THE Mount Ida Chronicle SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1874.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 280, 18 July 1874, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle SATURDAY, JULY 18, 1874.

It will be of interest to draw a comparison between what is called the Deferred Payment System of settling the land, and similar settlement by means of the' Agricultural Lease Regulations, framed under the Groldfielda Act of 1866. There is, in reality, very little difference between the two modes. In both the. deferred ;payment principle is apparent, for the agricultural lessee is allowed to occupy for three years without mating his full payment. Settlers under both have then an option to claim their Crown grants by paying the fee simple—in the case of the Deferred Payment settler 17s. 6d., in the other 20s. It will be observed that there is a half-crown difference as against the Agricultural lessee. Under both systems the Crown grant is liable to be refused should the ground prove to be auriferous, and under both a right of entry is reserved for prospecting purposes, under such regulations as may be deemed expedient by the Superintendent. In both also the lessee, should his land be declared of special value for mining purposes, is protected with regard to his improvements. * So far as this has been tried, the balance of favor is clearly not much against the Agricultural lessee. "We have only to quote the . celebrated case of Timothy Cottar to prove the conservative nature of the lessee's protection. Clause 38' of the Act provides, in the-clearest manner, for the compensation to be awarded. Clause 62 of the Waste Lands Act allows any holder of an agricultural lease, who has made substantial arid permanent improvement's during three yeara, to-exchange his lease for one under the Defered Payment system, with all its terms, conditions, and pri-

vileges. If this does not- suit the lessee, under clause 74 of the same Act he is entitled, at the end of his three years of possession, to obtain a Ciown grant, without competition, at the upset price of 20s. per acre. This clause, only in a very indirect manner, which would, hatdly stand good, insists on any improvement prior to purchase at all. To our mind, beyond the trifling difference in the price, there is very little to choose between the two systems. The advantages to settlers in a district such as-Naseby of the Agricultural Lease system.are many. First, there is no residence on the section necessary. Now, to men with a few hundreds, who wish gradually to draw out of a half-paying business, prefering the more permanent security of a freehold farm,, this non-residence concession is a boon, for they keep on their business-and gradually get the farm into a state in which it can be made an independent support for a family. It is obvious that anyone go.ing on to a.section could hardly fence any considerable portion of it and get a return in the one year sufficient to maintain a family. Then the improvement clauses.are not nearly so well defined, neither are they so stringent. At the same time, the miners are better protected should it transpire that valuable auriferous lauds are in danger of being alienated. If, however, blocks are selected on suitable low-lying terraces, the danger of auriferous lands being interfered with is very slight. ' Men prepared to buy .their hundred or two huudred acres, and pay for it in cash, naturally' fret at these restrictions as to the time at which they can get their Crown grants, and perhaps they grudge the ten per cent, interest they have to pay for the deferred payment. There appears to be no cure for that unless a Hundred is obtained,and treated as ' Mr. Eeid proposes to treat those proclaimed during the last session of the Council.' His plan is to divide the Hundred into suitable sections, offering the alternate ones for cash, and- those intervening for lease. By that means a'man with £2OO or £4OO to spare might very well buy a section or two and apply for the adjoining or intermediate one by lease, thus securingagood farm. Wehave advocated a Hundred being proclaimed in the Maniototo for this purpose, but it appears we shall have to be content with an Agricultural block for the present. This, if the present healthy agitation is .maintained, we are certain to get, for it is a positive right which- can be demanded. At 'any rate, the Government would have to show a far stronger reason why the Groldfields Act, 1866, and the Otago Waste Lands Act of 1872 should be deliberately laid aside, than that the working of a run be possibly in some slight degree interfered with. No pastoral tenant, could be persuaded.that a block would be a benefit to him.;- still, the inconvenience • does not generally prove so' great as> dreaded; and it is a liability that all recent purchasers of pastoral country knew quite well was hanging over their runs.

