TANTALISING ENDOWMENTS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 9221, 28 April 1908, Page 2

TANTALISING ENDOWMENTS.

CANTERBURY' COLLEGE AS * MINE-OWNER. The chairman of the Canterbury College Board of Governor*? dazzled the members of the Board yesterday by talking, with tantalising vagueness, of possibilities of enormous, wealth for the College in years to come. He ran over a return of the Board's endowments, showing the area, letting value and capital value of the reserves. There was a total area of 219,181 acres, and tlie rental received in 1907 wag £14,437. This had increased as at May 1, 1908, to £15,126 per year, and the capital value of the reserves, computed on a 5 per cent basis, was £302,510. This huge estate required incessant watchfulness to attain the best possible results. But it had great future possibilities. There could be no doubt that the letting values would steadily increase, \ and the Board could greatly enhance them by pursuing a policy of subdivision and closer settlement. Then, the Board owned the upland areas of the Craigieburn, Grassmere and Lake Coleridge runs, totalling 99,294 acres, in the Selwyn county; the Mount Possession run, in the Ashburton county; and the Haldon and Crow's Hills runs, in the Mackenzie county, giving a grand total of 193,081 acres. These areas were now let solely for pastoral purposes, but as time went on it would probably be found that valuable mineral deposits existed in the mountains, which would provide vastly increasing rentals. An earnest of that statement appeared in the balance-sheet of the College maintenance account, where the sum of £2 12s was credited as " royalty on coal taken from Craigieburn run." "In addition to the seam upon which that royalty was paid, there was another large deposit of coal upon the property. Concerning that he could, but would rather not, say a good deal.