THE Mount Ida Chronicle THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1877.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 416, 22 March 1877, Page 2

THE Mount Ida Chronicle THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 1877.

Ii" we were to be asked, "What man in Ota-;o has most inflaenee for good or evil upon the prosperity of the old Province during the next few years ? we should be inclined to say, Tbe Chief .Surveyor. It is utterly incomprehensible that this should De so; that an officer whose department is above all others technically exact should have thedestinies of thousands of our people, existing under ever-fluctuating conditions, in his hand. There must be something wrong in the principle of our waste lauds legislation which so misplaces so great a power. Nominally the Waste Lands Board is responsible for the selection of laud for settlement, and for the determining of the mode of dealing with pastoral leaseholds as they 101 l in ; practically the whole of this power is relegated to the Chief Survey--07% the members of the Board pleading ignorance. Occasionally a protest is made by some member against the Suiveyor's report, but when this has been the case it will be found that the disputed report has always aifected lands that the insubordinate member has a personal knowledge of, being near his own home. Mr. Green's objection to the re-leasing of the runs near Waikouaiti, the leases of which are about to fall in, illustrates this nicely. Mr. (jlreeu did quite right to object, but if the land had been anywhere else, under the same conditions, as regards proximity to settlement, we fear he would have swallowed Mr. Arthur's soporific bolus with latent gusto peculiar to a properly disciplined member of our Waste .Lands Board. Mr. Green was a member of the late Otago Executive which was quite prepared to sell the centre of Mr. Watsou Sherman's run to that gentleman himself in one huge block, and much else to others at Teviot and elsewhere, as country unfit for anything but pasture, on the ipse dixit of the then Chief Surveyor, Mr. M'Kerrow. His eyes are open wide enough when the almost inaccessible and barren ridges near Blueskin are threatened, and the truth comes home, which has long been obvious enough to settlers in the interior, that much more can be made out of our actual pastoral lands than what has hitherto been the case. It would be an excellent thing for Otago if her Waste Lands Board I could officially see as far as Blueskin with their, own eyes. Under Mr. Green's education perhaps they may. To see to Strathtaieri may eveu be pos- j sible. Maniototo, Idaburn, Manuheri- j Ida are doubtfully existing localities, too clearly in the sky region for mortal Land Board vision. To place, such power in a nominee Waste Lands Board is a frightful mistake ; to allow of a delegation to such a Board's officer is worse still. With a calm feeling of irresponsibility he approaches every question from his own knowledge, and is prepared to classify lands by altitude, geological formation, or geodesical symmetry iu such a way as to sat isfy the most obstructive. Who could fail to be molified when placed before wonderfully colored maps, beautiful to look upon, showing lands of first value, of secondary value, and of no value at all. Such research ! such painstaking skill! such prescience! Who can blame the man ? Certainly no tender-hearted member of our Waste Lands Boai'd, who is dependent upon him for everything. Tet, when it comes to be considered, what a monstrous thing this dictation to settlers is ! Who would dare to dictate to a miner he is not to work this claim or that because by doing so he will plunge himself into irretrievable

difficulties? Or who would compel the tradesmen, in his own interest, to trade here and not there. Yet that is what is being done by our absurd system of Chief-Surveyor dictatorship. If a settler wishes to utilise land, ho will see , his way so to do if the land is on the top of Mount Cook. Any system which allows the best remaining lands of the country to be locked up by lease to pastoral tenants, because a Chief Surveyor chooses to report them pastoral only, or that the frontages being taken, I the existing licensee will be injured, or the incoming one inconvenienced, should be condemned, regardless of any consideration of persona. If the very worst men had to be picked for thi3 foolish dictatorship, we should suggest the surveyors, a-3 qualified beyond all others. Their knowledge has been obtained under conditions peculiarly unfavorable to their understanding the possible capabilities of the laud to the working men of the present and future. For instance, about twelve years ago the present Chief Surveyor was employed in laying off the whole of this and the JDunstan districts, going into every valley, and camped, for more or less time, in nearly every gully. Who so fit, then, to report on'tho capabilities of the country ? it may bo asked. 'On the other hand we say. Who so unfit? Seeing nothing but sheep day after day, meeting no one outside the camp to speak to except the runboklers, learning to regard the in-coming population as a rough lot of miners only, to go as quickly as to come, never in all his progress seeing a farm, —suclJ a man, when considering a report foi his employers of to-day, has in his mind the recollections and associations of the past, and not those that would be implanted by a similar pilgrimage now. At the same time it is apparent that a man so versed in the local knowledge of gullies in which bo hud camped, of creeks to which he had given names, would not tolerate the idea that anyone could tell better iban be could the real value of the country, the features of which he was so intimately acquainted with. A persona] and dogmatic infallibility is tb us established, which is as unbearable as k is ill-founded. So long as we have a nominee Board so long will we have land classification by Chief Surveyors : so long will our settlers be told they must not be allowed to judge for themselves—a wise providence sits once'a week in J)uncdin to take care of the life of poor Jeaines. The best cure for the evil would be free selection of deferred payment areas of at least 500 acres in extent, and free .selection, of freehold* not exceeding GdiO acres. 31<et a mau take his land where be wants it. if a liberal land system cannot be devised in this direction, the best check upou the evil, complained of would be the hustings. Every member of the Board should be elected: the members from as many different districts as there are scats at the Board, and the Chief Commissioner for the whole Provincial District. In this way mou would bo returned witli real knowledge, and the farce of two or three vunholders, ancient or modern, a merchant, and a couple of farmers doing what an official after their own heart fcelis them to do, except where their own limited eyesight compels rebellion, might be swept away for ever.

