OTAGO HUNDREDS REPEAL BILL.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 131, 11 August 1870, Page 7

OTAGO HUNDREDS REPEAL BILL.

Mr. Brown, in moving the second reading of the Hundreds Repeal Bill, gave the history of the Hundreds Act of 1869, and explained bis views for introducing the Repeal Bill moved by him. He gave a very interesting history of settlement in Otago from the time it was in the hands of the New Zealand Company up to the present time. We extract, from "Hansard," the principal portion of Mr. Brown's speech. Mr. Brown said : —

The New Zealand Company kept faith with the settlers. The lands then came into the hands of the Otago Association, and afterwards reveited back to Her Majesty, an agreement being understood to cany out all the conditions guaranteed by the New Zealand Company. It was interesting to consider how these promises had been carried out. The following figures would show how the land had been dealt with from 1856 to 1865 :—

Acres Acres Acres proclaimed in hundreds, sold. unsold. 1556 ... 507,760 ... 425,212 ... 82,558 Dec. 1861 ... 149,200 ... 95,069 ... 54,131 March 1862 ... 303,307 ... 235,193 ... 68,077 Feb. 1865 ... 356,010 ... 117,441 ... 238,569

1,316,277 872,915 443,335 He gave these figures to show that Government, by the proclamation of the hundreds, kept pace with settlement. Simultaneously with this settlement there grew up a system of pastoral tenancy ; a number of gentlemen selecting unoccupied land for the purpose of runs, for which they paid a nominal rent. It was arranged that whenever this land was required for settlement they should surrender it to the Government. It was argued that a large amount of, rent was paid by runholders, but he woxild read to the House a return of the sums actually paid. The extent under pastoral occupation was six and a half million acres, paying rent as follows :—: — 1854, £233 ; 1855, £190 ; 1856, £190; 1857, £411; 1858, £544; 1859, £1,083 ; 1860, £1,398 ; 1861, £2,282 ; 1862, £2,423; 1863, £2,830; 1864, £3,567 ;-1865, £5,206 ; 1866, £4,945 ; 1867-68, £47,524 ; 1868-69, £52,106. The Act of 1866 was brought in to make the tenancy of the runholders more secure, and provide for their contributing a large amount to the revenue. The Government received powers under the Act to make certain reservations of land for the purposes of settlement. An additional term of ten years was given in the case of unexpired licenses, with an increased rental. The Act also very fairly provided for the occupation of those lands by the runholders. It provided, also, that whenever the land was required for the purposes of settlement, the lessees were to receive compensation, not exceeding three years' rental. The Government at the time also retained 305,000 acres for the immediate purpose of settlement. In the year 1867, the then Government forced into the market all the available land within the hundreds for sale, at the upset price of 10s per acre. The consequence was, that it reduced the unsold portion of those hundreds to very small areas. The only available land within the unsold portion of the hundreds, fit for agriculture, in 1868, was 80,000 acres. The remainder consisted of 4,000 acres of swamp, 100,000 acres of forest land, and 205,651 acres of hilly pastoral and inferior land. He thought this was a proof that more land was required for settlement. He might say that during the last three years, the Provincial Councial had been flooded with petitions from different parts of the Province, and the resolutions adopted in consequence had never yet been carried out in a legal sense. A measure was eventually brought forward for the purpose of providing for the declaration of hundreds with respect to compensation. It was brought in by the then Provincial Treasurer, Mr. Yogel, and the compensation fixed at from 2s. down to 6d. per acre. In the session of 1869, eight or nine applications, by petitions and otherwise, were presented to the council, and a Committee was appointed which, his opponents would agree, represented both sides of the question. Having very fully gone into the question, it might have been thought it was for ever decided. A number of witnesses were examined, both runholders and petitioners, and persons in either of their interests. As was to be expected in ssuch5 such cases, the evidence was conflicting. The third clause of " The Otago Hundreds Regulation Act, 1869," was as follows .—

"No hundred shall hereafter be proclaimed in the Province of Otago, unless one-third part at least of the area thereof shall be determined, under the provisions of the said recited Act. to be land available for agricultural purposes."

