MASTERTON-MANGAHAO SPECIAL SETTLEMENT ASSOCIATION.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume VII, Issue 1962, 11 April 1885, Page 2

MASTERTON-MANGAHAO SPECIAL SETTLEMENT ASSOCIATION.

The following report was adopted by the committee of the Masterton-Mangahao Special Settlement Association to present to the general meeting to be held at. the Institute this evening Your ConjP mittee has held ten meetings since the 19th of Januaiy last, At the first it was deoided to apply to tho Hon, tho Minis* tor for Land, for tho land in the Mangahao, according to tho plan adopted by the last general meeting, As, the Miniate? objected to .the wig ' narrow fi'ontngo abutting on the river, a dividing lino wan mibmitted by the Minister, and accepted by your comIflittco, starting fpnm the cqnuitenoo of the Wataviia stream with the Mangahaq river northwards, And the oomniitte.Q lias reasons to hope that sufficient suitable land is contained in the block selected for the requirements of the Association. Altogether the exact quantity cannot be ' determined before a flying survey has • been made, During the absence in the north, of the Hon. Mr Ballance the business of the Association was practically at a standstill, as the Lands Department: - appeared to be under the impression that the Association should go 011 ivith the. ijeceasary surveys before a distinct under- • paneling was come to regarding the price t.9 h e j3 a ld the land; cfiurse, your ' committed cquld not agcept that position. When, however, the Hon Mr Ballon?© ! Tpt\iqjed" t(| Wellington, instructions wijjjf • f<! have the "land valued, and '®k: official intimation hag now been ■■received"" by the Secretary from the Crowns Lands office intimating that the price to be paid. , is at the rate of £1 per acre. Your Committee therefore consider it desirable that theneoessary surveys should b d commenced forthwith, and it will ba for the Association todetermine whataetion shall be taken with. a view to that ond. The Association j&h either leave the survey in the hands orlro. Government, in which case the cost accord-. . ing to the regulations shall not exceed . 2s Gd per acre, one fourth of...which is payable quarterly in advance, or the sur- . vey may be let to private surveyors. The latter course is preferred by the Wood-. ville-Mangahao, andPuketoi Associations, and your committee also the survey being let by private contracts, after hejng duly advertised. Another"' course vap wggested lit one of t|ie com- ' mittee moetings, namely that tho Govern-, ment bo asked tu gall fur tenders, and to • undertake the whole supervision of tho survey, A pamphlet luls been issued by the Lauds Department containing ainendod regulations for (Special Settlements; On the back of the pamphlet is a copy of the rules aud regulations of this Association, as amended, and approved by the - Hon, the Minister for Lands, will aeo that tho rules, as submitted by the Association, arc generally approved, but a material alteration has been made in Rule ?,, by which only one quarter of an acre is granted, instead of one town acre. This, _ your committee think • a objectionable alteration, as town to 25 acres, instead of 100, and. will cause speculation in rural sections for township purposes, and rob the majority of the pioneer settlors of the legitimate fruits of their enterprise, It will be necessary, before the survey, is commenced, to send one or two members of the Association on to the block to select a suitable site for a township, It was hoped that our township might be placed so ut tjj suit the ramife flf flip Hooqvme-Maiigahijti Assqqjatiqn as wel| buf alter matijVpjMisjderafrij, yqurconphitteo ejected to recommend that the township should be as ileaf th'g e ; entre of the block as it|ay l}e qqnjp,atih|e with the configuration of the country. Tjie j]rs|siirv:ey'ca|j wjjj h*W tfl he.paifj jjt"an yop'(ipmiiui&p ::eeqiniijei(d that a specified time jj.e ak* lowed membejg'tij pay ijp callg when dij) Si and thi)t at the expiration of grace any member not' hay.pig pa'i(l hip Wis shquld be strijck o|-|he ligt |ers]iip. meeting is tli'erefqre aaWd, Ist, to decide upon the mode of survey, whether by government, private tender, or otherwise ; 2nd, to eleot tho necessary committee to select a sitWor a township, tho committee to havoWiver to decide upon a dividing back line between the hills and the land suitable for the purposes of the Association; 3rd, to' pass a rule specifying the number of days of grace (say 14) to be allowed members to pay up their calls, and to authorize the Secretary to strike off the list all who fail to make their payments within the specified time,