Although: for reasons which, although unexplained, were do doubt weighty, tlie Municipal Council of Naseby have hitherto refused to apply for a proclamation of the boundaries as determined by the District (Surveyor last year, we venture an opinion that, in the interests of the town, application should now be made. If the County Council had constituted, its members might have raised an objection, as some rateable property would have been taken from it. The reasons for this step seem so obvious as to be hardly worth stating. Jfirst, a large and valuable reserve might be obtained ; the streets could be better cared for; the area of gold-producing land would be in creased, the revenue upon which could be secured for the Borough; the hill, coming into JN'ascby could be kept in re.i\*iir wild the amount derived from licenses and rates in the newly included area. Should the Municipal Council extend the boundaries, as recommended, it might be hoped to be symbolical of an extension of general utility. A good supply of water is very much needed in Earn-Street. Full powers exist to enable an arrangement to be entered into between the Corporation and the existing Water Company, while the income from the water rates would be sufficiently remunerative at half the present interest received by the company's shareholders. In other words, the Corporation could afford to put in as much capital again as the Company has expended to extend and improve the supply, even though the receipts should be no greater. As it is, the general impression upon the ratepayers mind is that a large amount of rates are being paid, and nothing is being received of adequate benefit. It is true the principal streets are fairly kept, but they were not formed in the first instance by Municipal money, but by subscription. It is notorious that many of the streets which have been under the guardianship of the local body have been allowed to be destroyed, while othgrs are endangered. Every one can see that the lo sver corner of the town would be swept with water and tailings, should a storm cloud break at the kead of Roach's Gully, as it did a week or two ago in. the Main Grully, on account of the tailings having been allowei to accumulate. We need not say tlat the owners of property would hare their action against the Corporation, not the miners. On ; the whole, our Oouncil must be found I guilty of constmate neglect in many

important particulars, while the balance side of the good works account is of a light character. The extraordinary part of the Municipal neglect, so generally complained of, is that the Councillors never cease to give themselves infinite 1 ,bor to effect it. One merit indeed the Council is entitled to claim, and that is, there is no wapteful expenditure upon salaries for the benefit, direct or indirect, of Councillors, While abundantly quarrelsome, it has been scrupulously honest. A matter of serious consideration should be attended to. The Council at its first start adopted a certain portion of the Act of ISO 7. This Act is now repealed, and the powers conferred upon the Municipality must now be looked fop in the Act of 1873. Among these powers is the making of bye-laws. At present the Council has no power to make a single bye-law, while its original code is innately defective and out of date. Thb Hon. Donald Eeid'a visit tdSTaseby was the local event of the week. It is sincerely to be hoped that the visit will not ha barren of results. One great advantage has been gained—one Minister can now" be saddled with.a definite responsibility. Mr. Eeid accepted this responsibility whei. he aaid ho had come up to see how the works cculcl 09 completed and iitilised. Hitherto any pressure brought to-bear upon Ministers was lost, because aimless It 'was only too evident that the Government had never bothered itself about the works until, when fairly worried into action, Mr. Eeid was persuaded to come up and see. Mr. Keid proved tins when, to have a hit at the County Council, he almost intimated that the Government would not give the works up. It h only a very few days ago that Mr. G. M'Lean told the County Chairman that the Government would complete the works and then offer them to the Council Now, both 11 r. M'Lean and Mr. Iteid cannot be right. The only solution to the contradictory statements is that Mr. M'Lean spoke of the Government in the person singular, and that Mr. Eeid did the same, and that the Government as a Government never troubled itself about the matter at all. Mr. Eeid. with all his expressed deference to the law, is an excellent autocrat, and it is just now on these works that a little autocracy is needed. As Mr. Xewman -.-ery clearly put it the management must feel its way into regulations by experience. To attempt to stereotype a management before the wqfffesare commenced with certainly prove mosinmsatisfactory. The cursory inspection Mr. Eeid was able to give, and the different tales from competition for tail race piivileges and water rights poured into his ear, will show him this. Nevertheless it is to be feared that the nervous dread of the bad results_ following the individualising of any public work in which the sympathies are not actively engaged will compel him to adhere to the letter of the law. The inconveniences 1 arising from this course, if adopted, could berectitied by legislation next session, provided the local bodies would agree to take a fair share of the responsibilities attaching to the maintenance of the works. .NJr. Keid certainly knows that the speedy progress of these works is essential to the prosperity of Naseby. He knows that every month of delay means great additional expense, and he has pledged himself to hurry "the inauguration of the water supply as much as it can be done. It is not therefore unreasonable to hope that good may result from his visit.