ADMINISTRATION OF CROWN

46

G—No. I-

PART lII.—EVIDENCE TAKEN AT CLYDE AND ALEXANDRA.

Feiday, February 26, 1869. No. 33. Mr. William Fraser, M.P.C., being duly sworn, examined:— lam of opinion that pastoral pursuits must give way to bonafide settlement of the country by agriculturists. There are four different ways of providing land for agriculturists : — Ist Blocks of land over which no leases or licenses are held, and are therefore at the disposal of Government. There are three of these blocks open — Ist, the Agricultural Reserve at Tuapeka, about 75,000' acres. 2nd, the Wakatipu Reserve, about 300,000 acres. 3rd, a Reserve of about 12,000 acres at Clyde. 2nd. The blocks which Government can take under Section 33 of the " Goldfiekls Act, 1866," out each Run in the Goldfields, viz., an amount not exceeding 5000 acres. With respect to these Reserves certain runholders have/entered into covenant with the Provincial Government that the compensation to be demanded by them for certain amounts reserved by the Government, shall be based upon the value accruing to them from the unexpired terms of their original licenses respectively. The difference between the blocks so reserved and the 5000 acres may be taken at any time by the Government; but compensation will have to be computed and paid over the whole term of the lease given in exchange for the license. 3rd. Blocks of land not exceeding 15,000 acres, which the lessees of the same have given the Government, by covenant, the power of selling in accordance with Section. 83 of the "Otago Waste Lands Act, 1806." These covenants affect Runs both within and without Goldfields, but principally the latter, and in neither case can the lessee demand compensation. 4th. There are the lands included within Hundreds. With respect to the first class of land above specified, I am of opinion that the good agricultural land in these blocks being small compared with the pastoral, the agricultural settlers will be satisfied while they have plenty of room for stock upon the latter. But as the stock increases, and the pastoral, laud becomes fully taken up, their troubles will commence. They will find it impossible to keep their herds or flocks separate, when the inevitable result will be a deterioration in the breed of their stock generally ; and should pleuro-puemonia or scab unfortunately break out in the district, they will find it next to impossible to eradicate these diseases. The only remedy for this will, in my opinion, be either to sell or lease the pastoral portions of those Reserves in moderate holdings, so as that each person will have a portion of land over which he will have the exclusive right to depasture stock. I believe that with respect to the blocks that may be taken up under the Goldfields Act by Government, that if they were all thrown open for applications, there would be a, sufficiency of land to meet the present requirements of the population. I think, however, there would be comparatively little settlement upon these blocks, as the rights of commonage would still remain with the runholder from whose Run the blocks would be taken, although I believe the majority of the runholders would willingly concede the right to keep the necessary horses for working their farms, and milch cows for the use of their families. But they would obiect to their keeping herds of cattle for the purpose of rearing stock. They would not object to a few dairymen to supply the requirements of the district with dairy produce, provided the herds were kept within reasonable limits. I consider the runholders could not successfully carry out the objects for what they are paying what may Lie called a "rack rent" to the Government, if they are to be hampered, and the" rearing of their stock interfered with, by other parties running badly-bred herds and flocks indiscriminately with their own. In fact. I think it. very materially affects the interest of a runholder to have any stock at all, not under his immediate control, depasturing on his Run ; as in this case his own stock are liable to be constantly disturbed. 1 consider were a runholder to give up his exclusive right of pasturage within the blocks set apart for agricultaral areas, by accepting compensation for the whole of such blocks at once, that he would, in the majority of instances, destroy the value of his Run. The first obiect being agricultural settlement, the Government would naturally select the choicest portions of the Run. which would invariably include the best and lowest lying pasture land. Now the majority of the Runs within the Goldfields consist of a high mountainous country, with a very small proportion of low lviii"- lands, which are especially valuable for depasturing the stock during the winter months, and, indeed, without which, the remainder of the Run would be comparatively useless. The section of the Act which preserves to the lessee the option of taking compensation for such land alone as maybe occupied, and therefore retaining the righf of pasturage over the unoccupied portions of the block, was the main inducement to the runholders to exchange their licenses for leases, and pay the largely increased rent required by the Act. amounting to seven times the amount previously paid, viz., 7d. instead of Id. I do not think" that the Government have the power under the present law of taking any portion of a Run for a Commonage without the lessees consent, as Clause XVI. of the Goldfields Act cannot possibly be made to apply to any Run situated within a proclaimed Goldfield, at the date of the passing of that Act. However they have the power of dealing with these Runs by proclaiming them into Hundreds, but this would necessitate (lie selling of the hinds included in the Runs (as there is no power to lease land in a Hundred), while the lands being possibly auriferous could not, in accordance with the present principles of legislation, be sold until time considered sufficient to test their character in this respect should have

No. 33. Mr. Frasa: 26th Feb. 1869.