MUSINGS BY THE WAY, ON A TRIP TO TO THE NORTH.

Otago Witness, Issue 537, 15 March 1862, Page 5

MUSINGS BY THE WAY, ON A TRIP TO TO THE NORTH.

(Communicated.)

I had long heard of the lertilc lauds and balmy climate of the north, and a constant unvarying succession of what is now so well known as Lhine.lin weather, combined with a desire to get rid of tlie thill monotony of everlastingly picking up tha "siller" which, in common with others, hud o\ciwhclmcd me, I resolved, come what might, that I would venture on, a trip to the north. The morning was all that one could wish ; it was not fine, ibr that would indicate rain, buttherc was only that amount of all-overish cloudiness which, in these antipodes, where things, like dreams, go by contraries, gave prpmibe of an enjoyable clay. There were two roadb by which I might travel — the ono was, represented to be knee-deep in mud, and the other as high as the Heavens, and as rugged as ti rasp. I preferred the latter, having already been surfeited with a sufficiency of mud to last for some time. Breasting tlie Flagstaff hill, I confess, even though a denizen of Dunedin ! town, to a buoyancy of spirits which gave evidence fliat the cockles of the heart were getting warmed up. I enjoyed by anticipation and really revelled in enjoying the fine picture which would be spread out before me -, it mattered little the difficulties I should encounter in pursuing my way by one of the thousand tracks i which flocks ot sheep and herds of cattle of the Excelsior breed had made. There was no doubt of the result : a pinnacle of observation which would tempt an anchorite to leave his retreat ; circling, winding, tacking, and breathing hard all the while, for I had dismounted, with a commendable anxiety to save tha feelings of the beast which was my companion, I reached the top, and was received in the cold and clammy arms of a mist which might be felt. I commenced quoting. '* .s<V- transit," when I was seized with a. tit of coughing which nearly did for me. As Fortune; would have it, I encountered a man who had bought a flock of newly landed sheep to enjoy the mountain breeze, and to be out of tlie way of lutu ; he had not been successful in tlie realization of the latter part of Jiisexpectationsns the numerous bodies in every direction indicated, but as he ne\erthcless hud sufficient feelings to warn me to keep close alongside the track, and never to lose sight of the poka, I felt the utmost confidence. Strange hind this — it appears to have been tlie laboratory of nature when she manufactured the smiling plains of the Taieri, for there is nothing but masses of rock on every side ; however, us Iliad no time for abstruse meditations on the origin of things 1 pursued my way along one of tlie numerous tracks which meandered in nil directions; rejoiced every now and then by the actual sight of a pole on which the imagination might depict the intimation that all was right. I once was ventursome enough to think of turning round to try and have a look at the country, or the place where it was supposed to be, and I said to myself, for I am somewhat of a cautious habit, — let me see — the wind and rain are coming over the left, and had just got my head half round when, on descending a spur, the indices on which I relied, failed, — and the breeze and the mist came up the gnllie from both right and left. On the former, a rapid and casual glance assured there was a cavernous voidlike chaos of ol 1, v ith which I desire \ no further intimacy, and in the hitter were the stumps of trees, indicative of the presence of bush, an admission into which would certainly not decrease the troubles of the hour. My companion, however, allayed my rising fears by the assurance that we were as right — as lie colonialiy expressed it — " as the hammer which killed Ned ;'' and he proceeded rapidly along what he called a " razor back," from certain peculiarities which he represented could only be thoroughly appreciated in the Northern Island. To beguile the way and dispel the gloom, which he evidently saw was gathering on my brow, lie communicated certain facts which had come to his knowledge of men having lost their way and their lives in this enjoyable locality ; but I heeded him not. One opening in the sea of mist gave me a glance into what was beyond, and I was satisfied. Talk of rugged grandeur and Alpine scenery, and such like, and I acknowledge that the idea'is beautiful ; but tell me that I have some fifteen miles of this kind of country to pass over, mid I tell you the reality is horrible.

