THE KARAMEA.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 100, 30 April 1877, Page 2

THE KARAMEA.

MR. O'CONOR'S OFFICIAL REPORT.

To O. Curtis, Esq. Sin— On the 12th of last month I accompanied the provisions sent to Karamea by the p.s. Wallace. The steamer crossed three hours before high water, the soundiug showing a minimum of eleven feet. The goods were all discharged in good order aud condition upon the wharf. The Wallace took her departure by the same tide, taking away

from Karamea the persons named in schedule A; in this schedule will be found certain interesting particulars connected with the ! . departure of the persons named. As soon as the steamer had left I made a ! temporary distribution of flour, some of the settlers having been without flour for some time owing to the delay in the arrival of the steamer. This delay was caused by the difficulty in obtaining flour, and also in securing a steamer: but the privation was not difficult to bear as there was an ample | supply of beef, potatoes,, milk, butter, and I other products of the localityI remained at Karamea until the 30th ult., during which time all the settlers whom I could trust were supplied with three months stores. The books were balanced and work laid out for such of the settlers as were prepared to undertake it, in order to square the accounts. I also, as instructed, disposed of the store for £50, and the remnant of stock at Nelson cost price with freight added. Mr Dolphin was the purchaser ou the understanding that he will have the right to occupy one acre of that portion of the reserve upon which the store is erected, : subject to six months' notice: Mr Dolphin undertakes to supply stores at Westport" prices' and 'not to sell intoxicating liquors Y .. _'.' Some difficulty was experienced in connection with the accounts' in consequence of some of the settlers having been- employed upon the survey during .the months .of De-- . cember and January. A return jvai made of their work, and credit giveu through the' Government store on account of 'ifc, aud a. return also madejthrough the survey- depdrt-, ment. 'In consequence of the lattery return they received cheques from the7paymas|ergeneral, but the men honorably gave \ up -. their cheques and I have paid the account into your, official account," theonlv/. exception being Charles Matthews :who;ins£ead.of sur- ' rendering his, gave me a- "great deal of ;abuse| and in the presence of a huniber'bf -pers^nsi made statements utterly at variance .withlthe" truth, and calculated to leave a pjjejiidicfe in" the minds of persons listening to him. '" As he coupled the name of : John Gayrior with one of his statements,"- 1 at oftce sent for John Gaynor who cont.radictedY'Matthews' . assertion. I ordered- Matthews to,lea.ve the store, informing him at the same time that I would compel him to ; pay his account, and that for the future he c neither employment nor provisions fromi the settlement so long as I remained in charge of it. I adopted this course as the only one by which I could at once punish a slanderer and set the slander at defiance. Matthews cannot now say, as he has said, that he has anything to gain by holding his tongue. This man is not a new arrival, is an excellent workman, and has been very successful as a settler. He has a first-class holding, but he has been the cause of much mischief and heart-burnings , among the settlers. Previous to my leaving be paid £4 13s 8d to the storekeeper; the balance of his account, £9 10s, is covered by ah' order which he gave in February last for his January work upon the survey. . Mr Jennings, the surveyor, has promised that he would protect the order when the cheque was presented to him for counter-signature. I regret that since the departure of the late school mistress no school ha 3 been opened at Karamea. At the request of the Inspector of Schools I endeavored to get some qualified person in the locality tb open a school temporarily, but having neither school building nor master's house I found ifc impossible to do so. I have at the request . of the Central Board of Education let the clearing of section as a school reserve. If a master were provided a small house could be erected upon this section for about £30 that would answer for the time, and might be used by all the children of a school going age, suitable provision being made for bringing to school the children from the southern side of the river. But eventually it will be necessary to provide a separate school for the inhabitants of the up river part of the district. Afc present there are about 100 children afc Karamea, and parents are becoming very uneasy lest provision be not made for educational purposes. I beg to solicit your good offices on their behalf with the Central Board of Education, and will be most happy to render any service within my reach to secure the speedy reopening of the school. With regard to future management I propose immediately upon my return to Karamea calling upon all settlers indebted to work off their balances. I expect that with perhaps two exceptions all the settlors w;ll be clear by the end of May. It will then be for you to decide how they are to be paid for their work for the future. The store difficulty is now disposed of, and the Government can either send necessaries to be distributed in payment for work from the wharf afc certain stated periods as long as the vote lasts, or pay for the work in the usual way, leaving the settlers to spend their money as they choose. I prefer the latter course, as less troublesome arjd mofe satisfactory to the settlers themselves. It will be easy tq arrange particulars. I have already notified to the settlers that in future employment would be limited to heads of families, and that the single men and those otherwise provided for would receive no work. There now remain afc Karamea fifty-five settlers with their families residents of the place, and I believe that with two exceptions they will all be successful, : provided a steamer is subsidised for a year or two to enable them to get their produce to West Coast markets. It will be quite soon enough to commence the regular subsidy next December, which need not exceed £200 per annum for a monthly service, securing freights afc a reasonable figure. A party of diggers are now prospecting the terraces north of Karamea. I have been informed that they have . found payable ground, and that they have set in to work in the neighborhood of Fenian Creek, ten miles from the wharf. I have noticed of late paragraphs in various newspapers reflecting upon the settlement and the management. A very short time since, the settlement was cried down as a place where people were pampered up at the expense of tlie coiouy; now the "wretched settlers are cruelly wronged and tyrannised over." Ifc is also insinuated that dishonesty prevails in the management. While utterly disregarding such slanders aud misrepresentations, I cannot but see that the widespread reports which have been so unscrupulously circulated should be authoritatively contradicted, and I would .be 'very glad to find that the Government took steps necessary to obtain a thoroughly unbiassed report, which might serve to lay before Parliament, if necessary, next session. — I have, &c, Eugene O'Cosj'on. Nelson, April 13, 1877.