SETTLEMENT AT KARAMEA.

Colonist, Volume XVII, Issue 1838, 19 November 1874, Page 5 (Supplement)

SETTLEMENT AT KARAMEA.

I The special settlement at Karamea, which our Government for some time has had in contemplation, is immediately,to be started, by sending down about thirty families, taken from the immigrants brought by the Adamant, Chile, and" Ocean Mail. The scheme ot settlement is exceedingly liberal, and nothing short of serious mismanagement can prevent its success. The land to be allotted to these immigrants is a rich tract of forest land on the south bank of the river, about a mile and a half above where the steamers will land their cargoes, and will therefore be easy of access from the sea, as the Karamea is one of the best rivers on the West Coast. Each family will be leased fifty-five acres—in two allotments— the smaller block of five acres for immediate occupancy and cultivation, and the larger block of fifty acres for future settlement 'i'he price of the land will be £1 Bs. an acre, payable at the rate of 2s. an acre a year for fourteen years, when the lessee will be entitled to a Crown Grant without further charge. The men selected as the pioneers of the settlement are to leave JN'elson on Thursday nest by steamer, to prepare for the reception of their families, which it is intended shall follow in a month, or as soon as the place can be made ready to receive ■ them without subjecting them to undue hardships. The men, for the first month, or while it may, be necessary to employ them fally on preparatory work, will be paid 6s. a | jaj, out of which.they will have to contribute "/o the maintenance of their families, who will be supplied with food at ration prices, and lodged free of charge in the Immigration Depot. After the first month, or as soon as they are located on their land, the men will be insured Bs. a day, for three days' work, in every week, for at least six months, leaving them free the remaining three days to clear and cultivate their land. A store, established by Government, will supply immigrants and their families with all necessaries at JSFelson wholesale prices, increased only by cost of freight, and other charges incurred. Looking to the position of the settlement —on the bank of a river not inferior to Hokitika or the Grey, and only half the distance from Nelson/but on the high road to all the Goldfields ports ; to the quality of the soil—an alluvial of the richest character, and bound to yield large returns for the labor expended upon ifc; to the mineral wealth of the district, abounding as it does in gold, and coal of the best quality ; to the magnificent timber which covers the ground, and for which, when sawn, there will be a large demand, as it will be easy to ship to all parts of the Colony or to Australia; looking to these and other advantages which the Karamea possesses, there can be little doubt of the district soon becoming a most important one, and that the immigrants who are about to settle there reaping a rich reward for their labor and enterprise. The whole district comprises about 40,000 acres of first class land, some of which has already been sold though it remains unsettled, and the portion not required for the special settlement will shortly, we understand, be put up for sale by Government.