AGRICULTURAL LEASES.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 83, 16 September 1870, Page 3

AGRICULTURAL LEASES.

(To.tTveJEditor oftheM-Ovkv ißii-GHiibtflcti:.) "' ferii,,^—Tou.a^e sdp'ubtless aware ,that, some few weeks from - Honor- Hhe Superintendent-backed! by ;t a LU nutner Toftsly";! signed ;peinjib», T4ased',,or rV sold i.withinafour miles;'of Naseby.")'- % cannotihelptfancying that off must <;h'a¥e hadi soihe -peculiar s motive 'in -getting-this likely/ either to bring themselves -intoi public notice, or to get their expenses defrayed to Dunedin, where',' 'possiDly,' had urgent piivateousinessMfor I have' to a single Naseby resident who has not expressed •his 3 regret that the deputation ever took place,'although he had been foolish enough at the time to sign the petition/ 'Shortly after tne u above interview, the Superintendent cpmmu . nicated-' with : Mr. "Warden -Ebbinson, requesting him to inspect the country, and report-'u^6n ; ' the most suitable piece of ground for agricultural purposes, outside of four miles from Naseby. Mr. Warden accordingly mounted his horse one fine morning, and as the plains/were very boggy, he chose riding rpad—J3hat; jleading3p^.Amies'.Slough, Jfnni,. I, Relieve he also went oiitin the Eweburn direction, but do .he got outside the stipulated/four smiles, •; v s m i /; i .rMJr, Epbinson ,i,s : ploubtless r a yery superior Warden aiid Resident Magistrate, the .Grpyernment have implicit confidence, but how can it be supposed that, he .knows anything about agriculture ? Every man to his trade, anpl, a as.Ar-temus, say §;, " 'ffip.e; ?to man that tries what is not his forte.",<T am afraid pur has

been forced into r tbat .unenviable position, 'for 1 understand be bas recommended a block commencing at tbe " four-mile pineb," and running down to Mr. Amies' on tbe rigbt band side of tbe Hogburn Creek.., Tbis block of land is c'ertamly tolerably level, jand if 4bat' constitutes good s agricultural; land Mr. 'Bo'binson 'bks- cb'osen wisely. But, unfortunately, we , know ;tbat' in tbisi district tbe reverse is tbe case. Our Balls are give 1 a cropV'wml'e.tKe land immediately under the mountains is, in many instances, first-class isoil,* and its-proximity to tbe bigb it suffei>... .wbicb yearly cause tbe plains summer'to become little better tban a '*' bowling wilder•ness."" ••: -:■ .••:■/ If. ■( ;• :\ :■. .: :; v; ■!,

Had Mr. Eobinspn been an old far-., mer, he , would/ for "an" agricultural 1 block along tne'.foot of tbe eitber td the right 1 or left of' Naseby, instead "of where be did'. But, wherever itbe'blocks bad been chosen, it' four miles, from-Nasebj, it would not; satisfy the present demand for land, as •all'those-who'intend" to farhi wisti-to do.so in'conjunction with. s,ome other ployment, which.'wduld'riecessitate residence tolerably to the .tpwiiship". 1 -' Tor instance; Mr. Inder wishes to farm, -in. -connection -with-h is butchery establishment ; ■ with' his claim and dairy; Mr. P. Kerney, alsb with his 'dairy ;• Mr. Packman, |vith : his livery s'tables j and Mr. Mulholfand wishes to"-'combine' Carting coals with farmin'g.- These-are all;theinenl : know of :land| and'-'aiblocWouT liiilefs'fromtheir residences wo aid'hot suit any of bliem. It would;: appear from'what I have stated that we hud ourselves in a great /'diifiodlfcyj' But-it -is one Uicii could be easily got over, in■ the following'lilan,iier-:^-^^ 7V -' ' *■"■'- <='• : TV\i.[ ■■

