A Land Ballot at Fortrose.

Mataura Ensign, Issue 17, 3 May 1895, Page 4

A Land Ballot at Fortrose.

THE DRAWING FOB THE HAL DANK STATE FABM*. Considerable interest was evinced at Foit* rose, on Wednesday afternoon, over the drawing for sections in the Haldane State farm settlement, a large number of people besides those immediately concerned attend* ing tbe ballot. The proceeding! were con* ducted by Messrs Ot. W. Williams (Com* missioner of Crown Lands), Dnncan (Ea« gine6r), and Young (luspeotpr). Mr . B, McNab, M.H.8., was also present. Before proceeding with the ballot, - Mr Williams remarked that he had resided 40 Tear* in the colony, and had always taken a great interest m its welfare. He went on to state the reason for the Govern* ment opening up land ' on the system that had drawn those present together that day— viz., to give deserving men the chance of getting a start in life. Those who were fortunate in seouxing the sections to be disposed of that day would be afforded such a chance of bettering themselves. He hoped the fortunate ones would go on to the land with a full determination of reaping the' full of their opportunities. They would under* stand from the regulations undtr which they were working that the Government reserved the right to the timber, but the settlers had a perfeot right to all they wanted for tbei? own use. A site for the school, had bean chosen, one that would be available foe the whole of the settlement, and he ventured to add that there would be no difficulty in getting a school, as soon a« the chilfjJwn were on the ground. The object of th« Haldane Settlement was to give men land enough to make a living on. Some took up large areas of bush land. They cleared, say, 40 or 50 acres, and left the rest in ill native state. The consequence was that tbe rent had to be paid on tbe larger area when only the smaller was reproductive, He wai speaking of what he knew to be ft fact. These were the class of men who, after being on the land for a abort tine, were calling out for more State aid. Be would like to see them look well after their gardens and orchards, as they would find those branches of industry very remunerative. Poultry and pigs could be made another source of income. He was sathfisd that good grass seed could also be grown, and it was alwajs saleable. Many thought that grazing was the only way of making a farm pay, but he was sure they would find that such a policy Was a mistake. When they got on to their land, be hoped to see them work well together and help each other in every possible way. The Government might supply a stump extractor, but this would be of little use unless they co-operated well together. Be would like to suggest that tramways should takfr' the place of roads in the settlement, as they would be far cheaper, both in construction and maintenance. In reference to any grievances that might ciop up, he would gag* gest that one man be appointed to tepritent the wbo c settlement and to be spokesman in all matters affeoting their interests. When they had a grievance, if they were to hand it to the officer in sbarge, instead of writing away to the head of the department it would ba forwarded on, and so save time. He did not wish them to be always com* plains about little things, but would like to see them prove men of telfaeliance. *The practice of writing anonymous letters was condemned, la making any complaints, let them be put as briefly as possible, and have the real signature of the writer appended. Be noxious weeds, the California^ thistle and tansy weie becoming a great curae to the farmers, and he hoped that they would all unite and destroy them wherever seen. As to tbe wisdom of selecting single men as settlers, he said that the whole experience of the department had been that tingle men, as a rule, did not make gofld settlers. ?hej. were too cireleis with their work, ana slammed it— their whole object, apparently, being to get it done as soon as possible, so that they might go elsewhere, tfartiid men, on the otber hand, put on substantial improvements. It had been found that when single men applied for a loan under the " Advances to Settlers Act," their improvements were much inferior to those of the married men. In conclusion, he knew there,, would be many disappointed, but While single men were quite eligible to take up land, it was only ligbt to give the married men tbe preference. The ballot was theu taken, with the fol* lowing result :— No, of Sect ion. Succ ssf al Applo mt, 2 ... James Whybrow, Jon 8 ... Simon Pascoe 25 ... Horace Pope 27 ... W. T. Weir 15 ... H, J. MoOlure 28 ... B. Barnett 24 ... D. Stott 18 ... H. W. Ferguson 3 ... William Bosie 4 ... Charles Duncan 26 ... Charles Bushnell 7 ... A, Parker 9 ... E.E.Thomas 19 ... Stephen Bai'ey 21 ... Josiah Lines 16 ... James Biley — ... Alfred Grooves 5 ... J. Riley 14 ... R. Tillard 20 ... Charles Whybrow Of the above 20 sections, 16 went to married men and 4 to single. Of the 67 applicants 38 were present. Two of the men.are ft om Ohristchurcb, six from Gore, and two from Nightcaps. It is possible that a co-operative sawmill may be established on the settle* ment, to take advantage of the large timber now going to waste, but which the Government reserves under the settlement condi* Hens. Mr McNab, M.H.R., then addressed those present. De stated that many, of them had written him, fearing justice would not be done by the officers. He had come up to see that everyone got fair play, and was present duriag the whole time the men wem being selected. No partiality was shown ta any* one ; all received justice. If an average attendance of 20 children could be secured, and wete aotually on the gronnd— he understood there were no less than 60— therev wouid be no difficulty about a school. He \ hoped these settlements would prove a y success, The result was in their own hands. Careful attention should be given to the remarks of Commissioner Williams, who was himself an old bush settler— the oldest present, except, perhap*, Mr Whybrow, sen. Mr MoNab stated he knew for a fact that fruit wss beiog hawked witbin tbree miles of this settlement, and a living being made al it.