1873 - The Province of Canterbury, New Zealand: Information for Intending Emigrants. - Appendices, p 54-80

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LAND TRANSFER ACT, 1870

The following are examples of the fees payable for bringing land under this Act:--

When the title consists of a Crown Grant, dated on or subsequent to the 28th December, 1841, if the certificate of title be directed to be issued in the name of the applicant, and the land has not been dealt with: value of land £100--

	£	s.	d.
Application fee	0	5	0
Assurance fee, 1/2d. in the £	0	4	2
	£0	9	2

This charge is increased by 4s. 2d. for every additional £100 in value.

When the title consists of a Crown Grant, dated as before-mentioned, if the certificate of title be directed to be issued in the name of any person or persons other than the applicant: value of land £100--

	£	s.	d.
Application fee	0	5	0
Registration	0	2	0
Assurance fund, 1/2d. in the £	0	4	2
Certificate of title	1	0	0
	£1	11	2

When the title is of any other description, and the value is £100--

	£	s.	d.
Application	0	5	0
Registration	0	5	0
Assurance fee	0	4	2
Certificate of Title	1	0	0
Advertising (say 15s. 1 )	0	15	0
	£2	9	2
1   In ordinary cases the sum of £1 is taken as deposit for cost of advertisements, the balance unexpended being returned to applicant.

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When the title is of any other description than that in the first example, and the value is £200--

	£	s.	d.
Application	0	5	0
Registration	0	10	0
Assurance fee	0	8	4
Certificate of title	1	0	0
Advertising (say 15s. 2 )	0	15	0
	£2	18	4
2   In ordinary cases the sum of £1 is taken as deposit for cost of advertisements, the balance unexpended being returned to applicant.

When the title is of any other description than that in the first example, and the value is £400--

	£	s.	d.
Application	0	5	0
Registration	1	0	0
Assurance fee	0	16	8
Certificate of title	1	0	0
Advertising (say 15s. 3)	0	15	0
	£3	16	8
3   In ordinary cases the sum of £1 is taken as deposit for cost of advertisements, the balance unexpended being returned to applicant.

This charge is increased by 4s. 2d. for every additional £100 in value.

The above charges also represent the cost of conveying land, inasmuch as an applicant can direct the certificate of title to be issued in the name of another person.

The cost of dealing with land registered under the Act is as follows:--

Transfer--	£	s.	d.
Forms	0	2	0
Registering memo, of transfer	0	10	0
New certificate of title	1	0	0
	£1	12	0
Mortgage--	£	s.	d.
Forms	0	2	0
Registering memo. of mortgage (no matter for what amount)	0	10	0
	£0	12	0

The cost of a lease is also 12s.

Fee for registering transfer or discharge of mortgage or encumbrance, or the transfer or surrender of a lease, 5s.

The following is an example of the cost of a comparatively large transaction:--

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A man possessed of land of the value of £1500, the title to which consists of a grant dated on or subsequent to the 28th December, 1841, and none of the land included in which has been dealt with, desires to mortgage the same for £1000. He finds that he can effect the transaction under the "Land Transfer Act," upon payment of the following fees:--

	£	s.	d.
Application	0	5	0
Registration	0	2	0
Assurance fee, 1/2d in the £	3	2	6
Certificate of title	1	0	0
	£4	9	6
Mortgage	0	12	0
	£5	1	6

In this case, if the title were of any other description, the fees would amount to £6 14s. 6d.

When the mortgage is paid off, the fee for registering the discharge is 5s.

Application and other forms, containing full directions, can be obtained at the various offices, at a cost of one shilling each.

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NOTE.--The temperature at night was registered before sunrise in the morning

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TRADES.

Bakers, per week ...... £1 to £1 5s. and board; £2 to £2 11s. without board.

Blacksmiths ......... 10s. per day.

" Shoers ...... 10s. per day.

" Hammermen... 7s. to 8s. per day,

Bookbinders ......... £3 per week.

Bootmakers ......... £2 15s. per week.

" Job-work ...... Wellingtons, 10s. per pair.

" " ...... Watertights, 6s per pair.

" " ...... Elastic sides, 8s per pair.

Brickmakers ......... Per 1000 bricks, £2 16s.

Bricklayers ......... 12s. per day.

