the field. They were 
 without some of the advantages which had been vaunted 
 for the earlier settlers. They were drawn chiefly from 
 the agricultural and artisan classes — poor men with rich 
 aspirations. True, the Scots settlement was not without 
 its dower of talent; but generally this was the casual 
 talent of humble people. Much more remarkable than 
 the attainments of its leaders were the homogeneous 
 worth and the stolidity of purpose of the rank and file. 
 The Otago settlement was in the best sense a pilgrimage. 
 It was a migration of religious people, drawn chiefly from 
 a humble plane, bound together by a religious purpose, 
 as were their forefathers the Covenanters. They set forth 
 with no exultant expectations of power or wealth, but 
 filled only with a sacred desire to make brighter homes 
 in a land offering the prospect of independence and 
 comfort. Bound to the traditions and institutions of a 
 land they were leaving without anger or malice, they 
 only desired to perpetuate in the new land the society 
 of the old. There were no sharply defined class dis- 
 tinctions. The leaders were not nominated by the influ- 
 ence of wealth or parentage. If there was any operating 
 motif in this respect it also had a religious aspect. 
 
 Otago soon became the model New Zealand society. 
 Its enlightened institutions nurtured many of the great 
 political figures of the later decades: its educational 
 institutions produced most of the thinkers, the profes- 
 sional men, and the officials for the whole of New 
 Zealand. Sturdiness, self-reliance, and singleness of 
 
40 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 purpose bore their fruit in the economy of the people 
 and the province. At one time the trend of thought was 
 narrow in the extreme. It was a fatal tendency fostered 
 by the prosperity of the province and the excellence of its 
 institutions, but corrected, happily, by the vigorous in- 
 fusion of liberal ideas which followed on the opening of 
 the goldfields. Elsewhere in New Zealand Scots were 
 abundant. In the North Island councils one-sixth of 
 the first members were from north of the Tweed. In the 
 whole of New Zealand almost one-fourth of the members 
 of the first councils were Scots, and to-day one-sixth of 
 the immigrant population are. 
 
 In the days of assisted immigration (in the seventies) 
 there was a very general demand for Scots. Every 
 province wanted them. Even Canterbury and Hawke's 
 Bay were glad to secure bodies of Highlanders for their 
 back country. A very picturesque migration of High- 
 landers, which had itr origin in a religious dispute in 
 1817, reached New Zealand, by way of Nova Scotia and 
 South Australia, in 1853 — just such an organised wander- 
 ing of clansmen as sallied forth from Wellington to 
 Canterbury in ships of their own construction in 1841, 
 and from Banks' Peninsula to the Sandwich Islands some 
 years later. The influence of Scots is undoubtedly the 
 most concrete and appreciable of all the nationalities 
 engaged in the colonisation of New Zealand. 
 
 Irishmen first appeared in the new field as independent 
 settlers about 1830. A number of them, obtaining their 
 ticket-of-leave, or effecting their escape from the political 
 prison gangs of Australia, found a sanctuary which was 
 not likely to be violated amongst the savage tribes of the 
 North. A distinguished countryman, Lieutenant Mc- 
 Donnell, established a dockyard on the Hokianga about 
 1831, and in a few years a whole village of Irish 
 and half-caste families had assembled there. Amongst 
 them the Roman Catholic mission of Bishop Pompallier 
 had its chief strength. Under the parish system of 
 emigration Irish peasants were encouraged to join this 
 little settlement, and thus automatically the Hibernian 
 
THE PROVINCES AND PEOPLE 41 
 
 community at Auckland became an institution of estab- 
 lished repute. There was practically no organisation of 
 Irish emigration. The peasants joined in the stream 
 because their family ties drew them towards their friends, 
 now generally well-to-do. Two-thirds of the twenty 
 thousand emigrants who reached New South Wales in 
 1840-1 were Irishmen, and Auckland, lying adjacent 
 across the strip of ocean, received its quota. 
 
 But the most noteworthy influx from Ireland to New 
 Zealand took place in the sixties, when the outbreak of 
 the goldfields diverted from California and Bendigo the 
 full-bodied stream of stalwarts which was then a feature 
 of the social economy of the world. This stream was 
 drawn largely from the malcontents of Ireland, and it 
 gave to public life in both Australia and New Zealand, 
 as already in California, a phalanx of the strongest 
 characters and the brightest intellects which were ever 
 engaged in the shaping of new Britains in the Antipodes. 
 There can be little doubt that if the Irish had been 
 organised New Zealand would also present a foil for the 
 character, the brilliance, and the administrative ability 
 of the Irish no less distinguished than the Scots province 
 of Otago or the English provinces of Canterbury and 
 Taranaki. The parish system of emigration was effective 
 enough in transferring the emigrating class to the colonies, 
 but it did not develop or exhibit in the new land national 
 character and ability as a concrete influence in public or 
 national life. The Irish were fused in the mass of the 
 population, and only appeared as a living force in the 
 person of distinguished individuals — statesmen, orators, 
 or commercial captains. 
 
 In spite of the neglect of the Irish field by the 
 colonising organisations, we find 22 Irishmen amongst 
 the 143 members of the first provincial councils. In 
 Auckland the proportion was twelve out of twenty-six ; 
 in Westland, where the cosmopolitan miners congregated, 
 two out of eight. Almost a sixth of the immigrant popu- 
 lation of the Dominion to-day are of Irish birth. 
 
 The British ideal is admirably conserved in New 
 
42 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Zealand in a population of a million, of which less than 
 2f per cent, are of foreign birth. Diverse attractions 
 brought the foreigners to New Zealand. First of all there 
 were the French. The romance of Akaroa is one of the 
 prettiest in the history of New Zealand. The colonising 
 ambitions of the Old Empire, which led Crozet to take 
 possession of the North Island in the name of Louis XV. 
 as " France Australe," were renewed sixty years later. 
 For a decade or more England wavered in the face of 
 the claims of certain French whaling captains. On each 
 side of the English Channel a band of merchant-politi- 
 cians was recruiting pilgrims, and stowing away its bales 
 of stores for the voyage to the promised land. In 
 England the Crown set its face against the venture. In 
 France Louis Philippe gave a money grant and the 
 services of some picked men to help. The English 
 sailed away into the South with a sullen official menace 
 overhanging, the French with a frigate to convoy and 
 protect. It was a bold and lonely Englishman at the 
 Antipodes who eventually frustrated the French scheme. 
 But the French emigrants, disappointed and cheated, 
 made their homes on the British soil. For five years 
 they had their own official Governor : then they accepted 
 citizenship in full and remained. Their French names 
 appear all over Banks' Peninsula, as the names of the 
 early French explorers stud the outlying islands. But 
 the Akaroa French were long since absorbed into the 
 population and Anglicised, and the French-born in 
 New Zealand are now only a few hundreds. 
 
 Then there are the Scandinavians, without peer the 
 finest recruits that a British colony ever secured from the 
 foreign field. Many of them were the proteges of a 
 bishop-politician exiled from Denmark by the unpopu- 
 larity of the war with Prussia. Wherever they went — and 
 the provincial Governments contended eagerly for them 
 — their native virtues deserved and won success. Their 
 settlements are models of industry and thrift. By their 
 cohesion, perseverance, and industry they have actually 
 exerted an influence on the national character. Either 
 
THE PROVINCES AND PEOPLE 43 
 
 morally or economically there is not a blemish on their 
 record. As bush settlers, sawyers, and agriculturists they 
 of all aliens have justified the expense the country incurred 
 in their immigration. The Scandinavians in New Zealand 
 amount to fSy per cent, of the immigrant population. 
 
 Though not so conspicuously successful, the Germans 
 have been a sound and valuable entity in the population. 
 Half a dozen appeared in the first case amongst the 
 French settlers at Akaroa. A few arrived very early at 
 the Chatham Islands, and then, at the time of the New 
 Zealand Company, a whole German settlement, affiliated 
 to the Nelson Company, proceeded to New Zealand and 
 established itself a few miles from the town of Nelson. 
 They had their schools, their pastors, and their churches. 
 They passed with the British settlers through all the 
 troubles of a stormy infancy and survived as a healthy 
 colony in themselves. A second expedition, chiefly of 
 Mecklenburgers, arrived to find the colony at the depth 
 of a depression, and one-half forthwith left for South 
 Australia, where German villages were already in exist- 
 ence. The German field yielded many immigrants at the 
 time of the gold rushes, and it was well exploited under 
 the Vogel policy. Natives of Germany numbered four 
 thousand at the last census. 
 
 The only other considerable infusion from Europe is 
 of the so-called " Austrians," a generic name which 
 includes all natives of the dual monarchy, the Adriatic 
 littoral and the Balkan States. They are to the gum-fields 
 of the North what the Scandinavians have been to the 
 bush, but they can scarcely be placed on the same plane 
 as members of a British community. They are only half 
 as numerous as the Germans. 
 
 It would not be accurate to class the Chinese in the 
 Australasian colonies as an integral part of the nationality. 
 The Chinese, who generally appear as small traders, 
 hawkers, and mechanics, have always been sojourners, 
 and they have generally occupied a position much more 
 dignified than helotry. They have entered with success 
 into occupations which are not sufficiently profitable for 
 
44 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Europeans. They have even ousted Europeans from 
 industries which they formerly found remunerative. 
 With rare exceptions their morality, their perseverance, 
 and their sound commercial virtues have risen superior 
 to mountains of racial antipathy. Since the gold-fields 
 broke out there have been not less than three thousand 
 Chinese in New Zealand until the last few years. Sur- 
 viving all the disabilities of language, race, and custom, 
 the Chinese in New Zealand stand high to-day amongst 
 the foreign races who, in a small way, have assisted in 
 the building up of the country. Two very important 
 industries — dairying and gold-dredging — owe much to 
 the enterprise and initiative of Chinese citizens. 
 
 But in each of the cases here referred to the smallness 
 of the infusion calls for remark. New Zealand is essen- 
 tially a British community, as this table (from the last 
 census figures) shows : — 
 
 Birth. Allegiance. 
 
 British 867,466 875,722 
 
 Foreign 21,112 12,856 
 
 The analysis of the New Zealand nationality at the last 
 census was as follows : — 
 
 Number. 
 
 Native-born whites 606,247 
 
 Maori 47,731 
 
 Cook Islanders, &c 12,340 
 
 English and Welsh 118,704 
 
 Scots 47,767 
 
 Irish 42,460 
 
 Australian 47,256 
 
 Other British possessions 4,S6o 
 
 Germany 4,i74 
 
 China 2,602 
 
 Denmark 2,277 
 
 Austria-Hungary 2,212 
 
 Sweden I,6i8 
 
 Norway 1,396 
 
 United States 1, 168 
 
 France 624 
 
 Miscellaneous S.S13 
 
 Total 948,649 
 
 The population is now upwards of 1,100,000. 
 
IX A KAURI BUSH. 
 Trees 45 to 50 ft. girth. 
 
CHAPTER IV 
 
 FORESTS AND PROFLIGACY 
 
 Spars for the early navigators — Kauri timber — The kauri forest — Dura- 
 biUty of native woods — Tests of strength — The wantonness of the 
 pakeha — Axe and fire — Anxiety in Parliament — The forests in 1873 — 
 Vogel's Forest Settlement Scheme — The executioner's warrant — A 
 conservator of forests — A relapse — Foreign imports — The resources 
 to-day^Kauri for eight years — Cutting capacity of the mills — Tree- 
 planting — Restoring the kauri — The age of the trees — Competition of 
 Oregon pine — The rivers of the North — Employment. 
 
 Quite the first great fact that impressed itself upon the 
 seamen adventurers to New Zealand after they had 
 recovered from the shock of encountering such a gross 
 barbarism was the surpassing value of the immense pine 
 forests of the northern bays. 
 
 Practically all of the first navigators refitted at one or 
 other of the bays which were most frequented, and 
 more than one secured new spars for his vessels. The 
 legion of ocean rangers, the whalers, found in the forests 
 one of their main reasons for establishing themselves on 
 shore, and by and by, long before white men had gone 
 to live in New Zealand in any numbers, the warships and 
 storeships from the convict stations in Australia made 
 regular calls at Hokianga, Coromandel, and Bay of 
 Islands to secure spars for the dockyards of England. 
 In the first few years of the century British ships were 
 clearing laden with spars for the Cape of Good Hope, 
 India, and England. The natives, discovering that there 
 was money in the business, became expert sawyers, and 
 for some time the traders were able to fill their hulls 
 with both timber and flax, at prices far below their real 
 
46 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 value. They carried this to such an extent that in the 
 primitive colonial days, nearly a century back, there was 
 almost a glut of New Zealand white pine on the Australian 
 market. 
 
 Two decades before the British dominion was estab- 
 lished, shipwrights from England and Scotland were 
 merrily at work in the Hokianga River, whence every 
 year issued several small vessels, chiefly brigs, for the 
 colonial trade. Rata, the deadly parasite, puriri, and 
 kauri were principally used in their construction. The 
 timber trade expanded rapidly when the arrival of the 
 whites called for pakeha houses in place of the native 
 whares. The kauri now attained to its full value as a 
 timber tree. The occurrence of this tree — undoubtedly 
 the finest in the New Zealand forests — is confined to a 
 restricted area roughly included in the Auckland penin- 
 sula, northward of a line from Whangaroa Harbour on 
 the west to Katikati on the east. The trees, giving 
 evidence in some cases of a thousand years' growth, 
 reach a height of nearly 200 feet, and the bole occasion- 
 ally measures 100 feet in circumference. Kauri was 
 used primarily for spars and planking for ships, but 
 when the whites came it was pressed into service for 
 housebuilding. There are houses still sound which were 
 erected seventy years ago. Its unique value was so amply 
 demonstrated that the forests have been subject to a 
 vigorous onslaught for the last hundred years. It is one 
 of the finest and most beautiful woods for cabinet work, its 
 dainty mottling giving it an especial value for polishing. 
 Mining timber of the best quality, too, is obtained from 
 the kauri. Logs excavated from the site of an ancient 
 forest have been found to be quite sound and converted 
 into railway sleepers. Finally, the resin exuded by the 
 tree is in itself a valuable article of commerce. What 
 wonder that the resources of such a timber have been 
 ruthlessly preyed upon, and that the extinction of the 
 limited forests is in sight ! 
 
 But this is only one of a host of valuable timbers that 
 the New Zealand forests hold. They possess timbers 
 
FORESTS AND PROFLIGACY 47 
 
 with qualities placing them pre-eminent for almost all 
 commercial purposes. There are woods of exceptional 
 durability, such as the totara, maniiao, and black maire ; 
 timbers of remarkable beauty, as the rewarewa, puriri, 
 and red pine ; and others whose even grain or freedom 
 from flavours render them unusually valuable, such as 
 the kauri and white pine. 
 
 With something like ten thousand miles of telegraph 
 line to maintain, the Telegraph Department of New 
 Zealand is something of an authority on the comparative 
 values of the different classes of timber. It has tried 
 most of the native trees and discovered virtues in unex- 
 pected places. Kawaka (cedar), for example, is a valu- 
 able timber where bush and grass fires are to be feared, 
 because it does not burn readily. Black pine would be 
 excellent if it were not liable to the ravages of the worm. 
 The beautiful ^wnVz is almost the only native timber that 
 is not liable to the attacks of the teredo. Matai also 
 resists well, but the totara is the least vulnerable of all. 
 Silver pine is entirely an excellent timber. A board cut 
 in 1898 from the stump of a pole erected in 1870 was 
 found to be quite sound. But silver pine is debarred 
 from many of the uses for which it is suited by the fact 
 that it is not readily found in lengths of more than 
 20 feet. The timber which contains the fewest blemishes, 
 and has therefore come into almost universal use for 
 telegraph poles, is the totara (Podocarpus totara), whose 
 only vice, a tendency to snap, is obviated by the use of 
 excessively heavy poles. 
 
 As for the kauri, it has its weaknesses. The Royal 
 Engineers in 1863 erected between Auckland and one of 
 the outlying redoubts a telegraph line in which kauri 
 saplings of 14 to 18 inches girth were used. In three 
 years they had decayed ; in five the whole line had to be 
 renewed. Unprotected manuka piles driven in 1871 
 were rotten three years later. 
 
 The following table shows the results of experiments, 
 made over a period of some years, with some foreign 
 comparisons : — 
 
48 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 British oak 
 British beech 
 British ash 
 Baltic deal 
 Riga fir ... 
 
 Black maire 
 
 Kauri 
 
 Kahikatea 
 
 Manuao ... 
 
 Manuka ... 
 
 Matai 
 
 Puriri 
 
 Rata 
 
 Rewarewa 
 
 Rimu 
 
 Tawa 
 
 Totara ... 
 
 Transverse 
 
 Strength. 
 
 Lb. 
 
 • 128-55 
 , 129-66 
 . 169-2 
 
 • 144-25 
 
 89-96 
 
 ■ 314-2 
 
 ■ 165-5 
 , 106-0 
 . 230-0 
 . 239-0 
 . 197-2 
 . 223-0 
 
 , 196-0 
 
 , 161 -o 
 . 140-2 
 
 . 205-5 
 . 133-6 
 
 Elasticity. 
 
 Lb. 
 
 127-01 
 
 195-83 
 180-07 
 
 ii6-o 
 167-77 
 
 193-0 
 97-0 
 57-9 
 
 200-0 
 115-0 
 133-0 
 175-0 
 93-0 
 
 93-0 
 92-8 
 
 142-4 
 77-0 
 
 Weight per 
 
 Cubic Foot. 
 
 Lb. 
 
 55-96 
 
 43-37 
 46-19 
 
 36-77 
 46-46 
 
 72-29 
 
 38-96 
 
 30-43 
 
 49-01 
 
 59-0 
 
 49-07 
 
 59-05 
 
 65-13 
 
 48-92 
 
 36-94 
 47-45 
 35-17 
 
 The New Zealand "bush," as the forest is always 
 called, was altogether too luxuriant and extensive to 
 receive much consideration in the unpoliced colonial 
 days. When the white folk first came to the country 
 whole provinces lay under the impenetrable gloom of the 
 pristine forest. Fully one-third of the country was 
 covered with the finest timber. The Maori tribes had 
 their own particular lo'-^alities for procuring trees for 
 specific purposes, but the Maori made a very restricted 
 use of the forests as compared with the domestic economy 
 of the whites. Certain trees had a special value for 
 certain purposes. All others were simply fuel. If 
 nothing had occurred to the forests of New Zealand 
 worse than the depredations of the Maori, the timber 
 supply would be as abundant to-day as ever. Close to the 
 fortified pa was the kainga, or dwelling village, and about 
 the kainga was a small patch of land cleared for the 
 limited agriculture of the natives. They had no stock 
 to graze. Within a stone's throw of the pa was the dark 
 fringe of the forest, with only a foot track for scores of 
 miles. 
 
 The pakeha simply wallowed in the destruction of the 
 

 pkeparinXt tu fell a kaukl 
 
FORESTS AND PROFLIGACY 49 
 
 bush. If he required boards to build a three-roomed 
 whare, he devastated an acre of timber. If he wished to 
 plant potatoes or wheat, he put the flames through the 
 undergrowth, felled the large trees, and dragged them 
 aside to rot. The destruction was appalling, and it went 
 on for thirty years without the slightest check or protest. 
 In this period the denudation of the forest already had 
 some detrimental effect on the climate here and there, 
 and the severity of floods in the rivers was marked. 
 With the hillsides and the upper reaches bare to the 
 elements, the snow or rain-water passed off rapidly. The 
 streams rose without the slightest warning, tearing down 
 through the gorges, eroding the banks, overflowing farms, 
 and devastating the lower alluvial flats with silt and 
 boulders. It was a very disastrous retribution for the 
 recklessness of the white man. 
 
 Even so early as the sixties there was a rudimentary 
 species of forest conservation, which threw the onus upon 
 the police constables to see that no fires were wantonly 
 lighted in the bush. But local constables were too busy 
 with a multitude of more pressing duties, and there the 
 matter ended. 
 
 The first suggestion towards a decent conservation of 
 the forests came from Victoria, where a Royal Com- 
 mission investigated the question in 1867. Acting on 
 this hint, the New Zealand Parliament in 1868 decided 
 to have data collected to show what the position was 
 in the colony, and what it should be. It took about 
 five years to make the report complete, and meanwhile 
 Parliament anxiously endeavoured, like a prophet in the 
 wilderness, to stay the hand of destruction. Dr. Hector, 
 the distinguished scientist who was then in charge of 
 the geological survey of New Zealand, warned the 
 country against the results of its policy. For all prac- 
 tical purposes, he contended, the mere thinnings of the 
 forest were ample to meet all the requirements of settlers 
 for fencing and firewood. There was no earthly neces- 
 sity to destroy the whole forest in this simple quest. 
 
 Parliament thus early recommended the planting of 
 
 5 
 
60 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 forest trees in the treeless plains of Canterbury as a 
 precaution against the serious desiccation of the land 
 in the summer and the extremely cold winds of winter. 
 It also endeavoured to bring about some co-operation 
 between the provinces and the General Government. 
 
 When the report ordered by Parliament at length 
 appeared, it showed that more than one-third of the 
 native bush had already disappeared. Approximately 
 the areas of bush-lands at the time the whites entered 
 upon their depredations and in 1873 were as follows: — 
 
 
 Area of Province. 
 Acres. 
 
 Area of Bush. 
 
 
 1830. 
 Acres. 
 
 1873- 
 
 Acres. 
 
 Auckland ... 
 
 16,650,000 
 
 4,000,000 
 
 1,200,000 
 
 Taranaki ... 
 
 2,290,000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 1,600,000 
 
 Wellington 
 
 7,000,000 
 
 5,000,000 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 Hawkes Bay 
 
 3,050,000 
 
 970,000 
 
 250,000 
 
 Nelson 
 
 6,928,000 
 
 3,000,000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 Marlborough 
 
 2,720,000 
 
 800,000 
 
 500,000 
 
 Canterbury 
 
 8,693,000 
 
 300,000 
 
 180,000 
 
 Westland 
 
 3,025,000 
 
 2,000,000 
 
 1,500,000 
 
 Otago 
 
 16,038,000 
 
 2,300,000 
 
 1,900,000 
 
 Total ... 66,394,000 20,370,000 12,130,000 
 
 This was very startling evidence of the activity of a 
 community of whites who numbered a few thousands in 
 1840, and only 300,000 in 1873. Since much of the 
 richest agricultural land was covered with certain species 
 of bush, these figures indicated quite plainly what the 
 progress of settlement meant to the resources of the 
 country. Sooner or later, if a rigid check were not 
 applied, the whole of the fine forests of New Zealand 
 would disappear without yielding anything like a due 
 economic return to the wealth of the country. 
 
 Vogel realised at the beginning of the seventies that 
 the active settlement policy which he was advocating 
 would in all probability entail a more energetic onslaught 
 than ever on the standing forests. His versatile mind 
 took cognisance of the danger, and he outhned in 1874 
 a scheme for the establishment of what he called " forest 
 settlements." So far as the forest was concerned, the 
 
FORESTS AND PROFLIGACY 51 
 
 idea was to prevent any further wanton destruction of 
 timber, and to ensure that the felled trees would not 
 be sawn up until they had been properly seasoned. He 
 intended to settle the pioneers in localities towards 
 which railways were moving, and to employ them in 
 the construction of roads and tracks. The felling of trees 
 by the occupiers of sections was to be absolutely pro- 
 hibited. During the proper season selected trees were 
 to be felled under the supervision of competent overseers 
 and sold to the mills when they were seasoned. The 
 land itself was not to be sold until it was cleared of 
 timber, and then the occupiers were to be encouraged 
 to spend their earnings in the purchase of their sec- 
 tions and to replant. Exactly what encouragement this 
 scheme offered to the establishment of sawmills and 
 timber factories is not clear. The history of sawmilling 
 has been on very different lines with regard to the source 
 and quantity of supply. The millers had been too long 
 accustomed to the free use of the forest to submit to 
 restrictions of this sort, and the scheme made no pro- 
 gress. 
 
 But the benign intentions of Parliament were quite 
 overridden during the next twenty years. Prosperity 
 and expansion were heedless of the economic future. 
 The beautiful bush was simply ravaged. Sawmills 
 sprang up everywhere. Southland applied some general 
 rules of working, but elsewhere there was no restriction. 
 Whole acres of forest were devastated and destroyed 
 to secure one or two fine specimens of kauri, or totara, 
 or white pine. Millions of feet of immature timber were 
 ruthlessly killed and left to rot on the ground. Possibly 
 the settler, coming along with his cattle and sheep, fired 
 the undergrowth and bared the cheek of the hill to 
 receive the grass-seed, but as often as not the scarred 
 and ravished countryside lay bleeding and desolate for 
 years. For the sake of a few good boles the primeval 
 forest was irrevocably sacrificed. The haste to get a 
 few million feet of timber down to the plains or on the 
 oversea steamer was feverish. It was a pitiful and 
 
52 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 wicked war. " Milling rights " meant simply and solely 
 an executioner's warrant to pick out the eyes of the 
 forest, to slay and ruin the rest, and then go elsewhere. 
 In 1871 three million feet of timber were exported. By 
 1891 the figure was forty-two millions. There were 250 
 mills killing and slaying and burning and wasting. It 
 was a reign of unbridled rapine and licence. 
 
 Even the settler became, by the terms of his lease, a 
 wanton and a profligate. Under the strange definition 
 of " improvements " he was compelled to hack down 
 a certain area of the bush each year. Whether he could 
 convert the timber or not was immaterial. If there was 
 no sawmill at hand, he had simply to destroy it and sow 
 grass and graze sheep amongst the blackened logs. 
 There have been cases in which settlers have jeopar- 
 dised their title by refusing to destroy the bush before 
 a mill was at hand to cut the logs into timber. All the 
 enthusiasm on the subject of forest conservation which 
 had been worked up during the early years of the Vogel 
 policy, and which had the hearty sympathy of that 
 statesman, was utterly dissipated. Vogel did actually 
 pass a Forest Conservation Act, but no regulations were 
 made. It was a dead letter. 
 
 When Captain J. Campbell-Walker, in 1876, made his 
 first report as Conservator of State Forests there was 
 estimated to be still twelve million acres of bush undis- 
 posed of by the Crown. One hundred and fifty mills 
 were at work, cutting nearly 130 million feet of timber 
 each year. Only three provinces had any regulations at 
 all for the protection of the forest, and there was no 
 power to enforce compliance with them. In those days, 
 and indeed up to the end of the century, the idea was 
 held that every acre of bush that was taken up and 
 cleared, even if the timber was destroyed by fire, was 
 a national gain. That was the doctrine of progress. 
 
 The supplies were apparently inexhaustible. Labour 
 was dear and timber cheap, and the millers had to use 
 only the best trees and the best portions of them to make 
 the business pay. In the extraction of these the rest of 
 
FORESTS AND PROFLIGACY 53 
 
 the forest was sacrificed. There was no need in those 
 days to look forward to the time when the inferior trees 
 would have grown to maturity. While the timber was 
 worth ^£30 an acre the State sold the land, timber and 
 all, for £1 an acre. In spite of all warnings and expert 
 advice. New Zealand has continued this policy of 
 national profligacy with little remission up to the present 
 day. Half-hearted attempts have been made to arrest 
 it, but the following paragraph from Captain Campbell- 
 Walker's report is as true to-day as it was when written 
 in 1876 : — 
 
 " Having dismissed all idea of control over the forests 
 exercised by the Government or Waste Lands Boards, 
 there remains but little doubt that the sawmillers, hand- 
 sawyers, and splitters have made the most they could, 
 chiefly for their own advantage and doubtless also that 
 of the purchasers. They have usually cut out the best 
 timber and left the rest standing, paid little or no atten- 
 tion to the exclusion of fire from their own or neigh- 
 bouring blocks of forest — in short, conducted their 
 operations on the simplest and most remunerative plan 
 for themselves, but the most wasteful and detrimental 
 to the public estate." 
 
 While the whole 150 mills were busy at this work, the 
 Colonial Exchequer received only a paltry ^^2,600 a year 
 in revenue from the forests. Needless to say, the New 
 Zealand millers, from an accumulated experience of fifty 
 years, were already the most expert and scientific in the 
 world. Captain Campbell- Walker considered their plant 
 and appliances for removal and conversion of the timber 
 the best he had seen, but the methods of forestry, from 
 the conservation point of view, the worst. Southland 
 was unique amongst the provinces in the success with 
 which it was conserving its arboreal wealth. There fires 
 were almost eliminated, and the Provincial Exchequer 
 received larger timber revenues than any other. Else- 
 where caution was thrown to the winds. The millers 
 were allowed to do as they liked, and every year's output 
 of the mills entailed the destruction of two or three times 
 
54 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 as much timber. The Department of Forestry, estab- 
 hshed in 1876, was abolished in 1887. All the forests on 
 Crown lands had by this time been reserved, but the 
 bush on native land, for which millers were constantly 
 negotiating, was not protected against the old forms of 
 destruction. 
 
 While this was going on, of course, the export of timber 
 expanded. Every year 25 million feet went out of the 
 country, chiefly to Victoria and New South Wales, with 
 some quantity of the valuable kauri to Great Britain. 
 Meanwhile considerable quantities were being imported — 
 shingles and palings from Tasmania and New South 
 Wales, pine from Oregon (in the United States), and a 
 small quantity of deal from the Baltic. At this stage 
 experts assured New Zealand that there would never be 
 any reason to fear the competition of foreign mills, since 
 all the imported woods were for special purposes. 
 Cheaper labour and a better supplied labour market, it 
 was even then admitted, had something to do with the 
 success of the foreign timbers, and the better seasoning of 
 the wood was a very important lesson for the New 
 Zealand millers to learn. 
 
 So things have gone on. Certain areas have been 
 permanently set aside as State forests, and a day has 
 been proclaimed a public holiday each year to enable 
 the general public to engage in the planting of trees. 
 For the rest there has been a steady competition 
 amongst the millers to get their areas of forest cut 
 out as soon as possible so as to secure more. The 
 industry, which ought to be highly scientific and to 
 take cognisance of the necessity for conservation, has 
 run amuck. So long ago as the stagnation of 1881 
 it was chronically over-capitalised. The local market 
 was a small one even in a rising country. A large 
 export trade was essential to pay interest on the capital 
 employed. 
 
 An estimate of the timber resources of the Dominion 
 made about four years ago shows that they are still 
 enormous in extent. The reserve then visible on Crown 
 
V „ 4 
 
FORESTS AND PROFLIGACY 55 
 
 lands was about 20,465 million superficial feet, and there 
 was an amount almost equal to that on native and private 
 lands. Allowing for the area permanently reserved and 
 judging by the capacity of the mills then in existence, 
 it appeared as if there was a supply for seventy years. 
 The latest estimate of kauri is very disappointing. The 
 Crown lands appeared to hold about 448 million feet 
 and private and native lands 664 million, a total reserve 
 which would not keep the kauri mills going at full 
 capacity for more than eight years. There is some 
 assurance, however, in the fact that many of the mills 
 which formerly confined their operations to this timber 
 are now cutting other species. In the palmy days of 
 the kauri all other timbers were absolutely sacrificed 
 to the conversion of kauri, but the approaching end of 
 the timber, over which every naturalist since Hochstetter 
 has gone into raptures, has caused millers to pay some 
 more attention to the inferior varieties. The latest 
 estimate by a competent authority ' of the probable 
 duration of the New Zealand milling forests is fifty 
 years. The assumption is, of course, that the local 
 demand for building timber will be maintained through- 
 out that period. 
 
 In spite of the alleged stagnation in the trade and the 
 competition of imported timbers, the cutting capacity of 
 the mills has steadily increased, and unless something is 
 done by legislation, or new methods of building con- 
 struction quickly supersede those now in vogue, there 
 will be little forest standing at the end of the next three 
 decades except on the Crown lands. At the beginning 
 of the present year the extent of the forests was as 
 follows : — 
 
 Acres. Superficial Feet. 
 
 Crown lands 7,010,535 18,688,874,784 
 
 National parks 2,079,979 Ii439i799i940 
 
 Private and native lands ... 5,041,419 14,575,653,813 
 
 Total 14,131,933 34,704,328,537 
 
 ' Mr. W. C. Kensington, I.S.O., Under-Secretary for Lands. 
 
56 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 The incidence of this timber may be generally judged by 
 a return made in 1907, which was as follows : — 
 
 
 Crown Lands. 
 
 Private and Native. 
 
 Total 
 
 
 Sup. Feet. 
 
 Sup. Feet. 
 
 Sup. Feet 
 
 
 Millions. 
 
 MUlions. 
 
 Millions. 
 
 Auckland ... 
 
 1,520 
 
 5,053 
 
 6,573 
 
 Hawke's Bay 
 
 1,017 
 
 1,226 
 
 2,243 
 
 Taranaki ... 
 
 41 
 
 736 
 
 777 
 
 Wellington 
 
 4,705 
 
 6,057 
 
 10,762 
 
 Marlborough 
 
 109 
 
 78 
 
 187 
 
 Nelson 
 
 5,592 
 
 1,121 
 
 6,713 
 
 Westland ... 
 
 4,418 
 
 2,314 
 
 6,732 
 
 Canterbury... 
 
 34 
 
 SI 
 
 85 
 
 Otago 
 
 899 
 
 153 
 
 1,052 
 
 Southland ... 
 
 331 
 
 330 
 
 661 
 
 Total 
 
 18,666 
 
 17,110 
 
 35,78s 
 
 More than one-half of the kauri was on native land. 
 
 All the warnings that had been uttered by experts since 
 the early sixties might have fallen on deaf ears so far as 
 any real steps to grapple with the evil were concerned. 
 The State took up the attitude of preferring cure to pre- 
 vention. Parliament did not do anything to preserve 
 the vast forests on land belonging to natives, but it gave 
 steady moral encouragement to the planting of trees by 
 way of re-a£forestation. During the last decade the 
 Forestry Department has done admirable work in this 
 direction. In the treeless regions of Canterbury and the 
 bleak volcanic steppes of the North Island wide areas 
 have been taken in hand for planting. No money was, 
 in point of fact, voted for the work. It was paid for out 
 of the revenues of the State forests, which have yielded for 
 this purpose something like ^^170,000 up to date. Prison 
 labour has been employed, and altogether something like 
 fourteen thousand acres have been planted. Imported 
 deciduous trees have been used for certain classes of 
 land, but a determined effort has also been made to 
 reproduce, on ever so small a scale, the fast disappearing 
 areas of native bush. As for Arbor Day, the public has 
 been surrounded by bush for so many years that it is not 
 yet very enthusiastic on the subject of tree-planting, 
 
FORESTS AND PROFLIGACY 67 
 
 which has generally been left to small societies of 
 enthusiasts. 
 
 In view of the probable extinction of the kauri forest 
 within the next few years, the State Department has 
 made a useful provision for the future by setting aside 
 and protecting against the depredations of fire and stock 
 areas of recently cut-out and abandoned forest. Young 
 saplings spring up in abundance on the sites of old kauri 
 bush wherever natural enemies are removed. The State 
 has taken over some of these areas as nurseries, and by 
 clearing the dead undergrowth and keeping the undesired 
 varieties of shrubs in check, it is hoped in time to make 
 a sound start in the reproduction of the kauri forests 
 which have been of such immense value to the State. 
 
 What chance posterity has of seeing the native forests 
 of New Zealand reproduced from a start made anywhere 
 in the present generation may be judged from the late 
 Professor Kirk's computation of the ages of mature trees 
 of different species : — 
 
 Kauri... 
 
 Rimu... 
 
 Totara 
 
 Matai... 
 
 Kahikatea 
 
 Kavvaka 
 
 The oak, larch, spruce, eucalyptus, and Oregon pine 
 may all be depended upon to yield two or three crops of 
 mature timber in the time which the native trees take to 
 reach maturity. 
 
 The assurance of Captain Campbell-Walker, thirty 
 years ago, that foreign importations were not to be feared 
 in competition with New Zealand timbers has scarcely 
 been fulfilled. It can no longer be contended, at any 
 rate, that Oregon pine is imported into New Zealand for 
 purposes for which native timbers are not suited. A 
 combination of circumstances has placed the local 
 millers at the mercy of the imported article, and the 
 imports have been growing during the last year or two 
 
 pproximate Age. 
 
 Year 
 
 . 
 
 600 to 3,600 
 
 400 to 
 
 650 
 
 470 to 
 
 800 
 
 270 to 
 
 400 
 
 370 to 
 
 600 
 
 150 to 
 
 400 
 
58 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 with leaps and bounds. A section of New Zealand 
 millers frankly admitted five years ago that they had to 
 charge high margins for profit in order to earn interest 
 on their capital, and that if an understanding had not 
 been come to probably one-third of the mills would have 
 had to close down. On this knowledge the Government 
 of the day had to dismiss a protest against the importa- 
 tion, and it has since increased enormously. 
 
 The lumbermen of the Pacific slope are able to employ 
 labour that is prohibited in the Australasian States, the 
 labour of Asiatics, which can be procured at a mere 
 fraction of the scale fixed by the Arbitration Courts of 
 Australasia. For somewhat similar reasons they enjoy 
 sea freights from Puget Sound to New Zealand which 
 are lower than the land freights which many millers 
 pay on their timber within New Zealand. Even if the 
 industry were not inflated financially these facts would 
 place the New Zealand mills at a very serious disadvan- 
 tage despite the duty of 2s. per loo feet which is levied 
 upon Oregon pine. As it is, there is a conflict of opinion 
 as to whether the millers or the industrial system of 
 New Zealand is to blame, and a Royal Commission was 
 recently set up to endeavour to solve the problem.' 
 
 Quite the most picturesque sphere of the lumber industry 
 is in the far north of Auckland, where half a century ago 
 the coveted kauri established a full-bodied export trade. 
 As a means of transporting the logs from the heart of the 
 forest down to the mills, the wide, meandering rivers of 
 this area are an invaluable asset. Through their agency 
 
 ' The Royal Commission appointed to inquire into the timber industry 
 and complaints against the competition of Oregon pine, reporting in July, 
 igog, declared that the importation did not menace the industry, but it 
 recommended an increase in the duty on short lengths of Oregon timber. 
 With regard to the price at which New Zealand timber was being sold the 
 Commission did not consider it excessive. It was of opinion that the level 
 of prices was to some extent due to the rates of freight charged on timber 
 by the Government railways. The Commission did not investigate from 
 the financial standpoint the capitalisation of the industry, with a view to 
 ascertaining the truth or otherwise of the statements made in 1904, that 
 there were too many mills to work at a profit without an understanding as 
 to prices. 
 
FORESTS AND PROFLIGACY 59 
 
 there are few corners of the miiling areas which cannot be 
 tapped by short tram-lines. A recent flood, for example, 
 liberated and floated down to the mills kauri logs which 
 had been lying in a backwater for fifteen years. Some of 
 the rivers, too, are navigable for long distances from the 
 sea. The timber scows receive their cargoes at the mill 
 in the heart of the forest and carry them direct to the 
 oversea markets. Vessels of 1,500 tons, carrying a million 
 feet of timber, can lie alongside the river mills to load ; 
 scows of 500 tons can navigate the rivers for 100 miles ; 
 and smaller craft creep as far again up the winding 
 creeks. The Kaipara harbour, with its rivers and streams, 
 affords a water frontage of 2,000 miles, all of which is 
 utilised for the purposes of the industry. The shipping 
 cleared outwards from the Kaipara in a year exceeds 
 50,000 tons. Even the lumberers of Oregon are not 
 better placed in this respect. Elsewhere, though the 
 rivers are too shallow and swift for navigation, they are 
 used for floating the logs down to the mills. In some 
 cases this is right down at the sea-coast, where the logs 
 are cast up on the beach by the breakers. 
 
 Bush tramways are the arteries of the industry, running 
 off at all angles through the forest so as to tap the greatest 
 area at the least possible expense. Sometimes horses are 
 used for haulage, more often bullocks ; and steam is used 
 wherever the conditions will permit. 
 
 When the last detailed enumeration was made, in 1907, 
 there were 411 sawmills in New Zealand, with a horse- 
 power of 10,000, and employees numbering 7,139. The 
 total cutting capacity was 718 million feet per annum, 
 but the output was one-third short. Up to 1906 the 
 industry had expanded by 40 per cent, in five years, but 
 it was already, in 1907, feeling the first bad effects of 
 foreign competition. 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 WHERE THE MAORI LED— " PHORMIUM TENAX" 
 
 A native industry — Universal utility — Export of native produce — Primitive 
 methods — The last of Maori industry — " Booms " and " slumps " — 
 Regeneration of the flax fields — " Mushroom " companies — Mills and 
 methods — Strength of the fibre — The success of cultivation — Com- 
 petition of Manila — State grading — A precaution against abuse — 
 Prospects for the future — Export and price — Employment. 
 
 The one industry in which the Maori showed the way to 
 the pakeha was that in which he had an unique product 
 to work upon. The Maori did not understand the value 
 of timber as the white man did, but he was thoroughly 
 conversant with every use to which his own flax plant 
 could be put. The leaf was used for baskets, the root 
 gum for food. The flower stalk was a tinder-box for 
 long journeys, the honey of the flower a delicacy for 
 children. The fibre itself was of universal use. Cloth, 
 mats, and lashings were made of it and a hundred minor 
 ofiices filled. 
 
 All over New Zealand the Phormium tenax is found, 
 generally growing on the river banks and in swamps, and 
 invariably cultivated in the vicinity of the native pa. It 
 attains its maximum height in rich alluvial lands, where 
 the sword-like leaves rise to eight or ten feet, and the 
 korari, or flower stem, as high again. The qualities vary 
 according to the soil, but the best fibre is found in hill 
 flax. The plant grows to a height of nearly 6,000 feet 
 above sea-level. 
 
 In the savage days one or two of the dozens of varieties 
 were the most universal articles in the domestic economy 
 of the Maori. The naval officers who touched at New 
 
 ' 60 
 
WHERE THE MAORI LED 61 
 
 Zealand soon discovered that there was more than mere 
 beauty in the clusters of shining blades about the pa. 
 Every day they found a new utility in harakeke. Its 
 strength and tenacity were from 50 to 100 per cent, 
 greater than in European flax and hemp. In fact, the 
 single fibre ranked next to silk in this respect. The 
 Maori had neither cotton nor wool, but garments of 
 extraordinary fineness and evenness of texture were 
 woven by the women out of the fibre of harakeke, 
 laboriously prepared by hand with the help of a sharp 
 shell. 
 
 There were virtues in New Zealand flax which soon 
 made it almost as eagerly sought after for naval purposes 
 as the spars from the northern forests. Ropemakers in 
 New South Wales and the official guardians of the con- 
 victs there also looked with longing eyes upon the flax 
 beds of the barbarous little country, and made repeated 
 efforts to secure the services of Maori craftsmen to teach 
 European workers the art. The Maori themselves were 
 quite prepared to sell flax as soon as they found it had 
 an equivalent value in guns and ammunition, but even 
 this aspect would not induce them to go to the trouble to 
 produce it in anything like the quantities which were 
 required. Governors Phillip and King, of New South 
 Wales, both interested themselves in the matter, and the 
 latter had some remarkably fine samples of canvas made 
 from the fibre. Trials of rope made of it were also 
 carried out at the English dockyards, with results that 
 were generally declared to be satisfactory. 
 
 " Finding, after trying every process that came within 
 his knowledge for preparing and dressing the plant, that 
 unless some other means were devised it never would be 
 brought to the perfection necessary to make the canvas 
 produced from it an object of importance, either as an 
 article of clothing for the convicts or for maritime pur- 
 poses," Governor King arranged with a whaling captain 
 to try to secure some dressers from New Zealand. This 
 was in 1792. Twenty years later a report to the New 
 South Wales Government bewailed the fact "that the 
 
62 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOIiUTlON 
 
 mechanics of Europe had failed in their attempt to 
 manufacture hemp at any moderate labour and expense." 
 By the Maori method of scraping with a shell a woman 
 working hard could produce 9 lbs. of fibre in a day, 
 though the ordinary output was only 5 lbs. 
 
 So long as the natives were unsophisticated in the 
 matter of barter, small vessels could generally pick up 
 cargoes of hemp at a fairly low cost, but the quantity 
 was quite inadequate for the multitude of purposes for 
 which it was required. Expedition after expedition 
 landed in New Zealand to try to evolve on the spot some 
 improved method of treatment. Most of them com- 
 menced by boiling the leaf in water to disintegrate the 
 fibre, but this impaired the strength and was, in any case, 
 too costly a method. The officials of the Mother Colony 
 of New South Wales and of the Admiralty, who were 
 respectively anxious to get the fibre for canvas clothing 
 and for cordage, gave the best possible assistance, but 
 they were unable to develop any important channels of 
 supply independent of the natives. And by and by the 
 natives themselves declined absolutely to prepare flax for 
 export. 
 
 Experiments continued to demonstrate the high value 
 of the fibre. In 1830 the export of the commodity 
 from New Zealand was estimated at 1,062 tons, of which 
 probably more than half was produced by one or other 
 of the imperfect methods of the pakeha interlopers. 
 A London merchant, writing to his Sydney house in 
 1830, impressed upon them the necessity of urging 
 their friends to clean the fibre well. Much of the 
 hemp that reached England from New Zealand was 
 then so foul that the ropeworkers would not work it 
 up even at increased wages. Still the fibre had established 
 its reputation. In 1820 it had been scarcely possible to 
 secure ;^io or £1^ for it. Now it took precedence over 
 Russian and Hungarian at prices ranging from ^^30 
 to £a,o. 
 
 The profits of the business speedily worked its destruc- 
 tion. Tons of badly dressed and inferior fibre were 
 
WHERE THE MAORI LED 63 
 
 hurried on to the market. The price fell 50 per cent, in 
 one year. It was an absolute debacle. Once and for all 
 the Maori gave up flax-dressing for export. The pakeha 
 did not know how to dress it. And that was the end of 
 it. It was a good forty years before the export regained 
 the volume of 1830. 
 
 The Government made liberal offers for the invention 
 of machinery to separate the fibre on a profitable scale, 
 but nothing was accomplished for many years. Even- 
 tually plant was brought into existence which has served 
 the purpose more or less perfectly up to the present time, 
 and which, in spite of its imperfections, must be con- 
 sidered satisfactory as compared with the rude methods 
 by which the Manila fibre is separated. By the help of 
 this machinery the industry revived, and it reached a 
 high-water mark in the early seventies, when upwards of 
 160 mills participated in an output valued at ;£i4o,ooo a 
 year. By the very conditions of its existence the industry 
 was foredoomed to fluctuate between dazzling prosperity 
 and abject despondency. It was a sporadic industry at 
 best, highly sensitive to the conditions of the market. The 
 generality of fiaxmillers, like the sawmillers, were practi- 
 cally nomads. They pitched their improvised mill where 
 the leaf was abundant, stripped the ground clean, and then 
 moved to a new site if the price was still good, or closed 
 down altogether if it was bad. The amount of capital 
 permanently engaged in established mills was compara- 
 tively small. As soon as a slump came many mills 
 invariably closed down, and the slump came with the 
 most perfect regularity as a natural sequence to the boom. 
 
 It was utterly impossible to establish the industry on a 
 permanent basis without some stringent regulation. So 
 soon as the product had rehabilitated its reputation on 
 the market, mushroom millers, taking up poor areas and 
 hurrying the hemp on to the market, reduced it to bed- 
 rock again by the export of inferior and badly dressed 
 fibre. A suggestion was seriously made in 1879 that the 
 straw itself should be shipped to Europe to be treated 
 there, but this was immediately ruled out of the question. 
 
64 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 It would mean paying freight on a raw material of which 
 not more than one-fourth at the best could be turned 
 to account. 
 
 The slumps were not altogether a bad thing. They 
 gave the flax swamps their only possible chance of 
 recovering from the depredations of the boom. If the 
 industry had been paying throughout, the flax swamps 
 would probably have disappeared long ago or given place 
 to extensive flax cultivations. After the boom of 1873 
 there was a depression which lasted for fifteen years. 
 When prices recovered there was neither leaf to cut nor 
 mills to cut it, and the industry did not again attain its 
 high-water mark until 1890, when the export was again 
 worth almost ;^40o,ooo. 
 
 Here was one of the plainest cases for State "inter- 
 ference." The methods of the flaxmills were even more 
 reckless than those of the sawmills. As prices rose the 
 mushroom companies had to be content with poor 
 areas and to pay high royalties for them. Every blade 
 of the flax was cut down to the roots regardless of the 
 condition of maturity. Rubbish of all sorts was stowed 
 away in the bales; and when the boom burst the 
 reputation of New Zealand hemp had also disappeared, 
 and the flax areas were emaciated, if not ruined. Only 
 fifty-four mills survived out of more than three hundred, 
 only 600 hands out of 3,200. The output fell from 
 20,000 to less than 2,000 tons. 
 
 The flaxmill is a comparatively inexpensive establish- 
 ment. The plant, except in the case of permanently 
 established mills, does not cost much, and the mill itself 
 is a more or less temporary cover for the machinery. 
 If the swamp is a good one and the supply is likely 
 to be permanent, then of course everything is on a better 
 scale, and tramways are laid down to bring in the green 
 leaf from all parts of the field. In a well-regulated 
 swamp the mature blades are selected and cut off a 
 few inches from the ground. In a boom field everything 
 is cut regardless of length. The cutting of the leaves 
 close to the ground, especially in winter, has a most 
 
WHERE THE MAORI LED 65 
 
 injurious effect on the constitution of the plant, retarding 
 the growth for some years, if the plant is not altogether 
 destroyed. The leaf is taken to the mill on tramways or 
 on drays, and forthwith passes through the stripper, 
 whose wailing, moaning sound, heard a mile off, is the 
 invariable indication of the presence of a fiaxmill. The 
 duty of the stripper is to separate the fleshy substance 
 of the leaf from the fibre, an office that is performed 
 by hand in the Philippines. All inducements for the 
 production of a machine or process that will carry out 
 this work more effectively and at cheaper cost have been 
 unavailing. There are numerous methods of bleaching, 
 in some of which chemicals are used, but the customary 
 process is simply water-bleaching, which requires the 
 utmost care and vigilance. As it leaves the mill on 
 some remote swamp in New Zealand, hanked and baled, 
 the fibre is in condition for the London or American 
 markets. Flaxmilling, in common with gum-digging 
 and sawmilling, gives a great deal of employment to 
 the drifting class of "unskilled" labourers. In some 
 districts they work under an award of the Arbitration 
 Court. 
 
 New Zealand phormium is in reality a secondary fibre. 
 That is to say, it is used when Manila and sisal are 
 scarce and dear. When they are plentiful and cheap 
 there is no room for the New Zealand article. Its chief 
 use is for the manufacture of binder twine, and with 
 Manila for cordage, but its inferior strength prohibits 
 its sole use for the latter purpose. A test of the strength 
 of fibres gives the following results : — 
 
 
 Average per Yarn, 
 
 Manila 
 
 245 
 
 Italian 
 
 ... 221 
 
 New Zealand 
 
 143 
 
 Sisal 
 
 128 
 
 European hemp . 
 
 122 
 
 Where the fibre is drawn from special localities it 
 shows considerably greater strength. With special care 
 
 6 
 
66 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 in the selection and milling of the leaf it can be prepared 
 for much higher purposes and be made to produce much 
 higher values. A miller thrice won the prize for the 
 preparation of hemp by picking out blades of a special 
 length and quality and paying special care to the 
 working. A bale of this realised £']e^ a ton, while the 
 ruling price for good hemp was only one-third of that 
 amount. He declined, however, to give a quotation 
 for 50 or 100 tons of the same quality on the ground 
 that he could not attempt to mill it to such a fine 
 standard. It is an open secret that New Zealand fibre 
 of the best quality — for which, by the way, it is generally 
 supposed there is no market — is actually used in the 
 manufacture of textile cloths. 
 
 The general impression used to be that flax would 
 not grow to perfection except on the banks of streams 
 or in swamps. This was perhaps a natural inference 
 from the fact that it was generally found in those 
 positions, but the draining of one or two large swamps 
 thoroughly dispelled the idea. No sooner had the water 
 been drawn off than the leaf, which had been short 
 and sickly, commenced to show signs of renewed health. 
 It grew as much in one year after draining as in three 
 years before. Experiments in planting gave the same 
 results. It was found that poor country unfitted for 
 anything else will grow flax fit for cutting every three 
 years; that cultivation invariably increases both the 
 yield and the quality ; and that hill flax will yield 
 from 10 to 15 per cent, more fibre than the swamp 
 leaf. Moreover, to procure an even quality and an 
 increased quantity the plant should be cut over each 
 year, from one-third to one-fourth of the leaves being 
 taken at a cutting. 
 
 All these facts have dawned gradually upon the 
 flaxmillers. The Maori understood to a nicety the high 
 economic value of the flax, but the pakeha persisted for 
 years in regarding it as a weed, a thing to be exterminated 
 because it was plentiful. Of the dozens of varieties 
 which are to be found in most of the flax fields, the millers 
 
WHERE THE MAORI LED 67 
 
 generally are ignorant, though it is an accepted fact that 
 if the crops were restricted to the stronger and more 
 useful varieties, the value of the fibre would be greatly 
 improved. The whites are unwittingly reducing the 
 standard of their fibre by dressing many of the varieties 
 of flax which the Maori would never consider strong 
 enough for use. Planting has already been carried out 
 from end to end of the country with the best results. 
 
 At present the hemp industry may be said to be at 
 a crisis. The American occupation of the Philippines 
 has so entirely revolutionised industry there, that the 
 quality of Manila has vastly improved and the supply 
 become assured, except in the event of a hurricane or 
 storm destroying the crop. Native labour is cheap and 
 unaffected by the rulings of industrial courts. Land is 
 cheap. There are no royalties. The cost of production 
 has been reduced to a fine point. In New Zealand, 
 on the other hand, all land has a considerable market 
 value, and royalties have become unreasonably inflated 
 by a period of prosperity. From these causes alone 
 the millers are probably making less profit to-day when 
 they receive ^£25 a ton for their fibre, than they, made 
 years ago out of ;^i6 a ton. Labour, too, is expensive. 
 Flaxmilling is one of the quasi-primary industries which 
 have come within the cognisance of the Arbitration 
 Court, and in some of the hemp-producing districts no 
 wage less than 9s. a day is paid. This is, of course, 
 almost a fatal handicap in competition with the product 
 of native labour. 
 
 In spite of these disadvantages the New Zealand hemp 
 industry has, since the beginning of the century, attained 
 unprecedented proportions. The output in 1907 was the 
 highest on record, more than double that of the boom 
 year, 1890. The average price for the year, £2() los. per 
 ton, also constituted a record since the early days of the 
 native-produced fibre. Moreover, while not interfering 
 with the investment of capital. State control has produced 
 conditions eminently favourable to the survival of the 
 industry. After strong opposition, the Government 
 
68 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 carried a Bill making it compulsory that all hemp entered 
 for export should be graded and marked by a State 
 official in the same way that butter is treated. The effect 
 of this measure has fully justified the violence it did to 
 the sacred principle of freedom in private enterprise. 
 It removed once and for all the old evil caused by 
 the export of poor fibre, badly dressed, to a market 
 which was eager for the best. It was, in effect, the 
 complement of a system which now provides that 
 practically every hundredweight of New Zealand's staple 
 products must receive the approval of the State before 
 leaving for the markets of the world. There were 
 protests against the detail of the system and the lengths 
 to which it is earned, but the principle is now fully 
 approved by the country. 
 
 It was the salvation of the industry. In face of the 
 keener competition now instituted in the Philippines, the 
 New Zealand fibre could not hope to live for any length 
 of time if the abuses of twenty years ago were possible 
 of recurrence. There is now the system of reporting 
 defects back from the grading stores to the mills, so that 
 no factory is working in the dark and none may be 
 excused for perpetuating errors. Merchants in London 
 and America are now able to purchase with confidence 
 that the fibre will be good, well prepared, and within 
 a few points of their requirements. They can feel 
 assured, too, that raupo and the other rubbish of the 
 uncultivated flax swamp is not imbedded in the heart 
 of the bale. With this great evil removed, the industry 
 will be much less liable to the fluctuations of the past. 
 It has passed through endless vicissitudes, a monotonous 
 alternation of booms and slumps, each boom greater 
 than the previous, and each slump more precariously 
 dangerous than its predecessor. 
 
 Upon the removal of these abuses and economies in 
 working the future of the industry must depend. The 
 old quest for machinery which will enable the flax to 
 be dressed better and more cheaply is as keen as ever. 
 The fact is established that cultivated flax will yield a 
 
''^, ^^1^ 'Tti 
 
 
WHERE THE MAORI LED 
 
 69 
 
 better and more luxurious crop than the wild plant. 
 The fibre is, however, a fine one, and capable of much 
 higher treatment and more remunerative sale if the 
 necessary processes can be devised. The time has 
 arrived for specialising and economies, and to this end 
 both the State and private investigators are giving their 
 best efforts. 
 
 The following table, covering periods of ten years, 
 indicates the steady growth of the hemp industry as it 
 surmounted the disabilities of its infancy : — 
 
 Export. 
 
 Decennial Periods. 
 1858-67 
 1868-77 
 1878-87 
 1888-97 
 1898-1907 
 1907 (single year) 
 
 Tons. 
 
 411 
 
 27,347 
 12,600 
 
 95,693 
 
 195,941 
 
 28,547 
 
 Value. 
 
 £10,401 
 
 606,318 
 
 219,965 
 
 1,684,626 
 
 4,931,514 
 832,068 
 
 The fluctuation of prices in the past quarter of a 
 century is shown below : — 
 
 1881 
 
 1888 
 
 1889 
 
 1892 
 
 1897-8 
 
 1900 
 
 1904 
 
 1907 
 
 1909 
 
 Average Price 
 per Ton. 
 
 20 o 
 18 10 
 
 21 o 
 17 o 
 II o 
 20 O 
 26 10 
 29 10 
 
 22 O 
 
 d. 
 O 
 O 
 O 
 O 
 O 
 O 
 O 
 O 
 O 
 
 As regards employment, the industry has expanded 
 by only 33 per cent, since 1885, but in that period was 
 the worst slump on record. In 1906 the machinery 
 and plant of 240 mills was represented as being worth 
 ^120,000. The raw material was valued at ^£200,000 
 and the finished product at ;£557,8oo. The rope and 
 twine works in New Zealand, which manufactured in 
 the last year of enumeration 618 tons of rope and twine, 
 use phormium and Manila in the proportion of about 
 five to one. 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE WOOL KINGS 
 
 Raw material for England — Wool from Australia — A staple product — 
 The squatters — Sheep in New Zealand — The first large runs — 
 Wairarapa and Marlborough — Selection of breeds — Increase of 
 flocks — The revolution of refrigeration — Readjustment of the flocks 
 —The merino basis — Breeding for mutton — " The Corriedale " — 
 Natural increase of flocks — Shearing on a large station — A time of 
 anxiety — Improvement in the clips — Where the wool goes to — -Local 
 manufactures — The arrival of the rabbit — A crisis — Eradication of 
 the pest. 
 
 The population of Europe was expanding with leaps 
 and bounds throughout the period during which most 
 of the Anglo-Saxon colonies were founded. The great 
 drain of the Napoleonic wars had ceased. In the long 
 ensuing period of general peace the requirements of 
 Europe doubled and trebled over and over again. By the 
 emigration of large bodies of men to countries beyond 
 the seas their purchasing power was infinitely increased. 
 The whole civilisation of the Middle Ages and later did 
 not show another such period of expansion. 
 
 Coincident was the great industrial revolution which 
 had its origin and strength in England. It converted 
 the United Kingdom forthwith into the greatest manu- 
 facturing community in the world, and presently made it 
 dependent on foreign countries for the raw material for 
 its manufactures. Gradually the population of England 
 gravitated to the towns. Much faster the manufactures 
 of the towns, which were supplying a great proportion 
 of the requirements of the world, became rapacious for 
 raw materials from beyond the seas. On the flood-tide 
 
 70 
 
THE WOOL KINGS 71 
 
 of this demand, but in no way due to it, most of the 
 British colonies were launched. The mere hope of 
 living a freer and more independent life prompted most 
 of the emigrants to go abroad, but behind it there was 
 the comforting knowledge that the new countries were 
 prime producers of exactly the products for which the 
 English manufacturer was most rapacious. The colonies 
 were the greatest beneficiaries of the economic needs 
 of England in that period. But their capabilities 
 differed widely. All could produce perishable food- 
 stuffs, but only the nearest could hope to land them 
 on the market. Most of them could produce timber, 
 but for general purposes the resources of the Baltic and 
 Canada, which were immeasurably nearer to the market, 
 took preference. Most of them could produce wheat, 
 but here again the nearer competitors had the advantage, 
 and the more distant figured merely as supplementary 
 suppliers. 
 
 Apart from gold, the single commodity for which there 
 was a constant market was wool. For it the demand 
 was insatiable and constantly increasing. It was prac- 
 tically the only demand that the colonies in their early 
 days could set out in a whole-hearted manner to supply. 
 Almost all breeds thrived, except where the desiccated 
 bush of Australia or the cold altitudes of New Zealand 
 necessitated careful selection, and for many years, before 
 local manufactures were thought of, practically every 
 pound of colonial wool went to London. In this trade 
 the Australian wool clippers vied in fame with the old 
 tea clippers of the China trade. But speedy transport 
 was not exactly a vital consideration. It meant that 
 the early clips skimmed the cream of the prices, but 
 there was rarely any danger of a late cargo finding the 
 market satisfied. Wool became the staple and the 
 mainstay of every colony. In its name what licence 
 was granted, what economic crimes were committed ! 
 What injuries were inflicted upon the posterity of the 
 colonies and upon the hoi polloi of the British race, to 
 whom in equity the resources of the British colonies 
 
72 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 belonged ! In the absence of any nationalism indi- 
 genous to the soil, and in the dominance which was 
 secured to the capitalist classes first by the bureaucratic 
 government and later by the high electoral qualification, 
 the colonies were administered in subservience to the 
 belief that they must always be dependent on wool for 
 their prosperity. So far as Australasia is concerned, 
 nothing occurred until the second half of the nineteenth 
 century to shake this belief. The lands of the colonies 
 were administered accordingly. 
 
 Petitioning the Imperial Parliament in 1837 for the 
 redress of certain fundamental evils in the colonisation 
 of Australia, the inhabitants of New South Wales 
 boasted that the prosperous condition of their country 
 was due primarily to wool. They wrote : — 
 
 "The present unexampled prosperity of the colony 
 is chiefly to be traced to the production of fine wool, 
 which is the staple export. From this source has 
 proceeded its connection with the most ancient branch 
 of British manufactures. It is the chief means of 
 deriving from the natural pastures an immediate valuable 
 return, which to-day is laid out upon the purchase of 
 Crown lands." 
 
 By this method extensive areas of pastoral land in all 
 the colonies were rapidly assumed by the capitalists who 
 arrived early. They " squatted " on the wide unpeopled 
 plains and laid claim to an unfenced area for miles 
 around. To a certain point the presence of these 
 moneyed squatters was a great assistance to the smaller 
 settlers of the labouring class. The great bulk of the 
 money circulating in the colonies was either their 
 original capital or the proceeds of the yearly wool clip. 
 But the evils of the system more than counterbalanced 
 the good at the point at which the smaller settlers, now 
 independent of help, wished to take up small areas of 
 land. By 1850 the more advanced of the colonies 
 were given over wholly and entirely to sheep-raising. 
 From Australia the fever spread to New Zealand. 
 The equable climate was a great attraction to men who 
 
THE WOOL KINGS 73 
 
 periodically had their flocks decimated by Australian 
 droughts. 
 
 On his second voyage to the Pacific Captain Cook 
 landed a ram and a ewe at Queen Charlotte Sound 
 (1773), but they died forthwith from browsing on a 
 poisonous native shrub, and it was not until the begin- 
 ing of the next century that sheep were actually 
 acclimatised in New Zealand. The export of wool from 
 the Mother Colony of New South Wales had grown to 
 almost four milHon pounds before New Zealand was 
 seriously thought of as a sheep-raising country. About 
 1835 adventurers from New South Wales, foreseeing 
 the possibilities of the industry, swarmed across the 
 Tasman Sea in their brigs and made such good progress 
 in a species of squatting to which they gave the 
 semblances of "purchases," that before the Queen's 
 authority arrived, in 1840, they claimed to have pur- 
 chased four-fifths of New Zealand from the native 
 owners I Several for a few pounds' worth of "kind" 
 acquired as much land as they could see from certain 
 points of vantage. One astute gentleman had a docu- 
 mentary claim to an area which was bounded on two 
 sides by rivers, on the third by the sea, and on the 
 fourth by a line drawn as far back as he might 
 think fit ! 
 
 At first the new holdings were stocked with cattle, 
 which ranged at will. For some years there were very 
 few sheep in the colony : they were kept about the 
 whares almost as personal pets. 
 
 The first sheep came across from Australia to 
 Wellington in 1840, but the first sheep "run," as the 
 large holdings were called, was started in the Wairarapa 
 in 1844 by Mr. (afterwards Sir Charles) Clifford. The 
 sheep were imported from Sydney, and after various 
 attempts to find a track across the Rimutaka Mountains, 
 were driven round the coast to the plains. Two years 
 later, in conjunction with Sir Frederick Weld (afterwards 
 Governor of Western Australia and Tasmania), Mr. 
 Clifford landed some sheep in Marlborough and drove 
 
74 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 them southward to stock the first large sheep station 
 in the South Island. ^ 
 
 The small, hardy merino sheep, originally obtained 
 from Spain, was the basis of the flocks of Australia. 
 At first the breed was considerably debased by crosses 
 with native sheep from South Africa and India, and 
 the clips, judged by present-day standards, were 
 shockingly poor. But in the forty years that elapsed 
 before New Zealand commenced to draw stocks from 
 Australia, the strains had been greatly purified and 
 improved by the importation of fresh and pure stock 
 direct from Spain, which at this time was one of 
 the largest suppliers of raw wool to the English 
 manufactories. Sir Charles Clifford's importations were 
 immeasurably superior to the miserable animals upon 
 which in 1803 Captain Macarthur based his predictions 
 for the future greatness of Australia. In so far as they 
 were affected by climatic conditions and pastures the 
 sheep were an instantaneous success in New Zealand. 
 By 1850 the Flaxbourne station was carrying upwards 
 of 70,000 sheep. 
 
 But it was very soon discovered that in New Zealand 
 the merino could be much better used for crossing 
 purposes than as a pure breed. Run-holders, working 
 independently of each other, began importing haphazard 
 practically every breed of sheep that England possessed. 
 Many of them were ruled out of consideration, on the 
 experience of a few seasons, but New Zealand offered 
 so many combinations of soil and climate that there 
 was scarcely a single breed that would not thrive 
 somewhere. The hardy little merino itself was in its 
 element on the rougher country, from the snowline 
 down to the edge of the plains. Elsewhere it appeared 
 in crosses. The heavy Lincoln and the Romney Marsh 
 
 ' Flaxbourne was acquired originally under lease from the Maori 
 chief Te Rauparaha. It was worked by the Clifford family until 1904, 
 when it was resumed by the Government for closer settlement. 
 Mr. Clifford, who was first Speaker of the House of Representatives, 
 was knighted as Sir Charles Clifford of Flaxbourne. 
 
THE WOOL KINGS 75 
 
 were found highly suitable for the deep, moist flats, 
 and practically every other breed found a home in 
 the lighter, drier, or poorer land, with such good results 
 that the length of staple and weight of fleece were 
 universally increased. The disadvantage of being so 
 isolated from the great sheep-breeding countries was 
 counterbalanced by the remarkably high percentage of 
 natural increase. The climate of New Zealand, corre- 
 sponding roughly with that of Spain and Morocco, is 
 nevertheless so equable that it is never necessary to 
 house sheep all through the year, and the mortality of 
 the lambing season, in midwinter, is generally light. 
 An increase of more than loo per cent, is not 
 infrequent. That has been attained by a North 
 Island flock of 12,000 Lincoln ewes depasturing on 
 land merely surface sown with English grass. A South 
 Island merino flock of 15,000 on native pasture in the 
 mountains registered 75'36 and 89 per cent. In good 
 pasture where the country is more improved the 
 results are generally better. 
 
 Within fifteen years of the first considerable impor- 
 tation of sheep the flocks of New Zealand exceeded a 
 million and a half, and the export of wool amounted to 
 2| million lb. weight, and to almost half the total value 
 of the exports. In spite of the low value of mutton 
 during the greater part of the time, the flocks had in- 
 creased to thirteen millions before the advent of refri- 
 geration gave the industry its final fillip. The following 
 figures belong to the days before refrigeration : — 
 
 Flocks. Export of Wool. 
 
 No, Lb. 
 
 I8S8 1,523,324 3,810,372 
 
 1867 8,418,579 27,152,966 
 
 188I 12,985,085 59,415,940 
 
 At the enumeration of 1881 New Zealand had 6,300 
 flock-owners, of whom 576 possessed upwards of 5,000 
 sheep and 4,700 less than 500. In that year the flocks 
 furnished two million lb. of wool to the local mills, 
 supplied the mutton for home consumption, and con- 
 
76 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 tributed 3J million pounds to the total value of the 
 exports for the year. 
 
 When, as explained in another chapter, refrigeration 
 came to revolutionise the whole pastoral industry of 
 Australasia, New Zealand was in possession of a very 
 fine class of sheep, comprising some millions of pure- 
 breds, both merino and longwool, and a majority crossed 
 to serve the prime purpose of all sheep-raising at that 
 time, viz., the production of fine wools. Now an entirely 
 new element was introduced. Meat steadily became a 
 more important consideration in sheep-raising, until 
 to-day it stands second in the desiderata of the breeder. 
 Even yet the revenue from meat does not compare with 
 that from wool, but it is a more important matter to 
 certain sections of the farming community. It yields a 
 more universal revenue to the small farmer, and the 
 income is spread over a longer period of the year than 
 is the case with wool. 
 
 The new development caused an immediate and com- 
 plete upheaval in the methods of breeding which had 
 been evolved in the previous forty years. It now became 
 necessary, while keeping as close as possible to the 
 wool standards, to produce a sheep which furnished 
 good mutton without too much bone, and early lambs. 
 The natural desire of the farmer to produce weight 
 irrespective of quality received an early check at the 
 hands of the English consumer, who objected to coarse, 
 over-fat carcases. The result of the new dual-purpose 
 breeding has been to eliminate gradually many of the 
 county breeds which were considered good enough when 
 wool was the only thing required. In the quarter of a 
 century which has elapsed since meat-freezing became 
 possible certain general principles have been reached, 
 and these form the basis upon which the necessities 
 of local conditions — climate and soil — are grafted. 
 
 The merino, upon which the New Zealand flocks have 
 been built up, has always been a profitable wool-grower 
 on the poorer back-country runs, and even to-day it 
 reigns supreme there, on the uncultivated pastures. On 
 
THE WOOL KINGS 77 
 
 such stations wool furnishes, say, two-thirds of the 
 revenue, the other third being the income from store 
 sheep sold out for finishing off on the lowlands. On 
 the intermediate estates, where there is some fattening 
 and where wool provides only one-half of the revenue, 
 different crosses are used. Finally, there are the highly 
 improved farms, where rape and turnips are grown, and 
 where two-thirds of the income is derived directly from 
 the sale of fat sheep and lambs for freezing. Experience 
 in the more successful mutton-raising districts, Canter- 
 bury, for example, has practically decided upon the 
 Leicester— both English and Border — as the best cross 
 for wool and mutton combined. It gives a smallish, 
 meaty carcase, short and plump in appearance, and not 
 nearly so liable as some other crosses to run to excessive 
 weight. It matures early and gives a good return at an 
 early age, as well as producing a good fleece of long- 
 staple wool. On the whole, the Leicesters, as used in 
 New Zealand, have proved the finest cross for the dual 
 purpose of to-day. To them is largely due the reputa- 
 tion of that " Canterbury " mutton and lamb which 
 figures as the prime imported meat on the English 
 market, and which is often erroneously supposed by the 
 English consumer to emanate from the neighbourhood 
 of the English cathedral city. Three-quarter bred 
 English Leicesters at four or five months old will weigh 
 about 36 lb., and cut a fleece of 3 lb., one-fourth more 
 valuable than a Down fleece. 
 
 For years past Australian breeders have been making 
 important purchases of stud Leicesters from Canterbury 
 with which to build up their flocks and contest the supre- 
 macy of the market. On the drier pastures of Otago the 
 Border Leicester has been favoured, but the heavier and 
 coarser Romney Marsh has been preferred for the rank, 
 coarse-grassed pastures of the North Island and the cold, 
 wet downs of Southland. Elsewhere in the North the 
 Lincoln abounds. There are, of course, breeders who 
 favour Shropshires, Southdowns, and Cotswolds. The 
 growing competition of Australia has led to a gradual 
 
78 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 predilection for the Southdown, and Shropshire, which 
 are, par excellence, the breeds for producing early maturing 
 lambs. 
 
 The gradual improvement of the North Island pastures 
 has tended to the elimination of the coarser breeds where 
 the climate will permit, and at the present moment North 
 Island farmers are for the first time using Southdowns 
 with a view to producing early lambs to enter into direct 
 competition with Canterbury. 
 
 Southern breeders, anxious to secure fixity of type in 
 a good dual-purpose cross, have come to a very general 
 agreement on a fourth cross of half-bred Lincoln-merino 
 with Lincoln rams. This inbred crossbred, known locally 
 as the " Corriedale," is in very general favour in Otago, 
 but whether fixity of type can be maintained must be 
 proved by experience. 
 
