LYTTELTON COLONISTS' SOCIETY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume V, Issue 233, 24 January 1855, Page 5

LYTTELTON COLONISTS' SOCIETY.

Bepoht of Committee on Waste Lakes Uegulations. The Committee affirm the principle enunciated'by Government for the sale of Waste lliiiils, viz., a low purchasing price, and a rate (letenninahle at a fixed period. Proposed alterations to be submitted to the Public Meeting advertised to be held on Tuesday next. Town Lands. —Clause 7. l After the word "Superintendent/ add, " by and with the advice and consent of the Provincial Council." Clause 14. Insert, afier the word " person,'1 "other than the depositor." Bubal Latsd. —Clause 18. After the words "less than 20 acres," to be substituted " may lie' put up to auction at the upset price of 10s. per I acre," in the place of the words now following |iv the Gazette. I -Pasturage.—Clause 30. After the words ["upon the terms above stated," instead of the words now following in the Gazette, substitute "for the term of fourteen years from date of license." Clause 36 to be as follows :—" Every holder of a pasturage license shall have a pre-emptive right over one-fourth of the ruu over which such license extends, such right to.be accurately defined on the maps in the Commissioner's office: provided that such rights shall be exercised within one month after he shall have received notice from the Government that any portion of such pre-emptive right has been applied for.1' Then the clause as printed down to the word ' " Courtenay," then add, " except in the case of ' the pre-emptive rights issued under the regu- ' lations of the Canterbury Association, which shall cease and determine in six months from the passing of these regulations, with the option of'purchase within that time at the price fixed by these regulations.1" Timber.—Clause 38. After the words " fixed by the Superintendent," insert " by and with the advice and consent of the Provincial Council." Rate.—Clause 1. For " five years," substitute "three years." {( Clause 2. At the end of the paragraph add " that for any purchase between February Ist and May Ist, the first payment of rate on' that purchase should m>t be levied until the Ist May "f-the following year." Clause 3 to be expunged and the following substituted :—"That the rate be payable to the treasurer ol" the Province." Clauses 4, f>, 6,7, 8, and 12. For the word receiver," suhstitute " Treasurer," and exPnn«p the words " of the district." Clauses 13, 14, and 1(5, to be expunged. Clause 17. Instead of the words "divide the me into two equal parts," &c., substitute the following :-"Th e mo to 1)e - divided into three pitsvwhereof one shall he called the Immigra»on l'lind, the second the Public Works' Fund, •"HI the third the Educational Fund ; and that l»e appropriation to the said funds shall be by •Mimal vote of the ProvineialCouncil.". i!t is proposed to direct the attention of the "vernineiit v, the necessity of insuring the s>. ence o r the labourers brought out, s"o that f beneiuol their services to the Provinces may - wcurcd 1,,,- :l i illliled )evi(K ,. at ]east ftn J jntl-nt the labourers be'exempt from payt6l any pnrllllll o f , IagSRBC money U) )eV . * r P m] lh(!-y nii|y be out, in wohj ; h£2immßr^^ CHRisTdiDttcu.—On Tuesday evening last a «jn»rued meeting took ph.ee ofthe^Coloas bociciy, f,, r tHe purpose of ..resuming, the, *euM,« n Mp lbo Government re^latio^A.^: '« *Ppropnunon of the W«^;^fe«ve^ iVow- mi- S"ally faU ""onrt^cK-e^encin^ giow.ng luleru st felt in this imnovtW su b-..

ject. The 'Chairman, (J. Brittan, Esq.,) opened the proceedings of the meeting by a brief allusion to the discussions at the two previous meetings, and congratulated the meeting upon the presence of Dr. Barker, who, although not then a member of.the Society, had attended for the purpose of offering any explanation which might be required of the scheme which he had partly put forth in the columns of the local paper (the Canterbury Standard). He then called upon Dr. Martin, by whom the adjournment had been moved, to resume the discussion.

Mr. Martin took a brief review of the Government scheme. He objected to the pre-emptive rights proposed to be given to the stockowners extending over the whole of their runs, and in particular to the exclusion of the runhoiders within the block from the same privilege. He was of opinion if the right was admissible in the cose of the large owner, {here was a sufficient claim established for its extension to the small holder. He gathered also from Mr. Hall's speech in the Council that it was the intention of the Government to deprive the holders of preemptive rights under the agreement entered into with the Association of the advantages which such a contract afforded them. It had been stated that six months' notice would be given them, within which time they should either declare their intention to buy the land or relinquish the right. He could hardly believe the report to be a true one, but if it was, he thought it amounted to confiscation. The price of the land, and the mode in which it was intended to levy the rate, was also objectionable. By fixing these at£3, extending over five years, large munbeis of capitalists would buy up the road frontages, and all the best agricultural lands. It would be the means of creating a great monopoly, and the working settler would be prevented from buying land except at a considerable advance upon the original price. He concurred in the opinion that it would be far better to make the sum of £3 payable at once. This would deter the speculative capitalist on the one hand, and operate as a bar to a too rapid absorption of the labouring class in the land-owning interest. Too great iacilities ought not to be given to the labourer in the acquisition of land. Inordinate speculation might ensue, and (he effect would be the speedy creation of a number of poor holdings, which would result in the establishment of the jnslly condemned conacre system of Ireland.