Butchers ......... £3 per week.

Cabinetmakers ......... 11s. per day.

" Upholsterers ... 11s. per day.

" Polishers ... 9s. per day.

Carpenters ......... 10s. to 12s. per day.

Coachbuilders ......... 10s. per day.

" Wheelwrights ... 10s. per day.

Engineers ......... 10s. per day.

Founders ......... 10s. per day.

Gardeners ......... 10s per day.

Millers ......... £3 per week.

Plasterers ......... 12s. per day.

" Piece work...... 1s. 2d. per yard.

Painters--House ...... 9s. per day.

" Coach ..... 10s. per day.

Coach Trimmers .... 10s. per day

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Paperhangers ...... 9s. per day.

Plumbers ......... 10s. per day.

Printers--

Compositors ... 1s. per 1000.

" ...... £3 per week.

" ...... Overtime, 1s. 6d. per hour.

Pressmen ...... £3 to £3 15s. per week.

" ...... Overtime, 1s. 6d. per hour.

Overseers ...... £5 10s. per week.

Lithographic ....... £4 per week.

Paper Rulers ......... £3 10s. per week.

Saddlers ......... £3 to £3 15s. per week.

" Piece-work ...... Collars, 8s. each.

" " ...... Saddles (best), £210s. each.

" ............ Weekly average, £2 12s. 6d.

Stone cutters ......... 11s. per day.

Tailors ......... £3 to £3 10s. per week.

" Piece work ...... Double breasted frock, £1 14s. to £2 5s.

" " ...... Single or walking, £1 5s. to £1 16s.

" " ...... Sacs, 14s. to £2.

" " ...... Vests, 7s. to 15s.

" " ...... Trousers, 8s. to £1.

Watch and Clockmakers ... £4 per week.

Jewellers ...... £3 10s. per week.

Warehousemen ...... £109 to £125 per annum.

Grocers ......... £2 10s. to £3 per week.

" Second Countermen ... £1 10s. to £2 per week.

" Juniors ...... £1 5s. to £1 10s. per week.

Female Hands--

Shopwomen ... £1 10s. to £2 10s. per week.

Dressmakers ... 10s. to £1 10s. per week.

Milliners ...... £1 to £3 per week.

Needlewomen ... 15s. to 30s. per week.

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Machinists--Piecework

Crimean Shirt Makers ... 15s. per dozen.

Book Stichers ...... 8s. to 15s. per doz.

Ploughmen ...... £50 per annum.

General Hands ...... 15s. to £1 per week.

Married Couples ...... £3 to £3 10s. per week.

Shepherds ...... £52 to £60 per annum.

Stockmen ...... £52 per annum.

Shearers ...... 17s. to £1 per 100.

Female--

Good General ...... £40 per annum.

Housemaids ...... £25 to £30.

Cooks ...... £36 to £40.

Nursemaids ...... £20 to £30.

Laundresses ...... 5s. to 6s. per day.

" ...... 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d. per dozen.

Hotel Hands--

Barmaids ...... £2 to £2 10s. per week.

Barmen ...... £1 10s. to £2.

Waiters ...... £20 to £30.

Cooks--Female ... £35 to £50.

" Male ... £2 per week.

Housemaids ...... £30 to £35 per annum.

Grooms and Coachmen ... £1 per week and rations.

Draymen and Carters ...... £2 2s. per week.

Labourers, Roadmen ...... 6s. to 7s. per day, without rations.

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Flour ............ 14s. 6d. per 100lbs.

Tea ............ 3s. to 3s. 6d. per lb

Sugar ............ 5d. to 7d. per lb

Coffee ............ 1s. 10d. per lb

Bacon ............ 10d. per lb

Ham ............ 1s. per lb

Soap ............ 1s. per 3 1/2lbs

Rice ............ 5d. per lb

Tobacco............ 5s. to 6s. per lb

Candles--Tallow ...... 6d. per lb

" Sperm ...... 1s. 2d. per lb

Salt ............ 1 1/2d. per lb

Oatmeal ........ 4d. per lb

Cheese ......... 10d. per lb

Butter............ 10d. per lb

Beef......... ... 2d. to 5d. per lb

Mutton............ 3d. per lb

Pork ............ 6d. per lb

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For twelvemonths ending 31st July, 1873.