 At the present moment about nine-tenths of the flocks 
 of New Zealand are cross-bred. The analysis for 1907 
 was as follows ; — 
 
 Flock sheep — 
 
 Cross-breds and longwools 
 Merino 
 
 Stud sheep — 
 Merino 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 Romney 
 
 Border Leicester ... 
 English Leicester 
 
 Shropshire 
 
 Southdown 
 
 Others 
 
 Total 
 
 Number. 
 
 18,189,112 
 
 2,158,976 
 
 60,719 
 111,506 
 174,667 
 
 85,598 
 100,011 
 
 40,044 
 
 19,509 
 43,630 
 
 20,983,772 
 
 The first doubts as to whether New Zealand would 
 ever be able to find from year to year a million surplus 
 sheep for freezing have long since been set at rest. The 
 lambing averages from 45 to 80 per cent, on the native 
 pastures and hill country, and upwards of 100 per cent, 
 on the better lands, and New Zealand is steadily increas- 
 ing her flocks in spite of an export which now amounts 
 
THE WOOL KINGS 79 
 
 to five million carcases per annum and a steadily grow- 
 ing home consumption. The flock figures ' show a 
 steady aggregate increase, and the following table indi- 
 cates the growth in the number of breeding ewes during 
 the last ten years : — 
 
 Number, 
 1898 8,445,012 
 
 1900 9,257,054 
 
 1902 9,610,149 
 
 1904 9,222,448 
 
 1906 10,479,187 
 
 1907 10,736,846 
 
 The yearly reduction of the flocks by export and home 
 consumption has increased from 4,858,975 in 1900 to 
 
 7-039,314 in 1907- 
 
 Shearing time on any of the great New Zealand 
 
 stations is one of breathless anxiety. It may be that 
 the sheep have come through a severe winter. They 
 may have been rescued twice over from marooning by 
 flood ; they may have been saved by a few minutes from 
 injury by a rapidly moving grass fire, or the ewes may 
 have been put into sheltered pasture just in time to save 
 the lambs from the relentless southerly wind. But 
 shearing time, in all its brightness and warmth, is one 
 of the most anxious seasons of the year. At the earliest 
 sign of dawn the run-holder is scanning the sky for 
 warnings of a shower that might possibly check the 
 work. The sheds are full of sheep crammed in over- 
 night to be ready with dry fleeces when the gas engine 
 commences to explode impatiently at five o'clock. 
 Shearers from all the back-blocks in the Dominion 
 and Australia, and Maori from the villages they have 
 kept close to all the winter, are ready on their boards, 
 with the machines all cleaned and oiled, awaiting the 
 signal bell. 
 
 Exactly at five o'clock it rings. Each man makes a 
 rush into his pen, drags out a 70-lb. hogget, and upsets 
 it on the shearing board. The strings are pulled : the 
 ' See table, p. 138. 
 
80 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 machines begin to buzz, and in a second from end to 
 end of the shed they are purring through the fleece. 
 When the Wolseley machines drove out the old-fashioned 
 blades a good deal of romance deserted the shearing- 
 shed. There is more of the noise of a factory now. The 
 swift-running pulley, with its five or six hundred revolu- 
 tions to the minute, and the natty oil engine look rather 
 out of place in these distinctly rural surroundings, many 
 miles from a railway or even a public road. But the 
 sheep, the squatter, and the shearer all benefit. There is 
 less cutting, there is more wool, and there is less hard 
 work. 
 
 They are a strange lot of men who work in the 
 sheds. Arriving here, it may be, after the big stations of 
 Queensland and New South Wales are " cut out," they 
 move from shed to shed as the clip proceeds. Some of 
 these nomads are the most reliable men at the work. 
 Their sheep are turned out smooth, shining, and whole. 
 They regard a cut in a sheep's side as a personal insult to 
 themselves. Plodding along quietly and rapidly, they are 
 able, at a pound a hundred, to make 25s. a day. Half- 
 way down the shed is a frequent figure in the up-country 
 shearing-sheds — a foreign sailor, tempted by the cheques 
 that the shearers are earning to forsake the tortuous ways 
 of the sea. His average is low, and his sheep are badly 
 shorn. They rear and kick in his arms because he 
 cannot hold them, but when the eye of authority is 
 elsewhere he will drive his left-handed machine still 
 harder and try to catch up his mates. 
 
 It is early morning, and the men are going their 
 fastest because the shed is nearly empty and each wants to 
 cut out a good figure. The combs are shedding the fleece 
 in long, bright swaths, more evenly than the old-time 
 blades. " Fleece-oh 1 " comes from the far end of the 
 shed. A tonsured sheep skips out of the door into the 
 pen, the picker snaps up the fleece and runs along to the 
 classing-table. With one cast it is spread out on the 
 battens. Legs and bellies are picked off, and in a 
 twinkling the fleece is rolled and thrown into the press. 
 
THE WOOL KINGS 81 
 
 Meanwhile the shearer has scraped his comb and oiled 
 his machine and the wool is falling in folds off the sides 
 of the new-comer. " Fleece-oh I " echoes continuously 
 from one part of the shed or another, and the pickers are 
 kept busy gathering the fleeces off the boards and 
 sweeping up. The pressing is the work of other men. 
 It is an art in itself to get twenty bales a day tightly 
 pressed, sewn, and stored away in the woolshed. 
 
 Suddenly an access of energy is apparent. The sheep 
 are nearly finished and there is keen anxiety to get a 
 good share of the last. " Sheep-oh ! " cries a man whose 
 pen and board are empty. One or two are driven along, 
 and so the number dwindles. At last they are all on the 
 boards and the enthusiasm dies a natural death. Com- 
 petition is paralysed because there will be a spell before 
 any more sheep come in. So the learners troop in and 
 practise their amateur hands on the unfortunate last. 
 Then the engine stops and there is rest. Machines are 
 affectionately overhauled and oiled, tallies are made up, 
 the shorn sheep are branded and passed out of the yard 
 to make room for others. They skip through the gate, 
 jump in the air in their unwonted nudity, and scatter 
 over the paddock. By this time the warmth of the sun 
 has brought the yolk up in the fleeces, and the sheep can 
 be packed into the yards and shorn as quickly as the 
 machines can go. All day the busy, bleating scene about 
 the sheds continues. At last it is time to stop. The 
 engine has ceased to perspire. Again the shed is 
 crammed with sheep for the morning. The doors are 
 closed. The shearers have gone to the whare for tea, 
 and the squatter and his people have ridden off, a tired 
 and satisfied party, for the homestead. In the evening 
 the talk will be of weather, machines, and London 
 prospects, and before the lights go out there will be a last 
 anxious glance at the cloud-banks that are so pregnant 
 of anxiety for squatter and farmer alike. 
 
 One of the most healthy features of intense sheep- 
 raising in New Zealand is the manner in which the wool 
 clip has been improved. The weight of fleece has 
 
 7 
 
82 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 gradually increased, while the value of the sheep for 
 meat purposes has also been enhanced. Individual 
 sheep have been clipped up to 25 lb, but the following 
 figures are fair averages for the whole Dominion : ^ 
 
 Merino 
 
 .. 4 lb to 7 lb 
 
 Quarter-bred 
 
 .. 6J lb. 
 
 Half-bred 
 
 - 7i lb. 
 
 Three-quarter bred 
 
 .. 8J lb. 
 
 Leicester 
 
 .. lojlb. 
 
 Lincoln 
 
 .. II lb. 
 
 The growth of the wool export from the earliest days is 
 fairly represented in the following abstract : — 
 
 
 Weight. 
 
 Value. 
 
 
 Lb. 
 
 £ 
 
 i8S7 - 
 
 2,648,716 
 
 176,579 
 
 1867 ... 
 
 27,152,966 
 
 1,580,608 
 
 1877 ... 
 
 64,481,324 
 
 3,658,938 
 
 1887 ... 
 
 88,824,382 
 
 3,321,074 
 
 1897 ... 
 
 135,835,117 
 
 4,443,144 
 
 1907 ... 
 
 154,384,568 
 
 7,657,278 
 
 Though Wellington has now actually a greater number 
 of sheep than Canterbury, the latter province is naturally 
 so richly endowed that it will probably for many years 
 set the standard of quality for New Zealand meat. In 
 1886 the South Island possessed about twice as many 
 sheep as the North, but the rapid development of the 
 North effected an equilibrium in 1906, and now the 
 flocks of the North are slightly the more numerous. 
 The more intense occupation of the land has gradually 
 eliminated the larger holdings and proportionately 
 increased the number of flocks. In 1881, before freezing 
 had become known or land taxation operated, there were 
 139 flocks of upwards of 20,000 sheep, and the average 
 for the whole 6,857 ^'^ t^e colony was 1,887. ^'^ i9°7> 
 owing to various causes, the large flocks had been reduced 
 to 87, and the average size of the whole 19,977 flocks in 
 the colony was only 1,050 sheep. 
 
 ' Authority, M. Mnrphy, F.L.S. 
 
THE WOOL KINGS 83 
 
 Until quite recently London was the destination of 
 practically all the wool exported from New Zealand. In 
 spite of strong efforts to open up new subsidiary markets 
 as a stand-by in poor seasons, it has been found 
 practically impossible to remove the centre of the trade 
 from London. Thirty years ago samples of New Zealand 
 wool were sent to China, and there manufactured into 
 cloth of excellent quality, but nothing resulted. During 
 the last few years, again, the altered requirements of the 
 Japanese renewed the promise of a market in the East. 
 But again the whole of the Japanese purchases, 
 amounting to about five thousand bales in a normal year, 
 are now drawn from the nearer field of Australia. It is 
 improbable that for many years to come Japan or China 
 will be large purchasers of wool, but the ultimate prospect 
 is well worth working for. 
 
 But not all the wool produced in New Zealand is 
 exported. The double freight on woollens imported 
 from England was from the first an incentive to the 
 establishment of local mills in the colonies. In 1882 
 New Zealand had three, and they were consuming two 
 million pounds of wool yearly in the production of yarns, 
 blankets, rugs, &c. To the freight disability of the 
 imported goods has now been added the extra impost 
 of a heavy Customs duty — in no case less than 20 per 
 cent. — and under these favourable circumstances the 
 local industry has expanded, until now there are ten 
 mills, employing 1,600 hands and disbursing about 
 ;£i 20,000 yearly in wages. The plant is in all cases 
 quite modern, and the blankets, rugs, tweeds, and hosiery 
 more than hold their own in competition with the best 
 of the imports. In 1903 the consumption of wool locally 
 amounted to five million pounds, but since then the 
 competition of imported " shoddy " has caused a slight 
 contraction. Though local manufactures are very 
 popular in the Dominion, the exports of woollen piece 
 goods are for geographical reasons practically nil. The 
 industry prospers because of the quality of its product, 
 the prices realised, and the varied elements of protection 
 
84 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 which it enjoys. For much the same reasons it can 
 never hope for a large market outside the Dominion. 
 The fellmongeries and tanneries, which number one 
 hundred, annually tan or salt 4^ million sheepskins, the 
 total value of the output being about two million 
 pounds. 
 
 No narrative of wool-growing in New Zealand would 
 be complete if it ignored the picturesque and heartbreak- 
 ing episode of the arrival and departure of the rabbit. 
 There are men alive to-day who can remember the advent 
 in 1859 of two highly honoured and cherished guests — a 
 pair of silver-grey rabbits. When they were liberated in 
 Marlborough they were fondly protected in the hope that 
 they would some day become acclimatised and furnish 
 the jealously guarded sport that the English country 
 gentleman so much enjoyed. They flourished forthwith. 
 Men had been transported from England for poaching 
 rabbits, and the owners of the two in South Marlborough 
 made it known that an equally terrible punishment would 
 follow any interference with them. Before many years 
 the sheep pastures of New Zealand provided abundant 
 sport for the gun. But in the thinly peopled country 
 there was nothing to keep the " game " in check. Un- 
 harried by natural enemies, the rabbits multiplied at an 
 alarming rate. In twenty years they were a positive 
 menace to the whole sheep-raising industry. Whole 
 provinces were overrun. The hillsides were alive with 
 rabbits. Pastures were devastated, flocks starved, sheep- 
 farmers ruined. Hundreds of thousands of acres in 
 South Marlborough had to be abandoned. In Otago 
 two million acres of sheep-country were surrendered to 
 the rabbits. The owners had to start life afresh, for 
 three rabbits consumed as much as one sheep, and it was 
 useless to hope that the two could live side by side. The 
 rabbits, being the finer grazers, outstayed the legitimate 
 occupiers of the land, but eventually in many cases ate 
 even their own pastures out of the ground. 
 
 The halo of virtue which protected the rabbit in the 
 early days had long since been dispelled. When the 
 

THE WOOL KINGS 85 
 
 vanguard of the invaders approached the south the 
 farmers made strenuous efforts to stem their advance. 
 For some years they struggled courageously against an 
 enemy they could not understand. Every farm and 
 station kept an army of " rabbiters " and packs of dogs. 
 Gun, poison, trap, and dog waged a bitter war against the 
 diminutive pest. Where the holdings were small the 
 farmers often prevailed. Where they were large the 
 rabbit won and the sheep-farmer retired, ruined and 
 broken-hearted. In the rocky fastnesses and grassy hill- 
 sides the rabbit was doubly fortified by the gorse bush — 
 another pest which had been imported with levity and 
 allowed to get out of hand. Hedgerows, river banks, 
 and paddocks were fretted and permeated through and 
 through with warrens. It was almost hopeless to try to 
 eradicate the pest. In desperation run-holders imported 
 natural enemies — stoats, weasels, and ferrets — and turned 
 domestic cats wild. All alike failed in their purpose and 
 themselves became pests in degree, while the wonderful 
 fecundity of the rabbit suffered not at all from the com- 
 petition. The harmless little pet had, indeed, brought 
 the pastoral industry face to face with a crisis. The 
 abandonment of some of the runs only intensified the 
 evil for their neighbours. Some owners, foreseeing what 
 would happen, thought of retiring for the time and 
 allowing the scourge to work its own destruction. But 
 Parliament could not allow men to shirk their responsi- 
 bilities in such a crisis. Impelled by the exigencies of 
 the moment to be drastic, it passed a law compelling all 
 owners to clear their own properties. The unoccupied 
 Crown lands were dealt with by the Government at great 
 expense, and private owners were called upon to make 
 simultaneous attacks on the rabbits within their own 
 boundaries. It was punishable as a recurring offence to 
 neglect to take the necessary steps, and in many cases the 
 same owners were fined month after month for the same 
 neglect. It was drastic, but the crisis demanded it. If a 
 judgment was not satisfied within three months, the land 
 could be seized and sold by the Public Trustee. The 
 
86 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 natural enemies of the rabbit were protected, and it 
 became an offence even to keep a tame rabbit in confine- 
 ment. In some provinces, notably Hawkes Bay, the 
 settlers exercised the option of setting up rabbit boards 
 of their own and grappling with the pest out of a revenue 
 derived from direct rating and subsidised by the State. 
 The whole of their jurisdiction was fenced round with 
 a rabbit-proof fence hundreds of miles in length, with 
 permanently closed gates on the roadways and weirs to 
 make the rivers impassable. And so, in their different 
 ways, the settlers embarked on their long and dishearten- 
 ing warfare. 
 
 In 1878 the export of rabbit-skins was over three 
 millions. Five years later it was 10 millions. As the 
 destruction of the pest was gradually organised the 
 exports increased till they reached their climax of 
 17 millions in 1893. In this period of ten years (1883-93) 
 the wool clip increased by 50 per cent. Then the export 
 of skins gradually fell off. The pest was conquered. In 
 the less feverish fight of the next decade rabbits in a 
 frozen condition became an important item of export. 
 Three and a half millions were exported in 1907, and the 
 value of both skins and rabbits was ;£i2o,ooo. 
 
 To-day the rabbit pest is completely in hand, and the 
 injury to pasture and crops is comparatively inconsider- 
 able. The experience of a quarter of a century has 
 resulted in a complete organisation of the repressive 
 measures. The holdings in infested areas are enclosed 
 in rabbit-proof fencing, and migration being thus checked, 
 it is a simple matter in case of emergency to apply severe 
 repressive measures. 
 
 The ancient reputation of the animal with the golden 
 fleece has been well maintained in New Zealand. 
 Throughout the long days of the colony's infancy it was 
 the sheep that brought practically the only grist to the 
 mill. Other industries grew up with it, flourished, and 
 sometimes decayed ; but to-day the most assured source 
 of wealth in the Dominion is still the sheep. More than 
 half the annual exports are derived from its flocks. In 
 
THE WOOL KINGS 87 
 
 no country in the world are sheep more thriving and free 
 from disease. Scab was eradicated twenty years since, 
 and careful selection for localities has eliminated most of 
 the other diseases to which sheep are liable. The con- 
 stant culling of the flocks is an absolute safeguard against 
 deterioration. 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 GOLD-MINING 
 
 An early depression — The Australian "rushes" — Prospecting for gold — 
 Discoveries in Auckland and Nelson— Dr. Hochstetter's report—The 
 rush to Gabriel's Gully — Successful fields in Otago — Specialising the 
 work — The river beaches — Starved for capital — Revival of quartz- 
 mining — The romance of the Waihi — Cyanide treatment a magic 
 force — Universal gold veins — Sluicing — Labour-saving machinery — 
 The development of the gold dredge — Its use abroad — Growth of the 
 gold output — A field for capital — Some paying investments. 
 
 For ten years after the proclamation of the new colony 
 infantile troubles were still telling very strongly against 
 its growth. Added to the economic difficulties of the 
 time, the relations between the white settlers and the 
 Maori were chronically strained and frequently ruptured. 
 The 25,000 pakeha who in 1850 shared the country with 
 twice as many natives — warlike, arrogant, and distrustful 
 — were in no mood to withstand temptation to leave for 
 other fields. It required some fund of courage to keep 
 steadily down to the as yet unremunerative work of the 
 pioneer without looking to right or left. 
 
 The colony was still being governed from England, 
 and the wrangles between the New Zealand Company 
 and the Imperial Government left the former with ema- 
 ciated resources and utterly unable to provide work for 
 the thousands of labourers and artisans who were almost 
 dependent upon it. While things were so gold-fields of 
 dazzling richness were discovered in the neighbouring 
 colony of Victoria. Hundreds of the labourers in New 
 Zealand, who could ill be spared, but who could not be 
 tempted to stay, threw up their positions and their 
 
GOLD-MINING 89 
 
 interests, rushed across the Tasman Sea by the first ships, 
 and made their way up-country to Bendigo and Ballarat. 
 There was httle inducement to attract new settlers to 
 New Zealand in competition with the allurements of the 
 Californian and Australian gold-fields. 
 
 So far no systematic geological survey had been made 
 in the colony, but the Governor (Sir George Grey), a 
 benevolent, far-seeing, and practical autocrat, determined 
 that if the struggling colony could do anything to keep 
 her population it should be done. A few men, affected 
 with the gold fever, were already prospecting in a hap- 
 hazard manner in the environs of Auckland, Wellington, 
 and Nelson, and the Government, which was then located 
 at Auckland, offered a reward of ;£5oo to the first man 
 who should discover a payable gold-field in the northern 
 district. Within a week a Californian miner reported 
 the discovery of gold at Coromandel, about forty miles 
 east of the city. This was in 1852. By the end of the 
 year three thousand diggers were on the field. Auckland 
 was elated. The Government treated with the natives 
 for the rights over the field, and mining camps sprang up 
 at different points in the peninsula. But the ground was 
 not rich enough. When it came to paying the licence 
 fees which were necessary to meet the demands of the 
 natives, only fifty men persevered. In six months the 
 reward committee had to declare that the gold was not of 
 a payable character, and consequently the reward was 
 not earned. The whole output of gold until the field 
 was abandoned was worth only ^^1,200, the largest 
 nugget being a piece of quartz about the size of an egg, 
 containing gold worth ;£io. This field, as a matter of 
 fact, suffered from the chronic complaint of want of 
 capital to conduct the development in an effective 
 manner. When the work was resumed in 1861 Coro- 
 mandel became one of the premier gold-fields of New 
 Zealand. 
 
 The first traces of gold in New Zealand had been dis- 
 covered in the Nelson province during Captain Wake- 
 field's expedition from Nelson to Massacre Bay in 1842, 
 
90 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 but people had not yet succumbed to the fever which 
 was so fashionable after the palmy days of California and 
 Bendigo, and the discovery was quite lost sight of. 
 Some years after the Coromandel rush Nelson was again 
 thrown into a state of excitement by the discovery of 
 gold a few miles out. There was a rush, a disappoint- 
 ment, a retreat. In the following year — 1857 — gold was 
 found at Aorere, in the same locality. It was worked 
 with some consistency, and in spite of a partial abandon- 
 ment a year later, it continued to give steady remunera- 
 tion to the class of miners who were not to be enticed 
 away by the more speculative attractions of Australia. 
 The Nelson fields were never calculated to make rapid 
 fortunes, but the report of Dr. von Hochstetter in 1859 ' 
 showed conclusively that the veins well merited a more 
 extensive system of digging. So encouraged, a number 
 of companies embarked on the development of claims, 
 and the province of Nelson has been producing gold in 
 steady quantities for fifty years past. 
 
 Up to i860 the colony had exported gold to the value 
 of ^^135,000, and at that date almost every province was 
 deriving small revenues from the output of fugitive work- 
 ings. The gold fever was now in the air, and almost 
 every white settler in the country occasionally left his 
 work-a-day occupation to fossick for "colour" in the 
 mountain-sides, on the river banks, and even on the 
 ocean beaches. Still, up to i860 there was no evidence 
 of a single field in New Zealand that was likely to attract 
 a great rush of people from abroad or to bring any great 
 wealth to the country. 
 
 Hochstetter's reports to the provincial Governments 
 were of the utmost assistance, particularly in Nelson and 
 Auckland. But the event which finally proclaimed New 
 
 ■ Dr. Ferdinand von Hochstetter, then Professor of Mineralogy and 
 Geology at the Polytechnic Institution at Vienna, was geologist to the 
 Austrian scientific expedition in the frigate Novara in 1858. On the invita- 
 tion of the provincial governments he spent nine months in a geological 
 survey of New Zealand, the results of which were published in German in 
 1862 and in English in 1867. 
 
GOLD-MINING 91 
 
 Zealand one of the richest gold-producing countries in 
 the known world occurred in Otago in May, 1861. For 
 more than a decade past the streams of that province had 
 been known to contain gold from which any miner, 
 working steadily, could earn a comfortable livelihood. 
 The people of Otago were not particularly anxious to see 
 a gold-field opened up. They were quiet, agricultural 
 Scots, and they did not at all relish the idea of being 
 overwhelmed by an influx of miners from other 
 provinces and other countries. But, willy-nilly, the 
 rush came, the greatest New Zealand ever knew, when 
 Gabriel Read, a recent arrival employed by Mr. John 
 Hardy, C.E., at Tokomairiro, discovered in a tributary of 
 the Tuapeka River, eighty miles from Dunedin, sufficient 
 evidence of rich gold to warrant the Provincial Superin- 
 tendent in declaring the district a gold-field. Within a 
 month two thousand diggers were encamped at Gabriel's 
 Gully, and doing well. Men flocked thither from all 
 quarters. The modestly remunerative fields at Nelson and 
 Coromandel were almost deserted. Within three months 
 of the discovery an area of fifty-one thousand acres was 
 declared to be a gold-field. Wardens were appointed, 
 courts established, and a strong force of constabulary 
 enrolled to escort the fortnightly convoy down to 
 Dunedin. 
 
 In the middle of August the weekly output of gold 
 amounted to 10,000 oz. The news spread with incredible 
 rapidity and there was an unprecedented influx of people 
 of all sorts into Otago. Commenting on the excitement, 
 Hochstetter writes : — 
 
 " Diggers bound for New Zealand thronged in the 
 streets and on the quays of Melbourne : sailors deserted 
 from their ships : and speculators of every kind saw 
 a new field open in New Zealand. Victorian papers from 
 the middle of September, 1861, reported no less than 
 twenty-three vessels, all bound for Otago, among them 
 the best Australian steamers, and the most magnificent 
 Liverpool and London clippers. It was calculated that 
 this fleet would bring about twelve thousand persons. 
 
92 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 which number would exactly double the former popula- 
 tion of Otago. Not only gold diggers embarked, but 
 also other enterprising men of all kinds, who hoped to 
 secure their share of gold indirectly, were of the party. 
 At the close of September the number of immigrants 
 daily arriving from Melbourne was estimated in Dunedin 
 at one thousand." 
 
 The population of the province increased from 12,691 
 in December, i860, to 30,269 a year later, and to 79,000 
 at the end of 1863. Within nine months of Gabriel 
 Read's discovery the field had produced 250,000 oz. 
 of gold. In the following year two other Californian 
 diggers. Hartley and Reilly, discovered very rich gold on 
 the banks of the Clutha, a few miles below the town 
 of Cromwell. In the same year half a dozen new and 
 payable fields in the remote and rugged interior of Otago 
 were opened up. Within four years of the first rush the 
 floating section of the miners — always a considerable 
 proportion — were drawn away to another part of New 
 Zealand by the discovery of a payable field in Westland, 
 where the numerous rapid and full-bodied streams rush- 
 ing from the flanks of the Southern Alps down to the 
 sea were found to be charged with the precious metal. 
 
 Thence onward it was yearly made more evident that 
 New Zealand possessed not merely payable gold veins, 
 but deposits which would give lucrative employment 
 to thousands of men practically in continuity, that would 
 give handsome investment to capital even at high rates of 
 interest, and would, in season and out, return to the 
 public and private exchequer millions of pounds per 
 annum. 
 
 By the end of the sixties all the main fields of the colony 
 had been located, and the output of gold was now valued 
 at more than two million pounds annually. It reached 
 its maximum of £2,8^,^iy in 1866, and for the decade 
 1862-71 was computed at ^^23,464,000, an average of 
 something less than 2J million pounds a year. From 
 this point prospecting took more the form of following 
 up known leads than breaking new ground. New 
 
GOLD-MINING 93 
 
 methods also found profits in deposits which the old had 
 discarded. The hydraulic sluicing nozzle and the 
 stamper are only improved ways of doing the old work, 
 just as at later stages the alluvial dredge and the cyanide 
 process have been employed to pursue the " wash " to 
 the ultimate margin of profit. New and richer fields 
 have been opened up in the Auckland province, but the 
 old abandoned areas both here and in Nelson have again 
 received attention, and have yielded profitable returns to 
 the more economical methods employed. 
 
 The result of the first failures was the evolution of 
 certain methods of gold-saving applicable to particular 
 districts. The most characteristic class of mining has 
 always been the saving of alluvial gold, which is strangely 
 confined to the South Island. Four-fifths of the gold 
 output of New Zealand has come from the South Island, 
 where the great bulk of the precious metal is obtained 
 from alluvial deposits. With rare exceptions all the 
 streams — the full-bodied Clutha, Mataura, and Taieri, and 
 the boisterous and treacherous torrents of the West 
 Coast — all contain gold in varying quantities and degrees 
 of fineness. On their banks the industry was first 
 established by men who brought with them from 
 California the dish and cradle, the pick and shovel of the 
 "forty-niner." The output, though inexpensive, was 
 quite suitable so long as the miner was not bound down 
 by a large capital expenditure to work his particular 
 claim to the finest point. Gold-saving so thorough and 
 effective that the ground would not yield to reworking is 
 quite a recent development. For twenty or thirty years 
 after the first big rush the miners were generally working 
 independently or in small co-operative groups, without any 
 considerable outlay, holding themselves ready to throw 
 up their claims at short notice and go elsewhere. Of the 
 total output of gold up to 1873, valued at ^^27,000,000, by 
 far the greater part was derived from the alluvial workings 
 of the South Island, carried on under such conditions. 
 Individual working was supplanted to some extent by 
 co-operation, especially in the construction of races 
 
94 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 to bring the water to the drier terraces, and on the West 
 Coast many miners were enabled to continue working by 
 this means. 
 
 But gradually the easily-won gold disappeared from the 
 ocean beaches and sand-banks of the rivers, which were 
 literally lined when the first discoveries were made. The 
 surface ground was more thoroughly searched, and men 
 had to go to greater pains and prospect farther afield to 
 get the returns they had been accustomed to. From 
 1871 onward the output of gold steadily declined. 
 
 By an unfortunate coincidence the shrinkage in revenue 
 synchronised with the introduction of thousands of 
 artisans from the Old Country. The Government did 
 what it could to assist the miners by the construction of 
 water-races and otherwise, but the time had come, in the 
 natural course of events, when more expensive methods 
 would have to be employed to win the gold, and when 
 perforce the individual miner would have to look for 
 employment under companies possessing the necessary 
 capital. New quartz reefs and mineral lodes had been 
 discovered which it was quite useless to endeavour to 
 work except with the necessary expensive machinery. 
 Many of them were taken in hand by limited liability 
 companies formed in the colony, and not generally 
 financed beyond the primary necessity of erecting plant. 
 The method generally adopted was to crush the quartz 
 in stamper batteries, and obtain what gold could be saved 
 by passing the pulp over quicksilvered copper plates. 
 While the oxidised stone lasted fair percentages of gold 
 could be obtained : otherwise the bulk disappeared in 
 the concentrates and tailings. The loss was out of all 
 proportion. Very few of the companies had the means 
 to go to lower levels for a further supply of quartz, and 
 so the mines closed down. 
 
 This stage of mining development also coincided with 
 the severest and most protracted period of depression 
 New Zealand ever experienced. With the exception of 
 large loans which the Government was expending in 
 developmental works, money was very scarce. Capital 
 
GOLD-MINING 95 
 
 simply could not be obtained for mining ventures, and 
 so large areas of auriferous land, which both before and 
 since have yielded handsome profits, lay for the time 
 abandoned. From 730,000 oz. yielded in 1871 the output 
 of gold gradually sank to less than 200,000 oz. in 1890. 
 The Auckland silver-mining industry, too, which in 1871 
 had produced 80,000 oz., sank in sympathy to its bed- 
 rock level of 403 oz. in 1888. How critical was this 
 period for many colonial industries is fully explained 
 in other parts of this work. Mining depended almost 
 entirely upon the confidence of financiers, and that could 
 not now be secured unless the cost of production could 
 be reduced by the introduction of new and economical 
 methods. It was no longer a speculation but a business, 
 pure and simple. That it would revive there could be 
 little doubt. The prospecting and exploration of thirty 
 years, albeit perfunctory and often unskilled, had estab- 
 lished beyond dispute that a country more richly en- 
 dowed with mineral wealth it would be hard to find. 
 Coal, iron, copper, and all the precious metals had been 
 discovered in almost every province. All that was re- 
 quired was a combination of science and capital. 
 
 The branch of the industry to which the application of 
 these requirements was most urgently necessary was 
 quartz-mining. Under the somewhat primitive methods 
 employed by precariously financed companies a great 
 proportion of the precious metal escaped, even in the 
 oxidised zone. Below that it was seldom possible to 
 carry operations. Tailings, concentrates, and slimes, 
 which would have yielded splendidly to chemical treat- 
 ment, were often discarded. At this time quartz-mining 
 was only kept alive by a few bonanzas which happened 
 to be well managed and to be paying good dividends. 
 During 1877 the mines of the Auckland province were 
 producing 9,000 oz. per month, and those on the West 
 Coast of the South Island 3,000 oz. The withdrawal of 
 capital, however, was the direct cause of a great slump 
 in succeeding years, and by the end of the seventies less 
 than 80,000 tons of quartz was being crushed in the 
 
96 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 colony each year. For some years the Thames Drainage 
 Board had been operating a large pump with a shaft 
 650 feet in depth to keep the deep-level mines dry. The 
 closing down of this in 1878 greatly contributed to the 
 mining depression, though despite this the Thames field 
 was already by far the richest in the colony. The average 
 crushings there gave a percentage of extraction more 
 than twice as high as in the South Island, and yet it was 
 believed that not more than one-third of the fine gold 
 was being saved. The old field at Coromandel was one 
 of the first to obtain a good supply of English capital, 
 and its progress was forthwith rapid and sound. One 
 after another the great mines in the Auckland district 
 passed into better hands, capital was applied, and their 
 progress was assured. 
 
 To the depression succeeded another period of boom 
 and speculation. In one claim the amount of gold in 
 the lode was so great that it had to be cut out with a 
 chisel. Shares bounded up in value. In twelve months 
 the shareholders received dividends amounting to more 
 than half a million pounds. But in this case the shoot 
 was only a patch, and by and by the bright prospects of 
 the mine faded. 
 
 The most fascinating story of the Auckland gold-fields 
 is that of the Waihi mine, the bonanza par excellence of 
 Australasia. Mining commenced in this neighbourhood 
 in 1882. The State aided the prospectors, and the result 
 was the discovery of the Martha reef. The most up-to- 
 date machinery was installed, but four years' working 
 yielded an average of only 4J dwt. to the ton. In an 
 adjoining claim the Waihi Company commenced work- 
 ing a different lode, and to a prospect of 10 dwt. to the 
 ton sank shafts, constructed levels, and erected Globe 
 mills and amalgamating plant. This machinery was 
 shortly afterwards replaced by sixty heads of stampers, 
 with kilns for roasting the ore as it came from the mine. 
 Even with this equipment the Company was losing much 
 of the gold and 50 per cent of the silver, but it had the 
 foresight to stack the tailings in view of the promising 
 
GOLD-MINING 97 
 
 experiments with the new cyanide process of separation. 
 Before the undoubted success of that process had been 
 estabhshed the Martha Company sold its property to 
 the Waihi at the price of a failure. The cyanide process 
 revolutionised the whole position. Its success was 
 instant, and to-day the Waihi is the finest mining property 
 of its size in Australasia. Indeed, to quote " The New 
 Zealand Handbook": "There are few mining com- 
 panies in the world equal to it when the number of lodes 
 and dimensions come to be considered." In the con- 
 tiguous claims owned by the same Company there are 
 sixteen distinct lodes, six of which carry highly payable 
 ore. The largest, the original Martha, is 200 feet in 
 width on some of the levels. Last year (1908) nearly 
 400,000 tons of ore body was taken out of the mine, and 
 the dividends and bonuses amounted to ;^42o,ooo. In 
 eighteen years bullion to the value of over seven millions 
 has been taken from the mine, and in sixteen the share- 
 holders have received over three millions in dividends and 
 bonuses. There are three crushing batteries with 350 heads 
 of stampers, the whole of the machinery being driven by 
 water-power. When the Waihi acquired the property of 
 the Martha Company its own share capital was worth 
 ^£22,500 ; to-day it is nearly five millions. 
 
 The Waihi is now surrounded by smaller companies 
 hoping to share its success, though several of them are 
 not financially equipped to carry on the work on any- 
 thing like the same scale. The Talisman mine, at Kar- 
 angahake, is now the second gold-producer in New Zea- 
 land. The Waiotahi at Thames for many years yielded 
 from ;^i8,ooo to ;^20,ooo per month. But this little 
 cluster of properties cannot be said to be typical of 
 many. There are thousands of acres of ground in New 
 Zealand capable of returning a consistently good profit 
 for many years, but there is not a large area, so far as 
 is known, that would exhibit such successes as the Waihi. 
 The future lies in working at deeper levels than have yet 
 been touched. The lowest in the Waihi mine is 1,020 feet, 
 and there the ore bodies continue to maintain their values. 
 
 8 
 
98 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 The cyanide treatment came into very rapid favour in 
 New Zealand. Hundreds of young men engaged in 
 mining had gone through a scientific training in the 
 mining schools of the colony, and when the new process 
 was introduced by the Cassel Company in 1889 they 
 were at once able to apply it. The effect was remark- 
 able. Companies that had been losing money by passing 
 half the gold out with the tailings were at once able to 
 make a profit. In foar years 52 per cent, of the gold and 
 silver output of the North Island (where mining was 
 almost entirely by quartz-crushing) was won by the 
 cyanide process. In 1897 the allocation of the gold won 
 was as follows : — 
 
 Cyanide 6772 per cent. 
 
 Amalgamation 3i'53 » 
 
 Chlorination 0'7S „ 
 
 Old tailings abandoned years back were treated with a 
 handsome profit. Comparatively poor ground could be 
 made to pay, and it became much easier to finance 
 mining propositions. To bring the process within the 
 reach of smaller companies, the Government purchased 
 the rights for New Zealand and recouped itself the outlay 
 (^10,000) within eight years by charging a small royalty. 
 Thereafter it became free. 
 
 The principal centre of quartz-mining in the South 
 Island is at Reefton, where one of the most valuable 
 groups in the Dominion is owned and operated by the 
 Consolidated Goldfields of New Zealand. Some of the 
 workings here are down to 1,500 feet. The Keep It 
 Dark, with a paid-up capital of _^6,2o8, has won -£450,000 
 worth of gold, and paid upwards of ;£i6o,ooo in divi- 
 dends. In the whole gold output of New Zealand since 
 the commencement of mining quartz-crushing has only 
 accounted for one-fourth, but at the present time it is by 
 far the most important branch of mining. In 1907, 65 
 per cent, of the whole output was from quartz-mines, 
 and of this seven-eighths was from the Auckland 
 province. 
 
GOLD-MINING 99 
 
 Alluvial gold is the specialty of the South Island, 
 and occurs from end to end. A scientific examination 
 of seventy outcrops of alluvium taken from different 
 parts of the island from Foveaux Straits to Cook Straits 
 showed that every one was gold-bearing. When the 
 miners first adopted sluice-boxes as an improvement on 
 the primitive tub and cradle with which they separated the 
 gold from the dirt, all the " wash-dirt " had to be thrown 
 into the boxes. On suitable terraces this method was sup- 
 planted by ground-sluicing, the gravel and sand being 
 washed by the current of water from a nozzle down a 
 rough channel in which the gold particles lodged. 
 The hydraulic elevator, a simple ?ind cheap appara- 
 tus, introduced in 1880, revolutionised ground-sluicing 
 by making it possible to raise the deposits as much as 
 170 feet for the extraction of the gold. There are several 
 dozen companies in New Zealand dealing effectively with 
 alluvial ground by this means. Hydraulic sluicing and 
 elevating represented almost the first activity of the small 
 companies and groups of miners who succeeded to the 
 original individual miners. To-day there are companies 
 operating on every scale, from a capital of a few thou- 
 sand pounds upwards. Both in Otago and Westland 
 there are wide auriferous areas awaiting development, 
 besides the worked-out fields, which will repay another 
 treatment. The water supply of New Zealand, which is 
 practically inexhaustible, enables sluicing to be carried 
 on cheaply throughout the year. Certain of the great 
 lake reservoirs in the Southern Alps will probably before 
 long be tapped by races to open up new areas in the 
 West Coast fields. At the present moment, inclusive 
 of Government water-races, there are upwards of 12,000 
 miles of channels, supplying 35,000 heads to the alluvial 
 workings. Three of the largest sources of supply are 
 administered by the State. With the rough exception 
 of Canterbury and the south of Marlborough, the whole 
 of New Zealand affords finely situated alluvial terraces for 
 sluicing operations. 
 
 Taking sluicing and dredging together, alluvial mining 
 
100 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 in New Zealand now employs less than half as many men 
 as thirty years ago, but at that time there were 3,500 
 Chinese miners on the fields, as compared with less than 
 one thousand to-day. The decrease is largely due to the 
 use of labour-saving machinery, as a result of which the 
 output of gold in the period 1900-5 was almost double 
 that of the period 1880-5, whereas the number of men 
 employed was less by 25 per cent. By means of 
 machinery the output per man was increased in the 
 period from 18 ounces to 42 ounces. In 1880 the 
 product of the sluicing claims was 104,382 ounces ; in 
 1905, 167,503 ounces. 
 
 Alluvial mining took a most interesting turn about 
 twenty years ago. A subsidiary industry of an entirely 
 new description had its birth in New Zealand, and has 
 spread thence to almost every country in the world 
 where alluvial gold is to be found. At the root of the 
 new departure was the aggravating impossibility of 
 following up the veins of gold when they found tlieir 
 way into the rivers. Such a stream as the Clutha, which 
 discharges more than a million cubic feet of water per 
 minute, brings down from its cradle fastnesses untold 
 quantities of the precious metal, much of which has 
 found a temporary resting-place in or below its bed. The 
 prospecting miners made an easy competence in saving 
 the gold from the exposed river-beaches. Canvas towns 
 sprang up like mushrooms on all the terraces, but the 
 rise of the river in the warm days of summer submerged 
 the beaches and repulsed the gold-seekers. Thousands 
 of veins were followed down into the stream, until the 
 strength of the current forced the miners to desist. 
 Some of the more pertinacious cast iron scoops into 
 the water, and dragged ashore supplies of the gravel, 
 which were soon despoiled of their valuable content. 
 Then scoops were laboriously worked by hand from 
 floating pontoons — the origin of the spoon dredge — and 
 then again, about 1868, the current of the river, acting 
 on stern wheels, was used to supply the working power. 
 
 While these experiments were proceeding the tre- 
 
GOLD-MINING 101 
 
 mendous amount of tailings which alluvial miners were 
 shooting into the streams higher up formed a stratum 
 over the auriferous gravel and rendered the scoops use- 
 less. This compelled the ingenious miners to the 
 adoption of the bucket-and-ladder type of dredge now 
 so generally used in harbours. The current wheel had 
 a very restricted utility. It was useless in eddies and 
 backwaters. In 1881 steam was first employed to drive 
 the machinery, and thence onward river dredges have 
 been constantly improved. To-day Otago is the seat of 
 a new industry, conducted with absolutely efficient and 
 highly scientific machinery. In Dunedin the construc- 
 tion of dredge machinery is an important branch of 
 engineering, upon which the lessons of a quarter of a 
 century's practical experience have been brought to bear. 
 Year by year the possibilities of the new method became 
 more pronounced. Claims were pegged out in the most 
 inconceivable positions. At an early stage the work, 
 commenced in the rivers, was extended to the dry flats. 
 Then, in 1894, an elevator was invented which enabled the 
 dredges to dispose of their tailings from apparently inacces- 
 sible positions. At present there is scarcely any description 
 of moderately flat land or river-bed which cannot be 
 negotiated and thoroughly exploited for its gold content. 
 
 The " wash-dirt " raised from the bottom passes from 
 the buckets through revolving perforated screens and 
 thence on to the saving-tables, the tailings emerging 
 at the stern of the dredge and into the elevator. The 
 modern dredges generally derive their power from 
 electricity, and replace the expensive screens by shaking- 
 tables, on the principle of the old cradles. 
 
 Dredging was properly launched as a business enter- 
 prise in 1889 by a wealthy Chinese merchant. His 
 claim on the Big Beach, Shotover River, in the heart 
 of a precipitous and apparently barren country, was a 
 complete success. In an incredibly short time small 
 companies were started all over the province. Dredges 
 of the best description cost only a few thousand pounds, 
 and within ten years two hundred were at work in Otago 
 
102 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 and Southland. From Otago the new industry spread 
 to the rivers of the West Coast with their swift currents, 
 and dredges were actually constructed to deal with the 
 auriferous shingle on the ocean beaches. Many of them 
 failed on account of original sin. The claims had been 
 " salted," and " wild cat " schemes had been capitalised. 
 Largely by means of such flotations the number of 
 dredges in Otago and Southland amounted in 1900 to 
 230. At present there is no boom, and the dredges 
 which are actually working — 150 in all — are on a busi- 
 ness footing. In 1907, 128 dredges yielded gold to the 
 value of ;^4i9,364, a handsome average of ^3,278 per 
 dredge. Up to date alluvial dredging has been the 
 means of saving gold in New Zealand to the value of 
 ;^9,ooo,ooo. Some have been phenomenally successful. 
 The Electric, with a paid-up capital of ^26,000, has 
 returned its shareholders more than five times that sum in 
 dividends. The Hartley and Riley has returned ;^ioo,ooo 
 for ;£6,3oo, and so on. Sixty-eight companies in Otago 
 and Westland, representing a paid-up capital of ;£332,490, 
 have paid more than twice that amount in dividends. 
 
 From New Zealand the gold-dredging industry has 
 spread to almost every country where alluvial gold is 
 to be found. A number of dredges constructed in New 
 Zealand were exported to Russia and Siberia, and New 
 Zealand dredgemen and engineers have constructed and 
 are working dredges to-day in Borneo, India, Burma, 
 Australia, East and West Africa, China, Siberia, Cali- 
 fornia, Tierra del Fuego, Brazil, &c. 
 
 According to the last enumeration of industries, in 
 1906, the growth of the gold-mining industry since 
 1890 — that is, before the present industrial period com- 
 menced — is thus represented : — 
 
 Quartz Mines. 
 
 
 1890. 
 
 1906. 
 
 Number 135 
 
 88 
 
 Employees 1,971 
 
 3,869 
 
 Value of machinery ... ;£24i,745 
 
 £1,040,104 
 
 Value of output £278,893 
 
 £1,272,375 
 
GOLD-MINING 103 
 
 Hydraulic Mining. 
 
 
 
 1890. 
 
 1906. 
 
 Number of works ... 
 
 74 
 
 93 
 
 dredges ... 
 
 — 
 
 139 
 
 Employees 
 
 495 
 
 i,8iS 
 
 Value of plant 
 
 ... ;eiS4,27o 
 
 ;£733,624 
 
 „ of output 
 
 ••• ;£73,7i3 
 
 
 „ of sluicing 
 
 — 
 
 £135,618 
 
 „ of dredging ... 
 
 — 
 
 ;£53I,II2 
 
 Gold-mining now contributes about two millions 
 sterling to the annual exports of New Zealand, and 
 the amount is much less liable to fluctuation than 
 before the days of specialised industry. The industry 
 is more thoroughly understood than formerly, and the 
 reserves in prospect make it highly improbable that there 
 will ever be a serious shrinkage in the product. There 
 are known deposits and veins which will keep the pre- 
 sent plant well employed for many years ahead, and 
 beyond that there is the new epoch of deep-level mining 
 and the exploration of the vast areas — now covered with 
 forest and inaccessible for lack of roads — in which many 
 of the richest veins "and lodes have their origin. Gold 
 and silver alone have already yielded ^^75, 000,000 to the 
 wealth of New Zealand, and they can confidently be 
 relied upon to continue their bounty for decades to 
 come. The following periodic figures fairly illustrate 
 the growth of the output : — 
 
 
 Oz. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Oz. 
 
 Value. 
 £ 
 
 1858 
 
 •■ 13,533 
 
 52,443 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 1868 
 
 •• 637,474 
 
 2,504,326 
 
 — 
 
 — 
 
 1878 
 
 .. 310,486 
 
 1,240,079 
 
 23,019 
 
 5,759 
 
 1888 
 
 .. 201,219 
 
 801,066 
 
 403 
 
 72 
 
 1898 
 
 .. 280,175 
 
 1,080,691 
 
 293,851 
 
 33,107 
 
 1908 
 
 ■■ 506,447 
 
 2,005,109 
 
 1,731,177 
 
 175,337 
 
 Up to the end of last year (1908) the gold export 
 amounted in value to ^73,534,087, and the silver to 
 ^1,266,088. 
 
104 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 The following table shows the gold output of Austra- 
 lasia for the last three years : — 
 
 
 1906. 
 
 1907. 
 
 1908. 
 
 
 Fine oz. 
 
 Fine oz. 
 
 Fine oz. 
 
 Western Australia 
 
 1,794,547 
 
 1,697,553 
 
 1,648,505 
 
 Victoria 
 
 772,290 
 
 695,576 
 
 676,005 
 
 Queensland 
 
 544,636 
 
 466,476 
 
 461,359 
 
 New Soutti Wales... 
 
 253,987 
 
 247,363 
 
 224,792 
 
 Tasmania ... 
 
 60,023 
 
 65,354 
 
 60,712 
 
 South Australia 
 
 14,077 
 
 11,871 
 
 9,162 
 
 New Zealand 
 
 534,617 
 3,974,177 
 
 477,312 
 
 471,790 
 
 Total 
 
 3,661,505 
 
 3,552,325 
 
 Although silver began to figure in the returns as early 
 as 1869, the miners had not the necessary knowledge to 
 recognise argentiferous ores when they saw them. It 
 was not discovered until about 1885 that a large per- 
 centage of the silver in the gold reefs was in the form of 
 sulphides, tellurides, &c. Previously the separation had 
 been left to the banks which bought the gold, but hence- 
 forth the young miners educated at the Schools of Mines 
 in the colony were able to treat the ore properly, and 
 extract the silver from the huge quantities of ore that 
 were formerly thrown over the mullock tip. The Auck- 
 land mines gradually developed a large silver output 
 which in 1904 for the first time exceeded one million 
 ounces. 
 
 In spite of a modicum of those wild-cat schemes 
 which blight the mining history of every auriferous 
 country, capitalists have no cause to complain of New 
 Zealand as a field for investment. Up to 1905, when the 
 paid-up capital of the quartz-mines of the Dominion was 
 ;^i, 576,829, the total value of the product was ;^6,29i,9i7. 
 There have been failures, of course, but they have been 
 insignificant compared with such successes as are men- 
 tioned in the following paragraph : — ' 
 
 " Four companies in the Hauraki mining district paid 
 upwards of ;^400,ooo in dividends during the past year 
 
 ■ From the " New Zealand Mining Handbook," edited by Mr. P. Galvin, 
 Secretary of the State Mining Bureau. 
 
GOLD-MINING 105 
 
 and one company, the Waihi, has disbursed upwards of 
 ;^2,ooo,ooo. The group of mines worked under the 
 management of the ConsoHdated Goldfields of New 
 Zealand, at Reefton, have paid ;£i2S,487 in dividends, 
 as against a subscribed capital of ^^242,378 ; while the 
 Progress Mines of New Zealand — an offshoot of the 
 Consolidated Goldfields — has disbursed in dividends 
 ;£226,875, against a working capital of ^^50,000. The 
 Keep It Dark mine, Reefton, has paid ^145,666 in divi- 
 dends, or at the rate of £'] 5s. 8d. per share, while only 
 ;^6,2o8, or at the rate of 6s. 2jd. per share, has been 
 called up." 
 
 Of an earlier stage of the industry the same authority 
 remarks : — 
 
 " Hunt's Shotover Claim gave ;^40,ooo apiece to the 
 four original discoverers, and afterwards paid ^15,120 
 to the shareholders in the Company that purchased it ; 
 the Long Drive Company disbursed ;£82,ooo in a few 
 years ; the Golden Crown Company paid ^£141,904 irre- 
 spective of a large amount divided by the original share- 
 holders ; the Caledonian Company paid ;£553,440 during 
 the first year of its existence ; the Cambria Company 
 paid in one year ^£48,825 ; the Moanataiari Company 
 disbursed ;^ii7,993; the Nonpareil Company, ^£14,670; 
 the Kuranui Company, £i^-i.,2']j ; the All Nations Com- 
 pany, ;^4i,445 ; the Cure Company, £ij,ooo ; the 
 Manukau Company, ;£ 15,750 ; the Old Whau Company, 
 ^11,650. In later years the New Prince Imperial Com- 
 pany paid ;^6o,75o in dividends in three years from a 
 mine that was sold for ;^8oo. Even as late as last year 
 (1905) the Waiotahi, which has been a consistent 
 dividend-paying Company during the past thirty years, 
 disbursed ^51,000 in dividends. In Otago it is currently 
 stated that the Bendigo mine, near Cromwell, paid 
 ;£7o,ooo apiece to the five original owners. In the 
 Inangahua district the dividends paid by quartz-mining 
 companies from 1881 to 1905 inclusive amounted to 
 ;^734)2oo, as against £i\%6,220 capital called up." 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 COAL AND OTHER MINERALS 
 
 Ubiquitous coal measures — Neglected development — Bunker coal from 
 New South Wales — West Coast seams discovered — Imports from 
 Australia — Obstacles to development — Improving the bar harbours 
 — Mines opened on the West Coast — An export trade — The coal that 
 saved the Calliope — Admiralty contracts — Expensive production — 
 Modern equipment — The visible supply — The State coal-mines — 
 Effect of State competition — Growth of the industry — Iron ore in 
 vast quantities — Kauri gum-digging — The Austrian diggers — A 
 dying industry. 
 
 To say that every householder in New Zealand is within 
 reach of coal of first-class quality is no exaggeration of 
 the fact. In evidence of pristine forests more vast even 
 than those which the pakeha found on his arrival, coal 
 measures of unlimited extent underlie practically the 
 whole land surface of both islands. In many localities 
 coal is so plentiful and accessible that individual farmers 
 mine it for their household use. 
 
 " Perhaps in no country in the world," says Dr. Bell, ' 
 Director of the Geological Survey, " is coal more generally 
 distributed than it is in this colony, as it occurs in almost 
 every part — a fact which makes up for the narrowness of 
 the coal seams and the inextensiveness of the basins in 
 which they lie, as compared with coal deposits in other 
 parts of the world." 
 
 » J. Mackintosh Bell, M.A., Ph.D., F.R.G.S., leader of Canadian Govern- 
 ment's expedition to Great Bear Lake, 1900 ; leader for Lake Superior 
 Power Company of James Bay expedition, 1901 ; geologist to Lake 
 Superior Power Company, 1902 ; leader of Ontario Government expe- 
 dition to Moose River Basin, 1903 ; Ph.D. Harvard, 1904; Austin Teaching 
 Fellow and Proctor, Harvard, 1903-4, 
 
 106 
 
COAL AND OTHER MINERALS 107 
 
 The best quality measures are those on the western 
 slope of the Southern Alps, bituminous coal of varying 
 purity. In the Otago province are lignites of high 
 quality, in Canterbury less highly carbonised. The 
 measures of the North Island are generally in the inter- 
 mediate state of carbonisation. Anthracites occur here 
 and there, but no extensive seams have yet been exploited. 
 
 Although their existence was vaguely suspected so far 
 back as 1840, all these splendid measures lay practically 
 undisturbed for twenty years after the foundation of the 
 colony. Most of the early settlements were surrounded 
 by a plentiful supply of wood which could be had for 
 the gathering. As this gave out desultory prospecting 
 and working produced sufficient coal to make up the 
 deficiency. But with the sixties the requirements of the 
 colony became more specialised. There were certain 
 incipient industries which required coal ; there were a 
 quarter of a million people in the country, and above all 
 coal was a pressing need to fill the bunkers of the steam- 
 ships which were now beginning to find their way to 
 New Zealand over the wide coalless waste of the South 
 Pacific. New South Wales had already been impelled 
 by her more advanced development to open up the 
 excellent seams on the Hunter River, and hence was 
 derived a portion of the bunker coal supplied to the 
 oversea shipping in Pacific waters. The great bulk was 
 obtained from England and America and carried round 
 the world at great expense. 
 
 Here and there the necessity for opening up coal-fields 
 led to the discovery of gold, a new and dazzling diversion 
 which then stood inexorably in the way of the more 
 work-a-day industry. Almost as soon as Von Haast had 
 announced the discovery of the most valuable coal 
 measures in the colony' gold was found in another 
 
 ' Mr. J. Mackay, F.G.S., had discovered coal seams at an early date on 
 the western slopes of the Southern Alps. Dr. J. von Haast, the Provincial 
 Geologist of Canterbury, on a prospecting expedition in i860, definitely 
 ascertained the extent and the extraordinary value of the Grey and Buller 
 seams, which are to-day yielding the most valuable coal in New Zealand. 
 
108 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 locality, and for more than ten years the superior attrac- 
 tions of the gold-fields made labour scarce and expensive. 
 Then again coal-mining involved the investment of 
 capital, and as yet the country was so torn with political 
 dissensions and burdened with the weight of costly wars, 
 that capital came in very small sums and only to cautious, 
 approved undertakings. The investigations of Dr. von 
 Haast and Sir James Hector had the effect of thoroughly 
 reassuring the colonials as to their own domestic supplies of 
 coal. It appeared even then that the New Zealand beds 
 extended over an area of half a million acres, and that 
 much of the coal, particularly on the western slope of 
 the Alps, was equal to the best British for steaming, gas 
 and household purposes. The inferior lignites, though 
 not suited for steaming except with a mixture of the 
 better qualities, were excellent for local purposes, and 
 placed the individual settler independent of any im- 
 portation. 
 
 But the tardy supply of labour brought other diffi- 
 culties in its train. The demand for the better quality 
 bituminous coals, which were only to be obtained on 
 the west coast of the South Island, grew to considerable 
 proportions long before the coal was on the market. 
 Local industries in the principal towns and the require- 
 ments of the rapidly expanding oversea shipping had 
 to be supplied, and this could only be done with the 
 assistance of a steady and considerable importation from 
 New South Wales. When at length labour was forth- 
 coming the native industry was further retarded by 
 the treacherous and difficult nature of the harbours 
 through which the coal had to pass to reach the markets 
 of the colony. Overland carriage was out of the 
 question, since the impassable barrier of the Southern 
 Alps hemmed the coal-fields in by the sea. All the West 
 Coast harbours are situated at the mouths of swift rivers 
 with bars difficult to negotiate, and the coast during 
 the gold-mining days was strewn with wrecks. If the 
 coal had been less valuable the circumstances which 
 conspired against its working would have been fatal. 
 
COAL AND OTHER MINERALS 109 
 
 The chief mines which were opened in the early seventies 
 repeatedly changed hands, and it was not until well on in 
 the eighties that improved harbour facilities gave the 
 industry a definite hope of success. 
 
 In 1878, the first year for which records are kept, New 
 Zealand produced 162,218 tons of coal, and the imports, 
 which still included the only first-class coal available 
 for some of the centres of population, amounted to 
 174,148 tons. From that time, however, the proportion 
 gradually changed. The companies steadily overcame 
 their initial difficulties, and in an incredibly short time 
 the native product took its place in supplying the wants 
 of home consumption and shipping. The moment gold 
 receded from its speculative position the ultimate success 
 of coal-mining was assured. Almost as soon as the West 
 Coast mines were able to supply coal in large quantities 
 the demand for shipping coal increased with leaps and 
 bounds owing to the inauguration of the new steam 
 services for the carriage of frozen meat. From 1878 
 to 1881 the output of the New Zealand mines increased 
 from 162,000 to 337,000 tons, while the imports of coal 
 fell from 174,000 to 129,000 tons. A new company in 
 1 88 1 opened mines at Coalbrookdale and Granity Creek, 
 which in a few years were the largest producers in 
 the colony. Steamers suitable for the bar harbours were 
 obtained, and the harbours themselves were so improved 
 that whereas in 1880 only 200 tons of coal could be 
 carried out of the Grey in a single bottom, in 1885 a 
 vessel took out 900 tons. By now the mines were 
 able to cope with the requirements of the home market 
 and it was expected that the industry would receive a 
 check. But in succeeding years the development of 
 home industries and the requirements of shipping further 
 expanded, and the new seams on the West Coast earned 
 such a reputation for quality that New Zealand coal 
 actually commenced to be exported to all parts of the 
 Pacific seaboard. 
 
 In face of the difficulties of transport, which were still 
 serious, the New Zealand product made a demand 
 
110 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 beyond its own borders long before the consumers of the 
 colony themselves could dispense with imports from 
 Australia. In view of the peculiar configuration of the 
 country many localities found it cheaper to import this 
 class of coal from Australia than to get it from the West 
 Coast. At this time the heaviest load ever taken across 
 the bar at either Greymouth or Westport was only 
 900 tons, and this was regarded as an isolated success ; 
 whereas at Newcastle, the chief coal port of New South 
 Wales, where all the most modern appliances were in 
 use, a vessel could with ease take 3,000 tons. And the 
 coal was carried across from Australia at cheap rates by 
 vessels which would otherwise make the voyage empty. 
 Thus it happened that in the fifteen years 1885-99, a period 
 in which the mines of New Zealand were in full working 
 order, the imports of coal still exceeded the exports 
 by 600,000 tons. The proportion, however, was daily 
 becoming less marked. The right balance was struck 
 in 190 1, and since then the exports have steadily out- 
 balanced the imports, their progress being pari passu 
 with the improvement of the coal ports. Apart from 
 this difficulty, the coal measures of the West Coast 
 are admirably accessible. Though in densely wooded 
 country — a condition in itself favourable — the most 
 remote of the workings are within a few miles of the 
 seaboard, and in every case they lie high above sea-level, 
 thus enabling the coal to be lowered by gravitation and 
 saving a great deal of expenditure. 
 
 Any doubts that may have existed as to the steaming 
 qualities of the West Coast coal were set at rest by 
 the historic escape of H.M.S. Calliope in the great 
 hurricane that devastated Samoa in 1889. A squadron 
 of United States and German warships and the Calliope 
 were lying in the harbour of Apia when the storm 
 commenced. It blew with rapidly increasing fury, and 
 all the vessels got under steam to ease the strain on 
 their anchors. The Calliope alone, with her bunkers 
 full of Westport coal, was able to make headway against 
 the hurricane. Slipping her cable, she forged slowly 
 
COAL AND OTHER MINERALS 111 
 
 ahead in the teeth of the gale and, with the encouraging 
 cheers of the American sailors ringing through the 
 storm, reached the open sea. Next morning the beach 
 was strewn with the wreckage of all the German and 
 American warships. Since then the British Admiralty 
 has been a constant user of New Zealand coal, both 
 on the Australian Station and as far abroad as Singapore 
 and the China Station. For some years specially con- 
 structed Admiralty colliers ran regularly from Westport 
 to Hongkong and Wei-hai-wei. Coal from the Westport 
 mine also reached the ports of San Francisco and 
 Valparaiso and other places on the Pacific slope of 
 America. 
 
 It must be candidly confessed, however, that the cost 
 of producing coal in New Zealand — the wages amount 
 to 9s. a ton before the coal reaches the consumer — is 
 a decided obstacle in the way of the development of 
 an export trade. At present the bulk of the exports 
 takes the form of bunker coal supplied to steamers 
 visiting the Dominion. The conditions of production 
 make it unlikely that the genuine export can, for the time 
 at least, stand the competition of the cheaply produced 
 Japanese coals or even those of Newcastle, in New South 
 Wales. The latter even to-day can be landed in New 
 Zealand at a price which ensures it a good and regular 
 market. 
 
 Coal-mining has now entirely passed through its initial 
 trials and is on a sound commercial footing. Ever since 
 1885 the West Coast mines have produced more than 
 either the Southern or the Northern district, and two 
 years later the output equalled that of all other districts 
 combined. This position is, of course, largely due to 
 the fact that the valuable bituminous seams are practically 
 confined to that district. Close and rigid State inspection 
 has produced excellent results in the equipment and 
 control of the mines, and most of them now possess the 
 most modern labour-saving appliances. The Westport- 
 Stockton mine was the first in Australasia to employ 
 electric locomotives for haulage. The premier company 
 
112 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 of the Dominion — the Westport Coal Company, Limited 
 — with a capital of ;£400,ooo, is equipped to raise almost 
 a million tons a year, or more than half the total output. 
 It has 5,400 acres of coal area, much of which lies 2,000 
 feet above sea-level. The output of the mine to date is 
 nearly eight million tons. This and the neighbouring 
 companies supply the bulk of the coal used in the 
 Dominion for steam and gas purposes, as well as the 
 better-class house coal. 
 
 From the outset in the early seventies coal-mining was 
 put under proper regulation both as to actual working 
 and the safety of the miners, and as a consequence 
 the mines are, almost without exception, well conducted. 
 Two serious accidents have occurred in the course of 
 thirty years, and 27 million tons of coal have been raised 
 at a cost of 150 lives. The State, besides exercising a 
 certain measure of control in its inspection, has not been 
 backward in granting assistance. It is, indeed, very 
 doubtful if the West Coast mines, now the wealthiest in 
 the Dominion, would even yet have been effectively 
 developed had the Government not taken the steps it did 
 to improve the coal ports. The profits from the local 
 (State) railways, the royalties on the coal raised, and the 
 rents of certain town lands were set aside as an endow- 
 ment for the improvement of the ports of Greymouth 
 and Westport, and since then very rapid progress has 
 been made. Elsewhere most of the mines lie close to 
 good harbours, or are in railway communication with 
 the seaboard or their immediate markets. At the present 
 moment there is a visible supply of 1,200 million tons of 
 good coal (including 200 millions of lignite) to which 
 the Dominion has effective access either by sea or by rail. 
 
 The beneficence of the State towards mining had 
 scarcely prepared the coal companies which had received 
 so much assistance for the new phase of State activity 
 which made its appearance ten years ago. In 1899 the 
 dislocation of the New South Wales industry and the 
 great demand for New Zealand coal for oversea markets 
 caused a severe local shortage. Enhanced prices locally 
 
COAL AND OTHER MINERALS 113 
 
 for a product that was being exported in great volume 
 furnished a cogent argument for the advocates of State 
 Socialism, and by the end of the century Mr. Seddon had 
 openly mooted the establishment of State coal-mines. 
 The Government railways were the largest users of New 
 Zealand coal, and he considered that if the State under- 
 took the raising of its own coal the market would be so 
 relieved that the public would get theirs at a fair price. 
 Two areas on the West Coast, both on Crown lands, 
 were prospected and decided upon as suitable for 
 development. They lie contiguous to Greymouth and 
 Westport respectively. The coal is of excellent quality. 
 Equipped with the best modern plant, and connected 
 with the ports by new railways, the State mines, imme- 
 diately upon their opening in 1904, took a prominent 
 position, second only to the Westport in point of output. 
 Within two years the annual output of the two mines 
 was 200,000 tons, a quantity amply sufficient to relieve 
 the market in the manner desired. As soon as the out- 
 put was assured and the supply for the railways made 
 secure depots were opened in some of the large towns to 
 retail the coal to private consumers, so that the State is 
 now filling to completion the function of a private 
 colliery and coal merchant. The employees are organised 
 in an industrial union, working under an agreement with 
 the manager of the State mines as to hours of work and 
 rates of pay. At the smaller mine at Seddonville a 
 briquette plant has been installed to make up into 
 marketable form the large quantities of soft coal. This 
 has a capacity of 200 tons in a day of eight hours, and 
 the mines themselves can turn out from 8,000 to 2,000 
 tons per week. 
 
 In point of fact, and in spite of the unquestioned 
 advantages which the State must always enjoy in engag- 
 ing in certain industries, the New Zealand Government 
 conducts its coal-mines on lines which are generally 
 regarded as fair and equitable to competing companies. 
 Its competition is undoubtedly as severe as that of a 
 strong private company, and it is the best possible 
 
 9 
 
114 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 indication of the healthy state of the market that not 
 only have the existing companies made no strong protest 
 against State intrusion, but new private companies have 
 since succeeded in obtaining ample capital to exploit 
 other valuable seams in the same area. In the peculiar 
 circumstances surrounding the coal industry in New 
 Zealand a certain considerable measure of State assist- 
 ance was absolutely necessary, and the natural sequence 
 of the assistance so genuinely and liberally afforded by a 
 Government which was itself one of the largest con- 
 sumers of coal, was the development of its own measures. 
 The step was a reasonable one. If the State required 
 any excuse for its action, it was that the existing com- 
 panies had been unable to supply the public demand 
 except at exorbitant rates. 
 
 In the period of fifteen years the collieries of New 
 Zealand have trebled their output and more than doubled 
 the number of their employees. The machinery and 
 plant, too, which in 1890 was assessed at ^^155, 000, is 
 now worth three times as much. The average weekly 
 earnings of the miners in the different districts are : — ^ 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Northern 3 3 5 
 
 Western 396 
 
 Southern 210 
 
 Average 2 18 o 
 
 With the increase of machinery, and, to some extent, 
 the improved skill of the miners, the output per man has 
 increased gradually as under : — 
 
 
 No of Men 
 
 Average Output. 
 
 
 Employed. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1878 ... 
 
 513 
 
 316 
 
 1888 ... 
 
 1,689 
 
 363 
 
 1898 ... 
 
 2,003 
 
 452-83 
 
 1905 ... 
 
 3,269 
 
 485 
 
 The following skeleton table shows the output of the 
 • Calculation by Inspector E. R. Green in igo6. 
 
COAL AND OTHER MINERALS 115 
 
 colony at different periods, with the imports and 
 exports : — 
 
 
 Coal Raised. 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Exports. 
 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Tons. 
 
 1878 
 
 162,218 
 
 174,148 
 
 3,921 
 
 1883 
 
 • 421,764 
 
 123,540 
 
 7,172 
 
 1888 
 
 . 613,89s 
 
 101,341 
 
 68,087 
 
 1893 . 
 
 • 691,548 
 
 "7,444 
 
 80,000 
 
 1898 
 
 • 907,033 
 
 "5,427 
 
 65,189 
 
 1903 
 
 ■ 1,420,229 
 
 163,923 
 
 152,332 
 
 1908 
 
 
 287,808 
 
 100,502 
 
 At present the demand is excellent. The best seams ' 
 have been located and tapped by railroads, the lines of 
 communication have been immeasurably improved by 
 the harbour works at Greymouth and Westport, and 
 finally labour is plentiful. There is an inexhaustible 
 supply of first-class steam-coal — 1,000 million tons 
 actually in sight — and the whole Pacific seaboard, includ- 
 ing the Far East and the western coast of America, bids 
 for the supply if it can only be produced at a sufficiently 
 low cost. 
 
 One of the most remarkable of the undeveloped mineral 
 resources is the vast masses of iron which lie practically 
 on the surface of the ground. Within a mile of the 
 ocean at Parapara, Nelson, where wharfage for large 
 vessels could be provided, is a deposit of haematite 
 roughly estimated to contain 53 million tons of iron. 
 Dr. Bell, the Director of the Geological Survey, 
 remarks : — 
 
 " The Parapara iron deposit, which is composed of 
 hydrous haematites, is a most remarkable one, and bears 
 a striking resemblance, both in its large proportions and 
 its mode of origin, to the great ' soft-ore ' deposits of 
 the Lake Superior region in America. It is rare, how- 
 
 ■ The following table gives an analysis of coal from some of the leading 
 seams : — 
 
 Fixed Carbons. Hydrocarbons. 
 
 Per Cent. Per Cent. 
 
 Kaitangata, Otago ... 44^60 28-93 
 
 Blackball, Western ... 49'i5 4675 
 
 Coalbrookdale 74"83 20-50 
 
 Paparoa 80-05 i5"io 
 
 Water. 
 
 Ash. 
 
 'er Cent. 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 20-06 
 
 6-41 
 
 3-2 
 
 0-9 
 
 I-16 
 
 3-51 
 
 0-65 
 
 4-20 
 
116 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 ever, in that part of the world to find deposits of such 
 size actually occurring on the surface." 
 
 Assays have proved the deposits to contain from 45 
 to 60 per cent, of iron. Within four miles is a large 
 supply of bituminous coal and close at hand a belt of 
 limestone. On the West Coast of the North Island, too, 
 in the province of Taranaki, are immense supplies of 
 iron-sand, from which samples of steel of excellent quality 
 have been manufactured. In other parts of the country 
 are found every variety of iron ore, the presence of 
 which, in accessible positions, makes it practically certain 
 that New Zealand must one day possess a large smelting 
 industry. Copper, petroleum, antimony, and chrome ore 
 are the most important of a host of other minerals which 
 are present in quantity, but as yet little worked. 
 
 A final and unique article of commercial value which 
 may be ranked amongst the minerals is the fossilised gum 
 of the kauri pine (Dammara Australis). This tree, the 
 only one of all the pines of New Zealand that bears a cone, 
 is restricted in its incidence to three degrees of latitude 
 and three of longitude, almost entirely in the Auckland 
 peninsula. There are no traces of it outside an area of 
 about 4,000 square miles, and it is not found in any other 
 country. 
 
 " Sombre stretches of undulating country, sparsely 
 covered with bracken fern, or with the green scrub called 
 manuka by the Maori, and dotted everywhere with up- 
 turned heaps of clay — the marks of past diggers : here 
 and there clumps of native forest, their fringes sentinelled 
 by black logs and gaunt, half-burned dead trunks, far- 
 stretching level swamp land, waving with the long sword- 
 leaves of the native flax, or harakeke (another of New 
 Zealand's peculiar and valuable products), or with the 
 white flags of the toi tot or the whispering ranks of the 
 light green raupo sedge, in sheltered nooks the white 
 tents of the nondescript huts and sod and corrugated 
 iron chimneys of the diggers — these are the gum lands of 
 North Auckland." i 
 
 ' James Cowan in " New Zealand, or Ao-tea-roa," 
 
'4 ' '^ 
 
COAL AND OTHER MINERALS 117 
 
 The resinous gum of the tree, which hardens in the air 
 and closely resembles amber, has for fifty years past been 
 a staple article of industry in New Zealand, apart alto- 
 gether from the wood itself, which is one of the most 
 valuable of the native timbers. From its first appearance 
 on the markets of Europe and America kauri gum took 
 a leading place as an ingredient in the manufacture of 
 varnish and lac, and there has always been a ready 
 market for all that can be found. The largest and best 
 supply is obtained, not from the living trees, but from 
 the ground upon which in former days dense kauri 
 forests grew. 
 
 At the present time there are 3,500 persons engaged in 
 procuration of kauri gum, or as many as the coal-mines 
 themselves employ. But the men are of an entirely 
 different class. The workers in collieries are almost 
 invariably skilled men of good character : the gum-fields 
 are the refuge for the riff-raff of colonial society. 
 