Mr. Hichens briefly alluded to the position of the stockowner. He could hardly agree with the principle laid down by the proposed regulations, and he feared that too great partiality had been shewn to them in the reduction of rent, as well as in the pre-emption over the whole of the run. Doubtless some reason would be given for it. They ought to know how nearly the proposed rent approximated to that, of the other parts of the settlement.

At the request of the chairman, Dr. Barker then rose to explain his views, which had been fully he fore the public in the Canterbury Standard. He 'thought it better to make use of the tools they had than to invent others-, ;ind therefore the scheme of the Association was, in his opinion, preferable to either of those which had as yet been submitted to the public ; the revival of the functions of the Association was easy of accomplishment, and would place the settlement in a better position than the adoption of the Government scheme. Dr. Barker then described the leading features of the Association scheme, and read extracts from the Act of Parliament, and from the Canterbury Papers in support of his position that the Piovince could resume the functions'of the Association if it desired to do so. He saw no legal objection that was at all tenable against this view. There was one point which was, in his opinion, more important than any other, it was the facility which the plan n funded for psoviding-for education and religious instruction. Me was not disposed to advocate the system of endowment of one sect in preference to another. He would wish to see the broad principle prevail of dovoting a specified portion of the funds derived from the sale of ihe Waste Lands for Kducatinnal and religion'; purposes. That duty wsis imperative upon them. It would apply to all denominations of Christians, and the (Joveinmenl would have to distribute the fund so croa--1u.i1,,iu.-i\s due-proportion to the peculiar• denominations! standing in need of its iiid. Means ;>vould-.\)njß be afforded of sending; forth lmsstyn■'h'ri6». iuUlio apostolic spirit amongst the scattered populttiion-hintil it had become concentrated,

when probably endowments would be created, as the natural result of the voluntary principle This was the first and great object, and one which ought never to be overlooked. The next point he would contend for was the adoption of the ready money principle—the payment of the purchase money for the land at 10s. per acre, and ihe rate for general purposes of £2 10s., together £3, should be paid in one sum as heretofore. The effect of this would be the preven, tion of incautious speculation on the one handand the monopolising of the land on the other. It was true it might not produce so speedy a sale of the land, but in this there would be an advantage. Thirdly, he held that instead of unduly stimulating the sale of land some means should be devised by which a revenue might be derived from it, which would for many years state off a recourse to taxation. He would propose, therefore, that portions of land, especially those set apart for the formation of townships, should be retained in the hands of Government, and that these sections should be let, the rental of which should be applied to general purposes. Hereafter if municipal corporations were formed, these properties might be transferred to the corporate body, and form a nucleus for local improvements. The great advantage of this plan was that it was ready to their hands As regarded the pastoral districts he proposed that leases should be gran ted to the holders of runs extending over a period of 14 years. The stockowner would then have a sufficient inducement, held out to him to improve the land by the cultivation of English grass, and by plantation. Upon these runs, however, the Government should reserve those portions adapted for agricultural purposes, and particularly the frontage of rivers. The extension of the time for the payment of the rate over a period of five years would, he feared, lead to great difficulties, and probably numerous evictions and ultimately great discontent. Mr. Hall rose to reply to the arguments which Dr. Barker had advanced. He thought the system of granting 14 years' lenses objectionable, and there were many persons who i would consider that in proposing such a scheme ! they were unduly favouring the stockowner. ! He could not imagine how the plan of reserving 1 the best portions of a run for agricultural pur- ' poses, and the river frontages, could be made acceptable to the runholders. Could any one suppose fora moment that they would be content to accept the worst lands of the Province for grazing their sheep, and allow themselves to be shut out from the advantages of river frontages. Again, the reservation of certain portions of townships would be placing in the hands of a Government, a most dangerous..:' power, a power which no Government "had a right to assume. The speculator or the occupier of these districts ought to derive all thf advan-s tages which in such cases fairly belonged: fo^ them. As regarded the creation of a fund for « religious purposes, Mr. Hall said, no one couldr^ more fully desire to see such a course adopted than himself, but he was fully cmvinteri of the impolicy of endowrrent for religious puiposes. He believed that the toiee of the lr.aj >rity was . opposed to it, and that such a course would^ produce endless "divisions and heartburning"^ Mr. Hall repeated his objections to the projJas~»V; that the £3 should be paid in one suifl v a;n<I r entered fully into the subject. His arguments upon this part of the subject have, however, been so.fully laid before the public that further allusion to them would be unnecessary. In reply to the appeal which had been made to him by Mr. Hichens, he again stated the reasons which had influenced the Government m the adoption of the proposed regulations affecting thestockownev, and that the rent paid for runs in other settlements, was less than that proposed in this Province. To Mr. Martin's objection that the proposition of a six months' notice to ihe holders of the old pre-emptive rights was \irtually a confiscation, he would only repeat that the opinion was generally entertained that this right was not "a le-jal'one. But they did n.ut propose to deprive them of it altogether, they would have this privilege awarded to them, and if any one feit himself injured by this act, it would lie a subject for legal decision. Mr. Oi.t.iviicn said the mcnibeis of teat society were tfre:Hlv indebted to Dr. Parker far his"presence thai, evening. l>r. Barker had volunteered to answer any qui-stion wlium might be put to hint. He frit at a less to understand the posiuon in which the Association at jveseut stood, and he ilrsivp.l. therefore, to" ask two. qtiesupnsy. which were, in his opinion, necessur

