THE KYEBURN SUBDIVISION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 17937, 17 May 1920, Page 2

THE KYEBURN SUBDIVISION.

TO THE EDITOB. Sir,— Ke'ferring to the article in your issue of Thursday last with regard to the Kyeburn subdivision, I would like to go into the matter of the tasee'e high country aa described, according to you, in the official opinion of the Land Board. You state that at one time an experiment waa made with some '500 sheep, these being left on the high country throughout the winter, with the result that they all perished. Ytfur article reads as if the experiment had been made by the lessees of the Kyeburn Station. The actual facte and truth of .the incident I give below, together with the result The affair happened some 25 years ago, when the rabbits were aa thick on the high country as they weie on the low ground. Mr Peter Law, of Maniototo, turned out 500 wethers —in the month of May, as near as I can remember. They were all aged wethers, and the cost of the best of them did not exceed ss. The ground therflwas very bad with rabbits, and a heavy fall of enow came in June, before the sheep, strange to the country, were properly located on the new ground. Another fall of snow came and kept the ground covered during the whole winter season. The rabbits .being able during part of this time to live on the roots of the speargrass ate this right out. The next winter the'rabbits died right out on this oountry, for there was no speargrass, and they were unable to reach the grass owing to Jhe frozen enow. Some time afterwards several farmers formed a syndicate, the prime mover being Mr James Here, now retired and residing in. Dunedin, and such success was met with that the ground has been stocked every winter since then. Amongst those holding a lease and at present wintering stock on this country is a member of the Otago Land Board. I cannot account, therefore, for the official opinion of the Land Board, which is absolutely contrary to truth, ae stated in your article. It is extraordinary that a member of the board should be wintering sheep on this oountry, while tho official opinion of tho board is that there is no winter country. The other members of the syndicate are Mr Robert Scott (ex-M.P.), Messrs Hore Brothers, Mr Frank Hore (son of Mr James Hore, the initial mover in the matter), Mr Richard Chapman, and Mr Andrew Patterson. All these people are at present wintering sheep, and have done so for many years in conjunction with the member of the board to whom I refer. There is something wrong somewhere.

The facts concerning the speargrass prove my statements in my letter already published by you. . The official opinion of the Otago Land Board, as expressed in your article, doubtless accounts for the peppercorn rental of £200 per annum, at which the board makes the lessees a gift of their share in the subdivision. Jfow I am prepared to make the following offer to the lessees:—l will give them £10,000 for their interest in the new lease, and am prepared to out up the 8000 acres of excellent low ground into five lots and place it at the disposal of five returned soldiers, one of themi to be my own son, with a subdivision adjoining my own "farm for ease of forking; the high ground to be run by the five holders as a syndicate in the same manner as the purely summer country is 'being used to winter dry sheep! The map of the first subdivision shows the total rental for the three runs to be balloted for, being the worst country on the "station, ae £155, for worst 28,000 acres; while 30,000 acres of the best of the country are to be given to the present lessees at a rental of £200 per annum. I shall bo pleased to hear the official opinion of the Otago Land Board in reply to those remarks respecting the Kyeburn subdivision. —I am, etc., G-. BOTTING. Dunedin, May 14.

[The experiment to which we referred was, we were informed, made on the Kyeburn run by tho lessees of that run. There may, of course, have been other experiments on lines outlined by our correspondent. We cannot give the official opinion of the Land Board on the pointe raised in the letter, but tho method of valuation is thus officially explained:—"The rangers are 6ent out to inspect the land, and after inspection they assess the rents. These men deal with the matter of rent in an impersonal manner, and though complaints are almost always made, experience has proved that their valuations are invariably correct."—Ed. O.D.T.]