The Pahiatua star. (Published Tuesdays end Fridays.) FBIDAY, JULY 2, 1886.

Pahiatua Star and Eketahuna Advertiser, Volume 1, Issue 7, 2 July 1886, Page 2

The Pahiatua star. (Published Tuesdays end Fridays.) FBIDAY, JULY 2, 1886.

An far hack ee February Mr Miller, owing to a lergo nuoiW of people making application to him for laud, as Chairman of tho Paliiatua-Puketoi Association, wrote to the Minister of I .and* for permission to establiflh a settlement in Mangaone, to consist of 8000 acres. We liave already referred to the refusal of the application, oil the ground that the land indicated occupied nearly the whole of the valley and water frontage; and so far the Crown Lands office acted wisely, for j tho monopoly of the river frontage by j any association would havo greatly re- 1 duced the valuo of the unallotted por- S tions of the block. Mr Miller accepted the refusal, but made a further application in April for 8000 acres in the same locality, accompanied by a suggestion that a portion in the centre of the block be cut up into about 400 acre allotments, and disposed of on the perpetual leasing system. The reason given for this departure from the usual course was that some of the land being rough, would be taken up far more readily if offered in larger blocks. Tho Minister of Lands, although giving no decided answer, appeared to think the idea wan workable, and promised to give his attention to the matter. From that time until the present nothing satisfactory had been heard, and we think some explanation is due to Mr Miller, who has placed himself in an unenviable situation in order to induce settlement upon the land. Some fifty persons have been kept waiting months for a reply; and it is more than probable some of them have taken wing and gone to Kimberley or elsewhere. To show that a certain amount of confusion exists in the Crown Lands Department, we might state that in reply to a telofffnm sent by Mr Miller on the 15th June regarding his last application, a reply was received on Tuesday as follows: —“ General Survey Office, Wellington, 20th June, 1880.— Sir,—l have been requested to acknowledge the receipt of your telegram of the 15th instant, addressed to the Hon. the Minister of Lands, Asking his decision in reference to the division of the Mangaonc Special Settlement. In reply I am to inform you that the association you represent cannot have its block in a narrow strip down the Mangaone valley, thereby monopolising an undue extent of frontage ; but if a proposal is made for a block more nearly square in outline, consideration will be given to it. — l have, Ac., James McKeruow, Surveyor General.” This it will be seen is a direct reply to the original request for 8000 acres along the banks of the Mangaone, and consequently Mr Miller is as far off as ever. Had the application not been made before the meeting of Parliament, some excuse might have been found for the neglect; hut unfortunately for the department no such excuse is admissible, for plenty of time transpired between the making of the application and the assembling of the House for tho matter to be nttended to. Various other complaints have been made to us of the unsatisfactory manner in which business is transacted by the Crown Lands Department, putting settlers to great trouble and ir convenience, but those we will refer to at another time.