New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, March 16, 1850.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 482, 16 March 1850, Page 2

New Zealand Spectator, AND COOK'S STRAIT GUARDIAN. Saturday, March 16, 1850.

Among the conditions in the Agreement entered into in 1847 by the British Government with the New Zealand Company were the two following, — one, that in the event of the Company' s dissolution, the Government would take the Company's assets together with the liabilities contracted by them with the assent of the Commissioner, and any debt remaining due to the Nelson settlers : that the unsold lands belonging to the Company, amounting at the date of the Agreement to 1,073,483 acres should be taken by the Government at the rate of ss. per acre, and that the Company should be entitled to interest on this amount at the rate of 3^ per cent until the whole was paid out of the proceeds of future sales of Crown Lands in this Colony. The other condition to which we refer is, " That neither the Crown nor the New Zealand Company shall, in any part of New Zealand sell any lands not previously sold by them, for any sum less than 20s. an acre." This last condition the Company have always appeared solicitous to maintain, to prevent any depreciation in the value of the land sold by them. The land in this, the first and principal settlement, was sold at 20s. an acre, at Nelson the price was 30s. an acre, at Otago the price was still higher, while in the projected settlement of New Canterbury the price was fixed at £3 an acre, and for this amount, in the last-named settlements, other advantages duly nominated in the bond were to be provided. The effect of the Compensation recently granted to the Resident Purchasers has been to reduce the price of land, the average price given for Compensation Scrips being £40 for 150 acres or about ss. an acre. The compensation granted to the Absentees, who hold double the number of sections owned by the Resident Purchasers in this settlement must have the effect of still further depreciating the value of land. The result of this last arrangement of the Company therefore will be to reduce the price of land below that which the Government have agreed to give them for their unsold lands, and for some time to come effectually to put a stop to land sales ; in short, to prevent the possibility of raising any fund for immigration, or even for paying the yearly interest guaranteed to the Company by the Government. We say nothing of the effect of this arrangement in aggravating the evils of absenteeism to the resident settlers, because this is sufficiently obvious ; but it appears almost like a breach of faith on the part of the Company by this evasion, on the plea of compensating the absentees, to lower the value of land, not only below the price given to them by their original purchasers, but below the price agreed to be given them in the event of their dissolution by the Government, with interest until the whole amount is paid, both principal and interest becoming a burden settled upon the colony.

Our files of the Otago News received by the late arrivals contain very little local news. By the Sub-Treasurer's statement of the revenue and expenditure it appears that the total revenue collected at that port for the quarter ending 31st December, 1849, amounted to £636 : 17:4, beingat the rate of about £2..500 a year, or £1,000 more than the Lieutenant- Governor's estimate. The expenditure for the quarter amounted to £463 :7: 3. A fresh seam of coal of superior quality is said to have been found on Saddle Hill, in the vicinity of the town, to which a dray- road was nearly completed. H.M. steamer Acheron was at Otago when the Twins sailed.