THE Mount Ida Chronicle SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1874.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 260, 28 February 1874, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 1874.

When, a few months ago, we advocated . settlement on the ■ Maniototo Plain, we anticipated and were pre-; pared for much-opposition; We knew well , that the advocates for monopoly were content to keep quiet so long as public opinion slept. We did not, however,- anticipate opposition from the quarter in which it has, hydraheaded, started up. It has been shown in,our columns that no other district has been able to vie with Mount Ida in the extent of mineral wealth available to a great and fairly constant population. -She-has had no Caledonian reefs or Shotover claims to swell the escorts, "but the average gains of the individual miners have not been exceeded in any other district. Although we. have confidence,-from the extent of known payably auriferous still untouched, that: gold-mining wi'i'i/j for a great many years after the completion of the Public Works, be carried on to as great au extent as ever it has been before yet we do not anticipate that the products of mining enterprise will pass through a proportionally increasing number of hands. With a plentiful; supply of water, obtained at probably a reduced price, there will be more inducement to parties of miners and business men to band into companies using greater water power and skilled appliances. This will tend to make the population more solvent, though -not tetany very great extent more populous.

The:peculiar position of the Mount Ida .district:—in a corner, as it were, cut oft from the direct line of communication -to the interior now- beinc opened up by railway—essentially demands population. • It is a suicidal policy for those, immediately engaged in mining, or in supplying mining requirements, to shut themselves up and refuse to take advantage of the gifts placed within their reach; The successful settlement of an agricultural community on theSManiototo Plain would reduce the cost of living on tbe Gold fields, to wnshipsj and would accelerate the opeuing up of railway communication. "

We have never advocated the agricultural settlement , knd aliehation°'in any nhape, of auriferous lands, whether near K aseby, or elsewhere, neither is such settlement demanded by anyone. Nome years ago, when the minerft suddenly found out that they had been taken advantage of by . those who were ■living./by their industry, and that the rich, ground had been sold (while they

kept quietdt was nobody's business) in town lots by auction, they then, although too late to stop the actual mischief, allowed their com plaints to be thoroughly well kno vvn, and ■ did, at any rate, this good, that it was settled that land within four; miles of Naseby should not be offered for sale unless it was clearly, proved that there was no objection to any individual'town section being so; sold. The frauaers of the petition in circulation last week could not very well"help'being quite aware of this. Their action, on the face cf this knowledge," shows quite clearly that they were -prepared to go to any extreme lengths on the chance of being able to prevent-settlement on the Plain altogether. ; Fortunately for * the prevalence of truth over monopoly and misrepresentation, if Naseby is so: well supplied by water for mining purposes as to render :the /holders of good" claims .any other pursuit, it is not so with the out-district townships. The majority of miners at Hamilton and Sowburn have not work for a great portion of the year,'and they have plenty of time to attend' to the cultivation ofland. At present, 'what can -they do ?,. ' A miner applies to the Waste Land Board to be alio wed to take up/.fifty: oi?;a -hundred acres;:>■ he is referred to the runholder.; 'ln too many cases he'gets " No !" for his answer in that 'quarter. Then,' if he goes off the .mam-road^'independently of his miner's right;-he is- a trespasser. At the most, t he .may -walk over hundreds of acres of:/laudv that he- would, willingly farm—land that may be keeping one sheep to the acre —and yet he and his family—of more value, surely, than ; many sheep—:inay . not touch a single, acre. Thousands of immigrants are' being induced to come I to - New i Zealand,, at the' expense of the | G-overnment and all sorts of conI;cessions are offered.to them, but our |. oldest residents who emigrated at their own cost men who have contributed largely -tu the revenue for seven or eight years—may not ; obtain near their homes a single acre of land. I'hey are told, in effect, •" Land is open at Glenkenich, at -Tapanui, and elsewhere—you can go there." They are told to break up-their house and home, where they are rooted by family ; instincts,; to compete amidst: already over-crowded populations. At the same time, good land in, a country" under the same laws as at Glenkenic'h is at their own doors, bared and trodden down indeed, by , thousands of sheep, but ready at the hands of industrious men and irrigation once more to appear rich.and fertile as it did; at the first, when the pioneers some fift3en years ago came up into the Plain, and found,grass and brushwood to their -horse's; - bellies. v. Yet .this extent of country, so suitable in the opinion of those who are willing.to farm it, is to be kept from them, partly by the ef-_ forts of those —their own neighbors—who should be the first;to::welcome any < increase in the general prosperity. , We have said, "No one has asked " for blocks of' land within four.miles "of Naseby." 1 A petition "signed by over 150 residents has been sent to the Superintendent,' praying for land being opened at the centre of the-Plain, and a block on the main road between JNaseby and the Kyeburn Hotel. There is no reason to fear but that,' if'this petition is attended to as it should be, the Government will pursue no other course than they have done already in other quarters—trusting in a great measure to the, discretion of the District Land Officer and Warden. as to the immediate selection of the site. Besides this safeguard, the Act abundantly protects auriferous land. An objection, under clause 1 section 50, .that the whole or' any'pbrtioh of any application is auriferous, is fatal to it.' Every application ( must,be duly advertised, before the hearing, in the immediate district. -Not content with this, the District Officer (who, on the Goldfields, is always the Warden) is to use and act upon his own' knowledge, independent of any objection. After all this, for three "years any holder of a miner's right can'go on the application, fenced or uu'fenced.' Clause 6, of section 54, reserves " a right of entry " upon the lantToecupied at any time " to such person .or persons as may be " authorised by the Superintendent—- " (all holders of miners' rights)—to " search and dig for gold therein, un- " der such regulations, &c." As the petition already forwarded distinctly applied for laud centrally situated, . where no outlet .from - the alluvial ground exists or is likely to exist—as these very rigorous restrictions are laid down, protecting the goldminer, by the Act—and as it has long ago i been conceded in answer to the miners' i own agitation (not that of their friends for the moment) that no land shall be | sold within a four mile radius—we say, I considering all- this, our readers will agree with us that the very frivolous and obstructive petition in circulation as we write, to restrict the opening of land for settlement, might very well have been spared.. The people themselves have the matter in their own hands. The ball lies afc their feet, if they have energy to kick it along. . Otherwise, if settlement can only-.-be retarded for the next six years, till .the present pastoral leases expire, then the lessees, without competition, can again on their own terms, obtain renewals of their leases, and sheep stations, if riot existent on Maniototo for ever, will have a very good thance of another twenty years lease of life.