	£	s.	d.
August	5,112	15	4
September	4,851	11	6
October	4,323	6	10
November	5,675	0	2
December	4,178	8	1
January	4,748	8	2
February	6,239	11	0
March	8,810	18	0
April	8,442	2	0
May	7,223	9	5
June	7,022	16	10
July	5,332	16	4
	£71,967	13	8

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For twelvemonths ending 30th. June, 1873.

211,870 A. 0R. 1P.

1853--£180; 1872--£123,146

Being more than twice the export of any other province in New Zealand.

For quarter ending 30th September, 1872	£546,990
" " " 31st December, 1872	160,345
" " " 31st March, 1873	507,770
" " " 30th June, 1873	258,221
	£1,473,326

Number of Sheep, six months of age, in the province of Canterbury, on January 1st, 1873 ...... 2,505,950.

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Every Post-office Savings Bank, which is also a Money Order Office, is open for bank business during the same hours as for Money Orders.

Deposits of one shilling, or of any number of shillings, or of pounds and shillings, will be received from any depositor at the Post-office Savings Bank.

Every depositor, on making a first deposit, shall be required to specify his Christian name and surname, occupation and residence, to the officer of the Postmaster-General appointed to receive the deposit, and make and sign the proper declaration, to be witnessed by the officer of the Postmaster General appointed to receive deposits, or by some person known to him, or by a Justice of the Peace.

Every deposit received by any officer of the Postmaster-General appointed for that purpose will be entered by him at the time in a numbered book, and the entry will be attested by him, and by the dated stamp of his office; and the said book, with the entry so attested, will be given to the depositor, and retained by him as primary evidence of the receipt of the deposit. The depositor must sign his name in the place provided for his signature in the depositor's book.

Interest, calculated yearly at the rate of 5 per cent. per annum on sums not exceeding £200, and at the rate of 3 per cent. on sums over £200 and not exceeding £500, and in the same proportion for any shorter time, will be allowed on every complete pound deposited, provided that no interest be allowed on more than £500, and will be computed from the first day of the calendar month next following the day on which a

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complete pound shall have been deposited, or on which deposits of a less amount shall have made up a complete pound, up to the first day of the calendar month in which moneys are withdrawn.

The interest will be calculated to the 31st December in every year, and will then be added to and become part of the principal money.

Deposits may be made by--

(1) A trustee on behalf of another person, in the joint names of such trustee and the person on whose account such money shall be so deposited; but repayment of the same, or any part thereof, will not be made without the receipt and receipts of both the said parties.

(2) By or for the benefit of any person under twenty-one years of age, and repayment will be made to such minor after the age of seven years, in the same manner as if he were of full age.

(3) By married women. Deposits so made, or made by women who shall afterwards marry, will be repaid to any such women, unless her husband shall give notice in writing of such marriage to the Postmaster-General, and shall require payment to be made to him.

(4) By the trustee of any Friendly, Charitable, or Provident Society, or Savings Bank.
In these cases the trustees must first make special application by post to the Postmaster-General, accompanied by a copy of their rules.

Deposits at one office may be withdrawn at any other office in the same province. Repayments will be made only to the depositor in person, or to the bearer of an order under his hand, signed in the presence of a person known to the Postmaster, or in the presence of a Justice of the Peace, or in case of sickness, of the medical attendant. If the depositor be resident abroad, the signature must be verified by some constituted authority of the place in which he resides.

A Form of Order, to be signed by the depositor on such

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occasions, may be obtained at the Post-office at which the warrant is made payable.

The officers of the Postmaster-General engaged in the receipt or payment of deposits will not disclose the name of any depositor, nor the amount deposited or withdrawn by him, except to the Postmaster-General, or to such of his officers as may be appointed to aid in carrying out the provisions of "The Post-office Savings Bank Act."

