MOUNT BENGER.

Tuapeka Times, Volume II, Issue 94, 27 November 1869, Page 3

MOUNT BENGER.

(From a Correspondent. ) The first fruits of the demoralising and suicidal line of policy that is being pursued by the present Provincial Executive towards the Goldfields, has been reaped on Saturday last, the 20th instant, by the sale of the Island Block — -which, as might have been expected, fell in its entirety into the hands of the runholder (Mr. Clo.rke), at the average price of 28s. Id. per acre. In vain the residents earnestly remonstrated against the sale of the laud in question, and pointed out what would inevitably be the result ; — in vain they pointed out the injurious consequences which would follow if the land fell into the hands of a capitalist or speculator ;—; — in vain they asked that the Block would be thrown open under the agricultural lease system, by which the interests of the bona fide settlers would be protected. No ; the Government have, in the plenitude of their wisdom and power, disregarded the united voice of one of the most important goldfields districts in the Province. They have turned a deaf ear to their remonstrances; their suggestions, their petitions, and their deputations ; but a day of reckoning will probably yet come, when these things will be weighed and even-handed justice meted out. It has been repeatedly pointed out that the flats along the valley of the Molyneux should lie opened up in no other way than under the agricultural lease system ; as, if that were done, the valley fronting the river on both sides would be secured to the residents, who have a fair right to it. A r i it '' j vow, if the runholders are allowed to purchase the river-frontages of their runs, as in the case of the Island Block, then farewell to settlement in this dis- ' , triet — because, if they can once secure the 'river-frontage, then they have the key to I the back part of their ruins in their own ! lliands, while a disastrous and fatal blow 'Will be struck at the best interests of the I flistrict — such is the policy which the 'Vovernment are at the present time initiating on the Goldfields. In reference to •;|is district, I would jisk them to pause ?|d be guided by the voice of the resio|nts, and not, as hitherto, treat them "Hith contempt. I would then recomn'pnd that the land along the valley of tliL Molyneux be opened up under the leiye system, and if the Government devise to sell the slopes of the ranges out- j sidoihese valleys, even beyond the per- I petijal snow-line, by all means let {hem in'hHge in their selling mania in that 'resplct. j Imreply to the deputation which waited upon! them with the view of stopping the saleju the Island Block, they stated that it waVnot their policy to sell land on the poldtelds to the detriment; of the mining interest, but to promote the settlement therecs by every means in their power, t ask,|iow can they reconcile such policy tie destructive result which was witnessed? of it on Saturday last, by which tke vary pink of the lands of an importlnt djstrict, at one foil swoop, passed aVay f fcr ever into the hands of a bloated ci^pitaljst at the handsome figure of 28s. Id. pet' acre. Such is the policy now a^ojite^ by those who hold the destinies of', the \Province in. the palm of their he&ds, tjpd who, a short time ago, would moye tile spheres to the contrary. So muchfoiithe unstability of human nature. I itas raider amused to read Mr. Gillies's deience cf his 1 own conduct in this most iniquitous affair, when he recommended i!io Government to soil the Island Block in ?if efortpce to -leasing, at the same time," as X am rnformod, grving tlia people a-c the!£evio ; itp understand that he would, strongly recommend the Government to leasa the land in-preferencte to sellingi In ijis* defence, on the occasion of the

deputation frpm this place, Mr. Gillies stated that he discovered land which" had been cropped and afterwards abandoned. A more silly or humiliating defence in justification of a miserable act, I never heard. I may here state that I know the' land of which Mr. Gillies attempted to make so much capital. It is some ten or twelve acres, which had been .taken up some years ago by a would-be farmer, of the name of Flyn, on the memorable shingle block, and who, on reaping* his crop, instead of a yield of an hundredfold, "was amazed at finding that it would not pay for the seed sown therein. These are the arguments put forward by tae practical, sagacious, astute councillor aild legislator, Mr. J. L. Gillies, in support of his conduct in this miserable affair. It is earnestly to be hoped that, before long, we shall be relieved of this now cumbrous machinery, Provincial Government, with its whims, its narrow-mindedness, its wholesale spoliation of our birthright, its follies and unstatesmanlike proceedings, and be consigned to that bourne from whence no traveller returns. ,

(From an Occasional Cor respondent.)

SAT.B OF THE ISLAND BLOCK—EXTRAORDINARY APPLICATION OF THE " SCKEW." The sale of the Island Block took place within the Commercial Assembly .Rooms, Roxburgh, on Saturday last— miners, storekeepers, and settlers, attended irom all parts of the district, anxious to purchase a home and settlement in this tlieir adopted country, so celebrated for its benencent and liberal land laws, but they were one and all of them doomed tc bittur disappointment ; the Avhole of the land being purchased at prices ranging from £1 to £2 Us. per acre, by Mr. Kitching, manager for "Big Clarke," either for the rirst named individual ; or, as the public mostly surmise, for himself and I. N. Wood, Esq., the Warden for the Mount Uwiiger and kiwrbzevs districts • at ail events it is concluded the ownership lies between one or other of the above, trio.

