THE OTAGO WITNESS. Dunedin, Saturday, February 2,1856.

Otago Witness, Issue 218, 2 February 1856, Page 3

THE OTAGO WITNESS. Dunedin, Saturday, February 2, 1856.

There are some rumours afloat on the subject of the proceeding of the Provincial Government with reference to the sale of land. From these rumours it would appear that the Government is endeavouring to discourage purchases of land at the Bluff, and the charge is made that the Provincial authorities are desirous of confining sales to the Otago Block. We can only say upon this subject that if such be the intention of the Government, no person can more strongly condemn such a narrow policy than we do ; but upon looking into the matter, there appears to be a desire on the part of some of those who condemn the Government to force it by means of public opinion into a course of action which would be equally unfair to the public generally as would be the restriction of land sales to the Otago Block. The Bluff Harbour is as fine a harbour as is to be found in New Zealand. It has the advantage of being more accessible to shipping from the home country and from the Australian ports than any of the more northern ports, excepting those at the extreme north of New Zealand. The land in the neighbourhood, we understand, is good, and the Bluff harbour is the natural outlet of a very large tract of country, perhaps the most available for agricultural operations in all New Zealand. It is therefore but fair that the land should be sold to the greatest advantage, and that all should have an opportunity of purchasing. That this part of our Province would be rapidly settled and filled up has been predicted for some time past ; but no active steps have been taken for surveying the land, or for laying out a town. This no doubt has been a great oversight of the Government. It is an error chargeable as much upon the General as upon the Provincial Government : both are to blame, but where the responsibility is divided by two bodies, it is difficult to fix the exact share of obloquy which should attach to each. His Excellency, on his late visit, made the necessary appointments, declared the Bluff a port of entry, and ordered a town to be laid out. By taking these steps the land at the Bluff has become of immediate value. A town will spring up, and a facility of buying and selling being given -to settlers, many persons are naturally anxious to purchase. There is, however, a fear that instead of fair play being, given to all, by allowing ,the circumstance to be generally known} and , applications to be ,made -by those who desire to. purchase lands, that by gettirigTip a clamour against theGovernmentthat'it is unpedirig land'sales) itmay be fjorced'toiiigrantjfche^'first applications^ made,, without faiie "notice; to^Hhesjp^lic ;- ni.fact,

making al;'scramble''ofa I ; 'scramble ''of some of < the most valuables lands in the Province. "It. is stated (we believe without a shadow "of foundation) , that, an application for . 1000 acres lias "been made by. one individual. Though- no such application „may have been made, it is impossible to say how soon it may be done ; and we consider ] that it would be excessively unwise to allow one individual to acquire the whole or a large part of the available position for a town at 10s. — the price of country lands.

We believe it to be true that most of the applications made are fof -.portions of lands varying from 100 to 400 acres, and that the applications have been made by bona fide settlers. Snch being the case, we are persuaded it would be wiser for these parties to allow the Government to make due provision for a town (in the success of which they are all interested), and to survey the land they require, than by hurrying on the Government to run the risk of spoiling a rising township by letting in monopoly and speculation. We strongly object to this matter being tested by politics ; it is no party question, and, however satisfactory it might be to political opponents to the Government yet to commit an error and to find fault with it afterwards, it would be very injurious to the interest of the Province, and especially so to the Bluff. We do trust that the public will support the Government in doing justice and maintaining the public rights, irrespective of political considerations. We may illustrate our present position by a parallel case. When we first came to Otago, what an outcry would have been raised had the first settlers been restricted from selecting the bush lands, a fact shewn by the fate of the feeble attempt to protect those lands. Who can now doubt for one moment that had the bush land in the Taieri Plain been reserved as a public forest, it would have been much to the interest of settlers in that district, and to the public at large. We say again we believe the intending settlers at the Bluff will best serve their own interest by allowing the Government to settle the selection oi" land fairly and

deliberately ; but if the Executive make the consideration awarded to them an excuse for maintaining the narrow views attributed to them, we are sure that they will be universally condemned.

The " Isabella Hercus," from London via Port Cooper, arrived in this port yesterday. By her we have no later intelligence from the home country than that received by the " Dunedin." One or two numbers of the " Lyttelton Times," which we have received by her, contain no information of either a local or general nature. The " Isabella Hercus" brings us a small addition to our population of 22 passengers and a large quantity of cargo.