DEFERRED PAYMENT SETTLEMENT AT WAIHOU.

Waikato Times, Volume XIX, Issue 1637, 2 January 1883, Page 2

DEFERRED PAYMENT SETTLEMENT AT WAIHOU.

It would" s|e|n the scheme, for,* settling our waste Jancta known as the deferred payment system, like many other things of modern invention, works infinitely better in theory than in practice. f ' The success which has attended the settlement at Waihou fully illustrates this fact ; and if we take this as a sample of what deferred payment settlements really are, we are forced into the belief that settlers put upon our waste lands under this principle are not a happy lot. It cannot be denied that the system is a- popular one, and one also by which gop^d work mjgh,t, be done, in the way of settlement' 'if properly carried out ; but. we; cannot expect good to accrue from a scheme which, though good and wholesome in design, is unsound and imperfect in execution. In regard to the Waihou settlement, if we are to go by the discontentment that prevails among tfye |§tt|ers t^ere; ,sic provisions, cif tne'oQheiTiP Tiaye. Rgr^'iUy been anything but beneficially apphied, or perfectly executed. Our repdrter paid a /visit to the Waihou districfcfa few days ' ago, aud visited the settlement referred to. From what He learned hp was not favourably impressed with tlie condition of affairs then existing. r The ex- , f pressed themselves in anything but satisfactory terms with theirjlot. ' The general appearance of ' the bibckj; "did not indicate <n $yeni j* partuU|y*jproBperitys 1 for with very litt}e|{excepw>^be, laud has, not been cultivated,, pr.'£Vsn cleared/ !onfense4, • tyfa Ifomfsfc M&V Q f fc j ie 4settler^^\sc4t|ejred}aji4,mtefyal$ 4 over the i placer^ntlr an-ocjc^ional patch of clover 1 grps, jarid her&and: there^au |attem^t tat i g»rd^nii^^vS^M&he^onl^twuasl^of^civili: lBati,dii;dils<»^MeF3^T / |ie| ; ml^drawb^^

drainage. The abortive drainage,; scheilj^ * by which water was su^poßfl to rise above its own leiftel, and which the settlers clanfordu'sly'/a&ked t6 Wave rectitiedU about [twelve months ago^ has not yet been improved upon j'Wfc.. from 1 " all account^ the iß4ardiha};esthemoneyjjn harfd/fdr tne'workT, f afid liitenxl ! applying it to its prppetjiuse immediately. Certainly, where the land' Has* r been *re claimed, 1 excellent clover, to the extent of 17 acres has been grown, which shows that the capabilities of the soil will com- ( pcnsate to no inconsiderable extent for the abuses which the settlers maintain • they have been subjected to.- It is need- . less for us nowsto republish these abuses, « as, it will be' remembered, we. thoroughly! I ventilated them on a former occasion. "U'Hough the^ generality of the deferred payment men* can nearly}' always find a? sufficiency of work on the"" roads, and- on neighbouring farms, and their terms of payment are comparatively easy, still nothing like material' progress has been , made on the holdings. One gentleman, Mr Taylor, Ins a fine garden of about three acres;" from" which ■>- he supplies the Te Aroha market, with vegetables, in the reclaimed part of the swamp ; but its fertility may principally ' be attributed to the fact that aoout three tons manure were distributed over this very small acreage. The road which the highway board have made through, or ' at least partly through the settlement, is anything but a creditable piece of work. Indeed, it is worse than useless, for not only is it impassable' during the winter months, but in the summer it is < not even safe to ride over, so uneven is i the surface. It would have been much i better to have kept whatever money was spent on the work, which seems to have • been precious little, than to have devoted it to the turning up of the ground in ' such a manner. The settlers have to use a track through another person's pro- i perty, which may ,be closed to them at any time, and ! thus leave them almost isolated from the outside world. . They <- have jrightly objected to the highway board spending the next grant of money for road-making purposes, as well as the grant for the complete drainage of the land, . and we are informed the Waste Lands Board, who have the money in hand, have acceded to their objection^ and consequently any other money spent on roads and drainage will probobly be spent under the supervision of the Waste Lands Boards. ' WV'hope, in course of time, more success will attend the efforts; ' of these struggling settlers, for the sake of the system under which they hold their farms, which, it may be said, is but as yet an experiment. For in the event of the system turning, out; a failure in. this ■ • instance, it will certainly discourage others from taking up land- on ( the same; principle. The Government should consequently'assist the settlers' all in their power to attain success. At present, neither success nor prosperity exists, and where these do wot exist contentment seldom prevails.