MR M'NAIB'S PROPOSAL REGARDING HOME HILLS RUNS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13786, 27 December 1906, Page 10

MR M'NAIB'S PROPOSAL REGARDING HOME HILLS RUNS.

TO THE TJDITOR. Sir,—The fact thai I am acting for the people interested in the matter renders 110 ' apology necessary for criticising tho leader on the above subject in your issue of -.to-day. In dealing with tho Hon. Mr M'Nab's settlement of the question you make the remark that ''feeling on the subject has been considerably inflamed." May I ask you to state when, how, and hy whom. It is true Mr Barron tried to make it appear that the agitation was of my manufacture, hut he signally failed to do so, for the simple reason that I had nothing to do with it until, in response to a letter from the original committee set up to oppose the grouping. I attended a meeting at- Cambrians and consented to act as general secretary for the people ill the matter. Mr Barron's charge was as unjust, as it was ungenerous, and 1 am more than surprised to see you repeat it, because there has never l>een any suggestion other than that which would justify you in any way in making such a statement. I have staied before, and I state here again, and thrown down the challenge on the matter, that the board's proposal is condemned all over tho district as absurd, ineradicable, and directly opposed to smaller settlement, and that' the opposition is spontaneous. You likewise accuse the deputation of which I was spokesman of unfairly stating 'that tho board's proposal prevented small men front obtaining land. The facts themselves are the best answer to your charge, and they are these: the areas on Home Hills, which tho board in its wisdom proposed to saddle on the small runs at Bluckstono, werti for each small area on Blackstone some 16,000 acres of Home Hills. What small man could fence and stock and pay rent on two such areas? Let any practical man answer that question. You. moreover, quite without warrant, say that we apparently rceognisod that there was a risk involved in our proposal. I can only say there is nothing in the whole report to warrant any such statement, nor do we see any .such risk,

Again, you will pardon me for correcting your facts by saying that when you designate Blackstone as " low lands" you do not exhibit a practical knowledge cf your subject. The lower portions of Blackstono Runs are low, but (hey run np to tops mncli higher than the lower portion of Home Ilills. You likewise misrepresent the Minister when you say he proiwses to put up the country the board wished to add to Blackstone in a commonaye. Tho facts are these: There is a large portion of Home Itills comparatively low in altitude—lower than much of Rlacksloiw, so low, in fact, that Messrs Ross and Glendining wintered their hoggets there, and I do not need to tell practical men that hoggets are not wintered on tho worst country. This country can be subdivided into runs on its own account —runs almost as good as Blackstone. That is what the deputation urged upon the Minister) and Mr.M'Nab. being, as you say, a progressive and practical man. saw for himself that they were right, and lie proposes to deal with the runs in that fashion. All that remains is tho Ilawkdun Range, and on that matter the Minister did not, commit himself. He was fully alive to the fact that it was questionable whether he had power to make it a commonage, but what ho did propose was, if it was possible in any way, to make the owners of the small runs on Home Hills, tenants in common of the range behind, that would suit everyone, and 60 it would, as it would save an enormous amount of mountain fencing. But, Sir. oven if that is not possible, the mountain runs, if put up in one or even two pastoral leases, are excellent- summer country, and would be snapped up bv somo settlors on the lower lands who need suiiimcv grazing, so that the bogey of high lands need frighten no one. For mv part, I have seen that bogey trotted out by the present Chief Commissioner for nearly 20 years, and I never saw his predictions of disaster come true once. What about Patoaroa? Was not the same cry raised there? And what about Hamilton, and even Hyde? Tho cry is pure unadulterated bunkum. Again, you say settlement will not be increased under our proposal. Under the, board's proposal the six runs on Blackstone had to carry with them the whole of Homo Ilills. Under the proposal the Minister made there will be five ov six runs on Home Ilills in addition to Blackstone, so that, his proposal provides for at least five additional settlers, and leaves Blackstone, barring the homestead, all free for men of 6mall means. I would, moreover. point out to you, as I pointed out to Mr M'Nab, that not one solitary supporter of tho board's proposal could be found at Mr'Barron's meeting. I am in daily contact with the peoplo, and T have not found one yet, nor could the Minister find one. Does it not strike you that such a fact is in it.'elf the strongest condemnation the board's proposal eonkl have? Ami is it not rather pfuir to the people of Central Otago that the opinion of a body of men, not one of whom has any local knowledge; should bo set up by you as an authority against tho undivided opinion of men of experience and local knowledge? Tho Minister has shown a, shrewd practical grasp of matters and a freedom from the trammels of officialism that reminds as of the late Sir John M'Kcnzie; and, moving about, as I have been for the past week, I have no 'hesitation in saying that, his action in setting aside the impracticable proposal of the Land Board for the common sense proposal ho substituted has convinced the would-be settlers of Central Otago that he is'in sympathy with small settlement, and ready to act in what he believes to be the interests of the people. The. more a practical man considers the proposal of the Land Board the more does it appear to he badly-devised and ill-thought-out scheme. To begin with, the Blackstone areas, even if all low, were too small to winter the stock of areas such as those with which they were grouped. But, in addition to this, Blackstone tops are high country, so that only about half of the Blackstone rune

were available for winter—in other words, the board proposed to give 7GO to 800 acres 011 Blackstone as winter country for 16,000 acres on Homo Hills—less than 50 acres of low for every 1000 acres of high. The only justification for grouping tlio homestead block is that the buildings are so costly that, a lessee n<wls a lot of land to justify his taking them, and that fact our deputation admitted. I can assure you, Sir, that every point in this matter Ins lie'en well thought out, and I hot we aro ready to face any criticism on tho matter. The "time is luckily past when men can sit in their ofi]ee.s in DunoJiu and tlraw lines on maps irrespective of the people's needs and requirements. We appealed to the commissioner, but lie know Ijcttcr than the wholo people of Central Otogo. Luckily for future settloinent. the Minister did not disregard local knowled:™ and local experi. ence; and when time has proved, as prove it will, that he is rinrht. I feel certain that you, .Sir, will he only too ready to admit if- I would like, to take this opportunity of thanking you for the space you have always so kindly granted for discussion of lite subject. If you have not always seen eye to eye with us. you 'have certainly grained us the fullest liberty to place our Bide of the matter fully and freely before the public.—l am, etc., , .T. J. Ramsay. Clyde, December 18.