We advocate no oppression of the pastoral tenants' rights, but only the to the people of what an illiberal and-unjust law doles out to them. The law allows the proclamation of EEuii(Jredarunder certain conditions; the law also sets apart 30,000 acres of lan<^ —no more—in one year in the

Province. if Mount .Ida- does not choose to take her i share of what the law concedes, no one can force'her to. There will be no difficulty in finding districts, the inhabitants of which are not so indifferent to their own and their "families' prosperity.

Although-the annual -meeting of the Mount Ida Miners' Association was not attended as well as it should have been, yet the-Committee areto'-.be congratulated -on.carrying the routine work: of -their office satisfactoryconclusion—sealing- the year's work, as it were, by enabling Mount Ida, for : the first time, to be represented, at the Conference of the Miners' "Association's Delegates. It was not to be'expected that-any, great interest or pubs lie encouragement vvould be extended to the Association during its first year or two. The growth in power of all similar bodies has been gradual. ' A great thing has been .done in preserving the life meanwhile—the interest wil I thicken as it becomes mo re generally known "what powers such bodies have ; what opportunities of maintaining the lights.of the miners ; and what capital machinery such Associations' form for bringing immediate pressure to. bearj with the greatest weight,' when any crisis vital to the healthy stability of gold-mining may,arise. The meeting together, for a. few weekd, of able-men from different districts where mining presents different features and '"characteristics, cannot fail to be of, good. Each member will be able to learn, that his own little centre and its wants must not form the sole type of what is necessary to constitute a valuable, comprehensive Act legislating for the Goldfields. Such a measure must.be prolix to a certain extent. .Quite possibly much that is in the Goldfields Bill as it stood when shelved last session might be better met by being left to ; but, manifestly, there is'a* great danger of abuse through over regulating. A Bill, in detail, has to -pass the' gauntle'; of' the Goldfields representatives,, and to bear the criticism of the Press. Regu-' lations are the work of .one,man, suddenly made, and equally binding as the passed Act, whether the public like or not. We would not condemn Mess:s. Haggitt/ Shepherd, and Mouat's Bill for being too detailed, but for' altogether omitting some-ithings that require more particularly to be technically detailed. -We are aware that a difficulty might-arise with regard to the framing of an inserted clause dealing with river pollution'-and "diversion—a difficulty that provisions so introduced might be antagonistic to other Acts; and it might reasonably be objected that, in a general Act not dealing with special cases, j prior definite-object Acts have no right to be over-ridden by clauses inserted .edgewise into that: Act. Be that as it mayj Delegates ;cannot fait to be asvare novv i-tliat : all Goldfields. . legislationmust be defective that does not clearly state what a miner can legally do, and what he cannot —that .necessities above all others to be provided for are- the rights of river pollution and river diversion for gold-mining purposes. In Mr. Roberts the meeting has, no doubt, chosen a .delegate who possesses a large amount of experience, who knows the requirements of the Goldfield, and who can ably express what those requirements are. The Conference i now to be held cannot fail to strengthen the hands of the Goldfields' members in the Assepibly, and bear fruit hereafter in wise and liberal legislation. ♦ ■

