TE ARAI ESTATE.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2224, 30 October 1907, Page 2

TE ARAI ESTATE.

SITTING OF COMPENSATION COURT. THE EVIDENCE CONTINUED. At the Courthouse yesterday mornini' Hie honring was -continued of the Hon. Randal Johnston’s claim for compensation in respect of the To Arai estato, recently acquired by the Government.— J. B. KELLS. Jo.soph Burton Kells gave evidence that ho had been for 15 years manager of a station in Hawke’s Bay, consisting of mixed land, carrying 1G,0C)0 sheep. Ho had been in Poverty Bay for 10 years, and knew perfectly the whole of tho land in the district. Had valued To Arai estate, tho total, exclusive of buildings, being £137,524. Blocks A and B ho valued at £9 as first-class hill land ; Block D he valued at £B. Block C was ns good as Block D, but owing to being further from tho road he valued it at £7. Block E had a greater portion of native grass and some lay cold, so he valued it at £0 10s. Blocks F and G had chiefly native grass, and ho valued them at £G ss, presuming that the owner of it had Hats for fattening. Block H had some manuka spurs, and was therefore only worth £6. Block I was well grassed, and had no cold land, and ho valued it at. £7 10s There was moro nativo grass in Block K, but the land lay well and was near tho road, and ho valued it at £7. Tho carrying capacity of the hills was 13 sheep to tho acre. Block lof tho flats was, first-class land, and ho valued it at £2O. Xu Block 2 he valued tho land on the north side of the road at £3O, and on tho other side at £25. Tho northern part of Block 3 was excellent land, and was well grassed. Block 4 was good land, but tho block varied. vSomo parts ho valued at £4O, but the average value he put at £35. Block 5 was slightly wet, but was capable of drainage. ,Saw no sign of salt water getting into Block 0. In Block 7 tlio grass fiats be valued at £25, and tho mud fiats at £3. The major portion of Block 8 was under tho plough. Ho valued it at £26. Block 9 was similar in quality to Block 4 Know of Ma■kauri‘flats let at £2 without buildings or fences. Thought tho majority of Blocks 2,3, 4, and 5 was equal to tlio Makauri flats in question. Had looked up London catalogues for prices of To Arai wool, and found that tho average price over eight years was a fraction under 7d par lb in Gisborne. During the past three years tho prices were Bd, 10d, and lid. The average price during eight years for fat wethers was 13s lOid, and for owes 11s. The run was at present carrying 18,000 sheep and 2000 cattle, and was capable of carrying far more. Taking the clip at Stilts at 7d'per lb gave a return of 4s lljil per sheep. The annual returns would be: Wool £4500, fat wethers £2287, fat ewes £1650. Estimated that each year there would bo about 450 cattle to sell, and everything could be sold fat. Tho total annual return from cattle should be £1125, and from horses £2OO. The annual return from crops should ho £I2OO. The total annual return should be £12,477. Tho cost of working would be £l2O per thousand sheep, a total of £2160. The total cost of cropping would be £6OO. Interest on stock absorbed £1575, leaving ji balance of £8142 net return. Witness declined to give evidence as to improvements. Mr. Chapman said that the values on which land tax was paid were: Unimproved value £76,206, value of improvements £22,102. The District Valuer’s figures were: Capital value £101,521, unimproved value £79,606, improvements £21.915. Witness, continuing, said he thought the improvements too small. Tho smallest amount which should be put down for improvements should be £2 10s for hills and £4 for flats. This would make the improvements £31,000. He knew of a lull property 40 miles from Gisborne which netted £3OOO for some years. Tho To Arai estato could be more profitably employed than at present by using it as "a lamb-fattening farm. People with farms in the back bill country often bought flats for their residences. Knew of ono man who lived on flats forty miles from his chief farm. These flats were frequently used as fattening farms. Blocks 2,3, 4 and 5 were quite as good as Holden’s, previously mentioned. Of 74 acres in tho Triangle 56 acres had been sold at £45 and £4O. His firm made advances on- stock, tho best men getting 6 per cent. It was usual for tho mortgagee to get all commission on tho sale of stock mortgaged. To Mr. Findlay: .Stock mortgages were on demand, and stock could always bo sold lip. Knew Tangoio station, Hawke’s Bay'. When ho managed it it carried 16,000 sheep. The total area was about 13,000 acres. The freehold of 8000 acres was worth £6 10s per acre, and should carry 12,000 sheep. Could not believo there were now 22,000 sheep on the land. If fully improved tho place would not properly carry moro than two sheep In connection with the account showing tho profit on To Arai, witness allowed that things had- been higher in price during the past few years, and tlio owner must have made moro than shown in the average. The annual return from wool would be increased by half, fat wethers 2s 6d each, fat ewes 2s 6d each, bullocks £1 per head, cows 10s per head—a total increase of £3372. Adding the net income given (£8142), interest (£1575) and this increase, the total income came to £13,089. Mr. Findlay was proceeding to show that witness calculated the income at considerably over what Mr. Clark did, but His Honor said the evidence was immaterial.

