VILLAGE SETTLEMENTS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9137, 9 June 1891, Page 3

VILLAGE SETTLEMENTS.

Mr J. E. March, superintendent of village settlements, in the course of an interview with a representative of the, Lyttelton Times, said, referring to hia tour of the colony:—

" Speaking generally I may say I saw thousands of acres of land fit for settlement, not all for village settlements, of coarse, though there ate several blocks suitable for those, but also for small farms and grazing runs. Some of the land could be profitably worked in £0-acre sections ; other parts would have to be cut up into sections of 320 acre;, and others again into blocks of from 2000 to 3000 acres. The Mount Baker block, 5000 acres, in the heart of the Wellington district, especially took my fancy. It would be a splendid block for small farms. South of it, near Alfredton, is a block of a few hundred acres, suitable for a village settlement. Thirty-nine miles from Feilding ia another piece, admirably suited for the same purpose. There is good settlement land near Eketahuna und in many other localities in the Wellington district. So there is also in Taranaki. It is, as a rule, bush land and undulating, though there ore flats here and there. I cannot tell the area of the different blocks yet, sa the sucveya are not complete; but there are many thousands of acres. I have no doubt, however, as to its goodness, though, of course, the quality varies," " Is it easily accessible, as a rule ? "

" I don't think any of it that I saw is more than 40 milea from a railway or main road. A great deal is very much nearer. The Midhur&t block, in Taranaki, for instance, is only four miles from tho railway. Roads, however, would have to be made to open it up, and the making of these would provide work for the settlers. If the arterial rosds were made by tha colony, the roads within the blocks might very fairly ba made a charge on the land. All the road?, however, would be 'reproductive works' in tho truest sense of the term."

" It was stated, Mr March, that there were 300 persons at Palmerston North wishing to take up land, aud unable to get it. la that true?"

" I am sure there are not only 300 but 1500 people who would like to take up land on the terms on which that particular party wtiuted it, though I don't know that they numbered 300. They, or most of them at all events, wanted it for speculative purposes—to buy and hold for a rise. It has been said that thers were only two bona fido settlers in the lot."

" When will the surveys be complete, so that the land c»n be open for settlement?" " I can't tell exactly yet, but I should say in a couple of mouths' time." " Oan you tell me anything about tho Cntlins river settlement you think .would interest the public?" " The land there ia good, I have no doubt of that, and the settlement is about 87 milea from Dunedin. For 53 miles oi that there is a railway, for 28 miles a coach, and the other half-dozen miles or so we had to do on horseback. The object of my visit was to deal with men out of work iv Dunedin. We provided them with employment, either on railway construction or on making roada in the district, and are giving facilities for them to take up land if they choose, on village settlement conditions. A dozen blocks of land fit for the purpose in the district are to be opened, between 3000 and 4000 acre 3 altogether. I may say that Catlins is the only district down there where we could locate the men. Wo took up 75, and anbther batch—how many 1 don't know—went up last Wednesday."

" Can yon tell me anything about the Canter bury village settlements? "

"Nothing, except that they are doing very well, better in some cases than I ventured to hope. Tho settlers ere increasing their live stock—horses, oews, sheep, pigs and poultry— are extending their improvements, and Reem contented. Some have written to tell me they are doing exceedingly well, aud all are holding on to thtir sections."

A couple of 80-c-iHod scrub kangaroos shot ;it E«tcr time at Wnilmu "re on v\hw at O-.maru The Mail thinks they ura wallabies, a* h number of thesis creatures, which have a decided reseuiblßnca to young kangaroos, were liberated some time back iv the Waimato district.

J'.Lebeau " Champagne,