The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 1877.

Patea Mail, Volume III, Issue 229, 20 June 1877, Page 2

The Patea Mail. PUBLISHED WEDNESDAYS AND SATURDAYS WEDNESDAY, JUNE 20, 1877.

Sevemaii North Island panel's have lately strongly advocated that greater facilities shonld bo given to men of small means to settle on land. In the \\ uirarapa the most si ivnnons exertions Jiavo boon made to induce Government to set aside land for the .small Farm Association. Some of the large land holders are enlisted on the side of the small farm seekers, and are actively engaged in helping the association to come to terms with the Wellington Waste Lands Board, some members ol which appear inclined to throw all possible obstacles in the way of the Association. Mr James Gilligan, a innholder near Mastcrton, is so far in favour of establishing small farms in his own immediate neighbourhood, that he is about to cut up 1000 acres into fifty allotments of twenty acres each, and offer the same for sale by auction. The Wellington Arijvs describes the land as u a block within •four-miles of Mastcrton, and containing about 1000 acres of the very finest laud in the North Island—deep, rich, alluvial soil, vesting on a limestone substratum. This block is known as the Maungahina. and from time immemorial it has been a favorite spot for the cultivations and gardens of the natives, who are as good jmitres of land as any people in the world.” It would be vfoll if other nm.holders would follow Mr Gilligan’s example. In Wayside Notes of a “ Flying Trip lo Fielding,” now publishing m the Wanganui Herald , Ttira-

kina is said to have been stationary lor the past ton years, the reason given being that “ Turakiua is laud-locked, that many of the small formers have been bought out, and cleared out, and hence its hard fate.” A contrast is shewn in Marton, which is “ the centre of a district studded with moderate sized farms, and an energetic, industrious class of farmers. Its progress is constant; houses are always going up ; enterprise is marked on everything one sees around him, the footpaths and streets and buildings indicating the vigor and liberality of the people.” Of .Sandon it is said—“ This settlement is only three miles from Bulls, on the. other side of the RangUikei river, and is formed mainly of small farmers from, the Butt, who wore located there a low years ago on the principle of deferred payments. The average size of the forms is about 200 acres, end the stability and prosperity of the settlers arc the subject of general remark. The township consists at present of a single street of buildings, which are increasing rapidly, while the settlers are replacing their first rude tenements by houses of the approved modern construction.” The township of Bulls is referred lo as “ the emporium of Bower Bang hiked, and must become an important inland town if it can fix the trade of the surrounding districts in itself. It suffers from landed monopoly on. this .side, but is compensated by a full complement of the industrial elements on rhe other. Its progress during the past few years is very marked.” The Scandinavian settlement is spoken of as a marked success, and one of the settlers said “ that those who were placed on the 10-acro sections wore all doing well, and some had saved sufficient money hy making butter and cheese to bo able to buy move laud, which, however, could not be obtained adjoining their sections, as no one was willing to sell out. The work of clearing is still going on. Potatoes arc the principal crop as yet, and garden produce is attended toon every section.” In Hawke’s Bay small farm settlements on a limited scale have been successfully established, and ofloßs are now being made for promoting settlement of small fanners on a larger scale. The Napier Telegraph regretfully refers to the fact that through Hawke’s Bay having been declared by its early settlers to be a pastoral country, it has continued to produce nothing but wool, Sheep have occupied the land instead of human beings. The consequence has been that the country has fallen into the hands of the few, and exports have fallen infinitely short in value to what they should have done considering the quality of the soil and the nature of thedimaie. In the article referred to it is staled “that while the other provinces in the colony are developing to their utmost their natural and industrial resources, Hawke’s Bay is standing still. Let us for one moment glance at the present condition of Canterbury, and ask ourselves why it is that that province has so completely outstrqiped Hawke’s Bay in itches, population, and commerce. Neither the soil nor the climate of Canterbury can bo compared with ours; the country was naturally loss attractive to immigrants than this should have been ; and land, though, abundant, was four times as clear as it" was here. But with these comparative disadvantages, capital and labour flowed into the country, because its rulers were wise enough to perceive that there was abundance of loom for both the agucnUnrist and the grazier. The rulers in Hawke’s Bay, on the other hand, pm sued a different course; they know that the country could support sheep, and, being sheep-fanners themselves, they sc framed the land laws that the agriculturist was practically shut out. "Not until every inch of open country had been converted into a sheep run was it deemed advisable to lot the man of small moans participate in Inc ownership of the soil. The mischief done in the early days of this settlement will take very many years to remedy ; at the present time it is felt in this way, that lo procure open land for agricultural purposes it must bo acquired second fond, and such, a value is put upon it as to render its purchase a very doubtful speculation, Wo have said that Hawke’s Bay is a pastoral country, let us look then,at the result of having turned it into a sheep walk. We have a population of 12,500, of whom 531 occupy land either as freeholders or leaseholders. Out of about ‘,*00,000 acres of hind sold hy the Crown, within the ’provincial district, only 2,552 acres arc under crop, of which 14 3 neves arc in wheat, and 1,527 in oats. We have 23,000 head of cattle, and 1,400,000 sheep. The value of our exports represents our producing power as a pastoral community ; that value is a miserable total, the production of 900,000 acres of land, of less than half a million ot money. This is the estimate of the value of all wc shall receive from wool, tallow, and hides, exported for the year ending 30th April last.” It would be easy to furnish other examples of the importance of encouraging small form settlements, and the injury resulting from exclusively large holdings in open and fertile country. Wo hope the lesson furnished by Hawke’s Bay will not be lost on the leading men in this part of the Colony. Large holders should encourage in every possible way the settling of the land by small capitalists and working formers. All would thereby be benefitted. A settler in the Patea T)istrict, who lately did a tour of the North Island, and who is a capable judge of land, states that m no part of Auckland or Hawke’s Bay did ho meet with such

uniformly good quality land, extending over such a large area, as may be met with between Wanganui and Taranaki. There is really no compaiison between land on this coast and that to be met with in Hawke’s Bay. Yet Hawke’s Bay land is stated to be far preferable for agricultural purposes, when price and climate is taken into consideration, than the hind of grain-producing Canterbury or Otago. How much move suited, then, must land hereabouts be for tillage. In view of the probable early acquisition by Government of blocks of fertile open land, it behoves all interested in turning to the best account the naturally rich resources of this part of the Colony, to be up and doing, and to make themselves felt at head quarters, hy insisting that new blocks be cut up to suit hona fide settlers, and men of small means, rather than speculators. Speculators have hitherto reaped a rich harvest. Actual cultivators should now have a chance. The Comity Council lately took a step in the right direction in framing a resolution, expressing the opinion that a considerable portion ot land, on the Waimate Plains, when ready, should ho thrown open for selection on deferred payments. The tendency of the proposed new Native Lands Act is to play into the bauds of capitalists. It is urgently necessary that a strong protest should be made thereagainst, and we hope that other bodies and persons will follow the example set by the County Council, and by giving expression to their opinions, aid the future progress of the district, by helping to secure land for actual settlers rather than speculators.