Witness, continuing, said lie knew that a few years ago Mr. Clark shore only fifteen and sixteen thousand sheep. Mr. Clark did not get' as much out of his land as ho might. He should have allowed more for maintenance. Ho (witness) allowed for depreciation and maintenance in the £l2O given for working expenses per sheep. Shearing expenses would come to £2 per hundred. Had not considered the value of. the hills without the flats. W. G. SHERRATT. Win. G. Sherratt deposed that lie had been in the land business in Gisborne for nine years, and had previously managed a station up the Coast. Had valued To Arai, and valued tile flats at £74,536, and the hills at £56,256. The hills would carry 11 sheep. Block A was the best, Block B being nearly as good, and Block H was the worst. Knew Pyke’s land, and knew some had been sold at £lO Ss. The soil oh the two properties was very much the same. Te Arai flats would carry 5 sheep to tho acre. On the lulls would put 10 cattle to tho hundred acres along with sheep. The country lay well, and would be warm. English grass went pretty well through the station, and to his mind was going ahead. Tho portion of the Paremata estate which had been sold at £lO consisted of swamp and hills very much like Te Arai hills. By Mr. Nolan: Pyko’s land was carrying three- sheep. Saw some rattail somewhero on Te Arai—perhaps in Blocks F and G. Horses did very well on it. hut not sheep. On the hills he would put 8000 ewes and 4000 dry sheep. His estimates would make 26,000 sheep oil the whole run, and he would also run 2000 cattle. Taking 5 sheep as a beast, the whole carrying capacity would be 66,0UU. Thought over three sheep per acre not too high, if the grass was eaten off properly. Tile .1 areniata flats were wefc and not drainable. Only ]OO acres of the lulls was ploughaßlo‘ 0. R. B YLLIE. Gavin It. 'VVyllic, deposed that no had been in the laud and stock auctioneering business for about lo years, and for ten years before that had been sheenfarming in Poverty Bay. Had known Te Arai station ever since he could remember. lie had recently valued the estate, valuin'* it at an average of £l2 bs JUcl over all. Could hardly compare the flats with anything else in Poverty Bay, as there was no other property

which had nearly 3000 acres of flats. Pylco’s land was better than To Aral, but' it was originally heavy bush land. To Arai was not overstocked. Romney cross was tho best brood for ‘tlfo property. Flat land in tho Lorno estate was sold throo years ago for botwocn £25 and £3O. This land was not as good as To Arai Innd. Had also-sold 3<t acres at-l-uha at £2B r per aero. This section was liable to flood. Thought ho could soil the whole block at tlie price named, which lie thought .would-not, bo a—fancy price. There was a good demand for small farm holdings. By Mr Findlay: Valued tho property in sections. Valued Blocks F and 0 at slightly above actual valuo, because of proximity to post office.

