ANNEXATION TO NELSON.

Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 713, 13 August 1870, Page 2

ANNEXATION TO NELSON.

REPORT OF THE NELSON COMMISSIONER,

The following is a copy of the report of W. C. Hodgson, Esq., the Commissioner appointed by the Nelson Government to report upon the proposal to annex the Grey Valley and Tefemakau districts to the Province of Nelson :— " Greymouth, July 23, 1870. His Honor the Superintendent of the XI : . Sic, — I have the honor to inform you that in compliance with the instructions contained in your letter of June 29th, I have made full enquiry into the circumstances of that portion of the County of Wesidand lying to the North of the Teremakau, so far .as they appear to bear upon the question of its annexation to the Province of Nelson. '•'.-. In the course of my enquiries I have collected a mass of statistics from the different departments, both of the General Government and the County at Hokitika^ the Greenstone, and Greymouth. This information 1 have endeavored to condense into as small a compass as possible, appending such documents only as are absolutely necessary for reference, and for the complete understanding of the case. Whenever it was possible I have taken my data from official sources, but several of the points to which my attention was directed being matters rather of opinion than of certainty, I have sought to obtain the views, not only of the members of the Aurexation Committee, but of the managers of the local banks, and of others who would ' be likely from their position to give an unbiassed opinion. Much valuable information has been elicited in this way. I have also traversed the country in various directions, sa that I am able to speak with some degree of confidence -"as to the general features of the country, the quality of the soil, the state of the roads r and the present aspect of the mining industry. The information that I have collected from these various sources will fall naturally under several distinct heads, which I shall take separately before proceeding to summarise the results. Revenue from all Sources for the year ending June 30, 1870. The returns under ihis head having been compiled entirely from official sources, it will only be necessary here to enumerate the various items from which the revenue is made up, giving the amount yielded by ;each. A mpre detailed statement will be found in the appendix marked A. The revenue may be conveniently divided into eight heads : — i ~ * ,^ £ s. p. 1. Customs, including gold duty, £6043 7s Id ; Customs and Import duty, ■'" ' ' o ' *9qori4s9d 15,045 110 2. Post Office .. ... 1323 17-3 / £? leg , ra 3 h „ 967 3 6 4. Warden's Courts, including Miners' rights ... 7144 16 8 5. .Resident Magistrates' Courts „, ... ... 1795 18 6. District Court Receipts „',' 99 6 0 7. Land Sales 46 0 0 8. Stamp Duties .;.. ... 682 18 9 Total ... ... ... £27,105 1 6 Probability of increase of Revenue and Permanence of Gold Fields. A comparison between the amounts received from the districts north of the Teremakau in tho financial years 1868-9 and 1869 70 respectively, from the principal sources of revenue^r-gold duty import j duty and the Magistrates'' and Wardens' Court fees (the latter item including miners' rights and business and publicans' licenses) will afford the most decisive test of the increasing prosperity

