THE MARTIN'S BAY SETTLEMENT.

Tuapeka Times, Volume V, Issue 246, 17 October 1872, Page 8

THE MARTIN'S BAY SETTLEMENT.

iv 'Mr;'/'W»i H k Homer m a painfully interesting ; of ' an! overland jdurney from -Martitt's^Bay to Queeiistown,j.giveaJthe. following distressing I- account , of , the- position ■ othat yo\ing Uettleniewt .is placed. , in> through. the Lneglect .of .our provincial authorities.,

QuEEUBTOWU, October Ist,

Some of the following statements may appear, very, strange to the majority of your readers,, but truth is always stranger than, fiction,' and facts speak invariably for thenis3lveg. It, is not my desire not to make one misstatement, bi' by coloring or shading to alter or distort the' truth in any way, but that in its nakedness 'it may speak by its merits alone, and so , carry conviction home with it, to the understanding of all who read it.

It may be premised that from its peculiar geographical position, Martin's Bay is to all intents and purposes isolated from . the remainder of the Province, on the one side by the ocean, and by immense mountains on the other (the Southern Alps). It must be quite plain that without access by land, if all supplies be cut of by water, great inconvenience must ensue or perhaps something worse. Such being the case, if it be briefly stated that no road is in existence, and no supplies have reached the settlement for six months past, that no supplies are there, and that no capitalists are there resident — it will at once be conceived that something of the kind has taken place. To report this unfortunate state of affairs, and to try to obtain a remedy for them, ha^e beSH the chief reasons for this description of a journey from there by land, and that the only possible one in existence at present. The necessity of a means of communication, always practicable and open, will not admit . of' argument. It is a stern necessity, and- "should admit of no delay, if the settlement is ever to become anything more than an empty name.

It should be understood that the district of Martin's Bay, is almost wholly covered by bush, and consequently such land as would be required by any one settling there would first have to be cleared before it would become reproductive. Now this is. a work of time in any case; the more especially so here, where individually, each one has started with not more money than would be required to place him in a position to grow even enough to support himself and family. In fact, nearly all expectsd to have received some extraneous assistance from the Government authorities, till they could place themselves in an independent position. But no ! JFrom the commencement to the present time, the very existence of the settlement has been almost ignored, and it has lately seenjed to the population there that towards them was being pursued a system of total neglect — studied neglect, indeed, for the purpose of driving them out of it, and thus getting rid of the responsibility of disbanding the settlement. If such is, or was, the case, the system is eminently calculated to achieve its object. A climax, however, has now been reached, and a period of six months has passed by since it was thought proper to send the settlers succour, or even to communicate in any manner with them. A hopeless feeling of uncertainty took hold of the settlers' mind. Provisions were very scanty, and were divided amongst all. The bush was resorted to for such as it could provide in the shape of ferns, or an) thing else eatable, and the sea bra^h became the general resort. Tents were pitched there to watch the tides, and several lived almost entirely on such chance edible as could be plucked from the bush or the ocean. More land rnigh* have been cleared, but work has been stopped for want of food ; more seed would have been sown, but it had to be eaten; and men, and women, and children must perhaps suffer next year for some one's negligence this year. I ask the question, whose is this negligence ? The questiou should be answered and retribution made before the matter is allowed to dro*p. " Since the above letter appeared the (3-dvernment have despatched a vessel to Martin's Bay.

Wipe beating, in the absence of more stirring recreation, has become a popular amusement in a district which has recently obtained notoriety By dint of practice, several Benedicts have acquired a great fondness for and unusual proficiendy in this sport. One gentleman haa however, far outstripped his competitors ; and we understand that the ladies are so greatly struck by hisskill in this respect, that the next occasion he favors them with an exhibition of it, they intend to show their admiration by decorating him with feathers, which in 'order that he may not doubt their sincerity, they intend attaching firmly to his person with the aid of the' best Stockholm tar : procurable; '

We learn from the " Cromwell Argus " that the Carrick Range Water Supply Company are now issuing their scrip. Work on the race has- now been fairly begun ; a number of men are employed, and the reports from time to time furnished by the working manager, are eminently satisfactory.

There were fifteen candidates for the office of teacher for the Cromwell school, in room of Mr. M'Kellar, resigned. The choice fell upon "Mr. David Todd; who has for some years been master of the school at Balclntha, ' '