THE SUEVEY DEPAETMEIS^T. 
prosperity of tlie Colony was so much dependent. Hk 
view of the case then was, that, while acknowledging 
the truth of tbe remark, still he did not see why he 
should advertise Government property for nothing, nor 
why his paper should he the means of putting money 
into the Treasury, while the authorities refused even to 
pay what, to them, considering the advantages they 
derived' from the advertisement, was but a very 
paltry sum indeed. Quite right. Much to be said 
on both sides. Tliere could be no doubt that 
Government lost money by not advertising in the 
local papers, and that the local papers displeased 
their readers by not inserting the land sales. 
The loose system of intending purchasers of land cut- 
ting out their own boundaries at last became an intoler- 
able abuse. The original purchaser of piece of a land, 
if he did not proceed to cultivate it, would sometimes 
discover that some one else had bought a portion of 
it, a second time, from the crown. The original 
boundaries would all have become overgrowui, and any 
intending purchaser of an adjacent piece of land would, 
quite unwittingly, cut off a portion of his neighbour’s, 
and so as he termed it make an encroachment. After 
a few years one would find his neighbours had built a 
bungalow^ or store on a corner of his patana, or had cut 
down and planted some of his best forest land. It even 
happened, and that much more frequently, that this 
would take place on crown lands. In the latter case, 
no very serious consequences Avould ensue, because, 
if it could be proved to have been done in ignorance, as 
of course it always was, the authorities w^ere fair 
enough in always allowing the trespasser to purchase. 
The only l isk the latter ran w as at the public auction. 
If he had any enemies, they would probably bid him 
up, knowing that he must have the land at any 
price, or if he had an unfriendly neighbour, who 
thought the corner would fit in nicely into his own 
property ; but these instances w'ere exceptions. The 
system of purchasers cutting out their own boundaries 
at last began to give way, as the demand for land in- 
creased, it was found this sort of thing would not do. 
The surveys were not connected and would not connect, 
spaces of crown land were left between adjoining pro- 
perties, wdiich neither owner would buy, and which 
would be of no use to any outsider, and this, of course, 
was a dead loss to the crown. The Survey Depart- 
ment, with every wish to oblige purchasers, declined 
pledging themselves to give every man the exact 
portion of ground he desired. They went in for 
straight lines and connected surveys, they would not 
make any deviation in their work to please the purchase 
