The Southland Times. SATURDAY, SEPT. 10, 1834.

Southland Times, Volume I, Issue 44, 10 September 1864, Page 2

The Southland Times. SATURDAY, SEPT. 10, 1834.

Chief amongst the causes which have led to the difficulties of the Province must be ranked bad legislation. The new Council will have it in their power to efl'ect a great change for the better in this respect ; but there are some points upon which they will be powerless, or nearly so. The regulations for the sale of the waste lands of the Province is one of these points. A despatch, which we publish in another part of to-day's paper, contains the information that on the 26th instant, " The " Southland Waste Lands Act, 1863," will be proclaimed as having received Her Majesty's assent, and will, of course, come into force as soon as the Gazette is received in Southland. It may •be : too late to do anything that will postpone the proclamation, but the attempt- is well worth making, for, should the new Act come into force, we feel convinced that a heavy blow will be struck at the prosperity of the Province — a blow she, in her present depressed condition, is but little able, to sustain. If this ; Act is once proclaimed; it must remain in force, till the; Assembly; again legislate onthe subject, and until; the result of their.: labors, has received the? assent of the Crown, a process which would■taHMJfc least-a yeai? tK>akxsQmp r lish. The old)

Provincial Council of Southland mdre than once' remonstrated about *, this and during the last' session ''& memorial, to which were appended , certain resolutions of the House, forwarded *to. His Excellency," him ta tlelay" putting " The Southland Waste Lands^Acfc 7 ' into force, should' JHer ,Majes^. have., assented, to* "it.' ISTo answer to that memorial Has, so ;fer as we! are informed, and* that, coupled with the 'despWehro* which" •"we "before alluded, is conclusive' that ->< Sir = GrEOKGE G-key and c His Ministry have definitely depided to put the Act in force. It is possible that a' strong memorial, numerously signed, and forwardedwifKbiiit delay to- Auckland," might have the effect of inducing the (Government to withhold the proclamation, ;and permit ;the present regulations to continue in'operation till further legislation has reffected~an entire change in the land system. .'.,_' "± i We should be wrong in saying that the new Act has not some good clauses; but these stand side by side with others of a very baneful tendency, and, in considering the utility of the Act, we must look' at it as a whole. Viewed thus, we feel sure it will do worse than add' to the complexity and insufficiency of the present Land Regulations. .'..,. The fifth clause provides that " all " rural land shall hereafter -be open for "sale or disposal except such, as, "at the | " time application is made for the pur- " chase of the same is leased or reserved " for leasing or is included or. comprised " within any license to depasture stock " or is reserved from sale by virtue of " any power or authority in that behalf " given by any Act Ordinance or 3egula- " tions for the time being in force," etc., and the Superintendent may, with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, reserve or withdraw any land the sale of which may appear to him prejudicial to the public interests. Clause six is important. Its provisions are that the Waste Land Board shall decide on any application for land within twelve days of such application, instead of as in the old Regulations not until at least ten days after application. It is evident, therefore, that under the new law the Board can decide if they please in twentyfour hours after application. This is a decided improvement on the existing regulations, which place it in the power of any one to shut up a whole block from the public for ten days, and to continue to do so," time after time, should no one else happen to apply for the land on the same day with himself. The new Act provides for open Auction of the land, if more than one apply for the same section, thus enabling everyone to compete, whereas under the old system only the first applicant and those who applied on the same day were allowed to bid. It is evident that under the new Act the probabilities of the land realizing a fair price would be greatly enhanced. The old " dodge " was for any one wanting a section or two out of a block to apply for the whole of it, and then, should any others have played the same game, they agreed outside as to their respective sections, and got them at the upset price, the public not being allowed to compete. We come next to the price at which under the new Act the land will be offered for sale, viz., two pounds per acre. This is throwing a direct and serious obstacle in the way of settlement. Considering the great existing depression, there is not much inducement to settle at one pound per acre, and the land revenue is not what it should be; but when that price is doubled, the sales are certain to diminish to an enormous extent. It was the opinion of the advocates of this measure that, by raising the price of the land, its value, as a security for loans, would be greatly increased ; but the idea is altogether and obviously fallacious. If the land will not sell for two pounds per acre, it is absurd to suppose that its value as a security will be increased by raising the upset price to that figure. A parallel case would be that of A wishing to borrow a certain sum on property which he could sell, let us say, for £1,000. The lender does not consider the security sufficient in amount. A then advertises his property for sale at £2,000, vainly imagining that by so doing he has substantially increased the value of his estate as a borrowing security. The ilender might think otherwise. Looked at in this light, the argument that raising the nominal price of the waste lands of the Province would add to their value looks absurd enough. We grant that if at two pounds you could command as ready a sale as at one pound, or even a sale which would produce an equal amount of cash for a less quantity of land, the security would of course be augmented, but that such would be the case we altogether deny, and the onus of ! proof should rest with the advocates of I the new measure. We know that, in the case of town sections, raising the price had very far from a beneficial result, and if the Act comes into operation we shall be much surprised if the ! Government do not have private individuals, who bought at one pound per acre, competing with them. The interests of the General Government demand that the land revenue of Southland should be kept up. They have advanced already to the province £45,000, and are about to advance another £15,000, on the security of the waste lands, and their chance of repayment depends on the sales.; "which are effected. The new Act will stop sales altogether. With our present " Education Ordinance," our " Roads Ordinance," ; and land at two pounds per acre, he> will be a bold man who ventures to become an agricultural settler in Southland.' Clause eight makes it lawful for' the Governor, on the recommendation of theSuperintendent, to raise the upset price of land still further; a course of action not very likely to" be called for!" • ' J ~ l " ;: '^ '■ Clause .ten is a . great improvement pa the existing regulation^, which only entitle: the purchaser ftp; a/ Crowii, grant at the! expiration ' of four years', during which timieihe must ; -have ; expended^ the, sum of two pounds peK^aere^ia improvemeats. \

