HYDE.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume VIII, Issue 434, 9 August 1877, Page 3

HYDE.

~.. (Fromfourcpwn correspondent.);*,: August sth.

We Hydonians And our lines oftenvery hard.. Jong time we have' been in the habit of considering that if; only, ,the * fates. metamorphosed into a; Wa'ste'Lan'ds B'oard for Otago", were but j propitious, a chance would be afforded.us' ; 'of%iakirig permanent homes Yofourselves \ :and families on the fairly fertile acres' of' ,the .Strathteierv galley, ; in;the ; ;vicinity<of j Hyde. Destiny, though, so far as land; settlement in New Zealand goes, does not always rest .with the sisters,,three.--, A : destiny unkiiowri to 'the founders of the Hellenic my.th.ologvin .this Colony, and Australian ones also," coihesinto play—a new power —-the squatter. He, so far as land occupation "is concerned, is -the. fate we dread? !i The-Waste'Larfds Board, if it does not exactly quail„before him, does at least lean just the'least of little bits towards his "priority of occupation," and " vested interests?' • Why'sdP' ; We have a continually and a rapidly increasing population—have -hadp tod; 'for* 1 some years. Tj^gs.„ : n&w^ay.e^^ were"" just afterthe initiation of £5,000,000 10an...-What-will we do. with our scions of _ the soil., .and our balletdancing r and, gjassreye-pqlishing -.immi-. grants '?'-'■ No"-doubt 'it- is''veryyfiiie and pleasant to live- in big cities; such as Dunedin,&c, but the end comes, and,pur native bbmi (if of tliese'-pluces). and exotic residents':iriust, when tliat-utiliappy period arrives, seek for fresher fields and newer pastures .fchari is'afforded by the Macadamised emphasis on " damn," " ed " included—streets of the metropolis. The fact is, they must tramp thecountry in search of Will they find it amongst the squatters £ • I thinit not. It now is generally admitted that the person .cultiyating.2(3o;acres of.aground employs yearly as much manual labor as the squatter grazing his muttons on 10,000 acres. Let its pond'er a little' in connection with these very important -facts.'- Let the Waste Lands Board, too, think a little bit. Far be it "from me to say a word against t/he Waste Lands Board, but wool is wool, and Messrs. Strode and Maitland well. know that, although the cry, the terribly wrathful, agonising cry, has been for land. As yet wool is the only response we get squatters will • make out the meaning—only the yolk. It ]is scarcely needful for me to remind you that a deputation from this place, Messrs. •Laverty and Kamsay—had to appear before the Waste Lands Board to support the prayer of the petition for the opening' of more land on the Deep Dell Eun and Taieri Lake Station, Main's. Of course that formidable enemy—procrastination I .■think it is. yes, procrastination, not jobation. cjiiie into play, and two .members of >. the Waste Land Be ru r wore appointed a commission to personally iospeco Main's run and report,, and decide between runholder and petitioners. They have not yet made their appearance, and another autumn iwill soon arrive and there* will be no crop to garner, and the men, patient and long-suffering, will have to still further fritter away their means, waiting, weary waiting, for land for which they are prepared to pay, and from which, if vested in them as' freeholders, the wide New Zealand Colony will reap a larger jand more direct benefit than it would from its " cfoss-breds" in " English grassed" paddocks,-• or cattle on its too-many-to-be-counted hills. 'Twould be as well if this came and let us know at once . whether many of us must roll up our swags and tramp, or employ our funds, hands, and energies in beneficially occupying the country for "ourselves—nativeborn families and willing-to-work immigrants. ■ " That's what's the matter now," as a friend of mine from the " ould dart" often observes. ; And you will .find that we are necessarily in earnest from the subjoined report of a 'public meeting lately held at Hyde. Perforce I must be brief, space like pace being a thiag worthy much consideration. On Friday, August 3rd, the .majority of the inhabitants of the Hyde district met at the Commercial Hotel to consider how best to deal with matters of much local and public importance. Mr. Laverty was bn the voices placed in the chair. In placing the business of the meeting before the people, he said that the principal object which they had met to discuss was the r apppintment,.pf a Progress .Commit*, tee", whose duty would be to watch over the interests of the district; and endeavor to get fair play dealt out to it conformably to its not unimportant Says he —" It is not a Municipality, nor has it any* governmentally 7 cohstitut'ed-' body to go to the country and seek for its right; therefore it behoves us to use our privilege as"Britons, and by and of ourselves constitute into a public body which may reasonably claim a hearing from " the great powers that be." The best way of doing so is by the election of a Piogress Committee. At one. time wehad one productive of much good, but it became defunct, and since ifes demise our local and general interests have somewhat lapsed. We must for our own sakes again be up arid doing, so let us proceed to the business of the evening—the selection of men interested in the community and its claim for justice from the Government or. any llesser body empowered to deal with its requirements.' After a

little discussion, the following gentlemen were appointed the Hyde Progress Committee :—Messrs John Laverty (Chairman), John Meade (Secretary), John ancl Peter Laughfon, Michael Prendergttdt, James Ramsay, and B. S. Booth. The public mreMng then closed with (he customary acknowledgment to the Chairman. .

The first -meeting'of - the Kycle new Progress Committee 'followed immediately after,'.when the underwritten business was transacted. .On ; the motion of Mr. Ramsay it was resolved—"That the Committee meet fortnightly, and intermediately if urgent- business -has to lis dealt 'with." Air. Ramsay proposed, Mr. P. Laughtonseconded;' and it was carried " That the' Secretary write .to. the Coini missioner of Police, Ofagp, re the necessity existing ~'for : the erection of Court House, police; buildings, &e.,. at Hyde, land being reserved-for and The Govern ment being already " pledged^-f>r some years past to complete such purposes •; and that the district member (iVir. de Lautour) be "also written' i.o on this haif." Mr. Meade : proposed, and "was supported by ;Mr., J< Laughton—" That Messrs. Laverty and Ramsay (rhe depu- ; -tation onrbehalf of.the Hyfl.fi> land*petitioners to the Waste Lands BoardV be appointed the -deputation' to wait upon the commission, nominated, by the Board, to report on"Main'satidthe Deep Dellruns, and decide between the" conflicting; .claims x>f squatters, and'generally bene-; ficially bona, fide .would-be and must-be : occupiers.". Carried.., Mr. Prendergast; and Mr. Peter Laugh.tou then conjoined: as proposer and seconder—"That the Country, Councils .©.€■•. Maniotota- and.Waikouaiti be petitioned'-to take steps towards the across the J Taieri.at or about, Mardljng's Ferry, to! connect both Counji.gs., and that the petition be at once ■■.prepared .-to. afford imme-! diate facilities .for Carried.' A'subscription"'list to procure' funds for; .fhb\ carrying oti of the'necessary clerjc;il work, &e., connected with the Committee, ■ .was ,at;;once opened,'i and about £2 subscribed instanteri The people' seriously intend to look for fair play;;