The Feilding Settlement

Feilding Star, Volume XIII, Issue 35, 19 September 1891, Page 3

The Feilding Settlement

The f ollowina letter from the Secretary ottke Colonists* Land and Loan Company was published m th« N.Z. Times jyesterday :— : / To the editor, .Sir,— l. have read with the references made in your of the 22nd and 23r3 May last to the success which has attended the efforts of this Corporation, of which I have the •honour to be the Secretary, to encourage -the settlement of a good class of immi* grant on the Manchester Block in the Colony of New Zealand, this is further -attested by the satisfactory position '"Hrhieh the Feilding returns . hold in the decent census statistics. It is extremely • gratifying to the directors and all connected with the Corporation, not from a selfish point of view, as the dividends paid on the capital invested have aver* •*eed less than fire per cent per annum, : Irat by feeling assured that they have T)eea working on proper lines forth© good ; of the settlers sent out, <md for the projpress and prosperity of the Cdlony. incurring loss to themselves and • other shareholders. This is the policy . we started with and have continued unier ; i;he able advice and co-operation of our local directors at Wellington and the -manager at Feilding, with the success .you- are good enough, to refer to. The success we have obtained has not been accomplished without the expenditure of a large sum of money, and of time aad thought. . There seems to be an impres •*iou in the Colony that the Government the land to the Corporation, nhis, unfortunately for the shares holders, was, not the case. You will see from the report of our annual meeting recently held here that we have paid to the Colonial Government, in hard -cash., over £100,000 for the land and tnxes, and have also expended more than jthat amount upon development and other charges in the Colony. We are willing «.nd anxious to repeat our operations, either in New Zealand or another colony. "We would prefer to do so m New Zea land, but nave little or no hope that your Government will afford us facilities simiJar to those which gave as encouragement "wnen we commenced at Feilding. We gather from recent legislation, accomplished and proposed, rather the contrary •would be the case. Many people here liold the opinion that if the recently proposed legislation as to taxation Womes effective, it can have no other re.su 't than the withdrawal of capital and capitalists from the Colony, and the withholding of fresh investments. I* should not be forgotten that ifl the early days it was the capitalist and large landowners who provided work and high wages for th" labouring population who went to the | <7olony, and have thereby become proa* ] perous citizens. Whe tner this proposed | legislation is wise policy or good statesmanship is a matter for the colonists to decide If the Government of New Zealand cannot help us, or does not wish us to assist in the sett ement of the land, we must find an opening elsewhere. I 'would add that the amount paid by us in in the Colon 1 annua'ly ferrates and taxes is equal to a dividend of ll»10th per cent upon our paid-up share capital. With reeard to increasing the taxation •upon large landowners. 1 can see nn atom of justice in cases where a man holds a large area and leaves it idte, and thereby adds no benefit to the Colony at large, but at to others, and especially so with, regard to this Corporation, which at great expense dcv loped and cut up into small farms over 100,000 acres of dense forest, on which it has planted a large and industrious population, the taxation we have to pay seems to me to partake ' more of the nature of a heary annual fine for doing good to the Colony, than a tax instified by con'itiens of sound economy.— l am, &c. C. Dugald Buckler. London, sth August, 1891.

For continuation of Beading Matter set fourth page.)