THE REV T. S. GRACE t. COUNTRY BOARD.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume II, Issue 205, 22 August 1874, Page 3

THE REV T. S. GRACE t. COUNTRY BOARD.

TO THE EDITOE. Sib, —You will greatly oblige me by publishing the following correspondence : (Country Board to Mr cirace.) Office of the Tauranga District Board, Tauranga, August Ist, 1874. " Sir, —At a meeting of the Trustees of the Tauranga Board, a resolution was passed, directing me to write to you, requesting that you do within one week, remove the fences and level the ditches across the public road running through your property ; and in default of your so removing the obstruction, the Be, rd will cause the same to be done and charge you. I trust, therefore, you will attend to this, and so save the unpleasant alternative."—l have, &c, J. T. Bhadluy. Secretary. The Rev T. S. Grace, Tauranga. (RErLY.) Tauranga, August 3, 1874. " Sir, —I have this evening received a notice to open a certain road through my property by Saturday next, thus allowing me only four clear days to put up the large amount of fencing which this notice entails. As the road in question cannot possibly be used until made, owing to the swamp through which it passes, I beg, therefore, to enquire whether the Board will allow the matter to stand over until they are ready to make the road, or allow me to put up swing gates according to clause Gl of the Highway Act, ■which is as follows :■■--' It shall be lawful for the owner or occupier of any land through which a public road passes to erect swing gates across the road at the boundary of such land, provided that no such swing gates 3hall be erected without authority in writing from the Board, &c, &c.' " I am, &c„ T, S. Qsacb. To the Chairman, District Board.

(CorNTSY Board to Mb Grace.) Tauranga District Highway Board, Tauranga, August 5, 1874. “ Sir, —X have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 3rd instant, and in reply thereto, must state that i can see no reason to refer the subject matter of its contents for the re-consideration of the Board. You have had plenty of time had you wished to have fenced of the road, as upwards of six months has elapsed since vou received the first intimation of the Board’s intention, nor do I see that the opening of the road will in any way interfere with your shrubberies or plantations. The order of the Board will have to be carried out.” —I have, &c., E. M. Edgctjmbe, Chairman. The Eev T. S. Grace, Tauranga. (reply. ) Tauranga, August 6, 1874, “ Sir, —In reply to your letter of yesterday, I beg to observe that all the late Board required, after the alteration made in the Hairini road, has been complied with by me.* What I now ask from the present Board, is to allow me reasonable time to have the necessary fences erected.” 11 1 have to request that this and my note of Tuesday last be laid before the Board. I cannot suppose that the members are all so unreasonable as to expect me to be able to get some thirty chains of fencing put up in four days,”— I have, &c., 1 *

* X beg to refer you to the Chairman of the late Board; To the' Chairman, District Board. (ConuTsy Boabd to Me Gbace.) Office of the Tauranga District Board, Tauranga, August 8, 1874. “ Sir, —I have the honor to inform you that I laid your two letters before the Board this day, and after due consideration, they declined to alter the terms of my letter to you of the Ist instant. You must, therefore, at once proceed to remove the fence, or the Board will do so without further notice, and any expense incurred will be charged against you.”—l have, &c., E. M. Edgcxjmbs. Chairman.

Ker T. S. Grace, Tauranga. Allow me to add that the action of the present Board appears to me both violent and injudicious. Thev have interfered with a state of things, as regards the closing of roads, which required forbearance, and have now created a difficulty, which makes the depasturing of cattle on the highways insupportable. The above correspondence shows that I have not refused to open a certain road, and that all I required from the E rd, was a little time, in order to put up the nee ary fene n ;. We made every exertion, and ' five days, had half the line of road fenced off and part of the obstruction removed : there being no post to be bad ; n Tauranga, we could not proceed with the remainder so Quickly. The notice came to me on the evening ot the 3rd instant, and on the I3tl , the Board proceeded to extremes. As regards the closing of roads, the question is not so much who has, but who has r them ? At the present moment, between the Quarter Acres and Gate Pa, there is not one holder or occupier having roads running through his land who has not closed them. I have a ri»ht to expect impartial treatment, and object to'being singled out and compelled to open a useless road through a swamp, which no one can use, and which would bo waste of money to make,

seeing there are two other parallel roads, one on each side of it, which answer every requirement. By this injudicious action of ’the Board, the enforcement of the law as to depasturing cattle on the highways is precipitated, and the question now is, what about the cattle ? Formerly, when my fences, which have now been removed, kept them at a distance, the damage was great enough, now my liability' to damage is increased fourfold. What is to bo done —am I expected fo go on having fences put up to bo knocked down, and to plant hedges to bo pulled up, or eaten off by cattle running at large, or is the Board prepared to do its duty ? The law in this matter is plain, and the nuisance to be removed is such as to require that the regulations governing a township should be put into operation. This whole occurrence shows how much we need in Tauranga the appointment of some disinterested and impartial party with power to say r what roads are required to be open and what may be closed'”—l am, &0., T. S. Grace. Tauranga, August 18th.