 The procedure in gum-digging is to search the barren 
 ground, locating the buried treasure by means of an iron 
 probe, or " gum spear," and then dig it up with a spade. 
 It is carefully scraped, washed, and graded according to 
 quality, and proceeds forthwith either to the store of 
 the lessee who has given authority to dig or straight 
 to the merchant's warehouse in Auckland. Originally 
 the Maori themselves gathered the gum from the sur- 
 face by shallow digging, but its increased value and the 
 high wages which it became possible to make attracted 
 hundreds of whites into the occupation, and to-day the 
 gum-diggers as a rule are making from £■}, to £i\ a week 
 for skilled diggers, down to £2 or less for the less efficient 
 and amateurs. Families who are prepared to live a 
 nomadic life can do well on the fields, since the children 
 themselves can earn a few shillings for a day's work. 
 The same areas frequently yield payable returns on the 
 third or even subsequent working, and settlers taking up 
 for settlement the open fern lands upon which the kauri 
 forests of old stood have been known to recoup them- 
 selves out of the proceeds of the gum a considerable 
 
118 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 portion of the expenses of " breaking in " the land. The 
 two occupations frequently go hand in hand. 
 
 The exact origin of the immigration of so-called 
 " Austrians " to the gum-fields of Auckland has never been 
 discovered. There is a story that a random Austrian 
 happened to win a prize in one of the famous lotteries in 
 Melbourne, and that his countrymen, hearing from him 
 in Auckland of his good fortune, flocked to the Antipodes 
 in the same quest. It is much more likely, though, 
 that the wine-growers and agriculturists from Dalmatia, 
 Istria, and the Balkan States were first attracted to New 
 Zealand by the narrative of Dr. Hochstetter and the 
 seamen of the Austrian frigate Novara, which visited the 
 coasts on a scientific expedition in 1858. At any rate, 
 the influx dates back to the sixties. Some of the 
 Austrians found the soil to be suitable for wine-growing, 
 and having come to the Dominion in the first case on the 
 speculative chance of making money quickly, they decided 
 to become permanent settlers and took up land for wine- 
 culture and farming. There are several permanent 
 settlements of Austrians in the north of Auckland, besides 
 a nomadic population making up a total of something 
 like 2,500 souls. 
 
 Though the output of kauri gum has steadily increased 
 since the inception of the industry in the fifties, its volume 
 to-day is due rather to intense working than to new sources 
 of supply. The deposits are limited in extent, and they 
 are being reproduced in a measure which is infinitesimal. 
 The remnants of kauri forest now standing will never 
 provide any considerable new supply. The price of kauri 
 gum varies from, say, £"] 5s. to ;£i per hundredweight, 
 though the rare examples of the best quality realise as 
 much as £10, and the search has long been too keen to 
 allow any great deposits to remain hidden. It is possible 
 that drainage of the swampy lands and the further denu- 
 dation of the remaining forests may open up new areas, 
 but for the rest the future of the industry is not a pro- 
 mising one. Forty years is the longest life that any 
 optimist has ever predicted for it. 
 
COAL AND OTHER MINERALS 119 
 
 The kauri is a tree of extremely slow growth — a healthy 
 forest may vary in age from one to eight hundred years — 
 and the living tree is a poor producer of resin. Gum of 
 inferior grade is occasionally found in the forks of stand- 
 ing trees, and the practice grew up in New Zealand, as 
 it had grown in America and Europe, of " bleeding " 
 the living trees for their resin. For some years the 
 Government leased trees for this purpose, but the 
 practice was discontinued in 1905 in consequence of an 
 adverse report by the Chief Forester. He stated that the 
 extraction of turpentine, tar, and resin from the timber 
 trees of Europe and America had been very injurious to 
 the timber, which by this operation became suitable only 
 for use as packing-cases and similar purposes. Cases are 
 known in which trees have been tapped for a century 
 or more without any apparent injury to their vitality. 
 
 The quantity of kauri gum exported and its value for 
 periodic years are as follows : — 
 
 1853 
 1858 
 1863 
 1868 
 1873 
 1878 
 1883 
 1888 
 
 1893 
 1898 
 1903 
 1908 
 
 Tons. 
 
 Value. 
 
 830 
 
 ;ei5,972 
 
 ... 1,811 
 
 20,037 
 
 ... 1,400 
 
 27,026 
 
 ... 2,690 
 
 72,493 
 
 ... 2,834 
 
 85,816 
 
 - 3,445 
 
 132,975 
 
 ... 6,518 
 
 336,606 
 
 ... 8,482 
 
 380,933 
 
 ... 8,317 
 
 510,775 
 
 ... 9,90s 
 
 586,767 
 
 - 9,357 
 
 631,102 
 
 - 5.530 
 
 372,798 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 REFRIGERATION AND PRODUCTION 
 
 A crisis in production — The radius for foodstuffs — At the mercy of the 
 home market — The worthless carcase — Agriculture at a halt — 
 Production suspended — Avoiding the consequences — The magic of 
 refrigeration — Production revolutionised — Extraordinary expansion. 
 
 To every country newly populated by a civilised people 
 there comes a time in its development at which primary 
 industries are critically threatened. The stage when 
 production overtakes the local demand may be passed 
 without a serious upheaval if there happens to be a ready 
 market for the surplus at such a distance as to make it 
 remunerative even with the added cost of freight. 
 
 Thus the United States and Canada, when they were 
 more than able to supply the wants of their own popu- 
 lations, found in Europe a suitable market for their 
 surplus without any danger of the freight charges being 
 excessive, or of the produce perishing in transit. This 
 enabled them to continue without check the develop- 
 ment of their natural resources, and to maintain a 
 steadily increasing rural population in profitable occu- 
 pation of the land. The British colonies in Australasia 
 were on an entirely different footing. At a comparatively 
 early date they had under cultivation the small area of 
 land necessary to meet the local demand for wheat, dairy 
 produce, and meat. At that time the Eastern countries 
 were not consumers in the smallest degree of European 
 foodstuffs, America, five thousand miles distant, was 
 only an occasional bidder for very small supplies. 
 Practically the only country capable of absorbing the 
 
 120 
 
REFRIGERATION 121 
 
 surplus production of Australasian pastures and farms 
 was England, and England was far beyond the radius 
 to which perishable foodstuffs could be carried in good 
 condition. Even the wheat crop was reduced to a narrow 
 margin of profit in any but good seasons. 
 
 Under these conditions every acre of land that was 
 brought into cultivation beyond an increase pari passu 
 with the slow growth of population tended to lower 
 prices and reduce the profits to the grower. Thus 
 placed by the accident of their geographical position, 
 Australasian agriculturists were thrown on the mercy of 
 a local market which was all too small for them. Agri- 
 culture was peremptorily checked. Wool and a little 
 grain were the only products for which there was a per- 
 manent market beyond the seas, and all the other avenues 
 of production were perforce abandoned. 
 
 At this stage the whole marketable product of a sheep 
 was a few fleeces of wool, one pelt, and a boiled-down 
 carcase. Except in the close environs of a town, cattle 
 were useless but for the skin and the horns. Possibly 
 some preserved beef brought in a little income, but 
 more often the carcase was returned to the land from the 
 animal fertiliser works. These conditions struck New 
 Zealand just as severely as they did Australia. There 
 was a regular but restricted market for butter and cheese 
 landed in Australia in good condition, but this was an 
 inconsiderable offset to the immense geographical dis- 
 advantage of distance from the only large consuming 
 community. The climate of New Zealand made it pos- 
 sible for her to produce immense quantities of perishable 
 foodstuffs which Australia could not produce, but in the 
 absence of any artificial means of preservation it could 
 not be sent abroad. As a natural consequence New 
 Zealand agriculture, too, was inexorably halted. Year 
 by year hundreds of thousands of acres were taken up, 
 but the great bulk of it was destined for the depasturing 
 of sheep with the sole object of producing wool. In 
 Australia wheat could be grown with much more pros- 
 pect of an oversea market than in New Zealand. For 
 
122 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 the latter the oversea wheat market depended largely 
 upon bad seasons in Australia. 
 
 Within a quarter of a century of the establishment 
 of the colony, New Zealand was crippled in more than 
 one branch of agriculture. This meant a loss to hus- 
 bandry far in excess of the actual export that might have 
 been possible under different circumstances. It destroyed 
 to some extent the rotation of crops which is so neces- 
 sary to the welfare of the soil. It restricted the rural 
 population, and led to a herding of the people in the 
 environs of the towns irrespective of the immigration 
 that was then in progress. Finally it entailed, or en- 
 couraged, the holding of land in large areas, with 
 diminished power of rating for development, and with 
 a constant deterioration by reason of noxious pests. 
 
 For fully twenty years, at the most active develop- 
 mental stage of New Zealand's history, production along 
 certain lines was absolutely suspended, and with so little 
 prospect of improvement that only men with capital could 
 afford to embark upon the ownership of land. In each 
 of the following industries there was a hopeless glut : — 
 
 1. Beef. 4. Cheese. 
 
 2. Mutton. 5. Rabbits. 
 
 3. Butter. 
 
 The impossibility of turning rabbits to account allowed 
 them such respite that they steadily encroached on the 
 more legitimate industry of wool-growing, and levied 
 such a toll on the pastures that millions of acres of land 
 had to be abandoned to them. 
 
 While agriculture was in this state thousands of people 
 were being brought into the country, and it became 
 imperatively necessary that work should be found for 
 them by the establishment of new industries to supply 
 the local market with manufactures that were then being 
 imported. It is perilous to reflect how the colony would 
 have fared under this system of lop-sided grafting. The 
 faintest idea of the straits to which it would eventually 
 have been reduced may be drawn from the severity of 
 the depression which did actually follow the prosecution 
 
REFRIGERATION 123 
 
 of this policy, and which lasted over a period of fifteen 
 years. But by that time, fortunately, we were on the eve 
 of those inventions which revolutionised the whole of 
 the producing industries of Australasia, if not of the 
 world. As the glorious seventies flickered out, and the 
 dark days of the eighties dawned, there was not a ray of 
 sunshine on New Zealand's horizon. The land boom 
 had burst, the price of wool had steadily fallen, the 
 country was overrun by an army of imported artisans 
 wanting employment. No man could look the future in 
 the face. Town and country alike were faced with ruin. 
 
 But the storm had scarcely burst with its full fury 
 when a ray of light appeared for the man on the land. 
 To him the experiments which had been undertaken by 
 some enterprising men in Australia meant hope. That 
 buoyed him up during the time that was still necessary 
 to prove the success of the new system of refrigeration, 
 and when it was fully demonstrated men could see that 
 the future of New Zealand again lay along the primeval 
 lines of agriculture. The whole prospect altered. Refri- 
 geration had brought the markets of the world to the 
 gates of New Zealand and Australia. Henceforth it was 
 practically certain that anything New Zealand could 
 produce could be transported in wholesome condition 
 to the consumer as far as the poles distant. Those who 
 were on the land were encouraged to remain there. A 
 new demand arose — the genuine demand of the small 
 farmer to possess a holding ; and from that moment, 
 through all the political vicissitudes of the last quarter of 
 a century, the tendency has been steadily and steadfastly 
 in the direction of closer settlement and closer cultivation, 
 
 A single table will show at a glance what refrigeration 
 has done for New Zealand in restoring and developing 
 the previous staple productions : — 
 
 
 
 Value of Exports. 
 
 
 
 
 Wool. 
 
 Meat. 
 
 Butter. 
 
 Cheese. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 i860 . 
 
 ■• 444,392 
 
 — 
 
 6,623 
 
 3,535 
 
 1880 . 
 
 •• 3,169,300 
 
 — 
 
 8,350 
 
 1,983 
 
 1907 . 
 
 .. 7,657,278 
 
 3,520,877 I 
 
 ,615,345 
 
 662,355 
 
124 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Before refrigeration made its appearance there was a 
 slump in almost all foodstuffs. Beef had fallen from 
 6^d. a pound in 1850 to 4jd. twenty years later ; bread 
 from Qd. to 5|d. ; flour from 17s. to 12s. ; mutton from 
 6d. to 3d. ; pork from 6d. to 4d. ; potatoes from 140s. to 
 80s. ; butter from is. 8d. to 8d., and cheese from is. 6d. 
 to 8d. The sudden influx of people during the gold- 
 mining days had created a sort of boom. The high level 
 of prices for a few years encouraged farmers to increase 
 their acreage and production in a manner which told 
 heavily against them a few years later. 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY 
 
 Position of sheep-farmers in 1880 — No market tor mutton — England the 
 goal — Refrigeration — Experiments in Australia — Mr. Thomas Bry- 
 done's venture — Successful shipment from Dunedin to London — 
 Enthusiasm in the colony — Sailing ships ousted by steam — Mis- 
 takes and malpractice — Popular prejudices — Lord Onslow's demon- 
 stration — Learning the business — Meat-marking legislation — 
 Compulsory inspection for disease — Precautions against injury — 
 Flocks endangered by over-exportation — Culling and replenishing 
 — An industry revolutionised — By-products — The beef question — 
 Competition of America — Government assistance — Regulation and 
 inspection. 
 
 During the seventies — the decade of New Zealand's 
 prosperity on borrowed money — the area of land in 
 occupation increased nominally fourfold. But most of 
 the new country brought into occupation was in the 
 form of additions to the existing large pastoral "runs." 
 It simply gave more room for the flocks to run. The 
 size of the flocks was already causing some anxiety, but 
 so long as the price of wool kept up there was no imme- 
 diate danger. The output of wool increased by 150 per 
 cent, during the period 1870-80, and in the latter year 
 the flocks totalled thirteen millions. 
 
 But in spite of the appearance of prosperity, the sheep- 
 farmers were by no means happy. Many had bitten off 
 more than they could chew. Their holdings were too 
 large, and they anticipated with fear and trembling the 
 day when low prices or a tightening money market 
 should bring them face to face with their liabilities. 
 Scab still raged among the sheep, involving heavy losses, 
 increased expense, and taxation. But what troubled the 
 
 125 
 
126 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 settlers most was the absence of a market in which they 
 could dispose of the full product of the sheep stations. 
 Up to this point sheep were animals of practically a 
 single utility. To the great majority of the farmers the 
 annual fleece was the only source of revenue. The rest 
 of the animal was transformed into manure when it was 
 no longer able to furnish decent wool or lambs. The 
 mutton required for consumption by a population of 
 half a million was a mere fleabite where there were 
 flocks of thirteen millions to draw upon. First-class 
 meat brought next to nothing. There were occasional 
 shipments of live-stock to Australia in time of drought, 
 and to South America for breeding purposes ; but this 
 revenue was only a detail for a few breeders. In short, 
 the wool was the only part of the sheep for which there 
 was an assured market. The animal itself was a mere 
 by-product. 
 
 Under these conditions old sheep were kept until they 
 were no longer capable of paying their way, and then 
 disposed of with the least expense to their owners. 
 Thousands were driven off to the boiling-down works — 
 at the nominal price of sixpence a head — to save the 
 farmers the trouble of killing and burying them. Hun- 
 dreds of tons of first-class mutton were each year ruth- 
 lessly put through the digester and converted into 
 manures. Skins and tallow had a market value, but the 
 owner was lucky indeed who netted 7s. or 8s. from 
 70 or 80-lb. sheep. While the price of wool was good 
 even such sacrifices as these could be borne ; but 
 a fluctuation of a penny a pound in London meant 
 a difference of a quarter of a million sterling in New 
 Zealand, and when prices kept consistently low for a 
 few years the farmers were put to it to devise some 
 means of turning their rapidly increasing flocks to better 
 account. 
 
 The object to be aimed at was obvious enough. 
 Unless a market could be found for mutton, the sheep 
 industry of New Zealand could not possibly be developed 
 to a profit. It was economically impossible to go on 
 
THE FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY 127 
 
 growing wool, with the sheep itself as a by-product. 
 The nearest meat-eating nation was the Australians — 
 two or three million white men — but Australia was itself 
 one of the greatest sheep countries in the world. The 
 teeming millions of China, Japan, and Siam did not 
 appreciate the virtues of mutton as a food. The only 
 promising outlet was the English market ; but it was 
 three months distant, and the transport of live-stock was 
 out of the question. The sea-borne commerce of New 
 Zealand consisted chiefly of wool, and it was carried 
 almost entirely as yet in sailing ships. The quickest 
 passage ever made from port to port was sixty-nine days. 
 Live-stock making such a journey would lose all the 
 flavour and condition acquired on their natural pastures, 
 and consume all their profits in forage. The only hope 
 in bringing together the producer in New Zealand and 
 the consumer in England lay in one or the other of the 
 processes of refrigeration which had been demonstrated 
 with some degree of success between the United States 
 and England. In that case, though, the voyage was not 
 more than one-fourth as long as that from New Zealand 
 to England, and it was accomplished by steamships. 
 
 Pastoralists in Australia began experimenting. In 1879 
 they made two partially successful shipments of frozen 
 meat to London, and freezing works were immediately 
 established at Melbourne and Orange (New South 
 Wales). Unfortunately, the industry received a set-back 
 in subsequent shipments, and the works closed down. 
 Having taken the lead and demonstrated the possibility 
 of preserving the status quo of meat by cold storage for 
 a period of several weeks, Australia abandoned the work 
 entirely until the success of New Zealand encouraged 
 a revival. 
 
 It was a series of bad seasons for wool that impelled 
 the New Zealand Government to action. Settlement had 
 been pushed ahead so vigorously that it was imperative 
 that markets should be found for the produce. To this 
 end a bonus of ;^5oo was offered for the first 100 tons 
 of fresh meat landed in Europe in cond.tion fit for 
 
128 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 human consumption. The offer was announced in May, 
 1881, and there the action of the Government stopped. 
 There was no subsidising of the proposed industry ; 
 there was no appropriation for experimental purposes. 
 Yet before the year closed the bonus had been claimed 
 and practically earned. 
 
 The New Zealand and Australian Land Company was 
 one of the largest landed proprietors in the country, and, 
 in common with other owners, it was every year ridding 
 itself of the surplus of its flocks at sacrificial prices. 
 Much colonial capital had already been lost in the endea- 
 vour to transport fresh meat to England, but the intro- 
 duction of the dry-air system seemed to promise better 
 results than had so far been obtained. It was a pure sp>ecu- 
 lation, but the stakes were worth plajing for, and the 
 manager of the Company, Mr. Thomas Brydone, deter- 
 mined to make another attempt. An agreement was entered 
 into with the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company to fit up 
 one of their sailing ships, the Dunlin, to carry a meat cargo 
 to London at a freight of 2jd. per pound. The experi- 
 ence of Melbourne and Orange was drawn upon, but the 
 fitting up of the ship, which was carried out at Port 
 Chalmers, was a good deal of a hazard. A kilhng-place 
 was hastily erected at Totara, near Oamaru, seventy 
 miles from the port of shipment. Sheep were slaugh- 
 tered at the rate of 250 a day, railed immediately 
 to the port — it was the height of the New Zealand 
 summer — and stowed forthwith in the freezing cham- 
 bers of the Duuedin. When the work was hah finished 
 the machinery broke down, and every carcase had to be 
 taken out of the ship and sold tor what they would fetch 
 in preference to decomposition. Finally the Dunedin 
 left Port Chalmers on February 15, 18S2, with the frozen 
 carcases of 4,311 sheep and 598 iambs. The average 
 weight of the former was 80 lb. and of the latter 40^ lb. 
 
 Working in the dark as they were, the captain and 
 engineers had to exercise the greatest care and vigilance 
 throughout the voyage to keep the machinery in work- 
 ing order and the cargo at the right temperature. The 
 
THE FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY 129 
 
 result was a triumph. The meat was landed in perfect 
 condition and sold for 6Jd. per lb.— a price which has 
 not since been reached. But the price was a subsidiary 
 circumstance. The "prodigious fact" was there, to quote 
 the Times, that fresh meat from the Antipodes had been 
 landed in London in perfectly sound and wholesome 
 condition. And prodigious it was for the colonial meat 
 industry. For New Zealand it utterly revolutionised 
 both agriculture and grazing. 
 
 The methods of refrigeration generally adopted were 
 all more or less varieties of the original Bell-Coleman 
 and Haslam systems. Certain gases — usually ammonia 
 or anhydrous carbonic acid gas — are compressed by 
 steam power or electricity to a fraction of their volume. 
 On expanding again the temperature is reduced consider- 
 ably, and this process is continued until the desired 
 result is reached. When liberated the gas passes through 
 coils of pipes which are immersed in a solution of 
 chloride of calcium, which will not freeze at the tem- 
 perature required for the refrigeration of meat. On 
 emerging from the coils the gas again goes through the 
 compressors, and the temperature can be reduced con- 
 siderably below zero. Thus is obtained the supply of 
 intensely cold brine which is actually responsible for 
 the work of freezing the meat. It is applied to the 
 chambers either in pipes or by coming in contact with 
 a current of air passing into the chambers. 
 
 When the fame of the Dunedin's cargo returned to the 
 colony the lot of the sheep on the New Zealand mountain- 
 sides became a sad one. Hitherto they had lived to a 
 good old age, many dying peacefully in their pastures. 
 In fact, the flocks were tainted with the blemish of senility. 
 Now life bore a new terror for sheep that had cheerfully 
 yielded up their fleeces year in and year out. Immedi- 
 ately large drafts were driven off to the works that sprang 
 up like mushrooms near all the great seaports. In that 
 first year of grace 1882, 30,000 New Zealand sheep were 
 offered up a sacrifice to the new foe. Next year it was 
 nearly 200,000, and in the ninth year of freezing two 
 
130 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 million sheep were slaughtered for export. Works were 
 erected at Dunedin, Oamaru, Invercargill, Timaru, Christ- 
 church, Picton, Wellington, Gisborne, Whanganui, 
 Waitara, and Auckland. Shipping companies, freezing 
 companies, farmers, and the general public threw them- 
 selves with enthusiasm into the quest of new and cheaper 
 methods of killing sheep and transporting the meat, into 
 the study of breeds and crosses, and the question of 
 supply and demand. But it was almost entirely a ques- 
 tion of supply. The British public did not at once 
 become enamoured of the new meat, but from the first 
 there were sufficient consumers to absorb all that arrived. 
 The New Zealand Shipping Company, the other great 
 line engaged in the New Zealand trade, fitted up several 
 of its ships with refrigerators — the Mataura being the 
 first — and led the movement from the North Island. 
 There was now the most cogent reason why steamships 
 should supplant "wind-jammers" in the service, and the 
 Government called for tenders for a monthly service of 
 steamers to make the voyage to London in fifty days. 
 The companies at once responded by building a number 
 of fine steamers — fitted with insulated chambers and 
 refrigerators, and capable of carrying upwards of 12,000 
 carcases each voyage. For some years the sailing ships 
 remained in the trade, but the competition of steam in 
 the carriage of meat was too severe, and even the wool- 
 growers began to show a preference for steam freight. 
 Early in the nineties there were four large shipping com- 
 panies engaged in the trade, and the sailing ship passed 
 quietly and swiftly out of sight. At the present time 
 the four companies, controlling a multitude of steamers 
 of from 8,000 tons upwards, are running regular services 
 between London and New Zealand, and thirteen seaports 
 in the colony are regularly shipping frozen produce direct 
 into the holds of these liners, many of which can take 
 upwards of 100,000 carcases each voyage. Shipping com- 
 panies engaged in the coastal trade fiave also installed 
 refrigerators, so that practically every river port in New 
 Zealand is in better touch with the ocean highways than 
 
THE FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY 131 
 
 the warehouses of London which receive their perishable 
 produce from ordinary "flats." 
 
 Refrigeration was the salvation of New Zealand. At a 
 time when the colony was in the lowest state of depres- 
 sion in its history, when the labour market was glutted 
 with unemployed, and the agricultural classes were dis- 
 heartened for lack of markets, it gave birth to two 
 industries which rejuvenated the country population and 
 absorbed some of the surplus of the cities ; which gave 
 an impetus to the genuine settlement of the land by small 
 men able to work it, and which brought into the country 
 during the worst period of its depression nine millions 
 sterling of absolutely new revenue. Within eight years 
 of its inception the trade was worth more than a million 
 pounds a year ; and in 1907, only a quarter of a century 
 from the first trial shipment, New Zealand exported 
 frozen meat to the value of nearly four million pounds. 
 But the industry was not firmly established without 
 going through many of those vicissitudes which arise 
 from ignorance in the earlier stages and from malpractice 
 later on. The British public was harder to convince 
 than the Times. A host of strange notions and objections 
 were brought forward : absurd many of them appear to 
 us to-day. The Duke of St. Albans, for instance, pro- 
 tested against meat being brought from the Antipodes to 
 compete with the produce of English farms, but he com- 
 forted the farmers with the assurance that the experiment 
 was an unnatural one, and that not only was the trade 
 foredoomed to failure by its own inherent difficulties, 
 but the meat, from its inferiority, would be utterly unsale- 
 able. The poorer classes of England hitherto had not 
 been in the habit of eating meat at all, except as a rare 
 luxury, and they were easily persuaded that the process 
 of freezing extracted all the nourishment from the mutton 
 and left it a mere mass of unsightly fibre : dull and battered, 
 not too sweet to the nostrils, and, if wholesome, certainly 
 not appetising. This was the most stubborn fallacy of 
 all. In many quarters it remains unshaken to-day. Still, 
 the original idea that frozen meat was impregnated with 
 
132 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 ptomaines has been lived down. The new process has 
 brought cheap and wholesome meat within the reach of 
 the poorer classes, and there is now in England a market 
 for all that New Zealand will be able to produce for some 
 years to come. 
 
 In 1891, when the prejudices were still fairly strong, 
 Lord Onslow (then Governor of New Zealand) made an 
 interesting experiment to ascertain whether the difference 
 in price between English and New Zealand mutton on 
 the English market was due to prejudice or to a corre- 
 sponding difference in quality. The colonial product 
 now ranked next to Hampshire and Southdown, but it 
 realised only about 5Jd. per lb. Lord Onslow selected 
 from the different classes of London society six gentle- 
 men of his acquaintance who were known to have first- 
 class cooks, and who had no interest, direct or indirect, 
 in English sheep-breeding. Six New Zealand sheep were 
 slaughtered, frozen, and sent to an agent in London, 
 who had orders to deliver them, carefully thawed and 
 ready for consumption. In advising the gentlemen 
 referred to of the shipment, Lord Onslow made it per- 
 fectly clear that the sheep were not to be considered as 
 presents, but were sent purely for his own information, 
 to ascertain whether the freezing process caused deterior- 
 ation in a joint of mutton which he had found in New 
 Zealand to be equal in quality and flavour to the best 
 he had been able to produce from his own pedigree 
 Southdowns in England. 
 
 The opinions were a chorus of eulogy. The Baron de 
 Worms, Under-Secretary for the Colonies, said : " The 
 freezing did not hurt it in the least : in fact, the greatest 
 epicure would fail to discern that it was not Home-grown." 
 
 Lord Rosebery : " The mutton was excellent, and not 
 to be distinguished from English mutton." 
 
 General Sir Henry de Bathe, of the Beefsteak Club : 
 " I, who am a dweller in the Southdowns, can safely aver 
 that your individual sheep was better than what I can buy 
 in Chichester, where it always wants age and colour. It 
 was as tender as a chicken." 
 
THE FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY 133 
 
 M. Waddington, the French Ambassador : "All present 
 pronounced it quite equal to the best English mutton. 
 The freezing of the meat had produced no appreciable 
 difference." 
 
 Sir Morell Mackenzie : " It had a great deal of flavour 
 and was very tender. In fact, I only recollect tasting 
 mutton as good on one or two occasions." 
 
 The prejudices against frozen meat might have been 
 sooner surmounted if the industry had been better 
 organised, but to a great extent every shipment was an 
 experiment. There was no previous experience to reduce 
 the freezing and transport of meat to a science. The 
 directors of the freezing companies were principally 
 farmers, and they had to profit by their own mistakes. 
 Sometimes, indeed, it seemed as if the freezing, insurance, 
 and freight charges, amounting in all to 3d. per lb. on the 
 meat, would not leave the growers any profit. There 
 were cases in which good cross-bred wethers returned 
 their owners only 2s. 6d. or 5s. a head clear. Occasion- 
 ally the farmers got no more than the 6d. per head of 
 the bad old days of boiling down. But men who had 
 been able to tide over almost certain ruin by the help of 
 the new industry were not likely to be discouraged, and 
 eventually the different parties to the industry came to a 
 thorough understanding, by which the charges were 
 reduced fully 30 per cent. The freezing companies had 
 at first been unwilling to bear all the risk by purchasing 
 the sheep outright, and the farmers were compelled to 
 shoulder a share of the responsibility. This, too, has 
 been remedied by the prosperity of the industry. Some 
 of the more recently established companies are on the 
 co-operative principle, and the farmers reap double 
 profits as growers and agents. 
 
 Innumerable lessons, again, had to be learned in the 
 breeding, treatment, and finish ing-off of sheep for 
 slaughtering, until to-day the whole subject has been 
 reduced to a fine art. The idiosyncrasies of the con- 
 sumers are thoroughly understood, and the growers have 
 learned how to utilise to their utmost the different classes 
 
134 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 of pasture, and to turn out a carcase of the requisite size, 
 quality, and fatness, with the " bloom " which makes it 
 attractive even in the markets of the Antipodes. Within 
 ten years New Zealand mutton and lamb were firmly 
 established in the London market as the premier over- 
 seas product, and second only in quality to English and 
 Welsh. The fine climate, healthy pastures, and abun- 
 dance of moisture gave New Zealand growers an im- 
 mense advantage over their competitors in Australia and 
 the Argentine Republic, and it was only malpractice that 
 had now to be feared in competition. 
 
 No sooner was the excellence of the New Zealand 
 product established than unscrupulous dealers com- 
 menced to palm it off on the consumers as English and 
 Scotch mutton and lamb. Though this did not, of 
 course, reduce the prices obtained for the New Zealand 
 article, it prevented the colony from reaping the full 
 advantage by establishing its own brand. At the instiga- 
 tion of the New Zealand Parliament an Imperial Act was 
 passed to make it compulsory to plainly mark imported 
 meat as such.' With this new measure of protection 
 New Zealand mutton and lamb forged still farther ahead 
 of their rivals. The Australian States were only com- 
 mencing to revive their efforts, and neither they nor the 
 Argentine could be classed as serious competitors. 
 Mutton and lamb from the province of Canterbury 
 came to be regarded by consumers of frozen meat as 
 delicacies par excellence, and it was now landed, with 
 rare exceptions, in first-class condition. Success brought 
 another penalty. Actuated by the same motives as before, 
 the unscrupulous dealers now commenced to retail 
 inferior brands of colonial meat under the name of New 
 Zealand. Cheap labour, low freights, and unlimited 
 pastures favoured the Argentine growers, and they were 
 able to produce a much cheaper article than New Zea- 
 land could. But the quality was as yet entirely inferior, 
 
 ■ The Foreign and Colonial Meat Act, 1890, makes it mandatory on 
 dealers to plainly indicate the origin of all meat sold, and constitutes the 
 selling of foreign or colonial meat as British or Irish a penal offence. 
 
THE FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY 135 
 
 and it was essential that New Zealand should be secured 
 against the inroads of fraudulent dealers. The Hon. 
 W. P. Reeves, Agent-General for New Zealand in London, 
 was convinced that only a determined stand could save 
 the industry, and strongly advised the marking of each 
 individual carcase of meat before it left the slaughter- 
 house with an indelible brand. Now for the first time 
 the Government ventured to assert its authority in rela- 
 tion to this particular industry, and proposed certain 
 regulations with a view to safeguarding its future against 
 malpractice. The companies protested strongly against 
 what was called State interference. The marking of the 
 carcases with indelible brands, they predicted, would make 
 them so unsightly that no butcher would sell New Zea- 
 land meat. As regards official grading, anything more 
 than inspection for disease they considered dangerous. 
 If it was carried farther, the mutton and lamb of the 
 province of Canterbury, which amounted to more than 
 half the exports, would be reduced to the standard 
 reached by other districts, or else the latter would have 
 to be graded as second-class. The argument was made 
 with some effect that as the industry had done so well 
 without Government help any legislative action now 
 could only be regarded as interference. 
 
 For more than three years these proposals were before 
 the country. In that time all the hopes that had been 
 cherished of finding a new and enormous market for 
 colonial meat on the Continent of Europe had been 
 dashed to the ground by the discovery at Hamburg of 
 tuberculosis in a consignment of meat said to have come 
 from one of the Australian States. The argument for 
 inspection of meat for export was now complete. The 
 Government held its ground, and in 1900 passed without 
 great difficulty the Slaughtering and Inspection Act. 
 This made it a penal offence to slaughter diseased 
 animals for human consumption either at home or 
 abroad. All slaughtering was placed under the imme- 
 diate inspection of Government veterinarians, and car- 
 cases found diseased have to be disposed of in the most 
 
136 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 thorough manner, by burning, burial, or boiUng down. 
 Not a single carcase of meat can be exported without the 
 certificate of the State inspector that it is in good con- 
 dition, free from disease, and properly frozen, chilled, or 
 otherwise preserved. The inspection even extends to the 
 ship which carries the meat, and if there is the slightest 
 defect in the insulation or the refrigerating machinery 
 the inspector can refuse to allow the meat to be 
 shipped. 
 
 Under the safeguards provided by this Act New Zea- 
 land farmers are reaping the full benefit of quality. 
 Though competition has somewhat reduced the prices 
 which are obtained for the best meat, many abuses of 
 the trade have been eliminated, and they are able to rely 
 with confidence for their supremacy on their fine pastures 
 and equable climate, their modern and well-equipped 
 works, and the exact science which has accrued from 
 a quarter of a century of experiment and costly mis- 
 takes. The expansion of the frozen meat industry is 
 well illustrated in the following table, showing the 
 number of works and hands employed at different 
 periods : — 
 
 Meat Freezing and Preserving Works. 
 
 
 No. o£ Works. 
 
 Hands Employed. 
 
 i88s 
 
 44 
 
 838 
 
 1890 
 
 43 
 
 1,568 
 
 1901 
 
 48 
 
 2,282 
 
 1906 
 
 56 
 
 3,260 
 
 Statistics do not, however, give an idea of the fine 
 modern equipment of the works, the concreted and tiled 
 floors, the scrupulous cleanness, the conservation of by- 
 products, the skill of the butchers, the thoroughness of 
 the inspection, and the tender care that is taken of the 
 sheep right from the pastures to the shambles, and thence 
 to the hold of the ship. From the time that the freezing 
 companies obtain possession of the sheep until they 
 reach the London docks there is no possible chance of 
 
THE FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY 137 
 
 deterioration. It is the rarest occurrence for some flaw 
 in the machinery or negligence of an employee to escape 
 the jealous vigilance of the inspectors, and any damage 
 so caused is at once detected when the meat is again 
 examined at London. One of the defects which still 
 remain is in the lightering of the carcases by some of 
 the smaller companies in slow and wretchedly-equipped 
 flats on the Thames. Though the frozen carcases are as 
 hard as wood, they are susceptible to damage by bruising, 
 and after being out of the chambers for some time may 
 suffer considerably in the passage up-river in sweating 
 barges — an episode of their career which is largely 
 responsible for the dull, battered, and unsightly appear- 
 ance of much colonial meat in London shops. 
 
 The new principles of breeding which were introduced 
 to meet the new demands of the sheep industry are dealt 
 with in the chapter on wool-growing. Until freezing 
 commenced the difficulty farmers found was rather to 
 keep their flocks down to certain limits while producing 
 all the wool they could. Now almost the reserve trouble 
 menaced them. So many sheep were slaughtered in the 
 first few years after the momentous experiment of 1882 
 that it seemed very likely that the flocks would be 
 seriously reduced. The market was such a remarkably 
 lucrative one that farmers were feverish in their haste to 
 get as many sheep into the holds of the ocean-going 
 steamers as they possibly could. Few of them thought 
 of to-morrow when an honest penny was so easily to be 
 turned to-day. Thinking men became anxious. The 
 area of land occupied in 1882 was five and a half million 
 acres, and there were thirteen million sheep. In the 
 United Kingdom the proportion of the flocks slaughtered 
 every year is more than one in three. In New Zealand 
 at that time it was less than one in seven. But the export 
 has developed with such strides that to-day, with flocks 
 numbering about twenty millions, New Zealand is send- 
 ing away more than five million carcases a year, and 
 slaughtering perhaps a third as many for home con- 
 sumption. So that the reduction of the flocks each year 
 
138 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 by slaughter is very nearly one-third.' Nowadays, of 
 course, the flocks are weeded out more carefully and the 
 sheep are comparatively younger than a quarter of a 
 century ago, when the owners avoided boiling down so 
 long as the fleece was worth clipping. The heavy drain 
 of the freezing industry has kept the flocks in check. 
 On two occasions — in 1894 and 1902-3 — over-exporta- 
 tion has reduced the permanent numbers of the flock. 
 In the two years 1902-4 the excessive exportation, par- 
 ticularly of ewe lambs, caused a shortage of two millions, 
 and the flocks have just now regained their former 
 dimensions. The figures for the period covered by the 
 freezing industry are as follows: — 
 
 18S1 
 1886 
 1891 
 1894 
 
 189s 
 1896 
 1901 
 1906 
 igoS 
 
 12,895,085 
 
 16,564,595 
 18,128,186 
 20,230,829 
 19,826,604 
 
 19,138,493 
 20,233,099 
 20,108,471 
 22,449,053 
 
 Though the area under cultivation has nearly trebled in 
 a quarter of a century, the flocks have only increased by 
 slightly more than 50 per cent. But to-day every sheep 
 is in profit. The yield of wool has increased by 150 per 
 cent., and the farmer has a revenue of 7s. 6d. to £1, 
 and sometimes more, from each sheep on his pastures. 
 Moreover, the land is supporting twice as many horses 
 and three times as many cattle as at the commencement 
 of the period, and half a million of the cattle are kept on 
 first-class land to support a new and lucrative industry 
 which was not in existence when freezing began. It has 
 also to be remembered in considering the prospects of 
 
 ' The sheep returns are made up at a date before the annual lambing 
 and after the height of the exporting season, so that hundreds of thousands 
 of young sheep — the prime lamb of the English market — are never re- 
 corded in the flock lists. Representative lambing averages in good 
 seasons may range from 75 to no per cent. 
 
THE FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY 139 
 
 New Zealand flock-owners that there are now nearly 
 11 million breeding ewes — an increase of 25 per cent, in 
 ten years. 
 
 The total quantities of mutton and lamb exported in 
 periodic years since the inception of the industry are 
 as follows : — 
 
 
 Mutton Carcases. 
 
 Lamb Carcases. 
 
 1884 ... 
 
 247,772" 
 
 — 
 
 1892 ... 
 
 1,768,055" 
 
 — 
 
 1902 ... 
 
 2,531,993 
 
 2,104,544 
 
 1907 ... 
 
 1,989,393 
 
 2,844,215 
 
 A very important feature of the industry is the utilisa- 
 tion of the by-products of slaughtered animals. In this 
 branch there was the experience of the great meat-packing 
 houses of America to work by, and to-day it is safe to say 
 that not an atom of material is wasted. Most of the 
 freezing works have plant for the conversion of blood 
 and other refuse into manure, in which condition it is 
 returned to the pastures. Sheepskins and pelts are all 
 absorbed either by local leather works or by export. 
 Bones, horns, hoofs, and intestines are all made use of, 
 and the export of tallow is worth more than half a million. 
 Altogether the by-products from the slaughter of sheep 
 and cattle, after providing for all the needs of the home 
 population, contribute a million and three-quarter pounds 
 sterling to the value of the Dominion's exports. 
 
 The situation of New Zealand is not at all advantageous 
 for the supply of beef to the English market. Huge 
 supplies have always been available in the United States, 
 which is only a few days distant from England, and at 
 an early stage of refrigeration the possibilities had induced 
 the investment of enormous sums of English capital in 
 developing the unlimited pasturage of the Argentine 
 Republic, a country which lies about half-way between 
 England and New Zealand. Lighter freights, lower 
 wages, and unrestricted pastures enable the American 
 republics to land beef in England much cheaper than 
 
 ' Including lambs. 
 
140 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 New Zealand could ever hope to do. The comparative 
 shortness of the voyage, moreover, enables them to adopt 
 the superior process known as " chilling." The market 
 became so uncertain for New Zealand beef that where 
 the conditions of the country did not absolutely demand 
 the keeping of cattle most of the settlers turned their 
 attention to the more attractive and lucrative sheep. In 
 1888 New Zealand exported 40,000 cwt. of beef to 
 England, or thirteen times the quantity that was derived 
 from the Argentine. But the South American trade, 
 which was only then beginning, rapidly outstripped 
 competition and took a leading place. It is true that 
 New Zealand beef has since recovered on a more stable 
 basis and is now worth about half a million sterling per 
 annum, but it is a mere detail in the exports and is not 
 the centre of any concentrated effort.^ 
 
 The beef that is exported, though excellent in quality, 
 is practically a by-product of the other great industry 
 that sprang up under refrigeration. Out of a total of 
 about two million cattle one-third are cows and heifers 
 that have been carefully culled for dairy purposes. 
 Another third may be classed as steers and young cattle 
 which are being kept for beef purposes and are depastur- 
 ing either on rough or newly settled country or in the 
 rich finishing pastures of the lowlands. New Zealand 
 farmers are thoroughly alive to the necessity for quality 
 in herds, and the State inspection for the eradication 
 of tuberculosis, blackleg, and other disorders is most 
 stringent. The effects of this selection have been most 
 marked during the last few years. The keeping of 
 diseased stock is a penal offence, and farmers are com- 
 pensated by the State for their destruction. The cattle 
 are raised under the finest conditions of climate, pastures, 
 and breeding, and the beef is killed and packed under 
 conditions not equalled in any other part of the world. 
 It is purely the disadvantageous geographical position 
 of New Zealand that has tempted the farmers of the 
 
 ' The importation of boned beef into England was prohibited in 1908 — 
 a severe blow to the New Zealand trade, 
 

THE FROZEN MEAT INDUSTRY 141 
 
 Dominion to avoid the risk of growing beef and to kill 
 their young stock after carefully selecting the most 
 promising animals for dairy purposes. The beef cattle 
 are therefore the pick of the young stock. 
 
 In a consideration of the frozen meat industry of New 
 Zealand it is interesting to reflect on the action of the 
 Colonial Government. There is a very general impression 
 in England that the colonies are simply fields for the 
 production of the crude raw material, that most colonial 
 industries are unduly pampered by the State and could 
 not subsist under the ordinary conditions governing 
 private enterprises in the Old World. In this case the 
 idea is strikingly refuted. It cannot be contended for one 
 moment that the Government of New Zealand has done 
 more for the frozen meat industry than the Government 
 of England would do in similar circumstances. Not a 
 penny of public money was expended in preliminary 
 experimenting, in subsidising the farmers, or in capitalis- 
 ing the freezing companies. The bonus of ;^5oo which 
 was offered (and awarded for the Shaw, Savill and Albion 
 Company's first shipment) would not recoup them a 
 fraction of the cost of the experiment. The stock and 
 station agents and the farmers themselves furnished all 
 the money upon which the industry was established and 
 paid for all the mistakes of the early years. The opening 
 of the market in the first case, the beating down of pre- 
 judices against the use of frozen meat, and the usual 
 vicissitudes of a business conducted against powerful 
 rivals were all carried out by the sheep-owners and agents. 
 In Australia, it is true, the Governments concerned did 
 actually provide some capital out of the Treasury for the 
 establishment of works. In New Zealand the industry 
 was built up independent of any such assistance. 
 
 What the Government did at a later stage was perfectly 
 legitimate, even from the standpoint of those who do not 
 approve of bounties. Its help was restricted to legislation 
 to guard the industry from abuse, to check unscrupulous 
 traders, and to ensure that the credit of the Dominion as 
 a whole should be conserved in the quality of its exports. 
 
142 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 The Government of New Zealand has simply acted as 
 policeman and tutor to the traders and farmers engaged 
 in the business. Its functions of inspection, investiga- 
 tion, and instruction have been most thoroughly prose- 
 cuted both in New Zealand and in England, and its 
 worst enemies have long since acquitted the Government 
 system of the crimes which it was expected to perpetrate. 
 It is the best guarantee of good faith as between the 
 grower and the ultimate consumer. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 THE WEALTH OF THE COW 
 
 Haphazard dairying — The farmers' dairies — Lack of uniformity — 
 Co-operative factory system introduced — A mild revolution— The 
 transformation of the country — New settlement — Scenes at the 
 factory — The creameries and butter factories — At the grading 
 stores — Equality and democracy — Into the ship's hold — Growth of 
 the industry — Cheese-making — Australian competition — A change of 
 markets — Elements of disadvantage — State inspection — An experi- 
 mental station — The dual-purpose cow — Milking at a loss — The 
 cattle census — Healthy herds — The value of land. 
 
 Before the days of refrigeration every farmer made 
 butter on his own premises and according to his own 
 crude ideas. In 1870, when the population was only 
 a quarter of a million, the dairies on New Zealand farms 
 were turning out five million pounds of butter and half 
 as much cheese each year. But it was of wretched 
 quality compared with the standards of to-day : variable, 
 and liable to develop all manner of obnoxious flavours 
 during the short voyage across the Tasman Sea. It was 
 out of the question in those days to carry butter farther 
 than to Australia, As often as not, too, the Australians 
 themselves produced all they required. Cheese, of 
 course, could stand with advantage the journey of three 
 months to England, and it achieved an early reputation 
 on the market there. 
 
 In those primeval days the market for the farmer's 
 dairy was as a rule the not very discriminating neigh- 
 bouring town. The people, unaccustomed to quality, 
 were not very exacting. The prices paid were usually 
 less than is. and sometimes as low as 5d. a pound, quite 
 
 143 
 
144 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 too low to remunerate any but the easy-going farmer's 
 wife, whose perquisite the dairy generally was. Only the 
 cleverest of them were capable of making butter that 
 would not develop prohibitive flavours on the voyage 
 across to Australia. In cheese, too, he was a lucky 
 merchant indeed who found less than a dozen flavours or 
 qualities in the smallest consignment from New Zealand 
 to Australia. At this time Australia was even more 
 backward, and the New Zealand Government made 
 strenuous efforts to build up a reputation for the New 
 Zealand article which would give it command of the 
 whole Australian market. New Zealand possessed the 
 finest and most succulent natural pastures and a climate 
 which made it unnecessary in many localities to house 
 the stock either in winter or summer. There was even 
 then no reason why the farmers should not produce as 
 good butter and cheese in the Southern Hemisphere as 
 the Danes did in the Northern. Obviously it was system 
 that was required. There could not be uniformity when 
 farmers followed their own individual ideas, and pro- 
 duced a few dozen pounds each week in dairies run 
 on wholly different lines. 
 
 The Government wished to encourage the construction 
 of up-to-date dairies, and in 1881, before refrigeration 
 had been vindicated, it drew up a scheme for the 
 establishment of cheese and butter factories on the 
 co-operative system. A bonus of £soo was offered for 
 the first fifty tons of cheese produced in New Zealand on 
 the factory or co-operative system. Under the latter the 
 farmers of a district combine to form a limited liability 
 company with a capital of a few thousand pounds, just 
 sufficient to erect a central factory (and possibly some 
 outlying skimming stations) for the collection of the milk 
 and its manufacture into butter and cheese. The main 
 advantages of the system are : — 
 
 1. By combining the farmers are able to obtain the 
 best machinery and employ the most skilful managers; 
 and 
 
 2. They can turn out a large quantity of butter and 
 
THE WEALTH OF THE COW 145 
 
 cheese of good and uniform quality, instead of multitudi- 
 nous parcels of widely varying quality. 
 
 For a few years the new system made slow headway. 
 In the province of Taranaki long Maori wars and a 
 variety of circumstances had prevented the aggregation of 
 large estates, and there was a vast extent of fertile downs 
 either under native fern or covered with light bush. 
 A class of small farmers, including many military settlers, 
 occupied the coastal districts. As a rule they were men 
 of small means, and they readily adopted the new 
 scheme of co-operation. A few factories sprang up. 
 The soil and the climate were alike favourable, and after 
 a test of a few years the industry rapidly expanded. 
 Other districts followed suit. Within ten years there were 
 upwards of a hundred butter and cheese factories in New 
 Zealand. Refrigeration opened up markets in a wonderful 
 way. Whereas Australia had formerly been the sole outlet 
 for New Zealand butter, it was now possible to send it 
 straight to London, and gradually the Australian trade 
 fell away. In 1885 all but ij per cent, of the product 
 exported went to Australia. Within seven or eight years 
 the proportion was exactly reversed. Practically the 
 whole of the output went direct to the English market. 
 
 To-day New Zealand is studded with factories and 
 creameries from the Bluff to Cape Maria van Dieman. 
 Wherever the ringing metalled roads of the plains 
 converge there is a finely equipped factory drawing its 
 supply from a radius of ten miles or more. Where a 
 village has formed in some quiet, green valley of the 
 foothills the laden spring-carts of the farmers make 
 regular journeys to the unpretentious little building that 
 stands near the church. And far away in the recesses of 
 the bush the cowbells tinkle as the cattle, knee-deep in 
 clover, browse amongst the logs. This is a new era. 
 The calf is no longer killed unfatted. Everywhere in the 
 new country the bush is going down before the relentless 
 axe. The eager, hard-working settlers are glad to tide 
 over the first years of their holding by the arduous 
 work of dairying. 
 
 II 
 
146 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Charred and clean-burnt, the logs lie on the ground 
 where they fell, by the stumps of the parent tree. Post- 
 and-wire fences rise, and almost as suddenly the braird 
 of luscious grass springs out of the ashes of yesterday. 
 In a few months the young cattle are browsing there, 
 carefully watched that they do not eat the early pasture 
 out of the ground, and just as carefully that they keep 
 the resurgent scrub and fern in subjection. If there is a 
 creamery — a collecting depot for cream — anywhere with- 
 in reach, the settler will milk a few cows. If only the 
 summer makes passable the dank, overshadowed pathway 
 of mud which shuts him into the bush in the winter, he 
 will drive his light cart each summer morning to the 
 creamery. Even if it is not passable he is not dis- 
 couraged without having tried the last resort of the bush 
 settler, viz., packing the cream on the backs of bullocks. 
 As a general rule the backblocks settler is not so badly 
 placed that he cannot get his cream with comparative 
 ease during the summer to one of the outposts which 
 each butter factory has scattered over its area of supply. 
 
 The methods adopted by the factories are generally the 
 same. The creameries are so placed that the largest 
 possible areas can be tapped without deterioration in 
 carrying the milk to the final butter-making. The sup- 
 pliers are generally shareholders of the co-operative 
 company, and besides being paid at the current rate for 
 their butter-fat, they participate in the profits of the 
 year's working. Though there may not be a house in 
 sight, the well-worn summer roads lead unfailingly 
 towards the creamery or the factory, where every morn- 
 ing the whole countryside makes rendezvous to deliver 
 the day's milk. As soon as a sample has been taken 
 from the weighed milk, the cart moves off, the cock is 
 opened, and the pure white flood rushes forth into the 
 vat, thence out over the heaters to the separator. In 
 New Zealand the De Laval separators (Swedish make) 
 are in almost universal use. "Observera," says the 
 Swedish inscription " 5,600 hoart pr minut," and as each 
 hundred revolutions is counted off the tmy bell tallies it 
 
THE WEALTH OF THE COW 147 
 
 and the milk and cream, separated by the centrifugal 
 action, pass off in divergent streams, the former to the 
 reservoir where each farmer fills his cans with his own 
 proportion of " skim " for pig and calf food, and the 
 latter to the ripening vat, to be churned on the morrow. 
 After putting through milk at the rate of four hundred 
 gallons per hour, the bowl contains a solid coating of 
 impurities sometimes half an inch in thickness. If this 
 is merely a skimming-station, or outpost, the wagon starts 
 off in the cool of the evening to take the cream to the 
 railhead or to the central factory. 
 
 A typical example of an up-to-date butter factory is 
 one which draws its cream, through eighteen skimming 
 stations, from 320 suppliers, who are scattered over a 
 catchment area with a radius of thirty miles. This com- 
 pany in a single season draws nearly three million gallons 
 of milk. By rail and wagon the outposts send in the 
 cream separated in the morning. It is at once passed 
 over coolers into the ripening vat, where an automatic 
 attemperator keeps the temperature from rising. In the 
 morning it is ripe, and the churning commences at once, 
 the steam-driven vats each holding 160 gallons of cream. 
 In half an hour the buttermilk separates from the butter 
 and is run off. The churn is opened, and there, beauti- 
 ful to the gaze, is 800 lb. of pure, granular butter, fresh 
 and yellow like ripe maize. In the whole process of 
 working on revolving tables it is never touched by the 
 hands. It spends the night in the chilling-room, is 
 packed in the morning in the ^-cwt. boxes in which it 
 reaches London, and in the dead vast of the night it 
 commences its journey down to the cool stores at the 
 port of shipment. It is a rare occurrence for anything 
 to go wrong even in a railroad journey of one hundred 
 miles to the port. 
 
 At this point the Government steps in, under an Act of 
 ten years' standing, to insist that every box of butter sent 
 out of the Dominion shall be up to quality and marked 
 accordingly. At the Government grading stores at the 
 shipping ports, where the butter is handled and stored at 
 
148 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 the expense of the State as a concession to the industry, 
 thousands of boxes arrive every day. They are exactly 
 similar, all made of the tasteless native white pine and all 
 holding an ounce or two more than 56 lb. They are 
 spotlessly clean. The only difference visible in them is 
 in the regular brand of the factory, which is impressed in 
 ink or burned into the box. By the pencil marks on the 
 corner a random box is selected from each churning and 
 sent in to the grader. It may come from a factory 
 which has possessed a first-grade reputation for ten years, 
 or it may be from the last clearing in which the cowbell 
 has been heard. That is immaterial to the grader. The 
 stores are absolutely democratic. The butter has come 
 for judgment, and it is judged on its individual quality. 
 If there is anything wrong, the factory is advised of the 
 defect, and by referring to the particular churning in 
 which it occurred it can rectify it at once. Flavour 
 body, moisture, texture, colour, and salting are all 
 material points. 
 
 So salutary was the effect of the independent grading 
 by Government experts that within a few years of its 
 commencement less than 5 per cent, of the butter entered 
 for export to the United Kingdom was placed lower than 
 first-class — that is to say, below eighty-eight points of 
 excellence out of a possible one hundred. 
 
 By the time the grading is finished the bulk of the 
 butter is stacked away in the refrigerating chamber below, 
 where the ice crackles under the feet and the hoar-frost 
 glistens in the electric light. The temperature is 20° of 
 frost, as against a good 60° in the sun outside. It is 
 sufficient to preserve the status quo until in a few days 
 the boxes are shot along the gangway into the chambers 
 of a full-powered steamer ready to sail for London. 
 Butter is carried by sea at a temperature of 15° Fahr., 
 cheese at 50°. A single one of the steamers which are 
 leaving New Zealand ports every week during the season 
 for the " Home" market may take thirty or forty thou- 
 sand cases, landing the butter in London six weeks later 
 in exactly the condition in which it was shipped. 
 
THE WEALTH OF THE COW 149 
 
 The first payment to the farmer who supplies the milk 
 is the ruling price for butter-fat, the proportion of which 
 in his milk is assessed on a composite analysis of samples, 
 taken throughout the week. If the test is consistently 
 low, the chances are that some supplier who is raising 
 pigs and calves is cheating his neighbours by taking 
 back good skim-milk in return for his own well-watered 
 supply, but that sort of thing has long since been reduced 
 to a minimum. Factories are now so well managed that 
 not only is the highest justifiable price paid to the sup- 
 plier for his butter-fat, but the shareholders, who are 
 also suppliers, invariably receive a dividend on the year's 
 working. 
 
 The following table shows the growth of the butter 
 industry : — 
 
 Export of Butter. 
 
 
 
 
 Cwt. 
 
 Value. 
 
 Before refrigeration, 1872-81 (ten years)... 
 
 17,447 
 
 ;^66,588 
 
 After refrigeration, 1882-91 (ten years) ... 
 
 243,211 
 
 961,597 
 
 1898-1907 (ten years) 
 
 2,414,913 
 
 11,086,981 
 
 1907 (single year) 
 
 328,441 
 
 1,615,981 
 
 The growth of the whole dairy industry also appears in 
 this table : — 
 
 Census i8gi. Census 1906. 
 
 Number of factories 74 264 
 
 ,, employees 269 1,484 
 
 Wages paid £i4>928 £131,123 
 
 By far the majority of the factories are in the North 
 Island, which is climatically the better adapted for dairy- 
 ing. Besides the above there were at the last census 384 
 private registered dairies, of which 228 were in the pro- 
 vince of Taranaki. The skimming stations, which are not 
 included in the above figures, now number 463, and the 
 butter and cheese factories themselves have increased 
 since the census to 321. 
 
 Unlike the butter industry, cheese had its principal 
 seat in the South Island, where factories thrived at a very 
 early date, some time, indeed, before the advent of 
 
150 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 refrigeration. But more recently butter factories in the 
 North have been encouraged to instal cheese plants and 
 even occasionally to turn exclusively to cheese-making. 
 At present, slightly a majority of the cheese factories 
 are in the North Island, though Otago still stands first 
 amongst the provinces. 
 
 In cheese-making the process is much simpler. The 
 milk, after weighing and straining, is immediately heated 
 and curded by means of rennet. Thence onward it is 
 merely a matter of working. A large factory, such as 
 that at Dalefield (Wairarapa), can each day during the 
 season put two tons of first-class cheese into the store- 
 rooms, where it ripens for some time before going into 
 the hold of the steamer. This product, too, has to run 
 the gauntlet of the Government graders, by whom more 
 than 90 per cent, is now graded as first-class. For 
 cheese-making the farmers are, of course, paid for the 
 full milk. The whey, which is used for pig-feed, is their 
 perquisite. Generally speaking, the milk of a cow is 
 worth about the same in a year whether made into butter 
 or cheese. 
 
 The following table shows the growth of the cheese 
 export (taking no cognisance of the greatly increased 
 local consumption) : — 
 
 Export of Cheese. 
 
 Cwt. Value. 
 
 Before refrigeration, 1872-81 (ten years)... 17,971 .ifS5i567 
 
 After refrigeration, 1882-91 (ten years) ... 215,461 495,741 
 
 1898-1907 (ten years) 1,035,947 2,497,941 
 
 1907 (single year) 236,833 662,355 
 
 As gradually the Australian farmers took to dairying 
 on scientific lines, the market for New Zealand produce 
 in Australia soon disappeared. There was no service of 
 refrigerated steamers between the two countries, and the 
 butter lost condition on the journey. In New Zealand, 
 moreover, the seasons practically coincided as to date 
 with those of Australia, so that the local product came 
 into competition. At the other side of the world the 
 
THE WEALTH OF THE COW 151 
 
 seasons were exactly opposite. London's great suppliers, 
 Denmark, Canada, and Siberia, were out of action at 
 the very time of year when New Zealand was in full 
 swing, and it was a matter of only a few years for the 
 Dominion to obtain an unassailable position there. The 
 output now available for exportation is either sold to 
 agents on the spot or goes to London on consignment. 
 Less than i per cent, finds its way to other countries. 
 In many cases the factories receive as much as lod. or 
 I id. per pound in the Dominion, a price that signifies 
 the triumph of organisation, scientific working and un- 
 surpassed conditions of climate and soil. But the later 
 rivals of the Dominion enjoy some important advantages. 
 From Australia, where the season is earlier and the trans- 
 port shorter, the butter reaches London a month earlier. 
 In the Argentine the season is the same, but the transport 
 is three weeks shorter. It is the superior knowledge of 
 the New Zealand dairymen and their superior natural 
 conditions which have enabled the Dominion to main- 
 tain its position. 
 
 In common with many other industries, dairying in 
 New Zealand owes a great deal to the sympathetic assist- 
 ance of the Government. In the early days monetary 
 help was given towards the establishment of factories, 
 and since then the veterinary and instructional staffs of 
 the Department of Agriculture have been increased from 
 time to time to provide for a close system of inspection 
 of factories and herds and advanced education. The 
 determination of the Government to place its imprimatur 
 on all produce tendered for export has long since been 
 approved by its most strenuous opponents, and to-day 
 the State is being importuned to carry out a new work 
 which would probably be regarded in some countries as 
 a fit activity for the companies themselves. Hitherto 
 dairy farmers have been greatly handicapped by the 
 absence of any scientific station for experimental and 
 research work in connection with the industry. The 
 only data upon which they can work is obtained from 
 the experiment stations of their competitors in Canada 
 
152 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 and Denmark. Such experiments as have been carried 
 out in New Zealand are due to the enthusiasm of 
 individual farmers or agricultural colleges not specially 
 adapted for dairy work. The Government has now 
 decided to establish at Palmerston North a station which 
 must undoubtedly show the way to immense economies 
 and increased efficiency in the industry. 
 
 The selection of herds for dairy purposes has been a 
 good deal retarded and complicated by the desire of 
 farmers to produce beef and milk from the same animal. 
 As a general rule the herds of New Zealand were utterly 
 nondescript until a few years ago. The occasional 
 demand for beef, and the absence of any intensity of 
 competition in dairying, produced herds of no breeding 
 whatever. The farmer, while professedly a dairyman, 
 always desired to have two strings to his bow — to keep 
 cattle of such a class that if the calves were useless for 
 the dairy they might be turned to good account as beef. 
 In view of all the ups and downs of the two industries, 
 farmers have not yet discovered whether it pays better to 
 grow beef or to milk cows. 
 
 The typical cow for the dual purpose, the Shorthorn, 
 has the virtues of the milker and the beef cow, but it 
 requires proportionately more feed than the Jersey or the 
 Holstein, which are much better milch cows. Many 
 dairymen in New Zealand are still milking cows at a dead 
 loss, a condition of things which the Danes eliminated 
 many years ago. The fact that the average yield of New 
 Zealand dairy cows is under 500 gallons a year may not 
 fairly be held up in comparison with the 800 gallons of 
 the Danish herds, for the simple reason that a great deal 
 of the dairying country in New Zealand is unimproved, 
 almost virgin country. In the North Island, in particular, 
 thousands of cattle subsist all the year round on natural 
 grasses. Nevertheless it is recognised that by careful 
 culling of unprofitable cattle the yield of butter-fat can 
 probably be increased by from 30 to 50 per cent. The 
 older established and well-to-do farmers are already 
 paying attention to this matter, and there is a gradual 
 
THE WEALTH OF THE COW 153 
 
 tendency all over the country to forsake the false ideal 
 of the dual-purpose cow. Everywhere there are now 
 splendid herds of dairy cows, either pure-bred or crosses 
 in which the Jersey, Holstein, and Ayrshire are pre- 
 dominant. There are also, for general purposes, some 
 of the finest pure-bred herds in the world, founded 
 on the most valued strains and built up regardless of 
 expense. Both private individuals and the State possess 
 some splendid stud stock imported for the special purpose 
 of disseminating their strains far and wide. 
 
 The expansion of the New Zealand herds in sympathy 
 with the improvement of dairying has been remarkable. 
 In 1 88 1 there were less than 700,000 cattle of all kinds 
 in the country. To-day there are nearly two millions, 
 and the dairy cattle alone number more than 600,000. 
 More than two-thirds of these are in the North Island. 
 Some idea of the extent of dual-purpose breeding may 
 be gathered from the following analysis of the 82,913 
 pure-bred cattle which are used for stud or dairy 
 purposes : — 
 
 Number. 
 
 Shorthorn 
 
 45,948 
 
 Hereford 
 
 9,564 
 
 Polled Angus 
 
 9,103 
 
 Jersey 
 
 5,957 
 
 Ayrshire 
 
 4,687 
 
 Other breeds 
 
 7,654 
 
 The following table shows the cattle census at different 
 periods : — 
 
 1867 
 
 1878 
 
 1886 
 
 1898 
 
 1908 (April).. 
 
 137,204 
 312,835 
 578,430 
 853,358 
 1,206,165 
 1,816,299 
 
 Without the very necessary antidote of a vigilant 
 veterinary staff this rapid development of herds in a 
 new and sparsely peopled country would undoubtedly 
 have led to a serious degeneration in the health and 
 
154 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 physique of the cattle. The profits of milking were so 
 rapid that small dairymen were encouraged to keep 
 heifer calves regardless of constitution. In-bred, fed on 
 skim-milk and brought into profit as early as possible, 
 the dairy cattle showed a decided tendency to deteriora- 
 tion until the veterinary staff was armed with summary 
 authority to cause the destruction of animals which were 
 developing tubercular emaciation. These powers have 
 been so drastically exercised that the New Zealand herds 
 are probably to-day the cleanest and healthiest in the 
 world. When the last thorough survey was made, four 
 years ago, the percentage of disease was from 37 to 10. 
 In Europe at the same date the percentage ranged from 
 15 to 28. 
 
 The most necessary development before the dairymen 
 of New Zealand is the growing of winter feed to enable 
 the cows to be better nourished and brought into milk 
 sufficiently early to reap the profits of the early market in 
 England, instead of being compelled, as at present, to 
 come in after Australia. 
 
 Dairying has given a new value to land in New Zealand 
 which was formerly used only for depasturing sheep, and 
 also to much of the improved land of the plains and the 
 accessible valleys. For some years it was regarded as a 
 means of making money quickly, and the high prices 
 ruhng for butter and cheese encouraged this idea, with 
 the natural result that land suited for dairying changed 
 hands over and over again at steadily increasing prices. 
 The inflation was, needless to say, out of all proportion 
 to the actual value of the land, and the upshot was that 
 men found themselves in possession of holdings which 
 had cost them too much and which could only be made 
 to pay by the utilisation of the unpaid labour of their 
 children. The pinch was felt somewhat severely for a 
 time, but one or two checks and the increased intensity 
 of competition have now reduced the industry to a more 
 stable basis, and land has returned to fair values. A few 
 years ago it was no uncommon thing for dairymen to 
 pay £^0 an acre for their land. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 THE SEEDS OF A REVOLUTION 
 
 Development at a standstill— Decadence of the gold-fields— State of New 
 Zealand in 1870 — The isolation of the provinces — Provincial jealousies 
 — Mr. Vogel's policy of development — Liberal borrowing — Immi- 
 gration from Europe — Expenditure of borrowed money — Abolition 
 of the provinces — Dazzling prosperity and reckless expenditure — 
 Speculation and land-grabbing — The labour market glutted — Cries 
 of " Halt ! " — Imposition and repeal of the land tax — Depression and 
 disaster — Destitution of the immigrants — Spurious absorption of 
 population — Fictitious industries — Sweating and distress — Loss of 
 population. 
 
 The year 1870 marked the commencement of a new 
 epoch in the history of the colony. After the original 
 settlement of the provinces immigration was repeatedly 
 checked by rumours of wars with the Maori and by the 
 substantiated stories of distress amongst the poorer 
 classes of the settlers — causes in themselves sufficient 
 to deter any but the most courageous from leaving their 
 homes to settle in the colony. 
 
 In i860 there were only 80,000 white people in 
 New Zealand. The following year gold-veins of great 
 wealth were discovered at Gabriel's Gully, in Otago, and 
 a " rush " set towards it which in four years brought 
 100,000 persons to New Zealand from California, Eng- 
 land, Ireland, and Australia. The excitement was re- 
 newed three years later by the opening of another field 
 on the West Coast of the South Island. Steamers and 
 sailing ships ran direct from the great centres of Australia 
 to the " bar " harbours of the coast. Population swarmed 
 in. Large and busy townships grew up as the com- 
 mercial centres of the narrow coastal strip in which the 
 
156 XEW ZEALAND IX EVOLUTION 
 
 gold-fields were situated. This field became a world to 
 itself, and, obtaining administrative separation from the 
 province of Canterbury, the miners erected an autono- 
 mous province so far as local government ^^'as concerned. 
 But the glories of the West Coast also waned. Thou- 
 sands of the miners sadly discovered that it was only a 
 small minorit}- who could hope to make a fortune and, 
 pressed by the high price of provisions and the rough- 
 ness of the life, they deserted the fields. Both in Otago 
 and Westland hundreds of claims were abandoned. 
 Townships were deserted, and where once the hum of 
 prosperity by day and the midnight revels of the miners 
 held sway now empty whares,^ dismal mounds of gravel, 
 and overgrown shafts testified to the disappointed hopes 
 of yesterday. The population of New Zealand had in- 
 creased from 79,000 whites in i860 to 237,000 in 1869, 
 and the gold output, which was worth only ;^750,ooo in 
 1861, was now valued at ^2,362,000 ; but it had reached 
 its climax of ;^ 2,844,000 in 1866, and thence onwards 
 the fields steadily diminished both in extent and pro- 
 duction until in 1887 the output again touched the bed- 
 rock of three-quarters of a million. The gold bubble 
 was burst, but New Zealand was the richer for fields that 
 are now adding two millions yearly to her wealth, and 
 for an accession of population of the very finest and 
 most independent type — men who in the next few 
 decades amply refuted the suspicions with which their 
 advent was regarded by the quiet-going Scots and 
 English settlers of Otago and Canterbury. The majority 
 of them were absorbed permanently in the population of 
 the colony, employment being found for them on the 
 land, in the new industries of the towns, or in the wars of 
 the North Island. 
 
 Removed from the seat of the native wars, the South 
 Island enjoyed without alloy the prosperity which 
 followed the opening of the gold-fields. In the North 
 Island, on the other hand, the Maori insurrections had 
 strangled the development of four provinces, and when 
 
 ' Huts of native construction. 
 
THE SEEDS OF A REVOLUTION 157 
 
 they finally came to a close the settlements of the pakeha 
 were confined to the vicinity of the seaports and to the 
 fertile valleys of rivers. 
 
 What sort of a community was it that then essayed to 
 build up a nation on such uncertain foundations ? Ten 
 distinct settlements, scattered over an area as large as 
 England and Scotland together, gave domicile to the 
 quarter of a million whites who peopled the colony 
 of New Zealand. The most remote of the provinces 
 were a thousand miles apart. There were no roads to 
 connect them, and the service of brigs and schooners, 
 with an occasional small steamer, was so uncertain that 
 a few years earlier the capital had been moved from 
 Auckland to Wellington to make the seat of govern- 
 ment as central as possible. When Parliament met at 
 Auckland it sometimes took the Southern representatives 
 a month to arrive there by the devious route of Port 
 Jackson, in New South Wales. There were only forty- 
 six miles of railway in the whole country — small isolated 
 lengths belonging to the provinces, and serving only 
 local purposes. The electric telegraph lines amounted 
 to only 1,887 miles, and there was as yet no connec- 
 tion by submarine cable with the outside world, the 
 nearest point of which was Sydney, 1,200 miles distant. 
 
 Socially, the severance of the provinces was complete. 
 The principal of them had been established individually 
 direct from the Old World, and each party of pilgrims 
 had brought its own ideals and institutions. The 
 separate provinces lived under a jealously guarded 
 system of autonomy provided by the Constitution Act 
 of 1852. Many of them were rivals : all were more 
 or less insular in their views. The land regulations 
 were entirely different. Public institutions, too, sadly 
 lacked uniformity. In some of the provinces educa- 
 tion was unendowed and scarcely recognised ; in one — 
 the Scots province of Otago — the system was already a 
 credit to any civilised community, and was attracting 
 young men from all over the country. There was no 
 national feeling. Except for a strong and common 
 
158 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 resentment of the treatment of the colony by the Im- 
 perial Government, the provinces were all absorbed 
 in their own affairs, in the struggle to make roads with 
 insufficient revenue and to conserve their local rights 
 against the encroachments of the General Government 
 at Wellington. 
 
 The exports, valued at 4J millions sterling, were 
 entirely the product of the primary industries — gold- 
 mining and grazing. There was no export of meat, 
 and practically none of dairy produce. It was a primi- 
 tive community, meeting all its requirements by im- 
 portation, and the imports exceeded the exports. There 
 was a public debt of eight millions. The South Island 
 had not been more than scratched on the surface ; in the 
 North resources equally rich had scarcely been touched. 
 There was a tremendous profusion of natural wealth. 
 The bush lay ready to the axe, the hillside and the 
 plain to the plough. Apart from its pohtical disinte- 
 gration, the colony was normal and thoroughly healthy 
 in itself. It had absorbed the rush of miners with com- 
 plete success. There was no overcrowding, and only 
 that intermittent modicum of unemployment which is 
 inseparable from the economy of an agricultural people. 
 There were no great monopolies, and now, happily, 
 there was no war. Development and wealth awaited 
 two agents — men and money. Meantime the country 
 was at a standstill. 
 
 With the time came the man. Mr. Julius Vogel, who 
 first held office as a member of the Fox Cabinet in 1869, 
 was a man of great constructive ability, energy, and self- 
 confidence. He lacked caution to the extent of being 
 rash, but, having an almost instinctive knowledge of 
 figures, great determination, and tenacity, he was always 
 able to lead the House of Representatives while he held 
 office as Treasurer. Long before he became Premier, in 
 1873, he was in reality leading the Government. His 
 scheme for lifting New Zealand out of the slough of 
 despond into which it had fallen by 1870 was not an 
 original one. Eight years earlier a very able statesman 
 
THE SEEDS OF A REVOLUTION 159 
 
 had put forward practically the same policy, but the war 
 stood inexorably in the way of immigration and of the 
 fundamental necessity of borrowing money to carry it 
 out. The scheme which Mr. Vogel promulgated in- 
 volved the borrowing of a sum of ;£io,ooo,ooo, to be 
 expended over a period of ten years in systematically 
 opening up the country. The principal means to this 
 end was the introduction of immigrants of the agricul- 
 tural and artisan classes from the United Kingdom and 
 the North of Europe. They were to be given employ- 
 ment primarily in the construction of a trunk line of 
 railway from end to end of each island, with main roads 
 as feeders, telegraph lines to connect the remote portions 
 of the colony, and races to carry water to the gold-fields. 
 Six million acres of land were to be set aside as the 
 endowment of the railways — 2J million acres to be dis- 
 posed of to pay for the line and the remaining 3J millions 
 to be sold or let on pastural occupation in reduction of 
 the capital cost. The intention was that the immigrants 
 who were employed in the construction of the railways 
 should afterwards have the opportunity of settling on 
 this or other land purchased by the Government from 
 the native owners. Unfortunately for the policy, Mr. 
 Vogel feared the opposition of the land-owning class 
 and the Provincialists — all-powerful in the early days 
 of the colony — and to propitiate them he abandoned 
 the whole of that part of his proposals which dealt with 
 the reservation of land and with the protection of indus- 
 tries which should give employment to the artisans and 
 mechanics he wished to import. The consequences 
 were fatal, but for the time the policy was inaugurated 
 with eclat. 
 
