EXCESSIVE VALUATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2325, 22 September 1898, Page 26

EXCESSIVE VALUATION.

Regarding statements made by the Minister for Lands about the valuation of the land of the Wellington Fruitgrowers' Association, one of the settlers writes: — "The Minister complained that he knew nothing about the matter until it had been brought up in the House a. few minutes previously, and that there were plenty of others who would have taken the land at the same price that we obtained it at. When the Fruitgrowers' Association failed to get a bill through the House the ground was thrown into larger sections, and we took them up. We were led to believe that the valuation at the highest would not exceed 35s per acre for the best of it, and as that was about the valuation we put upon it, it was taken up, and most of us had felled a large portion of the bush before we knew what was the valuation. Imagine our surprise when the valuation for some of the sections reached £5 per acre in the standing bush, and in othercases, five and a-half miles from the railway station? £3 and £4 per acre. The ground was all hills and pretty steep at that. As soon as this was known, a committee was formed and a deputation waited on the Land Board, and another on the Minister for Lands. They were informed by the Minister that he though"? the land must be over- valued, and he would see the department "and let them know if something could not be done. After waiting months we were informed nothing could be done. Subsequently, as some of us were going to surrender our sections, wewere told to wait and see if his Fair Rent Bill became law, as that was supposed to remedy such, cases as ours. After waiting another year or over, during which the Land Board had been interviewed a number of times, the Premierwas spoken to about the matter, and he promised he would consult the Minister for Lands about it, but we never heard what came of that consultation. All this time, as we thought wjmething would be done, we had been improving our holdings, and, with all our impjpovements, the sections are not now valued as high as the original valuation on the standing bush. When the block was originally bought it comprised, I believe, 8500 acres. About 3000 acres were taken up by the special settlement. Of the other 5500 acres 1500 have since been disposed of by the Government at from 27s to 25s per acre, equally as good land if not bettor, than that for which they are charging us from £2 10s to over £4, and 1750 acres are now open to the public at 17s 6d. As we have a Liberal Government, we have been hoping all this time that at last we should have justice dealt out to us, but when one sees such statements as those made by the Minister from his place in the House, it seems that the sooner we have a change of Government ' the better. As it now stands, if we are forced to surrender our sections after holding on all this time, being led by promises by the Land Board that sooner or later we would have a re-valua-tion, it would simply mean ruin, to a lot of us who have spent our all here."