of the district. The returns from gold duty have increased during, the present year from L 4687 183 2d to L 6043 7s Id; the import revenue from L 8233 4s lOd to L9001 14s 9d; and the receipts from Wardens' and Magistrates' Courts from L5384 13s 9d to L6940 14s 2d, showing a total increase of L 5679 19s 3d. With regard to the probable permanence of the Gold Fields in this district, a far more intimate acquaintance with their past history and present condition than "I can pretend to would be required to . give my opinion on this point much weight. The general opinion of people of all classes whom I have consulted is that, even independently of new discoveries which the gradual opening up of the country may reasonably be expected to lead to, the present ground is sufficiently rich and extensive to support a considerable population for some years. My own observations also led me to believe that the extensive water-work* at the Greenstone would ensure a large yield of gold from that quarter for some time ; large sums are also being expended in races aad machinery intended to develope the easily accessible ground on the South Beach, near Greymoutb. Expenditure for the past twelve months, from July 1, 1869, to June 30, 187P, and Est imate of possible reductions. It may reasonably be asked why the the schedule marked D, and appended to this report, should be headed "Approximate Estimate," when absolute accuracy was so desirable 1 I must explain, in my self-defence, that the County Treasurer undertook to furnish me with a detailed statement of the sums expended by the County, north of the Teremakau, during the past year. After considerable delay, being again applied to, he informed me that he was unable to furnish me with the required details. .As no annual balance-sheet, apparently, is published by the County, I had no alternative but to extract the information piece-meal from various sources — a tedious and not altogether satisfactory process, lam confident, however, that the statement I have drawn up is a very close approach to the" truth, and that no serious mistake' hits crept into my calculations. If anything, the margin that I have allowed is tob liberal, as I am anxious not to underestimate the liabilities of the North District, ;'"■■ ' ... ..,,, The actual expenditure for the past year I put down at L 22,872 17s 2d, and the unavoidable expenditure. for /the future at L 13 ,129 5s 9d. But no allowance is made in this reduced estimate, for roads and public works, nor for share of interest in the County debt, L 4486. The additionrof this item would make the total expenditure L 17,615 5s 9d, leaving, as shown by the statement of revenue marked A, a balance of L 9489 15s 9d for public works, share of Provincial expenses, and other charges. System of Apportioning the Gold Duty between Nelson and Westland. ■> ; ; ■> An impression having been for some time prevalent in Nelson that the Province is a loser by the plan adopted for apportioning the gold duty, I waited upon the managers of the several banks in Greymouth, who courteously explained^ what precautions were taken for entering the gold as brought in by each seller, under distinct headings for the County and £he Province, and further permitted me to inspect the books, which, in three of the banks, were furnished with separate -onlunins- lea gold brought from the two places, the same object being attained in the Bank of New Zealand by prefixing the initials N. or W. to each entry. • I also received an official letter from the Collector of Customs at Greymonth, testifying I to the care and accuracy with Which the bank returns are compiled. In order to set this question finally at rest, if possible, I obtained a return of the: gold revenue received and of the number of miners' rights issued in the Nelson portion of the Grey Valley, and in Greyhiouth respectively, for two years, the result being as follows: — * ;■-:'■. f. '...■■ / Gold Duty. Min.-JfcHs*;' 1868-69-rKelson £6958 3 8 .....; JS3S Greymouth 4369 18 6 1416 1869-70-JJelson 7374 13 9 2266 Greymouth 7144 15 8 ...... Vttl In the first return the proportion between the number of miners' rights issued and the gold duty collected is kept very. closely, but in 1869-70, 1711 miners Westland apparently produced as much gold as 2266 nien on the Nelson sideF I confess that I am unable to account for this discrepancy, which may, howevei, e be only accidental, and confined to one year. r Extent of territory to be annexed : „ jfs character and value. iyi ■■.:'; ] ;.?; ■ ... The total area is about 375 square mile's] or 240,500 acres At least 60,000 acres may be described as absolutely worthies?/ consisting of rugged and. alinost-inaccesf sible niountains. The land fit for agrii culture may be roughly estimated at 30,000 acres. Though much of the soil of the more level portions" of the district is! of excellent quality, it is not only covered with deuse forest throughout, but the surface, whioh is generally wet, is interlaced with such, a Jietwork of roots that to clear and drain it would be exceedingly costly. The time must, therefore, be far distant ,, when these lands can be profitably occupied ' by farmers, notwithstanding the Jii&h prices obtained on the spot for all kincs of produce. Only 430 acres, including town sections, have yet been sold in this part of the County, and the lands leased foragricul tural purposes amount to only 50 acres. The land fit for pasture may be roughly* reckoned at 20,000 acres, half of which is open country of poor quality.- ; ■ '- Twelve hundred and fifty acres are set apart by Government for townships, and the Government reserves, outside of townships, not including coal reserves amount to 5100 acres. Native reserves occupy 6090 acres ?' 3 Comparatively little has yejk been done j towards opening up the country by means ' of roads, the metalled tracks throughout the district amounting to only 11 miles. Amount of debt of the County of Westtcind, ™™ the probable proportion that would be charged to Nelson. The present County debt amonhis>to> L 198.961 13a lOd, as nearly as I can i ascertain, the precise amount being dim"- ' cult to arrive at owing to the way in which the accounts are kept. The annual interest on the loan and sinking futid; (which will, of course, diminish yearly from the operation of the latter) is now L 13.460. What proportion of this debt would T**

charged against the Province of Nelson •cannot be estimated with anything like exactness, as it is impossible to say how far other considerations than that of revenue, such, as population, extent and value of territory, &c, would affect the decision of arbitration, to whom the ques tion Would probably be referred. Taking an official return compiled for the information of the County Council, and purporting to show the proportionate amount of revenue received in the districts north and south of the Teremakau respectively for a period of fifteen months —viz., from January Ist, 1869 to March 31st, 1870— the north district would appear to have contributed at the rate of less than 26 per cent., as against rather more than 74 per cent, collected south of the Teremakau. If revenue alone were to be considered, and these figures are to be taken as correct, L 3500 would represent the share of interest chargeable to the north district. 1 have reason to believe, however, that the proportion of revenue drawn from the north district is now much larger than it was represented to be in the above return, aud I am of opinion that the liability of the northern district under this head may be fairly put down at one-third of the total interest charged against the County, or L 4486 annually. Liability on account of repairs of road between Westland and Ghristchurch. From the nature of the case, nothing more than an approximate estimate of the annual liability of the' County on this account can be given, the estimates of those even, who from their position ought to be best acquainted with the circumstances, having been hitherto singularly falsified by the result. Taking as a basis the three hall-yearly estimates from Julj-, 18BD to December, 1870 inclusive, laid before the County Council, I find the average sum set down for the maintenance of the road during such half-year to be L 2910. This would imply an annual expenditure of L 5820. Proceeding on my former assumption, that the district north of the Teremakau is fairly chargeable with a third of this sum, LI9OD must be sot apart yearly to cover this item. The inhabitants of the northern portion of the County evidently derive but little advantage from this road, in return for the enormous yearly outlay to which they must contribute, and it,, is not unreasonable to suppose that if the matter were submitted to arbitration the remoteness of the district from the line of road would be taken into consideration, and would go far as an argument for mitigating the burden of taxation on this account.

