THE RUGGED RIDGES JOB.

Oamaru Mail, Volume X, Issue 4204, 4 September 1888, Page 3

THE RUGGED RIDGES JOB.

TO THE EDITOR. Sir,—As the circumstance 'f the sale of Rao No. 243, known as Ragged Ridges, is beginning to attract public attention, perhaps a short history of this property might be interesting to your readers. The run was bought at auction from the Government in 1883 by Mr Rutherford at a rental of LBIO. He, after carrying on the station for about two years, and finding his rent too high, endeavored, to sell it. Failing in this, an agitation was got np and a petition Sent round to have the ran cat ap into small grazing runs, this being signed principally by bullock drivers and swaggers. The Stout-Vogel Govornment, then in power, agreed to give Mr Rutherford relief, and to open up the country as small run*, whereupon Mr Rutherford immediately demanded an enormous sum as compensation, which the Government very properly refused to give, the matter then falling through. Mr Rutherford next, ou the advent of the Atkinson Government, applies to the Waste Land Board to be permitted to surrender his lease; his request is forwarded to the Government for consideration, and by them promptly granted, the run to be offered for sale at Ll5O per annum.' Now, Bir, this is where the singular part of the proceedings come in. ■ The invariable practice of the Waste Land Board and the Government has been, on accepting the surrender of a run, to re-offer it at the original upset price, and, failing a buyer at that, to reduce the upset at intervals until the property 1b disposed of. In this case the original upßet was L 214, yet we have the Government offering the run at Ll5O, the Board carefully abstaining from having it advertised in any paper published nearer the district than 100 miles, the result being that by this little bit of legerdemain the chances of competition were reduced to the minimum, and Mr Rutherford gets back his run at a reduction of L 560 on his former rent. Now, sir, there is something very far wrong here, and I trust you will use every effort to have this job enquired into. Taxpayers in these times cannot sit quietly and see the public estate given to favorites, even though they have friends h4gh up in the Civil service.—l am, etc., Argus. Kurow, Ist Sept., 1888.