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Lyttelton Times, Volume II, Issue 100, 4 December 1852, Page 7

Mr. Godley has forwarded to us for publication the following letter:—

Christchurch, 26th Nov., 1852. i My 3>ea.b Sir.—lt having been suggested |to me that the result of a visit to several parts |of New Zealand made with a view of ascertaining the most eligible settlement for an intending Isheep farmer, might be useful to persons arriivingin the colony with views similar to my J own, I cheerfully place at your disposal the information I have gleaned, and you are at liberty ' to use it as you may think fit.

After remaining in Canterbury for several weeks, so much of tbe district appeared to me to be already taken up, the unoccupied portion, viz., that beyond the Rakaia to be so difficult of access, and the objections to the plains from want of shelter, natural boundaries, &c„ so serious, that I departed under a strong impression I should meet with a better field elsewhere. It was my intention to have visited Nelson, Otago, Wellington, and its dependencies, together with any other sheep country I might hear of. With regard to the first, however, I received such undoubted testimony to the effect of every inch of land adapted to my purpose being already occupied, and of part being in fact at this moment the subject of dispute among the Nelson settlers, that it appeared waste of time to go there. Concerning Otago I was fortunate enough to obtain full information from persons who have resided there for some time, and especially from a very intelligent and experienced Wairarapa sheeepfarmer, who had recently examined the whole country between the Waitangi and the Bluff, in search of a run, to which he could remove his superabundant stock. It appears from their statements that between Waitangi and Otago the only localities where sheepstations could be formed with advantage are already occupied, but that in the Molyneux some beautiful pastoral country still remains vacant; the conveyance of wool and supplies to and from this spot would, however, be so costly, it is so far removed from any society or settlement, and the climate appeared to the gentleman above mentioned so wet and cold, as more than to counterbalance its many natural advantages.

My attention was therefore principally directed to the pastoral country dependent on Wellington, and at the outset I found the greatest difficulty in ascertaining what portion of these districts are still open to new coiners. The omission on the part of the Government to require from persons applying for depasturing licenses any guarantee that they will really take up the country they ask for, has led to applications exorbitant both as to number and extent; and although time will shew that many of the persons to whom runs have been granted have neither the means nor the intention of stocking them, the district so applied |for is for all present purposes closed to an individual in my position. On enquiring moreover, in the Land Office for a map, such as I had been shewn in Canterbury, indicating the runs already taken, I found that none such existed ; indeed, I had great difficulty in procuring even a list of the applications themselves, and when I did, it threw so little light on the subject, that it was only by an actual visit to the country in question, and by the assistance of one or two old settlers, of whose kindness and hospitality I cannot speak too highly, that I arrived at any idea of whatcountry was still open tome ;inshort,it took

m.c nearly two months to obtain the same information, which, at the Land Office in Christchurch, I procured in twenty minutes. Perhaps in justice to the parties connected with the management of these affairs, I ought to mention that this state of things is attributed by them to circumstances beyond their control. I saw the greater part of the Wanganui block, which is.an excellent agricultural district, but so much covered with fern as to afford no opening for a good sheep run of any extent. The Rangitiki is at present so wet and rough, as to be better adapted for cattle than sheep, and is, with the exception of one remote corner, entirely appropriated. The very favorable accounts generally given of the Ahuriri are correct with regard to a part of the district only, two out of the three purchased blocks, and a part of the third being covered almost exclu- * sively with fern, and timber being in many places exceedingly scarce. The belief seems so prevalent, that fern once or twice burnt, is invariably succeeded by good grass, that I was at great pains" to collect the opinions of persons who have actually tried the experiment; they generally agree, that where fern and grass ( exist in alternate patches, or where any considerable quantity of grass is found among the fern, the latter may soon be subdued by judicious burning and feeding, but that where it grows so luxuriantly and holds such exclusive possession of the ground, as is the case in some parts of the Northern Island, it is doubtful whether its eradication would not involve a greater outlay \ of time and money than the uncertain tenure accorded to the sheep farmer would justify. I believe I understate the difficulty when t say that by the time a settler in a fern district has got his run into a proper condition for carrying sheep, his brother sheep-farmer in Canterbury _ will have doubled or tripled his capital. The""* greater part of the Ahuriri appears to me, therefore, decidedly ineligible, hut the remainder, and especially the country near Waipukerau, cannot be too highly praised ; it is exceedingly beautiful, consisting of a succession of hills and small plains, the former partly, and the latter entirely, covered with fine grass, - admirably adapted for sheep, and possessing abundance of shelter, wood, and water. This district, however, is, as might be expected, entirely taken up, and the greater part of it already stocked. A considerable tract of land on the East coast,between Porangakau and Wellington, has recently been acquired from the Natives, but the whole of it has been applied for nearly twice over ; further purchases, it is said, are in contemplation, but as in everything dependent on Maori habits of business, it is quite uncertain whether such purchases will be completed in six months, or in six years. The Natives in the Ahuriri are just in sufficient number to be of use to European settlers without proving a source of uneasiness, and the climate of that part of New Zealand is exceedingly beautiful, strong and boisterous weather being of rare occurrence even in the winter. Its communication with Wellington is, however, most tedious and uncertain, the harbour being inaccessible to any but small vessels, the passage by which is often inconvenient and unsafe, and the journey by land occupying froms to 9 days over a road in many places difficult and dangerousfor horses, and utterly impracticable for a dray; even when a road shall have been cut through the 40 miles of bush, at the head of Wairarapa, the Ahuriri settlers will still be 150 miles from __ Wellington. Compared with this, the country " . beyond the Rakaia, provided the Association either establish or contribute towards the establishment of a ferry, is almost at our door. - From what I have seen of the anxiety and loss occasioned to sheep-farmers in the North by the < abundance of Maori dogs, which will, doubtless, continue as long as the Natives themselves \ exist, I think this alone is an evil more than counterbalancing the absence in Canterbury of natural shelter and natural boundaries.

After maturely considering the nature and extent of country still unoccupied, the advantage of proximity to a port of shipment, of obtaining ready and undisputed possession of a run, and of the existence of society and institutions congenial to English habits and English feelings, I think there can be no doubt that Canterbury is at present the most eligible settlement for a sheep farmer. Believe me, my dear Sir, Very faithfully yours, John Hall. John Robert Godley, Esq.