THE SALE OF LAND AT TEVIOT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 3253, 10 July 1872, Page 3

THE SALE OF LAND AT TEVIOT.

TO Tl/B KIjJTOR.

Sni— I «c« from your telogramß that there ih a Btonn brewing in a teapot—a meeting 4it Lawrence, to denounce the recent aale of land at Tuviot. A utrange country this— very ; and not attractive to capital, where a matter liko this i« adjudicated upon by a self-elected directory of the Government. Theuo denionHtratioim look great at a distance ; but parties acquainted with thoue localities estimate them at their worth. . The following is about the get-up:— A talk inn. taprootn between two or three villages politicians —happy thought! call a public meeting— .good speculation—send the bellman rounu — villager*! will get entertainment, and drinlw be in demand—eloquence aired—-reuolutious carried w, nut. to hang anyone wanting to l)iiy land—turn out any Government that want to Bell land, and 100,000 acres of commonage be added immediately to the 90,000 •now enjoyed, by the inhabitants of this div- ■ trict—one or two of the fortunate orig nators . appointed a deputation to frighten the (Jovernment (expenses paid) —the company then separates, having passed a most enjoyable « evening.—l am, &c.^

Jason'

TO THK KDITOU

Sir— Encouraged by the remarkable sue- • cosh that attciult'd their recent sale of 00,000 acres to a foreign capitalist, the Provincial Yiovertnnent are now engaged in disposing of a further considerable area of the waste lauds iin this district, amounting to 20,000 acres, ■with, no doubt, when the proper time ; arrives, 10,000 acres more, or thereby, added ■ tvj-ecoup the applicants for costs of survey, ike.

The Provincial Government are to be congratulated on the promptitude and firmness displayed by them in this transaction, as compared with their original rather bungling , attempt in the same direction. Profiting by < experience, there is this time no sham intimation issued enjoining the residents to •lotlgc objections—nobody ia despatched to --en^aire into and report upon the un■suitability of the laud for agricultural purposes — there is no enfant terrihle of a bank manager inexorably "putting on &ha screw," on whotse shoulders to endeavour -■to shift the responsibility—no dark background of possible Provincial insolvency held over us in trrron-in ; nor are there imaginary restrictions placed by members of the Waste Lands Board upon the vulpine capacity of the squatter, in defence of the interest of the lamb-like would-be agricultural settler. To give the Hoard the very utmost credit, this time they have dispensed with shams and Jbogus professions of interest in the settleunent of the country, and instead of—as in 'Clarke's case—skilfully managing that, while .attending the Assembly, their deputies at -the Wnsto Lands Board should Bettle the little affair of the 50,000 aero sale, they boldly ; nml manfully do the thing themselves. If possible, tho Assembly shall not have the chance of interfering. It -would be well, however, that a few facts -connected v/ith.this sale should bo publicly known. The application comprises a narrow strip of land, measuring about nine miles inlength, by about three miles in breadth, situate along the valley of the Molynoux, -and, it is stated, in no part coming within one mile of the river. By purchasing this narrow strip of lowlying land, comprising much, that is suitable for agriculture, the lessees-of run No.IJH) arc virtually the possessors of all the land in rear of their application, extending to a distance of '20 to 25 miles. However suitable much of the back country may be for settlement, it is manifest that without an outlet to the valley of the Molyneux it can never by any possibility be rendered of use for that purpose. . ■ . ; . The banks of the river for nine miles in front of tho application are known to be highly auriferous, but cannot now be worked, as the contemplated races to command the alluvial terraces would of necesoity have to come through some portion of the land in -question. It is well known that in rear of the application there is also a large extent of auriferous country, and the .acquisition of the .freehold of this strip of territory will have the same effect in regard to it as the river frontage, but from a different cause. It is not likely that the owner of a freehold estate would permit the streams passing through ■his property to be polluted by tailings from the sluicing-claims m the back country. There is a considerable extent of the 20 000 acre block well adapted for agricultural purposes, and it is understood that a portion of one of the blocks caused to be surveyed by Mr Kcid, is also included. In. passing, 1 may be permitted to state that Mr

Keid in hi» place in the Council lost (Mission denied that he liad clumgedjiis views on the subject of land for settlement, ami hu> denial wji,s unchallenged. Mr Ik-id's deeds, however, speak much more eloquently than his wordY After his candidature for the Superintemlcncy there were several blocks surveyed in thii district, and promised time after time to l>e thrown open under the agricultural leasing system. All those blocks, with, I think, one exception, have passed into the hands of capitalists, and there was no more active agent in their disposal than Mr Donald JtcM.

The recent policy of the Government in »lif.]jo»mg of the w.mte lauds is simply ruinous, ami already it ia commencing to bear fruit. AH the districts, with the exception ot Quc<:itntown, where there i« some elbow room (thanks to Mr Bra«tahaw)» are going backwards, instead of nuking the progress they certainly would if the lands were put to their legitimate \im. Numbers of men poescfcsed of (.snail capital acquire in better tiint«, unable to find any thing to ilo in thin country, are quietly leaving for America and the ndghbourin^ C >loni*n, and many hard-working men, who formerly cotild with certainty obtain employment,' Arc at present in a state of compulsory idleness. All this can be traced to the restrictive policy now prevailing. .Seeing th t the jircttcnt population arc inuro than sufficient in the existing hampered condition of affairs, wiiii**, I .i«k, is to become: of tho thousands who are now reported to be on their way hither? In the home newspapers one occasionally drops across* accounts of th« methods the Hinall army of (lovcrnment emigration agents employ in directing attention to New Zealand as an attractive field for settlement. Prominent among the inducements held out »• the facility with which land can be acquired. Here, we know better. I consider it a grievous wrong that people should be,lured from their homes umlvr such false pretenct'H. The population already settled in tho upcountry districta are but barely holding'their own, and yet without giving any extra facilities, or. rather while doing everything possible to curtail those already existing, it is proposed to swamp tho country with sever >1 thousand penniless new chums. It may be said that .Stewart's Island and Catlin's River will have the majority of those-inimigratttft. The Government may land them there, but not one in ten will remain a moment longer thn.ii they <ian help ; they ■will speedily ftiul their way to J>une<Hn, and thenco to tint older centres, already beginning to suflcr from a redundant population.

Perhaps this influx of poor strangers may carry with it a solution of the land question —a solution tbnt rnny rather Btartle the philanthropic nnd far-seeing legislators who rnny guide the destinies of tliia over-governed Province.—l am,, &c,

Alt'M'H,

Mount Bcngcr, lith July.