DISCUSSION ON THE NATURAL LIMITS TO OCCUPATION. T 



prevalent a very great delusion in the minds of very many 

 people who were not acquainted with the conditions under 

 which land was cultivated as to the extent to which it might 

 be profitably occupied, and if so far the paper read would 

 have the effect of dissipating that illusion, he was quite sure 

 Mr. Johnston would have done good service not only to this 

 community, but to other communities also. There was no 

 doubt a feeling abroad which was expressed by a prominent 

 politician some two or three years ago that the salvation of 

 the working population of G-reat Britain might be worked cut 

 by presenting each labourer with three acres and a cow, and 

 he thought that one object of the paper was to some extent 

 to remove delusions such as that from the popular mind. 

 They knew that in this colony in past years it had been ex- 

 ceedingly profitable for people to take up 200, 300, or 400 

 acres, and devote themselves exclusively to the cultivation of 

 grain. But other conditions had now come in with the culti- 

 vation of the soil in the other colonies, and therefore they 

 found a great deal in what Mr. Johnston had said which 

 could be brought home to themselves. One other point 

 he would like to mention in connection with this subject. He 

 referred to the fact by the increase of population it is esti- 

 mated by a reliable authority the world required annually an 

 increase of 30 millions of bushels of wheat, and as the pro- 

 duction of wheat was gradually falling off, owing to the 

 continued reduction in price, it was thoughfc by those com- 

 petent to judge that within the next few years there would be 

 a considerable increase in the price of wheat. If that were 

 so, and the calculation he had raentioued rested upon a solid 

 foundation, it certainly must to a very considerable extent 

 modify the views which Mr. Johnston and others took as to 

 the prospects of the cultivation of land for the production of 

 cereals even in the United Kingdom. He would only add 

 that their cordial thanks were due to Mr. Johnston for intro- 

 ducing the subject to their notice, and for the manner in 

 which he had dealt with it. 



Mr. JOHNSTON pointed out, in reply, that what he spoke 

 about was the natural limits to the occupation of the land. 

 Of course, the space limit could not apply to these colonies, 

 and he hoped it would be very long before it could apply 

 here. It was in England, and places of a like nature, in 

 which the space limit, as a factor, comes immediately into 

 operation in determining the number of hands that may be 

 employed on the land. With regard to the proposals to give 

 each agricultural labourer a bit of land to cultivate for 

 himself, and so augment his income obtained otherwise by 

 working for large farm employers, he hoped it might ameliorate 

 his condition, but he feared that he could not permanently 

 retain this advantage, as the tendency of competition would 