 New Zealand was on the eve of a great development. 
 Hitherto immigration had been the concern of the Pro- 
 vincial Councils, and in some cases it was but in- 
 differently managed. Now, for the first time, it became 
 the function of the General Government, and the General 
 Government entered into it with vigour and enthusiasm. 
 It despatched to Europe two commissioners — the Hon. 
 
160 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Dr. Featherston, who had been the first Superintendent 
 of the Province of Wellington, and was a member of the 
 Fox Ministry, and Sir F. H. Dillon Bell, who had served 
 on the Provincial Councils of Otago and Wellington, and 
 as a member of the Ministry. 
 
 In a few months they directed a strong stream of 
 emigration from England, Scotland, and Ireland to- 
 wards New Zealand. The emigrants were judiciously 
 selected for their physical and moral fitness. Labourers, 
 artisans, and farm servants were freely obtained in the 
 three kingdoms. Scotland yielded many sturdy crofters 
 and fishermen, and Cornwall and Lancashire many 
 miners for the railway works. Encouraged by the 
 experience of South Africa and South Australia, the 
 Commissioners visited Northern Europe and despatched 
 thousands of the most excellent settlers from among the 
 sawyers and agriculturists of Scandinavia and Germany. 
 Little more than good character and physical fitness 
 were expected of the emigrants. If these were satis- 
 factory, the New Zealand Government gave liberally out 
 of its borrowed money to assist the prospective settlers 
 in their passages. Immigrants poured into the country 
 and were greedily seized upon by the provinces, only 
 too eager to get people to settle their waste lands. In 
 thirteen years the population of the colony doubled 
 itself. The great majority of the immigrants were of 
 excellent character. It was only after the master 
 personality of Vogel was removed from the actual 
 administration that laxity and errors crept in. 
 
 For many years it had been felt that New Zealand was 
 over-governed. A population of a quarter of a million 
 supported twelve distinct legislative Houses; and while it 
 was an undoubted advantage in the earliest days that 
 local works should be administered by provincial bodies, 
 it was now a manifest disadvantage that the Crown lands, 
 timber resources, police, and immigration should be 
 administered by so many different bodies working inde- 
 pendently of each other and without uniformity. The 
 General Government felt too, very keenly, the disadvan- 
 
THE SEEDS OF A REVOLUTION 161 
 
 tage at which it was placed in borrowing money when 
 the securities the colony had to offer were so adminis- 
 tered, and Vogel had no compunction when he dis- 
 covered the true import of this disintegration in moving 
 for the abolition of the Provincial Governments. During 
 the five years which his development policy had already 
 run the provinces had profited tremendously by the 
 influx of people. It was regarded as practically certain 
 in 1870 that the provincial system was doomed, and the 
 Provincial Councils, making hay while the sun shone, 
 relaxed their land regulations and filled their coffers 
 with the proceeds of sales. 
 
 The end came in 1875, when the provinces were 
 abolished after a fierce contest. Immediately the pen- 
 dulum swung to the other extreme. The County 
 Councils were no substitute for the provincial legisla- 
 tures so far as the control of public works was con- 
 cerned. They were not endowed with the revenue from 
 Crown lands. Parliament became an immense Board of 
 Works, now in a position to borrow more liberally, though 
 not yet independent of the support of the Provincialists. 
 The provinces were rapacious for the expenditure of 
 public money ; and it was spent, extravagantly and 
 sometimes wastefuUy. The provinces had already 
 realised upon much of the land that was to have 
 been the endowment of the railway, and loans had to 
 be raised year by year to carry on the work that 
 should have been self-supporting. Money flowed in 
 an apparently endless stream. Railways were creeping 
 all over the country, and there was an abundance of 
 employment for all. New Zealand had entered on an 
 era of dazzling prosperity, and, casting caution to the 
 winds, the people went full speed ahead. In nine years, 
 from 1872 to 1881, the public debt of the colony increased 
 from ten to twenty-eight millions, while the population 
 at the end of the period was only half a million. 
 
 While people were thus pouring into the country the 
 two expedients which Vogel had proposed for their 
 permanent settlement failed to materialise. Agricultural 
 
 12 
 
162 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 and industrial development both hung fire, and the 
 immigrants found it more difficult than they had ex- 
 pected to establish themselves in positions of assured 
 permanency. Every country which has been colonised 
 by the English race, with the aspiration of producing a 
 new England in the wilds, has sooner or later, through 
 lack of balance between the different classes of the 
 community, fallen victim to its ideals. It may be that 
 labour is superabundant, without the necessary capital 
 to give it employment ; or, on the other hand, capital, 
 being plentiful, either appropriates the great resources 
 of the country and denies employment or is itself 
 hampered for lack of labour. Almost all the British 
 colonies have at one time of their history been dominated 
 by a class of wealthy landowners, many of them the lords 
 of extensive areas which they acquired without making 
 an adequate return to the consolidated revenue, either 
 by way of rental or in payment for the fee simple. As 
 a concomitant of early settlement, " squatting " is not an 
 unmixed evil. Colonial Governments are often only too 
 willing in their struggling days to offer large areas of 
 land at nominal prices for the dual purpose of raising 
 revenue and inducing persons of capital to settle in 
 the country. Struggling small settlers have received 
 immense benefits from the presence in their midst of 
 large landholders who are able to give employment and 
 circulate money. As the colonies grow the smaller 
 settlers achieve some measure of independence. Em- 
 ployment is more abundant in the construction of 
 roads and the felling of bush, and eventually the time 
 comes when there is a demand for land for closer settle- 
 ment. The small settlers and the great landholders 
 come into conflict, and upon the adjustment depends 
 the future of the colony. 
 
 What happened in New Zealand in the seventies was 
 not covered by the definition of " squatting," but it had 
 an even more baneful effect on the social condition of 
 the country. Blindly eager to realise their landed 
 resources, and honestly desirous, it must be admitted, to 
 
THE SEEDS OF A REVOLUTION 163 
 
 encourage the immigrants to settle down, the provinces 
 threw large areas of land on the market. It was eagerly 
 bought up by the capitalist landholders, and there was 
 an instantaneous rise in values. Population began to 
 pour in, large sums of public money were expended in 
 the construction of roads and railways. Prices rose and 
 continued to rise. Those of the immigrants who were 
 fortunate enough to possess capital secured their land 
 early, but the great majority were almost penniless, and 
 before they had time to look about them the market had 
 advanced far beyond their means. Thousands who had 
 been encouraged to come to the country in the hope of 
 obtaining land found themselves utterly unable to com- 
 pete with the wealthy classes, for whom the Crown lands 
 of the colony had long been a happy hunting-ground. 
 Prices soared higher and higher. The speculation was 
 intoxicating, and many smaller men raised money on 
 mortgage and bought at high prices in the hope of selling 
 at an early profit. The market was closed absolutely to 
 the genuine small settler, and there was a rapid aggre- 
 gation of land in the hands of the few. 
 
 In Canterbury the case of the small men was worse 
 than hopeless. In the earlier days of the province the 
 price of land was for a time as low as los. an acre, and 
 vast areas on what was then the outskirts of civilisation 
 were bought up by the capitalists. Now the price was £2 
 an acre, and any selector could take up as many sections 
 as he desired, wherever he desired, and with no restric- 
 tion as to area so long as they were of a minimum of 
 twenty acres. Anticipating the advent of smaller farmers 
 desiring allotments, they "gridironed" the country, 
 picking the land in strips and leaving intervening acres 
 of not more than 19I acres, so that the smaller men could 
 not settle in their midst. In the North Island things were 
 scarcely so bad. The frequency of native disturbances 
 had checked " squatting " and prompted the establish- 
 ment on the land of bodies of military settlers, who 
 worked holdings of moderate size, and held themselves 
 ready for service if required. Then again a number of 
 
164 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 special settlements of small holdings had been formed by 
 bodies of men in England and Ireland, and the emigrants 
 on arrival had taken up their sections without being sub- 
 jected to outside competition. These settlements were 
 the genesis of some of the most prosperous communities 
 of freeholders in New Zealand to-day. The Provincial 
 Councils of Wellington and Hawke's Bay, too, had wisely 
 settled most of the Scandinavian immigrants on small 
 allotments in the Seventy Mile Bush, where they were 
 given employment in the construction of the arterial 
 road to assist them in financing their holdings. It was 
 a most judicious experiment. The Scandinavians suc- 
 cessfully withstood the troubles under which so many of 
 their fellow-immigrants in the South Island came to grief. 
 
 Engrossed in the experiment to which it was com- 
 mitted, the Government of the day too easily persuaded 
 itself that the emigrants who were crowding to its shores 
 were being absorbed, and it pushed on, cheerfully 
 regardless of the day when the fountain of borrowing 
 would dry up and these artisans and farm labourers 
 would clamour for work and land. For the moment all 
 was well. Railways were being pushed ahead all over 
 the country ; roads, bridges and water-races were being 
 constructed, and land was fetching fabulous prices. 
 Production expanded ; exports and imports increased. 
 
 In seven years New Zealand had nominally increased 
 her agricultural class by 230 per cent, and her artisan 
 class by 270 per cent. ; and certain historians, looking at 
 the mere comparison of figures, have declared that the 
 period from 1870 to 1880 was one of unexampled 
 prosperity for the colony. 
 
 At such a time, when the nation was still impatient of 
 the delays and checks which its development had so 
 often encountered, it was unpopular to argue that a 
 quarter of a million people could not, without serious 
 economic disturbance, absorb a sudden accession of 
 almost half its own numbers. On the one hand the land 
 had become the preserve of the few ; on the other the 
 manufacturing industries, of which Vogel had expected 
 
THE SEEDS OF A REVOLUTION 165 
 
 so much, were not yet out of a precarious infancy. 
 From the very beginning New Zealand had dutifully 
 imported to meet all the requirements of the colonists, 
 and the customs tariff existed purely for the purpose of 
 providing revenue. It was, indeed, almost the only 
 assured source of income for State purposes, and when 
 the Vogel policy had been in operation for ten years 
 the custom-house was still furnishing three-fourths of the 
 revenue of the colony. There was no pretence of pro- 
 tection. Such industries as there were owed their exist- 
 ence entirely to the phenomenal activity of the period, 
 and stood in jeopardy the moment a depression struck 
 the colony. But who was there bold enough, in that 
 time of intoxication, to cry " Halt ! " and utter a warning 
 against the headlong career of the Continuous Ministry ? 
 
 It was the battle for the existence of the provinces that 
 led to the dramatic re-entry into public life of Sir 
 George Grey, whose distinguished career as representa- 
 tive of the Crown in South Africa, South Australia, and 
 New Zealand (where he was twice Governor) had been 
 terminated by a series of stormy controversies with 
 Downing Street. Worn out by the acrimonies and the 
 physical stress of thirty years of colonial life, he had 
 retired to an idyllic seclusion at the island of Kawau, 
 near Auckland, and was engrossed in the study of Poly- 
 nesian mythology when the menace to his beloved pro- 
 vincial institutions called him to arms. He was elected 
 Superintendent of the province of Auckland and one of 
 its representatives in the General Assembly. Instinc- 
 tively the Provincialists arrayed themselves around him, 
 and for the first time in the history of parliamentary 
 government in New Zealand there was a strong, organised 
 opposition. Grey was a man of singularly acute fore- 
 sight, and although his faculties were somewhat impaired 
 by age, and his temperament was intolerant and some- 
 times violent, there was still a magnetism about his 
 personality that made him a very dangerous opponent. 
 
 Associated with Ireland in his early manhood, he was 
 convinced that the troubles of that unhappy country were 
 
166 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 largely due to the tenure of the land, and throughout his 
 official career he consistently fought against the land 
 monopolists in the new countries of which he was 
 successively Governor. His determination to conserve 
 the patrimony of the people had already, during his 
 governorship of New Zealand, brought him into conflict 
 with the landed class, and it was no new jehad for which 
 he now left his retirement. He was one of the minority 
 who were bold enough to say that all this apparent 
 prosperity — the lavish expenditure of borrowed money 
 and the reckless introduction of artisans and farm 
 labourers — was an absolute danger to the colony so long 
 as both land and industrial employment were with- 
 held. The one thing uppermost in his mind as requisite 
 for the salvation of the colony from the condition of 
 insolvency into which he believed it was rushing was the 
 unlocking of the lands for settlement by the smaller 
 yeomen farmers. Aggregation was going on at an 
 alarming rate. In a period of five years the number of 
 holdings of more than ten thousand acres doubled. 
 
 Doubly embarrassed in its finances by the loss of the 
 magician Vogel (who went to London as Agent-General 
 for the colony in 1876), the Government was defeated on 
 a want-of-confidence motion, and Grey formed a Ministry. 
 The weapon he selected for the achievement of his prin- 
 cipal reform was a tax on land values, and before he had 
 been in office a year he succeeded in passing the neces- 
 sary legislation. Values fell slightly, and there was an 
 instant bursting up of many of the largest estates in order 
 to avoid the impost. The division was not in all cases 
 the genuine disintegration that Grey had anticipated, 
 but it boded well for the landless farmers when land 
 should become available at reasonable market values. 
 Reducing the customs tariff shortly afterwards, Grey com- 
 pletely altered the incidence of taxation ; and simul- 
 taneously the prospects of the needy immigrants 
 improved. Before he could carry out more of his com- 
 prehensive programme, however, his hasty temper and 
 petulant intolerance had estranged many of his own 
 
THE SEEDS OF A REVOLUTION 167 
 
 supporters. Deserted and disheartened, he was defeated 
 in 1879, and went sadly out of office, bequeathing to his 
 opponent, Sir John Hall, a programme which the latter 
 frankly adopted. 
 
 By this time matters had arrived at a sorry pass. In 
 the year in which Grey went out of office New Zealand 
 suffered a terrible depression. The prices of produce 
 fell alarmingly, and the land boom, of course, collapsed. 
 Advances were called in by the banks, which suddenly 
 found themselves in possession of thousands of acres of 
 land for which they had no particular use. Private 
 borrowers were compelled to realise on a falling market. 
 Destitution and idleness confronted thousands, not only 
 of the needy immigrants but also of those who, having 
 obtained financial assistance to buy land at inflated 
 prices, had been compelled to surrender. With the 
 curtailment of the spending power of the country, both 
 public and private, employment shrank and the outlook 
 was as dark as it could well be. Nothing that could be 
 done by legislation at the eleventh hour could remedy an 
 evil which had its roots in an economic condition of 
 many years' standing. 
 
 The Hall Ministry had before it as difficult a task as 
 any New Zealand Government ever had to cope with. 
 Prices of land and produce fell steadily, unemployment 
 increased, and whatever confidence still remained in the 
 ability of the country to settle its new population without 
 an upheaval became very weak indeed. The land tax 
 was repealed, and in its stead the Government imposed a 
 tax on all property, real and personal, exclusive of income. 
 An Act was passed qualifying every resident male twenty- 
 one years of age to vote, but the qualification was both 
 residential and freehold, and the landholders were thus 
 enabled to exercise votes in every district in which they 
 held land. The reaction was complete. The land was 
 as securely locked up as before. The horizon was as 
 dark as ever. Still people were flocking to the country. 
 The three years of the Hall Ministry was probably one 
 of the severest tests the colony's finances were ever put 
 
168 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 to. There was still a heavy expenditure of loan money, 
 but on the other hand taxation was increased, and rigid 
 economy was practised. By 1882 the Colonial Treasurer 
 (Major Atkinson) was able to congratulate the colony on 
 having recovered from the depression. Still it was the 
 mass of the people who contributed most to the revenue. 
 Out of a total revenue from taxation of ;^i, 717,000, the 
 customs furnished ;^i, 276,000, and the property tax 
 £2^'j,ooo — twice as much as had been derived from the 
 land tax. At this time more than nine million acres of 
 land was in the hands of 490 men, and there were 250 
 freehold estates of more than 10,000 acres each, the 
 aggregate area being 7J million acres. 
 
 With evenly balanced parties, Parliament was powerless 
 in the next few years to cope with the evils that multiplied 
 upon the unfortunate country. It is unnecessary to trace 
 the melancholy ins and outs of the Conservatives and 
 the new Liberals. Legislation and administration alike 
 amounted to a mere succession of expedients. Loan 
 expenditure kept the pot boiling and provided some 
 employment for the army of unsettled persons who 
 drifted about, but every winter the question became 
 more acute. The excess of immigration over emigration 
 fell away to almost zero. Every effort was made to start 
 new industries, and to find new markets for produce, 
 but even where successful the benefit could not be reaped 
 for some years to come. The country now discovered 
 how it had suffered by the mutilation of Vogel's original 
 scheme of development. Not only was employment so 
 scarce that hundreds of the more efficient workers had 
 to leave the colony to find a market for their skill, but 
 the industries that survived the depression were flourish- 
 ing in a fictitious manner. Unprotected from the com- 
 petition of English and foreign goods, which were 
 dumped into New Zealand almost free of duty, the 
 local manufacturers had to make reprisals upon the 
 labour which was, unfortunately, all too abundant. 
 Wages fell. Married men with families, compelled to 
 choose between work at low pay and starvation, were 
 
THE SEEDS OF A REVOLUTION 169 
 
 at the mercy of circumstances. Boys came into com- 
 petition with their fathers. Apprenticeships were ignored 
 in most cases, or merely used by employers to get labour 
 cheap. When the term expired the youths had either to 
 go on at boys' wages or to throw up their employment. 
 The choice was obvious, and wages fell steadily. Indus- 
 tries became overrun with boy labour, and the prospects 
 of competent men who were unwilling to work for low 
 wages diminished pari passu. Female labour was simi- 
 larly exploited. Thousands of girls were employed for 
 six months or longer without remuneration, and dis- 
 charged as soon as their efficiency justified their demand 
 for payment. A minority were kept on at less than a 
 living wage, and another wretched crop, compelled by 
 the inability of the chief breadwinners to get employ- 
 ment, filled the vacancies. Sub-contracting gave rise to 
 "sweating." The cutting was remorseless. The lack of 
 work for men drove thousands of respectable families 
 into the cut-throat competition. The only consideration 
 of the manufacturers was to secure labour at the lowest 
 cost ; of the workers, to secure employment at any cost. 
 The burden of the industrial strife fell most heavily on 
 the weak. Children and women were exploited because 
 the industries could not pay wages to men. 
 
 All the glory of the seventies had passed away. New 
 Zealand was in a state of the utmost depression. Legis- 
 lation was quite powerless to remedy evils which were 
 economic and not merely political. Many colonies have 
 had similar crises to face ; but in New Zealand a position 
 which would naturally have arisen at a certain stage of 
 the colony's development had been aggravated incal- 
 culably by the reckless and extravagant importation of 
 certain classes of immigrants to whom the necessary 
 avenues of occupation were closed. Thousands of dis- 
 appointed men, efficient, industrious, and temperate, left 
 the colony in despair. Of those who remained many 
 had emigrated from the Old World a few years earlier, 
 full of hope and enthusiasm. They were now incon- 
 solable agitators. A revolution was at hand. 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 
 
 The sempiternal problem — An experimental laboratory — The land-sharks 
 — Limitation of area — Governor Hobson's task — The policy of Sir 
 George Grey — To the opposite extreme — Distribution of the land — 
 Coming to a reckoning — Expedients of the eighties — The Liberal 
 policy, 189 1 — Land taxation — Closer settlement — The agricultural 
 epoch — Lease in perpetuity — Compulsory acquisition of estates — The 
 Advances to Settlers Office, and cheap money — " Breaking in " the 
 land — The prospects of the pioneer — A fashionable occupation — 
 Increase of holdings — Expansion of production — A revision of policy 
 — National endowments — Closer settlement. 
 
 Possibly there is no question that has been a more per- 
 sistent source of dispute amongst the younger nations of 
 the Empire than the ownership and tenure of land. In 
 the older countries the problem is often regarded — unfor- 
 tunately, as it seems to the Antipodean observer — as being 
 settled in perpetuity by the hereditary practice of past 
 ages, by customs of traditional antiquity, irrespective of 
 any of the needs of to-day. But young countries are not 
 so complacent. Owning no traditions indigenous to 
 their soil, they are apt to be intolerant of the claims 
 of custom and practice, to regard the lands of the State 
 as the common heritage of all, and to aim solely at the 
 highest possible utility from their acres. In their reme- 
 dies and reforms they are linclined, if they consider it 
 necessary, to be brutally sweeping. 
 
 Thus it is that the daughter States of the British Empire, 
 which are practically the only countries settled by 
 civilised communities during the past century, afford 
 economists the most interesting expositions of the land 
 problem in its varying forms. In the six States of 
 
 ITO 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 171 
 
 Australia and in New Zealand we have in operation 
 most of the better known systems of land tenure, with 
 the notable exception of the law of entail, by which the 
 land question in England is so hopelessly involved. In 
 the smaller of the Antipodean States the land question 
 naturally pressed most keenly, inasmuch as there the 
 available areas were soonest absorbed by the large 
 squatters. Under this head New Zealand and Victoria 
 are interesting studies. New Zealand was the younger, 
 the less homogeneous, and the less hampered by pre- 
 cedent when she was confronted by the twin problems 
 of closer settlement and the acquisition of native lands. 
 In her manner of dealing with them she vindicated the 
 title — or is it the "epithet"? — of the laboratory of 
 economic experiments, and furnished to economists in 
 both worlds a series of demonstrations which are every 
 day justifying themselves and gaining imitators. 
 
 On the first phase of land settlement in New Zealand 
 it is, fortunately, not necessary to dwell, because in the 
 Governors of New South Wales and New Zealand the 
 desire to do justice towards a barbarous native race over- 
 ruled the importunities of clamouring speculators who 
 constituted the vanguard of civilisation. In that perilous 
 period, after New Zealand was ascertained to be a fertile 
 land with an equable climate — the appointed home of a 
 white race — and before the Imperial Government could 
 be induced to take possession of it, scores of avaricious 
 squatters and land-sharks swarmed across the Tasman 
 Sea from Australia, and made " purchases " from the 
 natives. On the flimsiest consideration vast areas were 
 claimed as timber reserves or for their prospective value 
 as pasture land. Before a single expedition of immigrants 
 arrived, eight individuals or companies claimed to have 
 acquired sixty million acres, or more than five-sixths of 
 the whole area of the country. One gentleman claimed 
 to have purchased for ;£i6o — paid in kind — i6o miles of 
 coast-line, and a hinterland extending as far back as he 
 considered convenient. Four claimants demanded the 
 South Island as their own, in consideration of a few 
 
172 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 hundred pounds in money and a life annuity to the 
 ceding chiefs. An authority ^ who came on the scene 
 shortly afterwards wrote : — 
 
 "At the time the land fever, in its different phases of 
 'sharking,' jobbing, and bond-fide speculation, literally 
 raged in New Zealand. Almost every captain of a ship 
 on arriving at Sydney from New Zealand exhibited a 
 piece of paper with a tattooed native head rudely drawn 
 on it, which he described as the title-deed of an estate 
 bought for a few muskets, hatchets, or blankets. Other 
 captains were literally supplied in Sydney with blank 
 deeds of ' feoffment' for the use of these purchasers, and 
 as the Government had a fixed price of 5s., and after- 
 wards I2S., per acre on land in Australia, adventurers 
 crowded to New Zealand, hoping there, under cover of 
 the Declaration of Independence, 1835, to pursue their 
 schemes with impunity." 
 
 The Governor of New South Wales was given juris- 
 diction rather late in the day, and until 1840 had nothing 
 to guide him in dealing with the land-sharks. As early 
 as 1832 Lord Goderich had commented thus philan- 
 thropically on the reports he had received : — 
 
 " It is impossible to read without shame and indig- 
 nation the details disclosed by these transactions. Unless 
 some decisive measure of protection is afforded. New 
 Zealand natives will fall to be added to the number of 
 the barbarous tribes fallen sacrifice to their intercourse 
 with civilised man, by whom the very name of 
 Christianity is disgraced." 
 
 But England was still deadly anxious to avoid being 
 in any way sponsor for the welfare of the Maori. And 
 while England hesitated the Wakefield school of colo- 
 nisers was busy, by treatise and practice, educating the 
 English mind on the necessity of a proper land policy 
 for the new countries which were being settled. 
 
 Edward Gibbon Wakefield from the first opposed the 
 free granting of land in the colonies. His idea was that 
 
 ' Mr. Alexander Mackay, a Commissioner appointed by the New Zealand 
 Government to investigate the claims. 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 173 
 
 the land should always be sold at a sufficient price, and 
 that the proceeds of the sale should be devoted to an 
 emigration fund to bring more people to the colony. 
 Official England did not go so far as this, but it heartily 
 concurred in Governor Gipp's condemnation of the state 
 of things existing in New Zealand, and the claims were 
 forthwith declared invalid pending investigation by a 
 Commissioner. In his instructions to this Commission 
 the Governor definitely fixed a certain scale of prices, 
 ranging from 6d. per acre in 1815 to 8s. in 1839, as reason- 
 able payment for land bought at any particular time in 
 that period. Unless approximately such payments could 
 be proved to have been made, the grants would not be 
 confirmed. In this reference, too, appeared the first 
 limitation of area, a sure forecast of the advent of demo- 
 cratic government. The restriction of 2,560 acres appears 
 very drastic when we consider that it originated with the 
 Governor of New South Wales at a time when large 
 holdings were so much the vogue in the Mother Colony. 
 The first thing that was done when New Zealand 
 became part of the British dominions in 1840 was the 
 conclusion of a compact with the Maori conserving to 
 them all their ancestral rights in regard to lands, hunting- 
 grounds, rivers, and so forth, and vesting in the Govern- 
 ment the exclusive right of pre-emption. After this deed 
 (the Treaty of Waitangi) had been ratified no fresh land 
 claim could be recognised until a proper purchase from 
 the natives was proved. What with this and the work of 
 the Commission appointed by Governor Gipps,i a very 
 small proportion of these extensive purchases was rati- 
 fied,2 and the colony embarked on its political life with 
 its landed resources more or less intact, though hopelessly 
 bound up in the meshes of native ownership. 
 
 ■ Reappointed when New Zealand was declared a separate colony. 
 One of the original claims, that of William Webster, an American 
 subject, for half a million acres of land, is still being pressed by his 
 descendants. The purchase was made about 1835, ^^^ the claim sets 
 forth that it was validly effected before British sovereignty was pro- 
 claimed in the country and when the natives were recognised as an 
 independent confederacy. 
 
174 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Governor Hobson had landed in 1840 in the midst of 
 a scene of bitter conflict between the land-grabbers and 
 the official conservators of the rights of the natives. 
 Though suffering impaired health, he lacked nothing in 
 courage and determination to do justice to the natives. 
 It was his first act to conclude the Treaty of Waitangi, 
 as a weapon against the despoliation of the Maori, and 
 he entered with all the earnestness of a somewhat in- 
 tolerant officialism into the fight with the speculators. 
 It is one of the calamities of New Zealand's early history 
 that he should have classed the New Zealand Company 
 amongst the general ruck of land-grabbers. This orga- 
 nisation, the last of three attempts to colonise New 
 Zealand through the medium of public companies, 
 embodied the very essence of the pure Wakefield policy 
 of colonisation. As has been explained in an earlier 
 chapter, the Company came into conflict in England 
 with a bureaucracy that frankly desired to have nothing 
 further to do with colonies. Hobson was the nominee 
 of that bureaucracy, and he landed in New Zealand 
 prepared to class the Company amongst the inveterate 
 enemies of the ofhcial view of colonisation. Unfortu- 
 nately, again, he found, as if to support his predisposition, 
 that the Company had, in defiance of the caveats of the 
 Imperial Government, purchased from the natives an 
 area of land as large as Ireland, for which it had paid, 
 partly in money and partly in kind, about ^£9,000. This 
 figure would not, of course, at all meet the requirements 
 of Governor Gipps's scale. 
 
 In regard to the administration of the lands of new 
 colonies Wakefield had always taught that what he called 
 the " sufficient price " was an economic essential. The 
 point of sufficiency, a varying one, was fixed so as to 
 make the land at once available to colonists having 
 money to invest, and yet not so cheap that the labourers, 
 who naturally desired also to be landowners, might 
 obtain their desire at once and so leave the market bare 
 of labour. The proceeds of the sale of land should, he 
 considered, be devoted to a fund for the encouragement 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 175 
 
 of immigration of the right class of persons to maintain 
 the due proportions of an established society. Before 
 Colonel Wakefield had actually purchased any land in 
 New Zealand the Company in London had sold to 
 intending emigrants orders representing a value of 
 ;^ioo,ooo. When the emigrants arrived, they found the 
 conflict raging between the Governor and the Company, 
 and themselves unable to settle on their lands. 
 
 It took nearly three years for the Commissioner to deal 
 with the land claims. In the meantime settlement was 
 at a standstill. A few thousands of worthy men who 
 had paid for their land were unable to occupy it and 
 were herded together in the towns, harbouring their 
 grievances and rapidly becoming malcontents. The 
 Governor possessed the right to purchase land from the 
 natives and make it available for settlement, but he had 
 no money to do it with, and men who were anxious to 
 buy in the most open and straightforward manner had to 
 sit and twiddle their thumbs. 
 
 When the decision of the Commissioners was made 
 known the claim of the Company was cut down from 
 20 million acres to 283,000. This was enough to settle 
 their tenants on, but by now the feeling between Maori 
 and pakeha was so strained that many of the immigrants 
 hesitated to go out of the towns. After the claims of the 
 land-sharks had been investigated and the full area 
 allowed to those whose purchases had been approved, 
 the residue of some hundreds of thousands of acres, 
 which was definitely ascertained to have passed from the 
 natives, became the perquisite of the Crown. This was 
 practically all the land available for settlement. If the 
 Government had wanted to kill in infancy the unwanted 
 child, New Zealand, here was the instrument. For 
 twenty years only the Government could purchase land 
 from the Maori. There was no competition in the 
 market, and so, of course, the Government secured the 
 land cheap, hastily surveyed it, and resold it to men 
 who were still waiting for their holdings. 
 
 Yet out of evil came good. New Zealand had never 
 
176 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 been used as a dumping-ground for convicts, but its great 
 natural resources attracted a swarm of sea-rovers and 
 adventurers, one might almost say freebooters and buc- 
 caneers. Before the sovereignty of the Queen arrived it 
 was their happy hunting-ground. Had it arrived in the 
 person of a man over-ambitious for the future of his 
 governance, burning to show great marks of progress at 
 the end of his term, and therefore complacent towards 
 " boomers " and amenable to the desires of unscrupulous 
 exploiters, the economic future of New Zealand might 
 have been sold in a decade to heartless monopolists. 
 The very existence of the Maori race might have been 
 bartered away for empty signs of immediate progress. 
 But William Hobson was no such man. He had his 
 faults, it is true, bequeathed to him in great measure by 
 the administrators who sent him out, but his whole life 
 and the whole force of his outstanding character were 
 devoted to seeing justice done to the Maori race. And 
 when he died, after nearly three years of arduous and 
 heart-breaking and thankless work, the brigands who had 
 been plundering the country and the natives had almost 
 all fled. The worst, at any rate, had disappeared, while 
 the better had become decent citizens. 
 
 After a short interregnum of chaos — Lieutenant Short- 
 land, Administrator, 1842-3 ; Captain Fitzroy, Governor, 
 1843-5 — another strong man came into office. Captain 
 George Grey, the greatest pro-consul of the colonial 
 empire. He found a legacy of despair. Wakefield's 
 scheme of colonisation was already ruined by the removal 
 of its foundations — the steady supply of land for disposal 
 at the " sufficient price." What with the Treaty of Waitangi 
 and the penury of the Government, there was, to all 
 intents and purposes, no land in New Zealand at all. In 
 1841 the colonial revenue, chiefly from land sales, was 
 ^37,000; the following year land yielded ;£i 1,000, and 
 in 1843 only ;^i,6oo. 
 
 Grey's advent was a magic touch. Backed by a decent 
 military force, he put a summary end to two native wars, 
 and then proceeded to sort out the land tangles. He was 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 177 
 
 altogether better situated than his predecessor, but he 
 was also a man of infinitely better calibre, and under him 
 the colony made a real advance. The large areas of 
 land which he purchased from the Maori and made 
 available for settlement were now a decided attraction to 
 men who had been reluctant to go out into the wilds 
 while the natives still remained arrogant in the face of 
 official weakness. Moreover, this land was cheaper than 
 the "sufficient price" land of the impoverished Company. 
 Sheep-farmers brought stock over from New South Wales 
 and took them afield. 
 
 In Otago — the Scots province which was founded in 
 1848 — the price of land was fixed at £2, but it had to be 
 reduced before the pioneers could be induced to go far 
 from Dunedin. In Canterbury it was £t,. But in both 
 of these provinces lands which had been held by the 
 natives and did not come within the endowment of the 
 settlement were sold cheaper. Thus it happened that 
 early in the day some very large holdings were established 
 in the South Island. The Canterbury Association was 
 armed with rather extraordinary powers over an immense 
 area of land, upon 2J million acres of which the Church 
 of England could levy £1 an acre. Foreseeing that if 
 action v/as not taken immediately the Association would 
 be able to keep the price of land exclusively and perma- 
 nently high, Grey with one stroke of his pen "reduced 
 the price of public lands from £2, to los., and in the case 
 of inferior land, 5s. per acre." 
 
 The land regulations of Grey had a mixed result. 
 There was the initial virtue that small men — thrifty 
 labourers or immigrant farmers — were able to get hold- 
 ings without much difficulty at a fair price. Of this the 
 settlements on the west side of the Wairarapa plains, 
 Masterton, Carterton, and Greytown, are lasting examples. 
 But there was a subsequent disadvantage. The old rule 
 — anathema of the land-grabbers — limiting the area which 
 could be held by a single individual, was omitted. As a 
 natural consequence large runholders and squatters who 
 were working on pastoral leases were able to buy up as 
 
 13 
 
178 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 much land as they could pay for, to aggregate immense 
 areas without let or hindrance. It was the swing of the 
 pendulum to the other extreme. While the "sufficient 
 price " of Wakefield's system had been used to make land 
 a close preserve, the regulations of Grey provided no 
 barrier of price or limitation to prevent a vast portion of 
 the Crown lands falling into the hands of a few wealthy 
 men. And so it did. 
 
 Grey's inspired biographer ' tells us that " Sir George 
 Grey intended, as part of his plan, to impose a land tax, to 
 prevent the acquisition of large areas of unoccupied land. 
 But he had no power to frame such an Act, and could but 
 leave it with his recommendation to public men in New 
 Zealand." In this case Grey's foresight was sadly at fault, 
 and a future generation had to retrieve the blunder. If he 
 had only embodied the limitation of area, as he un- 
 doubtedly had power to do, the regulations would have 
 been entirely excellent. As it was they wrought the very 
 evils which were most abhorrent to his democratic mind 
 — evils which he assailed with all the courage and suc- 
 cess of his youth when later he entered the New Zealand 
 Parliament and became Premier of the colony. 
 
 It is unnecessary to dwell further on the regulations 
 of this time except to say that they encouraged settlers, 
 good and bad, to go out from the towns on to the land, 
 and filled the coffers of the Provincial Governments to 
 overflowing. In 1862 the Crown waived its right of pre- 
 emption over native lands, and direct dealings with the 
 Maori commenced. They grew to an alarming extent, 
 particularly under an inscrutable rule of the Native Land 
 Court (set up in 1865), which would not allow more than 
 ten natives to be named in a communistic title, and per- 
 mitted these ten to negotiate the alienation of the land. 
 Free trade certainly gave the Maori a better price for the 
 land than the Government, without fear of competition, 
 was likely to pay. The wars of the sixties in the Waikato, 
 Taranaki, and Bay of Plenty added considerably to the area 
 
 ■ " The Life and Times of Sir George Grey," by William Lee Rees and 
 Lily Rees. 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 179 
 
 of Crown lands by the confiscation of the lands of the 
 disaffected tribes. In 1873 a further bad element was 
 introduced. Henceforth the memorial of ownership con- 
 tained the individual names of every owner, man, woman 
 and child, and all had to consent to an alienation before 
 it would be ratified. 
 
 "Under this law," says a Royal Commission of 1891, 
 "the alienation of native land took its very worst form and 
 its most disastrous tendency. It was obtained from a help- 
 less people. The crowds of owners in a memorial of 
 ownership were like a flock of sheep without a shepherd, a 
 watch-dog, or a leader. Mostly ignorant barbarians, they 
 became suddenly possessed of a title to land which was 
 a marketable commodity. . . . They were surrounded 
 by temptations. Eager for money wherewith to buy food, 
 clothes, and rum, they welcomed the paid agents who plied 
 them always with cash and often with spirits. In most of 
 the leases and purchases effected the land was obtained in 
 large areas by capitaHsts. ... Of all the purchase-money 
 paid for the millions of acres sold by the Maori not one 
 sixpence is left. Their remaining lands are rapidly passing 
 away." 
 
 It was not until 1892 that the Government again re- 
 sumed the pre-emptive right over the whole colony. But 
 by this time all the baneful effects of free trade in land, 
 both Crown and native, had accrued. 
 
 It cannot be pretended for a moment that New Zealand 
 was in as bad a way as regards the distribution of her lands 
 as, say, the colony of Victoria. The first established 
 Government had been fully forewarned of the dangers of 
 squatting, and from time to time certain very effective 
 attempts had been made to prevent aggregation and to get 
 the land into the hands of those who were most likely to 
 make good use of it. The conflict of authority between 
 the Company and the Government, and the lack of uni- 
 formity in the regulations of the different Provincial 
 Governments, were at the root of the trouble. But prob- 
 ably no single incident contributed more to the defeat 
 of the very objects that the Government was driving at 
 
180 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 than Sir George Grey's omission of the necessary pre- 
 cautions in his regulations of 1853. 
 
 Between 1868 and 1880 the area of land under cultiva- 
 tion (including sown grasses) increased sixfold, but the 
 number of settlers had little more than doubled. In 1868 
 the average area of cultivated holdings of upwards of 
 one acre was 657 acres. In 1890 it had increased to 222 
 acres. The trend of land development is better shown in 
 this table : — 
 
 Cultivation, No. of No. of Cattle, 
 
 Population. Average Acres Sheep Horses, &c., 
 
 per Person. per Person. per Person. 
 
 1858 49,802 2-o8 30-57 3-05 
 
 1867 218,668 3-09 38'49 173 
 
 1891 634,058 14-02 28-58 1-64 
 
 Owing to the comparatively restricted area of the 
 country the economic difficulty before the people has 
 always been obvious enough. To its solution successive 
 Governments bent themselves. The task was often inter- 
 rupted and complicated by more pressing problems. In 
 the dual fear of a company or a native monopoly, the 
 flood-gates were opened and a certain area — not much in 
 proportion to the whole — was mopped up by a number of 
 wealthy capitalists. Sir George Grey's regulations had 
 been operating, more or less, for twenty years before 
 Parliament came to a realisation of the effects and called 
 a peremptory halt along certain lines. The Land Act of 
 1877, for example, prescribed 320 acres as the maximum 
 that a purchaser on deferred payment might hold. Five 
 years later the Whitaker Ministry fixed the square mile as 
 the limit for one person, whether owner, tenant, or 
 occupier. But these provisions did not apply to existing 
 holdings, and they were neutralised by evasion and 
 trickery. Sir George Grey was candidly appalled, when 
 he came back to New Zealand, to ascertain how things 
 had gone. Becoming Premier, he at once set about curing 
 the evil by a land tax. It did, in fact, have some consider- 
 able effect in cutting up the large estates, but in an early 
 swing of the political pendulum it was repealed. 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 181 
 
 The growing stringency of the position forced succes- 
 sive Governments during the eighties to certain minor 
 expedients to bring about closer settlement. Some had a 
 slight effect as momentary palliatives of the distress 
 amongst the landless rural classes. Mr. Rolleston and 
 Mr. Ballance, as Land Ministers in the Conservative and 
 Liberal Governments respectively, each passed an Act of 
 permanent value to the cause of closer settlement, but the 
 eighties came to an end with many of the rural classes still 
 condemned to a life of idleness in the towns. In 1891 the 
 disposition of land in New Zealand was according to the 
 following table : — 
 
 No. of Holdings. Total Area. 
 
 Acres. 
 I acre to 10,000 acres ... 43,440 10,754,707 
 
 10,000 acres and over ... 337 8,642,822 
 
 Total 43,777 19,397,529 
 
 Almost two-thirds of the total area was freehold. Two- 
 thirds of the whole area of freehold was in possession 
 of 2,259 individuals. At that time there were 68,600 per- 
 sons, or something more than one-tenth of the population, 
 engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits. There were 
 12,293 flocks of sheep, of which 695 numbered upwards 
 of 5,000. One of the worst grievances of the time was 
 the fact that upwards of one million acres was held by 
 fifty absentee landlords. Of the 25 million acres of land 
 still unalienated or ear-marked as reserves, the vast 
 majority was of inferior quality, including the rugged 
 fastnesses of the Alps and the mountain centres of the 
 North Island. Yet New Zealand was only an infant. 
 
 It would be tedious to follow the New Zealand land 
 laws through all the changes and vicissitudes of the last 
 twenty years. The Government which came into office in 
 1891 owed its election largely to the organised opinion of 
 the men who wanted land. Though Grey was only a 
 private member of the House of Representatives, the Gov- 
 ernment was essentially a Grey one, and it frankly pro- 
 posed to mend matters in the way that he had suggested 
 
182 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 in a Bill which he had introduced a few years earlier. 
 John Ballance, the leader of the party, had already some 
 record as a land reformer. As a member of the Stout- 
 Vogel Ministry in 1884-87 he had carried the Village 
 Settlements Act, which had already been the means of 
 settling a thousand families of poor men on the land. 
 His Ministry now understood clearly the nature of its 
 mandate. In his financial statement in 1891 Ballance 
 said : — 
 
 "When we consider that upwards of 16 million acres 
 of the best land has already been alienated in fee simple 
 from the Crown, there is some reason why the remaining 
 available estate of less than 3 million acres should be 
 administered in the interests of the whole of the people of 
 the colony. The time has arrived when suitable areas will 
 have to be purchased by the Crown for small farm settle- 
 ment. In many parts of the colony the Crown lands 
 available for this purpose have already disappeared, and 
 if the population is to be retained the wants of intend- 
 ing settlers will have to be met." 
 
 Forthwith the Government repealed the property tax, 
 and in its place imposed a tax of a penny in the pound 
 on all land, after allowing a generous exemption of ;f 3,000 
 for improvements. In addition a graduated tax was 
 imposed, commencing at one-eighth of a penny in the 
 pound on properties valued at ;£5,ooo and rising to ifd. 
 on properties valued at over ^£2 10,000. An additional 
 impost, again, was levied on the property of absentees. 
 This taxation at once yielded the Ballance Government a 
 quarter of a million sterling, and the amount derived 
 annually now is more than half a million. Land 
 taxation was intended at the outset to be repeatedly 
 adjusted in such a way as to enforce the cutting up of 
 the large estates irrespective of State resumption. The 
 prime object of this tax was, of course, to reach land- 
 owners in such a manner that they would be rewarded 
 for using their land to its utmost utility. In the 
 following year — 1893 — ^improvements were exempted 
 entirely from taxation, and under this exemption settlers 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 183 
 
 have since expended ^£50,000,000 on the improvement of 
 their holdings. The exemptions and deductions have 
 since been so adjusted that to-day not quite one-sixth 
 of the 174,000 persons who possessed land in New 
 Zealand have to pay land taxes. The graduated tax 
 has been steadily altered in its incidence so as to 
 discourage the larger holdings and encourage the small. 
 It commences now at one-sixteenth of a penny (one-half 
 the original commencing figure), and at ^£40,000 value it 
 is 8s. per cent., increasing thereafter to £2 per cent, on 
 estates worth more than ;£20o,ooo. An additional impost 
 of 50 per cent, is levied on the property of absentees, 
 who, moreover, do not enjoy the usual exemption. 
 
 Holding to the Grey principles of economy, the 
 Ballance Government fully intended to use the land 
 tax as the prime means of breaking up the large estates 
 and making the land available for smaller settlers. The 
 resumption of large estates by the State was intended 
 to follow on the operation of the taxation measures, 
 when the owners had been persuaded by these imposts 
 that it would be to their advantage to subdivide. The 
 aim of the framers, Mr. Reeves explains, was to exempt 
 the peasant farmers and the working rural settlers and to 
 transfer their share of the taxation to the backs of the 
 owners of large estates. The tax was so adjusted that 
 six-sevenths of those holding land in New Zealand had 
 nothing whatever to pay. This extra contribution was 
 to be compensation for the check which land monopoly 
 gave to the progress of settlement. 
 
 Mr. Reeves thus epitomises^ the extent to which land 
 monopoly was carried in a colony which above all others 
 was suited for small settlements : — 
 
 "Not half the 66 million acres of land which [the 
 islands] contain were then settled upon even in the 
 sparsest way. Yet 585 persons or companies owned 
 between 10 and 11 million acres; 684 companies or 
 persons owned or occupied real estate the unimproved 
 
 ■ " Land Taxes and Rates and Valuation of Land in New Zealand," a 
 memorandum prepared for ttie Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1909. 
 
184 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 value of which was only a little less than ;^2 2,000,000. 
 Two-thirds of i per cent, of the landowners held 
 40 per cent, of the land values. Putting urban land 
 on one side, a return of rural holdings of more than 
 five acres in extent showed that one-eightieth of the 
 country landholders held two-fifths (in value) of the 
 land. The price of land had fallen in 1891 ; some of 
 the large owners were by no means prosperous ; but pity 
 for them did not get rid of the necessity for challenging 
 monopoly, setthng the soil, and peopling the country." 
 
 Ten years sufficed to demonstrate with fair accuracy 
 the effect of the land taxation. Some large estates had 
 cheerfully paid the tax, apparently with ease. There had 
 not been so much subdivision as had been hoped. And 
 there had been some considerable amount of subdivision 
 which was purely evasive. " In the year 1900," remarks 
 Mr. Reeves, " the occupied lands of the colony extended 
 over 34J million acres. Of this no less than 20,665,000 
 acres were still held in blocks of from 5,000 acres 
 upwards. Eight hundred and fifty-four holdings com- 
 prised more than four-sevenths of the occupied land 
 of the country." 
 
 There had, indeed, been a considerable increase in the 
 estates of moderate size, say from one to ten thousand 
 acres. In 1903 the graduated tax was increased, but still 
 the large holders weathered the storm. A prolonged 
 prosperity made it more than ever worth their while 
 to hold out; but at the same time it made all the more 
 insistent the demand of the small settlers for farms. 
 
 For a few years the controversy raged about the 
 question of freehold or leasehold for Crown lands, and 
 then it returned to the old demand for the bursting up of 
 the large estates. To meet this the Government of Sir 
 Joseph Ward, which had come into office as the con- 
 tinuers of the Ballance and Seddon policy, passed what 
 would appear anywhere else as a drastic and searching 
 measure of taxation affecting estates of more than 
 ;^40,ooo unimproved value. At that figure the rate of 
 the graduated tax is now 8s. per cent., and it increases 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 185 
 
 thereafter at the rate of one-fifth of a shilHng for every 
 thousand pounds of unimproved value, reaching its 
 maximum of £2 per cent, on estates of the value of 
 ;£2oo,ooo and more. 
 
 Next year (dating from March, 1910) the invitation to 
 subdivide the large estates will be increased by 25 per cent. 
 What will be the effect of the new taxation remains to be 
 seen. Its operation may possibly be complicated and 
 confused by the fact that the price of land has within the 
 last year or so received its first check since the original 
 enactment of this species of taxation in 1891. It is 
 probable, too, that the Government will now ease up on 
 the resumption of large private estates (which has grown 
 to unexpected dimensions), and rely upon the heavier 
 taxation to accomplish what it was originally intended to 
 do in making land available for small holders. 
 
 But taxation alone, though tending to burst up the 
 large estates and make land available for the small 
 men, would not have produced quickly enough the 
 results aimed at. At any rate John McKenzie^ and 
 his colleagues were not prepared to trust for their 
 success to half-measures, for they passed on the same 
 day the Act which is regarded as the genesis of the 
 new agricultural epoch of New Zealand. It was a 
 comprehensive and sweeping measure for the settlement 
 of Crown lands. The tendency in those days was 
 distinctly towards the State ownership of land. No large 
 body of farmers has yet been discovered that honestly 
 prefers the leasehold to the freehold ; but the fact that so 
 much of the land of the colony had passed into the 
 hands of private holders made it practically impossible 
 for the smaller class of men ever to secure it except 
 through the intervention of the State. The Government 
 did not go so far as to abolish the freehold. It gave 
 settlers the option of purchasing either for cash or on 
 lease with right of purchase, but it made the leases so 
 attractive that the freeholds seemed less desirable than 
 
 ■ Originally a Scotch crofter ; became Minister of Lands in the 
 Ballance Government, 1891 ; knighted 1901 ; died the same year. 
 
186 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 during all those years when the grapes had hung so high- 
 Under the lease-in-perpetuity the tenant had absolute 
 security for himself and his descendants for 999 years 
 at a rental of 4 per cent, on the cash value of the land.' 
 That is to say, the descendants of a settler who might be 
 supposed to have taken up a section about the time when 
 the Maori came to New Zealand, a.d. 900, would just 
 to-day be feeling uneasy about their renewals. There is 
 no revaluation, but the lease necessarily carries the 
 power of sale, mortgage, sub-lease, or disposition by will. 
 A stated amount of improvements is demanded, and the 
 law insists upon a bond-fide residence on the section 
 as the only means of avoiding that " dummyism " which 
 frustrated most of the abortive remedies of the seventies 
 and the eighties. 
 
 After a short period of head-wagging and suspicion 
 the lease-in-perpetuity became suddenly popular. It was 
 essentially the tenure for a man of small capital. 
 Townsmen, men whom the price or the scarcity of land 
 had kept on the streets, commenced to look afield. The 
 taxation had already frightened the land monopolists, 
 and they held off. Gradually the small men went into 
 the back-country. Discontented townsmen formed 
 special settlement associations, and the sons of small 
 farmers joined in. The aggregator was definitely blotted 
 out of the future of New Zealand by a rule restricting 
 any man who became a Crown tenant from holding 
 more than 640 acres of first-class or 2,000 acres of 
 second-class land. There were mistakes, of course. 
 Some parties of settlers, thrown down far from rail or 
 good roads, were sheerly marooned in the wilderness. 
 For long, patient years they had to await the arrival of 
 the railhead or a good road to give them the full value 
 of their produce. 
 
 But the Crown lands regulations were only half of the 
 Government policy. At the same time a measure was 
 passed authorising the purchase of large estates from 
 their private owners, to be cut up into small farms. 
 The time was scarcely ripe for this new act of " State 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 187 
 
 Socialism." For one thing, the incidence of the land 
 taxation had not yet been felt by the owners sufficiently 
 to cause them to part with their lands ; and, secondly, 
 the public itself was just a little sceptical. Nobody 
 would sell to the Government. But John McKenzie was 
 not the class of man to flinch. Opportunely it happened 
 that the owners of the Cheviot estate, in North Canter- 
 bury, contested the valuation placed upon their property 
 by the Government for the purposes of taxation. They 
 contended that it was ;^5o,ooo too high, and challenged 
 the Government to take the estate, as provided by the 
 Land and Income Assessment Act, at their valuation. 
 Mr. McKenzie jumped at the opportunity. Dealing with 
 this incident in the land campaign, Mr. Pember Reeves, 
 who was a member of the Ministry at the time, wrote : — ' 
 
 " It is a fine tract of 84,000 acres, on which up to 
 1893 some forty human beings and about 60,000 sheep 
 were to be found. Hilly, but not mountainous, grassy, 
 fertile, and lying against the seashore, it was exactly 
 suited for fairly close settlement. . . . He [Mr. McKenzie] 
 had the Cheviot bought, cut up, and opened by roads. 
 A portion was sold, but most leased ; and within a year 
 of purchase a thriving yeomanry, numbering nearly nine 
 hundred souls and owning 74,000 sheep, 1,500 cattle, and 
 500 horses, were at work in the erstwhile empty tract." 
 
 The Government valuation of the estate was ^^304,826, 
 of which ;^54,3oo was for improvements, leaving 
 ^£250,526 to be taxed. The owners valued the property 
 at ;£26o,220, less improvements, ;^6o,i5o ; unimproved 
 value, ;£20o,o7o. The Government paid for the estate 
 at the owners' valuation, viz., ^^260,220. Last year what 
 was once the Cheviot estate carried 89,000 sheep 
 throughout the winter, and sent off 40,000 for the market 
 between November and March. There were besides 
 1,150 cattle, 1,000 horses, and 280 pigs. What was 
 formerly one holding is now 320, and the rents to the 
 State, amounting to about ;£i 5,000 a year, have already 
 reduced by one-half the original heavy liability. 
 ' In " The Long White Cloud," 1898. 
 
188 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 What happened in regard to the Cheviot estate, and 
 the General Election at the end of the year, encouraged 
 the Government to persevere with Mr. McKenzie's 
 programme of compulsory acquisition. It was quite 
 evident that without this power very little progress 
 would ever be made in the cutting up of the large estates. 
 In the first instance Mr. McKenzie had desired the 
 power of compulsion, but the House to which he 
 appealed then was not nearly so Liberal — or Sociahstic, 
 as its critics dehghted to designate it — as that which 
 succeeded the General Election at the end of 1893. When 
 he made the demand again in 1894 he was granted 
 authority to expend not more than half a million pounds 
 each year in the purchase of estates, either by mutual 
 agreement or by the decision of a Compensation Court. 
 Then the closer settlement scheme was pushed forward 
 with energy. Estates in most of the provincial districts, 
 with an initial preference for the South Island, were 
 purchased and surveyed, cut up and roaded, and let 
 as early as possible on lease-in-perpetuity at rentals 
 equal to 5 per cent, on the cost of purchase and 
 expenses. 
 
 Within five years 214,000 acres had been let to 1,304 
 selectors at a rental of £STil'Vl' Up to March 31, 1908, 
 the State had resumed 1,122,135 acres at a cost of 
 ;^4, 807,369, and had spent another half-million on 
 surveys and roading. The rents and other revenue 
 for the year amounted to a quarter of a million pounds, 
 and the Land for Settlement Account showed a credit of 
 ;£3i7,ooo. 
 
 Providence seemed to conspire with the Liberal 
 Government to justify all these experiments. Season after 
 season good and better prices ruled. The land was now 
 in truth unlocked. Dairying, sheep-raising, wool-growing 
 all quietly expanded. Farmers who had been for years 
 under the thumb of the mortgagees commenced to sell 
 their own grain and wool and mutton in the open 
 market. By the Advances to Settlers Office, another 
 activity of the State, high rates of interest were gradually 
 

 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 189 
 
 eliminated from agrarian economy. Farmers' sons 
 clamoured for land. Every year more estates were 
 bought and handed over to them ; more tracts of the 
 brooding bush fell to the axes of the sturdy yeomanry 
 who were willing to carve out new homes in the wilds. 
 Backblocks pioneering became a fashionable occupation 
 for young men from the colleges, who passed straight 
 out to the fringe of the bush to break in the land for 
 themselves, willing and anxious to toil for a year in the 
 unseen fastnesses for the joy of a holiday amongst 
 civilised men in the simmering Christmas of the 
 Antipodes. 
 
 The settler has more than enough trouble in the first 
 few years of his tenancy. First of all, his fences have 
 to be erected. Many of the posts have to be " stepped " 
 to prevent them from springing up when the strain 
 reaches along the spurs on either side. In the early days 
 the landslips leave chains of fencing swinging in mid- 
 air, until the new-comer learns that it pays to run his 
 fences along the spurs, where the ground will hold. 
 When the summer sun has shrivelled all the felled under- 
 growth the " burn " comes, then the grass and stock have 
 to be turned in carefully, enough to "hold" the country 
 and prevent the scrub again taking possession, but not 
 enough to eat the tender young grass out. Mustering 
 cattle in this country is heart-breaking. The fatigue of 
 working on the log-littered hillsides in the fierce heat of 
 summer is excessive. It may mean half an hour's work 
 to get a handful of cattle around one large log. If it is 
 new country the settler often finds his cattle killed by 
 getting jambed amongst the logs or from hitii poisoning. 
 A gale of wind amongst dead trees in the first year 
 or two is full of danger to the stock browsing beneath. 
 
 But all these troubles become gradually and beautifully 
 less. The profits are heavy. Within a year sheep and 
 cattle are grazing on luscious grass where the sun failed 
 to pierce the evergreen shade of the native bush. The 
 yeoman must exercise constant vigilance to prevent 
 either the stock or the grass getting too much advantage. 
 
190 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 He must be vigilant for a dozen forms of disaster that the 
 plainsman does not know or understand. But all the 
 time he is making a profit. The day is ever in his vision 
 when he will be a wealthy settler, a member of the 
 County Council, perhaps, living the quiet life of an 
 English squire after the strenuous days of pioneering. 
 There is an eventide of luxury before every intelligent 
 man who goes on the land in New Zealand. Even for 
 the moment, while he foregoes some of the comforts of 
 life for himself, he may send his children into the 
 colleges, or equip them well for the secondary schools 
 by the help of the subsidised teacher whom the State 
 sends into the remotest fastnesses. 
 
 The chief expansion of settlement under the new 
 land policy was in the North Island, where the State 
 owned a larger area of unoccupied lands, and where 
 there was always more available for purchase from the 
 Maori. In the period of seventeen years from 1891 
 the holdings have shown the following astonishing 
 increases : — 
 
 
 Number of 
 
 Freehold 
 
 Leasehold 
 
 
 Holdings. 
 
 Acres. 
 
 Acres. 
 
 I89I ... 
 
 - 43,777 
 
 12,410,242 
 
 19,457,262 
 
 1908 ... 
 
 - 73,367 
 
 16,355,138 
 
 21,209,150 
 
 The leasehold land in this table includes both Crown 
 and private. The development of State landlordism 
 under the present regime has not been more remarkable 
 than it was in the uncertain period of the eighties, when 
 the experimental systems of the opposing political parties 
 lived side by side. The trend is shown in this table : — 
 
 1S80 
 
 1890 
 
 1900 
 
 1908 
 
 The action of the closer settlement provisions, too, 
 was very decisive. Between 1889 and 1906 the area 
 of freehold land held in areas of upwards of 10,000 acres 
 
 Crown Tenants. 
 
 Area Held. 
 
 ■• 4,072 
 
 12,399,008 
 
 .. 10,823 
 
 13,186,716 
 
 .. 14,400 
 
 14,889,412 
 
 .. 20,168 
 
 17,082,134 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 191 
 
 was reduced by 2,797,000 acres. Government purchases 
 were, of course, largely responsible for this, but fully 
 one-third of the reduction was the result of voluntary 
 subdivision by owners to escape the graduated taxation. 
 In 1891 the average size of a holding (both freehold and 
 leasehold) was 728 acres, in 1908 it was 512 acres. But 
 we find a more cogent corhparison still in the size of the 
 flocks and volume of produce : — 
 
 
 1891. 
 
 igoS. 
 
 Increase 
 per Cent. 
 
 Land in occupation ... 
 
 31,867,504 acres 
 
 37,564,288 acres 
 
 17-87 
 
 Occupiers 
 
 43,777 
 
 73.367 
 
 67-59 
 
 Flock owners 
 
 12,293 
 
 (1907) 19,977 
 
 62-50 
 
 Number of sheep 
 
 18,128,286 (1907) 20,983,772 
 
 1575 
 
 Number of cattle 
 
 831,831 (1907)1,816,299 
 
 118-34 
 
 Export of wool 
 
 101,187,114 lb. 
 
 162,518,481 
 
 60-61 
 
 Export of dairy produce 
 
 79,200 cwt. 
 
 510,769 
 
 544-91 
 
 Export of frozen meat, 
 
 
 
 
 &c 
 
 1,000,307 cwt. 
 
 2,110,765 
 
 III-OI 
 
 Agricultural population 
 
 68,607 
 
 (1906) 97,930 
 
 42-74 
 
 In drawing conclusions from this remarkable expan- 
 sion of production, one must not presume too far upon 
 the effect of the land laws. The fortuitous sequence 
 of events which in two succeeding decades gave to New 
 Zealand the means of transporting perishable foodstuffs 
 to the other side of the world, and a continued run of 
 good prices for produce, must not be overlooked. Irre- 
 spective of any economic reforms, either in land or 
 industry, these circumstances would have remedied to 
 a great extent the disastrous condition of affairs which 
 followed the depression of the eighties. At the same 
 time it is fair to presume that this very prosperity would 
 have locked up the lands of the colony more firmly than 
 ever in the hands of the freeholders of 1891, had the 
 Government not armed itself with the powers of taxation 
 and compulsory acquisition. Further, it is questionable 
 whether the remaining Crown lands would ever have come 
 into the hands of the right class of yeoman farmers if the 
 conditions of settlement had not been made so easy and 
 the limitation of area enforced. 
 
192 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 As it is, men began to think by the end of the century 
 that John McKenzie and his colleagues had been rather 
 too generous to the new tenants, who were already in the 
 majority of cases well-to-do and even wealthy farmers. 
 In the sempiternal dispute about tenures, which again at 
 the dawn of the twentieth century dominated the politics 
 of New Zealand, it was realised with full force that the 
 legislation of 1822, designed to assist the poorer class 
 of men to take up land, had actually constituted them a 
 privileged aristocracy. The lessees-in-perpetuity had a 
 title equal to the freehold except for the solitary purpose 
 of mortgaging — though it could be mortgaged. They 
 had a title which will endure through the centuries, until, 
 and perhaps after, the time when New Zealand shall have 
 become the controlling power of the Pacific. They 
 had land actually cheaper than freehold. They were 
 guaranteed against revaluation and so enjoyed absolute 
 fixity of rental, and all the improvements made in the 
 soil by cultivation, &c., were secured to them. The 
 bogey of single tax, towards which the landowners feared 
 the Seddon Government was leaning, gave the State 
 leaseholds an additional value in the eyes of the lessees. 
 The lessees-in-perpetuity, now numbering 11,000, and 
 holding about 2,300,000 acres of land (including all 
 the resumed estates up to 1907), were universally 
 envied, ^\nichever way the cat jumped they stood 
 secure. There was never any question of an assault 
 upon existing contracts. 
 
 By this time old-age pensions had become a perma- 
 nent charge on the public revenues, and it was freely 
 demanded that not another acre of Crown lands should 
 be parted with until a due endowment had been made to 
 meet this charge. As a matter of fact the balance of 
 Crown lands was inconsiderable, and the rents could 
 never have provided more than a fraction of the sum 
 required for old-age pensions. The controversy was 
 even more keen than that of the early nineties. Legisla- 
 tion brought it to a solution in 1907 and 1908, when the 
 lease-in-perpetuity was abolished and supplanted by 
 
THE LAND FOR THE PEOPLE 193 
 
 a sixty-six years' lease with right of renewal for the same 
 period at rents to be determined by revaluation. In the 
 case of resumed lands the term of lease (which is also 
 renewable) is thirty-three years, and the rent is at 4^ per 
 cent, of the cost instead of 5 per cent, as in the case of 
 the old leases. In each case the lessee may pay ofif up 
 to 90 per cent, of the capital value of the land, so as to 
 lighten the burden of his rents in the future, but the 
 principle of State landlordism is conserved in the 
 remaining tenth. 
 
 As a result of this controversy it is now again definitely 
 affirmed that lands repurchased by the State for closer 
 settlement shall never again be granted in fee simple. 
 According to the present feeling of Parliament and the 
 country the State must never part with the freehold 
 of land so acquired. But the freehold tenure is not 
 by any means abolished. Both Crown and private lands 
 can still be so acquired. In 1907 the Hon. R. McNab, 
 who was responsible for the legislation just outlined, 
 secured the permanent reservation of nine million acres 
 of leasehold land as an endowment for education and 
 old-age pensions. 
 
 It may be that time will show defects again in the land 
 system of New Zealand. It depends upon the future of 
 State landlordism and the temper of posterity towards 
 single tax whether the disabilities of the ordinary lessees 
 and even of the freeholders will be aggravated as com- 
 pared with the lessees-in-perpetuity. Almost certainly, 
 still further provision will be required for the closer 
 settlement of the land. For the moment, however, the 
 land system embodies the best thought-out code in the 
 British Empire for the occupation and working of the 
 land to its fullest utility. Ever since 1882 there has been 
 a steady movement towards closer settlement. Smaller 
 farms and more of them : smaller flocks and more of 
 them : smaller subdivision and more people. Seventy- 
 nine per cent, of the New Zealand farms to-day are not 
 more than 320 acres in extent, yet the private wealth of a 
 miUion people is more than ;^35o,ooo,ooo. 
 
 14 
 
194 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 New Zealand has furnished the model for many of the 
 land laws of sister States. It has been copied in its most 
 radical moods by States which have been confronted with 
 the same problems. To-day it is being imitated by the 
 Mother Country of the Empire. But the best testimony 
 to the good faith of its purpose and the efficiency of its 
 operation is the general approval of both parties in 
 politics, the rapid increase of primary production, and 
 the overwhelming fact that in New Zealand farming 
 is regarded as a lit and proper occupation for men of 
 birth and education. 
 
 The healthy economic condition of New Zealand is 
 disclosed in some measure by the distribution of the 
 population. Just one-fourth of the whole population is 
 centred in the four chief cities, the largest of which, 
 including its most remote suburbs (which are almost 
 rural) contained at the last census (1906) 82,000 people. 
 Besides these cities there are only two towns with 
 upwards of ten thousand inhabitants, and the total 
 population included in towns of more than two thousand 
 inhabitants is only 380,000, or about 42 per cent, of the 
 population of the Dominion. The balance is therefore 
 strictly rural, and engaged for the most part in connection 
 with the primary industries. 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR 
 
 Labour conditions in 1890 — Sweating and bad conditions — The beginning 
 of trades unionism — The voice of Labour — Emissaries from abroad — 
 The worldwide federation — The maritime strike— Death of world- 
 wide organisation — The Government objects to State " interference " 
 in industrial relations — Entry of Labour into politics — The Liberal 
 and Labour alliance — Victory at the polls — The programme of 
 reforms — Report of the Sweating Commission — The Labour Depart- 
 ment — The unemployed — Co-operative labour — State farms — 
 Recovery from the depression — Seddon succeeds John Ballance — 
 Another mandate from the people — The Industrial Arbitration Act — 
 The battle for compulsion. 
 
 Let us revert to the industrial position as it stood at the 
 end of the eighties. It is easy to be concise as to certain 
 small facts, for we have the copious report of the 
 Sweating Commission to guide us. 
 
 We know, for example, that almost every trade was 
 overrun with boys, girls, and women, and the case of the 
 adult efficient man was a very uncertain one. In half a 
 dozen saddlers' shops which the Commission inquired 
 into it found 83 boys, 3 girls, and 27 men ; in another 
 7 boys and no men. A tailoring establishment employed 
 7 girls, I man, and 3 boys ; a fibre company 90 boys and 
 12 men ; a newspaper, 5 men and 45 boys ; a cabinet- 
 maker, 4 men and 20 boys. A most important branch 
 of engineering, agricultural implement-making, showed 
 60 per cent, of boys in one shop and 50 per cent, in 
 another. The Government railways workshops them- 
 selves offended, but mildly in the spirit of the times. 
 
 Then as to wages, first-class machinists in the tailoring 
 trade earned 20s. a week. Girls worked excessive hours 
 
 195 
 
196 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 to earn from los. to 12s. a week, a wage which the 
 log recently introduced by the organisation of the trade 
 would have given them in eight hours. They worked 
 twelve months for no salary and then invariably had 
 to make way for more volontaires. Drill trousers at 
 2S. 6d. a dozen yielded 7s. or 8s. a week of eighteen-hour 
 days. Girls machining trousers at 2jd. a pair could not 
 amass more than is. 3d. a day. The best week's pay of a 
 female shirtmaker was ids. 6d. A girl working from 
 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on buttonholes at 6d. a dozen could 
 make the exceptional wages of 15s. a week. Slop vests 
 at 8d. each yielded 2s. 8d. a day to the diligent worker. 
 Calico bag-makers received is. 6d. per gross, while the 
 7-lb. bag had been reduced from 6s. to 4s. the gross. 
 Men who were earning ^3 los. a week in 1874 were now 
 unable to get more than £i 15s. Cabinet-makers on 
 piece-work earned 30s. a week. A baker, for £1 5s. a 
 week and found, had to work from 108 to 112 hours. 
 Boys in the saddlery trade averaged 7s. 6d. for a week of 
 50 hours. Girls in restaurants worked from eight in the 
 morning till eleven at night. 
 
 In given-out work, the nominal maker received 7s. 
 a dozen for shirts, the actual maker 5s. With prices 
 ranging from 6s. 6d. to 9s. 6d. a dozen, the middlemen 
 took upwards of 30 per cent, for themselves. 
 
 The conditions of work, too, were the vilest outcome 
 of the lack of regulation. In one case, for example, 
 seven women were found working in a small room 12 feet 
 by 8 feet by 8 feet fitted up in a cellar, and five in an 
 adjoining room of similar dimensions. The whole air- 
 space was sufficient for only three adults. To avoid 
 such inspection as there was, numbers of girls in one 
 establishment had to work on the roof after hours. 
 Seven boy saddlers worked in a room 14 feet by 12 feet. 
 Fourteen young girls were busy hand-sewing in a room 
 21 feet by II feet by 8 J feet, where they had less than one- 
 fourth of the proper air-space. Not even lunch-rooms 
 were provided, and males and females alike had to go on 
 to the streets or into the often insanitary " yards " to eat 
 
THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR 197 
 
 their lunch. Employers were utterly reckless as to 
 whether the girls could live on their wages. They had 
 to make the best of it. Engineering languished almost 
 unto death when the boom times ceased. Quite 
 unprotected, it had no work beyond the usual local 
 repairs, and the output shrank. One firm discharged 
 a third of its hands in two months. In another shop the 
 output fell from ^^70,000 to ^^20,000 in four years. All 
 steam-engines, boilers, and bridges were imported. 
 
 The evils which existed at that time were, of course, 
 primarily due to the terrible depression under which the 
 colony had laboured for the last ten years. But their 
 intensity was plainly the result of the absolute lack of any 
 regulation. At the end of the eighties everything was at 
 the lowest conceivable ebb, but there was at length a ray 
 of light in an articulate public opinion ready to agitate 
 for reform. When an Act was passed in 1878 providing 
 for registration of trades unions the workers of New 
 Zealand were still enjoying some measure of the Vogel 
 prosperity, and they did not register. For ten years they 
 suffered and learned their lesson. 
 
 When the Sweating Commission was appointed labour 
 was beginning to express itself. By the time its report 
 was published it was a power in the land. Under social 
 pressure as it was felt during the eighties men began 
 to think. Trades began slowly to organise — very slowly. 
 The first appreciable move was in 1889. Very slowly, 
 too, organisation showed material evidence of profit to 
 the workers themselves. The Tailoresses' Union 
 improved the position of tailoresses throughout the 
 colony before the workers generally had realised the 
 possibilities of organisation. The great dock strike on 
 the other side of the world emphasised the argument. 
 Trades unionism became suddenly popular and universal. 
 There was a feeling of fellowship amongst the workers of 
 all trades, a union in the face of common adversity that 
 made the worker of New Zealand for the first time in 
 history a power to be reckoned with. With educated 
 leaders they might have done much without the assist- 
 
198 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 ance of any established political party. With it they 
 were destined to achieve more than their most sanguine 
 advocates had expected. The year 1890 was pregnant 
 with importance. In a single period of twelve months the 
 Labour Party received what might have been a crushing 
 blow to their hopes, and finally achieved an overpowering 
 victory. 
 
 Up to this point the organisation of labour had sprung 
 largely from the older industrial countries. The indus- 
 trial system of Australasia was crude and elementary. 
 Labour had never been organised, and it was only 
 beginning to understand what organisation meant by a 
 study of the great events that were happening in the Old 
 World. The eighties were dark days for labour in 
 England and America, and the organisations there strove 
 hard to win to their side the sympathy and support of 
 labour the world over. Great English organisations, such 
 as the Amalgamated Society of Carpenters and Joiners, 
 American, as the Knights of Labour, sent their delegates 
 to the new countries to organise a worldwide federation. 
 They came opportunely to Australasia, and for awhile the 
 workers of the new countries, unversed themselves in the 
 principles and methods of co-operation, gave their support 
 and their funds to the worldwide organisations. The 
 Knights of Labour were particularly energetic and fostered 
 to a great degree the feeling of the universal brotherhood 
 of labour. Under its teaching trades unionism in New 
 Zealand was but a subsidiary activity of the great labour 
 federation of the world. Some trades in the colony 
 transmitted thousands of pounds oversea to the head- 
 quarters of the federations. What this might have led to 
 we cannot conjecture. Fortunately an event occurred 
 in 1890 which cleared the air and brought the labour 
 organisations in New Zealand to their bearings. 
 
