ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator. Wellington, October 26th, 1854.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IX, Issue 964, 28 October 1854, Page 4

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE. To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator. Wellington, October 26th, 1854.

• SiK,—^l beg to enclose a copy of a memorial to -the* Provincial ' Government and a correspondence connected- with 'it, l relating to the existing Land arid Pas•tnrageliegoUtions, which I shall feel obliged by-your publijfoing'in the Spectator, as I think it Only due to the public to afford them <an opportunity of seeing thfe real state Jn srfaicb; thiihnpprJiant question is at t pre«ril?, and,of-jndging how far their expectations of cheap land are likely to 'be realised, and also how far the promise* of tfiose of tneif representatives to whom,iheTnanage:.men^t of the dfcira of M* Province is jntrtuted> and who

pledged themselves to the principle of cheap lanfi, are to be depended upfon. , I* have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant,, J. VALENTINE SMITH.

Caitle Point, 19th July, 1854. ;To His Honor the Superintendent of the Province of Wellington. ! 1. "We, the nndersigned Settlers and Runholders of the Province of Wellington, beg leave to address your jHondr on the subject of the existing Land'and Pastuirage Regulations. ; 2. We respectfully beg to submit to your Honor* notice and consideration the following facts: — , 3. That although' Pasturage Regulations were issued by the Government as long ago as the year 1851, under which licenses or leases of the runs were to be granted to the occupiers of the Waste Lands of the Crown, as far as we ourselves are concerned, the prospect of obtaining such licenses or leases of the runs we at pre- ' sent occupy, appears to us as remote as ever. . > 4. That in consequence of this' delay in the issue of such licenses of leases, dissension! and disputes relative to boundaries of runs have ariien and must continue to arise, which it is most desirable should be speedily adjusted. 5. That although in accordance with dames 8 and 14 of the Land Regulations of the 4th of March. 1853*, whereby it is provided that upon the application of parties'to-have lands unavailable for Agriculture put up to auction at ss. an acre, sums of money have been; deposited at the Land Office by parties who have applied to have such lands put up at the said pi ice, no such applications have as yet been acted upon', and it has become to be generally understood that it is the intention of the Government not to put up any land in thii Province at ss. an acre. 6. That inasmuch as' the price of lands fit for agriculture has been fixed at' 10s. an acre by the $aid Land Regulations; it appears to us that the Government is bound to carry out those provisions of the same Regulations which relate to lands unavailable for agriculture being put up to auction at ss. an acre. 7. That the said Regulations having gone forth to the Public, many persons have been induced on the faith of them to settle in this Province and to invest capital in the purchase of stock and otherwise, and that it is incumbent upon the Government and due to the Public that the said Regulations be carried out in theiffull integrity. 8. That in the neighbouring Province of Nelson large quantities of land unavailable for agriculture have been put up to 'auction at ss'. an acre under the said Regulations, and yet no applications relating to similar lands in this Province have as yet been acted upon, although the necessary deposits have been received at thqj Land Offices. 9. That in the opinion of your Petitioners enterprise has been much impeded and the' prosperity of this Province retarded by the limited manner in which the survey of land has hitherto been conducted, and that it is very desirable that such survey should be greatly extended, more especially with a view to the proper definition of the boundaries of runs, the classification of the rural districts into 10s. an acre, and ss. an acre land, and a the* acquisition of Crown Titles by parties who have already paid in at the Land Offices sums of money for the purchase of lands applied for by them. 10. The respectful prayer of your Petitioners therefore is, that your Honor may be pleased to institute such measures as will lead to the speedy issue of our Pasturage Licenses, and to give force to those provisions of. the Land Regulations whereby lands in this Province unavailable for agriculture may be put up to auction at ss. an acre. J. Valentine Smith, Thomas Guthrie, Edwin Mkrediih, Philip Murch, Charles F. Hales, D. Cameron, &c, &c.

Provincial Secretary's Office, Wellington, 24th October, 1854. Sir, I have the honor to inform you and the subscribers to a memorial, dated Castle Point, July 19th (received at this'office on sth September) that the me-morial-has been submitted to the considei ation of the Executive Council since the.return of his Honor the Superintendent from Auckland. * With regard to the delay complained of by the Memorialists in the issue of their Pasturage Licenses, the Land Commissioner, Mr. Bell, has afforded this explanation, viz., that owing to Mr. M'Lean's absence, r it was impossible accurately to determine the boundaries of the runs in the. districts referred to, inasmufch as the boundary lines between the alienated and un alienated land were not yet accurately laid down. With regard to the complaint that applications for land to be put up to auction at ss. per acre have not been acted upon, I beg to refer you to the following resolution, which has been adopted by the Executive Council; viz.: — That, having regard to the strong expression of opinion in the General Assembly adverse to the sale of land-at si. per acre, and having further regard to the Waste Lands Act, under the provisions whereof effect can be given to that general feeling by the action of the Provincial Councils on the matter, tHe Provincial Executive will not make itself a party to ss. an acre sales in any part of the Province. I have the honor, to be, Sir, Your obedient Servant,' William Fitzherhert, Provincial Secretary.

Wellington, October 25th, 1854. Sir,—l have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yesterday's date. "As one of those who signed the Memorial to which your letter is a reply, I would respectfully observe that the explanation to the effect that the delay in the issue of Pasturage Licenses is attributable to Mr. Maclean's absence, appears to be unconnected with the question at issue, since in most of the blocks of land purchased by Government from the Natives, the boundaries "have been defined with sufficient accuracy to admit of their subdivision into runs without any further reference to that officer. " Maps of the following surveyed blocks, in which not a single Runholder has yet received a license, may be eeen by any one at the Land Office. Hapuku's Block, about 279,000 "I Surveyed by Messrs. Ahnriri '„ „ 265,000 > Park and Pelichet Mohaka „ „ 85,700 J in 1851. And the AhioruM „ 160,000 "1 Surveyed by Mr. „ Puke-toi „ 115,000/ Pelichet in 1852. Some steps have recently been taken by Mr. Domett towards marking out the' runs in some Of the above blocki in the Ahuriri districtfand there are other blocks "of tafid on tbeTßast'Coait"purchased from the'Nativei to the apportionment of which into runs no obstacle exists, unless it is to be understood that it is the intention of the Provincial Gpvernment to defer the issue of Pasturage Licenses until the whole country, has been purchased from .the Natives. With regard to the resolution adopted by the Provincial Executive to the effect that " it -will not make itself a party to ss. an acre sales in any part of the Province," I beg respectfully to observe that the Land Regulations'of March, 1853, proclaimed by Sir George Grey- are at present in force, and have been confirmed by the Waste Lands Act recently passed in the General Assembly, and until they are repealed or altered by the Governor of the Colony, I am unable to understand how a resolution passed by the Provincial Executive can suspend their operation, or how the ■ Provincial Government can refuse to carry out the provisions therein, contained. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, ' J. VALENTINE SMITH.