THE UMUTAOROA TRANSACTION.

New Zealand Times, Volume LV, Issue 9969, 2 August 1893, Page 3

THE UMUTAOROA TRANSACTION.

Tho following loiter, signed by the Mayor of DanovirUe and 52 residents of that town, has been received by the Premier : We, the undersigned residents of Dane* | virko, having noticed iu the public prtss grossly inaccurate statements with reference 1 to the purchase by our member of the Umu- 1 taoroa Block, deem it oar duty to bring under your notice ae tho head of tho Go* vornenent the teivl facts of tho case from an independent and local source. This block of 4793 cores \vas bought from the Native owners by Mr fe'mith with tho full knowledge and approval of most of tho residents la this district, and the Natives in' terested have alwova expressed themselves satisfied with the sale, they having tried and failed to get bettor terms from other wouldbe purchasers. The faob that they are still tfio owners of other large blocks of land, potahly ono of 35,000 acres, shows clearly that they did not require this block themselves, and they have never used lb ip any wsy. Tho Umptaoroa Block la now surveyed into sections of fiom 5 to 303 acres each, and will therefore before long be settled upon and improved, to tbe great benefit of the district \ and wo fail to see to what bettor ueo the block could possibly hwo been put, especially as tbe Government tried and failed to purchase it themselves in 1831, With reference to MrCadmau's connection with tboXJmutaoroo' lib ck, we think that ho largely helped tbe progress of Danevlrke, by oomiog here ton years ago and spending a lot of money in putting down about two miles of steel rail tram Hoes leading into the block, thus opening it op for oawmilling purposes and oaua ing a largo number of men to be employed over tinea in tho timber trade, to the great benefit of the district. In oon* elusion wo would point oat that the purchase of tho Umutaoroa Block has been legally and openly made by Mr Vmith, and that the newspapers have at different times, for tho past four years, publicly notified the progress of the purchase, that the Natives who told the block have never expressed any dissatisfaction or complained in any way with reference to the sale ; that the residents of this district have neither through tho press nor iu any other way, that wo have hoard of, mado any complaint against Mr Oadman or Mr Smith in reference to tbeir actions in this matter, and that wa cannot understand why each a to do is now being made oveiMhe matter; for, In our opinion, if more Native blocks in the neighbourhood of Dnnevlrko were bought, cut up, and settled upon in a similar manner it would bo of great benefit to the whole district.

Accompanying tho loiter Is a note stat ng that 200 or 300 more signatures could have been obtained.