 The maritime strike, which broke out in August of that 
 year, was in reality the turning-point of trades unionism 
 in New Zealand. In this dispute the workers of New 
 Zealand had no direct interest. They had no wish to 
 strike in sympathy with the workers of New South Wales, 
 
THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR 199 
 
 and they only did so because their teaching had been on 
 the Unas just indicated. They honestly felt that to have 
 withheld their sympathy at this moment would have been 
 to strike a vital blow at labour co-operation in its very 
 infancy. The unionists held out against the employment 
 of free labour. The Union Steamship Company of New 
 Zealand, which was in no sense a partner to the dispute, 
 stood firm, and finally the unionists had to submit. The 
 employers had won a victory, but they had established, 
 for the ultimate benefit of labour, the unassailable 
 principle that if labour was to do anything by organisa- 
 tion it must confine itself to its own affairs and decline 
 to "go out" in sympathy with disputes in which New 
 Zealand was not concerned. 
 
 It is impossible to conjecture how the strike would have 
 ended if there had not been abundance of free labour. 
 In the ultimate result it could not have ended more 
 fortunately for labour in New Zealand. To have en- 
 couraged the worldwide ideal would undoubtedly have 
 retarded social reform and involved the country in count- 
 less strikes having no local bearing whatever. At this 
 point the oversea federation of labour fell away. But the 
 Knights of Labour did not succumb. In the years that 
 followed they took an active and useful part in the great 
 work of distributing the people on the land, and there 
 are several blocks of small farms in the newly settled 
 country of New Zealand bearing their name. 
 
 While these stirring events were passing in the open 
 organised labour was quietly gaining recognition of a 
 vital principle. In the same month in which the maritime 
 strike occurred the Grey Valley Coal Company, one of 
 the pioneer companies engaged in opening up the 
 valuable coal deposits on the West Coast, had a rupture 
 with its employees.i The miners appealed to the 
 
 • The Company had made a change in its mode and rate of payment, 
 but finding on trial that it entailed an increased expenditure of ;£25o a 
 week, it resolved to revert to the old system. The royalties paid by the 
 Company on the coal raised were applied to the improvement by the 
 Government of the coal ports of Greymouth and Westport. 
 
200 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Government to grant them relief by reducing the royalty 
 and railway freights. The reply of the Government — the 
 Conservatives were then in power — was that it would 
 require fuller information before it could ask Parliament 
 to act, and if a Commission were appointed to investigate 
 the difficulty it "would certainly amongst other things 
 have to inquire into the amount of wages earned by the 
 miners, as well as the profits made by the Company and 
 the rates of freight paid by land and sea," &c. The 
 Government added that it had no intention of interfering 
 between the Company and the miners and only proposed 
 to make the inquiries since it was asked to grant conces- 
 sions out of the public funds. The miners replied with 
 indignation : — 
 
 " If the Commission was appointed to inquire into the 
 question of wages we shall most decidedly object to the 
 Government interfering between us and our employers 
 on these matters. At the same time we have not the 
 slightest objection to the fullest inquiry that may be 
 arranged between us and the Grey Valley Coal Co., such 
 inquiry to be based on the rate of wages paid to the coal- 
 miners on the West Coast." 
 
 Within a few days of these letters passing the repre- 
 sentatives of organised labour in Wellington, the capital 
 city, requested the Government to interfere and put a 
 stop to the maritime strike. Again Sir Harry Atkinson 
 declined to be the inaugurator of State mediation in 
 industrial relations. The Liberal party, whose alliance 
 with labour was already recognised as a political force, 
 then carried a direct resolution in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives, and the Government, thus requisitioned, 
 arranged a series of conferences. A bootless interference 
 it proved, for the Company declined to submit to a 
 demand which was obviously subversive of the decent 
 rights of employers, and the men had finally to capitulate 
 unconditionally. 
 
 Chastened and profitably educated by this rebuff, 
 labour set to work to foster its alliance with the Liberal 
 party in politics. It is quite certain, as before stated. 
 

THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR 201 
 
 that the trades unions were now strong enough to be a 
 very disturbing — in fact, a controlling — power in the 
 politics of New Zealand. If the reformers had gone to 
 the polls as an independent political party, they would 
 probably have met with some considerable measure of 
 success, and, holding the balance of power between the 
 two political parties, have exacted from Parliament some 
 ameliorating measures. They might have achieved a 
 Factories Act, they might have had the employment of 
 apprentices and boys restricted, but they could never 
 have placed on the Statute Book legislation embodying 
 the system of compulsory arbitration in industrial dis- 
 putes. 
 
 The best friends of the workers recognised their limita- 
 tions. They saw that the independent entry of labour 
 into politics must delay indefinitely the most pressing 
 reforms, and finally achieve them, if at all, piecemeal and 
 feebly. They saw the dangers and the abuses that must 
 follow if the whole power of trades unionism were exerted 
 directly through Parliament to adjust and trim industrial 
 relations without the introduction of any comprehensive 
 scheme based on sound economic principles. On the 
 other hand, they saw that the Liberal party in Parliament, 
 with the accession of support which labour could now 
 give them at the polls, would probably be in a position 
 to achieve something immediate, to cope with the exist- 
 ing abuses strongly and on systematic lines, and to make 
 such an adjustment as would in all human probability 
 outlive the urgent needs of the moment. To understand 
 the position we cannot do better than turn to the admir- 
 able chapter on the era by one of its most prominent 
 actors, the Hon. W. Pember Reeves. He says " ; — 
 
 "The coming of organised labour into politics in the 
 
 ■ " state Experiments in Australia and New Zealand." Mr. Reeves was 
 a member of the Ballance Government which came into office in 1891, 
 and as Minister for Labour he was personally responsible for most of the 
 industrial laws of the next five years. He was appointed Agent-General 
 for New Zealand in 1896 and High Commissioner in 1905. The last post 
 he resigned in 1908 to become Director of the London School of 
 Economics. 
 
202 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 years between 1890 and 1893 did not mean merely that 
 workpeople were bestirring themselves to obtain certain 
 reforms. Half its significance and force sprang from its 
 being a new departure in the matter of men as well as 
 measures. . . . The rapid growth of trades unions in 
 the eighties had taught colonial labour the strength of 
 organisation. The success of the German Socialists at 
 the polls and the declaration in England in favour of an 
 independent labour movement were heard of in the 
 colonies. The wave of Sociahstic feeling swept over 
 them. In 1889 every one was reading Collectivist tracts 
 and listening to altruistic sermons. Trades unionists 
 were not by any means the only colonists to send money 
 home to help the London dockers. And when the 
 dockers won their strike middle-class men and women 
 in Australia and New Zealand rejoiced as over a victory 
 for the cause of humanity. Philanthropists and politi- 
 cians joined in exposing the beginnings of sweating in 
 the clothing and other trades in certain of the larger 
 towns, and newspapers owned by capitalists lent their 
 help in the good work." 
 
 Even in the colonies there is a faint tendency to 
 discuss purely economic questions from the political 
 standpoint. The colonial constituency, intelligent and 
 educated as a rule, cannot quite dissociate adverse social 
 conditions, bad seasons, droughts, and low prices from 
 the Government which happens to be in power at the 
 time. Rebuffed in the maritime strike, the labour unions 
 had time to review their position before the election at 
 the end of the year. With or without the report of the 
 Sweating Commission they understood something of the 
 value of organisation. Unions were formed in all trades 
 and all over the country. And they were not merely 
 trades unions in the ordinary sense of the word. The 
 leaders were not to be led away by false hopes of achiev- 
 ing much either by strictly non-political activity or by 
 playing a lone hand in politics. They were willing to 
 entrust their hopes to the Liberal party, the party of John 
 Ballance, as the inheritors of the attractive Liberal pro- 
 
THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR 203 
 
 gramme of Sir George Grey. Ballance had already a 
 modest record of achievements on behalf of the working 
 class and the landless. His party had pressed the Con- 
 servative Government at every turn during the last ten 
 years and had taken up a position of frank friendliness 
 to labour during the maritime strike. The alliance was a 
 natural one. To labour it was a matter of life and death. 
 In its interest every trades union became an electioneer- 
 ing committee. Labour nominated some candidates 
 from its own ranks. Where it failed to do so the Liberal 
 candidate subscribed to the labour platform. So that 
 when the elections removed the Conservative party from 
 office Ballance succeeded with the support of a party 
 pledged to carry through sweeping reforms in the 
 interests of the working class. 
 
 The time and the feeling of the time were alike pro- 
 pitious for the reforms that had to be made. In its social 
 and economic conditions New Zealand was so emaciated, 
 its prosperity so reduced, that great changes might be 
 brought about without great upheaval. Men had been 
 leaving the country in great numbers — and that was sig- 
 nificant when the nearest place to which they could fly 
 for relief was 1,200 miles away. Public opinion, too, 
 even of a large class who were not directly associated 
 with the workers, was earnestly looking for some regula- 
 tion of industry which would prevent a perpetuation of 
 the scandals exposed by the Sweating Commission, and 
 for some reformation of social life which would reduce 
 the distress on account of unemployment. Soup kitchens 
 — in fact, unemployment and want in any degree — seemed 
 to the thinking classes an incongruous and disreputable 
 thing in a country bursting with the richness of its un- 
 developed natural resources. 
 
 Ballance, the experienced reformer, had both the 
 courage and the confidence to act. And he wasted no time. 
 It was no eleventh-hour decision of the Liberal party to 
 use the regulation of industries and the closer settlement 
 of the land as twin measures of relief. For a long time 
 the opposing political parties had been firm in their 
 
204 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 attitudes towards State " interference " with industry. 
 For a decade they had been arrayed against each other 
 on the land question, and in the system as it existed 
 when the Liberal party took office were valuable sur- 
 vivals of the policy of each. Ballance had a most 
 elaborate land scheme ready to be put into force, and, as 
 explained elsewhere, Parliament in its first session made 
 preliminary provision for carrying it out. 
 
 Meanwhile the social evil was assailed with all the 
 vigour of a young and hopeful party. The Sweating 
 Commission, with evidence before it closely describing 
 the conditions already stated, could not definitely declare 
 that sweating had secured a footing in New Zealand. 
 What it said was that " the system known in London and 
 elsewhere as sweating, and which seemed at one time 
 likely to obtain a footing in some of the New Zealand 
 cities, does not exist." A minority, rather sceptical, 
 declared that sweating and sub-letting did exist and 
 would have to be suppressed without delay. In its 
 general report the Commission simply bore out what 
 was already well known. The Act regulating the employ- 
 ment of females was practically a dead letter. Unedu- 
 cated boys taken from school too young were working in 
 factories without any attempt at concealment and with 
 no regulation of hours. And for the same reason, viz., 
 that inspectors were not sufficiently equipped with 
 authority, the conditions of work were utterly insanitary. 
 Long hours were often worked unnecessarily, and there 
 was a great demand both amongst assistants and shop- 
 keepers for some regulation of shop hours. 
 
 The division of labour and the use of machinery, the 
 Commission found, had been largely responsible for the 
 employment of such a proportion of boys and girls. 
 Under the new conditions the skill of the worker did 
 not require to be so high or so comprehensive in cha- 
 racter, and it was inevitable that those engaged in manu- 
 facturing should employ the cheapest labour. The chief 
 grievance amongst the artisans was the exclusion of 
 skilled workers for the benefit of boys. Where trades 
 
THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR 205 
 
 unions had been formed the proportion of boys to men 
 had been strictly defined " with the avowed intention of 
 keeping up the supply of workers, but really for self- 
 preservation." The system of indenturing had fallen 
 into disuse, with the result that young people who had 
 received some amount of training had to go elsewhere 
 to find work, and frequently ended either by accepting 
 poor wages or by entering into business on their own 
 account. With regard to trades unionism the evidence 
 went to show that in whatever branch of industry a union 
 had been formed there had been an improvement in the 
 condition of the operatives, wages did not sink below 
 a living minimum, and the hours of work were not 
 excessive. The Commission recommended, amongst 
 minor reforms — 
 
 1. That all factories should be registered. 
 
 2. That no boy or girl under fourteen should be 
 allowed to work in them, and that none between fourteen 
 and eighteen should be allowed to work more than 
 forty-eight hours a week. 
 
 3. That all goods manufactured for sale should bear 
 the trade mark. 
 
 The reforms were taken in instalments. By the Truck 
 Act it was made illegal, regardless of the existence of 
 any contra account, to pay wages in goods or " truck." 
 The Employers' Liability Act was amended to protect 
 workmen from the negligence of employers, and it inci- 
 dentally absolutely forbade the system of "contracting 
 out," of which the Sweating Commission had learned so 
 much. I 
 
 For the moment the smaller evils disclosed by the 
 
 ■ The Fair Wages Committee appointed by the Imperial Treasury to 
 investigate certain aspects of industrial hfe, in its report last year, made 
 the following reference to tlie same evil in England : "When a special 
 price is fixed between the employer and the sub-contractor, and there is 
 a suspicion that the latter pays his subordinates according to no fixed rule 
 and is, in fact, making a profit out of their labour rather than merely 
 earning wages by his own labour, then the system leads to complaint on 
 the part of the workpeople. It is difficult to draw the Hue between this 
 and absolute sweating." 
 
206 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 report of the Commission were provided for by the 
 establishment of a Department of Labour, charged with 
 the dual duty of factory inspection and " feeding " the 
 surplus supply of labour to the needs of the market. 
 The instructions received from the Government by the 
 head of the Department were : — 
 
 1. To compile statistics concerning the condition of 
 labour. 
 
 2. To establish agencies for reporting the scarcity or 
 overplus of workers in different localities. 
 
 3. To transfer workers from overcrowded localities to 
 places needing labour ; and generally to control all in- 
 dustries for the physical and moral benefit of those en- 
 gaged therein. 
 
 The great difficulty which the Department had first 
 to cope with was the decentralisation of the masses of 
 unemployed who had congregated in the larger towns. 
 Many of them, by long idleness, had become more or 
 less inefficient at their own trades. Others had never 
 had a trade. They were facetiously called " unskilled " 
 workers — a term which has now been taken to include 
 "skilled" navvies — and were as likely to be good farm 
 hands as good general labourers. The Department com- 
 menced immediately to draft these men to the country 
 districts, meeting any local demand for labour. The 
 inauguration of the co-operative system in the construc- 
 tion of both railways and roads (which is dealt with 
 in another chapter) soon absorbed a considerable number 
 of the drifters, who under this system were able to earn 
 from the State the wages they were worthy of. To every 
 single avenue of employment, moreover, the Govern- 
 ment added the attractive possibility of securing a piece 
 of land. For the selection of the co-operative labourers, 
 for example, the State provided, in villages near their 
 work, small farms of ten to fifteen acres as an inducement 
 to the men to make their homes in the country instead of 
 drifting back to the towns when their work was finished. 
 In the first year of its existence the Department of Labour 
 drafted out to employment 2,974 of the unemployed who 
 
THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR 207 
 
 had congregated in the towns. From its inception in 
 1891 to 1908 the Department in this phase of its activity 
 has assisted 58,000 men, with 93,000 persons dependent 
 on them. Nearly two-thirds of the total were found 
 employment on Government works, i.e., the construction 
 of railways, roads, and bridges. 
 
 Within the next year or two State farms were com- 
 menced with a view to teaching some of the unemployed 
 the rudiments of agriculture and drafting them thence to 
 agricultural life. The first of these was commenced on 
 a piece of bush land of 800 acres within forty miles of 
 Wellington, and there for some years the State gave 
 work and instruction to a few score of men whose wives 
 and children resided with them and who subsisted on 
 their earnings. It did not pay, of course : it was never 
 intended to. On the other hand, the margin of loss 
 diminished very rapidly, and the farm served its purpose 
 to a limited extent. As one of its best advocates re- 
 marked ; — 
 
 " A State farm should not be looked at from a profit- 
 and-loss point of view, but rather as an institution the 
 establishment of which is demanded by the exigencies 
 of our social life, and which, like other public institu- 
 tions, reimburses the State by increasing the sum of 
 general well-being." 
 
 As unemployment diminished the aspect of the farm 
 was altered, and to-day it has a wider utility as an experi- 
 mental station. A Select Committee in 1898 recommended 
 certain reforms in the system, the establishment of allied 
 industries (dairying, jam-making, poultry-raising, &c.), 
 but the State has not yet felt justified in entering into 
 these activities. 
 
 For the moment the reforms attempted were simply 
 palliatives. And as such they were eminently satisfac- 
 tory. Year by year the unsettled population decreased 
 in numbers. Year by year discontented and penurious 
 town dwellers passed out to the land. Year by year the 
 movement of population recovered until the balance was 
 restored in favour of immigration. Many of the root 
 
208 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 evils were as yet unassailed, but the steady and systematic 
 feeding of labour to the demand and the gradual adjust- 
 ment of population had such an effect that during an 
 ensuing period of commercial depression, with no great 
 expenditure of loan money on public works, the industrial 
 fabric of the colony was able to absorb 10,000 new-comers 
 and the 15,000 children who annually passed out of the 
 State schools. The tariff passed in 1888 was beginning 
 to have a beneficial effect on some industries, and the 
 body politic began to show signs of restored health before 
 the Government went to the country in 1893. 
 
 John Ballance had died during the year, and the 
 Premiership had fallen to his lieutenant, Richard John 
 Seddon, like him a disciple of the veteran Grey. Seddon 
 was gifted with all the courage, all the pertinacity of his 
 predecessor. He was, moreover, more vigorously en- 
 thusiastic and endowed with a robust constitution and 
 manner which served the cause well during the next few 
 years. The Government had now some achievement to 
 point to. It had justified its policy in the eyes of the 
 people by an unquestioned amelioration of the distress 
 which prevailed when it took office. And it was now 
 once again armed with a new and powerful political 
 weapon, the female franchise.' It came back to office 
 with a following which proved that the people, at all 
 events, approved of the policy measures which had been 
 attempted in the past Parliament. This election meant 
 that the country favoured the long-debated principle of 
 State " interference " in industry, and that it was not 
 averse to that bogey of State Socialism which took the 
 form of land resumption. The reform policy of the 
 Liberal party proceeded along parallel hues in respect to 
 land on the one hand and to industrial relations on the 
 
 " The election of 1890 was the first under the one-man-one-vote prin- 
 ciple. Previously electors could vote in each electorate in which they 
 held property. This vi^as one of Sir George Grey's reforms. The female 
 franchise, which was granted in 1893, was strongly supported by an old 
 Conservative leader, Sir John Hall. At present the franchise extends to 
 every person upwards of twenty-one years of age. 
 
THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR 209 
 
 other, and the country had, apparently, approved the 
 whole programme. 
 
 It was not enough that the Government had taken 
 power in 1892 to acquire private lands for closer settle- 
 ment, for nobody would sell. John McKenzie had to 
 return to the attack and secure at the point of the bayonet 
 the power of compulsory purchase. It was not enough 
 that Mr. Reeves had obtained in 1891 a law giving some 
 powers of supervision and regulation of unscrupulous 
 employers. This measure did not reach the unscrupu- 
 lous, and it did not provide as much of the necessary 
 policing of industry as then existed in England. He 
 wished to go much farther, to deal with the subject 
 comprehensively, but year after year he had been 
 baulked by the Opposition in his attempts to pass a Bill 
 providing for industrial arbitration. But the session of 
 1894, the first of the new Parliament, was distinctly 
 propitious, and the measure at length passed through 
 both Houses. 
 
 In spite of the great growth of Liberal prestige the 
 victory was by no means uncontested. So far as the 
 principle of State "interference" between master and 
 man was concerned, the allied parties had been almost 
 unanimous since the days of the great maritime strike, 
 now four years ago. On the absolute condition of its 
 severance from the trammels of any worldwide federa- 
 tion, trades unionism was now to be given an accession 
 of dignity. Mr. Reeves was convinced that the organi- 
 sation of labour, and if possible of capital, was an essential 
 precedent to the introduction of any reasonable form of 
 arbitration. He could not conceive the possibility, or 
 indeed the necessity, of controlling or binding indepen- 
 dent individual workers by the award in a specific case, 
 or " dispute," as it was to be called. 
 
 "The exclusion of disputes between individuals," he 
 wrote, " or between unorganised workmen and their 
 masters, is grounded on the belief that such disputes are 
 apt to be neither stubborn nor mischievous enough to 
 call for State interference ; moreover, how could an award 
 
 15 
 
210 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 be enforced against a handful of roving workmen, a mere 
 nebulous cluster of units ? " 
 
 The whole intent of the legislation was to remove 
 labour disputes from the plane of strikes and outrage and 
 dislocation of industry to a calm judicial atmosphere 
 where they could be discussed dispassionately and settled 
 by equitable compromise. It was essential that as the 
 mass of the workers would enjoy the benefits of the Act, 
 there should be some organised executive to represent 
 them and, if necessary, to assume their penalties and 
 responsibilities. Therefore the trades union, as a cor- 
 porate body possessed of funds, he treated as the unit 
 on the side of the workers. 
 
 But the whole fierceness of the battle raged about the 
 element of compulsion. In this, as in the land legisla- 
 tion, the Government held that without the compulsory 
 power the Act would be a dead letter. And the temper of 
 the times was full justification for their fears since, as we 
 shall see later, the employers, even under compulsory 
 arbitration, held aloof and refused to co-operate. The 
 Government stood firm, and the Bill was eventually 
 passed substantially as drafted. 
 
 To describe its frank intention to conciliate if possible, 
 and if not, then to arbitrate and lay down the law, the 
 Act was called "The Industrial Conciliation and Arbi- 
 tration Act." If the workers in an industry, having 
 organised, desired higher wages, shorter hours, or other 
 improved conditions — in fact, if they had any wishes 
 that were not already provided hard and fast in the 
 Factories Act or elsewhere- — they filed with the Con- 
 ciliation Board! for the district a declaration stating 
 their requirements. It was the duty of the Board to 
 investigate the case, calling evidence, compelling attend- 
 ance, and exercising all the powers necessary to come 
 
 ' The boards, of which there was one for each industrial district, con- 
 sisted of such unequal number of members as the Governor-in-Council 
 might think fit, but not more than five. Each side elected an even 
 number of representatives, and these together elected " some impartial 
 person" as chairman. 
 
THE ORGANISATION OF LABOUR 211 
 
 to a decision. It then filed a recommendation — a com- 
 promise as a rule — and if both parties accepted it, well 
 and good : it governed the industry in that district for 
 the period for which it was made. 
 
 But if both parties, or either, rejected the settlement, 
 the case was taken to the Arbitration Court, where it was 
 investigated de novo. In the original scheme this body 
 was intended to be a court of final appeal, whose decision 
 should be law. The Court consists of a judge of the 
 Supreme Court as permanent resident, associated with 
 one representative of the employers and one of the 
 workers, each appointed for three years. 
 
 The passing of the Arbitration Act and the establish- 
 ment of its tribunals marked the triumph of the struggles 
 of organised labour in New Zealand. The problem of 
 the future was administration. The sympathy of the 
 employers had to be, and was, secured, and the history 
 of arbitration from this point became an interesting 
 study in the swinging of the industrial pendulum and 
 the careful adjustment of the balance between capital 
 and labour. 
 
 Strange to say, the bitterest and most protracted fight 
 of all was not over the Arbitration Act, but over the 
 passing of an Act to regulate the hours of shop-assistants 
 and the closing of shops. So many small and large 
 interests were affected that the opposition had no 
 difficulty in instituting a vigorous campaign from end 
 to end of the country. Feeling ran higher than on the 
 land question, and when victory was achieved after a five 
 years' controversy it was regarded as a triumph essential 
 to the completeness of the labour policy. There are still 
 a few exempted trades, but generally speaking, the shops 
 are all subject to regulation, the holidays being based 
 upon majority recommendations of the shopkeepers in 
 each locality. 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 SOME EFFECTS OF ARBITRATION 
 
 Delight of the workers — The employers hostile — Awards favour the 
 workers — Steady increase of wages — A wave of prosperity — The 
 dual alliance, Arbitration and Protection — A sacrifice for local employ- 
 ment — Dependence upon primary industries — Immunity from arbi- 
 tration — The colonial worker — Efficient and conscientious — The 
 " levelling tendency " a fallacy — The under-rate workman — A " loaf- 
 ing" incident — The elimination of apprentices — The shortage of 
 workers — Room for efficient artisans — Improvement of female con- 
 ditions — Home-work, &c. — The expansion of industry — Hostile 
 critics won over — Security for capital. 
 
 By the workers the new Act was hailed with a psean of 
 dehght. They had admittedly still much to obtain before 
 the balance was at all evenly adjusted between them and 
 their employers. 
 
 The employers, on the other hand, treated the new 
 courts with open hostility as an overt assault upon their 
 interests. Their attitude, though unfortunate, was not 
 to be wondered at. The Liberal party during the last 
 twenty years had made a series of disastrous attacks upon 
 the dominancy of capital, upon what most countries 
 regard as the sacred rights of property. They had 
 received, if they had not earned, the title of " The Seven 
 Devils of Socialism," and they were now advancing with 
 resolute determination on a policy which was utterly 
 repugnant to their opponents. It was generally expected, 
 in view of the disclosures of the Sweating Commission, 
 that for a time at least most of the concessions of the new 
 tribunals would go in favour of labour. For what in the 
 event occurred the employers themselves were to some 
 extent responsible. For some years, in the vain hope 
 
 212 
 
SOME EFFECTS OF ARBITRATION 213 
 
 that a political upheaval might lead to the repeal of the 
 legislation, they held aloof from the advantages which it 
 offered them. The Government was honest in its deter- 
 mination to swing the scales evenly between the two 
 sides — to safeguard capital while it protected labour — 
 but it could only do so with the co-operation of both 
 sides. 
 
 For years, as they foresaw must be the case, employers 
 were penalised and labour benefited. There was so 
 much leeway to be made good that the decisions of the 
 boards and the courts were apparently all one-sided. 
 The unions revelled in it. Some secretaries became pro- 
 fessional agitators, living on salaries which were likely to 
 be paid the less grudgingly if the unions prevailed in the 
 courts. Capital still held sullenly aloof and protested. 
 The employers in some cases refused to nominate their 
 representatives to the boards, and the Government had 
 to fill the vacancies. Steadily wages were increased in 
 all trades. From 1896 to 1906, as illustrated in the calcu- 
 lations of the Registrar-General, they rose as follows : — 
 
 £ s. d. 
 
 Average wage for 27,389 persons, 1896 ... 69 12 n 
 
 49,806 „ 1906 ... 82 7 9 
 
 Increase 18 per cent. 
 
 Average male wage, 1896 77 5 10 
 
 1906 88 4 7 
 
 Increase 13 per cent. 
 
 Average female wage, 1896 29 17 5 
 
 1906 41 13 II 
 
 Increase 39 per cent. 
 
 Although the great bulk of this increase was granted 
 by the courts, it is not to be supposed that without these 
 bodies the wages bill would not have increased. Pros- 
 perity conspired with Mr. Pember Reeves and his 
 successor (Mr. Seddon) to tide the employers over their 
 difficulties. Orders poured in : more men were em- 
 ployed : there were no strikes. Industries gradually 
 
214 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 came to a level on a satisfactory basis, and the employers 
 found that it was not so bad after all. In any case such 
 a tide of prosperity, under the rules of supply and 
 demand, would have given the workers a general increase 
 of pay, though possibly not to the extent of the 28 per 
 cent, by which the actual increase exceeded the growth 
 of employment itself. 
 
 At this time everything conspired to increase the cost 
 of living. The insatiety of the world-markets for wool, 
 meat, and dairy produce, and the excellent quality of 
 New Zealand's output in these lines, had the dual effect 
 of enhancing the price in the home market and increas- 
 ing the value of land. The latter circumstance in turn 
 helped to increase rents both in country and town, and 
 so, day after day, a concatenation of reasons was adduced 
 before the Arbitration Court and the boards why the 
 minimum wage of the workers in practically all industries 
 should be increased. (As a matter of fact, the cost of 
 living in all parts of the world, including Free Trade 
 England, increased during the early years of the present 
 century.) And the minimum wage was increased on 
 every demand. In ten years of the Act's existence there 
 was only a single decision by the Court reducing wages, 
 and there were only two extending the hours of work. 
 This steady jumping of wages and subsidiary expenses re- 
 sulted in a continuous increase in the cost of production, 
 and a continued transference of the added cost to the 
 consumer, who was generally the worker himself, until 
 the tariff-wall had to be raised to protect the product 
 against the competition of cheaply produced foreign 
 articles. 
 
 It is impossible to separate the operation of Protection 
 from any consideration of the working of the industrial 
 laws of New Zealand. At the first onset the Act justified 
 the hopes of the workers and the fears of the employers 
 by increasing wages all round. Unions which had not 
 felt any particular grounds for dissatisfaction before the 
 Act came into force now suddenly discovered grievances. 
 Occasionally they were grievances flagrantly manufac- 
 
SOME EFFECTS OF ARBITRATION 215 
 
 tured for the specific purpose of obtaining higher wages, 
 but in other cases they accrued honestly with the in- 
 creased cost of living — an increase which sometimes could 
 not be definitely attributed either to the operation of the 
 arbitration laws or to the effect of Protection. The 
 "living wage" — a sweetly indefinite tidal mark — was 
 steadily rising. Mr. Reeves was quite truthful when he 
 wrote in 1898: — 
 
 " It is wrong to suppose that the operation of the Act 
 is confined to industries protected by high customs duties 
 or to workers in factories." 
 
 But the employers soon discovered that in the temper 
 of the day they had simply to pass the increased cost of 
 production on to the consumer. Of course, it appeared 
 again, with the accuracy of a well-thrown boomerang, in 
 the increased cost of commodities and the higher rents 
 upon which a further increase would presently be de- 
 manded. This could not continue for any length of 
 time with unprotected industries — and incidentally the 
 unprotected industries, most of which were primary, 
 were left outside the operation of the Act for a very 
 long time. But it did happen over and over again in 
 protected industries, the cost rising steadily until it 
 reached the margin of danger in competition, when the 
 tariff was invoked to raise the wall higher and make the 
 enclave secure again for local manufactures. This has 
 actually happened, not once or twice, within the last 
 few years, with the full concurrence of Parliament and 
 people, and with only a few hesitant voices to call it 
 vicious. 
 
 This development is a striking evidence of the feeling 
 of the day. Mindful of the terrible depression of the 
 eighties. New Zealanders are at present quite willing to 
 pay higher than Free Trade prices for the sake of protect- 
 ing their own industries from foreign competition, and 
 they console themselves with the reflection that the cost 
 of living, except, perhaps, for the low-class worker who 
 is a feature of the English industrial towns, is cheaper in 
 New Zealand than in England, and much cheaper than 
 
216 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 in America. On the other hand, they are forbidden to 
 look forward very hopefully to the growth of their in- 
 dustries beyond the needs of the home market. Unless 
 some great trade depression intervenes and the price of 
 land falls headlong — the last thing to be desired — the 
 cost of production and of living must apparently con- 
 tinue to rise, and the time must come when the tariff 
 barriers cannot possibly be raised higher. At the same 
 time, the product of New Zealand industries has not yet 
 nearly reached the limit imposed by the home market, 
 and possibly by the time it does the population will have 
 so increased as to enable the cost of production to be 
 considerably lowered by specialising. In the meantime 
 all increases in the cost of production, whether caused in 
 a perfectly legitimate manner by the action of the in- 
 dustrial courts, or in a questionable manner by manipu- 
 lation of the tariff, must be recouped from the people of 
 New Zealand. An English investigator remarks : — ' 
 
 " In an exceptional degree New Zealand is economi- 
 cally self-contained, in the sense of being able, owing to 
 its great wealth and relatively small population, and to its 
 geographical and commercial isolation, to regulate con- 
 ditions over a wide field by legislative enactments. . . . 
 Wage-earners form the bulk of the population, and thus 
 of consumers. If, therefore, prices rise disproportion- 
 ately to increase in wages, to whom, it is asked, do the 
 advantages accrue ?" 
 
 The manufacturing industries of New Zealand arose 
 out of a desire to find employment for the artisans of 
 the colony at a time when primary production had out- 
 grown the necessities of the accessible markets. In those 
 days there was a modified form of Protection, so little 
 that it would have been impossible to establish industries 
 at all if New Zealand had not been geographically pro- 
 tected by a wide sea-moat. But the sea, while it still 
 affords some protection against oversea competition in 
 the home market, serves to complete an absolute barrier 
 
 ' Mr. Ernest Aves, who was appointed by the Board of Trade to 
 investigate the industrial laws of Australia and New Zealand, 1907-8. 
 
SOME EFFECTS OF ARBITRATION 217 
 
 against the invasion of foreign markets by New Zealand 
 manufacturers. By the time that high wages have been 
 paid in the Dominion, and heavy freights by sea, the 
 New Zealand manufactured product cannot as yet live in 
 any oversea market side by side with the output of the 
 cheaper European centres. 
 
 As a matter of fact, New Zealand depends for her pros- 
 perity even more to-day than before the industrial era 
 upon her exports of primary products. The comparison 
 is as follows: — 
 
 Value of Total N.Z. Manufactures Proportion of Manu- 
 
 Exports. (Included). factures to Total. 
 
 £ £ 
 
 1892 ... 9,196,885 153,13s 1-66 per cent. 
 
 1907 ... 19,783,138 241,634 1-22 per cent. 
 
 And the primary industries have been generally beyond 
 the pale of the labour laws. There was no specific reser- 
 vation to this effect in the Acts themselves, but the Court 
 has discretion to refuse to make an award if it considers 
 it advisable to do so, and it is still regarded as improper, 
 or at least precarious, to make restrictions as to wages, 
 &c., in an industry the product of which is subject to the 
 fluctuations of a market on the other side of the world. 
 This objection does not, of course, conform to the spirit 
 of the legislation, but it seemed to have general approval 
 until the quite recent organisation of the farm labourers. 
 This approval of the principle had already survived the 
 making of awards to govern shearing, mustering, flax- 
 milling, &c. It was not until the Act had been thirteen 
 years in force that its application to agricultural industries 
 generally became imminent, and then the Court (in 1908) 
 declined to make an award on the ground that such 
 regulation of the work of farm labourers was both un- 
 necessary and difficult of enforcement. 
 
 It is a frequent jibe of the opponents of industrial 
 arbitration that it has destroyed the independence and 
 efficiency of the worker and transformed him into a 
 shirking malcontent. At half of this indictment the New 
 Zealander can well afford to laugh: at the other half, 
 
218 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 possibly, he may shrug his shoulders. The colonial 
 worker, both in Australia and New Zealand, is not only 
 more intelligent than his English brother, but he is out 
 of comparison a more willing and energetic worker. 
 The eight-hour day in the Antipodes is eight hours of 
 strenuous labour. It is very rare to find works over- 
 manned. Adequate wages are paid to a sufficient 
 number of men to meet the requirements of the busi- 
 ness by working energetically and at full power during 
 the statutory day. There is no encouragement to work 
 overtime. For the employers it means payment at in- 
 creased rates: for the men a loss of that leisure for 
 recreation and rest which is essential to continued 
 efficiency. As a consequence the work in a colonial 
 factory or engineering shop, while it lasts, is energetic, 
 thorough, and efficient. The everyday complaint of 
 artisans from the Old Country emigrating to the colonies 
 is that the work is too hard : that they require all the 
 residue from an eight-hours labour day to recuperate for 
 the morrow. The colonial worker, too, is eminently 
 sober. 
 
 The fixing of wages and hours of work by a legal 
 authority has certainly had some of the " levelling 
 tendency" which was predicted, but the minimum wage 
 is not by any means the maximum, as casual observers 
 are prone to believe. There is quite enough competition 
 in industry to insure that good men will receive recog- 
 nition irrespective of the scale fixed by the courts, and 
 there is scarcely a factory in New Zealand to-day whose 
 pay-roll would not disclose a respectable number of 
 employees who are receiving more than the rate of pay 
 prescribed in the award. ^ It is in respect to inefficient 
 or under-rate workmen that the levelling-down tendency 
 is most apparent, and for this the unions themselves are 
 largely responsible. Fearing that the operation of the 
 
 ' The secretary of the Wellington Furniture Trades Union, writing to 
 the Press in March, 1909, says : " The wages part of the award is really a 
 dead letter between the employers and the Union, for the reason that the 
 employers pay, in many cases, considerably over the minimum." 
 
SOME EFFECTS OF ARBITRATION 219 
 
 under-rate regulations might lead to the employment of 
 a large proportion of men at wages below the minimum 
 prescribed by the award, they opposed the issue of 
 permits to this class of men. This has tended to throw 
 out of employment altogether men who, though not 
 capable of earning los. a day, might quite well have 
 earned ys. or 8s., and supported themselves and their 
 dependents. This innocent little section of the Act 
 might have had almost disastrous social consequences 
 in constantly reducing the age at which men could con- 
 continue to do efficient work if Parliament had not 
 finally placed the power of issuing permits in the hands 
 of the officials of the Department. Even under the 
 present conditions the pressure of the unions is likely 
 to be continuously exerted to restrict the number of 
 permits issued, and thus throw inefficient workers and 
 old men out of employment when they could still earn 
 reduced wages. This would be a distinct defeat of one 
 of the humane principles of the original Act. 
 
 Any statement that the efficiency of the worker is not 
 undermined by the arbitration law is likely to be chal- 
 lenged by the more casual observer, and especially by 
 those who, in a short sojourn in the Dominion, have 
 naturally fallen more into confidential relations with 
 employers than with the employed. Mr. E. Aves, for 
 example, whose thoughtful report has been quoted at 
 an earlier stage, remarks : — 
 
 "Failure to reach this reasonable standard of efficiency 
 is, however, constantly mentioned, and although it is 
 difficult to prove and measure, I think the evidence is 
 conclusive that present conditions in New Zealand are 
 tending, so far as adult male workers are concerned, and 
 over a wide field, towards a lower efficiency." 
 
 A peculiar incident, which might give colour to this 
 belief, occurred at the beginning of the present year. 
 The General Manager of Railways, in a departmental 
 letter (which was not intended to become public), com- 
 plained of idling and inefficient work at the railway 
 workshops at Addington, where much of the rolling 
 
220 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 stock and many locomotives are constructed. He 
 remarked in his letter that a private firm in the Dominion 
 was able to construct locomotives more cheaply than the 
 Government shops, which are excellently equipped. A 
 Royal Commission was appointed to investigate the 
 charges of " loafing," but when the inquiry had pro- 
 ceeded for some days the charges, which had not 
 received much substantiation, were withdrawn. 
 
 One respect in which the Arbitration Act has struck on 
 Charybdis in avoiding Scylla is the training of appren- 
 tices. The conditions obtaining when the industrial 
 revolution took place, and fully described by the Sweat- 
 ing Commission, utterly prejudiced the future of the 
 apprentice and the boy worker. Though it was not 
 made illegal, in the first instance, to employ young 
 people without payment, the operation of the arbitration 
 law gradually eliminated the unpaid worker. Many 
 firms still found it an economy to employ a large pro- 
 portion of apprentices, who were equally competent with 
 journeymen long before they were entitled to journey- 
 men's wages. The boards and courts had, however, the 
 power to fix the number of apprentices in the different 
 trades which came before them, and the unions natu- 
 rally, from motives of self-preservation, invariably threw 
 their weight in to restrict the number, just as they 
 had opposed the granting of under-rate permits. The 
 tribunals did what they could against the representa- 
 tions of the unions. In a judgment in 1902, in a grocers' 
 dispute, the Court remarked : — 
 
 " There are some occupations where it is advisable 
 to limit the youths in number. But there are other 
 occupations where no such limit is either reasonable or 
 necessary ; and it is our duty to see that the avenues for 
 suitable work are not closed to the youth of the colony. 
 We owe a duty to the boys of the community, as well as 
 to the adult workers of the colony, and that duty we 
 must perform to the best of our ability." 
 
 Before the law had been ten years in operation indus- 
 tries were beginning to feel the ill-effects of the restric- 
 
SOME EFFECTS OF ARBITRATION 221 
 
 tion of apprentices. Debarred admission to the indus- 
 tries, and frequently encouraged to " look higher " by 
 parents whose sudden accession of prosperity begot 
 ambition, youngsters drifted steadily into mercantile 
 offices, banks, and even — by the medium of a cheap 
 and excellent education — into the professions. The 
 standard of living and of education in New Zealand 
 to-day is probably higher than in any other country 
 in the world. All branches of engineering are regarded 
 as suitable occupations for men of breeding and educa- 
 tion, and farming is quite fashionable for young men of 
 college and university education. Under these circum- 
 stances, and in face of the restriction of apprentices, most 
 of the lower trades have been starved. New Zealand 
 youths have been deprived of admission, and a chronic 
 shortage of workers has been created. New Zealand 
 has thus for years offered almost certain prospects 
 for efficient and intelligent artisans from oversea, and 
 very few answering the description have returned disap- 
 pointed. At the same time, the immigration of men has 
 been quite inadequate to fill the vacancies in industries, 
 chiefly because the workers of the Dominion, misled by 
 false and selfish economic ideas, have always opposed 
 tooth and nail any movement on the part of the Govern- 
 ment to encourage men of their own class to come to 
 the country. In this respect protection has been carried 
 ad absurdum, and the industries of the Dominion are 
 feeling the effects. 
 
 Apart from this difficulty. New Zealand is to-day faced 
 with a considerable shortage of workers on account of 
 the greatly diminished rate of natural increase. Eco- 
 nomic reasons which are partially evident from a perusal 
 of these chapters were probably responsible in great 
 measure for reducing the birth-rate from 37"32 to 27-83 
 per 1,000 in the ten years of depression, 1882-92. These 
 figures, too, are striking : — 
 
 
 White PopubtiOQ. 
 
 No of Births. 
 
 Rate per 1,000. 
 
 ;882... 
 
 ... 509,309 
 
 19,009 
 
 37-32 
 
 :907... 
 
 ... 919,105 
 
 25,094 
 
 27-30 
 
222 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 There has, indeed, been a steady increase of late from 
 the low level of 1899 (when the rate was 25-I2), but the 
 natural increase of to-day will not be felt in mitigation 
 of the shortage for fifteen years, and the Secretary for 
 Labour ^ has given it as his opinion that New Zealand 
 industries must be handicapped severely for this reason. 
 In the report of the Department for 1908 Mr. Tregear 
 says : — 
 
 " I have already alluded to the complaints made by 
 employers as to their business enterprise being cramped 
 through the paucity of hands to do the work. This 
 shortage is denied by the representatives of labour, who 
 say that, if the statement is true at all, it depicts a mere 
 temporary difficulty, and that to introduce workers from 
 abroad would merely be assisting employers to flood the 
 market with surplus labour in order to lower wages. . . . 
 If we take the case of girls of suitable age to work in 
 factories, we find that in New Zealand, between the years 
 1891 and 1896, there was an increase of 21-62 per cent, 
 in the number of girls between fifteen and twenty-one 
 years of age. In the next five years the increase had 
 fallen to 677 per cent., and in the five years ending 1906 
 to i"26 per cent. In regard to still younger girls the 
 further want of reserve power for our labour supply 
 is apparent." 
 
 The figures with regard to boys are much the same, 
 and Mr. Tregear remarks : — 
 
 " Such figures, as the result of twenty years' national 
 growth, are absolutely startling to those who have to 
 take prevision for the welfare of the people generally. 
 The difficulty may not be evaded or shirked. Either our 
 industries, instead of expanding, must shrink and disap- 
 pear, or workers to carry on those industries must be 
 found. That there are few and fewer recruits available 
 
 » Mr. Edward Tregear, F.R.G.S., F.R. Hist. S., a native of Southampton; 
 arrived in New Zealand in 1863, and served through the Maori wars, for 
 which he received the medal. Became Secretary of the Bureau of 
 Industries in 1891, and of the Department of Labour 1893. Was Chair- 
 man of the Royal Commission on Private Benefit Societies in 1897, and 
 of that on the Kauri Gum Industry in the following year. 
 
SOME EFFECTS OF ARBITRATION 223 
 
 from among the children of the Dominion will appear 
 certain as time goes on, and even if there could be a 
 remarkable filling-up of the cradles from this moment 
 onwards, it would still take years to close the present 
 vacant spaces in the thin ranks of our children who are 
 now between five and fifteen years of age." 
 
 In spite of the determined opposition of the labour 
 organisations, various employers, more particularly in 
 the clothing and boot trades, have resorted to the expe- 
 dient of importing operatives from the industrial centres 
 of England, Scotland, and Ireland. There are certain 
 trades in New Zealand at the present time in which an 
 efficient and intelligent worker, emigrating from Eng- 
 land, will never want for work. 
 
 The industrial legislation has worked wonders in the 
 condition of the female worker. For them trades union- 
 ism did something, as in the case of the tailoresses, but 
 arbitration did infinitely more. In every case of female 
 labour that came before the Court a minimum wage was 
 fixed, and the effect has been to place female labour on 
 a footing immeasurably superior to that of the pre-arbi- 
 tration days, and indirectly to disarm women as the 
 industrial competitors of men, except in unorganised 
 occupations, such as mercantile clerks. The levelling up 
 of the status of the female worker has quite done away 
 with the under-cutting of male labour.' The following 
 figures for certain classified trades show the proportion 
 of females employed and the improvement in their 
 wages : — 
 
 ' On this evil, as it exists in England, the Fair Wages Committee 
 appointed by the Lords of the Treasury reported in 1908 : " The compe- 
 tition of female labour is viewed with alarm in certain trades by repre- 
 sentatives of the men, but we do not see any ground on which the 
 Government can, on general principles, restrict the employment of 
 women on work which they can do efficiently . . . The really important 
 factors would appear, generally speaking, to be the unorganised condi- 
 tion of women's labour, and the fact that in many cases the woman is 
 quite willing to accept a lower rate of wages than a man, owing to the 
 smaller claims upon her and the support she may receive from her 
 relatives," 
 
224 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Proportion of females to total iSge. 1906. 
 
 workers 1670 per cent. 20'2S per cent. 
 
 Ditto cheese and butter-making 4-86 „ 1-89 „ 
 
 Ditto printing 970 „ 16-93 „ 
 
 Ditto biscuit-making 18-82 „ 35-43 „ 
 
 Average wages ... ^£29 17s. sd. ^^41 13s. iid. 
 
 It was in 1899 that an Act was passed fixing a universal 
 minimum wage, and under this every boy and girl under 
 eighteen had to receive not less than 5s. and 4s. a week 
 respectively, irrespective of overtime. A new Factory 
 Act two years later made the minimum rate for workers 
 under eighteen 5s. a week, with an annual increment 
 of not less than 3s. weekly until reaching the age of 
 twenty. 
 
 Home-work, the root of much sweating, was dealt a 
 heavy blow in the first Factory Act, which made it com- 
 pulsory that articles made in private dwellings or un- 
 registered workshops should be so labelled when exposed 
 for sale, so as to handicap them in competition with 
 articles made in properly conducted factories. It re- 
 ceived its final blow in the Act of 1901, which makes it 
 absolutely illegal to give out or sublet. Work must be 
 done in his own factory and by his own employees by 
 the person to whom the contract is given. And the 
 effect, to quote Mr. Aves again, is that " the home 
 worker is hardly a factor, much less a problem, in New 
 Zealand." 
 
 But while all these subsidiary forces and ramifications 
 of the Act were at work, the legislation was also pro- 
 ducing other very distinct results. In spite of all the 
 criticism that has been hurled at the arbitration law the 
 results of its operation utterly refute the statement that 
 it is inimical to industry. Even if we allow to the fullest 
 for the unprecedented prosperity which the Dominion 
 enjoyed throughout the period following the great 
 depression, we are almost forced to the conclusion that 
 the labour legislation has actually added to the benefits 
 which the community has received. The following table, 
 
SOME EFFECTS OF ARBITRATION 225 
 
 illustrating the expansion of industries for the decade 
 1896-1906 is graphic enough : 
 
 
 
 
 Increase 
 
 
 1896. 
 
 1906. 
 
 per Cent. 
 
 Population (white) ... 
 
 714,162 
 
 908,726 
 
 27 
 
 Factory workers 
 
 27,389 
 
 56,359 
 
 los 
 
 Wages paid (1895) ... 
 
 ... ;ei,907,S92 
 
 £4,457,619 
 
 133 
 
 Value of manufactures 
 
 - £9.549,360 
 
 £23,444,235 
 
 I4S 
 
 Exports £9.177,336 £17,840,346 94 
 
 If we carry the comparison down to the year 1908, the 
 figures are even more decisive. The increase of factory 
 workers, for example, amounted to 142 per cent., and of 
 wages to 177 per cent., while the exports expanded to the 
 extent of 118 per cent. But the greatest benefit of all — 
 and the one the workers are most liable to overlook — is 
 the sound increase of employment. At the beginning of 
 the period probably one-fourth of the workers were un- 
 employed. To-day it is a mere fraction.' 
 
 After making the fullest consideration for the great 
 natural prosperity of the period, these figures demon- 
 strate clearly that the industrial legislation has not 
 fulfilled the lugubrious predictions of its early enemies, 
 that it would strangle industry. The liabilities of an 
 employer in respect to his workmen are such that the 
 employment figures may be regarded as quite a reliable 
 indication of the growth of industries. For the rest, the 
 value of the manufactures may be modified by the fact 
 that much of it is the increased wages transmitted to the 
 consumer. In the exports, on the other hand, this is 
 not so. Their value is based on the ruling prices in 
 oversea markets which are far beyond the pale of the 
 New Zealand labour laws. Incidentally the prices of 
 some of the principal foodstuffs — meat, butter, cheese, 
 and milk— have increased in response to the improved 
 oversea markets, and so justified to some extent the 
 demands of the workers for higher wages. 
 
 If there is any truth in the statement that the history 
 
 ■ At the census of 1906 only 253 of the breadwinners of New Zealand 
 were out of work. 
 
 16 
 
226 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 of the last fifteen years in New Zealand has tended to 
 frighten capitalists by reason of the restrictions applied 
 to industries, there is also much to reassure them in the 
 protection afforded against unfair competition, the free- 
 dom from strike dislocations, and the unlimited purchasing 
 powers of the people. The market must for years be a 
 local one, but as such it is probably unsurpassed in the 
 world. A recent commercial investigator,^ touching on 
 this point, says : — 
 
 " A distinctly erroneous impression exists amongst 
 manufacturers and capitalists in Great Britain concerning 
 labour conditions in Australasia. . . . Capitalists need have 
 no fear of labour in Australasia. When one appreciates 
 local circumstances, the apparent extraordinary legislation 
 no longer appears unreasonable : indeed, some of the 
 largest employers say that they prefer running factories 
 in a country where wages and hours of working are 
 regulated in a measure by the State. 
 
 " It is beyond question that the effect of this legislation 
 has been to obviate serious strikes. What statistics are 
 available show clearly that, both in Australia and New 
 Zealand, a fewer number of working hours are lost on 
 account of labour disputes than in any other industrial 
 country which might reasonably be compared with it." 
 
 Elsewhere the same writer says : — 
 
 " If the terms of these Acts and their working in 
 practice were better known I believe that a large measure 
 of confidence would be restored. Locally State regu- 
 lation of industry has actually given a feeling of security 
 and permanency to industry, consequent on its having 
 rendered serious strikes impossible ; and if the true state 
 of affairs were more clearly realised in Great Britain, 
 there would, in my opinion, be much more British 
 capital invested in Australasian industries than there is 
 at the present time." 
 
 And during all these long years of controversy, too, 
 another, and a more valuable, result was steadily being 
 
 ' Mr. Ben H. Morgan, Special Commissioner in Australasia for the 
 Manufacturers' Association of Great Britain, 1908. 
 
SOME EFFECTS OF ARBITRATION 227 
 
 achieved. The hostility of the employers had for the 
 first few years threatened the very existence of the legis- 
 lation. In the face of firm and impartial administration 
 it gradually diminished, and in ten years the principle 
 of industrial arbitration was practically rooted in the soil 
 of New Zealand. An English business man, who visited 
 New Zealand in the former period and again in the 
 latter,' says : — 
 
 " Experience has taught the business man wisdom. 
 The honest employer has found himself freed from the 
 unfair competition of the sweater and the mushroom 
 trader, and he is able to depend mainly on his brains 
 for success. Wages being uniform, competition has been 
 fairer." 
 
 ■ Mr. Percy A, Harris, B.A., in " New Zealand and its Politics," 1909. 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 DISCONTENT AMONGST THE WORKERS 
 
 Malpractice of the Conciliation Boards — Payment of members — Pro- 
 fessional agitators — The boards superseded — Bitter party feeling — 
 Avarice of the landlords — Mr. Tregear's memorandum — Revolt of 
 the workers against the courts — Recrimination and abuse — " A rude 
 economic lesson " — Proposed Labour Parliament — Talking about 
 strikes — Outbreak of slaughtermen— Arbitration in danger — Loyalty 
 of the public — Strikers fined — Labour irreconcilable — Auckland tram- 
 v?ays strike — Punishment of coal-miners — A note of warning — Anti- 
 strike clause in an award — An amending Act — Back to the fountain- 
 head — Conciliation Boards restored — Legal procedure eUminated — 
 Punishment of strikers. 
 
 The Act had not been long in force before it was quite 
 evident that the Court would not be regarded as entirely 
 a court of appeal, to be resorted to on rare occasions. 
 One of the strongest arguments against the Privy 
 Council appeal from the courts of law of the Dominion 
 is the fact that unless the cost of proceedings is pro- 
 hibitive, the dissatisfied party will rarely accept an 
 adverse decision while there is a further tribunal to 
 appeal to. 
 
 At first the Conciliation Boards had some little success 
 in conciliation. But only at first. "Recommendations" 
 generally took the form of a compromise, and it soon 
 became rare for the parties to accept the recommendation. 
 Even if they were quite satisfactory there were obvious 
 reasons why professional advocates should dislike to see 
 disputes too readily terminated. And so dispute after 
 dispute was carried on to the Court. Union after union 
 came forward with new demands, and the boards, con- 
 tinually failing to bring about a settlement, had to send 
 
 226 
 
DISCONTENT AMONGST WORKERS 229 
 
 the cases on to the congested Court for decision. The 
 spirit of conciHation was quite destroyed by the intrusion 
 of the special pleaders into cases quite outside the pale 
 of their own or kindred trades. The acrimonies and 
 haggling before the boards became proverbial. There 
 was soon no room for doubt that frivolous and trivial 
 cases were being brought by the unions in confidence 
 that if they asked much they would at least get a 
 little. 
 
 To make matters worse, Parliament decided in 1896 
 that the members of Conciliation Boards should receive 
 a fee of a guinea per day while they were engaged in the 
 hearing of disputes. The author of the Act had set his 
 face sternly against any such payments, in the belief that 
 they would encourage the fomenting of strife and that, 
 at best, they were inimical to the whole principle of con- 
 ciliation. When the original Bill went to the Legislative 
 Council for approval that body quietly slipped in a clause 
 providing for the payment of members of boards, but 
 the Government, on Mr. Reeves's urgent representations, 
 insisted upon its removal. Now Mr. Reeves was out of 
 the colony — he had gone to London as Agent-general — 
 and Parliament, probably unwittingly, inflicted a serious 
 injury upon the boards. Most of the members of the 
 boards were men of some social standing, but there were 
 not wanting unscrupulous characters, and before long 
 it was an open secret that the " conciliators " themselves 
 were actually trumping up so-called "disputes" for the 
 sake of earning fees at the hearing of them. Parliament 
 cannot be absolved from the reproach of having failed 
 to remedy this flagrant abuse. Within three years of the 
 passing of the Act it was evident that the boards were a 
 failure. Mr. Reeves himself was candid enough to admit 
 that they were not essential, but he did not expect to see 
 them so flagrantly abused, apparently with the sanction 
 of Parliament. 
 
 Year after year disputes which were not infrequently 
 of a questionable nature were fostered and brought for- 
 ward, and thousands of pounds were wasted in hearing 
 
230 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 them twice over. In very rare cases did the boards 
 achieve a settlement. In no case in which the Board 
 failed did its work materially assist the Court at the 
 subsequent hearing. At last, in 1901, Parliament assailed 
 the scandal. Almost while nobody was looking a 
 clause was slipped into an amending Bill giving power 
 to take disputes direct to the Court without hearing by 
 the Board. It was the natural sequence of what had 
 gone before. It was the death-knell of the Conciliation 
 Boards. There were, of course, individual cases in which 
 the boards were successful, chiefly where a better class 
 of men happened to be members ; but the best friend of 
 conciliation cannot pretend for a moment that the system, 
 as it was treated by the employers and by the workers, 
 had justified itself. 
 
 The whole system of arbitration was as yet experi- 
 mental. The Government could not point to it, as to 
 the land laws, and say, "Si requiris monumentum 
 circumspice!" On the other hand, bitter controversy 
 still surrounded the experiment, and the Liberal Govern- 
 ment guarded jealously each limb of the system for fear 
 that the loss of a part might lead to the overthrow of the 
 whole. Had it not been for this fear there is no doubt 
 that the Government, in fairness to the original framer of 
 the Act, would have taken steps sooner. 
 
 Shortly after the beginning of the new century it 
 became apparent that the arbitration laws had given to 
 the workers as much of the material advantages as they 
 could hope for. The flagrant wrongs of ten years earlier 
 had long since been redressed. Wages had been raised 
 to the proportion of a fair tax on profits. Henceforth, it 
 was apparent, concessions would come more slowly. 
 The industrial conditions in New Zealand were the best 
 in the world. Labour had achieved more than it dared 
 desire ten years ago. 
 
 Now, unfortunately for himself, the worker fell into the 
 hands of evil counsellors. That wise provision of the 
 Act which forbade the appearance of lawyers in the hear- 
 ing of cases before the boards had given rise to a crop of 
 
DISCONTENT AMONGST WORKERS 231 
 
 something much worse for the relationships of labour 
 and capital than educated legal advocates. The pro- 
 fessional union secretary developed into the most bitter 
 and withal ignorant pleader. Some of the unions, under 
 the advice of these men, became insatiable and unreason- 
 able in their demands. They would never leave well 
 alone. The professional organiser became quite a feature 
 of the labour world, and the same men who " organised" 
 certain trades into unions appeared in the courts pre- 
 sently to earn fees as their advocates in disputes. 
 
 The Court naturally hesitated to grant increases which 
 the condition of the trade did not seem to justify, and 
 labour became discontented and maligned the Court. 
 But irrespective of this sort of manipulation by profes- 
 sional agitators, the men were impelled by certain definite 
 forces over which they had no control. The cost of 
 living had increased out of proportion to the increase of 
 wages. There were certain prosperities in which the 
 workers did not participate, a "malignant collateral 
 action," which threatened to neutralise the whole good 
 work of the Act. As the principal official guardian of 
 the labour laws, Mr. Tregear wrote to the Prime Minister 
 in 1904, drawing attention to it in these words : — 
 
 " The general effect of the Act has been to benefit the 
 whole community by ensuring to the employer stability 
 of business and output : to the worker higher wages and 
 shorter hours : to the general public that continuity of 
 trade and output which was formerly too often dislocated 
 by the mischievous waste of strike and lock-out. ... Of 
 course the rise in wages given by the Arbitration Court 
 to certain classes of workers is asserted by some to be a 
 reason for the increased cost of articles and services, but 
 this argument runs in a vicious circle, for it is the in- 
 creased cost of necessaries which has caused the con- 
 cession of higher wages. There has been no fair ratio 
 between the rise in wages and the rise in prices. The 
 fact is that there is a third hand in the game besides the 
 employer and the employee, and it is this third man — the 
 non-producing ground landlord of the city and suburban 
 
232 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 property — who alone will rise the winner in the end. 
 The chief devourer of the wages of the worker and of the 
 profits of the employer is excessive rent. That an equit- 
 able payment for the use of land and dwellings should be 
 made to their owners is, under the present constitution 
 of society, proper and desirable, but a greedy, rack-rent- 
 ing system which transfers gradually almost the whole of 
 the earnings of the industrial and commercial classes into 
 the pockets of the non-producer is indefensible." ' 
 
 It was the pressure of high rents, reflected in the price 
 of all commodities and services, that impelled the workers 
 to persist in demands which were apparently avaricious 
 and unjustifiable. An elaborate calculation by the 
 Registrar-General of New Zealand shows that wages 
 increased at the rate of 23 per cent, in the thirteen years 
 1895-1907. The price of provisions, computed on the 
 bare necessities of life, increased in the same period by 
 22 per cent. No calculation has yet been made as to 
 clothes and rent. The Court stood firm, yielding where 
 it thought right, but generally declining to make conces- 
 sions to the workers to recoup them the penalties of a 
 species of prosperity in which the industries were not 
 participators. It placed the welfare of the industry itself 
 first. In a judgment at Auckland in 1901 the Court 
 remarked : — 
 
 " This Court, in our opinion, is not justified in increas- 
 ing the rate of wages so as to destroy, or in a great 
 measure cripple, an industry upon which many workers 
 now depend for their livelihood and in which many 
 individuals have invested money. We are satisfied that 
 the mining industry, as a whole, in the Hauraki mining 
 district, is in a very critical condition, and that the Court 
 is not justified, unless very cogent reasons are established, 
 in adding to the present expense necessary for the further 
 development of the industry." 
 
 It was at this point — a varying one according to the 
 
 ■ As the outcome of the report here quoted the Government undertook 
 the experiment of building homes for the workers, as described else- 
 where. 
 
DISCONTENT AMONGST WORKERS 233 
 
 particular trade affected— that the revolt of the workers 
 against the Act commenced. Their loyalty cooled as 
 soon as the decisions of the Court ceased to give them 
 the material benefits they had become accustomed to. 
 Recrimination and abuse succeeded to the triumphant 
 cocksureness of the previous period. One after another 
 the Supreme Court judges who had acted as president of 
 the Court became tired of the unaccustomed experience 
 of having their judgments traversed and their motives 
 criticised, and asked to be removed to the more legal and 
 certainly more dignified atmosphere of the Supreme 
 Court Bench. Unable to understand the causes of the 
 increased cost of living, the workers clamoured for 
 further reprisals upon their employers. When this was 
 refused they fell out with the Act and all its workings. 
 The State was asked to intervene and operate certain 
 industries in the interests of the public. But the State 
 was already doing all that it cared to in this direction. 
 The Government was composed of eminently sensible 
 men who realised that what was sauce for the goose must 
 be sauce for the gander. It had supported the Act when 
 it was used to redress the grievances of the worker against 
 the unscrupulous capitalist, and it must now support it in 
 justice to the honest capitalist. The employers had not 
 yet become quite reconciled to the principle of arbitration, 
 but they stood by the Act now because it was their 
 innings. The workers were bitterly disappointed. To 
 quote Mr. Harris again : — ' 
 
 " After fourteen years' arbitration the workers find that, 
 apart from hours and conditions of labour, they are, in 
 material comforts, little better off. They have had a rude 
 economic lesson in the difference between money and 
 real wages. This lies at the bottom of the general dis- 
 content." 
 
 Irresponsible delegates at the labour conferences talked 
 
 of repealing the Act and reverting to the old methods of 
 
 settling disputes. The strike and the lock-out, unheard 
 
 of for fourteen years, suddenly became objects of affec- 
 
 ' " New Zealand and its Politics," 1909. 
 
234 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 tion and admiration, for the loss of which the Act was 
 reviled. As an example of the irresponsible talk that was 
 prevalent, one labour body passed a resolution calling on 
 the Government to remove the duties from imported 
 boots, since the local industry had been unable to give 
 the workers decent conditions.^ As a matter of fact, 
 before arbitration was introduced, the boot operatives 
 were working under worse conditions almost than the 
 employees in any other trade. 
 
 Even before the revolt of the workers became acute 
 the Government realised that the Act in its practice 
 savoured too much of the hard technicality of the law, 
 and not sufficiently of the amenities of conciliation, by 
 personal discussion between the parties. This was 
 emphasised when direct recourse to the Court practi- 
 cally blotted the boards out of existence. Mr. Seddon, 
 in 1905, foresaw what would happen, and endeavoured 
 to forestall it by convening what he called a Labour 
 Parliament, at which representatives of the workers, the 
 employers, and the farmers should meet to discuss the 
 relations of master and man, and endeavour to get a 
 general recognition of certain essential principles of 
 conciliation. Again the employers held aloof and re- 
 fused to be represented. They had loyally complied 
 with the requirements of the Arbitration Act when it 
 penalised themselves, and they hesitated to do anything 
 now that might be construed as evidence that they were 
 willing to see it repealed out of existence. Their attitude 
 now was an insistence that it should be preserved to 
 protect them against the aggressiveness of the worker. 
 The Parliament was consequently abandoned, and the 
 position left to develop. 
 
 Before long the simmering dissatisfaction of the workers 
 took definite form. They had been talking about strikes 
 as a possible weapon for some years. Now they openly 
 discussed the penal clauses of the Act, and easily enough 
 found holes in them. Month by month they were more 
 
 " Boot factories in New Zealand employ about 2,500 hands and pay 
 ;^i8o,ooo yearly in wages. The output is valued at half a million sterling. 
 
DISCONTENT AMONGST WORKERS 235 
 
 ready to find fault with the Court, and to seize upon 
 pretexts for breaking into open revolt. 
 
 When they did revolt eventually, in the beginning of 
 1907, it was without the unction of a pretext. The 
 slaughtermen at the freezing works near Wellington, who 
 were largely nomads from Australia migrating to the 
 passage of the seasons, were working under an award 
 which had expired, but which held valid automatically 
 until replaced by a fresh one. The work of the Court 
 was rather congested, and the men, fearing delay in 
 having their case heard, presented an ultimatum direct 
 to the companies, demanding an increase of wages. The 
 employers rejected the demands as irregular, and stated 
 their willingness to have the dispute heard by the Court 
 in the customary manner. The retort of the men was 
 an immediate cessation of work — the first considerable 
 strike in New Zealand for fourteen years. The moment 
 that strike took place the whole fabric of arbitration in 
 New Zealand was in jeopardy. All that preserved it was 
 a healthy public opinion. 
 
 To all classes, including the more thoughtful section of 
 the workers, the very idea of a reversion to the old system 
 of settling industrial disputes was utterly repugnant. 
 Opinions differed, of course, as to how far the opera- 
 tion of the Act should extend, but scarcely a single 
 association of employers or union of workers honestly 
 disagreed with the basic principle of arbitration as against 
 the arbitraments of force. 
 
 " One and all had agreed," writes Mr. Harris, " that 
 the principle of arbitration must be maintained, and 
 none wish to go back to the time of the settlement of 
 disputes by strikes. The only difference of opinion is as 
 to how to make the law press equally on employer and 
 employee." 
 
 Mr. Ernest Aves, too, by a set of questions put in 1907, 
 ascertained that less than one-fifth of the employers he 
 had consulted believed that the Act was disadvantageous ; 
 thirty-five out of forty-three were in favour of it. Forty- 
 five out of forty-eight employees admitted it was advan- 
 
236 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 tageous to themselves. There was a general concensus 
 of opinion on both sides that it had improved the 
 conditions of work. 
 
 In the slaughtermen's dispute the defiance of the 
 workers was rank mutiny. They simply declined to 
 have their case heard by the tribunal whose decision 
 they were legally bound to obey. The ringleaders were 
 arraigned before the Court for enforcement of the terms 
 of their agreement, which held valid until it should be 
 replaced by a new one. They escaped on a technical 
 imperfection in the original document. All over the 
 country the slaughtermen struck. At Gisborne their 
 strike consisted in killing at only a fraction of their 
 usual rate. They were fined ^5 each, and the lesson 
 was emphasised by a decision of the Appeal Court that 
 the offenders could be imprisoned in default of payment. 
 But while these and many subsequent proceedings were 
 passing, the very existence of the Act was based on public 
 opinion. If the temper of the public had in the slightest 
 degree encouraged the workers in their defiance of 
 institutions which had given to them all that was worth 
 having in their social conditions, the whole fabric of 
 arbitration would have crumbled to pieces. 
 
 As a matter of fact the workers were thoroughly and 
 irreconcilably dissatisfied with their condition at the 
 moment. Every month their grievances were aggravated. 
 Long before the end of 1907 they had thrown to the 
 winds the last shred of their respect for the Arbitration 
 Act, the Court and the members themselves. The old 
 reign of recrimination returned. The delays caused by 
 the congestion of work were the main complaint. 
 
 " But," said one studied manifesto, " it is not admini- 
 stration alone with which we are dissatisfied, but the 
 constitution of the Court, also. We have been taught 
 that the arbitration judge is infallible and all-powerful. 
 In our recent dispute regarding the bank-to-bank ques- 
 tion, we wished to appeal against the judge's unjust 
 decision, and were informed that the decision of the 
 Arbitration Court was final and binding. Now we have 
 
DISCONTENT AMONGST WORKERS 237 
 
 the matter in a nutshell. The arbitration judge is infal- 
 lible and all-powerful, and I think his administration 
 proves beyond doubt that he is not impartial." 
 
 This was everyday language in 1907 and 1908. Revolt 
 was in the air. Even a staid conference of farmers, 
 enraged possibly by the action of a conciliation board 
 in calling four hundred witnesses, and incurring ;^3,ooo 
 in expenses in investigating a farm labourers' dispute,' 
 called upon the Government, " in view of the failure of 
 the Act to prevent strikes, and the unfair and weak manner 
 in which it was administered," to repeal it. The tramway 
 employees in the city of Auckland went on strike for the 
 second time in six months, and a special board of con- 
 ciliation — the first ever invoked under the original Act — 
 was finally set up to deal with the case. In its settlement 
 this Board introduced a new and much debated clause, 
 compelling the Tramway Company in the case of future 
 dismissals of employees to give "valid reasons" for the 
 step. 
 
 The next incident in the story of revolt was the strike 
 of the Blackball coal-miners because the Company would 
 not reinstate some men who had been dismissed in con- 
 nection with a former trouble. This became the crucial 
 strike of the period. The pretext of the strikers was 
 indefensibly weak, it is true, but that made all the more 
 significant the sympathetic action of kindred unions 
 throughout the Dominion. Short of personal violence 
 all the old-time strike methods were adopted. Trades 
 councils passed resolutions of sympathy. Unions every- 
 where in the Dominion voted funds and encouraged the 
 men to remain out when they had not the faintest justi- 
 fication for doing so. If the men's cause had been a 
 
 • When the Board's recommendations in this case were presented, a 
 minority report was attached, objecting to the whole case on the 
 grounds that — (i) The evidence showed conclusively that there was 
 not, and never had been, any real dispute between the farmers and 
 genuine farm workers ; (2) that no trouble had arisen until a few men 
 employed in trades in the cities had visited the farming centres as 
 " organisers " ; (3) that the weight of evidence was overwhelmingly 
 against the wisdom of making an award applicable to the industry. 
 
238 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 good one, the Act would almost certainly have been 
 wrecked, but this was markedly an incident in which 
 general dissatisfaction and a determination to " break 
 something" completely warped such judgment as the 
 labour leaders had already shown in the crisis. Public 
 sympathy was entirely alienated, and the whole country 
 applauded the decision of the Arbitration Court fining 
 the miners' union ^^75 for its misdemeanour. 
 
 In the course of its judgment (March 13, 1908) the 
 Court said : — 
 
 " It appears from the evidence that several trades and 
 labour councils, and also some workers' unions in the 
 Dominion, have passed resolutions expressing their 
 approval of the present strike. Now, the whole purpose 
 of the conciliation and arbitration system is to prevent 
 strikes, and it is clear that strikes and arbitration cannot 
 exist together as remedies for the settlement of industrial 
 disputes. The workers of the Dominion must make up 
 their minds which of these remedies they desire to see 
 retained. They cannot have both, and they must elect 
 which they will support. If they are satisfied that it 
 would be better for them to have the arbitration system 
 abolished, and the right of striking restored in its 
 integrity, there would be little difficulty, we think, in 
 persuading employers to concur with the workers in 
 asking the Legislature to bring about the change, and the 
 employers would assist, no doubt, with becoming cheer- 
 fulness, in performing the obsequies of the system. If 
 however, the workers desire to retain the present system 
 of arbitration, either with or without modification, then 
 they ought to realise that every resolution that is passed 
 approving of a strike furnishes an argument for the 
 abolition of the system. An arbitration system which 
 does not prevent strikes is a failure, and cannot survive. 
 If the workers, by striking and approving of strikes, 
 bring about the destruction of the arbitration system, 
 they may have occasion in future to deplore, when too 
 late, the sad want of foresight shown by their leaders." 
 
 The Blackball Miners' Union defied the judgment of 
 
DISCONTENT AMONGST WORKERS 239 
 
 the Court, and an order was then made to recover the 
 sum payable from certain individual miners. When this, 
 too, was defied, the Government proceeded to distrain 
 on the goods and chattels of the judgment debtors. 
 The miners still remained obdurate, and treated the sale 
 as a joke, the whole of the articles being disposed of for 
 I2S. 6d. Still the men refused to return to work, and 
 the Government had to admit that it had no power to 
 proceed against them as if their refusal constituted the 
 offence a recurring one. The triumph of the men in 
 this respect was a barren one — it was not even a moral 
 victory. After being " out " for eleven weeks they 
 accepted conditions which spelt defeat, and returned to 
 duty disgusted and chastened in their hostility to the Act. 
 
