II.—Kaiapoi Reserve.

Distant only 13 miles from Christchurch, lying midway between the townships of Rangiora and Kaiapoi, within a mile of a shipping port, having two miles frontage on the main north road, and water access by the Korotuaheka stream along its western boundary—the Tuahiwi or Kaiapoi reserve has indeed a commanding position. It contains 2640 acres of land, perfectly level, and for the most part, of excellent quantity. About one-fifth of the reserve is densely wooded, the remainder consists of open grass, and flax land, well watered, and available either for pasture or agriculture; some parts of it are swampy, but the whole of it, (if we except a deep morass on the western side), might be thoroughly drained at a cost of £70 or £80. Owing to the general scarcity of wood in the Canterbury Province, the bush on this reserve commands a ready sale and high price, whether as sawn timber or firewood.

More than 10 years ago (when the Canterbury settlement was in its infancy), Mr. Commissioner Mantell, in a letter to the Colonial Secretary, described this reserve as a "fine and valuable estate." Since that time it has continued to rise in value in a corresponding ratio to the progress of European settlement in the neighbourhood.

If we take the bush land to represent an average value of £48 per acre, and the open land £10 per acre, (a very moderate estimate), we have a result of £45,000 as the present market value of the Kaiapoi reserve. Already it is a really valuable property, and, with proper management, it cannot fail to attain, ere long, a position of high commercial importance.

This estate belongs to about 200 Natives, about one-half of whom are absentee owners.

Considering the real and prospective value of the Kaiapoi reserve, its proximity to European settlements, its advantageous position as regards road and water communication, and its general suitableness for a small farm settlement, I doubt if the Government could have found anywhere a more eligible place in which to try the experiment of individualization.