TOPICS OF TALK.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume V, Issue 289, 12 September 1874, Page 3

TOPICS OF TALK.

.FiGCnER are dull fac<B; at times,' " however,''facts, if they can be cleared of fal«e burrouhdhigs, aro useful, lilrom the renHiH returns, just to hand,' we observe lhat the male population of 'Mount Ida is'l7B3, which includes; 251 ; Chinese—"leaving a white population (including, children) of 1532. This c/in hardly place the adult male population, under twenty-one yeara of age, as over 1200. 'Now let uh see what in. crostse in population the general prosperity of the country during tbe last

few years has brought us, say since 187 L. In that year our adult male English population was 13(}8. - Then we see at a glance that the population is reduced-at least fifteen percent. This reduction ia made up generally <of producers, for the non-producers always have a leech like tendency to hang on to their old grounds. It isthose who have made a little money, which they see no way to invest, that leave. In the face of this reduction, we have increased establishments to keep. It would be interesting, if we had lime to collect facts, to rate the local taxation, in tbe way of church establishments, necessary charities, and the like, which the 1200 have to maintain, as compared with similar estabishmenta requiring support when the,population ".'as greater. AtTuapeka equally as at Moui.t Ida, mining returns have been diminishing—rat! the present time we .are told, on the authority of Mr. J. C. Brown and the Superintendent, that, owing to the choking up of the natural outlet, the main source of gold sunply at t uapekamust b.e abandoned. let, we do not find that the population has fallen off, al- . though not so greatly increased in po- „ pulation as the coast towns. In 1871 the adult male population in the tuapeka

electoral district stood at 1959.] In 18/4 we Audit stands at 2947, or an increase'pf clone on 1000. Knowing that the 'gold returns have fallen off, and that at 'tire; same titrio this large population is"aV prosperous as before, we have to Idpfc mora tninutely at' the census return? for a solution of the problem. In:I87l.W find that in the Tuapeka district there was 30,301-fr acrfß- frnrcd in, exclusive of sheep fences. , 1m1874 we find the acreage takeu ,i.u*iu the same .district permahetitly ibv agr'i-ultural purposep is 6i,48t5f acres; that is to say, that in that tiine the land taken iti for the production of agricultural produce has beet) doubled inquariHty. fn 1871 th* quantity under crop, exclusive' ; of 4102 acres in prasses, wasenly 7892'; rind in 1874 hnsarisen to 10,812; while 5019 acres have been permanently laid down in grass, and 10G4 are also temporarily sown with grass seeds, for hay purposea.' It ia abundantly clear that the

cause of success at Tuapeka, during the last three year?, is that agriculture as an industry has been successfully grafted on mining, and thutthe miners are taking root as permanent settlers on the soil. It is also clear that the depression in out* -own district, and the reduced population is the natural result of the neglect of any action on the part of the Provincial Government to foster agricultural settlement. JNow that the pastoral stronghold is broken into, and 3000 acres are about to be surveyed on fir average laud on the plain, we shall see really whether thereis any natural obstacle.to defeat a rate of progress being attained by this district cominen»uraie to its importance as an alluvial Goldfiekls mining centre. If the Public Works prove more successful than the moat sanguine ever dream, unless another industry can be estab lished to a3sift'in helping in production, Mount, Ida can never bear her share in successfully rooting and rnain.raining the population being introduced under the Immigralion Policy. At present, but of our population of 1200, we cannot help thinking ;that 600 | would represent those producing gold i —the other half are simply living on the efforts of the-producers. Population is no good to us ; indeed,, would be only a curptv if it does not increase the proportion of the producers,' as -against those that'rrp non-productive. Y< t tile'late warmth of feeling-which has been engendered (as we have good reason to know), owing ,fo the successful efforts of .those who with, ..these figures before them have endeavored to effect a cure, we are told is only the effect of wounded' pride and resentfulfeelings. For our own pare, we are proud to have borne our share in opening the lands -on Maniototo to those'who wish to. settle upon them. In our first issue of our enlarged paper in December of 1873, before a word whs heard of any change in the ownership of the , Ewebnrn run, we wrote, sketching out pur programme of what we intended to advocate. " It,is very apparent to us that the- large population to be introduced by the inevitable immigration, which is rendered necessary to complete the Colonial public works, will require the fullest facilities for settlement on the wastelands of the Province." The following week we urged, in referring to the fact of; the miners having to bear up the whole population, that—"A '.argeblock on the Maniototo Plain ought to be declared as a Hundred at no distant date. The week following we again leturned to the subject, writing—" If goldmining is not assisted by other industries, the semi-stagnation which has been'the rule in so many localities of the jdia-. trict for the last year or two must con- i tinue." In our first issue of this year, wo again alluded to the question of agricultural settlement on the plain, as a first necessity, urging very .strongly the proclamation of a 5000 i acre block. .It-was not till February ; that the idea of forming a. Pastoral ' Company was publicly mooted, which ' we.at once opposed, so long at least as 'iti was* only <iu' contemplation.' {Looking over our file at our week after week agitation for land, we can see no 1 trace of spasmodic action, suddenly started to oppose the Pastoral Company. Becausenmch a Company !was ; started was no reason for us to cease 1 raising the warning "cry, 'which We had sounded in 1873; that has proved I too true, "that, without another industry, the semi-stagnation : in, ; too many parts of the district .must continue." ! '■,.,.

