The Taranaki Herald. SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 1875.

Taranaki Herald, Volume XXIII, Issue 2298, 17 April 1875, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. SATURDAY, APRIL 17, 1875.

We are informed thai the Provincial Government contemplate the utilising the special settlement clanses of the Waste Lands Act to aid the occupation of the forest country along tho Waitara-Wanganui lino of railway. That special settlements can be established, and ultimately thrive, is proved by the conditiou of most of the present centres of population iv the colony. The early settlers of this Province bad not such great facilities for making prosperous homesteads as can now be offered to new arrivals. The new settler of to-day will not encounter native difficulties in addition to the many natural difficulties which only hard work can remedy. And with respect to roads, the advantages are all in favor of the new settler, even leaving out of calculation the railway which will bring his forest land witbin easy reacb of centres of population. Even tbo price of land is in bis favonr, and the torins of payrneut under the deferred system are so easy that it makes it possible for any saving industrious man to become a freeholder and settler on his own estate. It is, therefore, apparent that tho establishment of special settlements along the line of railway, under ordinary good management, must prove successful to the settlers themselves and consequently to the Colony. But wbile we are in favor of the establishment of special settlements where settlements will not readily form themselves without Government aid, we. think that on tbe whole they can be better established by tbe Government than by any private individual. Any person who undertakes the formation of a special settlement does so in order to reap some benefit out of tho transaction. This personal bouefit may be either a profit on tbe sale of the land, or a concession of land to the promoter by tho Government, at a nominal price. And tbe danger thereby incurred is, that the promoter may endanger the success of the settlement by endeavouring to screw out too great a profit from the ! future settlers to whom he sells the land. At the same time tbo land is locked np for some years, duriug which the Government is powerless to deal with it, even though it may be satisfied that tbe scheme to which it lent its sanction and aid will turn out a decided failure. To any person of experience in these matters, or even to any person who will take the trouble to think the matter out, it wubt at once appear that j the establishment of a special settlement, to be made thoroughly, cannot be directly profitable, either to the individual speculator or to tho Government. To tbo Government, that is to tbe peoplo at large, a libernl expenditure of public money to form a settlement which tinder ordinary circumstances, •but for that special expenditure, would not take place for a quarter of a century, would be a wise policy, and one that would be ultimately profitable to the whole community. But to the individual speculator such an expenditure is impossible, and the settlement, if formed, must necessarily dopend on tho Government to tide it over the first year or two of its infant existence. So far as we can gather from the present proposals of the Government, it would appear that there are two persons in treaty for forming special settlements in our Province. Tbe first is Colonel Trimble, a gentleman now on his way to Now Zealand, with whom the Government and the Provincial Agent have been in communication, and resulting iv tbe Government reserving a block of a few thousand acres, to be dealt with on his arrival on such terms as may be deemed advantageous to tho Province. It would, no doubt, be desirable to secure the co-operation of this gentleman in tbe settlement of our forest district; but as tho whole matter is still in embryo we do not think it necessary to further allude to it. Tbe other gentleman negotiating with the Government is Mr. T. C Hood, who is well known in this Province from having resided here for some mouths past. Be applies for 3,000 acres of land between the Mongonni and Putea Rivers on the Mountaiu Road, for which bo offers a very fair price, and undertakes to locate ten persons to each 100 acres within three aud a-half years. The first sot-

tloment to take place iv the spring of 187 C. The payment of the land to be made in accordance with the system of deferred payments included in tho Act. We do not know what progress has been made in the matter, but we take it for granted that a material guaranteo of some sort is insisted on by tho Government to ensure tho completion of the agreement. If this is not given, we think it would be much better for the Government to decline to make any agreement for the formation of special settlements, which, as a general rale, we would prefer seeing the Government undertake, as being iv a better position to carry them to a successful issue than any private person could be. Yet there are occasions where the agency of individuals may be advantageously utilised to obtain persons of suitable character for thoso settlements ; but we think that this would be better done by giving a percentage on the sale of the land made by the agent to the intending settlers, the Government taking the whole responsibility of locntion. The success of the Feilding Settlement is open to considerable doubt at the present time, I although undertaken by persons of considerable capital in the shape of a limited liability company ; and the settlers located there having the doable advantage of the expenditure made iv the district by the Company and by the General and Provincial Governments. Yet we hear that the settlers are leaving, finding greater attractions elsewhere. Sach being the case in the Feilding Settlement, the Government ought to bear it in mind aud act with caution, otherwise they will have a dissatisfied body of settlers, urging the fulfilment of conditions alleged to be promised to them, bat which perhaps the Government never entered into with the promoters and probably never contemplated. It mnst be remembered that the promoter of a settlement scheme is somewhat ephemeral, the Government is permanent. A promoter is anxious to obtain persons to settle on the land conceded to him, and will perhaps travel beyond bis brief in placing a more favorable pictnre before the eyes of his auditors, as to the advantages to be derived from securing the allotments in treaty, and depicting the absolnte paternal character of the Government under which be will have tho happiness and privilege to live. And, while it is but natural to suppose the promoter will speedily forget the promises he made, the settler's memory will cling to the houeyed words, and if he finds hereafter they are not realised, it is not to the promoter that he will look for payment of tbe bond, but to his principal,- the Provincial Government, or whatever Government may then reigu in the land. The General Government decline to lake any part in special settlements. A proposal was made by Mr. Holloway, and approved of by the Province, but the Ministry declined to guarantee one of the conditions, to give a few days' employment per week, and the scheme consequently fell through. A scheme ■of rhis sort haviug broken down because the very essential part of it could not be guaranteed by the Government, we cannot conceive how it is possible to establish a settlement in the same locality, unless the settlers are men of small capital, aud are able to keep themselves while their crops are growing. If tbe special settlement should be composed of men of this stamp, it will succeed ; if of ordinary labouring men, the Government of the day will have to shoulder the difficulty which is sure to arise.