to be answered before the legal difficulties could be cleaved up which stood in the way of the adoption of Dr. Barker's scheme. First, Div not the Association complete its purchase of so much of the Waste Lands as was necessary for Ecclesiastical and Educational purposes, and is not that and the reserves originally set apart by the Association, all it contemplates to transfer to the Provincial Government ? Secondly, Did not the Association's claim over the other Waste Lands lapse to the Crown by reason of its inability to complete the purchase of those lands ? Dr. Barker said that Mr. Sewell would be better able to answer the first question ; as regarded the second, the assumption was to a certain extent correct. >

Mr. Ollivieb then proceeded to say that if this was so, he thought that the Provincial Government was not in a position to take upon itself the functions of the Association, it would need the special authority of the Home Go- . vernment. He had been greatly pleased to hear Dr. Barker contending for the recognition of the principle of a provision for religious and educational purposes. He most heartily assented to this opinion, and held that it was the duty of the state to set apart some portion of therevenue derived from the sale of the Waste Lands for these purposes. He, like Dr. Barker, did not desire to assert the right of the Church of England above other denominations, but he could never consent to the doctrine 'that it was an unwise course, or that it was one that need lead to difficulty or division. He most sincerely hoped that before the subject of appropriation of the waste lands was disposed of, the people at large would clamour for this principle. He approved of the Government scheme generally: there were some points of detail he desired to see altered, but the absence of such a clause in the regulations was calculated to place the whole scheme.in jeopardy. Of the other portions of Dr. Barker's plan he regretted lie could not approve ; the proposal to set apart portions of town lands'for the purposes of revenue, to be administered by a Government, whether the Executive or the Municipal, was highly objectionable. They need go no further than the next generation to discover it, —it would be an endless cause of discontent. They had seen enough of Municipal management in England, and needed no revival of such a practice here. He was equally .opposed', i$ the scheme of pay- .- tnent~?3a~,ohe.vsuni.;rof the, rate and purchase ■■■'. money. ,: The object of the extension of time wasvtorbebefit the working settler,'and he could b'ea>;;:testimony- to the fact that the working "settler approved of the scheme which would throw the payment over a period of years. The one they could accomplish, the other they could not. ■His Honor thought that the proposal for endowments was a new feature ; it should be borne in mind that it would be unfair to make the land purchasers pay for the purpose of endowing schools or for affording religious instruction to the community at large. If endowments for religious purposes are determined upon, they ought to make all parties bear their fair proportion of the charge. Under the Canterbury Association their position was different; they violated.no principle—theirs was a tolerant scheme. They founded a settlement in a new counlry, and with it planted its religion, while those who bought their land voluntarily gave up a portion of their purchase money for religious endowments. No one was compelled to buy the land, and none could therefore fairly claim exemption. But now the condition of things had changed ; the Association was no longer in existence, and men of all denominations were settling in the colony. If, therefore, a system of endowments was to be adopted, it must take a wider range: merchants and traders ought not to be exempted from the liability. ■Dr. Barker explained it was uot endowments they sought for, nor was it the establishment solely of the Church of England; he simply desired to see the principle recognized i that the state should be the guardian of Christianity in the land. Mr. Packer was of opinion that it would be bad policy to attempt to create endowments, but he had always felt that if anything of its kind was done, the Church of England had a prior claim to consideration by virtue of the original position in the Settlement. He was indisposed to favour one denomination more than another; each sect should be supported according to its position; in doing.so he feared there would be great heartburnings, and there

would be too much reason to fear that it would lead to estrangements and divisions. As regarded the appropriation of the land, he wished to see portions of land set apart in different localities for working settlers to occupy, varying in 20 and 50 acre lots, so that the future laboureis might not, when they came here, find themselves driven to the far end of the Settlement before they could acquire what they needed. If some such arrangement was not made be feared the best portions of the land in the agricultural districts would be immediately monopolised by the capitalists who were waiting only the decision of the Government upon the price to pounce upon it. „ On the motion of Mr. Inwood, the discussion was adjourned to Tuesday next.