Theref i»>o penjiHy attached to', the nqnfulfillment joOhisnstipulation, further thiui the refusal, of r the CrWn grant,, and it* is ', ? doubtful whetherithe GovernmentTiave the / power* of re-entry .^The' question is about to be^xfarde the^gxouhds' of an action:iirtli9 Supreme Court 4 6f&Otago. The new Act provides that, on payment of the purchase *money, purchaser shall ~at 6nce-be {entitled to *his Crown grant. t '"V ' eleventh'" clause affects purchaser* under the existing regulations^ -who have not expended the required amount of two pounds in improvements. They can get . their Crown - grants, either 'by paying another ten shillings an acre -for their land, or by -taking one-third less land ; in either case, the improvement clause, as far as they are concerned, would be inoperative. Those who do not elect to do one or other of the above-mentioned things within six months after the Act comes into operation will be deemed to have decided to stand on their rights, and to remain subject to their original liabilities under the improvement clause of the old regulations. , ' The thirteenth clause is also * one of importance. It is to the effect that on the declaration of new Hundreds the pasturage rights' of squatters shall not rease until , the , appointment ,of "Wardens for such Hundreds. Now, at firsli sight this may appear an- improvement on the " old system, under which the pasturage rights of a squatter cease immediately on the declaration of his run into Hundreds ; but, practically, the boon is of no great magnitude, in as much, as the new system will certainly tend to 'accelerate the election of Wardens-, so soon as any land is bought. As we before remarked, the Act should be looked at as a whole, and when that is done we are of opinion that the evil predominates over the good, and that it would be better to, remain under the present regulations for the ensuing twelve months than to run the risk of seriously impeding the progress of the Province by putting a stop to bond fide settlement. We are amongst the last to advocate the alienation of the wastelands of Southland at a price below their fair- yalUe ; ;^nb doubt great mischief has^beeii 'done elsewhere by adopting so foolish a policy, but when we look at the present state of trade, the general depression, the embarrassment of the Provincial .government, and the great necessity there is of speedily getting the lands of the Province " out of pawn " to the General Go-vernment,-we are compelled to think that the worst course which could bo taken at the -present juncture, is to raise the price of land. ' If our fellow-colonists are of the same way of thinking with ourselves, we would remind them they have no time to lose in again appealing to the General Government. Should there not be strfficient time to stay the proclamation, it ..will be the duty of the Provincial Council to again memorialise the General Government, and endeavor to get the. subject reconsidered by the Assembly at its; next . session.

