The Star. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1880.

Hawera & Normanby Star, Volume I, Issue 57, 27 October 1880, Page 2

The Star. WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 1880.

THE WAIMATE PLAINS.

Of course, the one topic of conversation for the past few days has been the long-talked-of sale of tbe land. How much will it fetch ? has been more often asked than What is it worth ? We have reason to know that a very large number of applications were lodged for some of the deferred payment sections on Monday. We have always opposed and found fault with the system of submitting land to auction, •which is primarily set aside for men of small means, and is held subject to numerous restrictions and conditions. The upset price tempts buyers to visit the district, spend some of their, often hardearned, money in examining the land, in travelling to the district, and hi awaiting the sale, only to find at last that they mast eitlier sacrifice all these preliminary expanses, wh&a thft land is put up to auction, or else bid far more for the land than they really believe it to be worth. Mr. l Bryce, as the representative of the Government, is reported to have said that " the Government could not .undertake to protect people from their own folly," but it is certainly bad policy to place temptation to gamble in land in the way of the people. Most of the bidders ibr deferred payment land have paidjfcteavy entrance

fees in the form of travelling or other expenses, to enable them to hold a ticket in what is after all nothing but a great lottery, and must either allow another man to outbid them for the prizes, or else promise to pay more than they -can be at all sure of making out of their investment. On the other hand, if by any chance a man should select a really good deferred payment section for which there is no other applicant, he would draw a prize in the lottery without first having to pass through the fire of open competition, in which, under the present system, some half-a-dozen 1 or more applicants may be in. a measure openly pitted against one another, for the special entertainment of the on-lookers.

However, it is perfectly certain that it is too late now to hope for any alteration in the conditions of sale. The utter uselessness of offering unasked advice, either to the public or any one else, is only too well known; but it may be as well to remind applicants, that it is a recognised rule among the frequenters of auctionrooms, that it is never safe for them to bid, without first examining the articles to be sold, and then deciding; upon an outside limit of price, which they will not exceed.

The necessity for carefully exploring the sections on the Plains to be offered on deferred payment before bidding, is too well known to residents to be worthy of remark ; we mention the necessity for the sake of any stranger, who might possibly be tempted to apply and bid for a section with which he was personally unacquainted. Any one who attempts it will be very apt to burn his fingers. To men of small means, it may not be amiss to quote the opinion of several experienced farmers, to the effect that there is very little chance of success for any deferred payment selector who has not from to .£8 per acre in hand on taking up his land. The conditions of occupation are onerous, involve residence, and the cultivation of one-twentieth of the rural land annually, and the making of permanent improvements of the value of i>l per acre within six years. No sale or transfer of the land can be made, except with the consent of the Commissioner of the district; and even he has no power to allow any transfer except to a person who is in a position to make the declaration required by the Land Act of 1877.

We, in common with many of our contemporaries, have already expressed ou opinion that the conditions of sale of the land for cash are not likely to suit most purchasers. On the other hand, it may be reasonably anticipated that much of the land will fetch long prices; those buyers who wish for more than one or two cash sections will probably have to pay long prices in order to complete the purchase of the blocks which they wish for. The necessity of finding the whole cash for the laud within one month from the date of sale, will in most cases be sufficient to deter men from bidding extravagant prices. Beady - money purchasers, unless they bappfen to be new chums, have generally a very fair idea of what it costs to fence in land, stock it, grass it, and ,put a house upon it. If there should be any, however, who have not counted up the cost of undertaking this work, on small sections intersected with roads, such as those into which the Plains have been subdivided, we venture to suggest that they should do so before attending the auction-room.

In conclusion, we would remind intending purchasers that, in addition to the taxation to be levied by counties and road boards, all the land on the Waimate Plains is subject to a rate of one shilling in the £. for the harbor at New Plymouth. It is tYvve that it has often been asserted that no such rate will ever be required, and that it was given only as an additional security to the London capitalists. But the fact remains that the land is liable to be taxed at the rate mentioned, and that it may be levied at the will and pleasure of a limited number of gentlemen at New Plymouth, who comprise the Harbor Board. "We have thought it only our duty to bring this matter prominently under the notice of intending settlers : those who have been living in this district are already only too .well aware of the fact. The purchasers of the bush sections in the Ngaire were entirely ignorant that they, top, were liable to have their land iaxenV at a, sMUi&g m tlie £ on tlie annual v&lae for the same purpose. We desire to bring this important point under the notice of strangers who may ultimately become our fellow-settlers, and we regret that we were aware, at the time the Ngaire lands were sold, that that district was embraced within the large area liable to be rated for harbor improvements at New Plymouth.

The lucky nina applicants who have secured their sections without competition ought to be congratulated.