C. PYKE. Charles Pyke, sheopfarmer, Arai Valley, in reply to Mr. Chapman, said lio purchased some land in May, 190 G, adjoining To Arai at £lO Is 8d per aero, but would not sell at that now. Knew Pakowhai land, and made offers to Realisation Board and Mr. Black at £lO an acre undulating land.

To Mr. Nolan: This Pakowhai land under discussion was tho pick of tho locality ; witness desired to purchase in order to increase his area, which was too small. On land occupied by witness tho carrying capacity was 21 sheep to tho aero and 1 beast to 5 acres. Knew Arai hills fairly well, and thought they could carry two sheep on parts, but on an average 1] sheep to do them well. W. RICHMOND. Win. Richmond, sheopfarmer and stock agent, Hastings, said ho was familiar with land, both in Hawke’s Bay and Poverty Bay, and had sheep runs near Hastings and in Wairoa. Made an independent valuation of tho Arai which took him two days. He arrived at his valuation of hill country as to carrying capacity 1J sheep, and valued it at- £8 2s 9'd per aero. This valuation worked out at about £5 per sheep per acre, and was quite a pound lower than Hawko’s Bay. His Honor Interposed, saying that in all his experience ho had never heard of land valued in Hawke’s Bay at £6 per sheep per acre, and witness gave an example of a Hawko’s Bay sheopfarmer who had done so. Witness arrived at the valuation of flats'by the carrying capacity in conjunction with hills, which would grow lambs at an expense of £1 2s 6d to £1 5s per acre and 35 lambs to the aero. Ho considered that a portion of the hills would fatten cattle at tho rate of 1, or 2 beasts to tho aero in tho season. Continuing, witness gave a description of the various 'blocks, and explained his valuations. He also considered that the sheep at present 1 on To Arai were not the best

itock for that estate, and said that in his opinion a Lincoln-Romney cross would be. tho most successful. Wet flats could bo easily drained into tho Arai river, and most of the others were capable of cultivation. He also considered it was ,in the main, great fattening country for lambs. In reply to His Honor witness considered that a sheepfarmer could afford to pay 5s or os Gd per sheep for grazing per year. To Mr. Chapman: There was also a large area, 400 or 500 acres, suitable for grass-seeding on Te Arai. The drains were in a very bad condition, but he could give no estimate as to tho cost of repairs. The soil was generally deep) on the flats in comparison with other properties. He considered that 800 acres of Te Arai flats were as good as any of these others, if not better. Witness owned GOO acres of flat land within two or three miles of Hastings, and sold 200 acres two miles from Hastings at about £SO an acre, which had returned him £4 pier aero for eight years. He had used it solely for fattening. Ho had leased 271 acres between Napier and Hastings at £2 per acre, and land taxation at 13s, and could make it pi ay well. This land referred to was subject to floods at the rate of one or two pier year. Witness also gave a description at great length of various other properties, and compared them witll the Arai.

Cross-examined by Mr. Findlay: Witness said it was quite possible to compare tho Arai with Hastings land for valuation purposes. It took witness two days to arrive at) his conclusions. He had not looked at Bushmere or Pouparae flats, but would not l)e surprised at the fact that- the tenants are unable to pay a rent of 23s to 25s per acre for it, as in his opinion farming was largely a matter of ability of the individual. His Honor interposed, saying that ho quite agreed with witness as to his last statement.

Continuing, in reply to Mr. Findlay, witness gave evidence of the carrying capacity of some properties specified by counsel, and said that he had been told that the manager had said, in another witness box, that it was 2-sheep country. Mr. Chapman objected to this being taken as evidence, and His Honor upheld his contention, saying that as tho statement was not made in this Court it could not be taken as evidence now. In reply to Mr, Chapman, witness said ho disposed of his lambs by freezing on his own account and sending to England. J. COLLEY. J-oliii Colley, builder and contractor, questioned by Mr. Chapman, said that he had eight years’ experience in this district as a builder and contractor, and valued tlie buildings on tho To Arai estate about two months ago, his total valuation being £3316 10s, based on present prices. The majority of the buildings wore in good repair, but somo were a little old. In reply to His Honor, witness stated that there were ten rooms in tho house; ho could not say how long it was erected.

