The Daily Telegraph. SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1884.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 4042, 5 July 1884, Page 2

The Daily Telegraph. SATURDAY, JULY 5, 1884.

The question is very often asked, when the qualifications of a candidate are being discussed, "Whathas he done for Havrlce's Bay?" Now, as this question has been asked concerning Mr Ormond, it may be as well to inform those who are not so intimately acquainted with that gentleman's past career as are the older settlers. Mr Ormond, then, may justly lay claim to the title of the founder of the Seventy-mile Bush settlements, and which without his fostering caro in their early establishment would be in a very different condition to what they are as we see them at the present day. The system of purchasing land on deferred payments was the act of the party to which he belonged, and whatever may have been the faults of the "Continuous " Ministry no one can'charge its members with being indifferent to the settlement of the people on theland. So anxious, indeed, was Mr Ormond for the welfare of the Bush settlers that he strongly desired to make Sir George Grey's Land Act of 1577 retrospective. Writing at the time (August, 1878) we said in these columns : — "Mr Ormond, the other day in the House, elicited from the Government the information that it was not their, intention to make the 59th clause of the Land Aot of last year retrospective. This will be a serious blow to the settlors in Hawke's Bay who took up land on the deferred payment system prior to the Act coming into operation. The 59th clause provides that onethird of the price paid for land bought; under this system shall be expended in the construction of roads through the blocks so taken up. The provision is most just, and of the highest importance in the encouragement of settlement, but why it should not be made retrospective in the case of lands on which the full, amount of' purchase money has not yet been paid passes .understanding. For a Government professing to be influenced by a consideration for the working classes to refuse the moderate request made by Mr Ormond was the reverse of what might have been expected; Mr Ormond said that the settlements, on behalf of which he more particularly ,made his application, were : all in bush districts, and the settlers labored under great difficulties through want of means to make roads to their holdings. They simply wished that similar advantages should be extended to them as were given to others, as, uuloss that was done, their position would be one of extrome difficulty. He wished to know whether the Government would take steps to amend the Land Act of last.yoar, so as to enable those associations to share in the advantages of haying a portion of the purchase money expended in the making of roads. Mr Stout said the line mast. be drawn-somewhere.;" If the Government excepted the class of settlers alluded to there would no doubt be other classes-of settlers who would also wish/to go back. The law was not retrospective, and the Government did not mean to make it retrospective. So much for a "liberal" Ministry. Then, again, with regard to special settlements, Mr Ormond asked the Minister :for Lands, if the Government will propose such an amendment of the Laud Act, 1877,' as will enable associations to take up blocks of land on the deferred-payment system,; in the manner ! formerly provided by the Wellington and Hawko's •' Bay Special Settlements Acts. There were a number of persons who desired to occupy land under the deferred-payment system, i The taking up of land by : associations''was said to be a great advantage to the settlers themselves, and land was often taken up by individuals. There were a nunibdr of districts dv the North Island 1 suitable for special settlement. He could, from his own experience, assure the honorable gentleman that if laud could be taken up under the deferred-payment system- a great boon would be ■■conferred upon a large class of people.—Mr Stout believed there wore districts which could be better settled by associations :than ;by individuals. If applications were made to the Government by any association they would consider how best to carry out such a scheme. So far as he knew, no applications of such a character had yetbeen made to the Government.—Mr Ormond aaid applications had been made to the • Waste Lands' Board.—Mr Stout said they had not been referred to the Government.—Mr Ormond. —Because the law did not allow it.—Mr Stout said if the matter was brought before the Government they would consider what was best to bo done in such' circumstances. '' In this way the Grey Government shuffled out of doing what its Premier had been for months advocating, and instead ofgiving the poor man an easy chance' of acquiring "a smiling homestead " left him to shift for himself. ■