SALE OF TOWNSHIPS ON THE GOLD FIELDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 571, 8 November 1862, Page 8

SALE OF TOWNSHIPS ON THE GOLD FIELDS.

DEPUTATION TO HIS HONOR TIIE SUPERINTKNULNT.

On Friday, (October 31st), a deputation from the Junction, Tunpeka, waited upon his Honor the Superintendent, nt hi 3 oiflce, for the purpose of presenting a petition respecting the sale of allotments in the newly-surveyed township of Lawrence. The deputation, which consisted of Messrs Brodie, Learironth, Moses, and Walsh, were introduced by Mr Vincent Pyke, Commissioner of Gold Fields. There were present also Mr Dick, Provincial Secretary, and Mr Cutten, President of the Waste Land Board. Mr Brodie read the petition as follows :— (Copy.) To his Honor Major Richardson, Superintendent

of Otago.

Sir,— We, the undersigned owners of buildings erected oa allotments within the newly-surveyed township of Lawrence beg to draw your Honor's attention to our humble petition. Your petitioners are persons who have been engaged in business within the township prior to its being surveyed, and believing in the permanency of this gold-field, have, at considerable expense to themselves, erected substantial buildings on Crown lands. *"

Your petitioners therefore pray that you would see fit to allow a valustion for impro\ements made on such Crown land?, so that the present occupiers may not find that it is to their disadvantage that they have invested money in the construction of permanent buildings on the gold iields.

Your petitioners are prepared to pay whatever, upset. price your Honor may place on such allotments, but they respectfully submit for your con-

sideri'.ion the injustice of allowing any persons to pu'ahase those allotments without first compensating the present holders for improvements ell'-c le I thereon.

Your petitioners trust that this mUtor will recr'\Q your Honor's favorable consideration, and )«■ f petitioners will ever pray I'aung read tha petition, Mr Brodie proceeded to m.i to that it was signed only by Imna fide resident.- in Lawrence who bad erected substantial buildings, m'! who, having been at considerable expense, ask< -I that they should be allowed a fair valuation fo.- tho«,e improvements. It was the universal opinion of the inhabitants of the Junction, that as they had, in a manner, gone into the wilderness and spent their money and labor in making what hud now become a town, it would be unjust were any and everybody allowed to compete with them for the purchase of the land they bad improved, as in that case they would have been actually improving it to their own disadvantage and prejudice.

His Honor askc 1 if he had understood correctly that the memcrialists desired cither to be allowed to purchase the lands on which their buildings were erected at a price, without competition, or else to be allowed a valuation for improvements from any other purchaser. Mr Brodie replied that that was the wish of the petitioners.

His Honor enquired if there was any memorandum as to the occupiers of land at Lawrence.

Mr Pyke replied that there was, and tl\at it was in the Crown Lands Oflicp. His Honor observed thai it appeared to him that this matter, referring as it did, to the Sale of Crown Lands, belonged more properly to the Crown Lands Department.

Mr Brodie explained that the residents at the Junction were many of them comparatively new arrivals, aud that not knowing much about departmental arrangements, they h.wl preferred going to head quarters.

Mr Cutten here stated (having been referred to by His Honor), that Mr Pyke had furnished him with a list of sections actually occupied, and that in offering the hnrl for sale, all those sections bail been specially omitted, with the exception of one which had by an accident been included in the list of allotments for sale ; but that one would be withdrawn. It would, perhaps, be as well for him to explain the ordinary process with regard to the sale of Town Lands. The plan was far the Waste Land Board to fix a price, not less than the upset price, for any lauds upon which buildings were already erected. It was usual for them, in fixing this price, to be guided by the average of the price per acre obtained for the unoccupied lands sold, but the Board was in no way bound to take an average, their rkht to fix the price being absolute. The idea of this plan was that people should not be allowed, by obtaining valuations ib:- buildings that might be worthless to any one else, to obtain lands at less than their real value, while, on the other hand, tbe man who had perhaps erected a good hotel! and established a business, wouid be saved the risk of being run up unfairly. His Honor would like to know whether this plan was adopted injhc case of people building on allotments subsequent to their being surveyed ami marked out.

Mr Cutten said that it was only done where people built on surveyed lots with the permission of the Government. Jc was not competent for anybody to take up a site in a town after survey withou' su.'li permission.

Mr M->s-s inquired on what piinciplc would the valu itiona bo settled? Would valuators be appointed for the Government and for the occupiers respectively?

Mr Cutttn said that the Board would determine the \ .dilution.

In reply to a question from the Superintendent Mv l\'ke said that lie believed no bnil linir hml been orectcd at Lawrence alter the survey of tho toivn.

Mr Brodie said that the people on the gold field; were, as a rule, quite unacquainted with the in i.I regulations, and thoy were luturally afraid or competition.

lis Honor thought it might he well to have a mi norandum of the regulations prepared and pub'ished. Me Cutten said that the Jaw was at present in abeyance, and the Board was not in a position to act on it.

Mr Brolie thought it would be very advantageous that the regulations should be published, as people would then acquire confidence to build.

His Honor doubted the advisability of holding out encouragement to people to pick out what were lately to he the best business sites in towns, and by building on them acquire a pre-emptive right, Mr Brodie explained the Victorian system. There the Government, when a sort of township had been formed on any gold field, would survey the land, keeping as much as possible to the divisions already existing between properties, and each building would have a valuition placed upon it, which would be the amount that any strange purchaser would have to pay the o.vncr of the building, in addition to paying the Government for the land. The effect of this was that people built with a degree of confidence, f.-clin<-sure that they would not be depiivcd of their improvements without compensation. Mr Moses obseived that this plan was very advantageous to the Government, as the value of property even before any land was sold became very considerable, and at the sale the Government reaped the advantage He instanced Sandhurst (Bendiaro), where land, the upset price of which was £30, fetched .£2,500 per acre. Mr Pyke explained that tho diiiereneo between Otago n.n.l Victoria was that in Victoria the Gold Fields Act and the Land Act ran concurrently, which was not the ca.se in Otago. In Victoria the Government first sold land where most people were collected, and the nucleus of a town formed, and even though the fust huyevs mi"ht get their allotments at the upset pi-ice, the other lots as they were brought into the market fetched high rates, and so the Government got more money than by any other plan. Air Brodie would draw the attention of the Commissioner to the fact that many people occupied less than quarter acre allotments, and would suggest the advisability of doing as in Victoria, surveying into small lots to suit occupiers. Mr Pyke further pointed out that some persons' buildings were on tho boundary lines. Mr Cutten thought that those difficulties mi»ht yet be obviated.

After some further discussion of a conversational nature, the deputation thanked his Honor for their courteous reception and withdrew.