The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1877.

Patea Mail, Volume II, Issue 187, 24 January 1877, Page 2

The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 24, 1877.

Is connection ■with the now County Government, or at least as relating to it, the question of the disposal of the waste lands has a material interest. Though the Assembly loaded up their apparently liberal land fund with all sorts of conditions, making public works, public institutions, and other things liable to it, there is no doubt whatever that the money derived from this source in the Patea district must amount to a considerable sum if properly looked after. But here comes the difficulty ! The present County contains a very large admeasurement of the late Taranaki Province, and a fair slice from that of Wellington. In both these, Waste Lands Boards prevail, and what the Wellington authorities choose to ordain may be directly negatived by the duly constituted powers in New Plymouth. Each Board will no doubt hold on to their respective territories, but what a humiliating position does the County Council occupy in the meantime. To have two Boards of the kind exercising jurisdiction within the county’s boundary is neither more nor less than ridiculous, and surely some of the councillors, at their next meeting, will endeavor by some means to put an end to such an anomaly, On carefully looking over the Waste Lands Act of 1876, as amended, we can see nothing that applies to this state of things, but the Council, through the Government, could no doubt obtain some rectification. As matters stand at present, Waste Lands Boards govern this part of the country from a distance. The members of which they are composed are men who are utterly ignorant of local requirements, of the value of Patea lands, or, in short, of anything in connection with them. Still they are trusted with the sale, leasing, and general disposal of them, whilst the local people, the County Council inclusive, can neither by word nor deed influence their decisions. The present County extends from a little distance over the bridge into the late Wellington Province as far as Waitotara ; from that boundary nearly to Opunake in the Taranaki Province, and though the unsold land in the Wellington county boundaries may be comparatively small, and that on the other side is not yet all available, still a year or two will make great changes. It must be evident, then, that it is not for people at a distance to administer the popular estate, that local authorities, well versed in its value and the most advisable mode of disposing of it, should be selected, and that the creation of a Patea Waste Lands Board is absolutely needed. We do not for a moment wish to infer that any Boards having control within county limits would do other than what they thought right, but through members being unacquainted with circumstances, grave errors may be made. Lands may be sold where leasing would be most to the public advantage, may be leased only where sale would be a public good. As a matter of course, if people are utterly in the dark, they are liable to be misled by acquaintances, instead, of judging for themselves ; and so it is, has been, and ever will be, till the disposal of local lands are in local hands. There is another point in connection with this

question, and that is the question of deferred payments for bush laud. Everyone, of course admits, that settlers of a genuine class are valuable colonists, and help to build up the prosperity of present and future New Zealand. But deferred payments extending over a scries of years, for land of this description, have been but sparsely undertaken hitherto, either by the General or Provincial Governments. It is true, that, on several special settlements, and that in a few instances in other cases they have been permitted, but such permissions have been the exceptions rather than the rule. We presume, that, power to make regulations relative to the mode of payment for lands purchased, rests largely with the_ various Waste Lands Boards, and why they could not see it to their interest to locale as many people on the lands is a mystery, The only explanation is, that all the provinces have hitherto been trying to make as much ready cash out of their lands as possible, and like spendthrift heirs, have not cared how far they sacrificed public interest in order to supply the various Provincial Treasuries. The moral of the whole, is, that distant Waste Lands Boards should be abolished, that County Councils should be ex officio Boards, within their own limits, for the disposal of their own lands, and that the Government, in justice and in reason, should do all that is possible to carry this course out. In the case of the Patea district, this has been sadly felt in the past, and is likely to be more so in future. Land is being acquired, almost day by day, about which the Boards who have sway know nothing. The vitality of the County depends on their judicious disposal, whether by sale or lease, and surely, therefore, it would be bettor to entrust them to local hands. If we can read the Act aright, it is in the power of the Government to appoint Waste Lands Boards wherever they are required, and, in an important district like Patea, the necessity for such constitution cannot be disputed. We would suggest, therefore, either that the County Council be endowed with the functions of such a Board, or that a new local Board, equally apart from New Plymouth or Wellington, should be formed. In this a case, there would be rejoicing amongst the settlers, and greatly improved prospects for the district generally. Major Atkinson is reported to be about paying us a visit, the subject is one well worth bringing under his notice, with a view to its satisfactory settlement.