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The Provincial Treasurer said,--"On the last occasion on which it was my duty to lay before this committee the financial position of the province, it was my good fortune to be able to announce the almost unprecedentedly flourishing state of the provincial exchequer; and it is again my privilege to have to make known to it that the continuous prosperity of the province has had such an effect on our land sales as to enable us to commence another financial year with a teeming treasury chest. The actual balance at our bankers, on the termination of the financial year, was £424,225 3s. 9d; but perhaps it will be as well to draw honourable members' attention at this point, to the fact that, during the last financial year, we appropriated over a million of money--viz., at the annual session £573,000 odd; and then at the extraordinary session supplementary estimates were adopted and appropriations taken for £426,000 more; so that, although we have this large balance of cash, the margin for fresh appropriation, beyond the regular ordinary expenditure, will be comparatively small; and, as hon. members will see, there is nothing new or startling in our estimates, but they are of the most prosy kind, consisting principally of revotes for purposes which the Council has decided upon, and works, some of which have been commenced, and are now in progress, whilst the necessary preliminary steps have been, or are being taken, for carrying out others. We commenced our financial year with a balance at our bankers of £142,353 11s. 8d.; and the total estimated receipts into the treasury, including this balance, was

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£485,763 10s. 1d.: whereas the actual amount has been £786,369 7s. 7d., although we have not yet received either the £5000 due from Westland, or the £20,000 for realised sinking fund. The land revenue I then estimated at £130,000. This was considered by some an extravagant estimate, as it exceeded the actual receipts of the previous year by something like £33,000. This amount included £56,000 from land sold south of the Rangitata, 25 per cent. of which goes direct to the Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works so that the amount estimated to be received into the treasury was £116,000. I then said that I believed that this would, be found below the actual receipts, as that every acre of level land and also the hills would be found to be worth £2 per acre; and I am glad to say that this opinion is likely to prove a correct one, as land has been purchased in districts little anticipated and into the treasury has been paid, independent of the sum of £68,913 19s. 3d. paid to the Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works, £445,785 7s. 5d.--an unanswerable reply, once and for all I think, to the advocates of deferred payments or cheap land, and a vindication of the principle of a sufficient and fixed price and free selections; because, although we have sold such a large area of our waste lands, it has not passed into the hands of the mere "land-jobber" or a few large capitalists for pastoral purposes alone, but we have more fully carried out the proper aim of colonisation--viz., the settlement of the people on the land--than any other province of New Zealand, with the sole exception of the province of Taranaki. I believe that this is a fact not generally known or acknowledged either in this province or the other provinces of New Zealand; otherwise, I think, we should not be constantly haying proposed schemes which would result in the giving away of our waste lands, when it can be shown that the object sought can be better attained by selling them. If hon. members will hear me, I will just explain how I have made this deduction. The population of the different provinces, as calculated for the purpose of fixing the capitation grant for each year, is as follows:--Auckland, 66,805; Taranaki, 4756; Wellington, 27,066; Hawke's Bay, 7294; Nelson, 23,611;

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Marlborough, 5544; Canterbury, 51,510; Westland, 15,176; Otago, 77,861. The agricultural statistics compiled up to February, 1873, show number of holdings exceeding one acre, viz.--Auckland, 3842; Taranaki, 492; Wellington, 1517; Hawke's Bay, 351; Nelson, 1222; Marlborough, 348; Canterbury, 3619; Westland, 208; Otago, 3705. This exhibits that, whilst in Canterbury 7 per cent. of the inhabitants are holders of cultivated land, in no other province, even those in which special settlements have been made and the land given away to induce this settlement, has this object been so well accomplished; and it is, I venture to assert, Sir, a triumphant vindication of a great principle: as had it not been that we received such a price for our waste lands as to put aside a large amount for immigration, this result could not possibly have been attained. The average price of land in the various provinces of New Zealand was as follows--Auckland, 10s.; Taranaki,--; Hawke's Bay, 10s.; Wellington, 13s.; Nelson, 18s.; Marlborough, 14s.; Canterbury, 40s.; Westland, 17s. 6d.; Otago, 19s.; Southland, 20s. The proceeds from the sale of land north and south of Rangitata, from 1st October to 19th November, 1873, inclusive, were as follows:--North of Rangitata, £40,263 7s.; south of Rangitata, £36,677 7s.--£76,940 14s. There is only one other item in which the receipts have so exceeded the estimates as to require some special comment, that is, under the head of railways. The estimated receipts were £70,000, and the actual amount received was £74,915; but on the other side the expenditure--estimated at £51,733--was £56,365: so that the difference between the receipts and expenditure on this head is about the same as estimated last year--something under £20,000; and the so-called profit amounts to this, that we have some £19,000 to represent interest and sinking fund on the amount expended on their construction. The exact amount charged to us, on account of Southern railway, I have not been able to correctly ascertain, but say £65,000; and Northern railway, £98,600, at 6 per cent., say £9816 per annum: leaving some £9000 a year to represent the amount which we have to pay for interest on the sum borrowed for the railways which belong to the pro-