 Yet another strike — that of bakers in the city of Wel- 
 lington — emphasised the continued revolt of the workers. 
 The men simply refused to accept an award of the Court 
 and went out. Again the unions sympathised and the 
 public disapproved. Again the men had to yield. 
 
 It was now no longer possible to dally with the 
 position. The public was becoming impatient. It, at 
 any rate, believed in the principle of arbitration more fully 
 than ever, since it had had a few fresh experiences of the 
 old methods. The failure of the law to prevent strikes 
 was proved, and public opinion wished to see the system 
 placed out of jeopardy. Though unarmed with any legal 
 power, the Court itself endeavoured to save the position 
 by inserting in an award i the following novel clause : — 
 
 " The union shall do all in its power to prevent any 
 strike by any of the workers affected by the award ; and 
 if any strike shall occur in which any members of the 
 union shall take part such strike shall be prima-facie 
 evidence that the union has committed a breach of its 
 duty. The Court reserves full power, in the event of any 
 such strike occurring, to suspend, on the application of 
 any of the employers, the operation of all or any of the 
 provisions of this award for such period as the Court 
 shall think proper." 
 
 ' The Gisborne Waterside Workers, June I, 1908. 
 
240 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 The country could not afford to see the system aban- 
 doned. Whatever flaws there were in the machinery, 
 however the law had been prostituted to unexpected pur- 
 poses, the fact remained that in its existence of thirteen 
 years, during which there had been an average of a quarter 
 of a million wage-earners in the Dominion, there had 
 been only eighteen strikes, and of these only a dozen 
 were illegal. The number of men engaged in illegal 
 strikes was only one-third per cent, of the total number 
 of wage-earners in the Dominion : whereas in Great 
 Britain in a ten-yearly period — 1891-1900 — something like 
 20 per cent, of the workers had been out on strike. The 
 employers demanded that the Act should be maintained ; 
 and the workers themselves, though in revolt at the 
 economic pass at which they had arrived, realised plainly 
 that they had everything to lose by a reversion to unregu- 
 lated relations. They said : — ^ 
 
 " We want the Act as originally conceived by the 
 framer. . . , The failure of the present Act is due to the 
 fact that employers have designedly ignored the boards 
 and relied on the Court. The constitution of the Court, 
 with its legal encumbrances and formula and the uncon- 
 scious bias of its president, makes the odds two to one 
 against the workers every time. The Court has of late, 
 in addition to its failure to improve the industrial con- 
 ditions of workers, attempted to usurp the power of the 
 Legislature, and each attempt has been with the object of 
 depriving the worker of constitutional rights already 
 granted. We for the time being advise the workers to 
 adhere to the principle. As an improved method of 
 settling industrial disputes conciliation has always been 
 advocated by the workers, and we again urge the impor- 
 tance of it. Only as a last resource should the Court, in 
 our opinion, be resorted to." 
 
 The only prospect for the rehabilitation of the Act in 
 the goodwill of the workers was to bring it back as closely 
 as possible to the conciliation ideal, and eliminate the 
 
 ■ Manifesto of the Wellington Trades and Labour Council, July 2, 
 1908. 
 
DISCONTENT AMONGST WORKERS 241 
 
 rigidly legal aspect which had succeeded to the discredit- 
 ing of the old boards. The impasse was tackled with 
 characteristic courage by the Minister of Labour^ in 1908 
 in a measure which pays a remarkable tribute to the 
 foresight and statesmanship of the original designer of 
 the arbitration laws, the Hon. W. Pember Reeves. So 
 far as can be judged the amending law of 1908 corrects 
 the whole of the false tendencies in the existing law. It 
 attacks all the cancerous and fungus diseases which have 
 grown up in the young organism, and brings it back to 
 something approaching the state of health in which it 
 was originally. 
 
 The Conciliation Boards, grown hateful and dishon- 
 oured by abuse, are nominally abolished, and in theirplace 
 Conciliation Councils, very similar to the bodies which 
 have done so much to regulate industrial relations in 
 England, now deal with the disputes. This, to all intents 
 and purposes, brings into prominence the special boards 
 which occupied a retiring position in the original law, 
 and of which only a single one had ever been set up to 
 deal with a dispute. The chairmen (or commissioners) 
 are appointed by the Government for a term. In case 
 of a dispute arising each side nominates an equal number 
 of representatives, and this body, presided over by a 
 commissioner, deals with the dispute. The duty of the 
 Council is simply to bring about a settlement expedi- 
 tiously and amicably, and it has power to do whatever 
 it thinks proper to this end. There is no formality. 
 There is no restriction. The proceedings may be public 
 or private as the Council desires. If a settlement is 
 arrived at, well and good. If not the Court is invoked, 
 but the Court has discretion to refuse to make an award, 
 if for any reason it considers it desirable to do so. The 
 Court becomes, indeed, what it was always intended to 
 be, a court of appeal. 
 
 But the new Act strikes an original note in its method 
 of dealing with strikes and lock-outs. In this it follows 
 more the drastic expedients of some of the Australian 
 
 ' The Hon. J. A. Millar, now Minister for Railways. 
 17 
 
242 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 States. Specific fines are provided for participation in 
 strikes, either by worker or employer. Inciting to strikes 
 or lock-outs, aiding or abetting, and assisting with money 
 or other valuables, are made penal offences on the part of 
 any person or body, and if more than half the members 
 of a union are on strike the union is deemed to be the 
 instigator. The general public is protected against 
 sudden dislocations of services of utility by a special 
 penalty, which may be inflicted in the event of interrup- 
 tion of the supplies of gas, water, electricity, meat, coal, 
 or milk, or of the services of ferries, railways, and tram- 
 ways. If organised bodies of either workers or employers 
 are found guilty of participation in strikes or lock-outs, 
 their registration may be cancelled by the Court for any 
 period not exceeding two years. During this period the 
 organisations may not take part in arbitration proceed- 
 ings or enter into any industrial agreement. The opera- 
 tion of existing awards is suspended, in so far as it affects 
 all members of the union at the time of the offence, and 
 no other union in the same trade may be registered. 
 Imprisonment for recovery of a fine is now abolished, but 
 the wages of a convicted worker may be operated on, 
 until the amount is made good. 
 
 Though the new conditions have not been in force 
 long enough to judge of their success, there is little 
 doubt that the machinery of conciliation is materially 
 strengthened by the amendments. If there are still flaws, 
 Parliament will persevere in the effort to remove them, 
 but it is unlikely that the arbitration system will ever 
 again be subjected to the test which it underwent in its 
 first years, when the capitalists to a man were arrayed 
 against it, and crippled it in its main activity by refusing 
 any sympathetic co-operation. To-day all classes in 
 New Zealand are firm believers in a legislative object 
 which has abolished sweating and the evils of child and 
 female labour, stopped under-cutting, produced healthy 
 competition, and practically eliminated the strike and 
 the lock-out from the consideration of business men. 
 
 Nor has arbitration fulfilled the gloomy forebodings of 
 
DISCONTENT AMONGST WORKERS 243 
 
 its critics. During the fifteen years that the Act has 
 been in force the number of factories has increased three- 
 fold, of workers twofold. It may be that some of the 
 industries to which arbitration applies could not live 
 without the protection of tariffs. That might be said 
 also of industries in some of the greatest manufacturing 
 countries in the world, where freedom of relationships 
 is almost absolute. In any case the people of New 
 Zealand are prepared to make sacrifices for the ideal of 
 being the most self-contained country in the world. 
 Industry has been humanised to an unprecedented 
 extent, and the workers of New Zealand enjoy privileges 
 not elsewhere to be found. Nor can it be said that 
 capital is endangered in the least degree. The opinion of 
 those who have opportunities for knowing is that its 
 investment is rendered more secure by the elimination of 
 reckless and unscrupulous phases of competition. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 STATE ACTIVITIES 
 
 Colonial Socialism — Not of the Red Flag order — State Socialism and 
 Imperialism — Recognised limits of State activity — State grants to 
 assist new industries — Tariff manipulation — Origin of State trading — 
 War against abuses — Government insurance — Public Trust Office — 
 The Liberal-Labour compromise — The Bank of New Zealand case — 
 Cheap money for farmers — Workers' dwellings — Loans for workers 
 — Discount stamps — State coal-mines — A list of activities — Conflict 
 with private enterprise — State fire insurance — Further Socialism im- 
 probable — Conservative Liberalism. 
 
 The epithet " Socialist " has for so long been generically 
 applied to the average British colonial in the Antipodes, 
 and particularly to the New Zealander, that it has ceased 
 to be considered a reproach except by the most stringent 
 financial critics. 
 
 Judged by Old World standards, the inhabitants of 
 the great oversea States which have enjoyed self-govern- 
 ment for some decades must all perforce have advanced 
 some distance along the road to Socialism. Without 
 exception, for example, they have come to regard 
 private interest in land as secondary and subsidiary 
 to the State's interest, regardless of the method by which 
 the State may happen to exert its influence. With few 
 exceptions they are accustomed to look upon it as the 
 prerogative of the State to step in — Old World critics 
 would say " interfere " — wherever there is a conflict 
 between labour and capital : even where the price of 
 the necessaries of life is considered excessive. The Old 
 World definition of the colonial Progressive would be 
 " Socialist " pure and simple, or possibly, as a distin- 
 
 244 
 
STATE ACTIVITIES 246 
 
 guished French economist has put it, " Socialisies sans 
 doctrines." This latter definition the more conservative 
 colonials would repudiate with indignation, but the great 
 majority of Progressives would not cavil at the descrip- 
 tion of the Hon. W. Pember Reeves,^ himself a typical 
 one, if exceptionally scholarly : — ■ 
 
 "To express the kind of profession of faith to which 
 most of them would subscribe is not easy : to do so in two 
 or three sentences is hard. They look upon their colonies 
 as co-operative societies, of which they, men and women, 
 are shareholders, while the Governments are elective 
 boards of directors. They believe that by co-operative 
 action through the State they can compete with trusts and 
 other organisations of capital abroad and dispense with 
 great companies and corporations within their own bor- 
 ders. They see in their half-empty territories undeveloped 
 estates which require capital as well as labour to work 
 them. Even this capital must be obtained and used by 
 the community or the financiers will exploit land and 
 labour both. If the small man is to exist, it must be in 
 union with his fellows : otherwise he will be crushed in 
 these days of giant combinations." 
 
 And later ; — 
 
 " Governmental as he is, the Liberal politician is at heart 
 more of a trades unionist than a conscious Socialist, and 
 the middle-class Progressive is still half a Liberal." 
 
 New Zealand is practically guiltless of the Socialism of 
 the Hyde Park orators, the doctrine of the Red Flag, of 
 confiscation and communism. Altruism has made won- 
 derful strides, partly by the regulation of industries and 
 partly by direct humanitarian and other social legislation; 
 but the severest critics of colonial legislation have long 
 ago withdrawn the charge of confiscation — a fit com- 
 panion for the baser imputation of repudiation. The 
 Socialism of New Zealand is based throughout on humani- 
 tarian principles, and it has found its most active expres- 
 sion in a species of co-operation which does not destroy 
 individualism. Communism, on the other hand, has made 
 ■ " state Experiments in Australia and New Zealand." 
 
246 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 little progress amongst the whites, though the primeval 
 communism of the Maori is even now being applied to 
 industries which seem to be necessary for the future of 
 the race. 
 
 The most characteristic portion of New Zealand's ex- 
 perimental legislation, and the part which most evoked the 
 wrath of the critics before experience had shown that it 
 entailed no diminution of loyalty to Imperial institutions, 
 might be classed under the general title of State Socialism. 
 By some latitude in the scope of the term we may take it 
 to include — 
 
 1. State regulation of trade and industries. 
 
 2. State aid to industries. 
 
 3. State trading. 
 
 The first of these is in reality merely a phase — possibly 
 an exaggeration — of the general functions of government 
 recognised in all civilised countries. If an employer in 
 England or Russia were flagrantly guilty of such conduct 
 in his business as would lead to the deaths of his work- 
 men, or even if he paid such wages that they could not 
 possibly subsist, it is conceivable that, in the lack of any 
 public opinion to correct the abuse, the Government 
 would interfere. On the other hand, there is still a strong 
 antagonism generally in the Old World to any interfer- 
 ence by the State in the relations between employer and 
 workman in so far as it may be supposed to curtail the 
 freedom of contract. Apart from this, what New Zealand 
 has done by legislation cannot be said to overstep the 
 recognised limits of State activity. Practically every com- 
 mercial country in the world legislates to safeguard its 
 industries from abuse within, and sometimes from unfair 
 competition from without. Disregarding for the moment 
 all the measures which come within the general definition 
 of industrial legislation, we find the State taking upon itself 
 to prevent dairymen from exporting butter that is not of 
 first-class quality, regardless of the fact that there is a 
 ready market for it. Later we find it insisting on a 
 veterinary examination of all meat intended for export, 
 increasing its supervision of the dairy industry to the 
 
STATE ACTIVITIES 247 
 
 extent of branding each box of butter according to the 
 quality of the contents, and finally applying the same pro- 
 cess to hemp and other exports. In each case there was 
 indignant and stubborn opposition on the part of the 
 manufacturing companies. The whole movement was 
 antagonistic to the sacred principle of private enterprise, 
 which had been regarded as the very basis of prosperous 
 industry. In each case the reply of the Government was 
 that, since malpractice and the export of produce of 
 inferior quality tended to destroy the market and to ruin 
 the reputation of the colony, some regulation was essential. 
 And almost without exception the benefit bestowed on the 
 industries by the grading and inspection of the product 
 has justified the experiment even in the eyes of its 
 opponents. 
 
 The principle of State aid to industries, which might be 
 expected to earn the reprobation of those who believe 
 in absolute freedom of competition, has of necessity 
 come into prominence in connection with the infant 
 industries of the Dominion. Arguments which may be 
 used against the system in an old-established industrial 
 country scarcely hold in a virgin, isolated, and sparsely 
 populated land. If New Zealand had been content to 
 remain for all time an agricultural country pure and 
 simple, there must always have been a great economic 
 wastage in the reimportation of her own raw material in 
 a partially manufactured state. With such great natural 
 resources — the abundance of minerals of all kinds, timber, 
 coal, wool, and leather— it was impossible long to delay 
 the inception of manufactures. When they commenced 
 in the seventies they thrived on the general prosperity of 
 the time. This failing, they were in a parlous state. 
 Government assistance was invoked. It came first in the 
 simple, crude old form of a customs impost on imported 
 manufactures. Bonuses were offered for new industries — 
 meat-freezing, paper-making, petroleum, &c. — but they 
 were too mean to stand comparison with the bounties 
 paid by foreign Governments. As a general rule the tariff 
 was the only instrument of any real value. It was raised 
 
248 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 against manufactures and lowered in favour of the 
 machinery required to start the industries in New 
 Zealand. There was nothing necessarily Socialistic about 
 that. 
 
 The most interesting fact for the consideration of 
 economists is the very considerable help given at a later 
 period to the primary producing industries. Grants were 
 made for the construction of races to carry water to the 
 gold-fields. Railways and royalties were set aside to im- 
 prove the coal harbours. Agricultural lime was carried 
 free on the State railways. Money was advanced for 
 the erection of butter factories. Instructors and veterin- 
 arians were appointed to educate the farmers and stock- 
 owners. Compensation was paid to eradicate disease 
 from herds. Stud cattle and horses were imported. 
 Duties were levied on imported foodstuffs. Commis- 
 sioners were sent abroad and subsidies paid to open up 
 new markets. Heavy remissions of railway freights were 
 granted. 
 
 The tariff became the palladium of the new manufac- 
 turing industries, while primary industries were assisted 
 by remissions and concessions. At the same time, of 
 course, the State gave liberal subsidies to the expenditure 
 of the local bodies on roads and bridges, to the erection 
 of technical colleges, and for technical instruction in the 
 schools. It is a matter of opinion as to how many of 
 these concessions are Socialistic. Most of them lie well 
 within the limit set by the bounty-fed sugar of foreign 
 countries. 
 
 Irrespective of labour legislation, there is probably not 
 much to the account of the State, up to thisjpoint, which 
 is not approved by precedent in many old countries. It 
 is under the third head that we enter on debatable ground. 
 State trading introduces an entirely new principle, striking 
 directly at private enterprise and tending directly towards 
 State Socialism. It is stretching the investigation farther 
 than we may to trace the origin of State trading in New 
 Zealand back to the year 1866, when the Cook Strait cable 
 was laid. That has been done, but with the most flimsy 
 
STATE ACTIVITIES 249 
 
 grounds. Private ownership of a cable line twenty miles 
 in length to connect two State-owned telegraph systems 
 would in itself have been an anomaly. Nor, again, can 
 we place it at 1871, when the General Government com- 
 menced constructing railways out of loan money. The 
 desirability of unifying the systems of nine provinces 
 in a single country not much larger than England and 
 Scotland was obvious, and more than a decade was 
 yet to elapse before the Government took the actual 
 work of construction out of the hands of private 
 contractors. 
 
 We may reasonably fix the beginning of State trading 
 in 1869, but by so doing we must discard at once the 
 impression that State trading is necessarily Socialism. 
 Throughout its history, even when it was so widely ex- 
 tended by a Government which enjoyed the name of the 
 " Seven Devils of Socialism," we cannot find a single in- 
 stance in which the State has undertaken any new activity 
 purely for the sake of the prospective profits. Every un- 
 dertaking has been entered upon with the single and 
 specific object of putting an end to abuses, destroying 
 noxious monopolies, or providing the exceptional guaran- 
 tee of State security for investments. The State resumption 
 of railways did not involve any nev/ departure in public 
 policy, since the railways were already owned by the Pro- 
 vincial Governments. Almost at the same time, Mr. (after- 
 wards Sir Julius) Vogel persuaded Parliament to pass a 
 measure enabling the State to enter into the business of 
 life insurance. There was nothing particularly Socialistic 
 about that. The reasons were simple and apparently 
 legitimate. Within a few years thousands of thrifty people 
 in England, America, and the colonies had lost the whole 
 of their investments in the failure of some great life 
 assurance offices. Vogel was anxious to avoid a possible 
 disaster of a similar nature in New Zealand, and he had 
 Httle difficulty in persuading Parliament that an office 
 which could give the guarantee of the State with 
 every policy issued would not only be an inexpensive 
 boon to the country, but would directly discourage 
 
250 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 companies of poor financial standing from entering 
 New Zealand.! 
 
 For precisely the same reasons the Public Trust Office 
 was inaugurated two years later. If the desire to secure 
 a profit had outweighed the necessity for providing a 
 secure, convenient, and reliable administration of estates, 
 we should not find at the origin of the Public Trust 
 Office a gentleman to whom any form of Socialism was 
 repugnant.2 Before the country had a chance to pass 
 judgment on the working of these two Acts — to crave for 
 more or to call a halt as the case might be — a wave of 
 prosperity was ushered in. Immigration, rapid develop- 
 ment, new industries, feverish speculation followed pell- 
 mell. Even if the germ of Socialism existed, the time 
 was not opportune for doctrines and propaganda. It was 
 an epoch of action. For awhile everybody flourished. 
 But the crash came. It found the country unprepared. 
 It found labour unabsorbed ; immigrants unacclimatised, 
 industries gasping for breath. Its ravages struck all and 
 sundry ruthlessly. 
 
 We know what happened — how the people turned to 
 the Government for bread, and received only a stone. 
 The colony was loaded down with its liabilities. It 
 required constant pumping to keep the ship afloat. 
 The whole resources of the time were absorbed in tiding 
 over difficulties by temporary expedients, in trying to 
 settle a disheartened people on the land and in factories 
 bolstered up by tariffs. Now at length the soil was ready 
 for the seed of the propagandists. At the end of the eighties 
 Socialism made a real advance, and if labour had been 
 able by organisation to work independently of the Liberal 
 
 ' In the first year of its existence the Government Life Insurance Depart- 
 ment issued 59 policies, valued at ;£30,25o. There are now twelve com- 
 panies doing life assurance business in New Zealand : 39 per cent, of the 
 current policies were issued by the Government Office. 
 
 " The Hon. E. C. J. Stevens, M.L.C., of Christchurch, is said to have 
 been the first to suggest the appointment of a Public Trustee. The office 
 provides a cheap administration of trusts with a State guarantee of 
 security. The Public Trustee now administers about 5,000 estates, valued 
 at nearly five and a half million pounds. A Public Trustee was appointed 
 in England in 1907. 
 
STATE ACTIVITIES 251 
 
 party in politics, New Zealand might indeed have gone 
 to the extremes of Red Flag Socialism. As it happened 
 labour formed an alliance with the Liberal party. With 
 its help the Liberals were returned to power. By this 
 instrument labour obtained the palliatives it desired. 
 But the Socialism of the Labour party, crude and extreme 
 as a propaganda usually is, was kept in rigid check. The 
 Governments of Ballance and Seddon set their faces 
 steadfastly against State Socialism for its own sake. They 
 would entertain no proposal that did not have its origin 
 in an honest desire to check a pressing abuse. Seddon, 
 in particular, as the leader of the party when its strength 
 gave him the position of an autocrat, time and again 
 refused point-blank to entertain the suggestions which 
 were made to him almost every month that the State 
 should step into the arena and operate some new in- 
 dustry or purchase some new utility. 
 
 Long before the Liberal Government came into power 
 it was customary for the haphazard propagandists to 
 demand the establishment of a State Bank. When they 
 had been in power but a few years the question was 
 forced upon them in a very insistent form. The manner 
 of its treatment is interesting. In 1894 the Bank of New 
 Zealand was on the verge of a catastrophe. It was 
 hopelessly insolvent. In common with hundreds of 
 smaller concerns the Bank had assumed liabilities and 
 advanced money during the boom days upon securities 
 which had steadily dwindled in value since the de- 
 pression commenced. In 1889 the position was so 
 bad that the whole of the reserve fund and one-third of 
 the paid-up capital would be absorbed in meeting the 
 liabilities. The coin reserve in 1893 had fallen below the 
 legal limit, but the depression in Australia was so keen 
 that the Government did not insist on increasing the 
 reserves. Suddenly, before the public had had an oppor- 
 tunity of realising the position, the Colonial Treasurer 
 (Sir Joseph Ward) was informed that unless help was 
 forthcoming payment would have to be suspended. The 
 suggestion of State interposition had arisen some months 
 
252 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 earlier, strangely enough, with the London shareholders, 
 but the Government was not at all inclined to act until 
 it discovered that the Bank would not be able to keep 
 open for many daj's. 
 
 The failure of the institution would have ruined the 
 majority of the 35,000 depositors in the colony, involved 
 the loss of ^825,000 of public money, and brought the 
 whole financial fabric of New Zealand into discredit. 
 The directors practically threw themselves on the clem- 
 ency of the Government, offering to make any concessions 
 in the control of the institution if the Government would 
 guarantee a fresh issue of ^2,000,000 in preference 
 shares.! It was one of the crises which showed the 
 quality and the prescience of Seddon. He did not hesi- 
 tate for a moment, but he made absolutely certain in the 
 Bill which he drafted on the spur of the moment that 
 the State, as Mr. Murray had suggested, would not lose 
 one penny. A secret conference of selected members 
 from both sides of the House was called, and the matter 
 was fully discussed in camera on a non-party basis. 
 
 As a result, the Government on the evening of Friday, 
 June 30th, brought in a Bill authorising it to guarantee 
 up to a limit of ;^2, 000,000 a new issue of shares, which 
 should be secured on a liability of all the shareholders, 
 and should take preference both as to capital and divi- 
 dend. Every precaution possible in the time available 
 was taken. Sir Joseph Ward, who, of course, had charge 
 of the Bill, emphasised the fact that the step was taken 
 in the interests of the public, inasmuch as no person or 
 company, however important, was entitled to receive 
 
 ' Mr. John Murray, who had had forty-five years' experience of banking, 
 conducted the negotiations on behalf of the Bank. Writing to the Prime 
 Minister (Mr. Seddon) on June 29th, he said : " I wish to be permitted to 
 give my honourable assurance (i) that the occasion is one of the gravest 
 public urgency ; (2) that by the measure I have proposed I am absolutely 
 convinced that the State will not lose one penny, but will, on the contrary, 
 avert great loss to itself as well as to the community ; (3) that by this 
 measure the banking affairs of the colony will be placed on a greatly 
 improved footing for the future ; (4) that if the Government finally deter- 
 mine to go on with the measure it should be put through to-day." 
 
STATE ACTIVITIES 263 
 
 assistance at the expense of the taxpayers. The Conser- 
 vative leader (Sir William Russell) found himself in the 
 awkward position of being forced, in the public interest, 
 to support a Bill which went a long way on the Socialistic 
 path towards a State Bank. But under the circumstances, 
 he said, he could do nothing but waive his objections to 
 that side of the measure and urge his followers to support 
 it. It could probably be argued with reason that this 
 exceptional use of public moneys was Socialism pure and 
 simple. As against this we have the best proof, in the 
 words of the Conservative leader and in the disclosures 
 of the Bank's condition, that the actuating motive was 
 the public good. Had it been otherwise the Conservative 
 party, then on the qui vive for anything with Socialistic 
 tendencies, would undoubtedly have opposed it. More- 
 over, in spite of the perennial importunities of the labour 
 conferences, the Government has never shown the slightest 
 inclination to increase the State's interest or control in 
 the Bank. There is, on the other hand, no desire that 
 the Government should withdraw from the institution. 
 It now appoints the president, some of the directors, and 
 the auditor. Under the reorganised management the 
 Bank has steadily improved its position and built up its 
 reserve fund. The doubtful assets have all been profitably 
 disposed of by a board specially set up for the purpose, 
 and the Bank is now again a sound dividend-paying 
 concern. The State did not lose a penny under its 
 guarantees. 
 
 Another important financial measure passed by the 
 Seddon Government later in the year 1894 comes dis- 
 tinctly under the definition of State trading. The long 
 period of depression which had banished all hope from 
 the hearts of the agrarian population fell with particular 
 severity on those who had purchased their farms on 
 mortgage during the boom at high rates of interest. 
 Relief seemed impossible. The price of produce fell 
 lower and lower. In some of the best agricultural 
 districts the bulk of the farmers were not free agents to 
 sell their own grain. The evil gathered strength. Many 
 
254 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 were forced into relinquishing their holdings. Those 
 who hung on had a millstone round their necks. The 
 Government determined to remove it, and chose as its 
 weapon the establishment of a species of farmers' bank. 
 Power was taken to commence by borrowing not more 
 than ;£3,ooo,ooo at not more than 4 per cent, interest. 
 Half this sum was raised at 3 per cent, and the Govern- 
 ment forthwith made advances to farmers at 5 per cent, 
 on approved securities. The effect was instant. Hun- 
 dreds of struggling men transferred their mortgages to the 
 easier conditions of the State office. The declining rates 
 of interest encouraged Parliament to extend the borrow- 
 ing powers from time to time and finally, in 1901, it 
 removed the time restriction altogether. ^ The sum of 
 more than y^ millions, which has been advanced by the 
 Government to over 20,000 borrowers over a period of 
 fifteen years, has undoubtedly encroached upon the 
 earnings of capitalists, just as the activity of the Life 
 Insurance Department has. Possibly the lender at 
 reasonable mortgage rates has suffered with the usurer. 
 Nevertheless, with certain reservations, this form of State 
 trading now enjoys the approval of both political parties. 
 It was the same general causes — prosperity and inflated 
 values — which some years later brought the working 
 classes within the cognisance of a paternal Government. 
 The remarkable prosperity at the end of the century, with 
 the increases of wages it gave to the workers, caused 
 rents in the principal towns to soar up, in some instances 
 to the extent of 75 or 100 per cent. The incidence of 
 this new development fell most heavily on the working 
 classes, who were compelled to live within a radius of 
 their employment. Every year workers who were enjoy- 
 ing higher wages than ever before found it more and 
 
 ■ The Advances to Settlers Office, from its inception in 1894 to March, 
 1908, granted advances amounting to ;£6,937,95o to 19,883 mortgagors. 
 The sum of ;£4, 186,020 was at the end of the period out on mortgage to 
 11,713 borrowers. The net profits for the year 1907-8 amounted to 
 r2i,385. Loans may not exceed £3,000, and they are repayable in seventy- 
 three half-yearly instalments at the rate of £t, per £100, which covers 
 both interest and principal. 
 
STATE ACTIVITIES 255 
 
 more difficult to pay their way. The Secretary to the 
 Labour Department in 1904 addressed to the Government 
 a warning against the trend of things, which was rapidly 
 neutralising the benefits labour had received from the 
 regulation of wages and hours. He suggested, as a 
 remedy, that the Government should take power to pur- 
 chase land and erect dwellings for workers in the same 
 way that it had found money for farmers. State land- 
 lordism was already a well-established principle, and the 
 Government had no difficulty in 1905 in persuading 
 Parliament to extend it. Within a few months the new 
 activity was in full force. Workers' houses were erected 
 in all the chief centres, neatly designed and equipped 
 with all the customary luxuries of a colonial residence, 
 and they were let at a rental equal to 5 per cent, on the 
 capital cost, plus insurance. A short experience of the 
 system seems to have fairly established its popularity — at 
 all events in times of inflated rents. Houses of five 
 rooms, with bathroom and scullery, cost from 9s. 3d. to 
 los. 6d. per week. The cost may not exceed _£35o if 
 built in wood, or ;£4oo if in brick, and no labourer 
 receiving more than ;£2oo is eligible as tenant. There is 
 a new departure in this form of State landlordism, inas- 
 much as the tenant may secure the freehold of his home 
 by cash or time payment. 
 
 But at best this scheme could only apply to a very 
 small number of workers. The task of providing any 
 percentage of workers with homes is quite beyond the 
 finances of any colonial Government. To reach the 
 others, the Government in 1906 took power to lend 
 money on first mortgage to assist workers in acquiring 
 their own houses. This Act, too, only applies to men 
 with less than ^200 a year, and the loans may not exceed 
 
 ;£350- 
 To proceed with the story of State trading. Once 
 
 upon a time a small foreign company established itself in 
 
 New Zealand in the business of issuing discount stamps 
 
 to petty traders, to be given to purchasers of small 
 
 quantities of goods and afterwards redeemed by the 
 
256 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 company. The company soon had heavy Uabilities 
 in respect of stamps which were on issue but not yet due 
 for redemption, and the Government was advised that 
 neither the purchasers nor the country had any security 
 for the good faith of the company, which might have 
 found it convenient to abscond at any moment. This 
 was cured by a simple measure naming the Government 
 of New Zealand as the only legal trader in discount 
 stamps, and to-day each quarter's accounts of the 
 General Post Office show transactions to the extent of 
 ;£6oo or ;^700 for the redemption of stamps presented at 
 the counter by the general public. 
 
 From this the Government passed to the opening of 
 State coal-mines. The restriction of the New South 
 Wales output had levied an exceptional demand upon 
 the mines of New Zealand, and for a time coal was 
 selling at famine prices in the New Zealand market. 
 The Government objected to having the supply of the 
 railways imperilled, and equally to seeing the public 
 paying enhanced prices for the most abundant product 
 of the country. As representing the Crown, it actually 
 possessed vast coal measures of the best quality close to 
 harbours which had been made workable by the expendi- 
 ture of public funds, and Parliament, being complacent, 
 gave permission to work coal-mines as a public utility. 
 All this has happened since the beginning of the century, 
 yet the State coal-mines near Greymouth and Westport 
 have for some years past been raising 200,000 tons of 
 coal per annum, supplying most of the requirements of 
 the State railways and selling coal retail from depots in a 
 number of the towns. Here and there the Borough 
 Council appears as the agent of the Government in the 
 retail distribution of coal. The prices of State coal are 
 lower than the ruling prices of company-raised coal, but 
 the excellent market for all has forestalled any protest by 
 private enterprise. 
 
 Throughout the whole gamut, from discount stamps to 
 coal-mines, we have a dozen State activities which are 
 more or less peculiar to New Zealand. For each and all 
 
STATE ACTIVITIES 257 
 
 the same claim is made, viz., that only the intervention of 
 the State could protect the public from abuse. Water- 
 races were constructed because the miners could neither 
 afford to bring in the water themselves nor to pay the 
 charges which monopolists would have levied for the 
 service. Diamond drills were imported and the rights of 
 the cyanide process purchased to retail their use at 
 reasonable charges. The Auckland oyster-beds were 
 placed under Government management because private 
 pickers, working feverishly at the height of the season, 
 ransacked them so ruthlessly as to destroy the crop in 
 succeeding years. A State sawmill was established near 
 Greymouth and another on the North Island Main Trunk 
 Railway because the Government wanted at reasonable 
 rates timber for its mining and bridges. State workshops 
 were erected near each of the large cities because the 
 Government railways required the ordinary engineering 
 equipment of a railway company.^ State workshops 
 were erected, too, as at Makohine, because the Govern- 
 ment wished to practice economies in railway construc- 
 tion, and to give employment.^ But that is another 
 question. The State established fish hatcheries because 
 the rivers and lakes, now stocked with the finest trout in 
 the world, and with salmon, are the natural care of the 
 State. The State imported blood stock because it 
 considered it a duty to make it possible for even small 
 farmers to improve their herds. The State took the town 
 of Rotorua out of the hands of the local authority 
 because the expenditure of State money on baths and 
 resorts was practically the only wealth-producing invest- 
 ment in the district. The State established maternity 
 hospitals because it had reason to believe that the 
 expenses of lying-in and the incompetence of uncerti- 
 ficated midwives were factors in the reduced birth-rate. 
 In many of these cases — notably the coal-mines and the 
 oyster-beds — the State came directly into competition 
 
 ' The whole of the railway stock is now constructed in New Zealana. 
 Some of the best locomotives are built by a private firm. 
 " See co-operative labour, p. 265. 
 
 18 
 
258 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 with private enterprise. But the most serious conflict 
 with the interests of existing corporations was set up by 
 the State's entry into the field of fire insurance. This 
 development, which dates from 1903, was bitterly opposed 
 by the insurance companies. The State Office opened at 
 the beginning of 1905 with its rates 10 per cent, below 
 those of the companies, and by the end of the year it had 
 accepted risks amounting to three million pounds. The 
 private companies then commenced cutting by lowering 
 their rates 10 per cent, on certain hues and 33 per cent, 
 on dwellers. They also formed a compact to decline to 
 accept any risks in which the State Ofiice also was 
 interested. The State rates were lowered to the level set 
 by the companies, and business was conducted on this 
 basis for a year, when it was generally recognised that 
 the premiums were below the level of profit. The result 
 of the competition has been to establish the State Office 
 in the country and to bring rates to something like a 
 level considerably below the scale existing before. This 
 fact alone is held to be justification for the intervention 
 of the Government Office. 
 
 Generally speaking, State competition has produced 
 much less objectionable results than might have been 
 expected. In what direction the future extension of the 
 policy will lead it is difficult to conjecture. Scarcely 
 a month passes without some convention passing a 
 cheerful resolution demanding that the Government 
 should step in and operate some new industry for the 
 benefit of the public. Now it is banking : to-morrow 
 bakeries : over and over again some moderate reformers 
 have called upon the Government to become the con- 
 trollers of the liquor traffic : once upon a time it was 
 importuned to become a wholesale tobacco-seller : more 
 than once to purchase steamers to fight the supposed 
 monopoly of existing lines. There was a time — in the 
 height of the maritime strike of 1890 — when Mr. Seddon 
 himself thought something should be done towards 
 a State ownership of steamship lines, and he renewed the 
 suggestion when it seemed hopeless, at the beginning of 
 
STATE ACTIVITIES 259 
 
 the present century, to open up new markets for produce 
 through the medium of existing steamer hnes. 
 
 But of late years the whole tendency has been to leave 
 more and more to private enterprise. It is a swing of 
 the pendulum. Ten years ago the Government would 
 not have dared to suggest allowing private companies to 
 develop the great assets latent in the energy of the rivers 
 of New Zealand. To-day it is the avowed policy of the 
 State to encourage private enterprise in this direction. 
 It is highly improbable now that New Zealand will make 
 any further pronounced advance towards State Socialism 
 until a new temper succeeds to the present mood of 
 conservative Liberalism. 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 STATE RAILWAYS AND GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT 
 
 Railway enterprise— Originates with the provinces — The Lyttelton line — 
 A standard gauge — The public works policy — English contracts — 
 The General Government assumes control — The Manawatu Railway 
 Company — Resumption by the State — The co-operative system — Its 
 philosophy — Bridge-building, &c. — The North Island Main Trunk 
 Railway — The Midland Railway failure — State resumption — An error 
 of policy — Government management of railways — Interest on capital 
 expenditure — A public utility — Concessions to users. 
 
 Very primitive and modest of necessity were the first 
 railway undertakings in New Zealand. The country was 
 impoverished by expensive pioneering and more expen- 
 sive wars with the natives, and the colonists themselves 
 had little capital to invest in industrial enterprises. On 
 the other hand, the population was small and scattered, 
 and the prospects of profit for many years to come were 
 not such as to encourage English capitalists to turn aside 
 from the many avenues of investment in the Old Country 
 to construct railroads in the uncertain new. If it had 
 been left to private enterprise New Zealand might have 
 waited long years for railways. 
 
 In the event the provincial governments — those quaint 
 little parliaments in which were much ability and all 
 the time-honoured elements of parliamentary govern- 
 ment — assumed the burden. The very first railway in 
 New Zealand was a foretaste of what the engineers of 
 the future would before long become familiar with. In 
 the South Island ironbound, rugged mountains were the 
 feature ; in the North the treacherous soft rocks of the 
 later volcanic formation. Christchurch, the capital of 
 
STATE RAILWAYS 261 
 
 Canterbury, was separated from its port of Lyttelton by a 
 high range of mountains, and the journey had to be made 
 by a well-formed but steep rock road and thence by the 
 small river Heathcote. Canterbury was a rich province. 
 During all the long, dark days of the North Island wars 
 the farmers and graziers of Canterbury were steadily 
 bringing the land into occupation and shipping their 
 wool to London. The provincial budget occasionally, 
 even in the early days of the sixties, touched a million 
 pounds, and the Council was better able than any other 
 in New Zealand to undertake public works of any 
 magnitude. What it decided upon in i860 was the 
 bold but obvious step of tunnelling the Port Hills by 
 a bore a mile and a half in length and constructing a 
 railroad from Christchurch to the water's edge at 
 Lyttelton. 
 
 Parliamentary sanction was obtained for this first rail- 
 way, and the General Government announced that on 
 the advice of Robert Stephenson himself it had decided 
 upon 5 feet 6 inches as the most suitable gauge for the 
 whole colony. This decision seems to have been on 
 all fours with the Early Victorian practice of laying off 
 colonial roads and streets in London by ruling them on 
 the map regardless of the configuration of the land. For- 
 tunately it was revised very early, for the Canterbury line 
 was made with a gauge of 5 feet 3 inches, and several of 
 the next provincial lines were 4 feet 8J inches. Economy 
 was probably at the root of the changes. The tunnel was 
 constructed by contract. The first portion of the line 
 was opened by the end of 1863, and the train ran right 
 through the completed tunnel in December, 1867. By 
 this time short lines were under construction in various 
 provinces. Looking forty years ahead, Auckland started 
 in 1863 the main trunk line to Wellington, which was 
 only completed in 1908. Southland and Marlborough 
 linked up their capitals with the sea. The provinces were 
 independent and parochial. The standard gauge was 
 forgotten and the local governments did as they liked. 
 Later generations would have had a tangle to unravel if 
 
262 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 a national policy had not superseded at an early date the 
 local schemes. 
 
 When Vogel in 1870 persuaded the General Assembly 
 to make railways an activity of the State there was in 
 New Zealand a little community of a quarter of a million 
 souls, divided into nine distinct governments and taking 
 a healthy local pride in seven distinct railway systems 
 with an aggregate length of forty-six miles I Vogel never 
 did anything by half-measures. He persuaded Parliament 
 forthwith to sanction the construction by contract of six 
 hundred miles of railway. There were to be lines start- 
 ing from Auckland and Wellington in vague prediction 
 of the main trunk which should one day connect these 
 points. Another was to start across the rugged Rimutaka 
 range from Wellington towards the remote town of 
 Napier, the capital of Hawke's Bay, two hundred miles 
 distant ; another from Dunedin towards Invercargill ; 
 and finally a trunk line from Dunedin to Christchurch. 
 Contracts were let right and left. The English firm of 
 Brogden and Sons undertook a great deal of the work 
 and wished to import Chinese navvies for the purpose. 
 No sooner was the six hundred miles well in hand than 
 Vogel went on to survey another three hundred and sixty 
 miles. Thousands of labourers were imported, chiefly 
 from England. Within a year or two four thousand 
 were permanently employed. Every year a few score 
 miles were opened. By 1877 the General Government, 
 having taken over the small provincial lines, was opera- 
 ting 1,052 miles of railway. The total cost of the per- 
 manent way and equipment to this point was nearly six 
 million pounds. But the colonial exchequer was now 
 getting low. The Grey Government about 1878 under- 
 took the construction of a new line from Wellington up 
 the fertile West Coast into the Manawatu, then unin- 
 habited except by natives. A contract was let and the 
 work commenced, but the next Ministry, in a campaign 
 of reversal, abandoned the work and left the first mile, 
 a very expensive stretch, as an endowment to private 
 enterprise. 
 
STATE RAILWAYS 263 
 
 The Vogel policy had run its course on borrowed 
 money, and Parliament was easily enough persuaded to 
 allow private individuals to enter the field and make 
 railways as business ventures, if they thought it worth 
 their while. And they did. The city of Wellington, 
 walled in on its harbour by towering hills, had already 
 become something of a commission agency for a wide 
 expanse of country, and had done all too little colonising 
 for its own future welfare. But at this point some enter- 
 prising spirits, courageous in the face of a staggering 
 depression, took up the Manawatu scheme, secured the 
 Government endowment of land (equal to one-third of 
 the cost of the line) and the first mile of construction 
 (already completed), and set to work. The history of the 
 Manawatu railway is one of the most picturesque inci- 
 dents in the industrial narrative of New Zealand. The 
 hope of constructing the line for half a million pounds 
 was disappointed. With the long and treacherous 
 tunnelling near the Wellington end it cost ;^85o,ooo, or 
 more than ^^10,000 a mile. The Company's hope of 
 supplementing its capital by early land sales was also 
 disappointed, because the land settlement schemes of 
 John Ballance withdrew the temptation to purchase. 
 But in the end the Company triumphed handsomely. 
 It was not until 1886 that the line was completed 
 throughout, but in a period of twenty-two years from 
 that date the Company paid dividends equal to 5 per 
 cent, for the whole period of its existence, and when the 
 line was finally resumed by the Government at the end 
 of 1908 the shareholders received slightly over £t, for 
 their £1 shares. 
 
 The position of the line made it imperative that the 
 Government should sooner or later secure it, and the 
 Company's charter made full provision for State resump- 
 tion at a certain period. The action of the Government 
 in the final adjustment received the cordial approval of 
 the shareholders. 
 
 The resumption of this line synchronised with the 
 completion of the trunk communication between Auck- 
 
264 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 land and Wellington. This great work was a striking 
 example of the inefficiency which sometimes does — and 
 which some claim always must — characterise works 
 carried out by a State Department as against private 
 contractors. The line, as we have seen before, was 
 foreshadowed even earlier than the Vogel policy, but as 
 most of the route lay through disturbed and imperfectly 
 known country, the scheme made slow progress. It was 
 a huge undertaking for a Government reduced in its 
 finances by the depression then prevailing, the result of 
 a decade of debauchery, and it was undertaken at almost 
 the bed-rock of the depression. The Minister of Public 
 Works was the Hon. E. Richardson, who had been one 
 of the contractors for the Canterbury tunnel. A loan of 
 a million pounds was raised in 1884, and the following 
 year work was commenced on the span of 212 miles 
 which separated the railheads at Te Awamutu on the 
 north and Marton on the south. It was soon discovered 
 that the estimate was too low, and the cost of the railway 
 was then remodelled at ^2,085,000. Already the lack of 
 funds was beginning to tell its tale, and for some years 
 the line scarcely figured at all on the Estimates. In ten 
 years the million loan was exhausted, the result being 
 59 miles of completed line, 21 partially completed, and 
 135 in the different stages of survey. In addition, the 
 freehold of 1,140,000 acres of native land and the lease- 
 hold of 130,000 acres had been purchased. 
 
 Now the work took on an entirely new aspect. The 
 Liberal Government — practically the continuous Ministry 
 which still holds office under Sir Joseph Ward — had 
 come to power with a very definite mandate to right the 
 wrongs of the working classes, and to relieve the distress 
 of hundreds of the derelicts of the previous period of 
 despondency. Sweating was rampant in all trades. 
 Even in contracts for earthworks there was sub-letting, 
 and labour was such a glut in the market that the work- 
 man was glad to get employment at any price. John 
 Ballance was " out " against sweating, and his lieutenant, 
 Richard J. Seddon, waged ruthless war against it in his 
 
STATE RAILWAYS 265 
 
 own Department of Public Works. He absolutely forbade 
 the recognition of sub-letting in all State contracts, and 
 when contractors repudiated their obligations on the 
 ground that they were not allowed the customary free- 
 dom of contract, Seddon boldly decided to cure the 
 whole trouble by becoming his own contractor on behalf 
 of the Government. The day-labour system, he could 
 •^ee, would entail far too much administrative work on 
 the Department, but with his quick constructive faculty 
 he devised something well calculated to overcome most 
 of the difficulties. Experimenting on a piece of railway 
 construction on the West Coast of the South Island, he 
 divided the workmen into gangs and let a portion of the 
 work, at a price fixed by the engineer, to each gang, the 
 members of which at its completion divided the money. 
 All the material required was supplied by the Department. 
 At the outset obvious objections were urged against 
 this crude form of co-operation. The efficient men in a 
 gang complained that the inefficient were a drag on them. 
 So the gangs were first reduced in size. Then they were 
 classified. Finally men were allowed to form their own 
 gangs ; and this eliminated the main objection. There 
 can be no doubt as to the quality of the work done under 
 the co-operative system. The Government engineers are 
 themselves the overseers, and the work is, if anything, 
 better done than under the contract system. If the 
 Government had not been under the necessity of 
 alleviating the distress of thousands of workmen of 
 questionable efficiency : if it had had before it merely 
 the customary desire of the private contractor to employ 
 only the most capable navvies, there can be no doubt 
 whatever that Government works would have been 
 carried out not only more efficiently as to speed, but 
 more economically than under the contract system. But 
 the Government was not merely a business concern. 
 From the mistakes and misfortunes of the past it had 
 inherited certain very weighty social responsibilities. 
 The mere effecting of economies in public expenditure 
 and the hastening of public works were in themselves no 
 
266 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 palliatives of the twin evils of unemployment and sweat- 
 ing which the Government had been returned to cope 
 with. It was their mission to provide some immediate 
 relief for the drifting, unattached population now centred 
 in the towns, and well designated " unskilled labourers." 
 As the experiment justified itself hundreds of these men 
 were drafted through to the great public works which 
 were in progress all over the country. Many, of course, 
 failed, but their failure did not entail any loss or injury 
 to the State which had endeavoured to help them. As a 
 general rule, especially as the system of selection and 
 " g^riging " became more exacting, the men earned what 
 they were capable of. The chief loss to the State was in 
 the slower rate of progress caused by the employment of 
 under-rate men, and the consequent waste of interest on 
 the money already expended. 
 
 In its possession of an engineering stafif of high effi- 
 ciency, the Government was encouraged to enter upon 
 other engineering works on a large scale. Public build- 
 ings were erected partially on the co-operative system. 
 Bridge-building became an important industry. The 
 most notable structure of this kind was the Makohine 
 viaduct, on the North Island Main Trunk Railway. The 
 tenders for this work in 1896 so far exceeded the estimate 
 of the Government engineers that it was decided to carry 
 out the work through the Department, and large work- 
 shops were erected on the site. It was a matter of the 
 greatest difficulty to secure for the piers a firm foundation 
 in the solid rock underlying the shifting papa, and by 
 the time the viaduct was completed in 1902 it had cost 
 considerably more than the figures asked by the private 
 contractors, besides delaying for some years the com- 
 pletion of the line. Of course, the extra outlay was 
 not all loss. The Department had now a thoroughly 
 equipped shop which was used in the next few years for 
 the construction of a host of large and small steel 
 bridges, and it had -a staff fully conversant with this 
 new development of engineering. 
 
 The remainder of the railway lay through exceedingly 
 
STATE RAILWAYS 267 
 
 difficult country, involving an almost endless succession 
 of cuttings, tunnels, and huge bridge works. At one 
 point, in order to gain elevation, the track has to double 
 on itself and cross in a " spiral " containing two large 
 tunnels. But money was now abundant, and the Govern- 
 ment, having no further excuse for prolonging the work, 
 hastened it to completion within the last four years. 
 When the junction between the ends was completed in 
 1908 the North Island Main Trunk Railway had surely 
 established a record for slow construction — 212 miles in 
 twenty-four years, or at the remarkable rate of less than 
 nine miles per year ! 
 
 If we consider this work as a business undertaking 
 pure and simple it will not stand investigation. The 
 splendid triumphs of engineering which mark nearly 
 every mile of the line could never redeem the work from 
 classification as a costly failure for State enterprise. But 
 we cannot honestly take up that point of criticism. 
 Where a private firm of contractors would become bank- 
 rupt and go perforce out of existence, the State may 
 continue, if the public will permit, to operate on the 
 public funds and, by giving employment, opening up the 
 country, and conferring collateral benefits, may justify 
 its policy. There has been no charge of corruption or 
 malpractice against any Government in connection with 
 this huge undertaking. The political conditions of the 
 day, the frequent changes of administration, the financial 
 stress of the country, are sufficient in extenuation of the 
 slow progress of the first ten years. For the change of 
 policy thereafter responsibility must be ascribed to the 
 bloodless revolution of the early nineties, with its altru- 
 istic principles and its new standards of governmental 
 morality. The co-operative system was the Government's 
 method of fulfilling its mandate and meeting the humani- 
 tarian demands of the day. And it did so effectively. 
 Many men who were drafted out of the towns to the 
 co-operative works and the State training farms were 
 afterwards able to secure farms for their own use in close 
 proximity to their work, and so pass into the settled 
 
268 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 agricultural population. Sooner or later the State would 
 have to provide, in workhouses or charitable aid, a 
 remedy for the existing social evils. The Government 
 elected to do it in a militant and practical way. 
 
 It is not inconceivable, but it would be a strong-minded 
 community indeed that would insist upon a return to the 
 days of private enterprise in public works or services. 
 With the solitary exception of the Manawatu Railway, 
 private enterprise has not been very happy in New 
 Zealand railways. There was the case of the Midland, 
 for example. It was another of Vogel's 1870 schemes to 
 connect the east and west coasts of the South Island by 
 means of a railway through the mountain barrier of the 
 Alps. Vogel was again in the Government fifteen years 
 later when a Bill was passed authorising the construction 
 of the line by a private company formed to take over a 
 contract entered into in 1885, and to construct the rail- 
 way on the land-grant system. A new agreement was 
 entered into in 1888 to make the railway from Christ- 
 church overland to the West Coast seaboard, and thence 
 northerly to Nelson, a total distance of 235 miles. All 
 the remaining Crown lands in the provinces of Nelson, 
 Westland, and Canterbury — more than six million acres 
 — were ear-marked, cut up into blocks, and appraised at 
 not less than los. an acre, the rough valuation of the 
 whole area being ;^3,i5o,ooo. For every pound expended 
 on the railway the company was to select land to the 
 value of los. Let us see what sort of proposition the 
 company was "up against." 
 
 Right in its path lay the barrier of the Southern Alps, 
 with its everlasting snow, its school of peaks over 10,000 
 feet high, and its thirty-mile belt of barren, arid rock or 
 precipitous, forest-clad heights. The solitary depression 
 by which it could be passed lay 3,000 feet above sea-level, 
 and it was proposed here to construct the line with a 
 gradient of i in 15, and to employ the central grip rail. 
 On the western slope lay the coastal strip of land, rich in 
 resources it is true, but narrow and limited in extent. 
 Northward to Nelson again the country is more or less 
 
STATE RAILWAYS 269 
 
 rough, with limited areas suited for agriculture. At one 
 spot a tunnel was required upwards of a mile in length : 
 at another fifty bridges (varying from 22 feet to 968 feet 
 in length) in a distance of thirty-five miles. 
 
 The company called up half its capital of ^^500,000, 
 issued debentures for ^^745, 000, and started merrily to 
 work. Something more than eighty miles of the line was 
 completed, and the company selected its lands and resold 
 them at an average profit of 35 per cent. But now, with 
 the faintest possible hope of getting the capital to carry 
 out the most difficult portion of the work, which was 
 still all before them, the company came to a standstill. 
 The exchequer was empty : the prospect of raising more 
 money was poor. There was not a ghost of a chance of 
 going on. When in 1895 the contract time for com- 
 pletion of the work arrived, not one-fourth of the 
 necessary expenditure had been incurred. By its failure 
 the company had forfeited its rights under the contract, 
 and the Government stepped in and took possession of 
 the line. The company claimed damages amounting to 
 ;£i, 800,000, but the action of the Government was 
 sustained by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, 
 which held the State indemnified. As a result, however, 
 of petitions to the New Zealand Parliament, a Parlia- 
 mentary Committee recommended the payment of 
 ;^i 10,000 to the debenture-holders and ;^2o,ooo to the 
 shareholders in consideration of the losses they had 
 sustained and the profits derived from the finished por- 
 tion of the line while it was being worked in trust.' 
 Parliament eventually voted ;£i5o,ooo as a compas- 
 sionate allowance, and it was thankfully received in full 
 satisfaction of all claims. 
 
 In its subsequent action the Government can scarcely 
 be said to have acted so judiciously. Its duty in taking 
 over the railway and safeguarding the country from 
 further loss was plain ; but it was under no manner of 
 
 ' In 1891 the expenditure on the opened portion of the line was only 
 66-88 per cent, of the revenue. By 1898 it had increased to 99^99 per 
 cent. The Hne was working at a loss. 
 
270 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 obligation to persevere in an undertaking which a private 
 company had found unprofitable and commit the country 
 to a questionable and very considerable outlay. The 
 colony stood absolved and uncommitted, and the 
 Government should have refused to undertake any 
 further liability without sound prospects of success. No 
 fault could be found with the suggestion that each end 
 should be advanced to a position where further profit 
 could not be expected ; but the prosecution of the work 
 through the Alps has always been regarded dubiously by 
 business men. The country between the present rail- 
 heads is rough and mountainous, and quite incapable of 
 any development which would pay interest on such an 
 expensive undertaking. The cost of about thirty miles 
 of very expensive construction must be a permanent 
 charge on the revenue from the through traffic' The 
 Otago Central Railway is one more for the prosecution 
 of which the State has frequently been assailed. 
 
 By the acquisition of the Manawatu and the Midland 
 railways the State is now in possession of practically the 
 whole of the railways of New Zealand, aggregating over 
 2,600 miles. Within the last four years 140 miles of new 
 line have been opened. 
 
 It is scarcely possible to make any comparison of the 
 working results of the New Zealand railways as compared 
 with those of privately owned lines. To begin with, 
 there is no competition. The State owns the whole 
 system, and its efficiency is dependent rather on the 
 accepted goodwill of the Government managers than on 
 the usual incentives to efficiency in business. There had 
 formerly been a desire to make the railways paying con- 
 cerns, as in the case of privately-owned systems ; but the 
 Liberal Government, under the influence of the times, 
 took an entirely new view of the function of State rail- 
 ways. At a time when the opening-up of the land was 
 
 ' The steepest gradients of the Arthur's Pass line are to be avoided by 
 the construction of a tunnel 5j miles long, the contract for which, at the 
 sum of £599,794, has been let to a New Zealand firm. The work was 
 widely advertised in Australia and England. The only English tender 
 was for ;;g688,2i6. Another New Zealand firm tendered at ;£628,732. 
 
STATE RAILWAYS 271 
 
 the very creed of progress, the Government determined 
 that the railways should be an effective and active co- 
 adjutor. They had been constructed out of moneys 
 borrowed at rates of interest varying from 3 to 6 per 
 cent. — the great bulk at 4 per cent. — but the Commis- 
 sioners in whose hands they were had not been able to 
 squeeze out of the revenue more than £2> is. per cent, 
 on the capital cost. In the year after this interest was 
 earned the Government resumed direct control, and 
 announced its intention of utihsing the system for the 
 benefit of the people rather than for the purpose of 
 making a profit. It was therefore decided that any 
 profits over and above £■}> P^r cent, on the capital ex- 
 penditure should be returned to the public by way of 
 concessions in freights and passenger fares. Since 1896 
 the profits have every year been upwards of £2) P^r cent., 
 and concessions amounting to more than two million 
 pounds have been returned to the public. Agricultural 
 lime is carried free up to a distance of 100 miles; stock 
 travelling to agricultural shows, children journeying to 
 school or technical classes, delegates to conferences, 
 workers dwelling in the suburbs of the large cities — all 
 reap the benefit of these concessions. 
 
 It is open to question whether the railways are really 
 paying as well to-day as in the days of the Commis- 
 sioners, when they did not get credit for a great deal 
 of work done for other departments of the public ser- 
 vice. In any case the percentage of expenditure to 
 revenue has increased from 6i"35 in 1896 to 70-59 for 
 last year, and the comparison in the following table 
 leaves room for improvement : — 
 
 State Railways Only. 
 
 
 TraiQ Miles Run. 
 
 Gross Receipts. 
 
 £ 
 1,829,673 
 
 Percentage of Net 
 Revenue to Cost. 
 
 Queensland 
 
 6,126,136 
 
 4-20 
 
 New South Wales 
 
 ... 12,949,068 
 
 4,709,406 
 
 4'94 
 
 Victoria 
 
 ... 10,035,914 
 
 4,012,641 
 
 4-00 
 
 South Australia 
 
 ... 4,365,144 
 
 1,589,386 
 
 476 
 
 Western Australia 
 
 ... 4,180,796 
 
 1,537,333 
 
 3-90 
 
 Tasmania 
 
 981,379 
 
 258,223 
 
 1-84 
 
 New Zealand ... 
 
 ... 7,051,274 
 
 2,761,938 
 
 3-33 
 
272 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Whatever may be the value of the railways as a busi- 
 ness proposition, they are definitely established in popular 
 favour as a legitimate sphere of State ownership. The 
 services are good for such a country, many of them 
 comparing very well with the systems of older countries. 
 The public is considered in every respect, and conse- 
 quently the public is quite willing that the railways 
 should not be run to the last margin of profit. They 
 carry the whole population of New Zealand ten times 
 over in the course of a year, and freight equivalent to 
 five tons per year for every man, woman, and child. 
 The net earnings per mile are more than ;^33o per 
 annum. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 A COUNTRY OF ENGINEERING 
 
 Some natural obstacles^The Lyttelton tunnel — Hon. E. Richardson — 
 Difficult railway works — The North Island Main Trunk — A remark- 
 able undertaking — State engineering — Railway workshops — Construc- 
 tion of rolling stock — Shipbuilding — Brigs and scows — Steamers — 
 Output of local yards — The future of shipbuilding — Graving docks 
 and slips — Agricultural implement-making — Competing against Eng- 
 land — A healthy export trade — Advantages of competitors — Gold 
 dredges — New Zealand engineers abroad — An industry of small 
 beginnings — The outlook for capital — Wealth in water-power — The 
 policy of the Government. 
 
 As Holland was cut out for dykes and canals, so New 
 Zealand is by force of nature the home of huge and bold 
 engineering works. Providence bestowed many luxurious 
 benefits upon the Long White Cloud, but it had no mind 
 that they should be too easily exploited. The wealthiest 
 plains were severed by high, precipitous mountains from 
 the haunts of man. The little settlements that clung to 
 the coasts like fishing villages were as often as not 
 hemmed in to the water's edge by the frowning sides 
 of extinct volcanic craters, or cut off from the trading 
 brig that rode out the storm in the offing by an im- 
 passable barrier of surf from the long Pacific swell. 
 
 Within a year of landing the pioneers of Wellington 
 discovered that they must abandon the fertile flat upon 
 which they had established the city of Britannia, and 
 endeavour to plant their capital on the cramped hillsides 
 overlooking Lambton Harbour. It took adventurous 
 men some years to discover a pass over the towering, 
 inhospitable Rimutaka mountains into the wide plains 
 of the Wairarapa, from which the crack of the sheep- 
 
 19 273 
 
274 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 farmer's rifle could almost be heard in Wellington. The 
 homely pilgrims of Canterbury had to tunnel a mile and 
 a half through a wall of igneous rock to make an outlet 
 for their town on the sedgy banks of the Avon to the 
 deep water at Port Lyttelton. Anon the dour Scots of 
 Otago were compelled to cast the lead to discover the 
 bottom of the swamp through which their arterial road 
 had to pass. From the earliest problems in earthworks 
 that confronted the pioneer, up to the present day, civil 
 engineering has been of the utmost importance to the 
 development of New Zealand. 
 
 The first great engineering work, the boring of the 
 Lyttelton tunnel, was a daring, precocious undertaking. 
 An English engineering firm undertook the work subject 
 to an inspection of the ground, but the survey disclosed 
 a wall of rock of such intense hardness that the firm 
 threw up its option. Dr. von Haast (afterwards Provin- 
 cial Geologist for Canterbury) declared that this was 
 the igneous shell of the crater which now forms the 
 harbour of Lyttelton, and that apart from it the hills 
 contained much easily negotiated ground. On his report 
 a colonial firm undertook the work. The drills were 
 quite unequal to the hardness of the rock, and when one 
 of the principals was in England searching for harder 
 steel he met a representative of the Mont Cenis tunnel 
 constructors in the same quest. At length the tunnel 
 was completed, i mile 55 chains in length, at a cost of 
 ■£200,000. The Roman tunnel by which the Alban Lake 
 was drained was at that time the only other case on 
 record of the piercing of a crateral wall. 
 
 The chief contractor of the Lyttelton tunnel was the 
 Hon. E. Richardson, a gentleman trained in railway 
 construction in England and Ireland. A few years later 
 he was Minister of Public Works in the General Govern- 
 ment, and in that position he was responsible for giving 
 effect to much of the engineering programme which was 
 embodied in the great developmental scheme of Sir 
 Julius Vogel. The bold and elaborate railway policy of 
 the next twenty years was more remarkable for the skill 
 
w 
 
A COUNTRY OF ENGINEERING 275 
 
 and courage with which tremendous engineering diffi- 
 culties were overcome than for the wisdom with which 
 they were courted. Mr. Richardson was responsible for 
 the execution, not always for the design. There was, for 
 example, the remarkable railway across the Rimutaka 
 mountains to bring the rich plains of the Wairarapa 
 within reach of the city of Wellington. Long years were 
 absorbed in exploration and trial surveys, and eventually, 
 to avoid the construction of an expensive tunnel, a route 
 was decided on which takes the railway over a summit 
 on a gradient which requires the use of special engines of 
 the Fell design and the central grip rail. The policy of 
 this route has frequently been criticised : the execution 
 never. The chief drawback of the Rimutaka incline, 
 which is the only distinguishing feature of the journey of 
 208 miles to Napier, is the expensive haulage and the 
 delay caused by the steep gradient. But in spite of this 
 the line pays handsomely, there being no other outlet for 
 the produce of the vast Wairarapa plains. 
 
 On the West Coast, too, the producing lands of 
 Wellington Province were only approached by a feat 
 of engineering. Under the Government programme of 
 railway construction, the line dashed straight into the 
 hills behind the narrow littoral of the harbour. The first 
 stage of forty miles is one continuous succession of tun- 
 nels, fillings and cuttings, which in the early days of the 
 railroad entailed constant attention and repairs. In 
 Otago, too, arterial lines had to be driven through a 
 succession of precipitous hills and mountain gorges. 
 The great expense of this sort of construction was one of 
 the chief reasons for the reduction of the standard gauge 
 from 5 feet 6 inches, as originally proposed, to 3 feet 
 6 inches. 
 
 The greatest railway undertaking in the Dominion 
 is the connection between Wellington and Auckland, 
 which has been referred to elsewhere. In its whole 
 course of 428 miles this line passes through every con- 
 ceivable description of country. From rolling downs at 
 the northern end, it traverses the sedgy morasses of the 
 
276 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Waikato and thence through a belt of more or less 
 igneous country into the rugged and tangled zone of 
 volcanic land, now heavily w^ooded, on to the fiat 
 pumice-covered steppes of the inland plateau. Passing 
 round the rough flanks of the central mountains, the 
 route traverses a belt of apparently simple but highly 
 deceptive hilly country, under which the papa clay forms 
 a treacherous foundation for both the line itself and the 
 numerous bridges which are required. At one point, to 
 gain elevation, the line actually crosses itself in a tunnel 
 cut out of the boulder-studded debris of pristine 
 eruptions. Elsewhere the rails are flung across gaping 
 mountain gorges on steel truss viaducts of beautiful 
 proportions, while far below the trout-inhabited stream 
 glitters like a band of silver. The North Island Main 
 Trunk is no less remarkable for the consummate skill 
 displayed in its construction than for the wonderful 
 panorama of scenic beauties through which it passes. 
 It is a lasting monument to the skill of New Zealand 
 engineers, for the great majority of the men engaged 
 in this work were trained in the service of the Public 
 Works Department. Every mile of the route is marked 
 by the overthrow of some engineering difficulty — the 
 diversion of a stream, the underpinning of some towering 
 bridge in the treacherous papa, the boring of a tunnel 
 through the solid rock. 
 
 In the early stages most of the work, including the 
 bridges, was done by private firms, but the Government, 
 under pressure of a social movement in the nineties, 
 gradually assumed control of more and more of the 
 actual construction. Eventually it became the direct 
 employer of the labourers. State engineering shops 
 were erected along the line, from which for some years 
 was turned out the whole of the necessary bridge work, 
 until the desire to hasten the completion led to the 
 letting of new contracts to private firms. In each of the 
 large cities is at least one engineering firm capable of 
 carrying out the largest undertakings in steel con- 
 struction, and one of these received contracts for bridge 
 
A COUNTRY OF ENGINEERING 277 
 
 construction amounting to over ;^ioo,ooo to enable the 
 railway to be completed as speedily as possible. The 
 State, too, operated its own sawmill to supply the timber 
 necessary for the smaller bridges and the earthworks. 
 The capital cost of the New Zealand railways to date 
 is about ;£28,ooo,ooo. About one-third of the public 
 debt is represented by railway construction. 
 
 Another feature of State engineering which is due to 
 the initiative of the Hon. E. Richardson is the workshops 
 in connection with the railways. Close to each of the 
 four chief centres is a fully equipped shop in which 
 for years past all the rolling stock in use on the 
 Government railways has been made. It is now some 
 years, too, since a locomotive of any kind has been 
 imported for the State lines. When the departmental 
 shops first constructed locomotives, about 1892, they 
 were imperfectly equipped with machinery, and, having 
 to build engines one at a time to meet the restricted 
 requirements of less than 2,000 miles of road, they could 
 not cut the cost to much less than double that of the 
 imported English and American locomotives. To-day 
 the shops are much better equipped, and the decision 
 was come to five years ago to cease importing altogether. 
 As an offset to the expensive production in the early days 
 of the industry the department has now an expert staff of 
 engineers capable of designing engines to suit all the 
 varied conditions of the system, and building them at 
 a cost very nearly equal to that of the imported engines, 
 at any rate within the margin of sacrifice which a 
 patriotic public are generally willing to concede for the 
 benefit of local industry. As the demands of the railway 
 are reduced more definitely to certain specific types of 
 locomotives, it will be possible to specialise to a greater 
 extent and effect further economies in construction. 
 
 The first locomotives constructed in New Zealand 
 were a small description of suburban engine, weighing 
 37J tons. Two years later, at great expense, a number 
 of strong locomotives of 61 tons were turned out for 
 the passenger services. Altogether the designers of the 
 
278 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Depai-tment have produced seven distinct types of 
 locomotives, including a rather remarkable one of 65 
 tons which is capable of hauling a train of 100 tons 
 up the I in 15 grade of the Rimutaka. The latest pro- 
 duction, which weighs nearly 100 tons, is for the fast 
 haulage on the heavy gradients of the North Island Main 
 Trunk. Only one private firm in New Zealand (Messrs. 
 A. and G. Price, of the Thames) has entered into 
 locomotive construction, and it is producing engines 
 at a lower cost than the Government shops can. At 
 present it is making twenty engines of the four-cylinder 
 compound type. Rolling stock for electric tramways 
 is also constructed within the Dominion by coach- 
 building firms, but in every case the electrical undergear 
 is imported. 
 
 Shipbuilding arrived very early in the history of the 
 young colony, and the industry is certain, from the 
 special advantages it enjoys, to play an important part in 
 the maritime future of the South Pacific. Long before 
 the pakeha had become numerous in New Zealand, long 
 before the niana of the Queen had been established on 
 the beach at Kororareka, there were a few humble white 
 men dwelling amongst the Maori, speaking the language, 
 and valued and protected by the chiefs because of their 
 understanding of tools and boats and rudimentary ship- 
 building. When the warships from the convict stations 
 in Australia and the whalers from the South Seas fore- 
 gathered at Bay of Islands year after year, cutting spars 
 from the splendid pine forests and replenishing their 
 larders with pork and vegetables, they saw brigs and 
 schooners of beautiful proportions pottering in and out 
 of the bays of the North, some flying the flag of the 
 mission station, some the ensign which England had 
 presented to the federated chiefs. Shipbuilding was an 
 important industry in the far North. From these beauti- 
 ful land-locked harbours and tidal rivers sallied forth 
 dozens of small vessels on their maiden voyages to the 
 South Seas, to Australia, to China even, and the Pacific 
 slope of America. 
 
Ssi>.^ -■ 
 
A COUNTRY OF ENGINEERING 279 
 
 After the settlement, too, the colonial brig was the 
 principal ocean liner and coastwise trader for many a 
 long day. Later Auckland took the industry as her own, 
 and the yards on the shores of the Waitemata continued 
 to turn out small vessels for colonial owners. In the 
 fifties they commenced to build steamers. The Governor 
 Wynyard was not a great success, and she went over to 
 Australia to labour out her existence in Port Phillip. 
 The City of Auckland failed too ; and one scarcely 
 wonders. She was designed to burn wood fuel in a 
 specially constructed grate, and the smoke passed sadly 
 off through a brick chimney ! On one voyage of fifty 
 miles, having consumed the whole of her cargo, she put 
 in at a way port for more fuel, and arrived at Auck- 
 land two days late. The appliances were primitive in 
 the last degree. Once upon a time, for lack of a derrick, 
 the hull of a new vessel was sunk and the boiler floated 
 over it into place. 
 
 At length the colonists, thrown by their isolation on 
 their own resources, graduated to the construction of 
 iron steamers. The first two built in New Zealand were 
 hurried into the water from rival yards at Auckland 
 within half an hour of each other. One of them still 
 runs in the coastal trade. Then there was a lull. Ship- 
 building did not develop so rapidly as it promised. The 
 yards were not equipped for the new phase of iron and 
 steel, and small boats could be obtained at very low 
 prices from the obsolete fleets of the older countries. 
 The " mosquito " steam trade was built up humbly and 
 cheaply. Meanwhile the colonial yards were kept going 
 with the construction of fishing boats, yachts, schooners, 
 brigs, and scows for the timber trade. Otago, too, 
 entered modestly into the industry, turning out an occa- 
 sional small vessel ; but nearly three-fourths of the ship- 
 building of New Zealand to-day is at Auckland, where 
 there are nineteen small yards. At the last enumeration 
 (1906) there were less than 250 hands engaged, and the 
 output (including repairs) was estimated at about ;£7o,ooo 
 for the year. The vessels built during 1905 were : — 
 
280 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Tonnage. Number. 
 
 Less than 50 tons 118 
 
 Fifty to 100 tons 6 
 
 Over 100 tons 2 
 
 By far the greater number of the small steamers plying 
 in New Zealand waters to-day are purchased in England, 
 but it is a sign of the times that the small companies are 
 now able to have them built to order and to their own 
 designs, instead of being content with vessels discarded 
 by English companies. That shipbuilding will even- 
 tually be an important industry in New Zealand there can 
 be no doubt. Easily accessible from the sea-frontage are 
 vast deposits of iron ore and ferriferous sand, which 
 furnish steel of the best quality. The coal measures are 
 unlimited, and the latent natural energy is sufficient to 
 meet all the demands for many decades. There is no 
 warrant, however, for predicting any early expansion of 
 shipbuilding. It can only come when the financial 
 fabric is capable of applying great capital to such indus- 
 trial undertakings. 
 
 The geographical position of New Zealand as the 
 terminal of several ocean-shipping lines has thrown upon 
 the Dominion the necessity of becoming an efficient 
 repairing centre for the largest steamers. Auckland has 
 one dock 300 feet in length on the floor and a larger one 
 (500 feet long) equipped for the purpose of repairing war- 
 ships. The floor length of the Lyttelton dock is 450 feet 
 and of that at Port Chalmers 328 feet. AH of these will be 
 quite outclassed by the new graving dock which is being 
 constructed at Wellington with a floor length of 651 feet. 
 Each of the large ports, too, has a patent slip capable of 
 taking small vessels. Within a year or two every vessel 
 that touches at New Zealand will find it possible to dock 
 for repairs. 
 
