Occasional Notes.

Clutha Leader, Volume II, Issue 68, 28 October 1875, Page 6

Occasional Notes.

By'Cqlonijs. ,

WASTE LAND.

. Whatever may be said pro or con, Mr •Stout's proposal that the reversion ofthe waste land should remain in the State, and that the land should only be parted 1 with to individuals for the period of their lives, or for pertain terms of years, there can be no doubt of one thing, that the passing of large -areas of land into the hands of individuals is certain to nave in some cases a most detrimental A effect upon the welfare and progress of the colony. WheTp the owners of large estates lay our. capital upon their land, -and by: tilling the surface of the ground extract the riches of the soil, and drain swamps, and plant trees, and;so:on,,and e'rqploy a considerable-amount of labor, jhere is not so much reason; fbf.dissatisfaction ; but where land which if properly deal .t;;wfth, might be made to produce valuable props, is only held in an unimproved state for speculative purposes, or to run sjlpck on, such a disposition of the public estatp : 'is/-%"pure as, sucVto *be- guarded: against by all the. means which -the people, have at com--mand: ■ -In . the present state of the colony .there can hardly, be a subject of more importance than the land question j All unsold land belongs tp the public ; the people are the owners of.it, and as 'such owners, it behoves -the people: to take care jtha't -they do 1 not part With possession except on the best and most, advantageous terms, and not otherwise; > ajid, tp come to a.definite resolution that under mo circumstances shall > the public propnetprship of '-the land- be parted with except oh, beneficial and reasonable terras. If the people have a proper apr preCiation of their own interests, they will rather submit to increased taxation than allow the public estate to be sacrificed in order to .satisfy the behests of public impecuniosity. Thß* miserable and melancholy truth however is, that tne General Assembly of New Zealand, does not represent the people, but is ratheYa Tepresentative of capital and' wealth. If the' members of both Houses were imbued with a high, noble, andpatriotic spirit-^were resolved to be true to the. trust confid^d^ to them by their fellow men, and never for a moment to permit the prompting of individual or class interest to induce them to . > deviate ahair's breadth from the straight *| path of rectitude and duty, we might confide thfe public estate to the management of the Assembly with good hopes tbat it would be duly cared for, and: that the public proprietorship in the same would only be parted with on the most advantageous terms, and that Government would contrive some practical expedient to prevent the monopolisation of the public land by individuals. If we are not at present prepared to go the length Mr Stout advises; we might at least exercise a large amount of cautionand discretion in dealing with the public land, and not allow it to be rushed into the market merely to satisfy the claims of the public creditor. If Government does not retain the reversion of all the waste land, it might at least retain the reversion br possession ofa portion of it. Thus large reserves of land might he made for education and other public purposes., and we might also — having an eye to the health and happiness of future generations of people — make large reserves for commons, parks, and pleasure grounds. It is well that the inhabitants of towns, without being forced to travel a great distance from home, should have access to some open country, where they may obtain fresh air and exercise among the surroundings of rural scenery. In the n«-*ar neighborhood of many of the large towns in the British Isles, there are extensive commons and handsome parks and pleasure grounds — London, fortunately for its immense multitude of people, being particularly well provided in this respect. That such extensive open country in the neighborhood of towns has a beneficial effect, not only. in the physical organisation, but also in the moral character of the inhabitants ofthe towns, is highly probable. Then again to every corporation of a town likely to be of importance, a large and ampie estate ofthe public land might be granted ; an estate which in due course the corporations could let on building leases, obtaining a large or substantial revenue from the same, or could otherwise devote for the benefit of the town. It will be a-%fcamefi.il and melancholy catastrophe if the present public of New Zealand allows the K^lk.of the waste land to slip out of its' 'possession in a heedless and inconsiderate manner, without any regard to the wants and happiness of the future iuhabitants of the country. No sane person will question the immense utility of railways, but if the making of our railways has involved the . sacrifice of the public estate, we shall have paid for our railways an enormous and ruinous price. CYRUS HALEY. I observe the ' Daily Times ' has made a suggestion that " some public acknowledgment of Warder Miller's . courage and decision in shooting Haley would not be amiss." Now, I think

ithis'isigoing father, ; -toos far^V;*! Jferhans •tH^ f J^mes ! ;* Vtbis: BUgge^t(cin ony;acq%^§f |M F a *T" der-^ks * perhaps Hiisi. the /jcaseV-enaWrig*-" been blamed in some quarters.] "Of 'bourse it istabSUrd to find fault with the It : is' ;the- public which; has allowed iheig^Lcd' if^giil^tionß to ,b# -P-iade, and* if Warder Miller acted in obedience to such) regul^tion;i-*j'^ the bublic to.find fault with* him.';; > I sh;ouid have thought; however; /thai tbja^idei* attached; to\*the-.,yerdic^'6f ;'i^e j-uil^ at the itt-quest, exonerating * the wardfeiel from blame, and even ,compUhientin*g : him on his promptness, wasfmply sufficient. By the extraordinary ebulition of joy sho^n in some quarters^ that the wretched man. has been shot down like a djg, one might suppose f he was one of the bloodiest ruffians that eter roauied the earth. . .Jf he had jfeeh like a Maungatipu who hutchered ;de- r fenceless travellers in ,*66ld bloodt there would have been more reason for ssftis , factioh that ' his' career had* been jcut short in the way iv .has been* That Gyrus Hialey.was bad enough appears -evident froni all accounts,,, "He" seems to have been a malicious and dangerous desperado, capable- of taking' revenge in a very violent, and dertern?ined ;man-; ;ner. His having* lately- exhibited; ah extraordinary proclivity for committing: thecrime df arson, Rendered it very de^ sirame Ihe should, b.e sharply looked aftejc,, and -it is quite possible that: if he* had 'efFepted' his escape he might ' have 'done serious mischief.; As tQ* vis haying had an intention to murder his^ wife and commit suicide^' I suppose, there, is nothing certain. ; We are not going to cry our eyes out because 1 Cyrus Haley has been shot, 'through • his : . own ra^h- : nessj but I doubt whether it is worthy while to present Warder Miller with '&' public testioripnial; and though' I should hot be prepared to blame him for accepting a subscriptiph-j I, should like ; to isee himidiscline it. There would be the,, taint of blood 'about the money. ■• - i