COMPENSATION FOR LAND

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 746, 19 February 1910, Page 7

COMPENSATION FOR LAND

fCOLLEGE AGAINST GOVERNMENT. "•vT ;i Tclec ' a^- 7^ rMB • 6s °ciatiou.l . Christchurch,; February 18 Vr^'.T 01 ?- , Su P re mo Court' to-day, before Mr._ Justice tjirn, the Board of Uovornors or Canterbury College claimed ;from the . Minister,,of.:.Publio/Works' .C3813-as compensation .forr lands taken - at Craigieburri : tor.TToad andi railway.? purposes'' -in'- con-' nection. with- the. Midland' Kailway.'- - -Mri .Alpors; appeared; for • claimant,- and --Mri'-' Stringer. ■ iv.C'., 'for respondent. 1 for---plaintif!'s staled -that the' Crmgieburn ruu.:. wasgranted by the Crown under-, a grant dated April -.13; 1875,' and tlio operativo: part of .the grant concluded . lHth:. the, words :v "And'subject, also, -to existing 'roads and !to-tiny, other Toads; that niay 1 lißrcafter; bo; requited."' Section 10. of the! Crown-Grants' Act, 1866, under...which the., land-;,was -granted. 'pro-- '- ...that-;-tho reservationof ''roads' through, the land granted' should be made valid-and effectual,- provided; .that, the right, of taking the road through: any section, should be only, within five •years after - the.; making of the: grant. It was .claimed that !this Tight had lapsed. ': Mr.-Stringer, E.C.i/contended that, by Section 35 of the Public. Works Act,•! 1905,;under, which compensation was- claimed,-' 'no:; compensation .should'.- bo .payable 'in. respeot .'of. any lands taken- for-a. road or . under. ' tho Act,' , : the right -to mako :a\road oyer'; which was otherwise reserved to .; the Crown, aiid; had not. lapsed,; become barred, He; claimed that tho. land had been ;tdken for a railway the/right to make a road over .which was . reserved;tij the CrPwn, aiid had not lapsed. ,lot become barred.- If ; the . road was resorved 'over the/land, theni;| there was no compensation payable, !ih; l-esopct" of tho'railway.; Tho'question arose, as,to whether the. right , had lapsed, or become bai'i'ed,. and, the point: was /.whether or not/the five/years'/limit would-- apply. He would/contend that the limit applied to-lahds purchased from .the Crown,, and not granted by.the Crown in. cases of l ~ sort, Jloreover, he submitted,; tho-con-struction should bo in favour- pf /tho Crown. . .The grant itself, emanated', from the - Bounty/'of.-'the' Crown, /arid,./.consequently, - in /such cases the construction .was always taken in.favour of the.Crown. In. the' ovent . of. any ambiguous ■ expression,; regarding .derivative, right, to construct the.. railway ' from. the right to make :a road, Clause 10 of the Public' Works Amendment Act,- 1909, . settled that ppint,:for there laid down that, .where'-power- was ; givon to take land for a road, such authority; should be deemed to, include,! and. to have, at all "times included,' power to tako tho land. for, a railway. That seemed to hini to meet tho case exactly. His Honour, reserved decision. , ;