fjjiday, January 2, isso. NATIVE LAND PURCHASES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume II, Issue 37, 2 January 1880, Page 2

Manawatu Herald. FrRIDAY, JANUARY 2, 1880. NATIVE LAND PURCHASES.

During last session of Parliament there was presented to both Houses hy command of his Excellency a " Beturn of Lands purchased and leased, or under negotiation in the North Island, under ' The I mmigratioii and Public Works Act, 1870,' or.' Acts amending the same, showing; area and expenditure, and distin-i guishing such blocks as have been j j declared waste lands ol the Crown."! The return, which is a voluminous; one, is divided into two parts : — First,/ negotiations completed ; second, no-/ gotiations in progress. In the prof sent article, we # propose to collati those parts of the return which hnvp a local interest. Undoi 1 the heading of " negotiations completed " we finu that in the districts of Waikanae, Otaki, and Manawatu, an area of 214,152 acres have been purchased from the natives, at a total cost (including purchase money and incidental expenses) of £83,020 5s sd. Included in this is the IvangitikeiManawatu Block, i'ov which £18,00(3 1 8s lOd was paid. The hi rgest block is that called Tararua, comprising 108,000 acres, for which the sum of £3,G34 18s (id was paid, the inciden-tal-expenses amounting to £539 0s Gd. We will now refer more particularly to land in the South Manawatu district. Twelve subdivisions of the Manawatu-Kukutauald block, comprising 27,125 acres, have been purchased, the cost being £4,821 12s 9d. This block is a valuable one, lying between the Manawatu and Waikawa Eivers. The Ngakaroro Block, which lies between the Otaki and Waikanae Rivers, next demands notice. The negotiations have been completed over a great part of this, comprising 16,040 acres, at a cost of £2,273 0s 3d. Next comes the Pukehou Block, which takes its name from the wellknown hill near Otaki. Of this 11,899 acres have been bought, the purchase money and incidental expenses amounting together to £1228 4s Gd. The Ohau No. 2 Block, comprising G.3GO acres, has been bought, at a cost of £936 0s 4d. Inland of Otaki is a very fine block of land called Waihoanga, of which 13,293 acres are in the hands of the Crown, the cost being £1,969 17s 7d. The above figures show that in South Manawatu, between Foxton and the Waikanae River, the Govern - nient have completed the purchase of 74,717 acres of land, a great extent of which is of a splendid quality, suitable for any class of agriculture, whilst the remainder is in every way fitted for grazing or pastoral purposes. Dealing now with part two of the return — negotiations in progress — we find that a vast quantity of land lying between Foxton and Otaki is partly in the hands of the Groverunient. For instance, in addition to the 27,125 acres of the Manawatu - Kukutauaki Block which the Government have actually purchased, they have a lien upon other G3,415 acres, having paid upon it £1 ,220 4s 3d, as shown by a Gazette dated January 10, 1878. Purchases are also in progress for an additional 10,95G acres of the Pukehou Block, upon which £828 13s 9d have been paid ; and for 2,259 additional acres of Waihoanga—payments, £172. But perhaps the most important block of land referred to in this part of the return is the Horowhenua, comprising 52,000 acres, on account of which purchase money to the extent of £1,114 16s has been'paid, whilst the "incidental" expenses reach the respectable amount of £608 1 s 3d. It will therefore be seen that in addition to the 74,717 acres of South Manawatu laud, actually purchased from the natives, and in the hands of the Government, the Crown holds liens upon a further 128,630 acres — mostly of a splendid character, and all of it suitable for agricultural and pastoral purposes. The whole of this .land lies between Waikanae and Foxton. Before we close this article, we will draw a few inferences from the figures quoted. We have shown that 74,717 acres of land in the South Manawatu district are in the bands of the Government. Why is not this country thrown open for settlement and occupation ? Some of it may not perhaps be suitable for

lor anything but pastoral purposes. If so, let the country bo cut up, and eitlier sold or leased to sheep and cattle farmers ; let that which is timber country — and much of it is sue ]! — b e thrown open to the Hitwmiller, who is the pioneer of settlement in those parts of. the country, and tho forerunner of an industrious yeomanry. Let the land be put into the market, so that what is now an unproductive waste may become a busy, prosperous district, carrying a largo and increasing population. Other points will suggest themselves to our readers, c. </., the remunerative character of the Welling-fcon-Foxton railway, which will open up a large area of country for settlement, from tho Paikakariki Hill right up to Foxton ; the splendid future that lies before this part of the Colony, when population is settled upon it. The duty of the settlers in these districts is 'evident. They must agitate lor the opening up of the country, as last as tho native title is extinguished. Only by that means enn we reap the harvest at our very doors.