The -Mauntainaar, a new Gippa • Land journalj •tates that a platypus (Qrmthorynchu3.paradoxus),[ in the "possession of Mr! s Rumley, gold Veceiyer,* Woods Point, recently laid two eggs which: were white,' soft,' and -without' shell. '■<. "If is to beregretted," says .the ' journal quoted, "that no; opportunity was afforded of examining them* more minutely;*' as, '.they, :w;ere; /soon afterwards; thrown away. „It haa hitherto , been a matter of dispute among naturalists as" to whether this ex-; traordinary ■ animal,- theY connecting.h'nk . between birds" and animals'^' produced living-, young, or whether it laid*,eggs." , , ' '■ The coast defences of "Australia appear to be attracting more thsuiJ Ordinary. < attention' at the present time. The Argus of 2nd instant states that " Commodore Sir Williani Wiseman and; Colonel Ward, ,B,.E., ; examined the; whole. of the Hobson's Bay; shore batteries ; on : Wednesday,: with the view of advising the Government of any, improvements their experience might suggest in the plan or the construction of our defences, They- were accompanied i by Brigadier-General; Chute, Colonel Anderson, and other officers.* Colonel Ward, we understand, has travelled. from Sydney for the purpose of making the inspection. The works at the Heads have still to be examined, but this .will not be done until the Curagpa passes Queenscliffe, on her way out of Port Phillip, probably on Sunday next. On Saturday, Commodore Wiseman will ■ inspect .the Volunteer Naval Brigade at Sandridge, and as the force will be put through its entire drill, including cutlass ■exercise, the proceedings are expected to be of a very interesting character." A communication from " Marine " in the same journal advocates the immediate . placing of a Amounted watch at Western Port Bay, and also the having in readiness a number of old hulks which, on the approach of an enemy, could be sunk so as to block the entrance to that bay, and also the Heads, leaving only a very small channel open for the traffic of the port, arid this to be only known to the pilots The same would be done at Queenscliffe, a tug boat boing kept stationed there ia readiness day and night to tow out and sink the hulks. At a meeting of the stock-owners of the Otepopo District held recently, the Oamaru Times reports the following resolutions as .carried. We recommend them to the notice of the stockownera of Southland : — " 1. That the cattleowncrs of the Otepopo Hundred co-operate with those of the Moeraki Hundred m engaging and paying a man to live on or near the Horse Range, to watch that boundary of the infected district, and keep diseased cattle from crossing it." 2. " That Is. per head be subscribed by the cattleowners of the Otepopo Hundred, in order to defray the expenses of keeping a man on the Horse Range for six months from this date." 3. " That the subscriptions collected be handed, through Mr. Fenwk-k, to Mr. M'Farlane, of Moeraki, to be expended according to terms of previous resolutions ; and that Messrs. T. Anderson, Speed, and Oliver be authorised to receive subscriptions." The following resolution of the Royal Commissioners of the New Zealand Exhibition, will be found worthy the attention of our local committee. It is extracted from the Oamaru Times of the Ist inßt. : — " That, with a view to the early preparation of the catalogue and the giving proper information to the Commissioners of the character of goods proposed to be exhibited, it be an instruction to the local committees and agents to require that each exhibitor should be called upon, when demanding space, to catalogue what he proposes to forward, and to state the number of similar j objects he proposes to exhibit. He is to be at*j liberty to price his catalogue, and to mark objects with prices ; but he will not be allowed to sell in the Exhibition. This should be in addition to, and separate from, the ordinary demand for space." At tho third exhibition of the vincgrowers of South Australia, on the 17th August, the following were the awards of the judges: — " For red wines (dry) of 1863, Mr. Joseph Gillard, of Nor- I wood, first prize ; Mr. Holbrook, of Underdule, j near Thebarton, second prize. Mr. Gillard also j took in the class of sweet red wines the first prize I for 1863, a second prize for 1862, and a first prize for 1861. In the white dry wines of 18G3 there ■were two prizes awarded — one to Mr. J. Vv. Bull, of Glen Osmond, for wines from Madeira grapes ; and one to Mr. Edward J. Peake, for wines from Reisling grapes." The Argus informs us that a substantial testimonial of the value of upwards <5f 200 guineas is about to be presented to Mr. Peter Snodgrass, M.L.A., for Dalhousie, by his constituents and friends,' " as an acknowledgment of his services as a member of the Parliament of Victoria for the last thirteen years." It consists of an cpergne of frosted silver, which carried off the prize at the Victorian Exhibition for the best specimen of colonial workmanship in silver.