To lease what land is required round Naseby—sayfor fiVe or sev6n years—.on terins somewhat aualagous to -those by "which the squatfer holds *hislrun; anyone tQ vhEbxe the right to prospect the and upon his proving, in the. "Warden's Court,i*he rground- payable, the lessee should-at once relinquish his claim to - it, '>ot ' ''such- ! part- ; of it as is deemed payable and may be required for"mining or tail-race purposes, and 5 suffer, at any time a tail race or.races to 'be cut.'through it without having""Maim to any" compensation. With this understanding, parties taking up. ..land would_first satisfy themselves thai; the land was not sufficiently, auriferous to be'payable ; and if-it should tdidi (put 5 to be payable after being taken ujV'we must remember that all who farm arOuild a digging township are entirely on' the .yield of gold in-their district.;-, ,; For instance, twhat would Naseby be if the 'yield of gold was suddenly r to cease ? , Hoav : many people "'would 1 then''wish; to take'up land "for agricultural.-, purposes ? VVhy, in the course, of'a month- the whole affair 'wou!ldv' : bera thing of- the'-pasti -- So J the conclusion I come 1 to is', 1 a farmer a piece'jbf 'payable in his pajlclock, it would be to"nis interest to give it up at once, even without a' shilling- '• of compensa-for-his -inteifesfris'the miner's interest—without the' latter the- former's ' farming Vohild be all i ; There, is just one" other point I should like to draw your attention to before ■'concluding. It is "as.follows :—Should the block of land recommended by Mr. Warden Robinson he declared open to selection, .and say-two or three parties take.,up from.; twenty to ; fifty acres each corners of the ..Mock-—the whole area will be more or •-less destroyed so far as regards running • sKeep ; 'aha '.'we cannot expect the runholder to lose the, use of this block, as ' well \as the land around ■ Naseby. on .which the horses and cattle owned by the people belonging yto the township, feed. -,So, if we get the proposed area opened for selection, depend upon it .we shall either have to shut up all our horses and cows, or take a trip to-Wai-kouaiti pound after them. ; " Trusting some more able person than myself wilHtake. this matter' 1 iir ' hand, and with many apologies for trespassing on your valuable space,, I ain, &c, An Old Farmer,..resident at MbtTNT 'lda.

INSPECTOR DALaLEISH. - (To the Editor of theMovsT Ida Chronicle) Sir,—ln your i?sue of the.2nd inst,.. I: noticed a paragraph '.referring to 'a petition ' in behalf:.',of : Mr. s ODalgleish. Now, sir,'this does not -speak .much in

favor, of .the good sense, of tlie people of Queenstown, or of their ideas respecting an officer's duty. If he be guilty of neglect, ,he 'should* be punished ; if he be not,, why petition in his favor ? i If "he could not be expected to guard against treachery in "his own force," he is-expected, as a police officer, to exercise prudence, and to use that amount of -vigilance as will' ensure defeat in case of treachery, though it be in his own camp. Mr."Dalglelsli.should have learned a lesson from the case of the I7oozs. of gold which were stolen, from, the Camp at Clyde a few years ago, as , also the trick,the woman at the Beep, .Stream played, him, when ;she,v : took from, the escprt; a ; box of specie, and kept him and; his men hunting for it for upwards of an: hour .before she gave .it up. . Surely,, with, these little. reminiscences before him ,he "might have acted more wisely. If "the petition speaks very highly of Mr: D'algleish's services," I do not think tliese do. A/'prudent, watchful, : and sagacious Sub -Inspector, having in his charge \such an amount of treasure as was in the! lock-up 'at Clyde on the night 6f the robbery, would have posted sentries, and as each man was relieved have ascertained tliat it was safe—not have placed it in : a detached house, with merely a common padlock to fasten the outside &oot, and allow all his men to retire to bed, so that any "snob" could coolly open the door and carry off the prize, An officer : who would thus actdoes not deserve public sympathy; and •in my opinion, the only persons at Queenstown who showed their good sense are the.twoi,w t ho, refused to sign the petition. caelum. A place in your paper will oblige. — I am; &c, • : '- . Ei'. Constable.