WITH THE LAND COMMISSION.

Evening Post, Volume LXIX, Issue 48, 27 February 1905, Page 5

WITH THE LAND COMMISSION.

SITTING AT INVERCARGILL. fBY TfeLEOhAl'H.] (From Our Special Reporter.) iNVEttCAROILL, 251h Feb. Tho Commission left Orepuki shortly after 7 «.m., itml immodiaLcly on returning to lnveicargill proceeded to take evidence. Duncan ifuichißon, farmer at Orawin, a lease in perpetuity settler> with 183 acres of land on tho Merrivale Estate, said ho thought settlers should have the option of acquiring the freehold. Seltleis would then have more heart to farm the- land properly, lie kliew of sonic leaseholders who said "Wo liaVD only goL a lease of this land, so Wo will lake, all we cut out of it, and thrdw it up." He thought settlers tinder the land for settlement system should pay 4 per cent., tho swmo as Crown ten* ants. Allan M'Dougall Carmiohncl, a farmer with 3600 acres of freehold on the outskills of the district in the Waiau Valley, said his land was very broken. He was tho only freeholder there, but he knew that all his neighbours roll ml abo,ut all wished lo acquire the freehold of their lands. The settleis al.so complained that their holdings were too small. The light lo purchase would give settlement a greater impetus in his district. It would also make settlers nioie careful in destroying noxious weeds. Ho snoko well of tho local Land Board. The members were hard-headed men, but ho suggested a Hoard of Appeal to which settlers could apply in case- of dispute with tho Board. John Driscoli, farmer at Mntaura, occupier of a leaao with right of purchase, said tho lease in perpetuity was tho best form of tenure. He had been a, Crown tenant at High Bank, and sold out at a profit. Ho would have applied for a section at Edendale, bub for the restriction in tho shape of examination by tho Board/, ' It was inconvenient for him to attend for such an examination. Thos. Lyons Oswin, ollicor in olmrge of tho Advances to Settleis and Government Valuations Office, said settlors had come to tho bllico thinking that they could get loans on their cases at twee, but under the section they could not get a loan until they had been in occupation twelve months. In several cases it Was found that tho Department's vAluation was much lower than the occupiers'. There- were about 176 leasohold mortgages in tho district, mostly on the lauds of Crown, tenants. Thb Chairman asked if it was not the case that tho refusal of the Bdard to lend money was due nob only to insufficient security, bt>t also ti> Iher6 being insufficient means at tho disposal of the Board." lie said withe* Md no need to answer the question if ho thought it advisable nob td divulge confidential information. Witness ditl not answer the question directly, but stated that all applications wero granted by tho Board in Wellington. He would telegraph to Wellington Jo moo if ho could get tho number of appUcationn rofused to Crown tenants in his district. The Board only knew tho leaaon why loans wero refused. James Miller, a settler, 20 miles from, Invercurgill, said ho had 1600 / acres of freehold and 1000 acres with a lien on it to tho Government. He believed in, the ficohold> system 5 he did nob like the lease in perpetuity system, Alexander Piper, district land valuer, gave evidence regarding the case of O'Connell, a former witness, who had complained that ho had been refused a loan. Witness said ho found that O'Connell had removed the house from his section, and was living on another section. The Department therefore rofuftcd the loan altogether. AT STEWART ISLAND. A BOUGH TRIP. BLUFF, 26th February. Tho Commission, alter taking evidence at lnveicargill yesterday Totenoon, snatched ;i hasty lunch, and then found itself on tho train bound for the Bluff, where the Hiirbour Board tug Theresa Ward was miu ting to convey it to Stewart Island. The tug is splendid as a tug, but is a sad delusion as a pnhsfehger bout, tho result being that - two hours' steady plugging against a FoVeaux Straits wind and seas found on 6 Weak spot in the Royal Commission. Tho tug pitched and kicked and rolled, and in lop.* than half an hour the sen had wreaked a deadly vengeance on the Land Commission^ with tho lcsulb that abblit half tho members would haVo given all their capital for a little bib of freehold. Freehold, perpetual lease, l'ighb of purchase, advances to settlers, and cvCH ragwort were quickly forgotten, for the sea in conjunction with the Theresa Ward is no respecter of persons. Stewart Island does nob offer any very serious problem to tho land reformer. It contains half a million acres of land of no account for farming, but of much value as a scenic resort, Pegasus (where the tin is supposed to come trom), Lord's River, Pateison's and other inlets aro very beautiful, especially when the rato- trees aro ablaze i wihfei their crimson blossoms. Years ago Kbwnrail fisher folk were imported from the I Orkneys with a view to the establishment of the fishing industry. They each received a grant of twenty acres of land, but they did nob stay long, und, beautiful- a« the* ialuhd was, they soon drifted away. No doubt they thought of the sentiment of those beautiful lines :— "From tho dim shielding and tho misty island Mountains divide us, and a world of seas, But our hearts are trtie, our hearts are .Highland, And wo In dreams buhold the Hobriaes." Tho main factors in tlio disappearance ot those fisher-folk, however, were the want of a market for their fish, and the possibility of earning "eight bob a day" on tho mainland. Anyhow, they soon left, their twenty-acre allotments Were abandoned, and' many remain untennnted to this day, none in all the- wide wide world knowing what has become of many of them. Nowadays, however, Stewart Island is an important lishing station, and h»rg6 supplies of delicious fish aro exported. The question of leltiti^ the fisher folk acqune land on which to make homes for themselves is thcretoru of some importance, and will no doubt receive consideration from tho Royal Commission. The only other questions of moment for the Commission were the granting ot the Ireohokl to the settlers and scenery versus sawmilling. On these questi >ns we may let the ihhabi* tants speak for themselves. The Commission sat by lamplight aua candlelight to take their evidence. Aithur William Troill, Chairman of tho County Council, said he h.id twenty acre* of freehold. Luna m the island was extremely difficult and expensive to clear. Thorelaro every onu in Stewart Island wished lo acquire the lrcehold. Those who had rnken up land on lease in perpetuity now regretted having so taken it up. Very tew wete making a living altogethur out ot the land. They worked at saw* mills, and engaged in fishing or other pur* suits. Visitors who came for a holiday often wished an acre or two of land to build a summer residence, and, of cotiw» the ficehold was the only thing to suit them. There was no demand for the lease

