THE CHEVIOT ESTATE.

Bush Advocate, Volume XI, Issue 863, 25 November 1893, Page 2

THE CHEVIOT ESTATE.

(To The Editor.) Sib, — A correspondent signing himself ' St. Leonard ' had something to say in your last Segue on the purohase of the

Choviot estate. It would appear that he started oufc with the object to taking Mr Hunter to task for his remarks on the subject ivhich were not favorable to the purchase, But he fell far short of his mark. He had a lot to say about the quality of the land, nnd crops raised on it, but his mind appears to be incapable of grasping the real question. It is not whether the land (or parts of it) will grow a good crop, but whether the Government lias used the colony's money to the best advantage in devoting it to the purchase of a costly estate, when the money could have been put into Native land, and so would have given the colony as a whole a lift towards prosperity. As an authority on politics ' St. Leonards' would not seem to be a success, and as to land purchases he is even futher out of his depth. The report of the last sale of Cheviot lands tells us that for a great many of the seotions offered there were no applications. From which fact it would hardly seem that it was an urgent matter that the land should be purchased for settlement. Our settlers want land at a cheap price, on which to earn a living and improve their position by improving the land, not land that is so high in price that none but a capitalist could think of taking it up lam etc., Farmer.