Nature, amid the wonderful defects with which she has visited me, has in pity endowed me with a stoical fortitude which strengthens by opposition. I have thought that were the press to assail me, — that direst of all the ills to which humanity is heir — I should not succumb ; so, on this occasion, I resolved to use an Eastern metaphor, to wrap myself in the cloak of meditation, and to proceed on my way. I have found it a very useful thing to accustom myself to the influence of mental abstraction. A dun presses for payment, my thoughts are immediately otherwise engaged, and I assure him, with perfect nonchalance, that his pursuit is a most laudable one, and will ultimately lead to success. An Editor reminds me, with too much empressement to be agreeable, that the beauty of my business advertisement'? is unimpeachable, but that the payment of them is getting unpleasantly m arrears, I assure him that his perceptions of the lovely are true to nature, and let man do what he may, he must advance with tardy and faltering steps, and not be too hasty in the pursuit of any one object, for fear of disappointment. On the present occasion, <1 resolved to meditate on a subject somewhat congenial with the object of my excursion. Leaving my companion to deliver me at the terminus of my day's journey, near Cherry Farm, at Waikouaiti, I gave myself over to a rapid survey of the past, the present, and the desirable future of our land laws. Gifted with second sight, I almost fancy that I see some of those who wero disposed to accompany me in my northern tour, shrink with horror from the idea of a trial-trip in the laws of land ; but 1 will engage that the subject shall not be without use, at least if the reader— as I am sure he does— feels for his fellow-men. Ho will, therefore, take a plunge in, and come out dry and comfortable — near that little bay which gleams in the distance.

Tho founders of the Otago settlement hit upon the right scheme for peopling this Province : there was only one element required to its complete success, the want of which vitiated tlie whole— sufficient pluck to carry it out. The payment of iOs. for an acre of land, on which £2 was to be expended within four years having, as a stimulus to exertion, the right of depasturing cattle over a considerable area was the plan adopted when the Constitution Act first dawned on this enlightened community. The immigrant might roam abroad and select freely where he liked —no man making him afraid and the capitalist, who loved to calculate the gains of sheep farming, was allured by the tempting bait of a license to depasture stock at the mpre nominal rental of nearly half a toning an acre. These -"were lwloyan days— sin had not entered into, our paradise ; ere long the sons of Cain cast an evil eye on the descendants of Abel, and out came that mother of all our woes, which at its baptism received the soul stirring title of the " Land Sale and Leases Ordinance ;" it aud its progenitor saw the light in the same year 185G, and the latter swallowed up the former. The intending settler was pushed into a series of corners called hundreds, being prohibited from casting a longing eye beyond, and the land was locked \ip4br 14 years unless a Governor ohose, from timo to time, at the clamorous entreaties of the people, to abstract a little more from the patrimony of the elder brother. . This awful ordnance, the part price of which was the alienation of Southland, also permitted the speculators to buy land in blocks of 2000 acres in the south without the necessity of improving the land to the extent of £2 an acre ; trusting not to a penal clause, but to that enlarged commercial spirit which tends to make a profit of what we pay for. This exemption was a direct fraud on those who had purchased under the former conditions, and its fruits may b,e seen by the passerby, if he will enquire for the 2000 acres block land. I will now giye the kaleidscope another shake. An opinion got abroad that, as there was no penal elause^the conditions of purchase were not fulfilled, therefore there was really no power to enforce the improvement of the land, and every man who could scrape together a little money initiated the gentlemen under the protection of the " Land Sales and Lease 9 Ordinance"," and added acre to acre. The carcase was scented from afar, and borne on the favoring winds, many

a speculator hovered over us~- ti:il:!, us a deterrent, the price of land was doubled. The northern seaboard was then thrown open, — that land, of which those who knew it so well, spoke so unkindly, and of which wore anon ; :iml ii w;ir, found that the whole country would be at, once bought up, us soon as available, at Lie up*, t p.-iec of XI an acre, speculators, wltn au a .litU.ihty which is a pleasant feature- in lliecuv. cacli ;vi:n>in-niod.itt-d his biuthcr bj.cui'ator by witlidivvw,:^fiom competition, only ;it,kn.<>; for ii similar ; <:i of self-abnegation nt a future period ; and whit i,s the result ? That the uiu-tion system has silentiyaud practically become the law of the country, and t ;o poor man to obtain land must cuter* into ti.e mighty struggle with the capitalist and the f-puj.i-lator. I asked myself can this state of things ia-t, and Otago thrive ? — impossible. I must give one more shake of this pleasant picture — forming machine, and I have finished the day's stage. As if the difficulties were not sufficient, and "the iki kness brooding over the land not black enough — t!ic restriction of selections — the increase of price, — the competition of the speculator had to be added. • the division of the sections into allotments of fioui 70 to 100 acres, instead of 50 as was the former rule.

