JACKSON BAY SETTLEMENT.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 4814, 26 August 1876, Page 3

JACKSON BAY SETTLEMENT.

The following paper relative to this settlement has been tabled, and as the subject at issue was raised in this journal we give it publicity : His Honor the Superintendent, Westland, to

the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. Sib, —My attention having been drawn to certain statements made by correspondents to the New Zealand Times, and also to a leading article in that paper, based on the information so received, I feel that, although it is contrary to usual practice to take official cognisance of newspaper reports, and more especially anonymous letters, the grave charges of maladministration made with reference to the management of the Jackson Bay settlement require that X should place the Government in full possession of the real circumstances, so that they may, if they think proper, contradict the statements which have been circulated, or cause a searching inquiry to be instituted, so that the interests of the rising settlement alluded to may not be injuriously affected by such reports, or the administration of the Government traduced without sufficient cause. I propose to deal first of all with the statements regarding particular cases at the settlement. These resolve themselves into the following • 1. It is stated that a German died there, after lying twelve weeks without any medical aid or comforts whatever, leaving his wife and family totally helpless. The name of this settler was Louis Eggeliug. He arrived in the colony at Napier, with his wife, four sons (the youngest eleven years old), and two grown up daughters. The daughters were nominated by their friends here, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Eobinson, and at their request Government consented to forward the family from Napier to the settlement, where Mr. and Mrs. Eobinson had been resident for some months. The deceased was ill when he left Hokitika ; but his family were anxious he should accompany them, and he did so. On the 18th November, 1875, the Eesident Agent wrote as follows;—“I am under the necessity of sending up by this boat one of the German settlers, Louis Eggeliug ; he had been confined to his bed for some time, and as I find we can do nothing for him here, he being threatened with partial paralysis, and otherwise indisposed, I have sent him up to the hospital, as, without proper treatment, the case might result fatally. His wife accompanies him to look to him on the passage up, as he is confined to his bed and unable to help himself much.”

On the 13th January, 1876, the Eesident Agent wrote as follows. —“ I am sorry to have to report the death of one of the settlers, Louis Eggeling, one of the German immigrants. This is the party referred to in my report of the 18th November, and wbom I intended sending up to the hospital so that he might obtain medical advice and attendance. He had been confined to bed for some time, one side being partially paralysed ; he had never recovered from the effects of the voyage out, and died on the 16th December, 1875, aged fifty-seven years.” The fact of the poor widow being with her own relatives, the Eobinsons, who sent for them, and the family ranging from eleven years (the youngest) up to adult age, I think shows the strained nature of the communication.

On the subject of medical aid, I addressed you on the 7th April, 1875, forwarding a resolution of the Provincial Council urging the appointment of a duly-qualified medical officer for the settlement ; and at the same time I had a completely fitted medicine chest prepared, and sent down, with full advices, from the Provincial Surgeon, for the treatment of ordinary cases. To my letter you replied on the 4th May, 1875, “ that the expense of such an appointment, or of similar requirements of the settlers, ought to be borne by the settlers themselves, and that the colony cannot properly be called on to bear such expenditure.” In July last, after receipt of your letter, an opportunity offered for obtaining medical aid such as is not often obtained in similarly remote localities. Mr. H. A. Branson, not a qualified medical man, but possessing a diploma from the Pharmaceutical Society of England, several certificates, and twenty-three years’ experience, applied for appointment as attendant on the settlers.

I offered him a free passage, if he felt inclined to settle under the ordinary conditions of settlement, which Mr. Branson accepted, and the settlers were therefore not left without such medical advice as was, under the circumstances, available. That the advice was of practical benefit, not only to the settlers but others located near the settlement, was fully proved in the case of a miner at the Haast, who became lunatic and attempted suicide by inflicting an ugly wound on his throat with an old razor. In the official report on the matter it is stated that “Mr. Marks (storekeeper at the Haast) sent up to the Bay for medical aid and assistance, which was rendered as soon as possible. Mr. Branson, being despatched with the necessary appliances, on arrival sewed up and dressed the wound.” Subsequently, the man was, with great difficulty, removed to the Bay, placed in a cottage, and attended by two men until the arrival of the steamer, when he was sent to Hokitika, and is now alive and being taken care of in the Hokitika Lunatic Asylum. I have no doubt that many other cases, showing the great benefit derived from Mr. Branson’s presence can be obtained by reference to the settlement, but in the case just referred to I am able to quote from the official correspondence already in this office. 2. Complaint is made that the first potatoes planted had all decayed owing to the damp soil and continued wet weather, and a second planting was made impossible through the long interval of communication. It is further stated that there will be either want or the settlement will have to be abandoned unless better supervision and communication are provided. On this point I would state that, on my return from visiting the settlement before proceeding to Wellington last session, I procured and sent down eleven tons of seed potatoes for the settlers ; but, owing to the unusually wet season which prevailed throughout the colony, and to which Jackson Bay was no exception, the. Resident Agent reported, by letter dated 10th November, 1875, “Inconsequence of the bad weather, some of the potatoes that were put in early have rotted, and will requro to be replanted. In other cases the crops are looking well, and promise a good crop.” Again, on the 13th December, he reports that “during the mouth we have had a continuance of the same wet and stormy weather that prevailed during the month of October, interfering with all outdoor operations, but more especially with the planting of potatoes. Some of the potatoes planted at the beginning of this wet spell have rotted in the ground, whilst others planted at the same time, but in dry sandy soil, are looking remarkably well. The first of these letters did not reach me till the 18th of December, 1875, having miscarried through being sent up in a box along with some samples of coal, which was not opened until my return from Wellington. The latter letter reached me on the 31st December, 1875 ; and on the 6th January, 1876, the steamer went down, taking with her all the seed potatoes that could be procured in this market. On the 3rd January, 1876, four days before the arrival of the steamer, Mr. Maofarlane wrote, regretting the delay in sending a further supply of potatoes, “as a good deal of land has been prepared in anticipation of seed being obtainable ; but, as the season is now so far advanced for potato-planting, and as it would be unwise to let the land be idle until next year, I am obtaining a large quantity of Swedish turnip plants from Mr. Marks, at the Haast, who has kindly offered mo as many as I want for the use of the settlers. This crop may not be quite as profitable as potatoes would have been to the settlers, but nevertheless it is better than letting land lie fallow. lam glad to report au improvement in the weather, the last two weeks having been very fine.” The above extracts show that only a portion of the first crop of potatoes was destroyed, and that, although the bad weather was unfortunate, there was neither probability of want occurring nor absence of careful supervision. 3. A further statement, purporting to be made from Jackson Bay, dated 10th January, 1876, is said to conclude, “ Come down soon to see us, or you will only see our graves.”

