HISTORICAL. OTAGO.

Otago Witness, Issue 1639, 21 April 1883, Page 25

HISTORICAL. OTAGO.

Part IX.— The Ballot.

According to the .original terms of purchaso of. land in the settlement, ballots for the priority of choice of the different allotments of land in a manner arrangod by tho Court of Directors in London, took place in the Company's house there, and the choice of allotments according to the right of priority ao determined, was to take jilace in the settlement as soon as possible after the arrival of the BOtthjra, and under such regulations as should be proscribed by the Company's ag nt, or other officer duly authorised. Neglect or refusal to comply with such regulations in regard to any allotment, to occasion a forfeiture of the purchaser's right of choice, and to vest in tho agent on behalf of such purchaser. , Tho parties to the first ballot were allowed to select out of the whole town allotments, and the first having been held, fifty propeitiea were to bo placed at the disposal of the agent for sale in the colony at increased prices, each kind of allotment to bo sold sepaiately, if so desired, by the purchaser. The prices fixed for town land being £40 per quarter acre ; suburban, £40 for ten acres ; and rural, £100 for fifty acrea.

Subsequently the terms of purchase were altered. If selected at home the price was fixed at £40 per acre, or £120 10a if the property were purchased entire ; but if separately then town land waß to be £12 10a per quarter ; suburban, £30 for ten ; and rural, £50 for fifty acres. Ballots for priority were discontinued, and assignments of land were made in order 'of application, and in accordance with choice. Simultaneous application to be decided by lot or arbitration, at the option of the applicants. Enhanced prices were Btill maintained for selectors in the colony ; being £40 each for town and suburban, and £50 for twenty-five acres rural.

Friday, the 21st day of April, was fixed by Captain Cargill as the day of selection for town lands only. Sections either in. Dunedin or Port Chalmers could be selected. Tko.se having the privilege went over tho lands in both places, ao as to make the b*)Bt choice they could. The selectors numbered about twenty, and they were at great loss how to do ; whether to choose for the present advantage or the future.

Choice No. 1 fell to the lot of Mr Garrick, solicitor, and he took the section the present site of the Bank of New Zealand, at the owner of Princes and Rattray streets. This was the firat piece of ground sold in Otago, and the price at which it was sold was ten shillings ! one quarter of an acre — at the rate of two pounds per acre ! Could the fortunate selector have dreamt that his lot would in the short space of thirty-five years increased in value from ten shillings to ten thousand pounds, he would have been very chary in disposing of it. The next choice was the right of Mr James Williamson, father of Mr Williamson, of the Kaikorai, and he exercised it by selecting 1 the corner of Man.se and Princes street, now the warehouses of Mefasrs Brown, Ewing, and Co. and Wain's Hotel.

Mr Andrew Mercer made his selection in Forth street, where it is crossed by tho Water-of-Leith — apparently an out-of-the-way spot ; but the intention was to establish a sawmill business or other trade requiring water power, and an agreement existed between Mr Williamson and he that the sections should be mutually divided. In choosing his section Mr Williamson had the advice of Mr Anderson, who was a great cattle-dealer, a general merchant, and very well to do. By the judgment of the surveyor and residents it was considered one of the best', if not the best, site in the town, having a frontage to Princes street, the principal street, of over 100 feet, and fronting another street, of which he forgot the name, of about 100 feet, a spacious place for building. _ The original price was 10s, and ho believed if he would then sell it he would get £100. This was turning money ;so wrote the happy purchaser.

Captain Cargill selected in Princes street South, now Messrs Cargill and Co. 'a offices ; Mr Bu us, as representing an absentee, at the corner of Walker and Princes streets, now occupied by Mr Wyper, ironmonger ; Mr M'Dermid in Moray place. A few others might also be enumerated, but those given will show the foresight and judgment exercised in making the selections. The municipal sections and those for religious and educational uses were selected by Mr Kettle and the resident agent. The suburban selections were not made for some weeks later, and a great diversity of opinion existed as to their relative positions and values. Halfway Bu»h, Kaikorai, Green Island, Town District, Peninsula, and NorthEast Valley, each and all had their fanciers, but the section rrioat coveted was one below Port Chalmers, Oweite, which was considered of exceptional value and importance on account of the deep water frontage it possessed. The holder of the priority of choice !.>r (.ho suburban section was Mr John Buchanan, and he was importuned and tempted by a good many of his fellow settlers to sell his right of choice— indeed, as much as the full value of tho section, and perhaps more, was offered him to give up his first place ; but he persistently declined to sell, and acting on the principal that everything everybody thought and said must be true, selected the prized section, but up to to thia day it has not attained the pro minent value predicted — it has not realised the promise of good things to come. Several of tho selectors choae their sections in Port Chalmers in preference to Dunedin. A considerable amount of doubt existed in their minds whether in acting as agenta for absentees the immediate prospects of the Port were not superior to those of the inland town, and gave the Port the benefit. Two weeks after the town selection one agent wrote: — "The town section measures a quarter of an acre, and co^ts in London 10s. Its present value fcince the selection is estimated at £40, and it brings a rent of £-1 per annum. I yesterday let a section at Port Chalmers for three years at £8 a year ; but this is a prime section, with frontage to tho harbour. At the end of the lease it should be worth a great deal morn. I have chosen two suburban sections together, in a situation that lias taken my fancy lor its romantic beauty; they form the point of a beautifully - wooded promontory, nearly 100 acres in extent, that piojects into the harbour at Sawyer's Bay, near Port Chalmers. I hesitated long before choosing, till I learned that it would be the most likely place for landing cattle brought from Australia, There is deep water at the very point, whero a large vessel could rido with its hido'ahnoet touching the bank, and were tho 20 acres enclosed, it would form a paddock, where the cattle could remain till they have recovered from the effects of tho voyage." Tho selection of tho rural lands was still further delayed, so that the weather should bo more settled and favourable for a personal inspection by the settlera. Parties were formed for this purpose, and the whole of the available '

lands were explored. Several selections were made in the Molyneux district, as the appearance of the land, with the bush and surrounding country, was very tempting, overcoming the CO miles distance from town ; others chose the east side of the Taieri Plain ; and others, again, the far richer and more fertile district towards the base of Maungatua ; whilst othoi'H (including the minister aud his aon) who represented several absentees — earnest and sanguine promoters of the scheme — spotted in and around the 500 acres in the centre of the Taiori, Thia selection waß looked upon by the majority as not a prudent one, the superabundance of water lying on it being considered objectionable ; but the result has proved the wisdom of the choice. Mr Burns, having a good many choices to make — some of them early and others far down the list, — agreed with Mr Kettle that if allowed to select contiguous sections all the other selectors should have precedence. He tried hard to get a complete block, so as to lesson the cost of fencing, but in this was frustrated by Mr Kettle picking ono or two out for municipal reserves. No selections were made in tho Waihola or Tokomairiro districts.