Occasional Notes.

Clutha Leader, Volume I, Issue 30, 4 February 1875, Page 3

Occasional Notes.

Considering the large amount of loan with which this country is at present burdened, and the probability that the completion of works commenced will involve the colony in a large amount of additional debt, not only the importation of immigrants, but also the settle- . ment of the people in the country is a matter of the first importance. That the works and immigration policy to be -made -^as beneficial as possible must be supplemented by a very liberal land policy is quite apparent. When I speak of a liberal policy, I do not mean : that the Waste land should be thrown open for sale indiscriminately. Land should be freely offered for sale, . but it is absolutely necessary to excercise great caution as to the mode of selling, or this result would inevitably follow : that the bulk of the land would fall into the hands of large capitalists, and the means at the disposal of Government for the settling, of population be in a great measure wasted. The power of capital is ver^gteat, and if our people wish to make a; stand against it, they -will - require to have their wits about them and- be active. As Willian the Conqueror, by the power of his sword, parcelled out England among his followers, making them great feudal lords, so there is considerable danger of theland of New Zealand, by the power of capital, falling into the hands of a few large; proprietors. ' Provided, however, due precaution be taken in the -mode of sale adopted by -Government, so as to ensure as far as possible the utilisation of the land for settlement, it is at present extremely desirable that Crown land should be liberally brought into the ; market. That in this province land is not at present being offered for sale under the deferred payment system nearly as liberally as it ought to be, seems undisputable. There is unquestionably a great thirst for land among such portion of the unsettled population of the country as is composed of people having a little money to invest, a. thirst which Government either cannot ■or will not satisfy. It is notorious that there are many localities in which if land were offered for sale under deferred payments, it would be most eagerly snatched up by small capitalists. In the ' Provincial Gazette ' I see comparatively very little land advertised as open for sale at present — abundance of quarter-acre town sections apparently, but not much rural land. There is no doubt the action of our Provincial Government in the matter of selling land' under the deferred payment system has been trammelled by the preposterous. and incomprehensible conduct of the Legislative Council during last session, forbidding, as the Council did, the Provincial Government to extent the area of land which might be •sold under that system within a certain period. The lords do not occupy their : seats in order to protect the interests of a class, but to consider the welfare of the colony. Perhaps, however, notwithstanding the obstructive action of the Legislative Council, the Provincial Government might manage in some localities to throw open land for settlement more liberally than it is doing at present ; and if it can do so, the sooner it does so the better Let, however, the land set apart for sale under the deferred payment system be the best agricultural land obtainable, and not, as I understand has been the case in several instances, the most barren and unproductive, land on; a sheep run. In connection with this subject, T am glad to see the Waste Land Board Setting its face ;against land monopoly, and rejoice that Mr Reid spoke out in the way he did at the late special , meeting of the Board to consider Mr Logan's application. This appears to have been a case where Mr J. Logan was attempting to purchase, at LI- per acre, some six thousand acres of land in' the Waikoikoi Hundred, and where;' the Board declined, or rather refused tq consider, the application, on the ground of the land having been withdrawnffrom sale, as land of special value, to be sold by auction, at the upset price of'L2?perf acre. It seems to me the' conduct of the Board in declining to hear Mr Connell was correct. It appears evident that the mere application and proffer, or even acceptance of deposit money does r hot constitute such a contract fbr'sale as, would be ground a suit for specific) performance. Yet it undoubtedly would) be so v -unless the 'Board had powers' to; decline .the -offer or application even! after acceptance of the deposit. I amj not~sure "• I ;, have : a correct view, of thei facts ofthis 'ciase) 1 but, as far as" rmakej out by the reports, Mr] Connell. was desirous of showing that Mr l J&g%h's:app!ication was made before the lantf was "withdrawn from sale ; but even ini'this-case the Board would not be absolutely bound to enter into the; s?on tract forsale- with Mr Logan, other- j [ wise the Board would possess no dis- : cretionary: power to decline in ariy\oase [ :an:appHcation for sale in- hu'udreds^and j the simple application' and> 'payment of de^*sir"wbuld^cQnstit'iife/" a cbhTraci. That thle Board ha 6 such a L discretional^ power is evidently the wording of section 38. of the Act.oflß ; 72. f ~Xt .would bo ■ nonsense to 04 'the* Wk a of k&dard " giving its orn an;;applica- ] tion unless^the^Board btad the option of accepting °Or d?!diiiihg such application. * The'i Board? might perhaps be compelled be tho Supreme Court to, give-" a sufficient and satisfactory reasons for de- 1 4 dining ta enter into" the contract for

