H.—No. 1

10

REPORT OE THE OTAGO WASTE LANDS

Telegeam from Mr. J. Beighton to the Chaieman, Otago Waste Lands Inquiry Committee. I send you following answers to your questions. 1. Tes; having, since receipt of your telegrams, been over the greater part of it. 2. Tes ; I should estimate 8,000 acres of good agricultural land. 3. I cannot say of my own knowledge that it contains auriferous land, but am informed there are several gullies towards head of Teviot River in which gold has been found. 4. The only water races I know of within the block are the head portions of some taking water out of Teviot River. 5. The sale would not be injurious to mining interests provided sufficient reservations were made to enable races to be constructed from Teviot River sufficiently high to command the auriferous east bank of the Molyneux below Teviot junction, and provided gullies referred to are not auriferous. 6. Agricultural interest would unquestionably be prejudicially affected by such an extent of good agricultural land being taken from this district, already crippled by sale of the "Island Block," and other lands in large blocks. 7. Opinion of inhabitants strongly averse to this particular sale, and to sale of any agricultural land except under a system conducive to settlement of population. Strip of land reserved between river and block, with exception of a few patches of good flat land, is inferior in value to land within the block. There is no commonage in the district except a block on top of Mount Benger, difficult of access, and useless in winter; and consider, previous to any sale, land within gold field should be carefully examined and reported upon by competent persons. Roxburgh, 29th July, 1872. John Beighton.

Telegeam from Geo. F. Mackay to the Chaieman, Otago Waste Lands Inquiry Committee. I know the block of land sold to Cargill and Anderson. It contains about 9,000 acres of good agricultural land. There has been gold found in different places within the block, but the difficulty of bringing water to bear has hitherto prevented the ground from being worked. The heads of five water races are within the block, and one is almost entirely within the block. The sale will prove ruinous to the mining interests, as it will prevent about eight miles of river frontage, known to be highly auriferous, from being worked. Besides the auriferous land within the block, it will stop the construction of any other races from the only source of water supply, namely, the Teviot River, and prevent the existing races from being altered or extended. The sale will most seriously injure the agricultural interest, as a large extent of excellent land, both within the block and in rear, will be completely shut out from settlement. The level land between the block and the river is far inferior to that within the block. The unanimous feeling of the inhabitants is strongly opposed to the sale. To show the demand that exists for land, a block of nearly two thousand acres on Moa Flat, of a quality inferior to the greater portion of the 20,000 acre block on Cargill and Anderson's Run, recently sold by auction, realized over 335. per acre. From the peculiar configuration of the country, the sale of this 20,000 acre block means, in reality, the sale of the whole run. It is universally felt that in effecting this sale the Provincial Government has sacrificed the permanent welfare of this district, the source of a large future revenue, for a consideration altogether inadequate. Roxburgh, 31st July, 1872- G. F. Mackay.

Telegram from Mr. Eady to Chairman, Otago Waste Lands Inquiry Committee. I know the land on Cargill and Anderson's run, and am of opinion that at least one half is suitable for agriculture; but if the land were thrown open for settlement, a considerable additional extent of land not suitable for agriculture, equal to the remaining two-thirds of the 20,000-acre block, could be disposed of by the Government at the same figure as that obtained for good agricultural land. In confirmation of this fact, I would point to the experience gained in connection with all the blocks already thrown open, proving that the settlers are willing to pay almost any price for inferior land adjoining their holdings. I believe a portion of the block is auriferous. There are several water races partly in the block —one, I believe, altogether included in the block. The sale will prove injurious to both the agricultural and mining interests : to the agricultural interest, because it will prevent a large extent of good land ever being anything other than a sheep run; and it will be fatal to the mining interest. About nine miles of payably auriferous river-frontage will be prevented from being worked. No new races can be taken from the Teviot Eiver if the freehold of the land is acquired by a private individual. The opinion of all the people in this district is against the sale; their opinion of the authorities is, that they are administering the public estate for the benefit of one class, and it would be much better to sell the whole extent of the run than permit the eyes of the country to bo picked out as in the manner of the recent sales. Eoxburgh, 31st July, 1872. R. Eady.

Telegeam from Mr. Kinaston to Chaieman, Otago Waste Lands Inquiry Committee. Know the block well; estimate it to contain one-half first-class agricultural land. It has not been thoroughly tested for auriferous deposits ;it is reported to contain quartz reefs. The inhabitants are to a man against the sale. Petitions against the sale have been sent to the Waste Lands Board. The block includes the Teviot River, from which there are being lifted at the present time fifty-five heads of water, and other races are in contemplation. For fully nine months in the year 500 heads of water could be had from this source, and at such an elevation as" to command a distance of forty miles along the banks of the Molyneux River. The whole of the said banks, wherever they have been tested, are payably auriferous. To show the state of public feeling prevailing, the following, among other resolutions, were unanimously passed at a large public meeting here on Monday last:—That the statement reported to have been made by Reid and Mervyn, with regard to the block of land applied for by Cargill and Anderson not containing fifty acres of agricultural land, is utterly false and without the slightest foundation. 2. That the sale of the proposed block to Cargill and Anderson will be both injurious and tend to effectually stop all agricultural settlements and mining industry in this part of the country;,