Our truly wise, patriotic, and far-seeing Provincial .Executive, a short time since, publicly announced in. correspondence anent this very block, that it was not their policy to sell land to the detriment of the mining interest ; yet in the face of that statement, what has been the result 'i Have any of the nimsrs, whose plodding industry, whose indomitable perseverance has solely given the land its present value, been able to purchase a single foot of it, after waiting from year to year, indulging the hope of being in the position, sooner or later, of calling some part of it their own, and after coming long distances too, and bidding at the last what they considered its value I No 1 after spiritedly competing for a time, they saw the utter hopelessness, the futility of striving with moderate means against practically unlimited capital; and thoroughly disgusted, they finally abstained from bidding, letting several of the sections go at about the upset price.

A leader on the Island Block apparently emanating from an _ official source, lately appeared in the columns of the ' ; Daily Times," vindicating the determination of the Executive to sell the land, and holding out that it had committed no .breach of good faith in refusing to lease ifc after j receiving deposits on portions of the same. Thare are, however, those* who think differently on that matter ; and it is to be hoped its legality may soon be j tested in the proper quarter, so that "the public at large may know whether the Government has played fast and loose with those applicants or not. The writer in the " Daily Times " also intimated as much as that it was suspected somewhere that some land-jobbing scheme lay at the bottom of all the determined opposition shown by the residents to the sale, and that if such should turn out to be the case, their wishes being complied with, there would be no end to the hue and cry that would be raised in other quarters in consequence. Now that the sale has taken place, the^words of the writer will be found true, if not prophetic ; there will be no end to the hue and cry raised about it while Provincialism lasts ; and the jobbery, if such there has been, has come I from a direction he (the writer) seems to j have little anticipated. Mark well, learn, remember what follows : — On the day of auction, a person deeply interested (it is said) goes about the Teviot, makes it his business to see one he thinks likely to bid (the screwing operation now commences), says, "1 am determined to purchase every inch of the Block, should it cost me £10 an acre or more." Then to make .himself look' big, and fortify his position a little more, flashes a bank draft Cthree full turns £of the screw), and remarks such and such will pay the usual deposit f another turn) on purchase. Oral suasion with fervid eloquence, is next tried on one of the residents on the Block, who is told if he does not bid, he will get a lease of the section on which his house is built for four years at ten per cent on ihe cost of purchase. Clearly it is not his interest to bid and raise his own rent (screw working famously). His case is just that of the other dwellers on' ihe Block (screw keeps j turning). Then there are others living I outside the Block, having cattle on 'the same runs, for which privilege they pay a goodly sum per head annually ; should they open their mouths and bid, they incur the high displeasure of the local i lt Lord Jock" (screw works mysteriously getting tight) ; to their own detriment prospectively of course they hold their j tongues — self-preservation being the first ; law of nature. Lastly the miners and others who felt themselves at liberty to purchase without injuring their own concerns, after running a few of the sections up to a fair figure, being still outbid, desisted knowing they would otherwise be only raising the rent on those unfortunate men, who some time back built houses on the Block, in the anticipation of being able to 1 lease some of it when thrown open for that purpose, depending, r in the interim, on making a precarious, living by the way-side as best they could. The remainder of the sections went about upset price (screw tight). The Block contains 2160 acres, or, thereby, and the total price realised by, theisaie amounts, aproximately to £3,100 or a little, over 275. 6d. per acre. Then, thore is,i 1 belive, ss. per acre to be paid' in the shape of compensation io the runholder, er about £540 to be deducted,! leaving, under- -£26'iO without reckoning the cost of survey, instead of the £9,000 ois

£10,000, or from £4 to £5 an acre, an impecunious Government calculated on, and trumpeted forth in the "Daily Times," as the principal inducement to sell rather than lease. The buyer or buyers have to give somewhere about £200 to the dwellers on the Block as valuation for their houses. The estimate of their worth was made by Warden Wood alone, it is said, and is generally considered to be much below the mark. But if- Warden Wood be one of the purchasers, as most people believe, the fact of his being first valuator and then buyer, wears, to say the least of it, an ugly look about it, and points to a screw loose somewhere. Neither do I think it common or proper for only one man, however qualified, to fix the worth of another man's property ; there should be at least two— one for each side ; but true it is, the longer we live the stranger sights we see. But 1 have already tresspassed too far on your space, Mr Editor, though the subject of it is far from exhausted. Unflinchingly and unsparingly 1 have laid bare the circumstances attending the sale of the Island Block, but have done so entirely in the cause of public justice and of truth, which, it seems to me, imperatively demands it ; other interests to serve 1 have none ; und, however severe, the strictures passed on the conduct of some therein concerned, it has been done without any malice or animosity whatever ; and further, I know that the residents here to a man can vouch for the accuracy of what has been stated.