THE COMMONAGE QUESTION.

Cromwell Argus, Volume I, Issue 32, 22 June 1870, Page 5

THE COMMONAGE QUESTION.

ys ' ' —o—*J PUBLIC MEETING. /•« In response to an advertisement, published,in a j, last week's Aucius, a large meeting assembled at t v the Junction Commercial Hotel on Saturday night, to consider the subject of a public com,Di monnge for the town of Cromwell. The meeting was to have been held in the Town-hall at seven a o'clock, but for some unexplained reason the use i of that building could not bo obtained. A delay j*l of two hours occurred after the time fixed, and m at about nine o'clock it was announced, that the 8; meeting would be held at Mr Harding's hotel, it Whether an application was made an the proper ;o quarter for the use of the Town-hall, we are not ho' aware; but had the object of the meeting been It a less important one, the delay which resulted a ) from changing the place of meeting might have d had the effect of preventing many from atteudi ing. The room in which the, meeting took place • crowded, .and many were compiled to remain outside the door of the apartment. . ..;. ; ,' e, r.., hj Mr J. S. Burres was voted to the'chair. He & »xplain«d the causes which had led to caßing" 6 the meeting—viz., the fencing-in of • flat, and the consequent curtailment of the V are*' available for commonage purposes. He I trusted that the subject would receive the ear-, . neat consideration of the meeting. r Mr John Marsh proposed the following resoi lutW which was seconded by Mr John Hayes : ! "That this meeting'views with alarm* the gradual curtailment of what has hitherto been 1 looked upon as the Cromwell Commonage, and i I that the time has now arrived when some decided step should be taken to secure to Crcm- ' well the just privilege of a real commonage; and that the Cromwell Corporation be asked to assist imobtaining the same." On being put to the meeting, the motion was unanimously carried. The next resolution, proposed by Mr John Barb and seconded by Mr Samuel Box, was as follows Sc— , ; > '' That the attention of the Government should be caL'od to the fact that the land hitherto used as a commonage by the inhabitants of Cromwell, and known as the Lower Flat, is being fenced in, thereby locking up the river frontage, preventing persons from landmg timber if they wish access to the road, and also keeping from the said inhabitants the only valuable piece of' grazing land in the district." This wai also unanimously agreed to. Mr Smitham said the time had arrived when the people of this district must look after their own interests batter than -they had hitherto done. They had not had a single acre get aside for their use by the Government. On two separate occasions the Government had been memorialised, through the Progress Committee, to throw epen a block of land for commonage ; and for years the Government had promised to carry out the wish of the inhabitants. But so far from that promise being carried out, the people Were now worse off than ever as regarded comiinonage. The landueed for gruziug purposes fbalongedto a squatter, who charged £1 a-year 1 for every heaa of cattle depastured. 1 Now, if jUtie runholder had taken money—as he knew to 1 be the fact—for depasturing cattle, why did he B to Mr Goodger the right to feice a portion 1 of the ground ? Mr Goodgev had stated that he I obtained the permission of the runholder ; but <what right had Mr Loughuau to grant such a I privilege to any one? He (Mr Sihitham) reti'grstted that Mr Goodger was not present to tell ■the meeting why he had fenced in the flat, and f oh what grounds. This was an important disItrict, but it had been very badly treated by the Government, and it was high time the people took action to protect their rights. No other district in New Zealand Wa3 treated with so !i little consideration as the district of CromweU. I We helped to enrich other district's,-and-we 'j were surely entitled to some consideration in I return, A petition asking for 10,000 acres to bo j thrown open on the Hawea Flat had been sent I down for presentation to the Provincial Council. I and he had since learned that it was received by I the Council. Land for settlement was greatly f deeded, and ho sincvely hoped that the block :] asked for by the petitioners would spsedily be | made available for selection by intending set--1 tiers. He was strongly of opinion that the sysI tern of agricultural leases and deferred payments 1 was the best adapted to the circumstances of the I Province. If land could be obtained on easy 1 terms, he thought there would be fewer men I going about the country in search of work than I was thfc case at present. Ho.begged to move—j "That the Government be memorialised to I the effect that a certain portion of country be I declared a commonago for the übo of the Crom- | well District; and that the boundaries of the J area required should bo from the head of Five--1 mile Creek, Clntha River, to Scrubby Gully on i the Kawarau River." 7 The motion was seconded by Mr Whktter, ' and was adopted without a dissentient voice. ' A discussion took place regarding the proposed boundaries of the commonago, but it appeared to be the general opinion that the limits stated in the third resolution wore sufficiently defined to besAnderstood by the members of the MunioipaMj>uncil,.to whom the further carrying out of the *Wflhes of the meeting would be entrusted. MrMARSH said he would prefer to make the Glutha River the boundary on one side, and the Kawarau on the other. Now was the time to i strike a blow, for making the whele district a j f commonage. Wakatip and Tuapeka had exten- | eive areas set apart as commonages: why -should not the people of Cromwell possess the same privilege !—Ho would 00-nclude by moving—- | "Thai; the resolutions passed by this meeting I be;left in thn. hands of the Chairman, with the 1 request that he will bring the same before the I Town Council at its nest mooting." I Seconded by Mr John Hayes, and agreed to, /1 • '■ The CHAJRMAN said th at tho matter ,had been ftinjfesfijsf] ai the'laafc meeting of the Council, [ and Mr Loughnan had been written to on the I subject. The Council was, in fact, waiting for further information. Ho (the Chairman) did net know whether a runholder had the right to let portions of his run; but if so, tho system " might be carried out to an indefinite extent./ . However, |h» beat plan to adopt in. the present

instance would be to memorialise the Government for a commonage, and thus avoid inter* foring with the runholder. When Mr Gillies iwaa in the district, he spoke to Mr Loughnan about commonage, arid that gentleman expressed his willingness" to set apart 5000 aces of his run for the purpose; but his stipulation was that the Government should erect a dividing fence between the run'and the proposed commonago, the fence afterwards to become his property. Thi3 would have involved an expenditure by the Government of something like £IOOO, and the offer was not entortained. Mr Gillies had'then promised to use his influence in getting a block of 2500acrss opened up near the Luggate; but that proposal had never been carried out. It was essential that we should at once agitate for a commonage : agricultural land was an after consideration. As far as he (the Chairman) was concerned, he would do his utmost towards obtaining what was required. Mr Dago also' expressed his intention to do all in his power,'both in and out of the Council, to carry out tho resolutions passed. The fourth motion was'then put and carried. Mr B a doer here entered the room, and at the request of the meeting stated his views on the subject. He believed the reason why no land had been thrown open was in consequeuce of some difference of opinion between Mr Gillies and the other members of the then Executive ; for Mr Gillies had distinctly stated his desire to have a block of land opened for settlement. With regard to the commonage which had been asked for, the stipulation required by the runholder was that the Government should put up a substantial fence between the commonage and the other portion of tho run. On no other con. dition would Mr Loughnan consent to a commonage being taken from the run. Mr Gillies had said that the land in the neighbourhood of Cromwell was neither fit for agriculture nor for grazing purposes, and had proposed to recommend a block higher up the river. As to the right of persons to take up land within the boundaries of a run, he (Mr Badger) was strongly of opinion that those who did so only held the land on sufferance—they, had no ..legal right to occupy it. The fault lay, not with the individuals, but with the framers of the land laws. We wanted men who would represent our interests in the Provincial Council; for until the land laws were amended so as to suit our wants, we should always remain in our present position. He hoped, in conclusion, that a united effort would be made to gat a commonage for the district. The .meeting was concluded with a vote of thanks to the Chairman. '''