Village Settlements.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 2306, 4 February 1891, Page 3

Village Settlements.

HON W. COPLEY'S VISIT,

Among the nuny difficult problems ■which have engaged the attention m recent years of the South Australian Government is that of the settlement of the people on the land. Various methods of sale and lease have been made trial of, but no satisfactory system has yet been found. The present South Australian Government have given special attention to the question, and hearing of the success of the New Zealand Village Homestead Settlement system they despatched the Commissioner of Lands, Hon W. Copley, M.L.C., to inspect the settlements, ascertain the working of the system, and report thereupon to his Government. Mr Copley arrived m New Zealand last week, and quelling his inclinations towards pleasure excursions to the southern hills, of which he had heard so much, and which he now saw afar off, proceeded to visit each settlement m turn. Catlins and other south Ofcago settlements were first visited ; then the Oamaru district and South Canterbury, and last evening Mr Copley reached Ashburton, accompanied by Mr March, steward of the Canterbury Village Settlement?, under "whose guidance Mr Copley had been since crossing the Waitakh From Mr Copley, who stayed last night at Henry's Commercial Hotel, we obtained some particulars of his journey. He, with his secretary, were joined at Timaru on Monday by Mr March, and starting at eight o'clock on Tuesday morning the Beaconsfield Special Village Settlement was visited. Several of the settlers were interviewed (they being at home, owing I to the crops being too wet for harvesting); their holdings were inspected, and their position enquired into. From thence they drove to Arowhenua and went ever both the deferred payment and the Village Homestead settlements. Then to Orari. m which district there are three settlements, all of which were visited; and from thence to the Belfield settlement. At each place the settlers were questioned about their occupations apart from the cultivation of their holdings, the amounts expended upon their sections and dwellings andotherimprov«ments,and the income or produce from thftm. The information gained was very satisfactory, and was borne out by the appearance of the crops and dwellings. At Befield, a settler was able to show a fifty-bushel crop of oats, and at Beaconsfield a nice bit of wheat was being reaped, the owner of which put it down at 25 bushels. Mr Copley at first estimated it at about 15 bushels, but on more closely examining the heads was; bound to agree with the settler's cal-i culation, the visitor explaining that inj South Australia the ears are much lighter than those usually seen here,; Mr Copley was also surprised to see such! grain, grass and turnips grown on such shingly soil as most of that which he passed through. From Hinds the partyj* came on to Ashburton by the express.' After dinner the Hospital was visited; and Mrs MacKay, the matron, showed the party through the wards. They were highly pleased with the arrangements, and especially with the interest which it was evident Mrs MacKay took m everything connected with the Hospital and the patients. The Domain was quite a surprise to the visitors, who did not think ? such a sceneof sylvanbeauty could be found, m so dry a country as surrounds it this year. "But," said Mr Copley, "you; seem to have had most exceptional; weather this year." Mr Copley was! assured that such a season for wind and drought had never been known before. The capabilities of the Ashburton County ( ior wheat-growing were pointed out, and • explained to Mr Copley the need for the aren't warehouses across the line, and the, ineanis of existence of the town —" this' very nice little town," as our visitor styled it. . Besides enquiring into how land settlement was effected m New Zealand Mr Copley willingly told the position of matters m South Australia. The country was originally surveyed into " hundreds." •r blocks of ICO square miles. In each hundred a township site was surveyed, frequently of ambitious size, and around, this a quantity of suburban sections were laid off. The unsold parts of this suburban land have been devoted to the small holdings experiments, being sold by auc tion at the upset cash price of £2 an acre. Many of the townships never emerged i^rom the "plan" stage, and the settlements are frequently very remote from pop illation or any means ef employment, and tfifi land unsuitable, and these have, been the principal causes of the want of success which has attended the efforts hitherto. Where employment has been obtainable awl the land of fair quality the settlers have done well. About 1200 Hocks of 20 acres each have been taken up. In order to provide land of suitable quality and situation a vote of £20,000 has been granted for tke repurchase of land—very little being now m the hands of the State. On Mr ; , Copley's return he will call for offers, to be laid before Parliament, by whom all purchases must be approved. In South Australia, as it has proved to be here, village settlement by suitable men on suitaWe land m suitable localities will be successful, but most depends on the class of people. Fruit will be their mainstay. The system of disposing of larger areas of land was touched upon, and Mr Coplev j referred to hisremarks m the "Otago Daily Times." Our beet plan is to repeat the rereport : The system of balloting for land be- i ingmentioned. Mr Copley stated that when the system of the disposal of land on de ff ferred payment was first carried int.* operation m South Australia the applica tions were decided by lot, but this was <dven up for the reason that m many cases persons lodged a number of applications so as to stand a better chance of success m the ballot, and it was held that such proceedings constituted an abuse of the system. Then the Government introduced a system of auction between the applicants. They received Applications up to a certain hour for land that was for disposal, and if there were, more than one applicant for a piece of land it TOJ-s put up to auction between the, applicants, but it was found that there was a tendency to run up land to excessive prices, and the system was abandoned m consequence. Another jsyefcem that was then tried was one of auction for first choice. Considerable tracts of land, fcp be disposed of m areas limited to 1000 acre*, were opened for selection up to a certain date, and were then submitted to auction for first choice. The highest bidder —nrho, of course, made his bids on the basis of 1000 acres—had the right of first choice of 1000 acres, which had to be selected m one piece, it not being permitted to the successful competitor to pick a block here and n, block there to make Up his thousand acres. That system proved unsatisfactory, for it very often happened that bidders ran one another up for first choice, while at the same time they were not bidding for the same land, one man's choice, as is really imaginable, not always being anothei's. The latest system of the disposal of Jand adopted m South Australia is one which has been m vogue for about two years, and resembles m many respects the system that obtains m. New Zealand. Mr Copley calk it the Land Board system, ior the purpose of which jithe colony was divided into five land districts, each having to land board. At first the several boards (consisted of three local residents appointed ty the Government and two members of tjie civil service, but racier a Land Act passed iagfc session, the -number was reduced to three, two of them fteing local members and the thitd an officer o| the civil service. That is the lysfcem now w operation The Boards

are empowered to receive applications for laud under lease with the right to purchase or under perpetual lease ; and, as to revaluation, it: a, holder thinks that his land is too dear, the Board h»s the power to recommend reductions, and the Commissioner i« practically guided by the advice of the Boards. The foregoing conditions apply to agricultural land, and the pastoral leases are, Mr Copley states, submitted to public auction, as m this colony, with upsets placed upon thorn. Mr Copley and party lefh early this morning to inspect the Ashburton, Dromore, Chertsey, and Rakaia settlements, going on to Christchurch m the afternoon.