Was it right or fair that the House should dictate to the people what land they should take up ? Was it possible — except in a few isolated instances — that they would find a hundred of 15,000 acres in extent, the one-third of which was fit to be ploughed ? He had no doubt that in some localities such was the case ; but he did not think it was right that they should tell the people to go and settle on this spot, or on any other spot. In legislating, they should not legislate for the few, but for the public good. Wherever the people desired to plant themselves upon the soil, and where there was evidence

shown that such would be the case, he thought it was not only a duty, but a right, that they should afford those people every facility for so doing. They found that within the already proclaimed hundreds, 20,000 acres of swamp had been purchased ; also 55,000 acres of forest land, and a very large quantity of land for grazing purposes. The third clause of the Act, which he had read, stipulated that no hundred should exceed 15,000 acres of land. Now he found that in the year 1868-G9, out of five different hundreds, no less than 77,513 acres had been sold averaging over 15000 acres each. In the Oamaru hundred, about 14,910 acres had been sold ; Moeraki, 11,876; Hawkeabury, 13,469; Tokomairiro (North and South), 13,907; and Popotunoa, 23,513 acres. That statement alone would show the House the absurdity of restricting the areas of the various hundreds, and which could only tend to prevent settlement ; and he could not help thinking that this had been the object of the Bill. He would tako another opportunity of speaking more in detail, but before concluding, ho must make one or two remarks with reference to the statement of tho honorable member for the Clutha. It was somewhat surprising to hear that honorable member talk about clap-trap. No doubt that honorable member had some influence as Superintendent of Otago, but it was a good deal of claptrap that placed him in that position. His cry during the election was — " Land for the people, and people for the land." That was the cry, and the honorable member declaimed that he would move the spheres to carry it out. The honorable member must have been thinking of himself when he made use of the remark refered to. He (Mr. Brown) had had six years' political experience, and had been generally quiet on matters of that kind. He had never agitated the public mind ; he had been solicited to attend public meetings, and had never failed to do so. He had not the adornment of language which other and more fluent members from Otago possessed but he had endeavoured to discharge hia duty as plainly as he could. The hon. member had also refered to the great boon which the Act would confer upon the gold fields; but it .was very singular that the gold fields had been very loud in their cry against the Act. In no single instance had there been a voice on the gold fields in its favour. He had no doubt the honorable member for Port Chalmers would endeavour and had endeavoured, to get up a feeling of that kind. He was very sorry that it had fallen to his lot to introduce a question of such magnitude and importance, not only to the constituency he represented, but to Otago in general. It was well known what opinions he held on the subject before he obtained a seat in the House. He had never uttered an uncertain sound on the matter, and he owed his seat in the House to the opinions which he held and expressed on this question. The honorable member for Clutha also stated that the average rate of compensation paid for land required for settlement in the gold fields was about ss. 6d. per acre. The return of the amount paid for small blocks of land showed that the rate ranged from Is. 9d. to 55., and that average was 3s. 9d. They should carefully consider the question in all its bearings, before they attempted to tinker an Act, or make any amendments which would determine the future progress of the Provinces, especially at a time when other colonies were bidding very high for population. It was advisable for them to benefit by the experience of other colonies, and before any change was to be made in the Act, they should consider that it was not simply for tho interest of the few to the detriment of the many. He should like to see an Act framed somewhat similar to the Victorian, or the South Australian Act, which was now being discussed in the Assembly of that Colony, — an Act which gave the right of settlement of any persou who chose to select up to 640 acres on defered payments. Before the House came to any conclusion as to the alteration in tho Waste Lands Act, they should take into consideration the great necessity there was for the colonizing of the various Provinces. He knew that large numbers had left Otago at various times, with the means acquired in the industrial occupations they followed, who would have been anxious to settle in the Province but could not find an abiding place. It was a melancholy fact, that although the Province was comparatively prosperous, they found that the population was not increasing. The adult population was not greater than it was four years ago. The increase was simply the number of births over deaths. He felt he had not done that justice to the subject which it deserved, but he was confident he should be followed by some one more able to deal with the question. It afforded him much gratification to find that the action be had already taken in the matter had been indorsed by the people of Otago at a very large meeting held in one of the largest agricultural districts of the Province, Tokomairiro — a meeting called for the purpose of bringing the representatives to account, and to have their decided expression of opinion on this question. The resolutions adopted were forwarded to him, and he would read them : — " L That this meeting has seen

with great satisfaction that the member of Assembly for tho County of Bruce has introduced a Bill for the repeal of the Otago Hundreds Regulations Act ; that this meeting approves of the object of the Bill, and trusts Mr. Brown will bo successful in getting it carried through, so that the distracting excitement which the Act created, and has kept up between the different classes of the community, may cease, and settlement throughout the Province be again resumed- 2. That the chairman be instructed to forward a copy of the foregoing resolution to Mr. Brown." There were gentlemen present who occupied a very high position on the gold fields of Otago, who indorsed the views set forth in those resolutions, which expressed far more than he had been able to do. He had great pleasure in moving the second reading of the Bill.