CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume VI, Issue 135, 9 June 1871, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

THE SETTLEMENT OF THE COUNTRYTo The Editor of thb Nelson Evening Mail. / Sir, — Having jusfc returned from a tour in the interior of the Province, I was pleased to see your articles on the settlement of the outlying districts and entirely agree with your views as expressed in last Tuesday's issue. I am satisfied that if many persona who have been farming such wretched soil as is to be found in tlxe Waimeaß and Moutere were to pay a visit to the Upper For remainder of newt see fourth page.

Buller they would be inclined to throw up their present holdings and commence afresh in that district. There is a very large quantity of splendid land at the Matakitaki, suitable, I should say, for any kind of crop, now lying entirely idle, which may be had in blocks up to 200 acres under .the Agricultural Lease, Regulations for a rental of two-and-sixpence per acre, with a purchasing clause. There is a good, market for produce ; all potatoes grown (and twenty tons per acre have been produced there) can be sold for £15 per ton, aud other produce at good rates. The carriage of goods, srfy flour, from town, is about £20 per J#n, and yet no one has though of growiDg wheat and erecting a flour-mill^ a case of porter costs £6, and yet no one has attempted to grow barley, and, convert it into beer, although the soil, is well adapted for such crops. Surely, sir, there must be either a great want of energy in the Province, or the inhabitants must be quite devoid of the art of colonisation. In America such a place would soon have its little towD, with a blacksmith's shop, mill, church, and school. It cannot be that there is? not sufficient population ; perhaps it may be that the requisite capital is not to be had. The Otago Government has founded a settlement in Martin's Bay, which, I believe, is flourishing, and I am sure that one acre of land on the Buller is worth a whole farm there, for the reason that there is no market at band for produce. The only drawback to living on the Busier is the execrable roads between there and town, but as nearly everything could be produced on the spot in the shape of provisions, roads would not be of so much consequence. I understand, however, that the Government intend making a new Hue of road from the Motueka Valley. Iv connection with this subject is the projected railway to Foxhill. Now I believe. this to be a mistake; we have a good road there already, passengers are carried by coach for less money than is charged on the Canterbury railways, and it cannot possibly pay; why not then commence at the end of the good road and carry a cheap tramway right into the interior ? If this were done the continuation of the line to town would inevitably follow. Before closing this, it is right I should refer to mining matters in the district I have been referring to. Mining has been confined hitherto to simply washing the banks of the rivers, at which a living may be. made almost anywhere, but there are thousands of square miles that have never been prospected at all, principally, I conclude, on account of the high price of provisions, but which will at some future time, I have no doubt, be proved to be auriferous, and I also expect to see the rivers dredged, as iv Otago, with profitable results. I think, Mr. Editor, you could not do the province a greater service than in ventilating this subject of interior settlements. I am, &c, B. Nelson, June 7; 1871.

A meeting of the Wellington Jockey Club was held on Monday evening in the Empire Hotel, Mr. Bromley in the chair. Tbe secretaiy announced that all the old members had signified their intention of continuing to belong to the club, and many new ones had expressed a wish to join. A subscription list was opened, and gave promise of reaching a very handsome sum. It is believed that fully £500 will he obtained to be run for at the first meeting, and it is proposed that £200 of this shall be sent home for a cup. The Gas Company is evidently determined to popularise the use of gas as much as possible.. With that view it has this month reduced the price Is. per thousand feet, while at the sarce time it offers a discount of 10 per cent, to consumers who pay cash monthly. This is practically a reduction of 3s. per thousand on the original price charged, and at 18s. per thousand gas is certainly tbe cheapest illuminating material which can be used. — Post. Provincial Councillors often entertain very exalted ideas of their own importance and of the legislative powers of the body to which they belong. An amusing instance of this has recently occured in Napier, where Mr. Colenso actually asked the Council to assent to a series of resolutions regarding the necessity for the enactment of a Usury Law. The resolutions are really refreshingly cool. They recite that monies were commonly aud largely borrowed on the first settlement of the Province at very high rates of interest by many of the early settlers, for the purpose of taking, occupying, and stocking of sheep runs, and that such monies were in general thus largely borrowed at a time when both sheep and wool were worth iv the market from four to six times their present value, and when highway and other rates and tolls