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vince. But strike out charge on tunnel as it must spread over all our system in this province in taking into account the cost of our railways and the returns of working, and we find that we have to make up a deficiency out of our ordinary revenue, to the extent of about £12,000; not at all discouraging; but I think it my duty to draw the committee's serious attention to it, because it should be borne in mind that the deficiency under this head, comes out of ordinary revenue, the principal source of which is the pasturage rents; and as we are selling our lands we are plucking the goose of feathers which can never be renewed; and when that source fails, the railways must either be worked to meet this charge, or a tax put on to meet the deficiency; as, although, whilst the land fund remains we may draw on it, as we practically do, to meet our obligations, we thereby take from those in the outlying districts that which properly belongs to them, to work the railways for those who are fortunate enough, from locality, to avail themselves of them. This is a practice which cannot be carried on whenever it shall be found necessary to curtail the votes for Road Boards and branch railways in remote districts; and it should not be forgotten that the father of railways in this province, and in fact the colony, always considered putting aside the cost of the tunnel, that they should be made to pay their way, and insisted on such a tariff being imposed as compelled those who were able to avail themselves of them to pay for their advantages, and not extract from the pockets of their less fortunate brethren, in districts not yet served by rail, the moneys which should be devoted to its further extensions, for the purpose of making up deficiency caused by conveyance of goods and passengers at less than they cost. With reference to the estimated receipts and expenditure for this year, I think perhaps it will be as well to depart from the usual course, and not go over all the items, but only touch on those which require any special comment. The total amount which we ask you to vote is £974,157 6s. 2d.; and the estimated receipts, including the cash in hand, amount to £1,019,570 3s. 9d.; leaving an estimated balance on the termination of the financial year of £45,412 17s. 7d. If hon. members will turn to schedule A of the esti-

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mates, they will find the amount put down under this head, which represents the ordinary revenue, as £215,176 3s. 10d., including balance in hand, viz., £26,726 3s. 10d., principally derived from railways and wharves and pasturage rents and the amount of £90,000 from railways I think a very moderate estimate, as the actual receipts during the past year were £74,915 18s. 8d.: and now that we have got an extension to Rangiora and Rakaia in full working order, with the increased appliances for facilitating the transit of goods on the railway, and the loading and discharge of vessels at the wharves, and the great additional area of land under cultivation, with the appreciable addition to our population from natural increase and immigration, we may fairly estimate the receipts at £90,000. That is at the present rates of carriage, on which this estimate is based. The amount here put down for pasturage rents is less than that of last year by some £3800. This is an income which, is gradually being decreased in proportion to the increased alienation of the waste lands of the Crown; and the less it becomes, paradoxical as it may appear, the greater will be our general revenue until the time arrives for revision of the rent charge, as every acre sold and reserved decreases the amount we receive for the right of pasturage on it, and consequently large land sales means lessening pasturage rents. The amount we anticipate receiving from educational reserves--that is, reserves made for educational purposes, not particularly specified--is £2626 1s. 9d. the area reserved is 51,596 acres, of which only 31,661 acres are Crown granted, leaving 20,000 acres yet to be let. Last year I furnished a table showing the rent-roll, and shall place on the table a similar return, made by the Steward of Reserves this year. I draw hon. members' special attention to this, as there is some misapprehension as to the provision that has been made by endowment for ordinary educational purposes under our present system. The income, it is true, at present, is but small, but in seven years' time it will be £9000; and in fourteen years, the termination of the present leases, the Steward considers that they will produce at least 10s. per acre--that is £25,798 per annum. I am inclined to add at least 25 per cent., as I believe, from the

