WASTE LAND BOARD.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2780, 15 January 1872, Page 2

WASTE LAND BOARD.

A special meeting of the Waste Lands Board was held at noon to-day. Present, the Chief Commissioner of Waste Lands, Messrs Duncan, Hughes, and Reid. Messrs Connell and Moodie made application, on behalf of Joseph Clarke, to have the plans and specifications of 402 d, containing 45,500 acres of land, approved and the sale confirmed. Objections against the sale being confirmed were lodged by Messrs Fitzgerald, Beighton, Cormick, Ormond, Norton. Kirapster, and Woodhouse. Mr Mackay also appeared as a deputy appointed at a large public meeting held to consider the sale, and Mr Stout appeared in support of the objectors. The objections were -first, that the land was not open for sale. 2nd. That the ruuholder’s consent had not been obtained for the sale. 3rd. That the land in question is within Goldfields, and therefore the Board has not the power to sell it. 4th. That the sale would be prejudicial to the public interests, Mr Connell, of the firm of Connell and Moodie, made application to have Mr Clarke declared the purchaser, behaving, in accordance with instructions of the Board, had maps and surveys made which were submitted for inspection and approval. With regard to the school reserve, Mr Hislop was of opinion that such reserve should be made, and Mr Larnach, on Mr Clarke’s behalf, was prepared to give effect to that intimation and to agree to it. Another objection had been made by Mr Nichols on beha’f of a client ; but he was prepared to lay a letter before the Board withdrawing that objection. Mr Stout was instructed to appear on behalf of several inhabitants of the district; and Mr Mackay, one of the residents, was present. On their behalf he had placed on record several objections, any one of which he considered sufficient to induce the Board to refuse the application. (Mr Stout read the objections.) He submitted that such a sale as was asked to be confirmed was against the letter and spirit of the Waste Lands Act, and the sale would he most prejudicial to the public interests. He believed the case to be entirely unique in the history of the Waste Lands sales of Otago. Never before had so large a block attempted to be sold in the Province, nor did he believe that sale would have been contemplated by the Board, had not there been a resolution of the Provincial Council, founded upon a private arrangement made between Mr Turnbull and the manager of the Bank of New Zealand. The resolution, however, was cautiously worded, aud required that careful enquiry should be made betoreliaud, in order that nothing might be done prejudicial to the public interests. Mr',Connell objected on a point of order to Mr Stout advising the Board with regard to their powers, or the policy of the Government. Mr Stout considered it was not for Mr Connell to object if he was out of order, but for the Commissioner. Mr Connell said the Waste Lands Boaid had its own legal adviser, and Mr Stout was discussing a point of public policy, with which the Board had nothing to do. Mr Stout could show that the Board had a right to shew its concurrence with public policy. He was not saying his view of the law was right. That was for the Board to consider. The Board decided to hear Mr Stoat. Mr Stout, as he understo d from the application itself, considered it was based the 83rd section of the Waste Lands Act, ISG6. The Corami-siou ; Yon take that for granted, I do not concur in that view entirely, Mr Stout ; If the Board do not act under that section, certainly the application could n >t he granted, as he was not aware of any other section of the Waste Lands Act giving thn semblance of authority to grant it, Mr Connell might refer to the 123 rd. Mr Stout would first show that the SSrd section did not give the Board the right to deal with the land at all. The S3rd section showed that if the terms and conditions of the lease were complied with the land should not be liable to he sold without the consent of the holder. It was wholly under that section that the Board pretended to proceed with the application before them ; but he apprehended the Waste Lands Act oortff cyptemplated such a case. The see-

