The Tokorahi Settlers. TO THE EDITOR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2298, 17 March 1898, Page 12

The Tokorahi Settlers. TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,— Kindly permit me space to reply to the | resolutions passed &fc tbe last raeetipg of the , Obago Land Board re tbe Tokarahi gebller?. ! In the ficst place I would distinctly like to j point out fo the board liiat 14 selectors out of the 48 hold areas varying from half an acre to 28 acres in extent, and were i never asked to sign the petition, as they j do not depend on their small areas for a ] livelihood. Only some eight refused to sign ' for reasons best known to themselves. The j remainder were not at home at the time the | petition was taken round for signatures, otherwise they would willingly have added their names to the same. Again the board sbate thafc there i& no provision nude for such cases in the Land Act. Well, I would particularly draw their attention to clause 33 of "The Land for Settlements Act, 1894/' which reads a*, follows : — "la the event ot any lessee of land acquired under this act being uutbla at any tirue, through any natural j disaster or other safficient cause, to pay the i rent due under his lease, it shall be competent for the M ; nister, on the icccmmendation of the laud board of the district, and being satisfied of the necessity, to afford relief to such leaste by remitting a year's rent, or such portion of a year's rent as may ba deemed necessary, subject that the amount mall first ba voted by Parliament. Any sucl mm shall be placed to th.3 credit oi toe ' land for setllesuonrs account,' in j liquidation ot the rent aforesaid ; provided also | that this section shall not apply to atsy lessee who is over 12 mouths in arrear with his rent." Oa tho strength ot Ibis I aek : Why should we not take advantage of such an act in_ a season which has proved so disasti ous ? Relief was granted to the pastoral tenants during the severe winter, and why should the same relief not bo extended to the unfortunate Tokarahi aettlere, who are equally in need of some assistance H We are accused by the board of making a faloe declaration, and told that we ought to have sufficient to tide us over one adverse season. AH that I can inform the board is that I have spent £100 more on the section than I stated to them when undergoing the useless and child-like examination. Since taking possession I have spent £700 on the section of 300 acres, including buildings, fencing, tree planting, well-.'iakiug, &c, and sowing 160

acres of crop ; and after paying cost of harvesting all I have left to go on with is a three-horse team, dray, harness, and a few sheep, out of a capital of * £700. And yet lam told I ought to have sufficient to tide over one adverse season. I am quite willing to show the board a true »ud correct statement of my affair?, and, if thafc will no 1 ; satiafy them, will produce receipted recounts and bank book. Tae above facts surely prove beyond doubt thab I am a genuice, h'.na fide settler, and merely wish to make a home for myaelf off the laud. There is no fortune to be mad-3 out oi the overestimated Tokarahi estate, a^ Ili3 rents are far too high. All one has to look forward to is a mera existence, with a good deal of slavery attached to ib. Under these distressing circumstances auiely there ia some need for assistance. Take, for instance, the unprecedented d ffieulties the Tokarahi sett'e s have had to contend with sinca acquiring the lind — the lateness of the season in geoting possession, the hard and dry state of the ground for ploughing, the high prices ruling for seed, big prices for contract'ng, and then th# dsry spring and the high and blasting winds on the top of everything, thus rendering Ihepotat?. turnip, aad grass crops a complete failure. My case is only on a par with. some of my neighbours. Ooe settler, lam confident, from 45 aores of wheat, will not thresh more than 45 bushels, or one bushel per acre. I ask the right- 1 nicking community, Would a private individual have th"3" harclheartedness to ask his tenants to pay rent out ' of a reiu.-n of one bushel oE wheat per acre ? We are only asking from tae board a fair -thing between nun and man. I further ask them to send a qualified person round to inspect the estate and judge each case on its merits, and I think they will then find our ease not iv the slightest exaggsrated. Consideratioa for your space prevents me from further enumerating the hardships and unprecedented difficulties we have had to contend with during thi3 the first year of our tenancy. — I am, &c, March 8. Tokarahi Struggleb.

Mr H. L. Marsaek, oE Auckland, has been appointed inspector of the abattoir and dairies at Wangaimi. Dr Russell, charged at Christchurch with procuring a miscarriage, was committed for trial on the Bth. Bail was accepted — thft accused in £500, and four sureties of £125 each. The accused, as he left the court, was cheered by the crowd. At a meeting of the Auckland Board of Education on the B f h the chairman stated that the Driving Creek Public School, Coromandel, was discovered on fire on Sunday, when the fire was extinguished, and again on Monday. A letter had been received from the school pommitteemen stating that there was no doubt it was a case of incendiarism. On Sunday night the fire was put out fay several passers-by, including Mr, Hyatt, the head teacher. The fire occurred iv Sha main porch of the building. The school cost about £800 to erect. Afc the criminal sittings of the Supreme Couth afc Oamaru on the 7hb John Wilson Johnston was acquitted by the common jury, after a verybrief retirement, on a charge of fraudulent; bankruptcy. The accused had previously been tried at the November sessions iv Dunedin, but the jury could not -then agree. Thomas Joyce pleaded guilty to a charge of having attempted to commit suicide at Hampden, and was bound over to come up for sentence when called upon. Two boys named A, L and H. H. Emereon were acquitted of a charge of stealing ft Bbeep from tbe roadside.