in perpetuity. A large area had been reserved for scenic purposes. Some of the residents thought these areas might bo v orked by Sawmills ; dlllels thought they should not. It was 1 a disputed point. The young men of tlio islalid did hot go on the land ; they preferred to go in for fishing. 11 niight bfe beheflbhil if tlkJy could get small holdings near the coast. William Robertson, farmer, said he had a. lease in perpetuity. There was only a lough truck to his property. The lease in perpetuity Was retarding Settlement in the island. In twelve years only five sections had been taken Up oti the lease-hi-pe-rpetu-ity system. When he took up his section ho had soitic idea, of the nationalisation of the land, but after working for twelve years to clear It ho- thought he should have the freehold. Tlio Chairman 1 : that hftS altered your opinion considerably? Witness : Yes ; it has. To Mr. Forbes : Ono objection to a. leaso in perpetuity was that you bould not borrow on it. Edmund Pleasant, formerly fisn packer, bnt now fanner, said he believed in th& right to purchase. George Sloan, a sa-wmiller dnd holder of lurid with tho right to purchase, said it was "ftll rot" to sdppose that the sawmiller spoiled the sceiiery. Ho Only" t<fok tho big trees flrtd oporied up a way for the tourist. The Innd was very difficult, to clear. If he had to clear and stump all his section, 116 would have to live to the end of the nine hundred arid uiiloty-nino years. (Laughter.) Charles Robertson, sawmillcr, and holder of a lease in perpetuity, said he was satisfied with his tenure. He doubted whether the lease in perpetuity Mas tho best for keeping peoplo oh the land. Ho thought there should be th* three tenures. This afternoon wo steamed up Pdlorson's Tnlet and bock to tile Bluff. To-morrow wo arc leaving Invercargill for Otautnuj the centre of a fine agricultural district. So Jar, the evidence to>ken has been overwhelmingly in tavoUr of allowing leaseholders the option of converting their holdings into freehold.