A QUESTION OF PRECEDENCE. DISAPPOINTED WOULD BE SETTLERS.

Evening Post, Volume XLII, Issue 128, 26 November 1891, Page 2

A QUESTION OF PRECEDENCE. DISAPPOINTED WOULD BE SETTLERS.

Ydstdi?day nftornoon the Ministor for Lauds redßlVe'd a deputation from tho MttftbH Sißdll FAftn Associations Nos. 1 to 5, consisting of Sl^sßt'S, O: Galpin, C. Wilson, S. Gibbons, and J. F. Sicoiy.The grievarce about which the deputation Complained, as explained to tho Minister by Mr. Wilsion 1 ; wris briefl*- thM : The settlors round about MilrUffi, 80s!rotrS 6T ontauiing land for v their soris, lately formed & Sto'aU Farm Association with a membership of 104, and on the 27th of Octooer notified the Minister for Lands of tho fact, and applied % part of ,tlie Otama-kap.ua Block. They ofHsidered That tnefejoly pi the Department was unduly delayed, Slid that though theirs was the prior application, another AsSoGitttion from Fohanginn. wa3 enabled to step in and, secure. tho ooveted tylookV Since their Association was first formed its roll had increased to 268 nlembors, all sturdy young ! yeclmen. lt.was aSsertdd\ The Minister for Lands pointed out in the first place that n6 Afisofiidtloil dduld bays so many members. To this the deputation re. plieS |Hat tHey Had divided into five separate Association's, ltuw id otly pjiae they were prepared to stand tipori tue* fipfts of the original 104. Tho Minister then said tliat v/Hon <3i& Afirtpolation's toldgrjinl reached him, Mr. Birrb'ft »-a9 in . thfc act of coming , into the pfiice witH & ieidgram from anothor person who was also an applicant. To this Mr. Wilson retorted that he knew tho Marton application to have been tho curlier ono. The Minister said that about a dozen- AssOclatlonaf-eiaimed to be the first applicants for all theso blocks. Mr. { Wilsoil claimed that tile 1 Mstrton Assooiation \M a )ottef_ from" tH$ Sttryoj'rt'-Gericral " oar-marluilg " tlie, .block for thenJ: It was sent oil tue 6tl( of November, in answer to the application of the 2?th' of oetoVer, so ] that the department had not sacrificed much ' to speed. The Minister — Oh, everyone who writes to the office thinks it has, nothing to do but roply to his letter. / We don't consider any correspondence until such time as the application m finally niado for tho blook. Mr. Wilson-KBut we httd modo a definite application for this blodk, and/ the letter remained ill t«8 office .without rdply' for several days. Tlietl We donld do#n hdro, and we are told that wo have lost our right of priority becaaso another Association has steppea in. The Minister— Their letter wonld be likely tb" b&reoeived before yours. Mr. Wilson quoted from a felegftfnt gent to the Association by the Surveyor-General on tho 10th of November—" You will have to decide within a very short time what land yon want, as the whole of Otamakapna is applied for. If you don't take it, I will write about other land in a day or two." Horo Mr. Barron pointed out that in punctuating tho tologtam tho first sontonce should end at the Word " it/ 1 Mr, Wilson thought this was a mef 0 quibblo, and that at any rate a Government department Should have made hotainl. Mr. WlLsoll aISJo 1 Jad ttid tßply from tho Association, part of whioh ran — " AVo take your -telegram to mean that wo have first refusal of block, for which accept thanks." To this tho department sent no answer. The Minister thought the blSme rostod with tho> Assooiation. When 'they received tho telegram stating " It is all applied for if yon don't take it," they should have replied at once. If the department gave A Bromine to every man who came along and said he was going to form an Association and very, likely W take Up land, they would ndy'er get. any fiiiality at, allr 'llr. WilaUn-lfo, tra« if tHe" dejfcrrtnie-njb hid answered its, telegrams properly, wo ''would havo had no trouble at all. After the matter had been protty fully discussed, tho Minister said there were 80,000 acres of the block left, and the only fair way of dealing with it that ho could see was to divide it between the Marton Association and another that had applied for it. Or if the Marton people chose to go further away and get another block the Government would assist them in that, but the only land that oould bo offered to them' in that part of ttie country was At WaimarinO. intimately tho Minister asked the deputation to meet him again later in the afternoon, and promised to look through the correspondence in. the interval. ' * The Minister gave his final answer to tltio deputation this morning. It was to tho effeot that they could havo 20,000 acres of the Otamakaptta Block, which would supply the requirements of 100 of their members, allotting thorn 200 acreß each.