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increased value of the land, resulting in some measure from the manner in which they have been let, viz., for fourteen years, with low rental for the first seven years, holding out every inducement for the tenant to improve his holding, that they will at least be worth 12s. 6d. per acre, which will produce £32,247, which is no mean sum for so small a community, comparatively speaking, as this province will comprise even in fourteen years' time. Besides these reserves, for what may be termed lower education, there are those for the Museum (100,000 acres), and College (100,000 acres), agricultural school (100,000 acres), all educational establishments; these at present only represent a rental of about £3000, being purely pastoral country, or at any rate supposed to be; but who would venture to estimate what their value may be in fourteen years' time? What mines of hidden wealth may be discovered beneath that surface which now only carries a few sheep, but which, even for that purpose alone, will produce an income far beyond the present. There is one item in this schedule which is new to hon. members that is the sum of £2500 for bridge tolls--this includes the Rakaia bridge. It is difficult to arrive at an estimate without some data on which to base it, as in this case; but having fixed the tolls at those charged on the Waimakariri bridge when it was erected, we think that at least there will be as much traffic over it as there was at the time the latter was taken over by the Government, and have placed it about the same; and these, with the Waimakariri, we estimate at £2500. Interest on bank deposits for the last twelve months has been £8118 11s. 10d.; and considering that the balance is now larger than it has been at any time during the last financial year, and that two months of the present has expired, and that our land sales still meet current expenditure, there is very little doubt that the amount estimated (£15,000) will be realised during the year. The amount due from Westland we may hope, now that the county has become a province, with the privilege of borrowing, will be paid; but in our present circumstances it will only be graceful on our part to give a child, we may say, of our own, permission to suit her own convenience and although it is due at any time, I am by no means certain

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that it will be paid during this financial year. I now come to Schedule B, which has a balance to its credit of £375,289 5s. 6d. Although there is no real necessity for keeping B and C separate, considering that the whole of the proceeds of the loans under which Schedule C was created have now been expended; yet, as we have got power to borrow for Lyttelton harbour works--a power which although we do not intend to exercise at present, will be acted on before very long, --and as hon. members have become familiar with it, I have thought it better to let it remain. The anticipated receipts under this schedule amount to £277,950, including the balance in hand. The amount put down as likely to be derived from the land, revenue is £230,000; this is exclusive of the portion which goes direct to the Timaru and Gladstone Board of Works, which is estimated at £32,800: giving a total estimated receipt from land sales of £262,800. This will perhaps be characterised as a wild shot, and some may think it much under the mark, considering our receipts for last year; whilst others may consider that the rate at which we have been selling our land cannot continue; but I have no hesitation in saying that we shall at least realise the amount put down, although I admit that I have no very reliable data on which to form my estimate. I am glad to be able to state that there has been a very considerable increase in the sale of the land on the Peninsula, both grass and timbered, and that generally the sales throughout the province are to bona fide occupiers; and as I said before, that on the whole there are more proprietors in this province than in any other, and we have adjoining and intersecting the large proprietor of it may be 2000 acres, or it may be 5000 acres, the useful independent cockatoo, with his section from twenty acres to a couple of hundred acres; we have also an intermediate class of occupiers, of from 500 to 1500 acres, men with skill and capital, forming an element in the community, something between the sturdy yeoman and the county squire at home, combining the practical experience in cultivating the soil of the one, with the education and refinement of the other. Hon. members who reside in the country may have observed how gradually, within the last two years, sections of land

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passed over as not worth purchasing have been absorbed by the surrounding farmers as they become settled and cultivated; and so now, although it may be thought the pick of our country is gone, yet the same process will continue until every acre except river-bed, and in many cases even that, will be purchased from the seaboard to the first range of high hills at £2 per acre. I am sorry to say that the immigration repayments have not nearly reached the estimated amount which I anticipated last year, and therefore the amount put down this year is less by £1000 than that then estimated. The Little River Reserves, too, scarcely realised £200; but this item, there is reason to believe, will this year probably exceed the amount here placed, as there are very considerable sales going on in the immediate neighbourhood. Immigration Depot: This item represents the proportion payable by the General Government towards the erection of the immigration depot, which is now being erected at Ashburton. Rangiora Swamp Drainage: This is the General Government contribution towards this work, which has assumed dimensions scarcely anticipated when we took the vote of £300 last year. Then it was anticipated that with an equal sum contributed by each of the other parties interested, viz., the General Government and Rangiora Road Board, the work projected could be carried out; but to make the railway quite safe from inundation, it was necessary to increase very largely the size of the drain, and the General Government agreed to increase their contribution to £1100 if we did the same, the Rangiora subscription remaining as at first agreed upon. But this is a matter which will be more fully gone into by my colleague, the Secretary for Public Works, in his Works Statement; and I have only just glanced at it, that hon. members might know the reason for it appearing here. We are the paymasters, paying the contractors, and the General Government pay their contribution into the Treasury for convenience. In Schedule C, we commence with a balance of £11,253 12s. 9d. As I said before, this account is merely kept open in case we raise the loan under the Lyttelton Harbour Works Act, when it would revert to the purpose for which it was originally inserted,