" In countries newly inhabited, or in " which there is a small number of " people, there is commonly a quantity | ," of land yieldinga large produce for a I " given portion of labor. So long as'the <" land continues to'yield in this liberal I " manner, how fast soever population " increases, food' may. increase with I " equal rapidity, and plenty remain. " Vv hen population, however, has in- " creased to a certain extent, all the " b'est'land is occupied. ' If it increases " any further, land of a worse qualify j " must be taken in hand. When land ! " of the next best .quality is all .ex- j hausted, land of a still inferior-qua- i "-lity must be employed, till jat last I " you come to that which is exceed- I " ingly bad. . In this progress it is i " very evident that it is always beco'm- I "irig more and more difficult to make I " food increase with any given degree i " of rapidity, and that you must come \ " at last to a point where it is alto- " gether impossible." So wrote Mr. James Mill many years ago, in words as plain as they are impossible of contradiction. The food producing power of a country sets a limit to the population that country can adequately maintain. If, before the great pressure that forced immigration is now bringing to bear upon the food producing powers of all the best land within an easy stage of the coast has beeu taker up, it is a matter of certainty that under that pressure the Strathtaieri, the Maniototo, and the. Ida Valley Plains can not much .ouger be withheld from the wants of the people. As soon as the food producing land is getting overtaxed by an increasing population, there follows as a matter of course, reduced wages, poverty, and desiilution. Precisely these features have developed themselves in the older Australian settlements. Everv mail from Victoria brings news of 'the taking up of land for settlement that a few years ago would not have obtained credit for keeping a goat. Facilities for transport of produce, irrigation, and liberal rights of tenure to improvers of the waste lands, all tend to double and even treble the value of the land remainiag, whatever the quality may be. Hence it is as rash as it is .unphilosophical to say positively of any land that it is unfit for cultivation.

Turn will, tlie experience

of all countries -supports this view. When the Mormons settled far away in the interior, at the Salt Lake, all America turned to laugh and jeer at the fanatics for settling in a desert. Yet now American opinion declaims against their being allowed to continue to squat undisturbed upon one of the " most - fertile locations ,in the United " States." Sir Charles Dilke stales that " The Mormons may well call " their - country -' Deseret,' the ' land "' of the bee.' The process of fertilisation goes on day by day. Six or " seven years ago (written in 1869) " Southern Utah was a desert bare as Salt Bush' Plains.'- Irrigation from' " the fresh water lake was carried out " under episcopal direction, and the , " result is the growth of fifty kinds of [ " grapes aloue." Cotton mills and " vineyards are springing up on every " side, and, '.Dixie.' begins.to look "down on its-parent, the - Salt .Lake " Valley. Irrigation from Salt, Lake " Valley has done this miracle, we say, " though the Saints undoubtedly be- " lieve that (rod's hand is in it, helping " miraculously ' his peculiar people.' " The same traveller writss his impressions on arriving at Mormonland:— " Here, was Plato's table land of the " Atlantic isle—one great field of corn- " and wheat, where only twenty years. " ago Eremont, the Pathfinder, re- " ported wheat, and corn impossible." The same story will yet be written of the large upland plains of Otago, if- a •liberal legislation goes hand in: hand" with industrious colonisation.-1 The Taieri alone—at the Gorge, wh,ere it comes into the Plain —at slight expense, could be lifted so irrigate from 30,01)0 to 50,000 acres of.land on Maniototo,, admirably situated/ and adapted' by" climate for the'growth of' wheat and'other cereals.

We understand that the following townships are to f be "called districts within the meaning of the Licensing . ActNaseby, >t. Bathans; JbLyde/ Macraes, and Hmdon (Blackstone Hill, Linburn, Hamilton, Kyeburn Diggings," and Pigroot are probably included)/,, Applications from all 1 these places will be heard by the [Resident Magistrate (as Chairman) and the Licensing Board, at Naseby, ar which place the (Jlerk of the Court will receive all applications on and before next Tuesday, the 3rd of March. - There is no provision in the Act for any extension of time for applications not in to date, J nor is there any provision for quarterly Courts." ,Under the Act, there 6an lie no doubt that all applications not'sent in, signed by the applicant, on or before Tuerday, the Bid March} refused consideration, although put in afterwards, till April, 1875. The wholesale l.censes are exactly in the same category as the publicans, and the same form of application must be followed by those who desire to„ renew such licenses. The clause of the j4ct~ says distinctly-, " Applications ■ for " wholesale licenses shall be lodged " with the Clerk< of the Court at the " same time and manner as applica- " tions for pnblican's* licenses." There cannot be, the slightest doubt that all present holders of wholesale and bottle licenses who fail to send in, by the date fixed, applications, certified to by' ten householders, will-find themselves without any legal license after the 31st of June next, although entitled to a refund of half the license fee already paid. liesidents in the ,out-districts .would find it * safer, where possible, *to personally attend on Tuesday, but they can act through'an agent if they send' in a.signed application. Where a form cannot possibly be got, as near an approach to it as possible should be drawn up. In our issue of January 9,we published the full Act, including the •necessary forms, which can be copied.