UPPER TAIERI NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 1588, 29 April 1882, Page 12

UPPER TAIERI NOTES.

(FROM OUR OWN OORRBSPONpBNT. ) '

1 ' "' ,' April 23rd.' The fino genial rains! that have fallen of late, combined With semi-tropical bursts of "sunshine occasionally, have proved of beneficial service to the growth .of the pasture throughout the district. The surrounding country has as-umed aman,tleof green, and presents more the appeal ance of spring than of fall. .' '< . ' ' ' ' > '' • , The 1 r recent heayy tains have 'given an impetus to mining, operations in this locality. The several-com-panies established here have b j 'eri fully employed prosecuting their labours. The water races constructed in the Lammorlaw ha'vo 'of late been 'conveyjn'g an immense quantity of water totthe scene of operations. It is to he hoped that remunerative. returns will bo the result. , , , „ r ' ' (The excitement consequent, upon j the sale of the p'asioral runs haying somewhat cooled down, the yery r grave'fc[ueßti6n present/a itiaelf for conside!ration, as" 1 to' '•VhetWei' the reoommendatioris of the Land Board and the 'chief, surveyor should "be adopted, relative ,to large, blocks of ,l'nd;being extracted from thepastoral eitatejiiext year. ( _ The hurried manner in which. , the flying '.survey, was. made has demonstrated the fact that some revision is necessary. In many instances httle'or no consideration has been given the fact that several of the rats of an elevated description have been leftlwith aearcely r any winter grazing land, right and,.loft, the low-lying blocks hjavingbeenextracted fofy future jdi^posal: In t}ie" eyenc of .these large' blopks .lapd i( be,ing -severed from \he pastoral runs' next year; I am persuaded that. the 'day. is looming, iii' the iliisfcarice' when l^rge arjas, at'pkesdnt remunerative to tne Crown, will be abahddned/by J the pastoral tenants, a"nd revert, to the Goverhmen't;-' At present thepastoral estatpia, yielding a Jarge, Revenue, 'in the ereut.of rans beingj'annihilated next year, tho 'Go'venunent will learn to their cost; t'hdt they have made 1 a great mistake, and one fraught with disastrous resulte ma financial point of view. It will be'next •to impos-ibk- for the Crownrtenants to workithe 'runs to advantage if these large .blocks o( land are tojcea from them, pastoral entei prise will be. crippled, and many will be compel.cd to succumb to'tlie impending fats'tha't is id reserve 'for them. ,' Ab ' this stage let me a tale unfold, by way of illustration, for tbe information of our legislative authorities. Some' time' ago a band of Lower Taieri residents petitioned the Government for a block of land situated in the locality of the Lee s'treamSbati 1 6ii' / for 'Ueferred-payme'iit settlement. The Government 'granted' the request, .and cancelled a large block under Crown lease to Mr Fulton. Notwithstanding the period that has elapsed since the land was opened, for selection or occupation, a few sections only,haye been taken up by a few wealthy residents of Taieri ' fame, for no other purposo ( than to acquire or c tablwh'a pre-emptive right over that large pastoral acreage for grazing purposes;' without 'paying anything to the Government for it. Mr Fulton paid something like £300 per annum rental for the block in question; and nova few half-crowns is the sum paid into the Treasury for the privilege of occupying this large area' 'of pastoral land by a few influential resi lents in the locality of tue Lower Taieri. I would ask, Is this a sound, progressive policy ? I make bold to affirm that a more corrupt or insane palicy could not be adopted by the Legislature. Would it not -be better tv allow these blocks to reniain intact with the Alpine regions instead of annihilating the pastoral runs for the benefit' of a few influential capitalists. A<b!ock of land is thrown open for settlement. A small number ofsectiomaretalienup by afew personsforthe ostensible purpose of occupying the entire, block, thereby defraudinjrtho Colony of its pastoral revenue. ( tn the event of tho winter blocks being taken- from the Crown tenants next year, I am persuade^ that the mountains will soon be abandoned. It has often struck me duiing my psriodical rambles through the interior of the province that our boasted educational system is far frJin perfect, in, an administrative point of view I have come across a imge number of children, some well up in their teens, totally iguoiant of th» first rudiments of education. I put a few questions of a simple nature to some members of one family here a short time since, and I was shocked a!: the replies I elicited from them. It is manifest irom what has passed under my own'ob'3erva« tion, as well asthacof other residents here of creditable authority, that hundreds of cnildren have not jot been reached by the State administration, and brought within the pale of civi isation, so to speak. Our "freo educational system" has its drawbacks and defects as well as its direct advantages to the rising generation. I often note iv >our paper the progress made in several well-conducted educational establishments in your city. That ia only the bright aide of the panorama. What provision, 1 would ask, has been made for tho outlying districts of Otago? Why, none whatever. Hundreds of children are miles away from any public school ; consequently they are left to grow up in ignorance by tho State. The time ha* arrived when, this vcrv givivo matter should no longer be ignored, but an official appointed by the Government to investigate the matter, with a view of furnishing a r f port for tho inform ition of those concerned. Were this done, lam perbuaded that some startling facts would be unveiled.

STBATH-TAIERI.

' (KKOM OUR OWN CORRESPONDHNT.) ' ' ' ''April 17tb. Mr Armstrong is stil I busy with the survey of the pastoral deferred-payment, blocks o-ithe (Jottesbrook Run, audhas kindly supplied me with some inform ition relative to the proposed road from tho Sbrath to ilooulight Flat, which may be of iutecstto some of your readers. The county engineer (Mr Hay) was hero recently to look at this road,, and, has, I observe, reported very satisfactorily on tho same to Jhe Taieri County Council at tlieir last meeting. This road, starting from the main road near Cotto-*l>rook Station (where the altitude is about 700 feet above ?ea love 1 ) ciosses the Shecpivash e'reek at <,'onicil Hill, about jv mile above the junction of 'hat crock with the Tuieri. it the l follown up one of tho spun le.viing up to Billy's Kidge, whero it attains an altitude of about 20C0 feet; thence along Bilb 's Ririuu till it meets t.he laud occupied by the s ttWs at. Jloonlighh Flat It is, I believe, the intention of the Government to proceed with f/ho making of this roml as soon as tho snrvcv is cmpleled. The whole length of the road will bo about twelve miles, a- d it is to be made for tho benefit of inteiuiing aottlon on tho pastoral sections now being surveyed on the Cottesbrook Run. lam glad to notice f iom Mr H w's report that a capital site for a brid'-'C may be drained dose to the present crossing of tho Newthorn, near Mount .-tokor. A new i~>a<i will bum ide there also. The Government intond thvowinsr open a block of land for bcttlemcnt on Mount Stoker linn, and I prc-umo (lie new vrad and In ill. c will be f"r tlie beiu;lif. of niton Ung smtlurs. We had jlmndaiias of fain (a-t, >vi-ek, but the vviith''!' i^ in"" niO'o '■utl cl, ami i-. mild f or the seaboii Tlio tumipiOiop is lookniff iirat-rube, and we ghall litvYo a good supply ioc our stock vhis winter.