 New Zealand engineers have done much to make the 
 farmers independent of foreign manufacturers of imple- 
 ments. In the earlier days the implements used to come 
 chiefly from England. The repairs had of necessity to be 
 effected by the local blacksmith, and he soon developed 
 
A COUNTRY OF ENGINEERING 281 
 
 into a maker himself of ploughs, harrows, and finally of 
 more intricate machinery. New Zealand farming, too, 
 diverged rapidly from the methods of England and Scot- 
 land, and the inventive genius was encouraged to scheme 
 for the elimination of labour as far as possible. 
 
 Very soon the stolid, unalterable methods of the 
 English manufacturers were left quite behind. It was 
 far cheaper to import bar- and sheet-iron, nuts and bolts, 
 and to fashion in the colony what was required for 
 colonial conditions than to endeavour to drag English 
 manufacturers reluctantly in the wake of colonial neces- 
 sities. Not only did the colonial makers satisfy the local 
 farmers with their labour-saving appliances, but they 
 went abroad and competed with the Mother Country. 
 In 1885, when the total output of the New Zealand yards 
 was slightly over ^^100,000 a year, the manufacturers of 
 the colony were working havoc with those of England in 
 the markets of the Southern Hemisphere. Every year 
 was marked by the advent of some new invention suited 
 to the requirements of the farmer under the Southern 
 Cross, and designed first of all to save labour. Ploughing, 
 harrowing, chaff-cutting, bagging, seeding, wool-packing, 
 every little activity of the farm, was provided for in some 
 cheaper and more effective manner. New Zealand 
 patents reached every state of Australia, South Africa, 
 and South America. In spite of high ocean freights, 
 wool-presses were sent in thousands to South America, 
 ploughs and disc harrows to South Africa and Australia, 
 and chaff-cutters and seed-cleaners to every corner of the 
 vast Australian Continent. 
 
 The competition of English and American manufac- 
 turers, with their highly specialised methods and their 
 lower wages, soon made renewed inroads on the export 
 trade of the New Zealanders, who were handicapped by 
 high ocean freights. When it came to considering South 
 Africa as a market, for instance, the New Zealander had 
 to make at such a price that there was £21 ^ ton to spare 
 for the shipping companies. Until the cost of produc- 
 tion was enhanced by conditions in New Zealand this 
 
282 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 was not prohibitive, but the manufacturers of England 
 and America have now secured an entire advantage in 
 the oversea market. 
 
 Meanwhile the expansion of farming in the Dominion 
 itself maintains a very live market for all that the works 
 are capable of producing. There are twenty-nine estab- 
 lishments for the manufacture of agricultural implements, 
 employing about 800 men and paying ^^80,000 a year in 
 wages. The output increased from ;^ii2,ooo in 1885 to 
 ^^200,000 in 1905. At the same time the import of agri- 
 cultural implements has not decreased. In plain imple- 
 ments of universal use the English makers are still 
 patronised to some extent, and also of course in the 
 heavy traction engines which are every year coming into 
 more general use for agricultural purposes. These and 
 harvesters, of which New Zealand possesses no patent, 
 make up the bulk of the _^i 00,000 worth of imports. 
 Although they enter into direct and serious competition 
 with the New Zealand manufactures, there is no import 
 duty on agricultural implements, and the foreign goods 
 enjoy the double advantage of low wages and low freights. 
 Owing, probably, to the absence of a protective tariff, the 
 New Zealand product is generally quoted cheaper on the 
 home market than in the states of Australia. 
 
 It would be a grave offence to the national pride of 
 the New Zealanders not to refer to a branch of engineer- 
 ing which had its birth in the south of the Dominion 
 and spread thence to all parts of the world. The saving 
 of alluvial gold, as we have seen, led to a rather in- 
 teresting adaptation of the bucket-and-ladder system of 
 dredging to the rivers of Otago. Improvements followed 
 each other in rapid succession, until it is now possible 
 to extract within a small fraction of all the gold from the 
 silt at the bottom of a river, and even from the subsoils 
 of dry land. The electrically driven gold dredge of 
 to-day, which is entirely the product of New Zealand 
 engineering, has reduced gold-saving to a fine art. From 
 Otago it spread to Westland, where the whole of the 
 coastal terraces are alluvial. In its short prosperity of 
 
A COUNTRY OF ENGINEERING 283 
 
 a little more than a decade the gold dredge has added 
 more than ;^8,ooo,ooo to the wealth of New Zealand, in 
 spite of the floating of a shoal of wild-cat speculations. 
 
 New Zealand engineers— young men trained in the 
 schools of mines and afterwards in the compulsory 
 term underground— went abroad with their knowledge. 
 Dredges— at first made in New Zealand, but afterwards 
 locally— came into being on the gold-bearing rivers of 
 Australia. Thence farther afield : and to-day the young 
 New Zealand dredgemaster swelters in the steam of the 
 North Borneo and Ashanti forests, in the Philippines, 
 in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and a host of 
 tropical countries. New Zealand engineers ride out 
 the 40-foot floods on the Irrawaddi, wrestle with the 
 mooring lines in the swift currents of the Yenesei and 
 the Amur, in the streams of British Columbia and 
 California, and far south in Patagonia. Though dredg- 
 ing in New Zealand itself has declined to the dimen- 
 sions of a remuneratively capitalised industry, the export 
 of machinery is well maintained, not as a source of any 
 great profit, but merely to the extent of a few thousand 
 pounds a year. 
 
 What New Zealand has done in engineering can only 
 be duly appraised when it is considered that it was done 
 out of the most restricted financial resources. Most of 
 the engineering firms had their origin in the savings or 
 the modest imported capital of some practical engineer 
 or journeyman forty or fifty years ago. They have 
 grown to their present proportions by the simple process 
 of accretion during prosperity, by extensions out of 
 reven-ue, by foreseeing a want and providing for it before 
 far distant engineers stepped in. In any other geo- 
 graphical position the small beginnings of New Zealand 
 engineering might easily have succumbed to ruthless 
 competition. As it is, some branches would have failed 
 now and again but for the timely extension of a little 
 tariff protection. On the other hand, one or two of the 
 most flourishing branches have grown up without any 
 protection whatever. With the exception of those 
 
284 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 belonging to the State itself, we may say that all the 
 engineering works in New Zealand have been built up 
 on restricted capital. When once the State had resumed 
 the duty of building railways, New Zealand did not offer 
 any avenues for the profitable use of large amounts of 
 capital. Even the shipping companies were founded 
 out of the none too plentiful means of the colonists 
 themselves. 
 
 But to-day, again, there are avenues for the profitable 
 investment of capital. The vast imports of machinery 
 of all kinds, amounting to over three million pounds 
 each year, are presumptive evidence of what there is 
 still to be done. Scarcely the fringe of the industry has 
 been touched. Even if the needs should not extend 
 beyond the home consumption, that itself is far from 
 satisfied. Capital entering the field now does so under 
 unusual advantages. The market is practically secured 
 for it, and the unfair competition of low-class traders is 
 eliminated. For its field it will have the wealthiest 
 spending community in the world. For its use it will 
 have the best steam coal in the Pacific available at 
 reasonable rates, vast masses of iron ore awaiting the 
 smelter, and an unprecedented storage of latent power 
 in rivers and lakes. 
 
 A few years ago the utilisation of the tremendous 
 natural power of the rivers and lakes was widely dis- 
 cussed, and the Government intended for awhile to make 
 their development a new form of State activity for the 
 encouragement of industry. Some of the rivers were 
 surveyed in 1903 and 1904 with astonishing results. 
 Three of the lakes of Western Otago, for example, were 
 found to possess a potential energy of 1,720,000 brake- 
 horse-power. Nine separate rivers in the Dominion were 
 capable of giving more than one hundred thousand horse- 
 power each. The total amount of hydraulic power in 
 the rivers which rush seaward from the mountain fast- 
 nesses and the lake outlets was estimated at nearly four 
 million horse-power, or nearly thirty times the amount 
 of energy at that time being used for tractive and Indus- 
 
A COUNTRY OF ENGINEERING 285 
 
 trial purposes in the Dominion. Lake Tekapo, in South 
 Canterbury, which could command by mains the whole 
 of the industrial systems of Otago and Canterbury, will 
 yield four hundred thousand horse-power continuously at 
 one point, and another 150,000 lower down from the outlet. 
 
 " The scheme is an immense one," wrote Mr. Hay,' 
 " so will the results be when New Zealand's industrial 
 progress warrants the development. 1 think the scheme 
 would be a financial success with lower tariffs. . . . The 
 difficulty would be in using the power." 
 
 There is enough power in the rivers and lakes of New 
 Zealand to supply the whole of the industries of the 
 United States (exclusive of locomotives) and half as much 
 again as would be necessary for the industries of the 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 The whole of this power is now open to be generated 
 by private capital. In 1905 the rights were vested in the 
 Crown, and the Government intended to develop them 
 piecemeal or delegate its powers to local bodies. Later 
 reflection revealed obvious objections to the investment 
 of public moneys in local undertakings, and last year the 
 Government was authorised to grant licenses to private 
 corporations. The only Government scheme of any 
 importance as yet is the lighting of the State township 
 of Rotorua from the outflow of Lake Roto-iti. One 
 extensive scheme was commenced on a moderate scale 
 by a private company operating on the Waipori Falls, 
 not far from Dunedin. The business was acquired by 
 the Dunedin City Council, which now, at an outlay of 
 about ^150,000, generates the power for the electric 
 tramways, the public and private lighting of the city, 
 and industrial purposes. This is the forerunner of 
 numerous schemes which must come into existence in 
 the future. 
 
 ■ The late P. S. Hay, M.A., M.Inst. C.E., Superintending Engineer to 
 tlie Public Works Department, and Mr. L. M. Hancock, M.A.I.E.E., 
 Electrical Engineer and General Superintendent of ttie Transmission 
 Department of the California Gas and Electrical Corporation, both 
 investigated the power of the New Zealand rivers. 
 
CHAPTER XX 
 
 SOME INDUSTRIES— SUBSIDIARY, PROTECTED, AND 
 " CODDLED " 
 
 Grain-growing — Prolific yields — A restricted market — The Australian 
 tariff — A blow to New Zealand wheat producers — The millers' trust — 
 Wheat area reduced — Oats, &c, — Fruit crops — Extensive imports — 
 Lack of capital — Fishing — A subsidised industry — Valuable trawling 
 grounds — Heavy imports — State control of oyster-beds — Tanning and 
 fellmongering — Injured by hostile tariff — A set-back towards the 
 primary state — Boot manufacturing — An unsatisfactory position — 
 Expansion of industries under arbitration — Loyalty to the local 
 manufacturer. 
 
 If Providence had only thrown down some vast indus- 
 trial population on an overcrowded island in the South 
 Pacific the farmers of New Zealand might be the 
 wealthiest in the world on the single product of their 
 cereal crops. There is not a single cereal which cannot 
 be grown to perfection under the sub-tropical or 
 temperate sun of the varying latitudes. 
 
 The wheat of New Zealand is not so hard and bright, 
 and therefore not so valuable for milling purposes, as 
 that of the torrid acres of Australia, but against this the 
 yield is usually 50 per cent, higher. In the last twenty 
 years the average yield of the New Zealand wheat-fields 
 has only once fallen as low as that of the most prolific of 
 the Australian states. In the rich alluvial flats and coast- 
 lands of Canterbury it is no uncommon thing to find 
 wheat yields of 100 bushels to the acre. The average 
 yield for the whole Dominion for the past two decades 
 has only twice fallen below twenty bushels ; in seven 
 seasons it has been above thirty ; and it has averaged 
 
SOME INDUSTRIES 287 
 
 nearly twenty-eight. Except in the well-watered fields 
 of Tasmania, Australia rarely achieves more than twenty 
 bushels in a single season. Not infrequently the yield of 
 a whole state falls below five bushels. In 1903, indeed, 
 the crop over five million acres in the three largest wheat- 
 growing states averaged only two bushels. New Zealand 
 has no such visitations. Providence has given her an 
 unfailing supply of water in the streams that rush down 
 from the sides of the Alps to the sea through the 
 plains of Canterbury, and the settlers have constructed 
 upwards of four thousand miles of water-race to dis- 
 tribute this bounty over 1,200,000 acres of the best wheat- 
 growing and sheep-fattening country in the Dominion. 
 Two-thirds of the New Zealand wheat crop is grown in 
 Canterbury. 
 
 It is so again in oats. The New Zealand yield, which 
 is never liable to great fluctuation, stood at 38'82 bushels 
 in 1908, when the Australian crop ranged from 33'94 in 
 Tasmania down to 1572 in South Australia. And this 
 is a crop which can be grown all over the Dominion. 
 Barley, too, pans out at upwards of thirty bushels to the 
 acre. 
 
 But all this luxuriance has an impaired value to the 
 country. By a conspiracy of circumstances the New 
 Zealand farmer is thrown back on the demand of the 
 home market. If he grows a few thousand quarters too 
 much, he pays the penally of low prices, unless it happens 
 to be a season of over-sea shortage. The great maw of 
 England is fed by the closer granaries of Canada, the 
 United States, Argentine, Russia, and Australia. In four 
 out of five seasons Australia requires nothing from 
 abroad. In the fifth, the New Zealand farmer, if he 
 has looked ahead, vaults cheerfully over the tariff barrier 
 and dumps his little surplus stocks on the drought- 
 stricken markets of the Commonwealth. 
 
 Up to a recent date five or six thousand tons of New 
 Zealand flour used to find its way into Australia in 
 ordinary seasons, and in drought seasons four or five 
 million bushels of oats and as much wheat as there was 
 
288 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 to spare. Then New Zealand flour competed with South 
 Australian in all the markets of the Commonwealth, and 
 the wheat area and flour-milling facilities were extended 
 accordingly. 
 
 Suddenly the Commonwealth raised a high wall of 
 protection around its products. Flour was punished to 
 the extent of £2 a ton, and other products accordingly. 
 The New Zealand millers were caught on the hop ; the 
 farmers were astounded. There was only the home 
 market now to grow for. The millers came to a mutual 
 understanding to make the best of a bad bargain, and 
 incidentally were indicted, under an Act of special origin, 
 with operating a trust to maintain prices above a legiti- 
 mate level. The charge was dismissed for the moment — 
 this was six years ago — but the suspicion arose again this 
 year in a new form, and the Government took a decisive 
 step, independent of the Act referred to, to break up the 
 "combine." Meanwhile the farmers threw up wheat- 
 growing. The area was reduced from 400,000 acres in 
 1899 to 201,000 two years later, and about that level it 
 has remained since, except for an increase of 20 per cent. 
 to reap the benefit of the present world shortage. 
 
 To grow wheat for the present population of New 
 Zealand is not a large undertaking. To grow for chance 
 markets either in Australia or Great Britain is positively 
 a bad speculation, and wheat-raising has consequently 
 been reduced to the bare necessities of the year. At a 
 consumption of, say, six bushels per head per annum, 
 this works out at six million bushels, which can generally 
 be relied upon as the yield of 200,000 acres. Most of the 
 other 200,000 has now been converted to the fattening of 
 sheep and the maintenance of dairy herds. New Zealand 
 contributes practically nothing to the general wheat- 
 supply of the world. The export was frequently more 
 than two million bushels a year until the beginning of 
 the present century. It has never reached one million 
 since 190 1, and for 1907 there was actually an excess of 
 imports from Australia. ^ 
 
 ' During the present year New Zealand has exported upwards of a 
 million bushels of wheat to Great Britain, 
 
SOME INDUSTRIES 289 
 
 In oats there is substantially the same story to tell. 
 For twelve years up to 1904 the export (partly to meet 
 the requirements of the Boer War) averaged about four 
 million quarters a year. In one year — 1901 — it was loj 
 millions. Then it fell away almost to a cipher. The 
 tariff of the Commonwealth destroyed it utterly except 
 in drought seasons, inasmuch as the Australian farmers 
 under its protection nearly doubled their area under oats. 
 The area in New Zealand has not shown any appreciable 
 diminution. The demands for winter-feed in the 
 Dominion are such that the area laid down in oats for 
 threshing is never likely to fall much below 400,000 acres. 
 The total oat crop of New Zealand exceeds that of the 
 whole of Australia. 
 
 The barley crop, produced chiefly in the provinces of 
 Otago and Marlborough, usually amounts to something 
 more than a million bushels a year, and the quality is 
 famous far beyond the home market. The warmer 
 climate of the North, particularly the Bay of Plenty, pro- 
 duces crops of maize which run to sixty bushels an acre. 
 With an occasional exception the output of cereals of 
 New Zealand is limited strictly to the requirements of the 
 local market. Both the autumn and the spring threshing 
 are simply to feed the local market. 
 
 Every variety of English and sub-tropical fruit grows 
 to perfection in the Dominion. The banana and the 
 orange ripen in the North, but both are grown much too 
 cheaply and too well in the coral islands of the Pacific, a 
 few days' steam away to give much encouragement to 
 the white man's industry. In the light lands of the North 
 Island delicious grapes ripen in the open, and through- 
 out Canterbury, Hawke's Bay, Nelson, and Otago thou- 
 sands of tons of the finest stone fruits are produced every 
 summer. To these are added, from wide areas in Otago 
 and South Canterbury, strawberries which vie in flavour 
 with the best English. Yet the general farmer does not 
 trouble himself with fruit culture. There are less than 
 30,000 acres of orchards and vineyard, and a country so 
 splendidly situated imports fruit at the rate of half a 
 
290 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 hundredweight per head of population each year. There 
 are duties ranging from Jd. up to 2d. on different 
 varieties, yet 16,000 tons of foreign fruit is dumped into 
 New Zealand each year in cheerful and successful com- 
 petition with that of the soil. Apples from Tasmania 
 look wild-eyed at those of Canterbury and Otago Central ; 
 grapes from South Australia and New South Wales 
 repose complacently by those of Hawke's Bay. There are 
 no peaches and strawberries to compete with those of 
 New Zealand, but on the other hand thousands of tons 
 of oranges and pineapples and bananas slip in because 
 there is nothing to compete with them at the price. 
 
 Experimental shipments of apples to England have 
 been completely successful ; but except where co-operation 
 has been applied, the industry lacks the necessary capital. 
 Fruit farmers have shown a disinclination to risk their 
 capital in a venture which does not seem, on the face of 
 it, to contain any great element of speculation. The 
 Government, on the other hand, does not care to stand 
 guarantor to the extent of id. a pound for the success of 
 fruit-growers' shipments, and so very little progress is 
 made. If the fiscal policy proceeds in the future as it 
 has done recently, there will be a tremendous develop- 
 ment in fruit-growing and preserving. At present in all 
 its branches the industry employs about one thousand 
 hands. The preserving factories turn out something like 
 ;^ioo,ooo worth of produce, which is supplemented in 
 the local market by an import almost four times as large. 
 If Protection goes farther its whole tendency will be to 
 encourage drying and preserving in the country, and so 
 to reduce the heavy imports from England and the 
 Pacific slope of America. There are excellently equipped 
 jam and preserving factories, particularly at Dunedin, 
 Nelson, Hastings, and Auckland, and sugar-refining, as 
 we have seen elsewhere, has become established on a 
 basis that should satisfy the severest economists of either 
 fiscal caste. 
 
 But the greatest of the natural products which is left 
 undeveloped is in the waters about the New Zealand 
 
SOME INDUSTRIES 291 
 
 coasts. The territorial waters of New Zealand, with its 
 countless inlets and islands, are simply teeming with 
 valuable food fishes. It was this limitless harvest of the 
 sea that in prehistoric days made Te Ika a Maui a fruitful 
 abiding-place of the Polynesian venturer. The Maori, it 
 is true, made food of certain varieties of fish — shark, for 
 example — which the white man does not relish, but 
 irrespective of these the waters of New Zealand yield 
 inexhaustible supplies of the finest food fish. 
 
 Away back in the eighties, when the Government was 
 frantically anxious to start new industries, bonuses were 
 offered on every pound of fish exported. The result was 
 not what it might have been. In nineteen years 
 59,600 cwt. had been exported, and the State had paid 
 Jd. a pound on it. Then the bonus was discontinued, 
 and the export, instead of falling off, increased with a 
 fortuitous bound. The cod of southern New Zealand is 
 an established delicacy in the eastern states of Australia, 
 where, too, the oysters of Stewart Island are much prized. 
 Fish canning, which has its chief centre in Auckland, is 
 almost confined to the mullet — a very delicate table fish. 
 But altogether the 600 tons of fish exported from New 
 Zealand is a poor offset to the 1,000 tons of imports — 
 chiefly anchovies and herrings from the United Kingdom, 
 sardines from France, and salmon from the Pacific Slope 
 of America. 
 
 The export, however, does not in any way reflect the 
 extent of an industry in which upwards of one thousand 
 men, hundreds of boats, and some dozens of modern 
 trawlers, are already engaged. The State has spent a 
 considerable sum during the last few years in deep-sea 
 investigations, which have established the existence of 
 extensive trawling grounds all around the coasts, and 
 capital is steadily being brought to bear on the industry. 
 The reckless collection of oysters by private fishermen, 
 regardless of emaciation of the beds and permanent 
 injury, was directly the cause of Government " inter- 
 ference" in this branch of the industry. The beds of the 
 Auckland Province are now entirely under State control. 
 
292 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 The oysters are picked and fed to the market by 
 employees of the Marine Department, and a regular 
 supply at a uniform price is thus maintained without 
 injury to the beds. 
 
 The rivers and lakes of New Zealand are simply teem- 
 ing with fine trout — chiefly brown trout {Salmo fario), 
 Loch Leven trout, and the rainbow {Salmo iridens)— the 
 product of ova first introduced in 1867. All varieties 
 grow to an unusual size, frequently upwards of 20 lbs. 
 In several varieties the larger fish live in the sea-water 
 at the mouths of rivers, only running up to spawn. 
 After many failures, the quinnat salmon has also 
 been successfully acclimatised. Though so plentiful, 
 trout are protected by law and can only be taken by 
 license. The regulations definitely exclude them from 
 the list of marketable fish. 
 
 The treatment of skins in their various stages has 
 generally been accepted as a legitimate industry for a 
 primary producing country. Tanning and fellmongering 
 have been dealt a severe blow by the same tariff measures 
 of the Commonwealth which struck the grain-production 
 of New Zealand. That tariff is so designed as to en- 
 courage the employment of labour within Australia, and 
 it falls most heavily on articles upon the preparation of 
 which labour has already been expended elsewhere. In 
 the five years from 1901 to 1906, the establishments in 
 New Zealand were reduced by twenty, the employees by 
 six hundred, and the value of the output by ^^50,000. 
 The total turnover of one hundred works now in 
 existence is just below ^^2,000,000. Protection has not 
 achieved what was expected for the leather industry. 
 The operation of the Australian tariff has distinctly 
 tended to set back the New Zealand industry towards the 
 primary state. Between 1898 and 1907 — covering the 
 transition of Australia from Free Trade to Protection — the 
 New Zealand exports of hides and skins, upon which 
 little labour had been expended, increased by 250 per 
 cent., while the exports of finished leather fell off to 
 the extent of 50 per cent. Seven and a half milhon 
 
SOME INDUSTRIES 293 
 
 skins were exported in 1907, but only 400 tons of 
 leather. 
 
 The boot trade, which seems to be a necessity in 
 almost every country, was in the lowest possible state at 
 the commencement of the era of industrial arbitration. 
 It seemed practically impossible to make the conditions 
 satisfactory for the workers. Case after case was brought 
 in the Court, and each time the cost of production was 
 increased. In 1900 the minimum wage was loid. an 
 hour : now it is a shilHng. The export of boots is nil ; the 
 importation has more than doubled during the last nine 
 years. The number of operatives has increased since the 
 inception of the arbitration law less than in any other 
 industry: yet there has been such a shortage of skilled 
 labour that employers have had time and again to over- 
 ride the protests of the labour councils and obtain skilled 
 operatives, especially females, from England. Finally 
 the employees, who have been reaping so many increases, 
 are so far from satisfied that they talk of asking the 
 Government to remove the protection from an industry 
 which cannot give them better conditions. The duties 
 on boots were again raised in 1907, and the workers 
 applied to the Court for increases which amounted to 
 one-third of the increase in the tariff. 
 
 "Your claim," remarked the President of the Court, 
 "means an increase of 33J per cent. You base that 
 increase on the benefit the trade has received owing to 
 the increased duty?" 
 
 " Yes," replied the representative of the operatives, 
 " the employers are benefiting to the extent of ^£70,000, 
 and we ask for ^^20,000 of it." 
 
 In bringing this case — the sixth in a period of thirteen 
 years — the boot operatives' unions placed great reliance 
 upon the reasons given by the Arbitration Court in New 
 South Wales in connection with an engineering case in 
 1908. On the basis of an increase in the duty amount- 
 ing to 7^ per cent., the Court there granted an increase 
 of wages to the men of 2f per cent., and held that 4 per 
 cent, belonged to the employers. The New Zealand 
 
294 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Arbitration Court in its award in the case under notice 
 (June 19, 1909) declined to endorse this line of policy, 
 since the duties collected were not paid into the pockets 
 of the employers, who derived only an indirect and 
 unascertainable benefit from them. Actuarial reports 
 showed that the adjustment of the tariff in 1907 had 
 increased the duties on men's boots by 8 per cent., on 
 women's by 9 per cent., and on children's by 8f per 
 cent. As a consequence, there was a considerable 
 decrease in the importations ; but the Court did not feel 
 that this fact justified it in granting the men the increases 
 they asked, since it was no guide as to the increase 
 in the manufacturers' profits. The men asked for is. 2d. 
 and IS. id. per hour for the different classes of operatives. 
 The Court fixed the scale at is. ojd. and is. per hour 
 respectively, but made it clear that such increases as 
 it awarded were not at all due to the tariff increases. They 
 were based on an offer made by the employers, and 
 were given because the evidence showed that the boot- 
 manufacturing trade was in a better condition than 
 before. 
 
 A singular feature of this case was the fact that while 
 the men were paid by the hour and asked for an increase 
 of wages, they also wished the hours of work to be 
 shortened. The Court remarked : "The favourite de- 
 mand of unions whose members are working on a 
 weekly wage for increased wages and reduced hours, is 
 at any rate intelligible — they want more money for less 
 work. But the demand in the present case is quite 
 incomprehensible. So far from the hours of work being 
 shortened they should be restored to forty-eight as 
 originally fixed by this Court, so as to enable the 
 workers to increase their earnings." 
 
 This is apparently a case in which Protection must be 
 carried to an extreme point to maintain an industry in a 
 market which is not large enough for successful special- 
 ising. In Australia the market is larger and the duties 
 are higher, conditions being better all round. 
 
 Whatever the ultimate result will be of the dual in- 
 
SOME INDUSTRIES 
 
 295 
 
 fluence of Protection and Arbitration, we cannot for the 
 present see cause for misgiving as to the growth of 
 industries and trade. This growth during the period 
 covered by these great social experiments is almost 
 phenomenal, as the following skeleton table will show : — 
 
 
 No. of Factories. 
 
 
 No 
 
 . of Workers. 
 
 189s 
 
 1899 
 
 1903 
 
 4,109 
 
 6,286 
 
 - 7,675 
 
 
 
 29,879 
 45,305 
 59,047 
 
 1908 
 
 ... 11,586 
 
 
 
 78,62s 
 
 ease in 14 years 
 
 ... 181-9 per 
 
 cent. 
 
 
 163-1 per 
 
 In the employment of individual industries we find 
 this evidence of expansion : — 
 
 
 
 1895. 
 
 1908. 
 
 SawmilHng, &c. 
 
 ■ •■ 
 
 2,627 
 
 8,824 
 
 Tailoring, &c. ... 
 
 ... 
 
 3,214 
 
 7,064 
 
 Dressmaking, &c. 
 
 ... 
 
 2,563 
 
 6,182 
 
 Meat preserving, and tanning 
 
 2,752 
 
 5,058 
 
 Engineering 
 
 
 1,240 
 
 4,387 
 
 Coachbuilding ... 
 
 
 1,739 
 
 4,082 
 
 Baking 
 
 
 1,380 
 
 3,686 
 
 Printing 
 
 
 2,289 
 
 3,608 
 
 Flaxrailling 
 
 
 1,262 
 
 3,541 
 
 Bootmaking 
 
 
 2,568 
 
 3,168 
 
 Cabinet-making... 
 
 
 718 
 
 2,623 
 
 Plumbing, &c. ... 
 
 
 709 
 
 2,224 
 
 Woollen milling 
 
 
 1,039 
 
 1,624 
 
 Butter- and cheese 
 
 -making .. 
 
 231 
 
 1,581 
 
 Laundries 
 
 
 209 
 
 1,519 
 
 Brick and pottery 
 
 works 
 
 293 
 
 1,340 
 
 Saddle- and harne 
 
 >s-making .. 
 
 486 
 
 1,126 
 
 We have already seen the extraordinary growth of 
 the primary industries in the same period. In the 
 inclusive period of ten years, 1897 to 1907, the exports 
 doubled, and less than i per cent, of the twenty million 
 pounds by which they were represented in 1907 was 
 derived from other than primary industries. 
 
 The feeling of the whole of Australasia towards local 
 
296 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 industries is well summed up in this extract from a 
 recent commercial report : — ^ 
 
 "The Governments and the people of the Common- 
 wealth and Dominion are determined to have factories 
 of their own. They now have in operation highly pro- 
 tective tariffs, which, while giving a preference to British 
 goods, will effectively encourage local industries. In 
 addition to tariff support contracts are constantly being 
 placed with local manufacturers at prices over lo per 
 cent, higher than those which they would have to pay 
 for imported goods. There is a determination to be- 
 come more self-supporting by creating and maintaining 
 industries." 
 
 ' Mr. B. H. Morgan's report to the British Manufacturers' Association, 
 1908. 
 
CHAPTER XXI 
 
 SHIPPING AND TRADE 
 
 The last of the sailing ship — Rapid development of steam shipping — A 
 single route — Need for new markets — The Eastern trade, nil — Govern- 
 ment subsidies for new markets — Lack of competition — Shipping 
 rings — Two New Zealand companies — Development of the trade — 
 The mercantile marine — Union Steamship Company — ^A national 
 institution — The " mosquito " fleet — The colonial seaman — A wealth 
 of ports — River ports and roadsteads — Artificial harbours — Natural 
 havens — Harbours of the future — The leading ports — Expansion of 
 the North Island. 
 
 New Zealand's geographical position has always ren- 
 dered her absolutely dependent for her prosperity upon 
 her right-of-way on the ocean and the efficiency of her 
 shipping communications. In both she has, on the 
 whole, been extremely fortunate. In the early days the 
 traffic was all one way, and there was never any difficulty 
 in securing a smart clipper to carry to these far corners 
 of the earth a remunerative company of emigrants and a 
 bottom full of merchandise, and to bring back the sem- 
 piternal golden fleece of the pastures under the Southern 
 Cross. That was a simple and primitive traffic, untram- 
 melled by freight-cutting, or the insidious restrictions of 
 the " conference " or the " ring." 
 
 Up to 1880 New Zealand, with her local services of 
 sail and steam, was well provided for as a self-contained 
 community, but poorly indeed as a producer of foodstuffs 
 13,000 miles distant from its markets. This disability 
 the refrigerator transformed with a magic touch. Colonial 
 and British capital rushed into the breach to lie in wait 
 for the prospective profits of this new and vast trade. 
 
 297 
 
298 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Steamers with refrigerated chambers commenced to run : 
 at first modestly once a month. The produce of mutton 
 grew apace. Butter and cheese, too, could be kept in 
 condition for the journey. And all the time the sellers 
 of the golden fleece gradually and quietly turned the 
 cold shoulder upon the " windjammers " — the beautiful, 
 romantic clippers of the fifties, the sixties, and the 
 seventies — and stowed their bales, hard dumped, in the 
 crowded holds of the greedy, aggressive steamers. The 
 bursting, tremendous resources of New Zealand gave 
 more and more. The wool and meat and butter doubled 
 and redoubled and tripled itself yet again. The carrying 
 trade grew and grew. The old-fashioned sailer — the 
 latest of her class, with an appetite for 13,000 carcases of 
 mutton— fainted away before the glutton tramp steamer, 
 which would absorb 50,000. And the tramp steamer in 
 turn paled into insignificance before the great luxurious 
 liner which carried 500 passengers above in the joy of 
 life and 150,000 sheep in the frozen clutches of death 
 below. It was wonderful. 
 
 Two companies diverted their whole carrying facilities 
 — 140,000 tons — into the New Zealand trade exclusively, 
 and still had to build. Ten years ago travelling colonials 
 returned wide-eyed to their townships to tell of the 
 ocean mammoths — the Ionic (4,753 tons) and the 
 Tongariro (4,163 tons). Now the Ionic is 12,234 tons 
 and the Tongariro 10,192. The tonnage of these two 
 companies alone is 247,000 tons, and there are two 
 other powerful combinations carrying between New 
 Zealand and England. The clearances oversea from 
 New Zealand ports amount to 25,000 tons for every 
 week in the year. 
 
 So much is good. 
 
 On the other hand there are very real disadvantages, 
 both to the Dominion and the Old Country, in the 
 centralisation of trade in practically one market. Year 
 in and year out, through the long infancy of the colony, 
 every keel has clove straight to and from the Thames. 
 Wool, butter, and meat went in a continuous stream. 
 
SHIPPING AND TRADE 299 
 
 Passengers looked neither to the right nor to the left. 
 Ship after ship left its white wake in a clearly-defined 
 ocean lane. For the time it was good, since London 
 was more than able to absorb all that the colony could 
 produce. But gradually in the last decade New Zealand 
 has been vigorously attacked in her best markets by 
 competitors who have brought more to London than 
 London can consume. Victoria and New South Wales 
 and Queensland profited by the experience of New 
 Zealand, and sent Home mutton and lamb of excellent 
 quality. Australia as a whole took time by the fore- 
 lock, made profit in the early spring of a more northerly 
 latitude, and landed sweet, tender lamb in the Thames- 
 side stores while yet the cross-breds of New Zealand were 
 shivering in the lee of the manuka and the tussac. Aus- 
 tralian butter of the new season sweated in the English 
 stores while the dairy cows were still browsing, pregnant 
 and unhoused, in the Manawatu and Taranaki. Carcases 
 from the Argentine sweltered gaily in the noonday sun 
 at Smithfield while their New Zealand cousins, slaugh- 
 tered at the same date, were still cleaving their way 
 through the blue waters round Cape Horn. 
 
 As a final consideration, the organisation of the 
 American meat-packers fed the illimitable produce of 
 America to the necessities of the market, a carcase here 
 and a truck-load there, all over the provinces of Eng- 
 land. Each of these circumstances constituted an attack 
 on the envied position of New Zealand, and most of 
 them a reduction of profits, requiring some counter- 
 vailing economy in freight or marketing, some decentra- 
 lisation or concession to the convenience of the retailers, 
 to maintain the position. It was here that the shipping 
 facilities rather failed. The steamers required an extra 
 knot or two of speed to make up some of the leeway as 
 compared with the Argentine and Australia. Many of 
 them, on the contrary, were slower than the boats of the 
 rival countries. New Zealand began to appreciate the 
 disadvantages of having built up a hard-and-fast connec- 
 tion, without the elements of elasticity necessary to meet 
 
300 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 the new requirements of competition. New Zealand has 
 all her eggs in one basket. There is not a single line of 
 steamers carrying cargo regularly elsewhere than to Lon- 
 don and the West of England ports, and the latter service 
 is as yet far from efficient. No steamers run to New 
 Zealand by way of Suez, and none of the eastern lines 
 to the south proceed farther than the Australian ports. 
 
 Twenty years ago New Zealand was endeavouring to 
 open up a market for her products in India, China, and 
 Japan. The efforts came to nought chiefly because there 
 was no steamship line connecting with the Far Eastern 
 ports. Though the State operation of steamship lines 
 had once or twice been mooted, the colony could not 
 afford to subsidise lines to run specially in the interests 
 of a prospective trade. Australia, on the other hand, 
 entering the field in earnest ten years later, had the 
 advantage of several lines of steamers running to and 
 from the East and through the Suez Canal. And to-day 
 Australia has vast interests, in markets for her produce, 
 throughout India, Ceylon, the Straits, China, and Japan. 
 New Zealand was the first to test the openings, and is 
 equally able to meet the demand, but the lack of any 
 shipping communications has killed her chances. The 
 exports from New Zealand to the whole of the East in 
 1907 were worth only ;£i30,ooo, and out of this Ceylon 
 took 90 per cent. Even amongst the scattered Pacific 
 Islands New Zealand has a better trade than this. 
 
 The efforts of the Government to open up new mar- 
 kets form rather an interesting study. The companies 
 refused to go out of the beaten tracks, and the colony 
 was unable to grant sufficient subsidies to encourage 
 them to do so. The service to Vancouver, British 
 Columbia, maintained for many years as a mail con- 
 nection, did not lead to much trade because the Canadian 
 manufactures were chiefly on the Atlantic seaboard. 
 For the same reason the service to San Francisco has 
 never amounted to much. The ships that were neces- 
 sary in any case to carry the American manufacturers 
 from the Atlantic seaboard to New Zealand were utilised 
 
SHIPPING AND TRADE 301 
 
 to take back kauri gum, sheepskins, wool, and hemp, 
 although the transit was unconscionably longer. The 
 only regular exports from the Pacific slope to New 
 Zealand are the detested Oregon pine and, strangely 
 enough — fruit. 
 
 Then there is the trade with Japan. In spite of a heavy 
 duty Japan sends down each year nearly ;£ioo,ooo worth 
 of silks, manures, and fancy goods, against which it 
 takes a bagatelle of a few thousand pounds' worth of 
 goods, carried by way of Australia in Japanese ships. 
 Before the Boer War the South African trade was worth 
 exactly three thousand pounds a year. Oats and pro- 
 visions for the troops meant -£825,000 for New Zealand 
 in a single year, and the Government then subsidised a 
 steam service to develop the trade. It found its level, 
 after the war, in a market for less than ;£ioo,ooo worth 
 of New Zealand produce, and this with the aid of a 
 reciprocal tariff. Finally there is the West of England 
 trade. The creation of new tastes and civilised require- 
 ments amongst the swarming populations of Eastern 
 Asia is scarcely proving more difficult than the mere 
 diversion of portion of the British import trade from 
 London to other centres of consumption — Bristol, Man- 
 chester, and Liverpool. With the Americans the organi- 
 sation of selling and the control of shipping are an 
 accomplishment. Of themselves they enable the pro- 
 ducers of America to compete with those of the British 
 Empire, even when the quality is inferior. New Zealand, 
 on the other hand, has suffered from a lack of compe- 
 tition in shipping. It is controlled in such a way that 
 modifications to meet new conditions are difficult of 
 achievement, and any move to meet the opposition of 
 the American operators is tardy. 
 
 From the British point of view, too, shipping condi- 
 tions are far from satisfactory. A Royal Commission 
 and a Trade Commissioner have recently come to the 
 conclusion, from independent investigation, that the 
 "ring" shipping companies which figure in the Austra- 
 lasian trade are largely responsible for the increase of 
 
304 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 to the modest profits of the home trade. Then, pur- 
 chasing the business of McMeckan, Blackwood & Co., 
 of Melbourne, it embarked boldly in intercolonial waters. 
 The business and the fleet grew rapidly and steadily. In 
 every colonial port the red funnel of the Company 
 became the most familiar shipping sign. On the eastern 
 seaboard of Australia, 1,200 miles away, the steamers 
 plied regularly. Tasmania became the Company's pre- 
 serve. Ocean routes were struck : to the Islands of the 
 Blest in the Pacific, right up to Vancouver with mails, 
 and finally through the Eastern Archipelago to India. No 
 equipment was too modern, no improvement too radical 
 for the shrewd Scots shipowners. Every year at least 
 one new steamer emerges from an approved Scots yard 
 (generally Denny's, of Dumbarton) to go into service 
 with the red funnel. 
 
 Turbine-propelled screws were churning the waters 
 of the Tasman Sea while people in England were still 
 wondering whether they were successful. To-day the 
 Union Steamship Company possesses sixty-five vessels 
 of an aggregate tonnage of 157,000 tons, and the crews, 
 numbering about three thousand men, comprise only 
 5 per cent of foreigners, a healthy contrast to a casual 
 British crew. The Company also operates a sea-going 
 training ship for the training of its cadet officers. To 
 New Zealanders the Union Steamship Company is 
 the embodiment of their maritime aspirations. Every 
 year of its success is a matter of national pride. 
 
 Another Company, the Northern, works the northern 
 ports of the Dominion on much the same lines, but on 
 a more modest scale ; while the numerous navigable 
 rivers and indentations of the coast give remunerative 
 investment to half-a-dozen companies owning small 
 light-draught steamers, which do invaluable service as 
 the feeders of the oversea ports. The " mosquito " fleet 
 of New Zealand is a source of astonished interest to 
 visitors. Including the vessels of the Union Steamship 
 Company (many of which are of heavy tonnage), there 
 are on the register of the Dominion 305 steamers of an 
 
SHIPPING AND TRADE 305 
 
 average tonnage of 500 tons, and 323 sailing vessels of 
 an average of 150 tons. In point of numbers more than 
 half of the total shipping is registered at Auckland, 
 upon which converges the seaborne trade of countless 
 bays, islands, and navigable rivers and of the Pacific 
 islands. As we have seen elsewhere, small shipbuilding 
 establishments have existed since the earliest days, 
 and even to-day brigs, schooners, cutters and a 
 special type of " scow " designed for the timber trade 
 of the North and of the Marlborough Sounds take a 
 prominent place amongst the coastal shipping of the 
 Dominion. 
 
 Seamen in New Zealand waters are the object of such 
 paternal solicitude that it is never difficult to get the best 
 class of men for the mercantile marine. The Shipping 
 and Seamen Act of 1903 provides in the most generous 
 manner for the comfort and health of the mariner, and 
 also for the due manning of ships according to their 
 tonnage. Seamen also come within the cognisance of 
 the Arbitration Court, which has managed, not without 
 some difficulty, to make their conditions of work and 
 pay, and even the hours of labour, correspond some- 
 what with those of the worker on land. The eight 
 hours' day is practically an established principle on 
 the decks of vessels trading in New Zealand territorial 
 waters. 
 
 Some of these restrictions would fall heavily on the 
 owners of ships manned by the riff-raff which is so often 
 found in British forecastles. They press less heavily on 
 the colonial owner because the conditions all round are 
 so much better that a better class of men finds it worth 
 while to go to sea, and the working of colonial ships is 
 much less likely to be interrupted by desertion or 
 drunkenness on the part of the seamen. The sobriety 
 of the colonial seamen is proverbial in New Zealand. It 
 was at one time feared, in the initial stages of this legis- 
 lation, that owners might transfers their registration to 
 other flags ; but the Commonwealth has now adopted 
 somewhat similar provisions for the welfare of seamen, 
 
 21 
 
306 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 and the movement has gradually affected some of the 
 British owners of oversea traders.' 
 
 The mercantile marine is one of New Zealand's most 
 respectable industries, and of it, too, it can be said that 
 its development is in no measure due to " coddling " by 
 the State. The shipping interest had its birth in colonial 
 capital ; it thrived on the natural necessity for its services, 
 and established itself in small beginnings before the field 
 seemed to be worthy of exploitation by outside capitalists. 
 There is not the smallest suspicion of State feeding about 
 such an enterprise as that of the Union Steamship 
 Company. State activity has been all in the opposite 
 direction, increasing expenditure by the imposition of 
 restrictions and regulations. 
 
 But the service is already, in the class of vessels 
 employed and the standard of its seamen, feeling the 
 good results of State regulation judiciously applied. The 
 fact that the Commonwealth, the only other great ship- 
 owning State south of the line, has adopted maritime 
 laws closely following those of New Zealand removes 
 the probability that New Zealand may be handicapped in 
 competition in the carrying trade — as she undoubtedly is 
 in the market for manufactures by the increased cost of 
 services. 
 
 As the New Zealand companies are now situated, it is 
 morally certain that the Dominion must take a position in 
 the carrying trade of the Pacific similar to that occupied 
 by England in the world at large. Aided by vast supplies 
 of fine coal, and later, no doubt, by the huge deposits of 
 iron which lie on the surface close to deep water, the 
 shipping industry of New Zealand is bound to expand. 
 For that expansion every harbour in the country is ex- 
 tending its facilities. There is no class of vessel afloat 
 which cannot find safe haven at half a dozen ports. 
 Numberless river estuaries receive schooners and cutters 
 on the flood and leave them at the ebb to discharge their 
 cargoes on the dry sand. That is the service of the out- 
 
 ■ The Navigation Conference in London, in 1907, was the outcome of 
 this legislation. 
 
SHIPPING AND TRADE 307 
 
 lying settlers, the men who graze sheep and cattle on the 
 new sections and draft them to the downs and the plains 
 to be fattened off close to the freezing works. It is the 
 most primitive service of all, unless we except the surf 
 boats that float the wool from the East Coast stations out 
 to the " mosquito " steamers lying off. 
 
 Slightly better than the river estuaries are the bar 
 rivers, which will take steamers of light tonnage on the 
 crest of the tide in to the riverside wharves, with the 
 freezing chambers and warehouses alongside. Patea, 
 Wairau, and Hokitika are examples — modest little ports 
 that rarely see a large steamer — but the annual trade of 
 the three is nearly a million pounds. Each has a Harbour 
 Board with certain powers and great ambition, and the 
 little " mosquito " flotilla plies constantly from such havens 
 carrying meat, and butter, and cheese, and wool, to load 
 overside into the ocean liners at the deep-sea ports. The 
 Government, not the least embittered at this so serious 
 opposition to its own railways, makes a liberal vote every 
 year to aid the pilotage, lighting, "snagging," and 
 similar little services of these and smaller ports. 
 
 On the West Coast of the South Island are several fine 
 examples of improved river ports at the mouths of the 
 treacherous Grey and Buller. The coal trade of New 
 Zealand could never have developed if it had remained 
 dependent on the possibilities of these bar-bound ports. 
 A quarter of a century ago the Westport bar showed only 
 8 or 10 feet of water, and it was impossible for vessels of 
 any considerable tonnage to pass through. Regarding it 
 as essential that the best coal seams should be made 
 available, the Government consulted Sir John Coode, and 
 adopted a scheme of improvement which has been so 
 steadily successful that to-day there is a depth of 20 to 
 24 feet on the bar, and full-laden steamers can clear 
 direct for sea instead of having to fill up from hulks in 
 the deeper water of Port Nicholson. The port is now 
 worked each year by more than a million tons of 
 shipping. Its improvement, which is of immense 
 strategical value for naval purposes, still proceeds vigor- 
 
308 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 ously. The history of Greymouth, which Hes fifty miles 
 to the south along the surf-beaten coast, is much the 
 same. There, too, the depth on the bar has been in- 
 creased from 10 to 20 feet, and the output of coal and 
 timber accordingly. At both ports the construction of 
 tidal floating basins is contemplated. 
 
 Then there is another class of inferior port — the open 
 roadstead. Whanganui and Gisborne, for example, have 
 inner harbours on the rivers for small craft, but the 
 ocean trade, which is three-quarters of a million at 
 Whanganui, and more than a million at Gisborne, is for 
 the most part negotiated by lightering to large vessels 
 lying in the roads. Napier, too, with an oversea trade of 
 nearly two millions, relies largely upon the same methods. 
 But the meat and dairy produce which are so loaded are 
 handled with the tenderest care. The farmers, directors 
 of their own companies, are close at hand to watch 
 their interests, and there would be serious trouble if the 
 precious carcase or butter box was subjected to the risks 
 of injury and contamination which are all too prevalent 
 at the London end of the journey. Practically every 
 harbour which has control of an open roadstead is 
 improving it. Some have done excellently well already. 
 Timaru commenced nearly forty years ago to work on a 
 scheme suggested by Sir John Coode, and now, instead 
 of the open road, there is a fine artificial harbour, the 
 best in the Dominion, receiving 400,000 tons of shipping 
 in the year and negotiating nearly two million pounds 
 worth of trade. At a single time the harbour has accom- 
 modated eight large vessels of an aggregate tonnage of 
 28,960 tons. In the ten years 1897 to 1907 the trade of 
 Timaru increased by 138 per cent., creating a record 
 of expansion amongst the ports of New Zealand. 
 Oamaru, a few miles to the southward on the same 
 surf-beaten coast, represents an attempt to get over much 
 the same difficulties by different — and, as it happened, 
 much less successful — methods. But the open road for 
 which the greatest future is expected is undoubtedly that 
 of Gisborne, the indentation which Cook so unsuitably 
 
UCKAX-(,11IXG MKAMI I ^ IM\( I\ THI AIIIIICIU lUlvl II \i UM\I 
 
 ^Sd2;^^k^ 
 
 i>ci-:ax-(,uim; collikks ixsihk thk nii'i;nvEi> hai^ HAl';iiiiuK at westpokt. 
 
SHIPPING AND TRADE 309 
 
 designated Poverty Bay. Time has proved it exactly the 
 antithesis. In spite of the long dark cloud of the Maori 
 wars, which retarded settlement for twenty years, white 
 men have simply swarmed into the hinterland of Poverty 
 Bay to turn the rich, black plains to account and depas- 
 ture hundreds of thousands of sheep and cattle on the 
 once thickly wooded hills. Every year thousands of acres 
 of this rich papa soil are brought into fruition. There 
 are already two million sheep and 130,000 cattle in the 
 hinterland, to which a railway is just now slowly creep- 
 ing from the port of Gisborne. Here, nestling about a 
 shallow tidal river, a haven for only the smallest vessels, 
 lies a fine town of six thousand inhabitants, one of the 
 wealthiest in New Zealand, whose trade, over a million a 
 year, passes principally through the primitive medium of 
 the lighter to the ocean-going steamers in the bay. The 
 prospect of Poverty Bay, when the present well-advised 
 harbour scheme is carried out, is one of the brightest. 
 
 Having said so much of the inferior and medium ports 
 of the Dominion, there is nothing but admiration to be 
 expressed for those great natural harbours through which 
 the trade chiefly passes. In the North the io,ooo-ton 
 steamer sails straight in, day or night, to the deep-water 
 wharves right alongside the streets of Auckland. The 
 Waitemata Harbour can with the greatest security ac- 
 commodate a battle fleet of the present day, and has 
 done so for demonstration. ^ There are other splendid 
 natural harbours north of Auckland — the Bay of Islands 
 in particular — but a ruthless political policy tore away the 
 capital from its seat there, and now the Auckland trade 
 is well and sufficiently carried by the "mosquito" fleet to 
 the ocean port of Waitemata. Several of the North 
 Auckland rivers, too, are navigable for long distances, 
 and out of them is a direct oversea trade in timber. 
 
 Auckland is perhaps the most comprehensive and 
 cosmopolitan port in New Zealand, though Wellington 
 receives most of the direct deep-sea trade. In the 
 
 ' The United States battle fleet, which circumnavigated the world in 
 1908, anchored for a week in the harbour of Waitemata. 
 
310 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 splendid landlocked expanse of Port Nicholson, too, a 
 battle fleet could manoeuvre with perfect safety and 
 freedom. The entrance is deep and well buttressed by 
 walls of rock which break the Antarctic swell and make 
 the harbour negotiable in all weathers by all classes of 
 vessels. In its character Wellington is a natural em- 
 porium, a distributing centre for imports and a collecting 
 base for the exports of a vast area. The coastal routes 
 of the two islands converge here as naturally as the 
 eastern waterways at Singapore. The wharfage and 
 equipment are admittedly the best in the Southern 
 Hemisphere, and superior to many of the great ports 
 of the Old World. They are being added to now by the 
 construction of a graving dock 651 feet in length on 
 the floor. The third of the great natural harbours is 
 Lyttelton, a crateral depression which has been turned 
 by Nature to the best account. The fourth, Dunedin, 
 has rather fallen from grace of late. That is to say, the 
 channel of the upper harbour, upon which the city 
 stands, is only kept clear by constant dredging. At Port 
 Chalmers, near the mouth of the harbour, is a good 
 deep-water harbour. 
 
 The trade figures of these four ports for the year 1907 
 stand as follows : — 
 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Exports. 
 
 Total. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 Wellington ... 
 
 - 5-248,835 
 
 3,919,002 
 
 9,167,837 
 
 Auckland 
 
 - 4.533.999 
 
 3,472,405 
 
 8,006,404 
 
 Lyttelton 
 
 ... 2,633,244 
 
 2,836,739 
 
 5,469,983 
 
 Dunedin 
 
 ... 2,489,126 
 
 1.538,415 
 
 4.027,541 
 
 Elsewhere there are two splendid natural harbours, 
 Akaroa and Picton. The latter is already assuming 
 some importance, but the former is so placed geo- 
 graphically that it will never be of prime value from 
 a commercial point of view. 
 
 The almost phenomenal rise of the North Island 
 ports during the last twenty years is a result of the 
 long delayed but now tremendous expansion of settle- 
 ment and production in that portion of the Dominion. 
 
SHIPPING AND TRADE 311 
 
 Ten years ago the trade was almost evenly divided 
 between the two islands. To-day 60 per cent, of the 
 exports are from the North, and there are still vast 
 tracts of country undeveloped. In that period of ten 
 years, too, the total trade of New Zealand has doubled 
 itself. 
 
CHAPTER XXII 
 
 INTERCHANGE AND MARKETS 
 
 A British trade connection — When the State was young — The balance of 
 exchange — The imports — The All-Red sentiment — A single selling 
 market — Everything goes to England — The exports analysed. 
 
 There is no mercantile house in the world which 
 possesses a closer and more cordial understanding with 
 its Antipodean representatives than England with New 
 Zealand. England is the principal customer for the 
 products of New Zealand ; she is, in fact, practically the 
 only purchaser, as things are conducted, of the whole 
 exportable surplus of the primary industries. New Zea- 
 land, on the other hand, makes two-thirds of her oversea 
 purchases in England, one-fourth in other British posses- 
 sions, and less than one-seventh with foreign nations, 
 amongst whom the great English-speaking republic 
 looms large. 
 
 In the early days of New Zealand's history practically 
 everything that was required had to be imported, and 
 until twenty years ago the imports far outweighed the 
 exports of raw produce. This was, of course, particularly 
 noticeable in the boom days of the gold-fields and the 
 Vogel policy. A mere money comparison is misleading, 
 but it would be no exaggeration to measure the extrava- 
 gance of the Vogel era, 1870-9, by the figures for that 
 decade. The imports succeeded the exports by 
 ^13,600,000, and ;^i6,ooo,ooo was added to the National 
 Debt. They were haphazard days indeed, and it took 
 much economy and sadness to recover the balance. 
 
 Throughout the eighties both State and public practised 
 
 312 
 
INTERCHANGE AND MARKETS 313 
 
 the most rigid economy. The exports averaged about 
 six and a half million pounds a year, and in 1887 they 
 again exceeded the imports in value. This position (only 
 twice before achieved, and for a single year at a time) 
 was maintained continuously for twenty-one years, and 
 in the ten years ending with 1907, the exports from 
 New Zealand exceeded the imports by 22 million 
 pounds. Last year a chain of circumstances effected 
 a sudden reversal : the shrunken exports fell about two 
 million pounds below the value of the imports. But that 
 is a temporary lapse which has already been in part 
 adjusted by an excellent season and cautious purchasing. 
 In respect to its business houses and its lines of com- 
 munication New Zealand is essentially a British com- 
 munity. With the exception of the freight steamers running 
 to the Atlantic seaboard of America, and an occcasional 
 precarious mail service to San Francisco, there is not a 
 single regular line of communication to a foreign port. 
 The following table (taking 1907 as a normal year instead 
 of 1908) discloses the thoroughly British character of the 
 import trade : — 
 
 Imports from Imports from Imports from 
 
 United Kingdom. British Possessions. Foreign Countries. 
 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 1892 
 
 ... 4,769,369 
 
 1,6x9,590 
 
 556,097 
 
 1898 
 
 5,148,833 
 
 1,927,817 
 
 1,153,950 
 
 1907 
 
 10,278,019 
 
 4,664,164 
 
 2,360,678 
 
 Or, to make the comparison and the tendency more 
 apparent : — 
 
 
 United Kingdom. 
 
 British Possessions. 
 
 Foreign Countri, 
 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 Per Cent. 
 
 1892 
 
 68-66 
 
 23.32 
 
 8-02 
 
 1898 
 
 62-56 
 
 23-42 
 
 1402 
 
 1907 
 
 59-40 
 
 2696 
 
 13-64 
 
 The tendency at present is for New Zealand to take an 
 even greater proportion of British goods, but it has to be 
 remembered that nearly a million pounds' worth of goods 
 imported from England are the product of foreign 
 countries so shipped to benefit by the preferential tarifl. 
 
314 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 Of the purchases actually declared on arrival as foreign 
 fully one-half come from the United States. Although 
 New Zealand is comparatively close to the United States, 
 and in spite of the fact that for years past there has been 
 a mail service to San Francisco, the geographical dis- 
 tribution of industries in the United States is such that 
 nine-tenths of New Zealand's imports come from the 
 Atlantic seaboard. The shipping facilities are so good 
 that merchandise from New York to New Zealand is 
 carried cheaper in the same bottoms than similar goods 
 picked up at London, en route. 
 
 Tobacco and kerosene, neither of which competes to 
 any extent with British productions, bulk largely in the 
 total, but fully one-fourth of the American imports con- 
 sist of iron and steel ware and electrical machinery. 
 Cotton piece goods, boots and shoes, and leather, are 
 also able to jump the hurdle which is interposed to 
 foreign imports by a Parliament friendly to the All- 
 Red sentiment. While the overpowering industries of 
 America are thus able to butt their way over obstacles, 
 the favoured Canadian manufacturers are baulked by 
 deficient or hostile shipping facilities and only give New 
 Zealand about ;£i5o,ooo worth of their goods each year. 
 
 The only other considerable foreign competitor is 
 Germany. The Germans, who are also favoured by ship- 
 ping facilities, are able to pay freights, duties, and 
 preferential surcharges on 70 per cent, of the imports 
 (valued in 1907 at ;£35 1,634) which they send to New 
 Zealand. Musical instruments, manures, fancy goods, 
 toys, and glass ware are the principal products for which 
 Germany finds a market in the Dominion. 
 
 English imports include the whole gamut of iron and 
 steel ware and machinery, and every class of clothing. 
 Nearly a million pounds of woollen goods are imported 
 to offset the exports of raw material. Amongst the 
 imports from British oversea dominions tea and sugar 
 loom very large. 
 
 Simple as is this purchasing field, New Zealand's 
 markets for exports are even less complicated. If any 
 
at I !■ ■ uJ ■ 
 "'ft- 'k • 
 
INTERCHANGE AND MARKETS 315 
 
 man was inclined to accept tlie suggestion that the over- 
 sea States were looking for a chance to "cut the painter," 
 he would find the most pronounced refutation in a study 
 of trade statistics. Sentiment has never yet been found 
 to run counter to commercial expediency, and it is 
 difficult to conceive a sentiment which could sever the 
 relations of great producing countries and their principal 
 markets. In spite of the steady growth of manufactures 
 in the Dominion, New Zealand is essentially depen- 
 dent on its primary products. In 1907 manufactures 
 amounted to only i"22 per cent, of the total exports of 
 twenty million pounds. The whole of the seaborne 
 wealth of the Dominion, we may say, was foodstuffs and 
 products of the soil in a more or less crude state. And 
 not one-twentieth of the whole went outside the British 
 Empire. Ten years ago the leakage was slightly more. 
 
 New Zealand keels have always run in British waters. 
 Four-fifths of the seaborne harvest of the Dominion — the 
 produce of farm, mine, station, and forest — goes direct 
 into the docks of London, Manchester, Liverpool, and 
 Bristol. One-eighth, carried in New Zealand owned 
 steamers, goes in barter to the sister States of Australia 
 and the British islands of the Pacific ; and the fugitive 
 residue, less than a million, is returned to foreign 
 countries (four-fifths of it to the United States). There 
 is only a single shipping line running to New Zealand 
 that is not British. It is owned by an American 
 company which exchanges about two million pounds' 
 worth of goods each year between the Dominion and the 
 English-speaking republic, and incidentally gives excel- 
 lent terms to German merchandise. 
 
 The trade relationship of New Zealand and Great 
 Britain is the natural alliance of the manufacturer and 
 the producer of raw material. Before the refrigerator 
 revolutionised the producing industries of New Zealand, 
 politicians were at their wits' end to find markets for 
 New Zealand products. India could not eat our meat. 
 Japan would not use wool. China had no desire for 
 rancid butter. Australia had all that New Zealand 
 
316 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 possessed, and more. Except in a drought season 
 England was the only country which wanted the 
 products of New Zealand. Long before the United 
 States had become a great manufacturing country, Great 
 Britain had centralised the wool trade of the world. All 
 the ocean tracks led to the Thames. Since then New 
 Zealand has developed a few new zones of trade — in 
 Australia and in the Pacific — but they are all British. 
 There is, for example, an interesting little item of 
 ;^38,ooo to the Cook Islands. This includes almost 
 everything that a somewhat tropical archipelago with 
 ambitious ideas may want to import. New Zealand 
 supplies the foodstuffs and timber from her own fields 
 and forests, and the balance is made up of manufac- 
 tures, collected chiefly from Europe and England, and 
 re-exported. To all intents and purposes New Zealand 
 is the absolute trade terminal port. Practically every 
 steamer that enters clears to the garboard streak in the 
 ports of the Dominion, and fills up again from the 
 granaries, the freezing chambers, and the wool stores. 
 A quarter of a million pounds would cover the whole of 
 the merchandise received for re-export. 
 
 Following is an analysis of the exports of New Zealand 
 in a normal year (1907) ; — 
 
 Wool , 
 
 Meat 
 
 Mines 
 
 Dairy produce 
 
 Animal by-products 
 
 Hemp 
 
 Kauri gum 
 
 Forests 
 
 Manufactures 
 
 Grain and roots 
 
 Miscellaneous 
 
 Fisheries 
 
 Total domestic products 
 In the ten years 1897 to 1907 the trade of the 
 
 Value. 
 
 Percentage of Total 
 
 - ^£7,657,278 
 
 3870 
 
 ... 3,520,877 
 
 17-80 
 
 ... 2,344,903 
 
 1185 
 
 ... 2,277,700 
 
 11 '52 
 
 ... 1,787,873 
 
 9-03 
 
 832,068 
 
 4-20 
 
 ... 579,888 
 
 293 
 
 ... 324,598 
 
 1-65 
 
 ... 241,634 
 
 1-22 
 
 162,967 
 
 0-82 
 
 29,746 
 
 o-i6 
 
 23,606 
 
 0-12 
 
 £19,783,138 
 
 100-00 
 
INTERCHANGE AND MARKETS 317 
 
 Dominion 
 table :— 
 
 doubled. Its development is shown in this 
 
 i8S7 
 1867 
 
 1877 
 1887 
 1897 
 
 190S 
 1907 
 
 Value of 
 
 Value of 
 
 Value of 
 
 Exports. 
 
 Imports. 
 
 Total trade. 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 £ 
 
 369,394 
 
 992,994 
 
 1,362,388 
 
 4,479464 
 
 5,344,607 
 
 9,824,071 
 
 6,058,717 
 
 6,973,418 
 
 13,032,135 
 
 6,866,169 
 
 6,245,51s 
 
 13,111,684 
 
 10,016,993 
 
 8,055,223 
 
 18,072,216 
 
 15,655.947 
 
 12,828,857 
 
 28,484,804 
 
 20,068,957 
 
 17,302,861 
 
 37,371,818 
 
CHAPTER XXIII 
 
 PROTECTION AND MONOPOLIES 
 
 Tariff adjustment — The old revenue tariff — Free Trade standards 
 abandoned — Surreptitious Protection and tariff trimming — New 
 Zealand converted to Protection — Protectionist farmers — Retaliation 
 against Australia — Preferential trade — A patriotic arrangement — 
 Reciprocity — Fostering local employment — Protection a vital force 
 — Local industries transformed into monopolies — Popular feeling 
 against combines — Movement against a trust — Protecting the agri- 
 cultural implement trade — Not proven — Prices fixed by gazette — 
 The flourmillers' trust. 
 
 The tariff arrangements of New Zealand show just as 
 cheerful a disregard of accepted economic principles as 
 the labour and land laws. And the different grades of 
 society are just as original in their attitude towards this 
 question as they are unconventional in their general 
 politics. In the primeval days of the self-governing 
 colony the customs were used entirely to obtain revenue 
 for the purposes of a very expensive governmental 
 system. By and by the sale of land became a prime 
 producer, but this fell off perforce, and before long the 
 Colonial Treasurer looked with purposeful eyes upon the 
 custom house. In 1873 the people of New Zealand were 
 paying more than £'^ a head in customs and excise 
 duties, but little had been done by this means to protect 
 local industries. In fact, a tariff that mulcted spirits in 
 I2S. a gallon, tea in 6d. a pound, and sugar in id. a 
 pound could only be regarded as a revenue one pure 
 and simple. The sugar duty, which a straitened 
 Treasurer at the close of the seventies desired to increase, 
 began to look slightly more benign in the early eighties, 
 
 318 
 
PROTECTION AND MONOPOLIES 319 
 
 when a bonus of |d. a pound was offered for the first 
 thousand tons of beet sugar produced in the colony. 
 This coincided with the serious inception of industrialism 
 in the colony, and there were not wanting voices now to 
 clamour for protection against the dumping of American 
 and German stocks. 
 
 Since the glories of the Vogel policy had passed away 
 engineering industries had commenced to languish 
 because the other pursuits upon which it lived were 
 starved for capital. The clothing and boot and shoe 
 trades, on the other hand, were languishing purely on 
 account of the competition of cheap foreign articles. 
 The last Conservative Government was compelled to 
 yield some measure of protection to the popular clamour, 
 but it could not afford to forego its revenue from the 
 customs, so it compromised by raising the tea duty to 
 6d. Thence onward the specifics adopted to meet the 
 industrial revolution made the protection of local 
 industries the first line of defence. Year by year the 
 barriers against articles which New Zealand could 
 produce, or which politicians thought it should produce, 
 were raised ; and steadily, under the dual influence of 
 Protection and the State regulation of industrial rela- 
 tions, the prices were raised to the consumer. We have 
 seen elsewhere how labour fluctuations affected prices, 
 and how the third agent — a sleeping partner — levied 
 heavy toll on the workers. Nor was capital itself entirely 
 guiltless of preying upon the dwellers within the ring 
 fence. In certain localities it was admitted a few 
 years ago that the sawmilling industry was over- 
 capitalised to such an extent that it had to charge 
 exorbitant prices to earn interest. And that being so, 
 the Government refused to put a duty on Oregon pine, 
 which was flooding the market. More or less substantial 
 charges have been made from time to time against the 
 agriculturali implement-makers, the flourmillers, the oil 
 merchants, and others. The evidence on these occasions 
 demonstrated very clearly the great danger of local 
 industries being transformed into noxious trusts by the 
 
320 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 protection of a tariff, and the present Government has 
 declared its intention of nipping in the bud any attempt 
 on the part of local traders and merchants to palm off on 
 to the consumer the increased price which Protection 
 renders it possible to charge. 
 
 The original tariffs were guiltless of either Free Trade 
 or Protection. Yet clandestinely some industries grew up 
 under them. The beer duty was always an excellent 
 thing for the colonial exchequer and likewise for 
 colonial breweries, of which there are now more than 
 two dozen, turning out more than half a million pounds' 
 worth of excellent ale every year. New Zealand con- 
 sumes more than nine million gallons of beer yearly, 
 but only a quarter of a million comes from abroad. 
 Then there is sugar. Long before Sir George Grey 
 talked of a free breakfast-table, sugar and molasses paid 
 a modest penny a pound to the customs on landing. 
 Under this surreptitious protection a local refining 
 industry grew up, and now scarcely one-fiftieth of the 
 sugar that is used in the Dominion comes in in the 
 refined state. The sugar duty was first reduced to Jd. 
 and then (1907) removed altogether ; and the price has 
 fallen steadily from 5d. in 1858 to 3^d. in 1888, and now 
 to 2jd. and 3d., and there is a respectable export of 
 400 tons of sugar refined in the Dominion. This may 
 be equally an argument for Protection in the early stages 
 of an industry, or Free Trade in the later. 
 
 Observe, again, the effect of tariff trimming on the soap 
 and candle industry, a reasonable activity for an agri- 
 cultural country. With a duty of 2d. a pound on candles 
 the industry thrived. The Free-Necessities party reduced 
 the rate by one-half, and almost immediately five works 
 closed down ; imported candles swamped the market, 
 and the output of the local works was reduced by one- 
 third. Seven years of this persuaded the Government to 
 raise the duties again, and the industry gradually revived. 
 The output of the soap and candle works is valued at 
 something less th?n ;£20o,ooo a year. 
 
 The gradual conversion of New Zealand to the Protec- 
 
PROTECTION AND MONOPOLIES 321 
 
 tionist view was assisted by very powerful collateral 
 forces, and we have now the strange phenomenon of an 
 agricultural country where the farmers are to some 
 extent Protectionist. Let it not be supposed that strong 
 vested interests produced the change. On the contrary, 
 it has been steadily advanced by public opinion on the 
 one hand and the necessities of the struggling infant 
 industries on the other. In 1898, when the policy was 
 much more moderate than it is to-day, and when the 
 duties levied represented 24 per cent, of the declared 
 value of the goods, Mr. Reeves wrote : — ' 
 
 " Nor would it be fair to regard the colony's protection 
 as simply a gigantic job managed by the more or less 
 debasing influence of powerful companies and firms. 
 It was adopted before such influences and interests were. 
 It could not have come about, still less could it last, were 
 there not an honest and widespread belief that without 
 duties the variety of industries needful to make a civilised 
 and prosperous nation could not be attained in young 
 countries, where nascent enterprises are almost certain 
 to be undercut and undersold by the giant capitalists and 
 cheaper labour of the Old World." 
 
 At that time Mr. Reeves thought it improbable that 
 Protection in New Zealand would go farther on the road 
 towards McKinleyism. It has, in point of fact, advanced 
 considerably, but largely under the influence of a develop- 
 ment which Mr. Reeves, for one, honestly did not 
 anticipate. The New Zealand tariff is no longer a com- 
 promise, as it was then. It is a frank surrender to a 
 desire for Protection which permeates the whole com- 
 munity. Each class, from its own point of view, feels it 
 to be essential. 
 
 The farmers, who since 1900 have been most com- 
 pactly organised, have year by year shown increasing 
 frankness towards Protection. Though reiterating, as a 
 plank of their platform, their belief that customs taxation 
 should be for revenue purposes only, they have actually 
 affirmed the principle of Protection on farm products as 
 
 ■ The " Long White Cloud." 
 
322 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 against countries which adopt the same pohcy. It is in 
 reaUty a form of retaHation against AustraUa. There are 
 duties on all sorts of grain, flour, bacon, potatoes, &c., 
 and the farmers, as producers, have now affirmed that 
 these should only be remitted by way of reciprocity. 
 To these duties has been ascribed the restriction of 
 wheat-growing during the past few years, though, as 
 a matter of fact, it is chiefly due to the tariff barriers of 
 Australia, which have destroyed a regular market for 
 New Zealand's surplus supplies. 
 
 In 1903 the Seddon Government made an interesting 
 original move in tariff adjustment, one of the earliest 
 steps towards Imperial preference. The Preferential and 
 Reciprocal Trade Act of that year was no great sacrifice 
 for a principle. It did establish the principle of prefer- 
 ential trade within the Empire, but it did so by providing 
 for a surtax on goods not produced within the Empire. 
 By way of showing that New Zealand was prepared to 
 give up something, the duty on tea — a twopenny remnant 
 of the barbarous old sixpence still remained — was 
 abolished if the tea was grown within the Empire. If not 
 the 2d. was still charged. Hitherto China tea had been 
 very widely used, and the step meant a sacrifice of about 
 ;^40,ooo in revenue. The following year, China tea 
 alone being dutiable, it yielded a paltry ;^4,838, a figure 
 which was decimated again in 1905. The imports from 
 China have fallen away steadily to ;^3,ooo a year, while 
 British-grown tea from India and Ceylon have come into 
 almost universal use. 
 
 Elsewhere the preferential duties have had a marked 
 effect in diverting the foreign trade of New Zealand to 
 British dominions. In 1906 the whole of the increase of 
 trade (22 per cent.) was so secured. Previous to this 
 preference Belgian bars could be placed in New Zealand 
 cheaper than Scotch or North Country. The 20 per cent, 
 barrier against the foreigner has completely altered the 
 position,' though in such a case, needless to say. New 
 Zealand pays for her patriotism. There are even more 
 ' Report of the Board of Trade Commissioner, 1908. 
 
PROTECTION AND MONOPOLIES 323 
 
 striking cases of the desire of the people to have their 
 business with communities of British nationality. The 
 Wellington Harbour Board is one of the large public 
 corporations which specifically invite tenders for large 
 engineering contracts from selected firms in New Zealand, 
 Australia, and England, and decline to consider the 
 cheaper offers of foreign companies. 
 
 The following table is an interesting illustration of the 
 trend of tariff incidence : — 
 
 Merchandise. 
 
 1894 1898 1907 
 
 £ £ £ 
 
 Free 1,871,772 2,800,046 6,350,448 
 
 Dutiable ... 4,118,405 5,411,363 10,189,259 
 
 5,990,177 8,211,409 16,539,707 
 
 Duty Per Cent. 
 
