CORRESPONDENCE.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIIIC, Issue 14284, 27 August 1910, Page 6

CORRESPONDENCE.

MACKENZIE RUNS. To the Editor of the "Timaru Herald." Sir. —''Verilv. a ' Daniel ' como to judgment." Such was the exclamation of a Shakespearean friend on reading tho pronouncement, of the Alhury sngo on the future of these unfortunate runs, as set forth in your issue of the —Oi li inst. AVas my friend .Daniel really in earnest ? I have very ;iravo doubts, and believe that if the ".Herald'' representative had suddenly looked up from tho taking of these copious notes, ho would have seen a curious twinkle in the eye. and more than the shadow oi a jirin—t mean smile —hovering on the seemingly innocent countenance of tho interviewer. Above ail men in the world I am more than surprised to find an intelligent Irishman advocating a .system of absentee landlordis/n. Surely he must have both seen and heard enough of this curse in his native country and must know that in every country or part of a. country where absentee landlordism exists, it is the ruin and curse of that country. Further, he must surely be aware by this time that that lias already almost ruined tho Mackenzie, and that is the principal tiling that not. only wellwishers of the "Mackenzie, hut wellwishers of the Dominion are endeavouring to make impossible in lhe future.

Mr Angland says there must be conditions —no burning, or overstocking, nothing allowed that will be detrimental to ibe couniry. Making conditions and having theni carried out arc two very different tiling-;. There are conditions con nee. Ed uitli the Crown lands that Mr Angland at present holds to prevent the spoliation of the land cropping conditions, yet Mr Anghnid for the last two or threo months has been roaring up and down Canterbury t.hat they should ho done away with I am afraid it would bo the same in connection with conditions in the run leases if they wero held by downcountry farmers. Whenever they became a little irksome they would apply to Mr Angland their representative oil the Land Board, to have them abolished.

Human nature is the same nil over the world. \ov. can only get conditions properly carried out ii st is m the interest of tiio contracting partie~ to carry them out. It is onlv to the bona fide settler in the -Mackenzie with a permanent right- of renewal lease, that it would be to his advantage to carryout conditions of improving tho country. And these are the settlers we are going to tfust ilia i'uvv :e of the Mackenzie with. There is cortainlv -one tiling about Air All gland's suggestion;: ll carried out there wouhl be no future trouble or agitation for the subdivision of the runs at the expirv of the next lease. The Mackenzie bv'timetime would lie an absolute barren 'waste, and these down-coin:; ry tanee,-. having pui the finishing !.,';:ch ou it would 'be very glad to be relieve,! OS their responsibility of further rent-paying. 1 understand Mr Angland* lias uev-s----even been ih.-ough tiii- country, and thereiore can know inching about it. only fr-oni nhat he is Lcl:i, Ai>:'rt from the spoliation of -he . - - n ;i; : -y. j ~; :u assure Air Angland ibe; downcountry farmers would not go; the nibble ;n their summer blocks thai ;-k-v m;iy think, as may he he is aware that

the greater part of this couniry is computed i:! very high rough moimrain<. and n' lit* cu<|uire.~ oi' ;:i,y pr:;ct I «»>;- ij: i•: i rhey will Icll hi :n ihai >u«-ep «'?i nil ;i tiiT.'ii -•(.(!!!! !-y farm 'iui ii". iv i j s!»• j- d i;r" [. taK" kindly Id | h<-> hr_di i i.\- m.k. i-. t ; < vjll <i" v whoii i h-'y r«"»pv% haVi- n Ui- :-}i. :ng 111 f: j■. t-, "ib*y wmu i take n» •he st:?e;p ruased hills, 'mi almost starve- alone; the (out Q \ tbe n-lls I'll th°y cioi wool oily about January. Ih-rvinrrl am airaid if the r!ou n-'-onni ry tanner had li> depend oil 1li« lambs bred there, under these conditions, as My Anghmd suggests, they would often be very short. i\ir Angla nr.] says sheep in. snow want dry food {slid no turnips. ,So much for his experience, -Vo.sd practical men I think would say tho opposite, and I think it ho had watched the mortality amongst", sheep lhai have heen fed during a snow.->Lurm t lie would have found out dry hay was tho cause. IVly advice to lUr Angiand is to stick to the question of ''goodwill" and the '•cropping regulation's" on tho L.I.P. farms. an<l. allow "those with back country experience to try and solve the future destiny jjl thi> great national asset. Some of us who have spent the happiest and greatest, part of our lives in the -Mackenzie would be sorry to t lnnk that .Mr Auglaud s suggestion, was to be the accepted solution—l am. etc., MACKKNZTK PIONEER.