The Evening Star MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1871.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2685, 25 September 1871, Page 2

The Evening Star MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 1871.

“ It was resolved that the sale of “ 45,500 acres of laird to Mr Joseph “ Clarke be under Clause 83 of the “ Waste Lands Act, 18G6.” Such was part of the minute entered on the books of the Waste Land Board on Wednesday. The provisions of the 83rd Clause are as follow ; During the currency or term of any lease of pastoral lands situate outside the boundaries of any Hundred granted under this Act if the terms and conditions of such lease and the conditions herein contained be and continue to be duly performed and complied with and if no Hundred be proclaimed including such lands the lands comprised in such lease shall not be liable to be sold without the consent of the holder of such lease and whene /er such consent shall be given as to the whole or any part of such lands the same maybe sold as if they had been included within the boundaries of a Hundred. We cannot but admire the daring of the land-reforming Executive now in power! They evidently regard their own doctrines as so much bounce —and so do we. Throughout the whole of the late elections their perpetual cry was “ settle the people on the lands.” They spared no pains to point out the inicpiity of handing the country over to the squatters ; they professed to believe that, if there were opportunity of throwing open the land, men would flock to it as to a home, and that they had nothing to do but to have a market stocked with land to render Otago rich and prosperous. But it was not to be sold in largo areas. Mr Reid did not want that. What he wanted was to see every man settled on his own land, with a homestead, a pigstyo, and a grazing paddock for his cow. Our readers will remember his graphic picture of rural happiness and prosperity. It was all comprised in “ a pig in a “ stye, a cottage to live in, and a cow “ grazing on the natural grasses.” We assume as a matter of course that when a man has clearly defined to .himself what object it is desirable to attain to, he will take means to that end. To do him justice, he did submit to bring the Hundreds Regulation Act into very tardy operation ] but he never was hearty in the work. There was throughout the whole of the proceedings under it an evidence that it was distateful to him, and that he had rather, whatever he did, would fail than succeed. But land sales were necessary. The Province was badly involved, and there was no getting out of it. He had tried the General Assembly through the agency of others, but they would not entertain his land crotchets. Twelve precious months had gone past, during which he had sulkily refused to sell land, but twelve months more would be provincial ruin. True, he is now a member of the House of Representatives, and has had committed to his care, that precious hotch-potch, the Waste Land Bill of last session. He is also supported by Mr Brown, Mr Bradshaw, and Mr Bathgate. Such a phalanx of talent as ornaments those names ought to force anything through a House that could appreciate it; so if their efforts fail to command success, the blame will be with the House not with them. But how will those obtuse members of the House of Representatives, who might be inclined to believe in the sincerity of Reid, Bathgate, Bradshaw, and Brown, be able to reconcile words and deeds? By their words they tell us they wish to see every man with “ a cottage, a pig in a stye, and “ cows grazing on natural grasses.” The sejnatters are a proscribed race. Better far to see men and women than sheep and cattle on the land : Reid and tail would limit the quantity to be bought by any one man to three hundred and twenty acres. The man who buys three hundred and twentyone is to be put into class “ mono- “ pollst, ” and is not fit to be a landed proprietor of democratic Otago. Such are the ideas which they flung about broadcast over the Province. But what are their deeds ? It is not worth while to compare their doings with the men whose conduct they condemned. Their beta noir was Mr Vogel, and then blackest accusation against him was that in pursuance of the provisions of the Waste Lands Act, 1860, he offered land that had been in the market seven years at an upset price of ten shillings an acre. They forgot to state the prices realised, which brought it up to a very much higher average than that. But at any rate he had the authority of law with him, and therefore it was the law that was to blame—not the man. But the same excuse will not apply to the Reid Administration, However legal the transactions may be that they have consummated, they have been condemning that very law as iniquitous they have acted under. They

have studiously avoided giving the opportunity they had it in their power to give to the small capitalist to buy, but have sold readily to the large. During past years no such extensive sales have been made to individuals as have been sanctioned by the Reid Governments. They sanctioned the sale of the Island Block to W. J. T. Clarke, although there were many applicants lor portions of it; and, moreover, there is every reason to believe that it overlies valuable deposits of gold. They gave to the runholders the option of purchasing each six hundred and forty acres of land instead of eighty. They sold to Mr M'Killau some sixteen thousand acres, more or less, in one block, and now they have agreed to sell forty-five thousand five hundred acres to one man—a non-resident. For our own part we make no comment upon the transactions themselves, excepting on that log-rolling sale of the Island Block, which we denounced at the time, and have no reason to retract our : opinion. What we really wish to bring under notice is the value of the service of men who profess one thing and act contrarily to that profession. Had there been one spark of sincerity in those men, they would have found means to bring plenty of land into the market for choice by persons desirous of settling upon it \ and moreo\cr, they would have received twenty shillings an acre for it, or more, if offered for sale by auction. Rumor says those 45,500 acres will realise about 15s 6d an acre ! Some day, perhaps, the people of Otago will learn to distrust the claptrap of land agitators. If there had been honest, straightforwardness, in the conduct of the Government for the past two years, there would have been no necessity to force a sale.