I hear of pressure from without — a mcctin 1;here and v meeting there — and a portion of (ho press hounding on the public to more presMiiv yet. Here is a mighty theme, in which a jo:il grievance exists, and the prophets are silent, liio individual or the corporate body which would yi Id a single inch to pressure from without, whom justice does not back the claim, deserves to bo ca t headlong from the post of power and influent. c ; and there is no surer way to demoralise ii pcop'c than to urge the governing authorities, by t!.o coming elections, to yield where their convictions do not precede. If pressure there must be, tr\ v in this case. Philanthropists worthy of \\.t; name will find au ample and n congenial iu-ld m defending the rights of the people to settlement o;i the land on liberal terms. If they shirk the duty because it is arduous, or because it is too gcnei.il to enable them to reap any particular benefit. t.;e«i lee them retire as unworthy to advocate the eiiu.-o of truth and justice.

Rapidly descending the last spur of the hills I w.h landed on the margin of the AVaikouaiti river, iu.o Cherry Farm, the property of John Jones, Jisi|., o:i its banks. The enclosed fields with their rirh lnoki.u: pastures, were very attractive to the eve, and ju !„•- ingfrom the condition of the beasts depasturing \C.tl,:n, were duly appreciated l»y the horses and cattle tii.ic were sleepily lepo-iiug a* if iissured that a rich repair was ever close at hand. There appear to bo two townships in tlie Hawkesbury Hundred, one belonging to Government, the other to tev Jones, an-i it needs only a superficial examination to prououmv that the latter has the advantage. Tluv a.o separated from each other only by an intencnii.^ lagoon. Unfortunately the Government had but li:ti7« choice, the neighboring laud having been omipi.-d for many years. The whole of the front of the bush h-i, passed into private hands to the serious injury of tir; community, but still there is an abundance Jf;u ailable bush for the use of tlie settlors. Here, as elsewhere, there appears Io have been a reckless sacii''cc> of future interest to present claims. Tlie Waikouaiti river may be considered jis the northi-m boundary of the Hundred of that name, and the land included between it and the southern cxtrcmitv ni Blueskin Buy may be regarded, with the ex^ei/fk'U of that portion borderiug the river, as extre'ii:<-lv broken.

The Ilawkcsbiiry Hundred, bounded on the south by tlie Waikouaiti river, and on the north by the Ssu>river. contains a very considerable quantity of disable land, with a sufficient amount of bush, and p;'"ricularly about and stretching 1 up the Slia"- river h, a large extent of fine agricultural laud winch should only pass into the hands of bonu Jido settles To the northward of the Shag river and immediat'-'y adjacent to it, the Horse range ivars its horrid hr i,j presenting an insuperable barrier against all'wnmuiiication with the Aloeraki district, except bskirting Shasr point to the eastward, or the raii-™j ia question higher i:p the river; onceover tliisdirticulfy vc descend into the Moeraki Hundred, with MookU I3ay, affording au excellent harbor for small vessel i ,v all times,— in fuct, presenting the only harbor Arj Port Chalmers to Akaroa. Here is the natural out'.t for the interior trade, and that from the Xortii I examined the locality as far as its communication -i with the North and interior are concerned, ami I have no hesitation in stating that it presents iaciiitLs for import and export such as are not procurable el u - whure within the distance above-mentioned. Clo- ■!" adjoining is the Township of Hampdea (a name mVgestive of of high and ennobling thought), bu-im- euuei c & ound in f the thoughtless conduct f Jie (.'ovemnumt. Give this district a jetty, an aMK-o.i.h from it to the northern roads, and fair play, uud I would venture to affirm it would need no foston'i. <■ But what has been done I The land, which yhoi.ll have baen peopled by freeholders, and which is extremely valuable, from its immefh'ate vicinity to an export harbour, and a considerable bush, was put up to auction in such lots as utterly to preclude competition by the freeholder of limitol meaus. I could not but feel for the inhabitancy when enquired of respecting (heir stats : they do/pondingly remarked, there is no Government iliac cares for us. I almost felt the truth of the assertion, for this land, under a watchful Government, would have been in the occupation of men instead of sheen. The (-fovernment which will part with more land oil such terms deserves to be execrated on all hano> Rumours are not wanting of the determination of certain parties to convert this noble district into a sheepwalk— -may they meet with the most skji.fj defeat, and if the inhabitants are true to thenwefi'oa they will never cease xo memorialise the Governuient, until the lands are secured from passing beyond ihoi t - reacli for ever. If coolness and repulse dishearten them they are not worthy to inherit a country, of which Hauipden, with its associative inspirations' U a part. '