 1894 1898 1907 
 
 On dutiable imports ... 38-18 3632 30-28 
 
 On all merchandise ... 26-25 23-94 18-65 
 
 The alterations of tariff were made in 1895, 1900, 1903, 
 and 1907. 
 
 To-day the customs tariff of New Zealand combines 
 as democratically as possible the principles of a free 
 breakfast-table, high protection for local industries, and 
 a preference for British goods, which does occasionally 
 entail a sacrifice. Under the Act of 1903 the Govern- 
 ment has power to enter into reciprocal relations with 
 any other British dominions for the exchange of products 
 under a reduced tariff so adjusted as to involve the 
 parties in almost equal sacrifices. Such an agreement 
 was entered into with the South African States in 1906. 
 Another, drafted by Mr. Seddon just before his death, for 
 reciprocity with the Austrahan Commonwealth, was 
 received without enthusiasm in either country, and 
 rejected. The sudden discovery that Australia and New 
 Zealand were running neck and neck for first place in 
 the production of certain foodstuffs has rather discour- 
 
324 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 aged any further overtures. The farmers of New Zealand 
 are no more anxious than those of Australia to see their 
 home markets thrown open to the competition of outside 
 products in those poor seasons which mean money to 
 the producer. 
 
 The protective duties in New Zealand are the outcome 
 of a genuine desire to encourage local industries. It is 
 already one of the strongest indictments that can be 
 brought against a Government that it has procured abroad 
 what could be obtained within the Dominion ; and this 
 charge is often made with a cheerful disregard of the 
 difference in cost of the article. It is not unusual for 
 public bodies and companies in New Zealand to pay 
 locally as much as lo per cent, more for contracts and 
 supplies than they would have to pay to a foreign con- 
 tractor. In this case the extra payment is not altogether 
 a concession to patriotism. Part of it is a fair consider- 
 ation for the advantage of having the work done near at 
 hand, promptly and without risk of mistakes. The tariff 
 in regard to manufactures is so adjusted as to let articles 
 down lightly, according to the amount of employment 
 they are likely to give within the country. The tea duty, 
 as an inconsiderable example, is lighter for bulk quantities 
 than for tea put up in small packets ready for the market. 
 Unmanufactured tobacco is 2s. the pound, cigarettes and 
 cigars ys. Textile piece-goods are 20 per cent., apparel 
 made to order 40 per cent. Iron and other metals in the 
 crude condition are allowed in free, because the vast iron 
 deposits of New Zealand are not being operated, but all 
 iron manufactures are weighted with imposts. The 
 capitalising of a company to work the Parapara deposits 
 would probably be followed closely by the imposition of 
 duties on pig-, bar-, and sheet-iron. Quite recently the 
 Minister of Railways had to reply to a charge of having 
 imported engine rods, axle-boxes, and springs for a new 
 locomotive for especially heavy haulage. His reply was 
 that no such steel was obtainable in New Zealand, that 
 the axle-boxes had only been sufficiently machined abroad 
 to test their soundness, that the finishing work would be 
 
PROTECTION AND MONOPOLIES 325 
 
 done within the Dominion, and that the springs had only 
 been imported on account of the pressure of work in 
 New Zealand. Questions of this sort are of everyday 
 occurrence. 
 
 Quite unconsciously Protection has become a vital 
 force in New Zealand. Though it has a strong minority 
 of opponents in principle, it has gradually become so 
 interwoven with the prosperity of the country, that it 
 could scarcely be repealed without something in the 
 nature of a social calamity. Protection only exists for 
 the sake of giving employment. Its best friends admit 
 that it increases prices all round. If it were reversed 
 to-day dozens of industries, large and small, would be 
 absolutely and instantly ruined, and thousands of artisans 
 and mechanics thrown out of work. Protection is as 
 essential a part of the national policy as arbitration and 
 closer settlement of the land, and it could not be 
 abandoned now without very serious results. Whether 
 the people will eventually seek some relief from the con- 
 tinuous enhancing of the cost of living, which is largely 
 to be ascribed to the twin influences of Protection and 
 Arbitration, remains to be seen. 
 
 Protection has developed in New Zealand along certain 
 lines which would probably be impossible in countries 
 differently situated. The sea moat by which the group 
 is surrounded is in itself a very definite measure of pro- 
 tection. A tariff protection superadded to this means a 
 much greater measure of protection for the local market 
 than the same impost would mean in the case of England, 
 Germany, America, or Canada. It means that no new 
 competitor, unless exceptionally served by steamship 
 lines, would enter into competition with the prospect at 
 best of securing only a share of a very limited local 
 market. 
 
 In a country so situated Protection tends dangerously 
 to transform local industries, fostered by a strong patriotic 
 feeling, into monopolies. The moment that healthy 
 competition is eliminated the whole operation of Protec- 
 tion is dangerous. And in far-away, tiny New Zealand it 
 
326 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 was eliminated very early in the day. The people were 
 determined to have their own industries, and they have 
 not been content with half-measures in protecting them 
 from interference. 
 
 The struggle with incipient monopoHes has not pro- 
 ceeded far enough to permit of any deductions of value. 
 The principle of State interference with industries in the 
 interests of the public became so thoroughly estabhshed 
 in a period of ten years of quasi-Socialism that certain 
 well-recognised trusts of long standing hesitated to exact 
 more than a generously just profit from their New Zealand 
 consumers. Long before any definite declaration was 
 made by the Government the heads of these combines or 
 trusts understood as well as the public did that Parliament 
 in its democratic spirit stood inexorably between them 
 and any extortionate profits, and they were generally 
 content to reap reasonable returns from a wealthy and 
 well-protected — if restricted — market. 
 
 The first decided move against a trust was made at the 
 beginning of the century. A steady centralisation of the 
 import trade in agricultural implements was followed by 
 a systematic lowering of the prices of certain implements 
 in direct menace tothelocal manufacturers. There was, and 
 is, no duty on agricultural implements. The farmers did 
 not want Protection, but neither the farmers nor the 
 general public wished to see a foreign trust destroy a 
 local industry and afterwards command its own prices. 
 
 The Government got over the difficulty by a compro- 
 mise. In 1905 it passed an Act constituting a board to 
 investigate any complaints of unfair competition in the 
 agricultural implement trade. If the board, having 
 received a complaint from two or three local manufac- 
 turers that the price of imported implements ^ had been 
 
 ' Ploughs, harrows, drills, cultivators, rollers, chaff-cutters, and seed 
 cleaners are the implements named in the Act. Harvesters (locally called 
 reaper and binders) were not included, for the simple reason that they 
 were protected by a foreign patent in New Zealand and could not be 
 made there. It was on these implements that the invading trust hoped to 
 make its profits. 
 
PROTECTION AND MONOPOLIES 327 
 
 materially reduced and that importers were carrying on 
 competition on unfair lines, came to the conclusion that 
 the complaint was well grounded, it could advise the 
 Government to grant relief. If the New Zealand manu- 
 facturers agreed to reduce their prices for certain 
 implements by at least 20 per cent., a countervailing 
 tariff advantage might be recommended. The Com- 
 missioner has power to grant, on the recommendation of 
 the board, bonuses up to 33 per cent., " as he deems 
 necessary, to enable the local manufacturers to compete 
 with the importers." To make the thing complete power 
 is given to refund duty paid on any parts which are to be 
 used by New Zealand manufacturers and which cannot 
 be made advantageously in the Dominion. Finally, 
 since the Act was directly aimed at an American trust, 
 and since the spirit of Imperial preference was already 
 abroad in the land, implements made in the United 
 Kingdom were treated as if made in New Zealand. 
 
 What happened ? 
 
 For two years there was a pregnant peace. Then in 
 1907 a complaint was filed with the board that drills, disc 
 harrows, and cultivators of United States manufacture 
 were being sold at greatly reduced prices, below those 
 specified in the gazetted schedule. The board met, and 
 discovered on investigation that the drills had been 
 imported before the Act came into operation by a minor 
 company whose rights had since been acquired by the 
 trust. They were sold simply as old stock, to clear, and 
 the board could not recommend that any protective 
 action be taken. So far there has been no recurrence of 
 undercutting. 
 
 Thus New Zealand has reached this singular position, 
 that while the anti-trust Act preserves the status quo 
 and eliminates undercutting, one of the few unprotected 
 industries in the country is able to furnish agricultural 
 implements to the farmers at prices ranging from 5 to 
 20 per cent, below those ruling in the protected market 
 of Australia. The Australian manufacturers, moreover, 
 pay lower wages than those of New Zealand. If the 
 
328 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 experiment had been longer in force it might be possible 
 to draw deductions. As it is, there is a possibiHty that 
 the increased wages which are general throughout New 
 Zealand may finally have their effect in this, as in other 
 industries, and lead to a raising of the schedule prices of 
 implements. It is hardly conceivable that the somewhat 
 arbitrary fixing of the selling prices can survive the 
 steady enhancement of the cost of production. 
 
 In another case the trust raised its head in a different 
 form. It was a native-born monster, the most apt 
 product of Protection. We have seen elsewhere how 
 the protective tariff of Australia dealt a blow at New 
 Zealand wheat-growing, and threw high and dry the 
 over-capitalised industry of flour-milling. The millers 
 entered into a mutual agreement with the avowed object 
 of preventing cutting, and so making the best of the 
 restricted local market. They had to earn interest on 
 a plant that was now capable of fulfilling the require- 
 ments of the market thrice over. They were protected 
 by the tariff, and before long the public came to the con- 
 clusion that they were being exploited. The Government 
 thought so, at any rate, and it lost no time in bringing 
 the guns of the Legislature to bear. This time, too, they 
 proposed to use the customs tariff as the weapon, and to 
 act upon the recommendation of a board of inquiry. 
 The Arbitration Court was appointed to conduct the 
 inquiry. If it found, upon a duly lodged complaint, 
 that the price of flour was unreasonably high, it could 
 recommend the Government to remit the protective 
 duty, and so throw the market open to the levelling 
 influence of Australian and American importations. 
 
 For its guidance the Court was instructed in the Act 
 itself ' that it was to consider the offence proved if the 
 average price of flour in New Zealand should be rela- 
 tively to the price of wheat in New Zealand higher than 
 the average price of flour in Australia to the price of 
 wheat there, " unless, in the opinion of the Court, the 
 additional price is justified by the additional cost of pro- 
 ■ The Flour and Other Products Monopoly Prevention Act, 1907. 
 
PROTECTION AND MONOPOLIES 329 
 
 duction." Wheat, to which the Act also appUed, was to 
 be considered unreasonably dear if, by any complete or 
 partial monopoly, the price was higher than would be 
 determined by unrestricted competition. The duty 
 on both wheat and potatoes^ can be removed if there 
 is any evidence of a monopoly. 
 
 " The Act was extended to potatoes in consequence of a strong suspicion 
 of cornering the short supplies in the seasons of 1904-6, when the crops 
 were decimated by potato blight. In that period over ;£io,ooo was paid 
 in duty on imported potatoes. 
 
CHAPTER XXIV 
 
 THE MAORI AS AN ECONOMIC FACTOR 
 
 Extinction of the race threatened — The Treaty of Waitangi — The pre- 
 fakeha Maori — A change in the savage economy — Relapse into 
 barbarism — Pakeha arts discarded — A native aristocracy — A national 
 point of honour— A reign of aloofness — The influence of the 
 " prophets " — The progressive Ngatiporou — A tribe of farmers — 
 Successful co-operation — A domestic movement — The Hon. A. T- 
 Ngata, M.P. — Carelessness and lack of system — The future of the 
 Maori — Technical training — Arrest of the dechne — The Maori and the 
 land inseparable. 
 
 What is one to say, in this year of grace 1909, of the 
 Maori race as a factor in the economics of New Zealand ? 
 
 A century ago it was easy enough to generahse. The 
 Maori had just then become known to the Old World. 
 His repute was that of a barbarian, chivalrous, it is true, 
 but so confirmed and hopeless that he must needs, when 
 once the Terror of Europe had been checked and con- 
 quered, fly, shrieking, into the Never Never, as the 
 Aztecs and the Red Indians had gone, before the flash- 
 ing sabres and resounding rifles of the European soldiery. 
 Nobody, in the first days of the nineteenth century, 
 ever expected that the Maori would live to see the dawn 
 of the twentieth. Indeed, when the muskets of Te 
 Rauparaha and Hongi laid waste the land and deci- 
 mated whole tribes none dared hope that the remnant 
 of the race would ever be strong enough to demand 
 the justice due to a savage in the new dominion of the 
 whites. 
 
 That wonderful instrument, the Treaty of Waitangi, 
 was executed in a panic in 1840. To it succeeded years 
 
MAORI AS AN ECONOMIC FACTOR 331 
 
 of warfare between the ill-armed savage and the trained 
 troops from Taku, Afghanistan, and the Punjab, and at 
 the end of two decades the extinction of the Maori 
 seemed certain to one of their best friends.^ Yet to-day, 
 according to a reliable enumeration, the Maori are twice 
 as numerous as Judge Fenton expected them to be. 
 The more closely one studies the history of New Zealand 
 the more must he be astounded that a native race so 
 handicapped by the division of their interests, so cut off 
 from all help and sympathy, should have survived the 
 lawlessness, the internecine slaughter, and the rapine of 
 those long decades, and emerged an object-lesson to the 
 world. 
 
 There is no need to follow the Maori through all their 
 early vicissitudes. We have the turning-point of their 
 history fixed at 1840. They were still a barbarous race : 
 cannibalism was not yet extinct. But the forty years 
 preceding the Treaty of Waitangi had wrought marked 
 changes in the domestic economy of the native. In his 
 pre-pakeha condition he had lived mainly on fish and 
 roots. He had no animals ; he understood little of 
 agriculture. He was not even a trader. All this had 
 been changed by the influence of the whaler and the 
 missionary. The native had now learned to require 
 wheat and to grow it. He had a casual cow and horse 
 and a multitude of pigs and dogs. He had learned to 
 barter his flax and spars instead of giving them away. 
 And he had learned to take guns in barter in preference 
 to anything else, because they gave him a greater mana ^ 
 amongst the rival tribes. The Maori chiefs who signed 
 the Treaty of Waitangi were not by any means ignorant, 
 unsophisticated savages. If they had been united they 
 could easily have dispensed with all necessity for making 
 treaties with the intruding pakeha. 
 
 When the treaty did come along its effect was not 
 immediate. If it had not been thought of the British 
 
 ' Judge F. D. Fenton, who compiled the Maori statistical tables 
 in 1859. 
 = Reputation, prestige, influence. 
 
332 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 arms could scarcely have been put to it more severely to 
 maintain the Queen's authority. The treaty had actually 
 confirmed to the Maori the ownership of the whole of 
 the land in the islands, but the native had not yet 
 entered into the state of dignity which this secured for 
 him. Henceforth every step in the settlement of the 
 country was subject to purchases of land from the natives. 
 The problem was not a pressing one at first, because the 
 Maori far outnumbered the whites, and while this was 
 so land had no particular value. The pakeha could 
 easily secure all they desired from natives who were 
 willing to sell their communal rights. Within twenty 
 years, however, the white population counterbalanced 
 the natives in numbers. The pakeha had a greater 
 relative need for land than the Maori, though the Maori 
 himself had now begun to see Western values and 
 civilised utilities in virgin soil. 
 
 With the proclamation of British authority the inter- 
 tribal wars ceased, and many of the tribes gave them- 
 selves up with enthusiasm to the pursuits of the pakeha. 
 An air of peaceful industry succeeded to the bristling 
 defiance of the pristine pa.^ The natives grew splendid 
 wheat crops, and ground the wheat into flour in their 
 own mills. Their wives, too, evidenced in their cloth- 
 ing and their cookery the acquirement of many of the 
 arts of civilisation. In both clothing and food the 
 Maori began to make fresh demands upon the resources 
 of his country. By the time of Judge Fenton's report 
 there were very few of the tribes — chiefly the descendants 
 of the original tangata whenua,^ in the Urewera country 
 — to whom the influence of civilisation had not in some 
 degree penetrated. 
 
 But in reality it was not until long after the signing of 
 the treaty that the native appeared as a problem inexor- 
 able in the path of progress. The treaty itself was largely 
 responsible for the wars which set back for years the 
 development of the fertile lands of the North Island, 
 
 ' The fortified village. 
 
 = Original inhabitants : autocthones. 
 
MAORI AS AN ECONOMIC FACTOR 333 
 
 and afterwards held the Maori in sullen antagonism to 
 the alienation of their lands. If we measured the 
 native problem in New Zealand merely by the economic 
 loss it entailed — the holding up of settlement, the expense 
 and disquiet of protracted wars, the actual payment for 
 the land itself (which rarely comes into the calculations 
 of a conquering race) — then it would not be an incon- 
 siderable problem. But its real significance came years 
 later. It was not till long after the wars, when the 
 Crown lands had almost all passed into the hands of 
 settlers — from thick, impenetrable bush to rolling, sunny, 
 grass-covered downs — that the presence of the native, 
 even in a state of peace, came to be regarded as an 
 obstacle to progress. By now the Maori had, to a large 
 extent, abandoned again the arts of the earlier pakeha 
 days. The orchards were neglected. The flour-mills 
 rotted in idleness on the river banks. The flocks and 
 herds wandered aimlessly in the scrub, breeding hap- 
 hazard, degenerating and spreading noxious weeds 
 broadcast with their own imperfections. The seed 
 which had been sown at Waitangi was now bearing 
 its fruit. 
 
 Political quarrels distracted some of the tribes, which 
 eagerly arrayed themselves with their countrymen, or 
 espoused the cause of the pakeha in the long succession 
 of wars. To these succeeded the distractions of their 
 own domestic politics. Many of the brightest intellects 
 of the Maori race in the latter half of the century were 
 unfortunately attracted away from their own immediate 
 concerns to the national Parliament, in which, for forty 
 years, the Maori party, consisting of four native members, 
 has been little more than a name. Left thus practically 
 leaderless, the Maori nation drifted aimlessly along, with- 
 out incentive to work or to act for themselves. Maori 
 politics were shaped almost entirely by pakeha minds. 
 The native retreated absolutely to his pas, and a score 
 would comprise the whole of the Maori who, during the 
 last few decades, have gone abroad for purposes of 
 education. The native ownership of land, respected by 
 
334 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 the pakeha, served rather to maintain the Maori in easy 
 circumstances, and to take away the incentive to work, 
 than to encourage industry and thrift. 
 
 The treaty had, in fact, estabHshed a native landed 
 aristocracy. Thousands of Maori, satisfying their modest 
 wants on the rents paid to them by white men — run- 
 holders at first, but later small settlers — were placed 
 beyond that very necessity — hard work — which could 
 be their only hope of ultimate salvation. The selective 
 and sharpening influence of war and savage life was 
 taken away. Existence called for no exertion. The 
 race had its ears faced right down-hill. They were 
 treated with every kindness, even with generosity. 
 Since the ownership of land took away any stigma 
 from a mixed alliance, they married on terms of 
 equality into pakeha families. In hundreds of the best 
 pakeha families in New Zealand there is a recognised 
 strain of Maori blood. But there was a cardinal un- 
 kindness, an injury to the race, in the very treaty which 
 relieved them of the invigorating necessity of entering 
 into the battle for existence. 
 
 That the pakeha of New Zealand have never enter- 
 tained the idea of renouncing the Treaty of Waitangi 
 stands to their credit as a nation. The national honour 
 of New Zealand has stood alone between the Maori race 
 and utter extermination. As a business proposition the 
 natives were for many years — and might even now be 
 considered — a bad bargain. Although the rights granted 
 by the treaty were so amplified in the New Zealand 
 constitution as to rank the Maori as the absolute co- 
 equal, civil and political, of the white, the native has 
 never borne the same burdens, governmental and social. 
 His lands are not taxed. He is under no obligation to 
 incur the heavy local expenditure that progress forces 
 on his white brother. In many cases he is free altogether 
 of the expenses of local government. He stands on a 
 footing with his pakeha fellows only in regard to taxation 
 through the customs. It is because the absence of these 
 burdens has removed all incentive to exertion that the 
 
MAORI AS AN ECONOMIC FACTOR 335 
 
 Maori people have enjoyed so much of the sympathy 
 of the whites. The narrowest pakeha understands the 
 dangers which confront the Maori race, and strong 
 efforts have been made at different times to wean the 
 Maori from the influence of their own tohungas^ and 
 wed them to European civilisation in all its activity 
 and strenuousness. 
 
 As a rule the mana of one prophet has only died 
 to make way for that of another. After the war in 
 the Waikato the " King " movement there played 
 upon the grievances of the natives against the Kawa- 
 natanga^ and held them for years sullenly aloof from 
 the march of progress. Governments which would 
 gladly have done what was possible to assist the Maori 
 to farm his own land had perforce to be content with 
 purchasing what it could from the Maori and re-selling to 
 the pakeha, Then came the cult of Te Whiti, which 
 held a whole province spellbound for a generation. No 
 sooner had this prophet died (November, 1907) than a 
 new one arose counselling peaceful hostility to the pro- 
 gress of pakeha institutions. 
 
 One prophet taught that it was wicked to receive 
 money from the pakeha, so his followers allowed their 
 rent receipts to accrue steadily with the Public Trustee 
 until the prophet died! This man, too, held it a mortal 
 wickedness to build European houses, but a rival chief 
 in the same village having erected one, he was compelled, 
 for the sake of his mana, to do better, and before long 
 the opposing factions, who were both strongly anti- 
 Kawanatanga, were feverishly at work building house 
 after house to rival the latest edifice of the oppos- 
 ing faction. Drainage and a water-supply followed, and 
 Parihaka, the hotbed of savagery, became suddenly a 
 model village. The two factions eventually combined 
 to construct a fine metalled road into the village. 
 
 But every whim of the prophets did not end so 
 happily. There was the " King," in the Waikato, to 
 whom year after year homage was paid in kind and 
 " Prophets or priests. ' The Government. 
 
336 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 cash from all parts of the country to perpetuate a 
 propaganda of disaffection. There is now Rua, who 
 has distracted the whole of the Bay of Plenty natives 
 with his freaks and his quasi-Mormon religion. At his 
 bidding hundreds of families left their homes, sold their 
 horses, implements, and portable property, refused to 
 work longer for Europeans, and went to live on the 
 high ground to avoid the " Deluge " which he predicted 
 would devastate the low land. Over and over again a 
 cult of this sort, founded on a rude Christianity, has 
 distracted the natives for a time and utterly impoverished 
 them. 
 
 Here and there, on the other hand, a tribe or hapu^ has 
 broken away from the thraldom and started off in earnest 
 pursuit of the pakeha. There were the Ngatiporou at 
 the East Cape. They had not been much affected by 
 the first wave of civilisation that came in the wake of 
 the Queen's authority, and when they tried farming in 
 the seventies it was a domestic movement, under no out- 
 side tutorage. They purchased sheep and turned them 
 loose on the long, brown slopes of the East Coast, where 
 the tussac and toi tot wave eternal in the Pacific breezes, 
 where the green flax sedges the streams and the cabbage 
 palms stand sentry on the hillsides. Scab was still rife 
 amongst the flocks of New Zealand. The Maori neglected 
 such necessary details as dipping and treating, and by 
 and by the inexorable stock inspector ordered the de- 
 struction of the whole of the Maori flocks. Utterly dis- 
 couraged, the Maori abandoned sheep-farming, let his 
 land pass easily away to the pakeha, and feasted and made 
 merry on the proceeds. 
 
 Ten years later the spirit took them again. There was 
 a pakeha working sheep profitably in their midst. The 
 Ngatiporou determined to try again on their own com- 
 munal lands. One hapu accepted a scrub-cutting 
 contract from a white settler, and purchased sheep with 
 the proceeds. Another tribe which had collected money 
 for the erection of a meeting-house bought sheep with 
 ■ Family ; section of a tribe. 
 
MAORI AS AN ECONOMIC FACTOR 337 
 
 the surplus of £70. Gradually until 1898 the industry 
 spread amongst the Maori. Lack of capital prompted 
 the Ngatiporou to adopt a system of co-operation some- 
 what similar to that applied by the whites to dairying. 
 This combined in an admirable manner the communism 
 of the natives with the business methods of the pakeha. 
 White capitalists were encouraged to lend the Maori 
 money, and the experiment was altogether successful. 
 There was no formal incorporation of the lands. The 
 owners, who in some cases numbered hundreds, simply 
 delegated the general management of the stations to 
 committees and the detail work to managers. The 
 European neighbours were in every case sympathetic 
 and helpful. The Maori have been encouraged and 
 liberally assisted, and since capital has been available 
 their operations have expanded with great strides. In 
 the last ten years the number of sheep has doubled. In 
 a single county the Maori owners are actually working 
 more than 50,000 acres of land, which carries 50,000 
 sheep and 2,000 cattle, besides innumerable horses. 
 Here it is a family farm : there an individual one : again 
 a co-operative holding upon which perhaps 200 of the 
 1,300 native owners reside, earning wages in the working 
 of the property and sharing at the end of the financial 
 year in the profits. 
 
 The rivalry that brought pakeha houses to Parihaka has 
 brought the up-to-date woolshed and the Wolseley shear- 
 ing machine to dozens of Maori stations on the East 
 Coast. In the Waiapu county the Maori have, on their 
 own initiative, cleared 60,000 acres of bush land, and 
 they possess 90,000 sheep, 3,500 head of cattle, 8,200 
 pigs, and hundreds of horses. There are fourteen up-to- 
 date woolsheds and hundreds of miles of private tele- 
 phone line connecting the outlying stations. The same 
 progressive spirit is apparent in all the affairs of the East 
 Coast Maori. One village was refused its petition for a 
 native school. The Maori immediately collected ;^2oo, 
 and offered this as a subsidy in repeating the request. 
 The school is now in operation. The East Coast natives 
 
 23 
 
338 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 are now turning their attention to the erection of hostels 
 and nursing homes to assist the district health officers 
 in the important duty of tending the sick Maori and 
 instructing the race in the fundamental rules of hygiene. 
 
 The significance of all this activity on the part of the 
 East Cape Maori rests in the fact that the movement 
 originated with themselves. One of their number, 
 Apirana Turupa Ngata,^ did what many a young Maori 
 has done in graduating from a native school to Te Aute 
 College — a secondary institution for Maori pupils ; what 
 fewer have done, in passing from Te Aute to the Univer- 
 sity of New Zealand ; and what an infinitesimal number 
 have done, in throwing the whole of his education, his 
 restless energy, and his organising ability into the work 
 of promoting the welfare of his own people. Though 
 not the originator of the progress of the East Cape Maori, 
 Mr. Ngata has for years been the heart and soul of the 
 progressive movement which has at length indicated to 
 the sympathetic white population a means of permanently 
 establishing the Maori as an economic entity in New 
 Zealand. 
 
 The experiments at East Cape affect only a small 
 proportion of the Maori population. Elsewhere, with 
 greater advantages and closer contact with Europeans, 
 the results have been far less encouraging. Until last 
 year Te Whiti-ism held the natives of the Taranaki Pro- 
 vince aloof from the pursuits of the pakeha. On the 
 Whanganui River, again, where lived some of the most 
 
 ' The Hon. A. T. Ngata was born at Te Araroa in 1874, educated in the 
 native school at Waiomatatini, Te Aute College, and Canterbury College 
 (University of New Zealand) ; B.A.,1893; runner-up in political science 
 scholarship ; articled to law ; M.A., 1894 ; LL.B., 1896 ; admitted to Bar, 
 1897; organising secretary in 1899 of the Young Maori Party, which aims 
 at the regeneration of the race through education, sanitary science, and 
 industry ; organising inspector of Maori Councils, 1902-4 ; Member of 
 Parliament for Eastern Maori since 1905 ; member of three Royal Com- 
 missions on native matters, 1905-9 ; secretary to Maori Congress, 1907-8 ; 
 member of executive representing native race, 1909. Another educated 
 Maori, Dr. Pomare, is Chief Native Health Officer; and a third. Dr. Te 
 Rangihiroa (Assistant Native Health Officer), has just been elected to 
 represent the Northern Maori in Parliament. 
 
MAORI AS AN ECONOMIC FACTOR 339 
 
 illustrious and powerful tribes of the pve-pakeha days, 
 the flour-mills of the early civilised era have been aban- 
 doned to ruin, the wide wheat-fields have gone back to 
 scrub and fern. Agriculture and enterprise are for the 
 moment dead. In the King Country, too, which lies 
 vaguely in the middle of the North Island, the influence 
 of the " Kings " has been all against progress. But the 
 natives everywhere keep some European stock, and three- 
 fourths of the butter-fat received at the central dairy 
 factory at Te Kuiti is the produce of Maori-owned cows. 
 Sheep-farming amongst the Ngati-maniapoto is elemen- 
 tary and crude, because European sheep-owners, who 
 are essential as pacemakers to the Maori, have scarcely 
 yet overcome the native fern of the Waikato hills. 
 
 The East Coast experiment has, however, amply proved 
 the possibility of making the Maori a farming people on 
 business lines, and so wedding them to the soil in practice 
 as they are already wedded in traditional ownership. 
 Judge Sim, of the Native Land Court, has voiced the 
 belief of most students of the Maori in these words: — 
 
 " I do not think any attempt to sever the Maori from 
 his land will result in success. His only chance lies in 
 being encouraged and taught to utilise his land." 
 
 Hitherto the chief complaint against the natives is that 
 they never have " utilised " the land which is secured by 
 the treaty against occupation by the pakeha. The kaiiiga ' 
 itself may happen to be fenced and kept tidy; but it is 
 probably not, for the common ownership of land regards 
 the fence as a public offence. Close at hand, too, there 
 is another fence of sorts to keep the roving communistic 
 pig out of the patch of oats, necessary to keep together 
 the body and soul of the charger upon which the young 
 Maori blood ranges the country-side. The maize plot, as 
 well, must be protected against the ravages of the animals 
 of the kainga, because it furnishes one of the most 
 cherished foodstuffs of the Maori. Apart from this the 
 tribal lands are generally neglected. Horses, cattle, and 
 sheep wander about at their sweet will ; fern, scrub, and 
 
 ' Village, 
 
340 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 noxious weeds spread everywhere. The last state of the 
 land is no better than the first. 
 
 For lack of system the communistic Maori is shut out 
 of many markets. His grain is dirty with weeds. His 
 potatoes are ravaged by blight. His milk is rejected at 
 the factory because the pa pigs are allowed to wallow 
 in the water supply. His cattle are tuberculous. His 
 horses have ringbones, sidebones, and all the blemishes 
 of hard riding. His stock generally is inbred and weak. 
 What does it matter, so that he has enough to live on ? 
 There are rents coming in every half-year from the 
 pakeha sections on the river. There is money from the 
 sale of some new block to the Government. There is 
 the billiard-room at the cross-roads. And, after all, if 
 everything fails, the Kawanatanga will send potatoes and 
 flour for the winter. "Ka pai !" (" It is good.") 
 
 The question of the ultimate position of the Maori 
 race had engaged students for many years, but it only 
 became a serious one when, by the advance of European 
 settlement, it became necessary to make further inroads 
 on the area of land remaining in possession of the 
 natives. That area is now greatly in excess of the 
 actual requirements of the natives, and if it is not 
 turned to proper account and made to produce wealth 
 and bear its burdens with the European lands, it is 
 questionable whether public opinion will much longer 
 tolerate its locking-up. Should the Maori fail to proceed 
 now to a practical possession of his lands the time must 
 come when the legal processes which exist will be used 
 to despoil him of it. And that simply means, to all who 
 know native races, that from a landed aristocracy the 
 Maori will become a proletariat of paupers. There are 
 few in New Zealand who believe that public opinion will 
 ever force the position so ruthlessly. The incidents of 
 the Maori transition to industrialism, which have already 
 been referred to, are an earnest of what is possible with 
 the race. In a memorial on the subject two years ago a 
 Royal Commission, consisting of the Chief Justice (Sir 
 Robert Stout) and Mr. Ngata, asked: — 
 
MAORI AS AN ECONOMIC FACTOR 341 
 
 " What is to become of the Maori people ? Is the 
 race to pass away entirely ? ... If it is considered that 
 half a century ago the race were living as cannibals the 
 immense development of the Maori people must surprise 
 every one. The race is worth saving, and the duty and 
 burden of preserving the race rests with the people of 
 New Zealand. The Maori, we believe, can not only be 
 preserved, but also become active, energetic, thrifty, 
 industrious citizens. On the East Coast of the North 
 Island there are Maori communities just as well- 
 behaved and just as industrious as European settlers. 
 . . . To our minds, what is now the paramount con- 
 sideration is the encouragement and training of the 
 Maori to become industrious settlers. The necessity 
 of assisting the Maori to settle his own lands was never 
 properly recognised (by legislation), . . . The spectacle 
 is presented to us of a people starving in the midst of 
 plenty. If it is difficult for the European to acquire 
 Maori land owing to complications of title, it is more 
 difficult for the individual Maori owner to acquire his 
 own land, be he ever so ambitious and capable of using 
 it. And when he has succeeded he is handicapped by 
 want of capital, by lack of training — he is under the 
 ban as one of a spendthrift, easy-going, improvident 
 people." 
 
 That Commission came to the conclusion that the 
 Maori would have no chance unless he received a more 
 technical education than he had had in the past. " It 
 cannot be expected," the report remarked, " that he can 
 equal a race that has been farming for thousands of 
 years whilst his race has only been engaged in what 
 may be termed hunting and in the culture of small 
 garden patches." The traditional ownership of Maori 
 land is communal. Every acre has a multiplicity of 
 owners, probably a dozen, but possibly a score or 
 many hundreds. To individualise the land would not 
 only be difficult, it would be grossly unfair to a people 
 who do not live as individualists. Consequently the 
 working of farms on the co-operative system adopted 
 
342 NEW ZEALAND IN EVOLUTION 
 
 on the East Coast seems to be the most equitable 
 course to follow. All the details of the farming are 
 decided by a competent manager, who receives a 
 salary. 
 
 Within the last few years the working of land so 
 incorporated has spread from the East Coast to the 
 Whanganui River, but no results have yet been achieved 
 in the latter locality. The outlook for the Maori is 
 critical, but it is abundantly hopeful. The ownership 
 of land has given the Maori a dignity which no other 
 dark race has ever enjoyed in a country dominated by 
 whites. The Maori has the hearty sympathy of the 
 pakeha, whose equal he is in politics and in fact. This 
 equality is only varied according to the moral character 
 of the individual. Though the Maori, as a race, have 
 yet to justify themselves in the industrial sphere, it is 
 generally recognised to-day that the extinction of the 
 race will be by absorption and not by extermination. 
 
 Judge Fenton, who was very closely informed, pre- 
 dicted in 1859 that the race would decline according to 
 the first column in the subjoined table. The actual 
 census figures (which at every succeeding period are 
 more accurate) are stated in the second column : — 
 
 
 Fenton's 
 
 
 Census 
 
 
 Table. 
 
 
 Result 
 
 1858 
 
 .. 56,049 
 
 1858 ... 
 
 ... 56,049 
 
 1872 
 
 .. 45.164 
 
 1874 ... 
 
 - 45,470 
 
 1886 
 
 ■• 36,393 
 
 1886 
 
 ... 41,969 
 
 1900 
 
 •• 29,325 
 
 1901 
 
 - 43,143 
 
 I9I4 
 
 .. 23,630 
 
 1906 
 
 - 47,731 
 
 1956 
 
 .. 12,364 
 
 
 
 The census on which Judge Fenton based his calcula- 
 tion was the first at which an equilibrium was established 
 between the white and the dark population. At present 
 the total population of New Zealand is just over one 
 million, and only 5 per cent, are Maori. There are 
 besides many half-casts, descended from marriages of 
 a European and a Maori. In some districts the pale, 
 brownish skin, dark, wavy hair, and slightly broadened 
 
MAORI AS AN ENONOMIC FACTOR 343 
 
 features of the mixed race are quite common, and the 
 effect of the admixture on the race as a whole is not 
 inconsiderable. 
 
 As a problem affecting the peace of the country the 
 Maori have long since ceased to be an element of 
 danger. For thirty years the races have lived on terms 
 of complete amity. On the other hand, the peculiar 
 conditions surrounding the economy of the Maori 
 themselves have placed them in a position of much 
 greater importance than their numbers warrant. The 
 subjoined table only partially represents the inequality 
 of the position, inasmuch as the Maori land escapes the 
 graduated taxation, and the Maori themselves, owing to 
 their semi-civilised manner of life, pay much less than 
 the pakeha in indirect taxation through the customs : — 
 
 
 Population at 
 
 Area of Land in 
 
 Average 
 
 
 Census, 1906. 
 
 Possession of. 
 
 per Head. 
 
 Whites 
 
 ... 908,726 
 
 37,564,288 acres 
 
 41 acres 
 
 Maori... 
 
 - 47,731 
 
 7,445,000- „ 
 
 155 „ 
 
 Much of the native land is, of course, of very poor 
 quality, similar to a large area of the unoccupied Crown 
 lands. On the whole, it is inferior in quality to the 
 occupied European lands. 
 
 Separated from their lands, there would be no prospect 
 whatever for the Maori. They have little mechanical 
 aptitude, and any attempt to utilise them in mechanical 
 industries would be foredoomed to failure. Their whole 
 disposition is naturally towards an open-air life. They 
 make expert bushmen, flaxmill hands, and shearers, and 
 if the necessity for work could be forced upon them 
 they would undoubtedly become once more as fine 
 sailors as their forefathers were. But the regeneration 
 of the Maori, if it is ever accomplished, will be through 
 their development as agriculturists and graziers. That 
 is the only way in which they will be able to utilise 
 the one weapon which they possess in competition with 
 the whites. 
 
 ■ Exclusive of the South Island, where the area is considerable. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Absentee landlordism, i8i 
 
 Tax, 182, 183 
 Advances to Settlers Office, 188 ct seq., 253-54 
 Agriculture— 
 
 Agricultural bank, i88 et scq., 253-54 
 
 Cultivable land, lo-ii 
 
 Development of agriculture, 191 
 
 Grain-growing, 286-go 
 
 Implement making, 280-82, 319, 326 
 
 Influence of industrial arbitration on, 217, 225 
 
 Labourers' dispute, 237 
 
 Native farmers, 336-43 
 Akaroa, French colony at, 27, 42 
 Allegiance of New Zealanders, 44 
 Alps, Southern, 3-4 
 American trade, 312 et seq. 
 Apprentices, regulation of, 220 et seq. 
 Arbitration, see tmdcr Industrial Arbitration and Labour 
 
 Agricultural labourers' dispute, 217, 237 
 
 Anti-strike clause, 239 
 
 Anti-trust tribunal, 328 
 
 Court, 211 
 
 Congestion of court, 229 
 
 Court re-established, 241-42 
 
 Punishment of strikers, 238-39 
 
 Wages and Protection, 293-94, 325 
 
 Wages, increase of, 232-33 
 Argentine Republic, competition of, 134, 139-40 
 Atkinson, Sir Harry, 168, 200 
 Auckland Province, 7, 32, 35, 38, 41, 42 
 
 Timber industry, 58-9 
 
 Volcanic formation, 7 
 Australia protected against New Zealand, 286-89, 292 
 
 Reciprocity with, 323 
 
 Retaliation against, 322 
 Austrians in New Zealand, 43, 118 
 
 Aves, Mr. Ernest, on labour legislation, 216 «., 219, 224, 235 
 
 346 
 
346 INDEX 
 
 Ballance, John, Premier, i8i, 202-3 
 
 Death of, 208 
 
 Land policy, 182 
 
 Socialism, 251 
 
 Taxation, 183 
 Banking — 
 
 Bank of New Zealand, 251-53 
 
 Farmers' Bank, 188 et seg., 253-54 
 
 State Bank, 251 
 Barley culture, 289 
 Beef, see under Meat 
 Bell, Dr. J. Mackintosh, io6 
 Birth-rate, falling, 221-22 
 
 Effect on industries, 222-23 
 
 Mr. Tregear's report, 222 
 Blackball miners' strike, 237-39 
 Bonuses, State, 247 
 
 Dairies, 144 
 
 Fish, 291 
 
 Flax-dressing, 63 
 
 Frozen meat, 127, 141 
 
 Sugar, 319 
 Boot manufacturing, condition of, 234 
 
 Protection, 293-94 
 
 Wages, 293-94 
 Breweries, 320 
 Britain, compared with New Zealand, I 
 
 New Zealand's trade connection, 298 ef seq., 312-17 
 British nationality, 41-2 
 Brydone, Mr. Thomas, 128 
 Busby, James, British Consul and Resident, 20 
 
 Treaty of Waitangi, 24 
 Butter-making, see Dairying, 143-53 
 
 Export, 123 
 
 Calliope, H.M.S., iio-ii 
 Candlemaking, 320 
 
 Canterbury Province, 33, 35, 37, 38, 40 
 Capital, effect of legislation on, 226-27, 243 
 
 Engineering, in, 284 
 
 Gold-mining returns, 102, 104-5 
 Cattle, 143-53 
 
 Beef, 139-40 
 
 Dairy herds, 152-54 
 Cheesemaking, see Dairying, 150-51 
 
 Export of, 123, 150 
 Cheviot Estate, resumption of, 186-87 
 China, trade with, 300 
 
 Tea duty, 322 
 
INDEX 347 
 
 Chinese in New Zealand, 43-4 
 
 Industrial qualities of, 44 
 
 Miners, loo-l 
 Climate, 13 
 Coal-mining, 106-15 
 
 Bell, Dr., on coal measures, 106 
 
 Calliope, H.M.S., iio-ii 
 
 Export, 1878-81, 109 ; no, 115 
 
 Imports, 115 
 
 Labour, 108, in 
 
 New South Wales, in, 107 
 
 Reserve of coal, 115 
 
 State mines, 1 12-14, 256 
 
 State regulation, 111-12 
 Colonisation — 
 
 Expedition of 1825, 20 
 
 New Zealand Association, 21 
 
 New Zealand Company, 21 et seq., 37 et seq. 
 
 Wakefield's ideals, 26 
 Colonists, allegiance of, 44 
 
 Austrians, 43, 118 
 
 Chinese, 43-4 
 
 EngUsh, 33, 36, 38 
 
 French at Akaroa, 42 
 
 Germans, 43 
 
 Irish, 40-1 
 
 Nationality of, 44 
 
 Scandinavians, 42 
 
 Scots, 33, 37-40 
 
 Selection of, 31 ct seq. 
 Combines, trade — 
 
 Agricultural implements, 326-27 
 
 Floui'-milling, 288, 319, 328-29 
 
 Saw-milHng, 58, 319 
 Communism — 
 
 Native farming, 336-43 
 
 No advance amongst whites, 245-46 
 Conciliation, industrial, 210 et seq. 
 
 Abolition of boards, 241 
 
 Abuse of boards, 228 et seq. 
 
 Agricultural labourers' dispute, 237, 237 «. 
 
 Boards, 210-11 
 
 Boards superseded, 230 
 
 Councils of conciliation, 241-42 
 
 Payment of members, 229 
 Cook, Captain James, 5 
 
 Discovery of Nev? Zealand, 16-17 
 
 Takes possession, ig 
 Cook Islands, 2 
 
 Population, 44 
 
348 INDEX 
 
 Cook, Mount, 4 n. 
 Co-operation — 
 
 Dairying, 144-4S 
 
 Labour, 206-7, 264-68 
 
 Maori farming, 336-43 
 
 Water races, 93, 287 
 Cost of living, 124, 214, 216, 225, 231 
 
 of production, 215 et seq. 
 
 Effect on export of manufactures, 217 
 Crozet, Lieut., in New Zealand, 17 
 
 Takes possession, 18 
 Cyanide process, 98 et seq. 
 
 Dairying, 143-53 
 
 Butter-making, 143-50 
 
 Ctieese-making, 150-51 
 
 Competition of Australia, 150-51, 154 
 
 Co-operative system, 144-45 
 
 Disease eradication, 153-S4 
 
 Effect on land values, 154 
 
 Export of produce, 145 n., 149 
 
 Factories, 145-49 
 
 Grading, 147-48, 150 
 
 Herds, 152-54 
 
 Yield per cow, 152 
 D'Entrecasteaux in New Zealand, 18 
 De Surville, M., exploration, 17 
 De Thierry, Baron Charles, 20-21 
 Discovery of New Zealand — 
 
 Cook's voyages, 16-17 
 
 Crozet, 18 
 
 D'Entrecasteaux, 18 
 
 De Surville and Du Fresne, 17 
 
 Tasman, 14-16 
 Docks, graving, 280, 310 
 Dredging for gold, 100 et seq. 
 
 Construction of dredges, 282-83 
 Du Fresne, Marion, 17-18 
 Dunedin shipment of frozen meat, 128-29 
 
 Earthquakes, 8 
 Egmont, Mount, 3, 6 
 Engineering, 273-85 ; in 1890, 197 
 
 Agricultural implements, 280-82 
 
 Beginnings humble, 283-84 
 
 Dredge building, 282-83 
 
 Locomotive construction, 277-78 
 
 Railway works, 273-77 
 
 Shipbuilding, 278-80 
 
INDEX 349 
 
 Engineering {continued} — 
 
 Water-power, 284-85 
 English colonists, 36 et seq. 
 
 Marsden's mission, 36 
 
 New Zealand Company, 36 
 
 Religious selection, 37 
 Exports, 312-17 
 
 Agricultural implements, 281-82 
 
 Butter, 123 
 
 Cheese, 123, 150 
 
 Coal in 1881-85, i°9 i nOi nS 
 
 Dairy produce, 144-4S, 149, 150 
 
 Destination of, 317 et seq. 
 
 Fish, 291 
 
 Flour, 287-88 
 
 Frozen meat, 128, 129, 131, 137, 139 
 
 Fruit, 290 
 
 Gold, to i860, 90 ; 92, 95, 102-4 
 
 Gold dredges, 283 
 
 Grain, 286-89 
 
 Hemp, 62, 63, 64, 67, 69 
 
 Kauri gum, 1 19 
 
 Leather and skins, 292-93 
 
 Manufactures a minimum, 315 
 
 Meat, 123 
 
 Principal ports, 310 
 
 Rabbits, 86 
 
 Silver, 95, 103 
 
 Timber, 54, 59 
 
 Wool, 1858-81, 75 ; 82, 123, 125 
 
 Woollens, 83-4 
 
 Factories — 
 
 Act, 210 
 
 Conditions in, 195-97, 212-27 
 
 Increase of, 225 
 
 Registration, 205 
 
 Sweating, 204-5 
 Farmers and arbitration, 237 
 
 and Protection, 321-22, 324 
 
 Maori, 336-43 
 Fellmongering, 84, 292 
 Female labour, 168-69, 195 et seq., 205 
 
 Effect of legislation, 223 
 
 Home work, 224 
 
 In England, 223 11. 
 
 Proportion of female workers, 224 
 
 Tailoresses Union, 197 
 Fenton, Judge F. D., on Maori increase, 331, 342 
 
350 INDEX 
 
 Fish, 291-92 
 
 Export, 291 
 
 Oyster fisheries. State, 291 
 Fjords, 5 
 
 Flax, New Zealand, see Phormium Tenax 
 Flaxbourne Station, sheep on, 74 
 Flour— 
 
 Anti-trust legislation, 328 
 
 Export, 287-88 
 
 Trust, 288, 319, 328-29 
 Foodstuffs, cost of, 124, 225 
 Forests, 45-59 
 
 Age of trees, 57 
 
 Area of forests, 1830-73, 50 ; 1909, 55 
 
 Department of forestry, 54 
 
 Destruction of, 48 et seq. 
 
 North Island, 11 
 
 Report on, 49-50 
 
 State forests, 56 
 
 Timber industry, 45-59 
 
 Vogel's forest settlements, 50-1, 52 
 
 Walker, report of Captain J. Campbell, 52-53 
 France — 
 
 Colonising Company, 23, 42 
 
 Colony at Akaroa, 42 
 
 De Thierry's scheme, 20-21 
 
 Possession of New Zealand, 18-19 
 Franchise electoral — 
 
 Female, 208 
 
 Manhood, 167 
 
 One man one vote, 208 n. 
 Frozen meat, see under Meat 
 Fruit culture, 289-go 
 
 Export, 290 
 
 Protection, 290 
 
 Germans in New Zealand, 43 
 
 German trade, 312 et seq. 
 Gipps, Sir George, land proclamations, 24, 171, 173 
 Glaciers, 4 
 Gold-mining, 88-105 
 
 Alluvial, 93, 99 
 
 Australasian output, 104] 
 
 Capital, returns on, 104-5 
 
 Cyanide process, 98 
 
 Depression, 94-96 
 
 Discovery, at Coromandel, 85, 96 ; Nelson, 89 ; Otago, 91 ; West- 
 land, 92 
 
 Dividends and returns, 97, 98, 102, 104-5 
 
INDEX 351 
 
 Gold-mining {continued) — 
 
 Dredging, loo et seg. ; development, loi ; number of dredges, 102, 
 282-83 ; returns, 102 
 
 Export, to i860, 90 ; in sixties, 92 ; 95, 102-4 
 
 Hydraulic sluicing, 99 
 
 Quartz crushing, 94-95 ; in South Island, gS 
 
 Rushes, 89 et seq. 
 
 Sluicing, 99 et seq. 
 
 Waihi mine, 96-97 
 
 Water races, 93-94, 99 
 Grain culture and export, 286-89 
 Grazing districts, 11-12 
 Grey, Sir George, Governor of New Zealand, 176 
 
 Land regulations, 177 
 
 Land taxation, 178 
 
 Liberal platform, 165-66, 181 
 
 Premier of New Zealand, 165 
 
 Provincial system, 165 
 
 Hall, Sir John, Premier, 167 
 
 Repeal of land tax, 167 
 Harbours, 306-10 
 
 West coast, 109-10 ; 307-8 
 Harris, Mr. Percy A., B.A., on labour laws, 227, 233, 235 
 Hawkes Bay Province, 35, 40 
 Hay, P. S., A.M.Inst.C.E., on water-power 285 
 Hector, Sir James, on coal measures, 108 
 Hemp, see Phormium Tenax 
 Hobson, Captain W., R.N., Governor, 23 
 
 Character of, 176 
 
 Conflict with New Zealand Company, 27-8 
 
 Death, 28 
 
 Land controversy, 174 et seq. 
 
 Treaty of Waitangi, 24-25 
 Hochstetter, Dr. Ferdinand von, 90 n, 
 
 Austrian influx, 118 
 
 Gold, 90 
 
 Kauri, 55 
 
 Miners, 91-92 
 
 Volcanoes, 6 
 
 Immigration, Vogel policy, 159-60, 161, 164 
 Imports, 300-2, 310, 312-17 
 
 Coal, 115 
 
 Fish, 291 
 
 Fruit, 290 
 
 Leather, 292 
 
 Origin of, 313 et seq. 
 
352 INDEX 
 
 Imports {continued) — 
 
 Principal ports, 310 
 
 Timber, 54, 58 
 India, trade with, 300 
 Industries, see Manufactures, &c. 
 
 Attitude towards local, 296 
 
 Expansion of, 295 
 Industrial arbitration, 199-243, 293-96 
 
 Anti-strike clause in award, 239 
 
 Amendment of the Act, 241-42 
 
 Arbitration Court, 211 
 
 Conciliation and Arbitration Act, 1894, 210 
 
 Conciliation Board, 210, 237 
 
 Effects of arbitration, 212-27, 228-43 
 
 Flaxmills, 67 
 
 Maritime strike, 200 
 
 Primary industries, relation to, 217 
 
 Principle of arbitration accepted, 235 et seq. 
 
 Protection and arbitration, 325 
 
 Punishment of strikers, 236-38 
 
 Special board of conciliation, 237 
 
 State " interference," resented, 200 ; 199, 200-1, 204, 208, 209 
 
 Strikes renewed, 23S et seq. 
 
 Workers' manifesto, 240 
 Insurance, Government Life, 249-50 
 
 Government Fire, 258 
 Irish in New Zealand, 40-1 
 
 New South Wales, 41 
 
 North Auckland Colony, 40 
 
 Provincial Councils, 41 
 
 Japan, trade with, 300, 301 
 
 Kauri timber, 46, 55 
 
 Area of incidence, 116 
 
 Austrians on gum-fields, 118 
 
 Bleeding for gum, 119 
 
 Extinction of forests, 57, 1 16-19 
 
 Gum-digging, 116-19 
 
 Reafforestation, 57 
 Kermadec Islands, 2 
 Knights of Labour, 198-99 
 
 Labour — 
 
 Coal-mining, 108, ill, 114 
 Conditions, in i860, 154 ; in 1891, 195-97 
 Co-operative, 206-7, 264-68 
 Dairying, 149 
 
INDEX 353 
 
 Labour {continued) — 
 
 Department of Labour, 206 
 Expansion of industries, 295-96 
 Flaxmills, 65, 67, 69 
 Glut of labour, 169 
 
 Gum-digging, 117 
 
 Importation, in 1870 et scq., 159-60 ; 221-22 
 
 Lack of organisation, 169 
 
 Meat freezing, 136 
 
 Organisation, 197 et seq. ; sec also Labour in Organisation 
 
 Protection and labour, 325 
 
 Railway workshops, 219-20 
 
 Seamen, 305-6 
 
 Shortage of, 221-22 
 
 Unemployment, 164 etseq., 225 
 Labour in Organisation, 197 ct scq. 
 
 " Agitators," 228-31 
 
 Apprentices, 220-21 
 
 Arbitration, 209 ; compulsory, 210 ; Act of 1894, 210 
 
 Cost of living, 231 et seq. 
 
 Efficiency of workers, 217-18 
 
 Female labour, 223 et scq. 
 
 Fixation of hours, 218 ct seq., 294 
 
 Knights of Labour, 198-99 
 
 Leather trade, 292 
 
 Lockouts, 241-42 
 
 Maritime strike, 1890, 198-99, 201 
 
 Organisation under Act, 209 
 
 Parliament suggested, 234 
 
 Rents, 231-32 
 
 Revolt of workers, 233 et scq. 
 
 Strikes, 233 ct seq. ; 241-42 
 
 Trades Unionism, 197, 201, 202-3 
 
 Wages, increase of, 224-25 
 Land, Commission, 1840, 175 
 
 Crown tenants, 190 
 
 Gipps, proclamations of Sir G., 24, 171, 173 
 
 Grey's policy, 166 
 
 " Gridironing " in Canterbury, 163 
 
 Lease in perpetuity, 186, 192 
 
 Limitation of area, 173, 177, 180, 186 
 
 Locked up, 162-63 
 
 Native lands, 178-79 ; and under Maori 
 
 Native " purchases," 171 
 
 Occupation of , in 1891, 180, 182; 190 
 
 Regulations of Grey, 177 
 
 Renewable leases, 192 
 
 Resumption, 185 et seq. 
 
 Subdivision, 182, 185 et seq. 
 
 Taxation, 166, 167, 178, 180, 182-83 
 
 24 
 
354 INDEX 
 
 Land {continued] — 
 
 Treaty of Waitangi, 173 
 
 Wakefield system, 172, 174 
 Lease, in perpetuity, 186, 192 
 
 Renewable, 192 
 Lockouts, legislation against, 241 
 Locomotive construction, 220 
 Lyttelton tunnel, 274 
 
 Manawatu Railway, 263 
 Manufactures — 
 
 Effect of arbitration and protection, 295-96 
 
 Expansion of, 225, 295-96 
 
 Exports of, 1892 and 1907, 217, 225 
 
 Fellmongering and tanning, 84 
 
 Frozen meat, 136 
 
 Inception of, 247 
 
 Locomotives, 220 
 
 Origin of industries, 216 
 
 Protection and manufactures, 318, 329 
 
 Woollens, 83-84 
 Maori — 
 
 Benevolence of the Government, 173 
 
 Chiefs visit England, 19 
 
 Economic position, 330-43 
 
 Farmers, 336-43 
 
 Fenton's forecast, 331, 342 
 
 Flax, uses of, 60-61, 67 
 
 Half-casts, 342-43, 
 
 Marsden's mission, 18-19 
 
 Migrations, 14 
 
 Native lands, 178-79, 332-43 
 
 Numbers, 44, 342 
 
 Petition for protection, 19-20 
 
 Population, 342-43 
 
 Pre-pakeha condition, 331 
 
 Treaty of Waitangi, 21-24, 26, 330 
 Maritime strike, 198-99, 201 
 Markets, 312-17 
 
 Agricultural implements, 281-82 
 
 Apples, 290 
 
 British connection, 313 
 
 Competition, 134, 299 
 
 Dairy produce, 151 
 
 Distance from, 120-21, 126, 139, 299 
 
 East, in the, 300-1 
 
 Fish, 291 
 
 Grain, 287-89 
 
 Lack of markets, 126-27 
 
INDEX 355 
 
 Markets (continued) — 
 
 West of England, 301 
 
 Wool, 83 
 
 Woollens, 83-84 
 Marlborough Province, 35 
 Marsden, Rev. Samuel, 18 
 
 Maori mission, l8-ig 
 McKenzie, Sir John, iSS 
 
 Compulsory purchase of land, 209 
 
 Land laws, 182 ct seq. 
 
 Resumption of Cheviot, 186 
 Meat — 
 
 Beef, 139-40 
 
 Canterbury mutton, 134-3S 
 
 Competition, 134 
 
 Duncdin cargo, 128-29 
 
 Export, 123, 137 
 
 Freight, 128-31, 133 
 
 Frozen, 125-42 
 
 Inspection, 135-36 
 
 Lord Onslow's experiment, 132-33 
 
 Prejudice against frozen meat, 131 
 
 Works, 136 
 Midland Railway, 268-70 
 Millar, Hon. J. A., 241 
 Miners' strike, 237-39 
 Mining, sec Gold, Coal, &c. 
 Monopolies and protection, 318-29 
 
 Agricultural implements, 326 
 
 Anti-trust laws, 326-27 
 
 Flour, 328-29 
 Morgan, Mr. Ben H., on labour legislation, 226, 296, 302 
 Murray, Mr. John, and Bank of New Zealand, 252 
 Mutton, sec under Meat 
 
 Nationality of colonists, 44 
 Native lands, 332-43 
 
 Court, 178 
 
 " Purchases," 171 ct scq. 
 
 Right of pre-emption, 178-79 
 Nelson Province, 32, 35, 37, 42 
 
 Discovery of gold, 89-90 
 
 Germans at, 43 
 New South Wales : jurisdiction of courts in New Zealand, 19 
 New Zealand, area of, 2 
 
 Association, 21 
 
 Company, 21 et scq., 174 ct seq. 
 
 Named by States-General of Holland, 16 
 
 Outlying islands, 2 
 
356 INDEX 
 
 New Zealand {continued) — 
 
 Rainfall, 13 
 
 Settlement, 37 ct seq. 
 
 Sunshine, 13 
 
 Temperature, 13 
 
 Wakefield's proposals, 26 
 New Zealand Shipping Company, 302-3 ; frozen meat trade, 130 
 Ngata, Hon. A. T., M.P., 338 
 Ngatiporou tribe and co-operation, 336-39 
 Ngauruhoe, Mount, 6 
 
 North Island Main Trunk Railway, 7, 264 et seq., 275-77 
 Novara Expedition, go n., Ii8 
 
 Oats, culture of, 287-89 
 
 Onslow, Lord, frozen meat experiment, 132-33 
 
 Oregon pine, 54 ; importation, 57-8 
 
 Otago Province, 33, 35, 38, 39 
 
 Configuration, 5 
 
 Gold, 91 
 
 Influx of miners, 91-2 
 
 Settlement, 33 et seq., 38-40 
 
 Society, 39 
 
 Papa, 12, 276 
 Phormium Tenax, 61-9 
 
 Competition of Manila, 67 
 
 Cultivation, 66 
 
 Dressing, 61-2 ; bonus offered, 63 
 
 Export, in 1830, 62 ; 1890, 64 ; 1907, 67 ; periodic, 69 
 
 Flaxmills, 63-4 
 
 Labour conditions, 65, 67, 69 
 
 Native traffic, 61-2, 63 
 
 Price of hemp, 69 
 
 Rope tests, 61, 69 
 
 State regulation, 63-4 ; grading, 68 
 
 Tenacity, 61, 65 
 
 Universal uses, 60-1 
 Poverty Bay, 17, 309 
 
 Production overtakes demand, 121-23, 126 
 Protection — 
 
 Absence of, in eighties, 165, 168 
 
 Agricultural implements, 282 
 
 Bearing on arbitration, 214, 215, 295, 325 
 
 Beer duty, 320 
 
 Beginning of, 208, 247, 319 
 
 Boot trade, 293-94 
 
 Candle-making, 320 
 
 Conversion to Protection, 321, 325 
 
INDEX 357 
 
 Protection {continued) — 
 
 Farmers and Protection, 321-22 
 
 Fruit, 290 
 
 Grain, effect of Australian Protection on, 287-89, 292 
 
 McKinleyism, 321 
 
 Monopolies and Protection, 318-29 
 
 Reciprocity, 322 
 
 Retaliation, 322 
 
 Tea and sugar duties, 319, 320 
 
 Woollen manufactures, 83-4 
 Provincial Governments, 32 et seq., 157 et seq. 
 
 Abolition of, 35, 160-61 
 
 Diversity of provinces, 34-6 
 
 English in Councils, 38 
 
 Grey and provincialism, 165-66 
 
 Irish in Councils, 41 
 
 Scots in Councils, 40 
 Public Trust Office, 250 
 
 Rabbits, 84-6 
 
 Export of, 86 
 
 Extermination, 84-6 
 
 Introduction, 84 
 Railways, 260-72, 273-78 
 
 Arthur's Pass tunnel, 270 
 
 Christchurch-Lyttelton, 261 
 
 Construction, 273-76 
 
 Freights on timber, 58 n. 
 
 Locomotive construction, 277-78 
 
 Manawatu Railway, 263 
 
 Midland Railway, 268-70 
 
 North Island Main Trunk, 264 et seq. 
 
 Operation of, 270-72 
 
 Otago Central, 270 
 
 Provincial lines, 261 
 
 Revenue and expenditure, 271 
 
 Standard gauge, 261 
 
 State ownership, 249, 262 
 
 Vogel policy, 159, 161 
 
 Workshop Commission, 219-20 
 Rainfall, 13 
 
 Read, Gabriel, discovery of gold, 91 
 Reciprocal trade — 
 
 All-Red sentiment, 314 
 
 Australia, suggested agreement with, 323 
 
 Farmer's favour, 322 
 
 South Africa, with, 323 
 Reeves, Hon. W. Pember — 
 
 Arbitration legislation, 201, 209 
 
358 INDEX 
 
 Reeves, Hon. W. Pember (continued) — 
 
 Colonial Socialism, 245 
 
 Conciliation boards, 229 
 
 Land legislation, 183-84 
 
 Tariff, 321 
 Refrigeration, 120-24 «' seg. 
 
 Australian experiments, 127 
 
 Bonus offered, 127 
 
 Dairying, 144 ct seq. 
 
 Dunedin shipment, 128-29 
 
 Effect of, 123, 131 
 
 Incredulity, 131 
 
 Systems of, 129 
 Rents, agricultural land, 154 
 
 Workers' homes, 231-22 
 Resumption of land by State, 182, 185 et seq 
 Richardson, Hon. E., 264, 274-75, 277 
 Rimutaka Railway, 275 
 Rivers, navigable, 9 
 
 Water-power in, 259, 284-85 
 Rolleston, Hon. W., land regulations, 181 
 Rotorua, State township, 257 
 
 Lighting of, 2S5 
 Ruapehu, Mount, 3 
 
 Saw-milling, 45-59 
 
 Scandinavians in New Zealand, 42-3 
 
 Scots colonists, 33 
 
 Banks Peninsula, on, 38 
 
 Nova Scotia, from, 40 
 
 Otago settlement, 38-40 ; model society, 39 
 
 Provincial Councils, in, 40 
 
 Religious principles, 38-g 
 
 Waitemata, at, 38 
 Seddon, Right Hon. Richard J., Premier — 
 
 Advances to settlers, 253 
 
 Bank of New Zealand, 252 
 
 Co-operative labour, 264-68 
 
 Death, 208 
 
 Labour Parliament, 234 
 
 PoUcy, 184 
 
 Preferential trade, 321 et seq. 
 
 Socialism, attitude towards, 251 
 
 State steamship lines, 258-59 
 Self-government, 29, 32 
 
 Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company, 128-30, 302-3 
 Shearing, 79-81 
 Sheep, Australian competition, 77 
 
 Breeding ewes, 79 ; breeding for export, 133-34 
 
INDEX 359 
 
 Sheep {continued) — 
 
 Cook, importation by Captain, 73 
 
 Corriedales, 78 
 
 Dual-purpose breeding, 76 
 
 Flaxboume, sheep on, 74 
 
 Flocks, 73, 78, 82, 138 
 
 Glut on the market, 126 
 
 Increase of flocks, 75 
 
 Merinos, 72, 74, 76 
 
 New Zealand, first sheep in, 73 
 
 Rabbits, 83-6 
 
 " Squatting," 72 
 
 Stud sheep, 78 
 Shipbuilding, 278-80 
 
 Iron ore, 280 
 
 Iron steamers, 279 
 
 Pre-fakeha industry, 46 
 
 Repairing, 280 
 Shipping, 297-3 n 
 
 Companies, 298, 303-4 
 
 Expansion of, 297-98 
 
 Frozen meat carriage, 130-31 
 
 " Mosquito " fleet, 304-5 
 
 Rings, 302 
 
 Seamen, 305-6 
 
 Union Steamship Company, 303-4 
 
 Wool clippers, 71 
 Silver, 95 
 Social conditions in i860, 156 et seq., 195 
 
 Depression, 167 
 
 Provincial regime, 157-58 
 
 Reform policy, 208 
 
 Vogel policy, 158 
 Socialism, State, 113, 186, i88, 212, 244-59 
 Southern Alps, 3-4 
 Southland Province, 33, 51, 53 
 Sovereignty — 
 
 British Consul appointed, 20 
 
 Declared by Cook, 17 
 
 Declared by Crozet, 18-19 
 
 New Zealand included in New South Wales, 23 
 " Squatting," 72, 73, 162-63, 177 
 State aid to industries, 246-48 
 
 Acquisition of cyanide process, 98 
 
 Bonuses, 247 
 
 Bonuses for dairying, 144 
 
 Bonuses for fish, 291 
 Bonuses for flax dressing, 63 
 Bonuses for frozen meat, 127, 141 
 Bonuses for sugar, 319 
 
360 INDEX 
 
 state {continued) — 
 
 Coal-mining, 112 
 
 Dairying, 151 
 
 Primary industries, 248 
 
 Tariff protection, 247-48 
 
 Water races, 94, 99 
 State landlordism, 190, 193, 255 
 State regulation of industries, 195-242, 246-47 
 
 Coal-mining, in 
 
 Grading of dairy produce, 147-48, 150, 151 
 
 Flax export, 63, 64, 67 ; grading, 68 
 
 Inspection of meat, 135-36 
 
 Legislation against strikes and lockouts, 241-42 
 State trading, 207, 246, 248-59 
 
 Advances to settlers, 188, 253-54 
 
 Advances to workers, 232 «., 254-55 
 
 Banking, 251 ; Bank of New Zealand, 251-53 ; tamers' bank, 253-54 
 
 Coal-mines and depots, 112-14, 256 
 
 Conflict with private interests, 257-59 
 
 Contracting, 206-7, 264-68 
 
 Discount stamps, 255-56 
 
 Engineering shops, 276 
 
 Farms, 207 
 
 Fire insurance, 258 
 
 Government declines invitations, 207, 233 
 
 Life insurance, 249-50 
 
 Origin of, 248-49 
 
 Oyster beds, 291 
 Public Trust Office, 250 
 Railways, 260-72 
 Railway workshops, 219-20, 257 
 Socialism and State trading, 249-50 
 Workers' homes, 232 «., 254-55 
 Stevens, Hon. E. C. J., and Public Trust Office, 251 n. 
 Stout, Sir Robert, and Maori farming, 341 
 Strikes — 
 
 Maritime, 1890, 198-99, 201 
 Miners', 237-39 
 Proposal to revert to, 233-34 
 Slaughtermen's, &c., 235 et seq. 
 Sugar bonus, 319 
 
 Duty, 318-19, 320 
 Sweating, i6g 
 
 Conditions in 1890, 195-97 
 
 England, in, 205 n. 
 
 Royal Commission on, 203 ; report, 204-5, 205 n. 
 
 TaNGATA IVHBNUA,S0, 332 
 
 Tanning, 84, 292-93 
 
INDEX 361 
 
 Taranaki Province, 32, 33, 37 
 
 Origin of dairying in, 145 
 Tarawera, eruption of Mount, 7 
 Tariff- 
 Beginning of protection, 208, 318-29 
 
 Boots, 293-94 
 
 Duties levied, i8g8, 321-23 
 
 Reciprocity, 322 
 
 Revenue character, 165 
 
 Tea duties, 319 
 Tasman, Abel Janz, discoverer of New Zealand, 14-16 
 
 Murderers Bay, 15 
 
 Staten Land, 15-16 
 Tasman Glacier, 4 n. 
 Taxation of land, 166, 178, 180, 182-83 
 Tea duty, 319, 322 
 Tc Ika a Maui, I, 30 
 Temperature, 13 
 Timber, 45-59 
 
 Area of forests, 50, 55-6 
 
 Comparative strength of timbers, 48 
 
 Department of Forestry, 54 
 
 Exports and Imports, 54 
 
 Forests in North Island, 11 
 
 Kauri pine, 46, 55 
 
 Oregon pine, 54, 57-8 
 
 Report for Parliament, 49 
 
 Railway freights, 58 «. 
 
 Revenues, 253 
 
 Royal Commission, 58 
 
 Sawmills, 59 
 
 Shipbuilding, 46, 59 
 
 Spar trade, 18, 45 
 
 State forests, 56 
 
 Vogel on conservation, 49-50 
 
 Walker, report of Captain J. C, 52-3 
 Tohunga, 335 
 Tongariro, Mount, 3 
 Tory expeditionary ship, 23 
 Trade, 297-317 
 
 Trades' Unionism, see Labour in Organisation 
 Transport — 
 
 Dairy produce, 148 
 
 Frozen meat, 128, 130-31, 133, 141 
 
 Produce, 127 
 
 Railway concessions, 271 
 
 Shipping, 278-81, 298-311 
 
 Timber on railways, 58 n. 
 Treaty of Waitangi, 21, 24-6, 330 e.t seq. 
 Tregear, Mr. E., 222 11., 231 
 
362 INDEX 
 
 Trusts, 326-29 
 
 Agricultural implements, 326 
 Anti-trust legislation, 326 
 Flour-milling, 328-29 
 Saw-milling, 319 
 
 Unemployment, 164, 166, 167, 168, 225 
 
 Union Steamship Company of New Zealand, 199, 303-4 
 
 " United Tribes of New Zealand," 21 
 
 VoGEL, Sir Julius — 
 
 Condition of Colony, 1870, 156 et seq. 
 
 Development policy. 158-59 
 
 Extravagance of the period, 312 
 
 Forest settlements, 49-50, 52 
 
 Government Life Insurance, 249 
 
 Midland Railway, 268 
 
 Railway construction, 262 et seq. 
 
 Resignation, i66 
 Volcanoes, 3, 6, 8 
 
 Crateral harbours, 8 
 
 North Island group, 6-7 
 
 South Island, 8 
 
 Tarawera eruption, 7 
 Von Haast, Dr. Julius, 107 »., 274 
 
 Waihi Mine, 96-7 
 Waikato River, 9 
 
 District, n 
 Waipori water supply, 285 
 Wairoa River, 9 
 
 Waitangi, Treaty of, 21, 24, 26, 173, 330 et seq. 
 Wages, in 1890, 195-97 
 
 Coal-mining, III, 114 
 
 Fair Wages Committee, 205 n. 
 
 Female wages, 195 et seq., 224 
 
 Fixation of wages, 218-19 
 
 Gum-digging, 117 
 
 Increases, 1896-1906, 213, 225, 230-2 
 
 Minimum not the Maximum, 218-19 
 
 Protection and wages, 293-94 
 
 Sweating Commission Report, 204-5 
 Wakefield, Edward Gibbon, 21 
 
 Colonising ideals, 21, 31 
 
 Conflict with Government, 27-g 
 
 Land system, 172-73, 174 
 Wakefield, Colonel William, 175 
 
INDEX 363 
 
 Ward, Right Hon. Sir Joseph, Premier, 184 
 
 Bank of New Zealand, 251-52 
 
 Co-operative labour, 264 
 Water— 
 
 Gold-mining races, 93-4, 99 
 
 Irrigation races, 287 
 
 Power in rivers, 259, 284-85 
 
 Waterways, 8, 9 
 Wellington Province, 32, 35, 37 
 Westland Province, 35, 41 
 
 Climate, 4 
 
 Coal in, 107 et seq. 
 
 Gold in, 92 
 Whalers, 31 
 Whanganui River, 9 
 Wheat culture, 286-88 
 Wool, 70-87 
 
 Breeding ewes, 79 
 
 Clifford, Sir Charles, 73-4 
 
 Clip, improvement of, 82 
 
 Clippers, wool, 71 
 
 Export of, 75, 82, 123, 125 
 
 Flocks, 75, 78, 82 
 
 Importation of sheep, 73 
 
 Markets, 83 
 
 Merinos, 72, 74, 76 
 
 Shearing, 79-81 
 
 Size of flocks, 82 
 
 Squatting, 72 et scq. 
 
 Stud sheep, 78 
 
 Woollens, 83-4 
 Workers' dwellings, 232 n., 254-55 
 
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