The following is the scheme suggested, viz. :— Re 
Farmers requiring lads to make application in Queensland through the’ 
Immigration Department. an 4. 
Engagements to be for four to six years. Minimum. age, fourteen years: 
Wages, sliding scale per week. Passages at assisted rates—vi2, 
£12; to be first paid by the employer or by the Government at his — 
risk, and to be repaid by employee at per week till term expires. 
Labourer at termination of agreement to be entitled to a land-order of 
£50; such order to be non-transferable, and to be used only t0 
assist the holder to settle on the land. It is very important that 
this should. be liberal and worth striving for. ie 
Employer to clothe and feed lads. 
Proportion of wages to be paid into sayings bank. 5 
Suitable regulations to prevent oppression on part of employer or mis- 
conduct on part of employee; to establish a general fund for cases 
of extreme sickness, death, &c.; and to give lads the opportunity — 
of gaining some sort of scholarship to enable them to enter the ~ 
Agricultural Colleges. ; y 
There are in Great Britain thousands of lads, sons of middle-class and 
labouring people, who would, I feel sure, be glad to avail themselves of the chance 
__ here set forth, and whose parents and guardians would be willing that they should ~ 
_ come, provided that they were assured that the lads would get fair treatment and 
care, and areasonable opportunity of advancement. Many parents of the middle — 
class do not know what to do with their sons, and many lads of the country — 
labouring classes are, from the depression of home farming, out of work or — 
drifting into the towns, and only want to be shown such opportunities exist to 
induce them to emigrate. There are also, in addition to the general population, — 
_ large establishments such as Dr. Barnado’s, Muller’s, and others which annually 
~ turn out large numbers of well-trained lads who would be very useful to us 
here. It matters little to us whether the lads come from town or country if 
they are strong, healthy, and willing to work. 4 
Could such a system as the foregoing be successfuliy established, it would, in 
all probability, grow rapidly, as the field for recruiting labourisalarge one. We — 
_ should be able to train the young immigrants to the ways of the country, con- 
__stantly increase the numbers of our farmers and farm labourers, and create & 
_ larger and longer demand for our unoccupied lands. ee 
The system might also, in a slightly modified form, be applied to adult — 
labour, and used as a means of giving the adult immigrant the chance of “looking 
round” before he ventures into farming or other business on his own account 
This would be of inestimable benefit to many. a 
The gist of the whole matter, whether relating to lads or adults, consists — 
in making agriculture sufficiently attractive; and this appears to me can better — 
be done, not by offering high wages which we really cannot afford, but by giving 
people the opportunity of self-advancement. ; ' 
The immigration machinery for working the system is already in existence, 
and beyond its use the Government would only be asked for their fostering — 
_ care and a liberal extension of the land-order system to those who shall have — 
shown themselves worthy of it by serving a proper apprenticeship to their trade 
of agriculture. 
Mr. J. Lei congratulated Mr. Wells on his paper. Since the stoppage 
of free immigration to Queensland, there had been a difficulty in obtaining 
lads for dairying or farming purposes, unless they were home-bred youths. 
Queensland-bred lads generally took to work that was in some way associated 
with the horse. This, although unfortunate, was a fact, and he was not going 
to discuss it. If it was possible to induce strong, healthy lads to come — 
here from England, Scotland, and Ireland, by all means let them come. ‘They 
would be a great boon to the colony, especially in the North. The average 
_kanaka was useless for doing any work that required intelligence, and conse= 
quently the lads referred to would be very useful for such work as gardening; — 
