The Land Commission.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXXV, Issue 1929, 20 March 1905, Page 3

The Land Commission.

1 he above body ariiverl at Pembroke on Saturday evening, 11th when evidence was given by Mc-s-hh a. McDout»'lj U. Studholme, sent., R. jun., A. A. Barker, s»nd R. McDcUijalJ. On Mi.uJay they arrived in Cromwell about 3 p.m., and a eit« tin': wag held in the Council Oliaml ers at 3.30. Thomas M Whirter, (f Morven Hills Run, stated he had been in that poei tion for 13 ycarf. The lessers of ifce were F. J. ai.d VV. BaiLe t. Th»re were 320,000 acrrs on the run, carrying 42,000 rheep, prhcip»lly merino, in additun to wi.ich there were 500 cattle. The average el'p io ordin»ry seasons w*s 7ib per bhtep. The average Limtir.g for some years past bad baeu 50£ |)er cent. On account of the he*vy snowstorms of Into years they had not been able to keep up the flock from the inciesse, and bad had to purchase over -20,000 shee|) wi'hin the last 10 years. The rental of the run was £2750 per annum. The wiuttra of 1895 and 1903 were very bad. In 1895 there were 55,000 aheep lost, and in 1903 the low w»h 31,000 sheep. In the winter of J 899 the loss was 15,000 sheep on the run. The difficulty was that there was not a corresponding proportion of low country to high country. There were 1500 aorea of freehold at Tan-as connected with the run, On the leasehold there were 150 miles of fencing. Trapping and ferreting of rabbits were carried out to counteract the rabbits, Ferrets wete practically useless in tbe cold country, but stoats and weaales were increasing, and were fairly effective in high country, where there was no trapping. Grassing down at the proper time of the year bad been tried on a Email portion of the run, and bad been very successful. The run had not paid ia recent years, and on account of recent loses application had been made to the Government for consideration, but no definite reply had been received so far. He unJerstood it had been left to the commission to fuitber inquire into the matter. Couch grass, he thought, ought to be tried on bare patches He thought the Government should supply seed, the sowing to be overlooked by the Grown Lands ranger or some other officer. This would in« ctease the carrying capacity by onethird or one-half. It would be a good investment for the State if it was applied to Otasjo Central as a whole. In reply to a question by Mr Paul be siid that it would be wise to guard against subsequent overstocking, and to other questions, witness said that only a limited portion of the run was fit for stock-carrying in winter time. The Hit run would not grow turnips without in Only one portion of the run, facing Lake Hawea, had farn on it. If the lessee provided grass seed, and the State gave the right of renewal, with valuation for improvements, ho would be as well satisfied as if the State supplied seed. The largest number cf sheep shorn on the station to witness'*} knowledge was 110,000. There we'*a more shorn at one time. 4.bout 300 act 63 of turnips were generally cultivated for win.tr fee'. He did not th'nk that the run could be subdivided to much advantage. The water questiou had been a trouble for some time. Lately, however, the proprietors htd applied for water rights with the view of overcoming that difficulty. One object was to grow hay. In 1895, on account of the losses the rent of the run was reduced from £4500 to £2750, and an extension of the lease was given. In regard to scattered pre-emptive rights over the run it was desirable that the law ! should be amended to enable the min« j uter to a«ree to tbe aggregation of these I into one block so that the lessee might 1 improve his freehold by irrigation or other expenditure. He was perfectly satbii'd with the constitution cf land boards.

Johu H. Werner, Lowburn, staled that many of the rung, such as Malvern Hills atd Mount Pisa, aro held on such terras that the Goverumen could not, during the bnure of the lease, alienate any l*nd for settlement under the Land Act without the ruuholder's consent. Acdon might of course be t*ken under the Mining District Laod Occupa'ion Act of 1894, under which an applicant could only hold 100 -ctes, icc'usive on any land h9 might Iready have. Thit area was not enough to provide living for a man and Irs fanvly. He Budgeted thataress of 320 ceres be taken from runs of -iver 100,000 acres and lesser areas from smaller runs, the whole area taken mo- t> exceed 5 p ,j r ceu'. of the run. liuus cinyini 7000 sheep or less heuld bs exem|t from inUrfetenco if the lessee r< sided ou the run. Full ccmpei'Sitlon ought to be given to runholders for depreciation of land so ttken -affr deducing one third for 'ceding. In answer to questions, witness said lie believed that if the Murven Hills run from the hill to the river were jiviied* ii.to blocks of 8000 or 9000 acres ih.y would be taken up. Be vonld take up an area himser. There *a S a demand for l*nJ in the Ciomwell »is tict. Some people had been driven mt of the district because they could not ge' He thought the Laod ] Board ouabt to be representative of the diftcict, with a nominated chairman. The Crom-vel district bid never had a representative ou the Board. It A-ou!d be advisable to allow a small area to be taken up for orchards under the occupation lease without residence.

Compulsory residei<ce ou-.bt to be done swiy with in (vv case.