sale; but the fact that even subsequent M to the application, and before a mintttef : |l approving. of the; application has been M entered on the proceedings of the :■ Board, the land has been withdrawn by ■■ the Superintedent from sale, as land of 9 special value,cwould seem to be ample il reason for ■ declining the, ! sale, and a|B reason with which Mr Logan should "-'-j have been contented without expecting j the Board to hear arguments. Until a^ contract has been made by a minute of | the Board, Mr Logan would have no 1 locus standi as plaintiff in a court of % -equity. Of course if the land in ques \ X tion had been formally withdrawn from 1 sale at the time of the application, as -1 the resolution" of the Board seems to 1 state was the case,' 'there' was not even j the color of a reason why the application } should be allowed, and 1 the application j would look hke an attempt to get the -| Board to act in an unjustifiable manner j towards the general public. j Of all accidents incident upon travel- :fl ling by sea or land, that of the loss of Jj an emigrant vessel, with its living 1 freight of men, Women, and children, is 1 one of the most awful and melancholy, I and the burning.of such a vessel in mid I ocean or far from land is about the 1 most dreadful shape in which such a 1 wreck can occur. It requires no great § stretch of /imagination-to pioture to tha I mind, the frightful scene! /Painful it is 1 to look over the list, emigrants by the 1 Cospatrick, and note the ages of those J who have thus suddenly fallen a prey j to the devastating elements of fire- and ' j, water-^-a large number of people of < various ages, but mostly fyoung men I and women, and families of young children. Such ah event ought to { make more than a 'fleeting impression J upon our minds, nor should our: daily ' occupations erase quickly that impression. • No doubfi -tho public is anxious to learn something more" about ) the accident, and some fur v th«r .details-- \ we shall probable soon have^frdm thfr survivors; but it is probable we shall j only hear what will rather add to than 1 detract from the horror of the accident. I It is singular that in this case, as in 1 that of the London, which foundered a j few years since in the Bay of Biscay, a I very few should have escaped to relate, like Coleridge's " Ancient Mariner," the dreadful story. The question inevitable occurs in a case of this sort, whether anybody was to blame, and whether everything was done that could have been clone to prepare , for an accident of this kind — an accident the happening of which might have been anticipated as very far from a remote possibility, considering the number^ of people on board, and the consequents, careless use of fire which was sure- tot occur more or ' less, in spite of every precaution taken by the captain and iiiff officers. Whatever preparation was made, it seems to have" bfeen very inadequate to meet a case of this sort, - when only an hour's grace • seems to have been given in which to' endeavor to extinguish the fire and make preparations for leaving the vessel. One would think that boats ought, in order to meet a possible and by no means improbable emergency of this sort, to be kept victualled and provided and ready to lower at .a moment's notice. Then, especially if the weather hapdened to be calm, there might be, a chance of escape for at least a considerable number of the people. It willy • be well when human ingenuity discovers some better modes of extinguishing fires at sea than the apparently very inadequate means adopted at" present. Pumping ai small stream of. water out of the hose' connected' with a - fire engine, seems an insufficient process when the fire once gets ahead. „ Even in the case of burning /buildings on land, where the consequences of delay are not. usually so fatal to human, life, this antiquated process is surely capable * of being improved upon ; as respects. a burning "vessel at sea, very little" dependence can be placed upon it. . It seems tome what is required in the case of ' ; a" '.burning "ship is, if possible^ io deluge the vessel with, water, short of swamping . her. How this may heeffected I don't pretend to say. Therois abundance of water round the vessel, and though the sea is apt occasionally to come on board when it is not Wanted, the question is how tb get the requisite „. supply, of water quickly, enough on board when it is Would it be altogether impracticable in'the case of these 'emigrant vessels to contrive cisterns of: water:. oh board, by which the ship might be flooded, and, if the fire not extinguished, time be given for . pumping more" water "on board,' br at least "make preparation for leaving the vessel ? Those who "are la" a position to^un'd i c#st.and the/matter really' ought .without 4elay. to. set their wits to .work and erideavo* to "contrive some method of defence : fi'omi fire : at' sea. ; ;: In the mean time the .authorities connected with -- immigration both - here ■■ and. at hb'm'e i ought ' id' employ * every; meMs they are for -the.pjotectioh of these emigrant vessels, and (/; their'pasiehgers and 'crews.' 1 have .a, <', sh'rewed " suspicion that "if the authonti^ would give themselves the i trouble,^ the^ taMghfc&d mdve-l&ati they do -at -present towardseniuring the safety of emigrant vessels on a voyage half round the :| globe.- :-.-i V..7T vAz&.zii: la iX; -.T. X