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viz., that all sums raised under certain Ordinances for specific purposes should be kept as a separate account, and appropriated under a separate schedule. The amount £22,000 sinking fund appears again; as it is to be hoped--now that, as I understand the Commissioners have agreed with an obstructive trustee--that a friendly suit in Chancery shall be instituted--these sinking funds may be released at an early date, as I have been told that such reforms have taken place in that venerable institution that it has ceased to be that limbo from which nothing returns. I have put down under this schedule £100,000 as a receipt under the Lyttelton Harbour Works Act as, although we do not at present intend to realise it, yet it is necessary to show whence we expect to derive the money for the expenditure on this head. With these few remarks on the revenue side of the estimates, I will make a few observations on the expenditure, which will be gone into in detail by my colleague when he asks for the votes for the different classes. As I said before, there is little new in the expenditure, as the range for new works is comparatively small--£45,000. Sir, I cannot refrain from speaking with some warmth on this occasion, when I glance down the pages of these estimates and see how much we are able to accomplish in opening up roads, bridging rivers, erecting suitable buildings for the administration of justice, the cause of education, and the suppression of crime; when we are able to devote moneys for the purposes of immigration to such an extent as to bring a pressure on the Colonial Government to adopt a course to which it was previously adverse and consequently retarding the settlement of the country--I refer to free nominated immigration;--when, I say, we are able to devote such a sum of money annually for the purpose of increasing the wealth and the happiness of the people of this province alone, as it is only yesterday that the whole colony was scarcely able to provide, I cannot help reflecting how nearly we escaped it being otherwise. When I think, sir, how near we were to altering our Waste Land Regulations to the extent of practically looking to them no longer to provide means of revenue for carrying out their settlement in a systematic manner, the success of which we had had proof, I cannot help speaking warmly, because I feel strongly."

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BY DR. JULIUS HAAST, PROVINCIAL GEOLOGIST

August 9, 1870.

Seams of coal belonging to different geological periods are found in this province, the oldest one of which, containing the same coal plants as the coal measures of New South Wales in Australia, is situated between the Rakaia and Rangitata, west of the first ranges by which the Canterbury plains are bounded.

The strata in question form the western side of the Clent Hills, and the eastern of Mount Harper; but, although I searched repeatedly amongst them, I was only able to find small seams of a few inches in thickness.

Lately, as I have been informed, a larger coal seam has been laid open by a heavy flood, in one of the creeks flowing from the Clent Hills into the Ashburton. I am, however, unable to report upon the nature, thickness and extent of this seam, as I have not seen it.

The coal-bearing strata next in age, belong to our cretaces-tertiary period, the deposits of which, with few interruptions stretch from the Hurunui to the Waitaki.

In this formation the largest seam known to me is found on the southern slopes of Mount Somers it is about eight feet thick, consists of a good brown coal, and is worked near the junction of the Sturt, with the river Ashburton. If I remember rightly, the coal is sold at 15s. per ton at the pit's mouth. It is excavated by drives, with natural drainage in the face of the hill.

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The continuation of this seam is found on the eastern foot of Mount Somers and the Mount Somers range, close to the Canterbury plains, and over several miles of extent. It will offer a large supply for many years to come.

A seam of similar thickness crops out in several localities in the gorge of the Rakaia. It is however, continually changing in character and disturbed considerably. In some localities it can only be called a lignite, in others where in contact with or near basaltic streams, it has undergone remarkable changes, assuming sometimes even an anthracite nature.

The latter occurrence is well exhibited amongst other spots near Mr. Murray-Aynsley's home station, and in the bed of the river Aheron. Another locality of great interest is on the right bank of the river Kowai, a tributary of the Waimakariri, where a seam of excellent coal, three and a half feet in thickness, was laid open by me in the year 1861.

