Land Board.

Otago Witness, Issue 1777, 12 December 1885, Page 4

Land Board.

At a meeting of the Land Board, held on Thursday, all the members were present, and following business was transacted : — KUROW. It was resolved to rescind a resolution passed on the 23rd July ISB4, forfeiting the deferredpayrnent license of Gabriel Hodge for nonpayment of rent, with a view, under the special circumstances of the case, to enable the settler in question to obtain a perpetual lease instead of a deferred-payment license. DEFAULTING LESSEES. The board considered a list of defaulting perpetual lessees submitted.by the receiver of land revenue. The Chief Commissioner said that these lessees were behindhand to the extent of three | half-yearly payments. Various reasons were given for this state of matters. Some said that they paid too much for their land, and that it was not of such good quality as they imagined, especially in the Strath-Taieri district, where a great portion of it was of a rocky nature. Then there had been great difficulties in the way of getting their crops to market, and in fact they were not in a position to pay their rents. Mr Clarke said they should not have let these lessees fall so far behind. Mr Green said he was convinced that a number of the lessees never had the slightest intention of holding on to their laud. They seemed not to care as long as they got two or three crops off the land. " Then they allowed the board to put them out and get valuation for the improvements they had effected. The result of the board's leniency was that the settlers had got deeper and deeper into difficulties, and in some cases they got the better of the board. The Chief Commissioner said these were exceptional cases. Mr Green hoped they were ; but the action of these people had opened the eyes of others as to what could be done with land in its virgin state. It would never do for the board to allow perpetual lease settlers to get into the same position as the deferred-payment settlers got into. Mr Duncan said it was not a fact that the men had the means to pay, and were just playing fast and loose with the board. He was sure that those who had lately taken up sections were in a very bad position. He did not allude to the first deferred-payment settlers. He was sure that latterly the board had made many mistakes in wrongly classifying the land and fixing too high an upset price. Some of the settlers were paying as high a price as 12s per acre. The first mistake was that the land had not been properly set apart, and if the mistake had been made what should the board do under the circumstances? Let any man take a tour in the settlements and he would see that the settlers were in a pitiful condition. That the men had means and could pay their liabilities wan a statement that should not be allowed to go abroad, for if it did and the High School Commissioners heard it, they would not move in the matter. He was sure there were not 10 per cent, of these men who were not honourable men, who were willing to pay their way if they had the means. He certainly would not be a party to turning off the land these unfortunate men, who were suffering agony of mind of which the hoard little dreamt, because they could not pay their liabilities. He held that if they could not pay up, the onus of the matter should be thrown on the Government, avlio would make suggestions that the board could not think of.

Mr Clark remarked that it was not right to imagine that the board sat there as tyrants, and that the Government was the only party that sympathised with these men.

Mr M'Kenzie said he admitted that there were a great many of these men who had not the means to pay their rents, but he had no hesitation in saying that there were a few who had the means and took advantage of the unfortunate position of others, and tried to make out that they were in an equally bad position. If the board could sift these out better justice could be dealt out. The board was not altogether to blame in the matter. The people themselves were a great deal to blame, for though the board did, in his opinion, fix some of the rentals too high, the people in several cases had given more for the land than the price fixed by the board. This was the case with regard to the Strath-Taieri, where he was sure no settler could afford to pay ss, let' alone 8s or 10s. How they were to meet cases of this kind he did not know. They could not go outside the letter of the law, and he did not see how they were to get out of the difficulty at the present time. They might give them time, but what better would they be then ? They would never be able to pay the rent.

The Chief Commissioner said there was no doubt a good many of the people had themselves to blame, for they gave too high a price for the land, and many of them went on to it with very little knowledge of farming. Mr Bradshaw said the statement that the board had dealt harshly with the selectors wns disproved, that there were so many of them who were in arrear to the extent of three half-yearly instalments. It was not these people, but the whole country that was in difficulties, and the sooner they washed up the better.— (Laughter.) It was resolved— " That the cases of perpetual lessees who hold land within educational endowments be referred to the School Commissioners and High School Board of Governors for any remarks or suggestions they have to make as to dealing with them ; consideration of the remaining cases to stand over in the meantime."

ROCK AND PILtAR RUNS,

The followipg report was received from Messrs M'Kenzie, Duncan, and Green :-—" We, the undersigned, in compliance with a resolution of the Land Board, have the honour to report that we have visited and inspected Runs 210, 210f, a.nd 210b, in the Rock and Pillar and Highlay districts, and recommend: "That Run 110n be re-leasecl for a term of two years, or such other time as will enabb it to fall in with the remaining runs in the locality now in the occupation of theN.Z. aud.A.L.Co.; that that portion lying between the Taieri River, the Horse Burn,' and the two lines marked red on the accompanying sketch, and comprising about 2500 acrps be surveyed into sections of about 300 acres each, and classified under the perpetual-lease system for agricultural purposes; and that the remaining portions of 210 and 210i\ lying below the present fence-line neav their top, and containing about 7500 acres, be surveyed into three runs, and let under the small run system, in conformity with part 7 of the Land Act of 1885. We further recommend that instructions should be given to the surveyor to specially lay oft the roads to a practicable grade leading to each of

these sections." — The report was adopted, and it was decided to recommend the Government to give effect to the same.