were unknown; and in entire good faith and belief that those early prices for the staple commodities of sheep and wool would continue aud thatas notwithstanding the utmost care, attention, and prudent economy on the part of those parties that have so boi rowed, it is now found to be impossible any longer to pay such high rates of interest ; it therefore seems fair and just that under these greatly altered circumstances the los 3 should be equitably borne by both lender and borrower. Mr. Colenso accordingly proceeds to recommend the unanimous application to the Assembly to pass an Act compelling the lenders iv the cases referred to, to accept 6 per cent, interest, but having some doubt as to whether the Assembly would consent to fix the rate so low, and in the event of that body not consenting to make the maximum legal sum to be henceforth due and paid as iuterest upon the said old loans less than 8 per cent., that the .sura of 2 per cent, per annum shall be at every payment thereof deducted therefrom, the same to be paid over to the Provincial Treasurer of Hawke's Bay on account of the said Province, and to be by the Provincial Council dealt with as its ordinary revenue. It is almost needless to add that Mr. Colenso's no doubt wellmeant, but at (he same time utterly absurd proposals found little favor in the eyes of the Council, and were, after a good deal of time had been wasted iv debating them, rejected. — Post. An Auckland paper tells the following story : — A certain, coasting schooner, trading between the Thames and the Bay of Islands, took in a quantity of quartz ballast at the former place and sailed for the latter. During the passage the master amused himself with " fossicking " amongst the stone, aud was encouraged to persevere by the sight of a " speck or two." The further he worked into his claim, the better it became, and the end of it was that he collected 221 b. of golden stone, which, on his return to the Thames with a cargo of another color and character, he had crushed, and obtained 22dwt of gold. During his late inspection of the Napier Volunteers, Col. Harrington gave a piece of information which will be of considerable interest to p" who intend to compete for the General Government prizes next year. He stated that the Government intended in the Prize Firing Regulations to insert a clause to the effect that no volunteer could become a representative unless he had. attended a certain number of parades during the previous twelve months. Col. Harrington said he mentioned the fact in order that volunteers might not complain of not , having received timely warniDg. Our/ crack shots will therefore do well toattenct parade pretty regularly ior the future or they may find themselves disqualified as representatives. \ The special correspondents of the Taranaki Herald who recently accompanied Mr. Parris to the native meeting at Mokau, asserts that a white man is living among the Maories, supposed to be named Coburn, one of the military settlers, who the natives say incited them to kill the Rev. Mr. Whitely. He was clothed in a shirt and blanket, had his cheeks touched up with kokowai, and in all respects acted as a Maori aud took part in all the ceremonies with the greatest coolness. He appeared about, twenty-five years of age, little or no beard, hair of a light brown, square forehead, projecting eyebrows of a dark color, eyes sunk, face tapering to the chin, of a pale color. The expression of his Gouutednnce was decidedly unpleasant, having a kind of harsb, sullen, and gloomy look. Whether he is guilty of the crime imputed to him it is hard to say, but apart from that, he must have reached alow stage of demoralisation to live such a life; but if guilty he must be a\hardened villain to sit out, the.ceremonies with such apparent indifference. A vert startling communication has been ( made to us {Medical Press and Circular) by a gentlemen occupying a most important post, in this country, of the existence of a most deadly poison, by the inhalation of which, simply through, .the medium of a letter sent; by post in the ordinary way, the reader will suddenly; .drop down dead with all the appesranco ot asphyxia. The position apd acquirements of our informant should place his evidence beyond suspicion j nevertheless, before giving entire credence to such a, startling.report, we are. anxious to obtain confirmatory evidence from any of our readers in whose , minds suspicions of foul play have arisen when investigating cases of sudden death, and what such symtoms were. Cer'iinly the following clipping from a Canadian relative to the recent death .Ojf a, ,perspn\ of ., note, looks very ugly : — " He; received an anonymous letter, and while reading* it he fell down insensible, and shortly: ; after expired. It is said the letter contained Bdme poisonous substance,". . DISGRACEFUL AND IMPERTINENT — Ruin staring a person in the face. " :i '' iV "