Of the Otepopo Hundreds I cannotspeakin lan^ua^e sufficiently commendatory. There are those wl'o will deny its worth, but, if it be but indifferent, al( I can say is that the southern lands are bad beyond all calculation. The advantages of this 1 locality, as an acricultural settlement, cannot be over estimated, and [ earnestly hope that when it is thrown into the market it will be in such a form as to be within the reach o> % tlie poor man. Indeed from beyond the borders of tho Otepopo Kiver to the town of Oamaru, I could not, help exclaiming that here was the agriculturist's hoiie and the hope of Ofe^o. I did not proceed beyond Oamaru. but it was evident that the same description of land continued, as reported, up to the veiy outskirts of the Waitaki liiver. With Oamaru itself I was much pleased, and regretted that nature had denied it the power of becoming a place of very considerable importance, by the want of a harbor: bub even with its open roadstead it must take a foremost, position, as offering greater exporting facilities tfian any place on the coast between Moer'aki and Lyttelton ; I reluctantly turned my back on the noith which not only has this fine land for settlement, but ;i really enjoyable climate. There is only one element necessary to complete its greatness, the want of fuel for after you leave the Otepopo bush you may look in vain for even a riding switch as far at ■ least as the Waitaki, awl oven further. Hastily returning, I took the coast line from near Blues-kin Bay, ami "language would tail adequately to describe the extremeloveliness of the scenery ; there are points in the landscape which will rank with the choicest which Europe and the East can present. When this inagnineeul road is completed, which will bear the name of its originator in grateful recollection to posterity, Dunedin, to say nothing of it in a commercial point of view, will possess a, road within a reasonable distance which will afford its inhabitants as pleasant aud a* enchanting a ride as any country that I have ever seen oan lay c'&im to. I cannot conscientiously finish these musings by the way without an earnest and heartfelt entreaty to tlie governing powers, if they desire to see Otago flourish,, to preserve the land on the s=ea board., and stretching up the vallies for an agricultural population. I know that there is a class wliich regards enthusiasm in such a cause as a species of insanity to be pitied lather be reviled ; and there is another class which scornfully look d.awn upon any attempt to. interfere with the sale of the land, as an unwise endeavor to arrest an inevitable law of nature, I candidly confess X care not for the prejudices of the one, nor for the theo-, ries of i/he other. I desire oho thing, that our only purely agricultural land should be preserved at nil hazards, and at all costs, for agricultural settlors • get what price you may for these lands, you sell at a fearful loss if you do not obtain a settled" population ; pay what you will for immigration, the immigrant will leave your unattractive shores immediately after arrival. The speculator buys land to sell apain at au enhanced price ; the capitalist tQ convert it into a bheep walk ; talk to him of happy families of man, and he will smile, and ask you the price of wool. Had I any influence with tlie Government, I would earnestly urge them, to lay off villages all atom: tho main northern road at certain short intervals ; "offer the whole frontage of these roads in ten acre allotments, an( l p U t t ne ]<j lu i aroint them into the market, in small portions at a time, to suit tlie demands of agricultural settlers, and in such a way as to deter tlie speculator. If the exigencies of the state demand immediate revenue, then let. Government buy the title to. some of the interior runs, not beine 1 agricultural land, and throw them into the lap of capitalists or speculators j but the seaboard aud the adjacent valleys are the patrimony of the people and must not be touched. If Government neglecf'their duty, and trifle with the interests committed W their care, then let the people show that they are not unworthy of the race whence they sprung. let -them memorialise respectfully and firmly until their grievances be redressed, their rights restored. Delay, and you may fold your arms : the opportunity has passed never to be recovered, ' *,*-•> *•