The Dunstan Times. FRIDAY, MARCH 19th 1869.

Dunstan Times, Issue 360, 19 March 1869, Page 2

The Dunstan Times.

FRIDAY, MARCH 19th 1869.

Beneath the Rule of Men entirely just the pen is mightier than theswoßi).

The labors of the Commission appointed to inquire into the administration of the Waste Lands of Otago, must, so far as the G-oldliekls are con - cerned f y this time have been concluded. The evidence taken by the Commission has we are informed been vo-

luminous, but with the exact nature of the recommeudat'ons of witnesses examined we are in ignorance, the Press upon all occasions having been excluded. With this however we are not inclined to cavil, the labors of any [ Commission of Inquiry being best performed in secret; with the details we have nothing to do, it is the result in which we are interested, and we may almost congratulate ourselves that the doings of the Commission have thus escaped the risk of exposure to public opinion, nor have witnesses in any instance been influenced thereby. In one or two instances the Commission have been censured by the up-country Press for not making more public the time and date of their arrival at the various places where they desired to take evidence, but in this matter they doubtless were guided by the exigencies of the occasion and adopted that course which seemed to them the best, while if they escaped anything it was that of being unnecessarily bored. The various witnesses examined were competent in every respect to bear impartial and reliable testimony, they were all personally interested, and Messrs Domett and Strode may rest satisfied with having received evidence pure, ct simple, and without in the least swayed by that batch of busybodies, who make a trade of other peoples’ grievances. The evidence thus taken will be the more valuable to the Commission, when summing up for their final recommendation to the Government. So far as we can learn from witnesses examined, the grounds of complaint consisted chiefly of the inability to obtain land for cultivation and for commonage purposes, but, as this is a matter chiefly of a monetary character, and depends upon the ability of the Provisional Government to compensate the squatters for lands required, any recommendation of the Commission to extend the area of land for occupation, cannot be of much avail unless accompanied with some scheme that will supply the one thing needful.” The utmost it could therefore do, will be (o stir up the Provincial authorities to increased exertions in procuring the necessary land required for settlement upon the gold-

fields. In the case of the Dunstan the cry for land, both for agriculture and depasturing has had 1 something to recommend it, virtually, little or no land has been set aside for either of these purposes, therefore our modest demands have not been made without some show of reason, and where practicable should be complied with. Other districts have been more fortunate in their acquisition of land, Tuapeka for instance possesses an ex tensive area, while at the Lakes there is absolutely a phlethora. One im. portant point must however be borne in mind, and that is, that withal the desire to obtain land, we must not neglect the development of our mineral resources, as before we become producers of cereals upon a large scale, it is highly necessary that we should do something to secure consumers. The fact, that being so far removed from the seaboard, we are not likely to become exporters must not be allowed to escape us, while at the same time there exists another drawback, in that we cannot afford to work so cheaply as residents upon the coast, under which circumstances our productions must not exceed the limits of local consumption. This ultimatum has not been reached in this district but as soon as such is the case cultiva tion must cease, or bo carried on at a loss. We eschew clap trap, nor do we believe in that blissful hallucination, conjured up by the fertile brain of the miner, after the labors of the day are over “ sitting beneath his own vine and fig tree ” drinking port and sherry the produce of his own vineyard, or smoking the tobacco of his own growing, while he leisurely listens to the lowing of his cattle grazing upon the surrounding hills The cultivation of the soil, breeding of cattle, or mining for gold, are each separate and distinct employments and to be made remunerative must be pursued as sucli, we are not living in a visionary age; but, one of stern realities, and it will be found that in whatever busi- i ness we may engage, a certain techni- j

I cal knowledge, coupled with a concentration of ideas, combined with close application is indisponsibly necessary to success. At the next meeting of Parliament, the recommendations of the Commission, coupled with what knowledge that may be gathered from the “ prize essays ” upon the settlement of the population upon the goldfields, will doubtless considerably influence the General Government in adopting or bringing forward such measures for reform in the administration of the Y\ aste lands of Otago as may seem to them desirable. The extension of agricultural areas from fifty to two hundred acres, and the substitution of the half crown per annum rent, as part of the purchase money of the fee simple, will pro\ e a highly popular measure ; this we believe has been almost universally recommended for adoption by witnesses, and considering how necessary it is, that every possible inducement should be held out to people to come and settle amongst us; such a concession might ungrudgingly be made.