Number of Officials employed by the County of Westland, north of the Teremakau, with their Salaries. ■ It is not contended, even by those who are most favorable to annexation, that any considerable saving in salaries would be effected by the proposed change, but merely that the service, on both sides the Grey, would become more efficient. The Resident Magistrate's Court at Cobden might for instance be dispensed with, as the Court at Greymouth would be sufficient for the requirements of the lower part of the valley of the Grey on both sides of the river, white the present Magistrate and Warden on the Nelson side, much. of whose time is wasted in travelling between Cobden and . the Ahaura, would be able to devote his un.divided.. attention to the upper part of the Valley..'. The services of the police would also be available' over a much larger area, the machinery of the department would be less cumbrous, and some slight economies might be effected by reducing the staff of officers, who are out of all proportion to the number of privates. The total number of officials at present employed by the County in the district north of the Teremakau is 17, but the salaries of seven of these, including the Harbor and Customs departments, are borne equally by Nelson and Westland. The yearly expenditure in salaries alone is L 3884 103. Boad to connect Greymoiiik with the Greenstone. As the Greenstone diggings are now connected with Hokitika by an excellent metalled road, whereas they are at present unapproachable from Greymouth, the whole of the traffic, and much of the revenue is naturally diverted to the former place. It would therefore become a matter of importance in the event of annexation being carried out, to open up communication between the Greenstone and Greymouth either by a ;netalled road or a tramway.

With the view of obtaining some idea as to the probable co3t of this work, and the difficulties to be overcome, I have traversed the country between the Greenstone and Marsden, to which point a tramway from Greymouth has been completed, the distance to the latter place being ten miles ; seven miles remaiu to be completed through a rough wooded couutry. It did not appear to me that there were any formidable obstacles to. carrying through the tramway from Marsden. The cost is estimated, by men who have v had experienced in this kind of work, at from LBOO to L9OO per mile, including bridges over the Blackwater and New' Rivers. ■ . This work would open up a considerable tractof country known to be auriferous. I am given to understand that a subsidy, of L2OOO would be sufficient, to induce capitalists to \mdertake th'e'wbrk at their own cost and risk. ....... Greymouth Protective Works and Borough ■ ■,''■'■" ' .Revenue. I have been at some pains to ascertain what, amount has been expended in pro T tecting the river bank to the present date — what is likely to be the annual cost of maintaining the works — and what revenue is derived from wharf dues, aud from the Borough rate, raised mainly to defray the cost of repairing the rivor works.

The total cost of these works up to June 30, 1870, is L 7.295 14s Id. An unprofessional opinion on a subject of this kind is not worth much, but it appeared to me that the works are very substantially eoju)bracbe3 t bhe pfies being diiven lo a depth of 20ft ; and that from the conformation of the bank ,the upper end of the work is protected by a natural breakwater of rock, which prevents the river from taking the defences in the rear— the chief danger to be apprehended in river works. The annual cost of maintainance is reckoned at LIOOO, which seems a reasonable estimate. The Borough rate of Is in the £ has yielded L 1229 16s yearly, taking the

average of the last three years. The tonnage dues and wharfage rates for the past year amounted to L 1373 43 Bd, and the revenue from other sources, such as licenses, &c, to L 174 5s 61 It will thus be seen that there is a sufficient margin to cover a much larger yearly expenditure on repaii'3 than is likely to be required, and that it is extremely improbable that the maintenance of these works would become a burden on Nelson. I The valuation of the property in the Borough taken on rental is L 28,730. Unless I have altogether failed to make myself understood in the foregoing statements, a brief recapitulation of the principal points to which I have directed my attention in this enquiry, and a summary of the conclusions that 1 have drawn are all that is required. I have endeavored to show — Ist. That the revenue of the district north of the Teremakau is likely to be permanent, and has even increased largely of late. . 2nd. That the necessary expenditure, including the heavy liabilities on account of interest and the maintenance of the road lo Christchurch is still so far within the actual yearly income that a balance of several thousand pounds is available annually for roads, bridges, and other public works, leaving a considerable margin to meet Provincial charge 3 and extraordinary contingences. 3rd. That the amalgamation of the various departments with those of Nelson would add largely to the efficiency of the Government on both sides of the Grey. 4th. That a considerable money saving would be effected thereby. sth. That the district in question would well repay a moderate outlay on roads aud bridges. 6th. That there are but slight grounds for supposing that the Province of Nelson is injured to any appreciable extent by the present system of dividing the gold duty with the County of Westland. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, W. C. Hodgson.