The Committee appointed on Monday I evening last—tc watch the progress of : the present movement in favor of agricultural settlement, to endeavor to further the opening up of the Maniototo Plain by railway, and to assist the Mining Association in drawing the attention of the Government to the necessity for at once proceeding with the deepening of the Sludge Channel—have got to work with a will. On Wednesday a telegram was forwarded to Mr. -Mervyn, asking him to enquire in the House as to the intention of the G-o----vernment in regard to the recommendation of the Provincial G-overntnettt to deepen.the Channel at once.. ' This will bring Mr, Richardson," the' Minister for Public Works, and Mr. Reid together, and the question will no doubt be settled, as is < politic; ' for it •.is only too evident that the Channel —as it is at present laid off —will be a non - productive work. The estimates for the alteration have beeu prepared by the Provincial Engineer, and the extra amount has frightened Mr. Reid. But, considering that the contracts have all been let under the estimates, and that a sum of some ' £IO,OOO on the vote was reserved for emergencies, there should be no difficulty in Mr. Richardson agreeing to the inevitable position. The land question we have said much about which it is not necessary to repeat now. The public have strengthened our hands by the petition printed in another column, which has been for- , warded to Dunedin. The Committee have, we learn, telegraphed to Mr. Reid and the Goldfields Secretary in the same direction, but the Northern wire being interrupted has prevented a reply as yet having been received. Attempts, as will be seen by the report of the Committee meeting, have also been made to enlist the aid of Palmerston, Clyde, and the different centres of our own district, in a demand that—should the Otago Loan Bill be .introduced, as proposed, and the 2,000,000 acres reserve be held as the security for such loan—a railway from "Palmerston, or through Stratbtaieri, to Clyde, shall be made a first charge against the loan. Such a work might very easily be placed in the •schedule of the Bill, as a vague, unsurveyed shadow, n.ver to be carried out, for the reason that the money would be all spent on other proposed works, and there would be nothing left for the shadow aforesaid—before the reserve would have to be sold to meet pressing liabilities, under the 150 th section of the Act, in large pastoral subject to consent of the purchasing runholder. The Comrnitee have done well to put the direct issue before the Cob- ' niul Parliament. If—and it is only an

if—the Bill has a chance of passing, we have a strong hope that the Palmerston to Clyde railway will be a guaranteed fact.

On Thursday morning the snow was lying thick at Paluierstoii. The day fixed for hearing appeals against the ■' Municipal assessments for the ensuing year is anuouriced in our advertising columns:

The celebrated mesmerist Professor Bruce announces his intention to visit Naseby at an early date. Constable KooNiiy, who' has been stationed for the last eight years or more at Macraes, has been placed in charge of the new Police District.of Blueskin. The ball announced some time ago, in commemoration of the first anniversary of the Naseby Branch of the H.A.0.8. Society, comes off on Tuesday next, 21st inst.

DtTRiSTG the week there has been a breakdown in-the telegraph, somewhere above Christchurch, the cause of Which we are not aware.

"The roads "between - Macraes and Naseby have never been better on any previous winter than during the present. Substantial culverts have been built over swampy gullies through which hitherto vehicles liad to pass, and some sidlings have been made safe" by excavation.

Some bright genius has been privately wire-pulling to defer the sale of Hyde township, This township was advertised for sale in the ' Gazette,' and then, without rhyme or reason, withdrawn. This very capricious dealing with the sales of the-Goldfields townships is anything but creditable to the authorities'—those middle men somewhere between the irresponsible Waste Lands Board and the responsible Provincial Government. The only business of local interest at the "Waste Lands Board last week was an application for the survey of the Catholic Church section in Foyle-street. As usual, when a direct application is put in, the matter is referred to the . Government, to be again referred back to the Board, and perhaps in about six months' time, after a good round half dozen of such references, finally settled, as it might have been at once, by the granting of the application. This is a rule of business that we look for now as a matter of course.

