SETTLEMENT ON STEWART'S ISLAND.

11

D.—No. 7a.

from its novelty, induce the Government to doubt whether competent surveyors can be obtained to work for such remuneration, a little consideration will remove any misgivings on this head. The two objections which may be supposed to deter a surveyor of capacity from residing permanently on Stewart's Island under my proposition are: —the mode of recompensing his services, and a seeming banishment to an isolated part of the colony, by which he steps out of the stream that may float him, sooner or later, a prize in his profession. As regards the first, any payment in kind will be in articles of merchandise which command a ready and certain sale. In taking them he will doubtless stipulate, he suffers no loss on their sale, and will get them shipped free to his agent at Campbelltown by the fishermen in their crafts, when they visit the main on their own business. He will be paid liberally, and can make certain of being paid regularly, for the means will lie before the door of every fisherman in the village he resides in, nor need he have any trouble in collecting the tithes. Thus a very moderate amount of business capacity will enable him to secure himself, and with ordinary ability, tact and temper, he must be master of the situation. As regards the last, judging from experience the prizes are few, and to ability, so far as remuneration is concerned, not of great moment; while there is always a pleasant uncertainty as to their retention, as at any meeting of a Provincial Council they may, at a moment's notice, be torn away. On the Island a surveyor can live in comfort, ease, and above all, independence; he can support his family at small expense; for if he has the tact to make himself popular, he will find willing hands and grateful hearts to minister to his wants at trifling cost: he need not waste his substance in dress, a charge a professional man in centres of population is forced into to a greater or less extent; in fact, he may if he choose save the greater part of whatever money he may make. If he has spare means, he will have an opportunity of sharing in fishing, whaling or sealing enterprises; he may start an artificial oyster bed, which he can get stocked for next to nothing, with the cultch and spat brought up by the fishermen while dredging for oysters; and which, instead of being thrown back into the sea, they would doubtless, if requested, carry free of charge to his bed in returning to their homes at night; and he will in three years time be possessed of a good and certain income. Always on the spot he will be the first to hear of any mineral discovery, and as a promoter obtain such a prize as he might wish for in vain living on the main. Though at present residence on the Island means in a great measure isolation; if the success of the undertaking is at all commensurate with my expectations, there will be plenty of life shortly after it is fairly started —healthy, vigorous, hopeful life. Once a population settled there, independent of the frequent communication with the main by means of the fishing smacks, it will pay to run a small steamer between the Bluff and the Island, which could, in addition, undertake the trade to the Toi-toies, Waikawa, and Catlin's River to the east of Cambelltown; and westward, to Riverton, Orepuki, Preservation Inlet, or other settlements which may be formed on the west coast of Otago. On the whole, I feel convinced that the status of a surveyor at Stewart's Island under this scheme will compare favourably with that of his compeer on the main, either in the employ of the Government or practising on his own account. Living amidst some of the finest scenery on the face of nature, varying from the grandeur of the west side, with its lofty cones of bare granite, its weird rocky coast, to the sunny calm of an inland lake with wooded shores and g-olden beaches, he can vary the monotony of his professional life by fishing, shooting, and boating, pleasures which men travel thousands of miles and spare no expense to compass.. He can bring up his children hardy, from the contact of sea air, in a healthy, salubrious climate, milder than at Invercargill, and make sure of a provision for their future—a position it is impossible to attain on the main with three or four hundred a year, the usual remuneration of a professional surveyor of standing and ability. I have no fear of being unable to get men on the conditions I propose. At any rate, the first one I spoke to, an authorised surveyor of upwards of twelve years' standing, and one of the best in Otago, expressed his willingness to undertake the duty without hesitation. General. —l think for the present the localities I have indicated will suffice amply for immediate requirements. The Island is not open for sale at present, and there is no occasion to declare it as such until every provision is made under the " Settlements Axt, 1871," more particularly as it will not be lying waste, for the best description of settlement will be progressing, and its resources developed far better than by the land being alienated to speculators. I am getting the admiralty survey of Stewart's Island—which I found on my inspection of that portion of the province is pretty correct as to outline—enlarged sufficiently to enable the blocks of land which I have recommended for immediate settlement to be defined on it, and I will forward it on completion to your Honor; and in the meanwhile beg to forward by this mail a chart of the Island with the land available colored pink, together with a copy of my report on it written in 1867, giving an account of the general features and capabilities of the various harbors. I purpose visiting the Island towards the end of this summer, in connection with Half-caste land claims and oyster beds; and will endeavour to make arrangements with the settlers already located for the hospitable reception of the expected immigrants.