We ,quote from Warden Curew's annusil leport, as further . explaining the present prosperity of the Tuapeka District, although .the results, from mining have, from various cause*, j declined. The Warden writes :—'' A; decrease in the.quantity of gold 'forwarded by escort is a natural sequence to tbe decrease in the-number' of hands employed in obtaining it; and when this is taken into account, the yield of the last compares very favorably with that of former years, and, in fact, shows a considerable iucrease upon average earnings over the year 1872 3. The quantity escorted in the year just mentioned was 36,408 ounces, which, divided by 1740, the then estimated number of miners, would, at the average price of gold" (755. Gd. per ounce),' leave a miner's earnings as £79 %s for that year. The escort for the past year took down 28,353 oz. 11 dwts., which divided by 1050, g'ves £lO2 Is. as earh miner's earnings. A this i 8 the usual, it i 8 not, in my opinion, a reliable mode of calculating average earnir.gs. Perhaps for tbe past year it is favorable to this district! as I believe the number of miners to -have been smaller when the estimate of their number was taken, than at any other season of the year. For a district dependent .entirely upon gold raising, it is possibly the only correct mode of arriving at results ; but Tuapeka is now not only a goldfield but also an agricultural district, containing several hundred farmsteads, and is sur-' rounded by large agricultural and pastoral settlements, which give' employment to a considerable quautity of'labor. - Numbers of men who are- goldminers by choice, so soon as they meet with ill-success in mining, or are interrupted in their, employment by scarcity of water,'6r other causes incidental to mining occupations, or are moved by the -+'ernptatipn; of large wages, betake themselves to sheep-shearing; harvesting, or other of tbe outlets at command for their labor, and return agaitr to golduihVng 'at their pleasure. Ma'uy of tlitf tinners here" aro also'hoi- - ders of small agricultural leaseholds and smalh,mobs of cattle, and employ a portion of the time in farming pursuits. J-t would bo impossible, under present circumstances, to make proper allowance for this only partial employment, at goldmining, and it ia thus

made to f.p-| ear thru a triven quantity of gold occupies more la!-or to procure than what is realiy lho fact. A remarkable feature of progress in real settlement is- to be gathered from the transactions respecting land during the period reported on. The number of agricultural leases grunted during that time is ninety-seven, covering an area of 8053 acres 3 roods 21 perches, and sixty-five applications, lor 6911 acres 2 roods 4 perches, are now pending, which await survey and other preliminary matters before they calf be granted. The holders of forty-eight leases, over 1830 acres 1 rood 34; perches, which" had run .over three) years, have purchased their holdings, and thirteen other applications, to purcbase*4os acres, are before the WasteLand Board for approval. The provision's" under section 62, " Waste Lands Act,' 1872," by which the holder of an agri-, cultural lease, threeyears in possession, | is admitted to the benefits of the system l i uf purchase on deferred payments, is being largely availed of. The interpretation given to this section allbws the holder of a lease under the Goldfields Act (after three years) to obtain a Crown grant in lee simple on, payment of 17s. 6d. per acre, which- may be paid in fourteen instalments,. ex-, tending over seven years. Strange to siiy, if the holder 'wished to purchase the same holding without deferred payment, under section 74 of the Act,' the price would be 20s. per acre. In ■addition to the leases granted under the Goldfields Act, fifteen applications, for 2318 acres 1 rood 26 perches, have been granted under section 50, " Waste ' Land's Act, 1872." The. holders of these allotments, after residing; thereon for thirty months out of the first three years, and effecting certain improvements on the land, will become entitled to leases under deferred payments. Another block of land of 2500 acres has lately been thrown open 1 forsettleinent on this system, and there is. also an'area of 43,000 acres for selection under the Agrhultural Lease 'lie-, Tjulations., A considerable, portion oV this land is rough, hilly country, and. the whole of it, until applied for on lease, is commonage to the surrounding miners and "other settlers. The number of cattle depastured on this. land for the past year, ,or rather the number for which assessment .was" paid, is as follows : —Cattle and horses, 2485 ; sheep, 1500. The total quantity of >land which has been-leased, in holdings, of from five to two v hundred acres, up to the end of last month was 33,176 acres 3 roods 31 perches, and about 20,000 acres granted in fee. simple and oil deferred payments." .

Commext on the facte to be gathered out ofr the above paragraphs is' needless. .Let our readers compare the privileges that have been extended to Tuapeka and those given to Mount Ida, and ask themselves, Yv hat are the causes ? We sum them up as being comprised solely in two'thiugs : Public apathy and''ihdiffererit'representation. ' ' ', ' , ,