To Mr. Findlay: Tho estimate of £BOO for the house he considered a fair one, as it was not very worm-eaten or worn except in one place. Tho back portion was used for store and lumber rooms, hut tho condition of them was sound. Tho cottago was well worth £l3O, and not £3O as suggested by counsel. Tho woolshed valuation was £I3OO, but he could quite believe that it cost less originally; but not £4OO less. Witness explained this by the great advance in the price of timber since then As a rule he put tho valuation at about 4d a cubic foot for old houses, hut. this was only reallv a guess. Witness’s present valuation worked out at slightly loss that 4d per cubic foot. J. S. McLEOD. James Stirling McLeod, stock agent, and sheepfarmer, of Hastings, considered that tho land under discusion was worth £5 per ewe per acre. Land was valued ill Hawke’s Bay at more, but he did not think it justified. Ho had made a valuation of Te Arai, and had seen other properties. Ho took two days to inspect To Arai, and made a thorough examination. This witness also reviewed the different blocks, and considered the hills would carry 1 3-5 sheep to the acre on an average, ewes and dry sheep. The flats as a whole are excellent, with patches of wet and poor land, and tho swamp land lie valued at £4 10s an acre,, but could not really estimate it accurately. The values in Hawke’s Bay had changed greatly in twelve, .months. r lho fiats would be used principally for fattening, with a certain amount of rape, growing and grass-seeding, for which hundreds of acres arc available. To Mr. Findlay: He was valuing altogether' on the Hawke’s Bay basis, and threw the cattle ill whei\ valuing for'a ewe flock. He thought Te Arai could carry 1 beast to 6 acres at present, owing to a lot or rough feed. He was never in Poverty Bay until the present, and went over the blocks with Mr. Richmond. Questioned as to the method of •farming used, witness said ho would prefer his own methods to those or any other person. He had been farming for six years in Hawke s Bay. Further questioned by Mr. Chapman, witness said his valuation was entirely independent of all}’ others. J. CLARK. . . John Clark, lessee of To Aral, in reply to Mr. Chapman, stated that

ho was a sheepfarmer, and had other farms. Ho had had a balance-sheet pnepiared, and believed it to be correct. The balance-sheet showed a net profit in July, 1900, of £6583 9s 9d, and over £7OOO in 1907, which increase was owing to the increased number of stock, and not to a higher valuation on tho stock. Ho took the land from Mr. Johnston seven years ago, with 23,000 sheep from'Te Aral" and Lavenham and 800 head of cattle. The sheep were Lincolns, but were of weak constitution, and ho had introduced the Romney cross; with great sftcccss. Cattle were good, and comprised a largo number of dairy cows. He had considered that there were then too many sheep on the estate and too few cattle, consequently ho reduced the stock to 15,000 sheep and increased the cattle to over 2000. In his opinion tho To Arai estate would easily carry 16,000 or 17,000 sheep and 3000 to 3500 head of cattle, allowing at tho rate of 5 sheep to the ciittlo beast. Witness further stated that he had made a valuation ot 'the whole property, and based Ins valuation on his personal knowledge of the land and its capabilities. Ho valued the whole estate at £143,629, and t.lio average valuo of tho hills was £8 Is lOd pier acre and the flats £26 6s 9d. . In reply to a question as to cultivation, witness stated that ho usually had from 400 to 500 acres under crop, and in all 1200 acres had been cultivated Fences wer.CL in poor repair when he took it over, hut with a small outlay had been made secure for stock. With regard to tho drains witness said that ho had estimated the cost of nutting them in good order to make all tho parts at ures'ent wet, capable of cultivation. This bo placed at from £l5O to £IBO. At this stage( in reply to His Honor. Mr. Chapman intimated that be had one more witness, to call, and also applied for permission to recall two former witnesses. This was granted, and the Court was adiourned until 10 o’clock this morning.