RE DEFERRED PAYMENT SETTLERS (TO THE EDITOR.)

Te Aroha News, Volume III, Issue 129, 21 November 1885, Page 7

RE DEFERRED PAYMENT SETTLERS (TO THE EDITOR.)

Siu, — »Itt yodrooudeuded report last week of the deputation of deferred pay.neut settlers the principal grievance of settlers on Block No. 11 was omitted. I st.ited to Mr BaUance that upwards of five years since a notification appeared in the papers offering Blocks No. LI aud 12 for selection, Utiticv. Uic deferred payment system. The lairi was drscribed as hrs l -cla3<»> and the swa up was dai i to bo un lei* drainage l»v the. Government. F camy v, with others to inspect the laud, and came to the conclusion that the <<: j lull ' v> is very ]>ooi\ as the vegitation was very stunted* I had a better opinion of tl^swamp, am! selected the most swampy sectioii) as t believed if drained it waul a he good land. At the timo of the sale of the land the drains were not commenced, so that settlers had no cliance of knowing how they would act, but we thought they would serve as outlets to drain our respective sections into. When the drains were in progress and the main drain had reached No. 1? section, which was then occupied by Mr Leckie, he (Mr Lockie) let a contract to carry a drain from the main drain along the boun lary of his fejtion: That drain at its junction with the main drain was about seven feat deep, but before it got to the end it was only about two, which showed that it win against the fall of the country, as It was carried up at a dead level. The Government branch drain was the same, about six or seven feet at the junction and only ten inches at the head. These branch drains running at right angles with the main drain showed that there was some defect in the drainage systeiy. and on inspection of the country at th,e outfall of the main drain into Johnson's Creejc, it was found that the creek had divided into two branches, and the tjrain had been put on the ridge between t|jem. That drain was carried through the! deferred payment; land into the Grant and Foster Block and served as araijf to bring the water I from tkafe'i block. lnjf) this, arid when a fresh occurred Ltyjjfie's drain; above -referred to relieved main drdn of; the v main body- of /jpft^vj^oh j way to the, river aj9ng;the>w>Btern brunblu of Johnson's Gr^jc; aiub flooded -all the sections along jts m Settlers naturally supposed t|mt,>he; fyains Were , iiHeuduj to bo a bencilt to tbeui or they

wopM not have taken up.tlie land, but instead of that they area positive injury, as tho water trough fc into the Inn I ha? ruined every settler oi\ it. My scot ton was comparatively dry before Leekio's drain was made, nnd I burnt off about GO acne, sowed it with gnss, and brought up nineteen heal of cattle from the Thames, but the water rotted out the grass and 1 had to sell the cattle at a sacriflee, AM tho other seitlci a are in the same poal' ion ; somo of them have sunk from £300 to £GOO on the land, nnd have now to seek employment to maintain their families and pay the instalments to the Crown Lauds Board. When the drainage was found directive, a petition was sent by the settlers to the Government with the result that a grant of £350 was made to improve the drainage, on condition that £288, accruing from the third of instalments, which wa3 lying in tha treasury to the credit of the Waitoa llo.ul Board, should bo devoted to tho same purpose} which tho road board hi course of time agieed to, Tlrat sum £633 would have been sufficient to have put a good drain up tho two branches of tho creek, and relieved all the settlers of the water, but about £400 of the money was spent in j deepening the main drain and cleaning out the branch drain which money, was entirely thrown away. Before the Government granted £35'J to improve the drainage, Mr Hunter, the then resident engineer, came with Mr Hannah from Hamilton to inspect the drains, Mr MikkUaon awl myself going with them. We went up the main drain to where it cuts the Waiwhera creek (the lower buun lary of the Grant and Foster block), and he (Mr Hunter), u<ed a pocket instrument at different places to take levels of tue swamp from tue drain, and remarked to us that the land could never be drained into it. He afterwards left tha govern. uunc service and was succeeded by Mr D, M. l>eere, but T s'-onM think it probaMe that he lurniaiied tue District Engineer with a report, as a plan of the drainage works was sent htm fiom Auckland, w lich he fr>que,Mtly refer: 1 \1 to when making tho inspection, but witling I\\p aid vi any instruments any one could s>e that the mon» j y would be thrown a.my H drHspiM)iii£ that drain, if they spent two or three hours in looking over it. After the work \v;»a proved to be useless, an offer was made by the settlers to taku the Western branch of Jolmscn's Creek up to Mikkloson'd section (the one formerly l.eld by Leckie and the farthest from the out'ofc) for the balance of the money, bui» lue oiler was declined, and a contract wns let to matte a drain to the boundary ot' tue block* A .survey has since been made by Captain lieeie to Miktclesou's bouji. ary, and <ie (Oaptain Beere) knows .foil what condition the land is in. The Road Board propose making that drain and carrying it on to drain tiie Richmond road now in course of formation. ' The poverty of the dry land, and the losses settlers on the swampy sections have sUduiued f t'Oiu. the defective drainage, is the ground on which they ask for compensation by a reduction of the price of the land. I may add in addition to what I told Mr Bni l.vice that the fact that the .Road Board cannot utilise the Government main drain to drain the JJiciniioud road up tv which it runs, is u prvof that the mouey spent in forming it and ai'terwafud in deepening it, was entirely wasted. It you can find space in your valuable pap-r to insert tue above, it Would enlighten the public on the treating, wo have received, and probably beneiifc tue eCttlers interested. — I am, &c, Tuod. Taylor, Waitoa, Nov. 17fch, I6oi>.