WAIMATE PLAINS.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 490, 10 January 1880, Page 2

WAIMATE PLAINS.

At Christchurch on Monday, the 29th December,- a deputation of the GoT.Qf>erative Land Company waited oh the Hon Mr Rolleston, Minister for Lands, on the above matter. The, Canterbury Times furnishes the following report of the interview:

Mr Treadwell acted as spokesman, arid prefaced his remarks by stating that the deputation had been encouraged to wait upon the Hon the Minister of Lands because they had seen that he was in favour of the loan being devoted to the settlement of the country. Mr Treadwell then explained in detail, to Mr Kolleston, the scheme of the Company to purchase on deferred payments spread over teii years, 40,000 acres of open land at £3 an acre, and 40,000 acres of bush land at 30s an acre, the first payment to be made after the first crop had been raised. Mr Uolleston pointed out that the jaw did not provide for such a first payment. Mr Treadwell had been led to believe that the Government would accept the proposal, as it had expressed a desire to assist the settlers as far as possible. Mr Kolleston : But within the law. Mr Treadwell: At all events the money could he arranged for. The Company proposed to work at the public works which would have to be proceeded with in their district, atone per cent, less than the lowest contract taken for similar work. They would, settle some 8,001) persons on the lands, and by having so dense a body of people would ensure Safety from the Natives. Mr Kolleston asked if the Company wished themselves to make their arrangements with the Natives.

Mr Treadwell replied that the Company would arrange with the Natives only through the Government. There would bo at least 1,000 of the settlers armed With rifles, many of them old soldiers, volunteers, &c. The commissariat would be provided by a co-operative Store: Ten thousand sheep and one thousand head of cattle would at once be put upoii the land, and necessary machinery, such as mills, &c. The Company would ask the Government to leave them tlie supervision of schools, post, aiid telegraph offices, police and defence departments, so that the money paid for these things should go to the members of the Company. The block of land could be handed over to the Company without being surveyed, in accordance with a clause in the Act. Mr Rollestou would like to see that clause. Mr Treadwell pointed out the clause he had referred to. Mr Rollestou believed that that clause referred to land on the goldfields, and not to special settlements. Mr Tredwell said the Company would leave it to the Government to decide under which clauses they should take the land. He might mention that several hundred families were already enrolled. ' The increased value of the reserves and of the neighbouring land would pay for all the public buildings, whilst the adult nialcs wore working on Government contracts, the boys from 13 to 18 years of stge would bo tilling the laud. Between 00 and 100 teams would be started at mice;

Mr Rolleston replied that with regard to the Wainiate Plains lie thought it was better that he should at once state that the whole question of their occupation was one, involving as if did the peace and settlement of the country, which the Government could not deal with hastily, nor suddenly accept the proposals submitted by the Company. Bopposing those proposals to bo within the limits of the present law—which he did hot think they were—the disturbed state of the Waimate Natives would prevent the Government accepting the Company’s offers without the express consent of the Parliament. The Government had no intention of throwing these lands into the hands of speculators, their desire was that they should be opened to bona fide settlers under the deferred payment system. He must speak openly as an individual member of the Ministry, he could tell them that the Government did not intend at present to agree to their proposals. They would be entitled to receive a formal answer, but that would be the tenor of it. Their proposals were to deal with a large tract of country through one Company and upon certain conditions laid down by the Company, bnt the Act contemplated that the land should be open to all who chose to take it up. There were monopolies of different kinds, and the Company was as much a monoply as would be speculative purchasers of a smaller extent. With regard to confining the management of the schools, post, and telegraph offices, &c., to members of the Company, as distinct from the rest of the colonists, that also meant to some extent a monoply. Mr Treadwell admitted that it would be, but only for three or four years. Mr Rolleston did not think the proposals could be entered by Government, and there was, therefore, no necessity at present to go into, the details of the scheme. The Act gave liberal conditions to bond fide residents and occupants, and Government intended to open blocks of land in this and the North Island for occupation under deferred payment. He had already been in communication with the Land Office, on the subject: But the lands would have to be taken by inindividiials, not by Companies. There were three classes of land dealt with by the Act. The first class was the general selection’ on deferred payments, the second was the villiage settlements, for individuals; on easy terms —chiefly blocks of land near railways—and the third was that class affected by the special settlement clauses, which wefe framed upon the Kati Kali agreement. The proposals of the Company did not come

exactly under any of these classes, and this had been pointed out: . to the* delegates at Wellington. His reply would be that he would carefully go through those proposals submitted, ami give them a formal reply from tho Government when he had lii. dan opportunity of meeting his colleagues:, hut his own opinion—which, also expneSsed thft mind of the Government—was ,that it was impossible to deal with the Waimat Plains as proposed. He hoped t!io members of the Association would turn their attention in another direction. Mr Treadwell again spoke at somelemrth of the advantages of the scheme. Mr Uolleslon assured the deputation that he had no wish to ev:ide the responsibility of giving his opinion on the matter. He considered the proposal, was not practicable, and that it. was not in accordance with the law. The Government, moreover, could not devolve upon, other people their responsibility to deal with the Native difficulty. Alter some further discussion a member of the deputation asked if, in event of the Company nut getting Waimate land, could they iot get ' Broomhairs block ? Mr Kolleston replied that there was very strong feeling in the House'against the absorption of so large a block under any one Company, and he did'not think there was a probability of aiiy block being taken up under the conditions proposed by the deputation. Mr Treadwell suggested that the Company would take the land as individnals, Mr Ilolleston said as individuals they could take blocks next to each’other. Mr Clement said there were 'hundreds nearly starving in Christchurch, so lie thought those lands should be thrown open immediately Mr Kent was not at all disappointed at Mr Kolleston’s reply to the deputation, but would ask if there whs a posibility of the Company getting a piece-of land if they took individual bid/ties. Mr Kolleston was afraid he had not made himself sufficiently understood. Such conditions as were laid down in the Waimate scheme were what, he thought, the Government could not entertain, nor could they guarantee public works to any Company of individuals to the exclusion of people from other parts of the Colony. Mr Kent asked if UroomhaH’s block could be obtained, providing that sufficient. nnmhcis applied for it ? Mr Kolieston said Government was going to throw it open immediately, not asa special settlement, but under deferred, payments. After referring to several other blocks of land, the deputation thanked tin; lion. Minister and withdrew.