At the Council-Chambers, at twelve o'clock on Thursday, the Town Clerk read the advertisement announcing the nomination of candidates for the office of Mayor, and then read the only nomination paper deposited with him according to the Act, nominating Mr. L. W. Busoh as a candidate for the ensuiug year. There being only one nomination, the Returning Officer declared that Mr. L. W. Busch was duly elected. Mr. Busch then thanked the ratepayers for their confidence in him, as shown by - them allowing him the honor of holding the office of Mayor for another year. The few gathered at the Chambers then adjourned. There appears to be a.very decided effort being made by officialdom to break faith with the Hamilton people, contrary to the wish of the present Government and directly against the pledges of the late Government. The bridge was promised to be placed at the dan gerous ford on condition Hamilton gave as subsidy its last year's road money, which it did. To bridge the ford on the other road would be a boon, but that work is not so pressing a necessity. If Hyde gets the bridge at- Mardling's ferry that should be enough at present, and the Hamilton' people need not be grudged the safeguard to life which is now actually a necessity. The money which would be needed to make the approaches to the site advocated by the District Engineer would make an ample and good coach road from Hyde .to Hamilton, to the benefit of both places. The severity of the frost ten days ago considerably retarded the progress of the works on „the Head ,Race; ■; but, since the recent thaw, work has been re-commenced with vigor. The cutting on Dillon's low,er contract, considering the hard weather, is being rapidly continued, and only about one mile out of the ten now remains to be cut. Should I the weather continue anything favorable, if is expected that the Naseby end of the Head Race will soon .be completed. The tunnel oh this portion of the race, 650 feet in length, has been driven about 540 feet, and will be finished in six weeks, should King Frost not prevent work being carried on. The deep cutting, averaging twenty feet in depth and 400 feet in length, at the exit end of the tunnel, will also, it is expected, be completed in about three weeks. Mr. Dillon is entitled to credit for the energetic manner in which he has cut and completed these portions of the Head Race for which he successfully contracted. Had the. other contractors shown the same energy we believe the water from the Manuherikia would have been introduced into Naseby by this time. The coach leaving Dunedin on Monday last for Oamaru and Dunstan nearly came to grief at the Water of Leith, of the wheelers shying and thus bringing the wheel in contact with the toll-bar. The horses, frightened enough and pretty fresh, did their best to get away with the coach, but Devine was too much for them, and, another coach having been obtained, progress was again made. The Dunstan passengers, leaving the main line at Palmerston, were not to get up without another scrape. When within about six miles of Waihemo an axle snapped short off. There was nothing for it but to mount and ride to Mr. Luks', whose trap was taken to the broken-down coach to fetch up luggage and mails. From Luks' the passengers —partly on the extemporised coach" and partly on horseback—at length made Pigroot about ten p. m. All this inconvenience might be very well done away with if a spare coach was kept at Waihemo or Pigroot. Be the drivers as careful as they may old wheels and axles will at last give way., ' It would be very little inconvenience to the proprietors to station, during the winter, one or two supplementary coaches. We were misinformed as to the meeting of the School Committee being adjourned last week. There was a full meeting of Committee, the Rev. E. Williams in the chair.' — Correspondence: From the '"'choolmaster, not objecting to the Homeward Bound Company being allowed an exttnsion of time in making good the - portion of reserve interfered with for. mining purposes, till the'end of October. From Mr. Hislop, »e School Reserve; and announcing the allowance by the Education Board of a pupil teacher—salary, if a girl, for first year, £25; if a boy, £3O; subsequent allowance as by after arrangement.'—The Secretary reported a credit balance, from all sources, of £Blos. 4d.—Accounts were passed for payment to the amount of £5 ISs. 9d.— The Secretary was instructed to write as to the nature of qualifications to be requisite in the pupil teacher; also as to the payment for such teacher's own instruction. —lt was carried unanimously that the Bible be read daily by the children in the school, and that the master should open and close the school with prayer—this motion being carried on the understanding that there were no children of Roman Catholic parents' at present attending the school.—The Secretary was instructed to .use every endeavor to obtain the corner addition to the school reserve.—The Committee, by resolution, returned thanks to those who so liberally had subscribed £l6 os. Gd. to clear the school liabilities.

The departmental note of a parcel of gold sent to the' Melbourne Mint by Messrs. Barker and Strahah, lias been kindly forwarded to-the" President of the Central Association. It will be seen that this sample of Cromwell gold, which the Banks as a rule have always

run down as turning out badly, has realised between £3 18s. and £3 19s. per ounce, deducting all charges:— Amount per mint note, as below... £92 11 10 Less charges as under:— Duty, at 2s. per oz. ... £2 6 0 Freight ... ... ... 0 5 0 Shipping charges... ... 0 3 5 Nett proceeds ... ... £B9 17 4 Mint Note:— . Weight before melting ... 23.47 Weight after melting .... 23.09 Standard g01d... ... 24043 Silver ...• X)4O Assay report, .9545—; Standard gold at £3 17s. ltijd. ... £93 12 4 Fine silver, at-ss. per ounce ... 0 2 4 Mint charge, at sd. per oz. 0 10 ; 0 Discount, 74 per cent., ten days 0 3 7 Exchange, \ per cent 0 9.3 : 1 2 10 Total remitted ... ... £92 11 10 Those interested in the Colonial Bank—and who is not ? - -will read the following, with interest,,.extracted from the "Hawke's Bav Herald' "To the Edhor. Sir,—As a settler with a large family growing up, I feel deeply interested in all movements or undertakings calculated to aid in the full development of the resources of iny adopted country. T have therefore given all the countenance and support in my power to promote the interest, and secure the success of the proposed new Banking Company—the Colonial Bank of New Zealand—now fairly floated throughout the whole'of the Colony. lam truly glad to hear that Hawke's Bay has not been" altogether behind other provinces in supporting the Colonial Bank; for I learn on enquiry, that upwards of 4,000 shares have been applied for already, and that all this province is entitled to on the basis of population—about be taken up before closing day of the list, which it is expected, will be about the 10th proximo. It has been publicly stated, and generally believed, that the object the- promoters have in starting this bank, is from a feeling that ample room now exists for a purely Colonial Bank, and they hope, when such an establishment is fairly at work, it will tend greatly to steady the money market, and assist in preventing the recurrence of such a combination as at present exists among the banks now doing business in New Zealand. It is, therefore, the interest of all well-wishers in the future prosperity of the Colony to support so desirable an undertaking.—l am, &c, An old settler. Hawke's Bay, Southern District."