SALE OF A SECTION.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1681, 22 February 1913, Page 5

SALE OF A SECTION.

OPPOSITION CHARGES REBUTTED. *

AN OFFICIAL REPORT.

Somo days ago a local Opposition newspaper slated in a. lending article that a . section of Crown land near Dannevirke, 0 containing 101 acres, had been sold at a . price equal to' one-half of its market value. Tlio newspaper in question slated 1 that the land was worth JJIO an acre. The land referred to was Section. 11, Block l. XVI, Tnhoi'rtite. > . l The following report upon* the transaction lias been furnished t6 the Hon. \V. 1\ 'Mnssey (Prime Minister and Minister for Lands) by Mr. K. T. Sadd /Commissioner of Crown Lands, Napier):— "In n further reply 1o your telegram of the 18th instant. I iiavo the honour (o furnish tlio following details for your ■ information:— J "There were 307 applications for the ' section of which 272 were for 0.R.P., two 1 for renewablo, leilse, and thirty-three for i cash purchase! Out of thfl above the following were accepted for the ballot:— 178 O.R.P: 2 Renewable leaso, and 13 Cash purchase, and those• rejected were:— 90 0.1t.1'. 20 Cash purchase. : " "No rejections were made because tlio i applicants had not sufficient menus; thcro i \Vefo only thirty-three applicants for the I cash purchase, arid twenty of these were i clearly ineligible chiefly on account of not ■ being bana-ftdo settlers. The others wero : rejected because vliey wero not .landless, or .not likely td be suitable settlers from their former occupations, such as, waitress tit a hotel; domestic servant, shop assistant. ..bank cleric, and so on. ".The land was valued by Mr. H. Mar-. ■ tin Smith, Crown . Lands Banger, who is itiii expert competent valuer of lone experience, and I enclose a copy of Ills rep°rt. ' As tho bulk of tho accepted applicants were for the O.R.P. tenure, it is difficult to understand how they were prepared to pay cash when they had that option in makihg : their applications.' As nreferen<» to landless applicants is one of' tho conditions clearly set out on sale poster) it is needless to; state that this condition received carefnl consideration. "The reason thei'e were so many applicants was probably duo to the fact of this section being of fair quality, and that thero arc a great many people' seeking for land. . . 1 "The reason given for the rejection of Hppjicants is. noted in tho 'Pcinnrks Col liimi of each application, and represents the .decision of the land Hoard/ "I nm satisfied that the arduous labour of the members of the (ward in going through these. ©linlifcfitions resulted in only genuine landless applicants seeking a nonie being admitted to the ballot, and that the successful applicants, (tenants in common), with only ono chance in the ballot, are good bonn-fide rettlers of'the class it is'the aim of every Land Board i to settle on. the land. . : report quoted from the 'New Zealand Times' is quite contrary to the fricts, and is ovidently taken from, a report qtiotcd in, the 'Daily Telegraph,' copied from, the Dannevirko 'Niivs,' which -I have good reason to believe is (he e6m- , plaint of a disappointed cash' applicant of a speculative nature,'and 'who was | qihto ineligible." • As 'to, tiie'valoc 'of the section, the Ummissioner appends to his statement I the . following report, furnished by the C 7 Lands Hanger dh December 31, . "As instructed in. your memorandum above quoted, I have inspected tho section In question. Many years ago tho totarn timber was sold'.to .Carlson, (a Dannenrke sawnlilltr), and now, with tho. ex-; caption of.a few white pine trees', all tho marketable timtar, has been, removed* the Kction fired, anil surface sown, in English wasses. . fho section, is ;p«.cticallv .rin? fW> but . tlio material is old and'of little value, and I do not propose to specify the Samcybut to include it in thb value of thi section. . There .are -, some good grassed flats' on Die section, but hillv near the cast boundary, well watered, but' intersected by roads, to such an extent as >n?*B. the necessary fencing an expensive item.; Section has littlo patches rf scrubby bush on it, through which'grass ' has been sown'. . "Capital value of land put down. fit XI33G "Improvements, grassing, etc. 150 j "Unimproved balance ; •• jjjj 1 . ■ Iho section should Ixs suitable for ] dairying, and-could be' offered 011 the on- 1 tional system lit: its capital value ' ' ' (Signed) H. MARTIN SMITH, ' ] "1. >. •"c'.L.K" ' •The'section having an area' of 104 acres, ] the capital valuo'.was as niarly as possible : Ao. per acre. ■ . 1