THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1905. CLOSER SETTLEMENT IN CENTRAL OTAGO.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13206, 13 February 1905, Page 4

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES MONDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 1905. CLOSER SETTLEMENT IN CENTRAL OTAGO.

We have a great deal'of sympathy with the residents, in whatever part of the colony, who ar/ urging upon the Government the/desirability of throwing additional arejts of land open, for settlement. Their action betokens a very legitiniate/desire on their part to secure for themselves and for their families the possession of farms which they can till for ; their own benefit. And we have no reason to doubt the genuineness or the earnestness of the cry that is -being raised at the present time by the promoters of the petition, now in course of circulation, in which the Minister of Lands is requested to take into favourable consideration the advisability of " at once opening for settlement Ulackstone Hilis, Lauder, Home Hills, Matakanui, Ida Valley, and such other areas of land as are available along the railway route." But it is necessary to point out that the petitioners, when they imply that the properties named comprise " a country admirably adapted for settlement purposes," and when they perfervidly appeal to the Minister to " stand by. them in their great need an'd open up those vast tied-up areas for close settlement by sturdy yeomanry," are not stating the position quite fairly. Mr Duncan himself is, however, not likely to be deceived by the terms of the petition. Ho cannot fail to ho aware of the fact- that several of the runs in Central Otago, having been classified in terms of the law as pastoral lands " suitable exclusively for pasturage arid hot capable of. being used with profit-in-.areas .of a carrying capacity of less'than 5000 sheep," cannot be resumed until after the expiration of the existing leasee. Nor can he fail to realiseJhatthe resumption, in the case of sbnie 'df the other runs, of'the. areasj that are of being applied to thej

purposes of closer settlement would inevitably involve the abandonment to the Crown of the high country that is utilised by the pastoralist as summer ground for his sheep. For it miist,bo obvious that the hilltops are useless to the runholdor if he is to be deprived of tho use of sufficient low country to entiblo him to supply winter accommodation for bis sheep and to make provision for lambing. And if the high country should under these circumstances fall back upon the hands of the Crown the immediate consequence would be that it would simply become a breeding ground for rabbits, the exist- 1 enco of whiok would speedily assume once more the character of a very distinct pest'. These are factors in tho matter which are not likely to be ignored by the Minister of Lands when tho petition that was originated a few days ago at Rough Ridge reaches him. He is tho more unlikely to take any measures at the present time to menace the Central Otago runholder, seeing that the income the colony will derive this year from the sale of its wool promises ■to prevent the occurrence of a shrinkage in the revenue returns. Fortunately, however, tho advancement of closer settlement 111 the interior of the province does not depend upon the destruction of the pastoral industry. The country is one of large' and varied resources, in which the pastoralist and the agriculturist, the miner and the fruit-grower and viticulturist can all find room to live under conditions productive of comfort for themselves and of benefit to the State.