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The more land that is sold in England the better, and the more labourers that are sent out, even if
capitalists do not actually proceed to the colony, the more value the sections sold will have to the
purchaser. But if the latter shall be the case, a free lease ought to be granted to the labourers, by
the landed proprietors, or their agents, for at least fifteen years; say of ten acres each family, at the
moment of their arrival in New Zealand. No one need starve in New Zealand who works (it is
different with the Australian colonies, where articles of consumption are not easily produced); and
it is such a class of small agricultural leaseholders whose toil will prepare the country that it may
ultimately attract capitalists. (I:16)
In other words, provided proper care is made in securing the futures of the working class, such as
presenting them with a choice of subdivided land and legal titles, it is their hard work which will
bring its own rewards, not simply the necessaries of everyday life, but, more importantly, they are
the means to unlocking New Zealand’s true potential as a colony. Moreover, he holds no fear that
the number of labouring class immigrating to New Zealand might outnumber the opportunities for
labour, so long as appropriate measures are adopted. 47 Thus, New Zealand has the promise to
become a ‘worker’s paradise’ of sorts, so long as the necessaries of life become reasonable in
price and emphasis is placed on the agriculturalist before the capitalist, which in time will
produce liberal communities that are “strong” and “independent” and encourage the “spirit of
freedom” (I:19).
The reality, however, of the first and main Company settlement to be set up at Port
Nicholson is not so promising. While the first colonists there were “imbued with an excellent
spirit of industry and enterprise”, for Dieffenbach,
[…] it was only to be regretted that, from the land not being yet measured out, the colonists did
not know whether they should be allowed to retain the spot which they might choose and begin to
cultivate, and thus was wanting the principal stimulant for exerting themselves, and thereby
fulfilling the first demand on a new colony, namely, of producing in the shortest possible time a
sufficient supply for its own consumption. (I:74)
Thus, if one reads between the lines it is clear that he disapproves this lack of certainty over the
exact location of the settlement due to the Company trying to colonise before surveying the land.
The future he therefore sees for Wellington is tainted by the little cultivable land in the immediate
area, yet with steady perseverance it could be relatively successful if based on agriculture and
47 This is a more toned down version than his letter to the editor, in which he states that even though certain areas are
“unfit for extensive agriculture, and for the employment of capital on a large scale”, “everywhere is found land
enough for the exercise of the individual enterprise of a dispersed population, which could produce with ease every
thing it wanted of the necessaries of life, and always have an abundance”. Moreover, the “first class of people, […]
who are those who especially require relief at home, would find here an excellent field for their industry. In a very
short time they would find subsistence for the first time; all sorts of garden vegetables thrive during the whole year,
and two crops of potatoes can be easily raised” (Dieffenbach, “To the Editor”, 52f.).
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