At this date the Government Geologist, Mr. Cox, the Provincial Chief Surveyor, Mr. Mueller, Mr. Clapcott, a Justice of the Peace, and other gentlemen were down at the settlement, and the steamer taking them down remained from the 7th inst. to the afternoon of the 10th, so as to bring back the returns of the general election. None of these gentlemen saw or heard anything of this distress, or they would certainly have reported it to me. No application was sent to me either by word of mouth or letter ; and had any such state of things existed as the above remarks point to, there was plenty of opportunity to make it known. It is unnecessary for me to dwell further on what is so transparently mendacious.

4. I next take the statement of an individual settler, who complains of being refused additional pay to that promised by the regulations under which the settlement is established, viz., Bs. per diem, and also being refused provisions and work until he had taken up land and complied with the regulations which were passed to insure bona fide settlement. I will quote the letters of the Eesident Agent on both these points, and leave them to speak for themselves: On the 10th January he writes, “It is quite probable you may have complaints lodged with you in connection with this case, as the men who were assisting to watch the lunatic seem to think they should be paid extra wages ; they refused to sign the vouchers for their regular wages, and I send it up without, the money due to them being credited to their store account. I have had some trouble with some of these men ; they have done nothing to their land in the way of clearing, and they do not seem inclined to do anything. Consequently I have refused to give them work unless they comply with the conditions of settlement.” I may say that, in writing to the Ee-. siclent Agent in reply, I said that I entirely approved of the action he had taken, as I regarded the carrying out of the conditions of settlement as essential to the prosperity of the settlement.

Having, I think, satisfactorily disposed of the particular cases referred to at the settlement, I now propose to refer to the statement made as to the propriety of selecting Jackson Bay as a site for the settlement, as it is stated that this was “ not dictated either by prudential or economic considerations, and that there were two other intermediate special settlement blocks, the one four miles from the township of Eoss, and the other in the neighborhood of Okarito, either of which might have been selected with every hope of success; and that the only apparent good of the Jackson Bay settlement was to find employment for a steamer, the Waipara, owned, we believe, by Mr. Bonar, the sailing of which to Jackson Bay appears to he usually fixed twenty-four or thirty hours before the departure of the Maori, subsidised by the Government for the convenience of the West Coast settlements.”

In connection with this, I must draw your attention to the fact that the selection of this site for a special settlement was no new idea suddenly arrived at, but the result af experience and careful inquiry of those best qualified to give an opinion on such a question, and fully considered by the Government before approving of the settlement. By reference to the proceedings of the County Council, it will be seen that on the 27th January, 1871, a select committee, consisting of Messrs. Eeid, Eobiuson, Barff, Lahmaun, and myself, was appointed to report on suitable blocks of land for forming special settlements under part 3 of the Westland Waste Lands Act, 1870. On the 14th February, 1871, the committee brought up their report, stating that, after carefully considering this important matter, and taking evidence of the Chief Surveyor, Harbormaster, Captain Bascand, Mr. Howard, and Mr. Mathies, all of whom had considerable knowledge and experience on the coast, they arrived at the following conclusions, namely—1. That it is desirable to establish only one special settlement under the Waste Lands Act as a trial scheme. 2. That the site for such settlement should be a block of land comprising 50,000 acres, extending from the Haast river to a point two miles south of the Arawata river (the block now occupied by the settlement). 3. That the most suitable site for a town would be that laid out at the time of the Haast rush, on the north bank of the Okuru river. (To he continued.)