George CockUmi ?aH he took up a defen< j <j«iv>ynjen! feci ion at the head of Lake \Vak*')|u in 1800. ibo laws wer<- very lcr hj, ind ht fell a v c i>n *o them. Hi' iiei wss two small, *rd the climate « ;<b m..f.vorabl-i for the crops, Ihe pr sent Utd lawp, he cons ; der d, were veiy liberal, tbongli tin y m'gbt lift HineiiiJ«'d. He thought 'he c-t«'e ouJii to give the ti-jht ts puichatre io l*sc»-.e mperpcuty. It was enough to say (hern wtull be 10 in ci ti rence will a lease in perpetuity, bul under p«rty goveta*. inei t itTilua i n mi, lit be brought in, or some oth r alteration made in tin leaee.

The Chair turn H*id tboic was no fear of tbe coij'r*<t unJci the 1< a*e in in p'.ip'tuiy beinz broken.

Wituffs s&M th • Govf-tniifn' hid taken land compulhOrily for sett lament, and, that being S'i, he considered could alter the term of leas.:?.

Further examined, witness said that ht presort be had a prospecting license over 40 acees in the district. He thought prospecting ought to be encouraged by ' the Government ou a libetal scale.

In reply to questioue, witness said that a man ought to make certain improvements to show that he was a bona fide settler btfore he was granted the freehold. He believed the time would come when large runs would be profitably occupied in smaller holdings.' He thought dredging operations might damage adjoining land by over-flowina; upon it, a« companies could dump their tailings where they pleased on their own grouod.

0. Holden thought that more facilities should be given to take up smi.ll areas of 10 to 30 or 50 acres for orchards and dairying, and that preference should be given to men with families who would leside on the land. He thought that it was advisable to cut up large runq into smaller one.". Robert T. Jackson, manager cf Kawarau Station, said the N.Z. and A Land Company was lessee of the ruu, which compris-d 206,000 acres. Last year 34,000 merino sheep were shorn, the average clip being 7£ib. The rental of the iuu was £IBSO pet annum. About £IOO bad been spent on g asking Kawarau, with good result p. It was best to sow as early iu the spring as possible after the frost had lifted the ground, as the seed sank in. At Woodbank, Hammer Plains, "rasa was sown annually, with beneficial resu ! t j , the cairying capacity of the run being increased from 0000 to 8500. He had sown a good deal of Chewiug's fescue on the Kawarau Run. It was a «ri»ss tln>t Jid not Eeem to carry much feed, but it stuck to the ground. Pastoral teuantn ought 'o be encouraged, he thought, wi'h long lease*, and with valuation icr improvements. Another way of improving was for the Government to sujiply seed so as to guarantee is .quality, and charge the tenant with the interest and sinkiij,' fund. If cocksfoot took wtll, it wouli last out a 21 years' lease. The percentage of lambing this year was 75: During wi*.nest's time tha corupauy had maintained its stock, and sold some ol the older stock. Run* holders want security of tenure, and if they got it they wool! undertake the grass'eg themsdves. The company diJ all it cculi to keep down tha rabb t°. Some of the emalier holdings were worse with rabbits th»n the rune. The Kawarau Run cjul I be sub.divided into two or three runs which could ba worked to advantage if the rent w-s low enough. It had to be remember, d that 'ho Nevis count-y wfs not worth much.

James Kitcbie, Crotnwtll Flat, stated th it he held 670 which weie under tha Mining Act. Ki had been 41 yeara io the distric f . He used the iaod for cropping and dairying. All that he i>rew ha so'd lccilly. Ilia grievance baJ always b :ee ou'l-'t for produce. The railway was not yet within reasonable d stance. Lie e .uld buy o*ts cheaper 1 e> ly ih n he cjiild deliver thorn from Dwifd'r. Ho wcul I 1 ke to make his let-sob- i I his owo, lie thi ealiod 20 acres <<t oats reoently, the yield bung i 55 bushels t)-he acre. His Uad wji;'"i not pay -vi:hout bru'& inn t-ni failo <\ It would mt keep a gco-ie to the acre without water.

James Home, chairman Vincent County Council, stidtlut. hii il .holdings in the disirict were value'ens wi liru; water. Somo races bid charge.l hrtn !s lat+lf. A head of wt-t:r had t e j n bring ! n,' a<>out £4OO. The small holdings in ihi di-t ict woul 1 never be a v tho;:t wa m-, and at pieseot the w<»t~r waa hell *>y miners or by ?e tiers.

J (.ha M liae, fairue'-, ne-»r Tanas Station, s'atftd that be and his sous h'U 3000 qc es of Lnd, which he cro; ped and wed for sheep. Over 700 acres *ere freehold, and the bilance on leasf in perpetuity, fie was gitisii'd wi li thf; 1 Ate in pep tuity, tut would prefer ihe fie-hold. H<. woul i r*thoi" hold on to his present !ea>-e than run th« risk of losing i. at «uc ion.