LAND SALE AT QUEENSTOWN.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 34, 25 January 1864, Page 3

LAND SALE AT QUEENSTOWN.

(From the Wakatip ALnA) A large number of the residents of Q/i.-eiialown thronged the Conrt Mouse af iis opcni-ig i>n Mi>nd:iy morning, to heir Messrs t.'utten and I'yke expound their doci ri in* relative to the sale of -'he township lands. A rather length*, ami amusYg di-cussioi> took. place between- th-i Wa-ie Lands-lmai-d, as represented by the irc-ntlo-nian named, *l r Shepherd, and the Improvment (Jornmiitee, assisted by (lie vox popni. Pounds, shillings and pence, and acres, poles, and perch-, s were jumbled loge'he in such an inextricable mass alter a tew nii-.utcs' di-ici-ssio;-, that we can well afford to e.NCii-e Mi* Culfeti some of his lviiher foggy remarks, though we may grumble at his (bci-ion. For some time the whole a flair seemed iike a board of guardians in dYpu'e, •*• meeting of creditors who object to accept a jenny in the pound, or a railway shareholder.-," meeting when no dividend is forthcoming, lr. was ended, however, by Mr Cutten abruptly closing ali furtlu-i* discu-sion liy stating tlie price would he 10-,. afoot frontage, for so he wil ed it: and while strangely enough refusing to abate a cent for tho comparatively worthless back sections, he had not the slightest objection to tacking on an odd half ciown a loot for corner allotments. The whole affair may ba characterised as a sal;-, indeed, in a double sense; and we think a barefaced swindle would not be tno strdng a term forir. One gentlemen, possessed of 25 f feet frontage, wilh l*. feet in depth, had to 'j pay the same amount for his holding as some of his more fortunate neighbors for theirs of 150 fee 1 ; in depth— thus touching hini up, oi*. a rough calculation, at tlie rate of upwards of eleven hundred pounds an acre. The allotments possessing water frontages areto beallowed to remain in statu quo, theGovernmentreserving ten feet from high-waler mark around ihe of ihe I ake. Beach street is to be nan owed to 29 feet, and is calculated to constituie in limes to come an admirable Petticoat Lane for the Lake district. Mr Cutten was busy on Monday and Tuesday in selling the public and their lands as per occupa- i tion, and judging from the pile of notes under the fatherly care of bis hon. colleague, the result will be preitv satisfac factory to the Government. We under- , stand he will proceed to " sell " Kingston on Thursday, and finish our business for us on Saturday next. Why a man should have to suffer for his enterprise and energy is a mystery to us ; the inhabitants of Queenstown have made ihe place valuable, and now they must pay through tlie nosa for it. We wonder how much of Frankton he will dispose of at 10s a foot. Never during all our experience on gold fields of 13 years were we ever witnesses to such extortion and injustice, and never did we see such universal dissatisfaction at the conclusion of a land sale as now pervades all classes. Wliat an inauguration of tlie visit of the coming " minister of peace," in whose paternal interest in (he welfare of the goldfields we all repose snch unbounded confidence ! An appropriate title has been suggested to us of this memorable event — "The sacking of Q,eenslown."