Further explorations in that locality however, have proved that this seam and the smaller ones accompanying it, are very irregular, also that the coal has undergone considerable metamorphic changes by a large dyke of traprock, which is in close proximity.

However, I still repeat what I stated in a report on the subject, addressed to the Provincial Government in 1863, viz.: that only by borings or other trial works, the nature and extent of this coal seam can be settled definitely.

In the Malvern Hills proper, we find first an apparently small basin on the banks of the Selwyn, of which a part is in possession of Mr. M. B. Hart, and which is worked to a small extent. Although the coal has partly been changed by the appearance of erruptive rocks in the neighbourhood, it has still the character of an excellent brown coal. In that locality 9 seams were counted by me, from two inches to eighteen inches in thickness.

Another series of seams, consisting also of a brown coal, stretches from the banks of the Horarata to those of the Hawkins. They, are probably younger than those of Hart's mine.

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On the banks of the Hawkins, where they consist of two seams, close to each other, the largest of which averages two feet six inches in thickness, they have been worked for the last 12 years.

A small basin, about one mile in length and breadth, containing a seam of fine brown coal, of a thickness of four feet seven inches, occurs behind the Thirteen-Mile-Bush range near the sources of the middle Kowai branch.

It lies about 3000 feet above the level of the sea, and his hitherto not been worked, as it is very inaccessible without a good deal of road making.

Brown coal of excellent quality has been exposed at the western foot of the Craigieburn Pass (Waimakariri). The seam is several feet thick, but stands nearly vertical, and consequently was worked with difficulty.

The quality of the coal however, is so good, that during the formation of the West Coast road it was extracted for the use of the forges.

Lignitiferous strata lie at the base of the Sawian beds in Waipara, but they are so irregular and intermixed with earthy matter, that they are useless for practical purposes.

Further north, lignite crops out at the hill side, near the sources of the river Motenau. The seam however is small and of indifferent quality.

Another larger seam and of better quality exists in the gorge of a deep creek where it leaves the ranges, a few miles north of the mouth of the river Motenau.

Returning to the south, we find a seam of lignite, of a thickness of five to six feet, in Coal Creek, a small tributary of the Rangitata, and which joins that latter river west of the small range through which, before entering the Canterbury plains, it has cut a deep gorge. This seam is only of limited extent.

Further up, a basin, exists in the river Potts, a tributary of the Rangitata, where we meet with a seam several feet thick, and consisting of good brown coal, but from the inac-

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cessible nature of the country, it will be of no practical value for many years to come.

There are also some seams of lignite near the head waters of the river Hinds.

On the river Kakahu another seam of workable thickness has lately been laid open, also belonging to our older brown-coal formation, and which without doubt, stretches to the Opuha and Opihi rivers, where in many localities similar seams crop out in the banks.

One of these near the source of the Tengawai has been burning for several years.

Again, on the banks of the river Waitaki above the junction of the Hakateramea, a basin exists, through which the main river has cut its channel. It contains also a workable seam, from which for several years brown coal has been mined on the Otago side.

There are also seams of lignite in the younger tertiary series of this province; but generally they are too small to be of any use, except for home consumption in the neighbourhood.

Several small basins belonging to this series occur in the province, for instance, in Broken River (Waimakariri), and in the Malvern Hills. In some other localities these younger lignitiferous beds skirt the foot of the older ranges, bounding the Canterbury plains, as for instance in the Orari, the lower Okuku, &c.

During my geological examination of the western portion of this province, now the County of Westland, I observed near the mouth of the river Piringa, and stretching to Arnott's points, a large zone of beds, which doubtless belong to the same series as the Grey and Buller coal measures. I met at several spots arcose, and grit sandstones, sand and shales, but no coal; but I have no doubt that it will be found in the low ranges between Lake Hall and the West Coast.

The almost impenetrable nature of the vegetation, the abruptness of the coastline, and the difficulty of carrying provisions, prevented me from searching as effectually as I should

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have liked. The bar at the entrance of the Piringa river being in ordinary weather easily crossed. I have no doubt that that portion of the West Coast would not remain any longer an uninhabited wilderness could coal seams be found in the low ranges which cover the country.

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