tion provided {hat, iinder certain conditions, •the land should be sold as if declared into % hundred ; but it-was never intended that a runholder should make a private arrangement and then come forward to the Board for its-ratification. There had been no consent as required by the Act to sell it at all. If consent had been given at all it was merely consent to a private arrangement to sell to a particular individual. It would bind the Board to a course which, if adopted, would form a terribly bad precedent. The whole policy of the Act was based upon the intention that there should be no undue advantage given tc one settler over another. For that reason the sale ought to have been advertised and the land pub up to auction, and for that reason the minutes of the Board were open to the public at any time. If the ! recedent of the present application were granted, it would be a most dangerous precedent. He would not say that the Board might not be actuated by the best motives, but in many countries freer than Otago—even in America—private arrangements were made adverse to public interests. If the Board sanctioned a runholder in saying, “I allow you to sell a certain block of land to a certain individual only, he did not say the present Board might do anything prejudicial to the public interests, but an Executive might be appointed th-t was careless on that point, and who might refer back to that transaction, and under its authority pick out the eyes of the country by selling its choicest land to friends or neighbors. But not only was such a course illegal, but there was a special Act of the Province’s making for preventing private arrangements being made to prevent land realising its full value. It was specially passed to prevent arrangements being made by which one might say to another, “ If you let me buy that block for so much, 1 will nob bid fer such a block that you want to buy.” But if there was no auction sale, there was nothing to prevent an arrangement between J, Clark and William Clarke. He thereto) c asked the Board not to go in the face of tie Waste Land Act, and the Act-to which he alluded. If he had nothing more to urge he had said enough to induce them lo refuse the application at once. There was only another point he ha I to deal w-ith befoie referring to the objections formally alleged, It might be said by Mr Clarke, that the Board had gone too far, and that to refuse the application would be a breach of faith not to complete the arrangement; that he had consented to ten aerts being reserved for a school out of 45,500, that deposit money bad been paid, and that therefore it wa; too la' e for the Board to stop. But the 40th clause of the Waste Lands Act provided that, if the Board deemed it would be prejudicial to the public interests either as to the whole or part of tie land, the money deposited for survey and on account of the laud might be returned. There was also another clause to the same effect, so that the Board had full power to refuse to ratify the application. The land might have proved auriferous, or the application might have been made previous to a public meeting to consider the question, or the land might have been found to contain a copper mine, or that it was of such a character as to benefit the district, and that the sale would injure the district or Province considerably. In ei her of those cases the Board would not have had the slightest hesitation in refusing the application. On this point he might say there was not the slightest pretension that Mi Clarke did not know of this section. Therefore it was not beyond the power of the Board, under the 45th section, to refuse granting the application on the law of the case. On the testimony of the inhabitants of the district, on the testimony of his Honor the Superintendent, of Mr Hei-1, and of Mr Bradshaw in their evidence given br. fore the select committee in Wellington, he rested his case, that the sale would be preju* dicial to the public interests. In that evidence they had shown that about 3,000 acres were peculiarly adapted for public settlement, and that the interests of the public had not been sufficiently guarded, as a strip of land was included in the sale which the Executive had determined should be withheld from sale. He apprehended that the Waste Land Board would not set itself in opposition to the Executive Government of Otago. Mr Bradshaw, the Provincial Treasurer, said there was a special arrangement that a certain portion without a red line marked on the plan, should not be sold, the Executive deeming it would be prejudicial to the public interests to include it in the sale. Mr Bradshaw also stated he believed fhe laud to be auriferous. (Mr Bradshaw ; Remotely auriferous. ) He apprehended the Board would not be guided by the maps, which showed more mountains than another pro? fessing to be maps of the district, Mr Smith submitted that no evidence given in Wellington was evidence before the Board Mr Stout intended to suggest the Board !-l)oiild app int a Commissioner, to take evidence on the character of the land. Mr Smith had no status in the matter, as Mr Council had already been allowed to appear as ageut for Mr Clarke. He might be pardoned alluding to the peculiar position in which the people of the district were placed by the sale. So far back as 1865, there was a b’oekof land called the Shingle Block, which was opened up for sale by the Board, and that fact showed there was a necessity for land being opened up for sale in the district, and if that necessity existed seven years ago, it could not be said to have ceased. The Shingle Block was said to be perfectly unfit for settlement, and in consequence the block called the Island Block was declared open for sale. Hp did not say that there was any blame for the manner in which it was disposed of attributable to the persons then in power. They were cleared from it by a select committee of the Provincial Council j but by the efforts qf Air Clarke’s agent he was enabled to purchase the whole of that block. It might hj ye been through cowardice ou the "part of the inhabitants. Ju consequence of this there was another block open for sale, and, according to the statement of the Chief Commissioner, the lease was cancelled under the IGlh clause of the Goldfields Act, 1868, and a proclamation issued ou the 14th November, 1870. Two thousand acres were surveyed under the fifty-acre section. Of these 4200 acres are attempted to be included in this application. This was divided into sections, but the maps presented did not show that survey. Mr Connell said Mr Stout had made certain remarks attempting to throw discredit on Mr Clarke’s survey. They were now the official maps of the Government, and not private plans. The Chief Cojnwis*i°ucr said as Chief

Surveyor he considered the plans very correct. , . „ , r Mr Stout thought then that the neople oi the district were very anxiou.3 to get possession of the tops of the mountains. The Provincial Government considered that 4,200 acres absolutely necessary for settlement: They cancelled the lease, had it surveyed into fifty acre sections, and then that expense of survey was to be thrown aside, and the 4200 acres given to Mr Clarke. All these proceedings showed that to ratify that sale would be prejudicial to the public interest. Tli e district had been especially ill-treated. The inhabitants, when the Shingle Block was thrown open, were asked to cultivate a bed of shingle. The Island Block had been sold instead of leased, and now on Moa Flat 4200 acres were taken away, and included in that survey for Mr Clarke. He thought the Board would agree that the district had been most unhandsomely treated. The inhabitants of the Province complained when their land was sold at ten shillings an acre ; but how much greater right had they to complain that not only the tops of the mountains but 4 200 acres, which Mr Connell said was level land? . , ■, Mr Connell denied saying it waa level. It was 2000 feet above the level of the sea. On the maps, it was marked agricultural lai [t’he remainder of the report will he given to-morrow. On the Board reassembling at three o’clock it was intimated by the Chief Commissioner that the proposal for consideration was Mr tleid’s proposal :—“ That the sale he agreed to, except that part of about 1950 acres that lies N.E. of the road line that divides block 4, and the ten acres reserved as a school site. That Mr Clarke can have the option of selecting an equal quantity in any part of the run contiguous to present application, or his deposit returned foi the part taken off in terms of 46th section, Waste Lands Act, 1866.” , , , , Mr Duncan observed that ho had duly Considered the whole question, and the point touched upon by Mr Connell, together with the dispute that took place at the meeting of the Board, when the application was received. He clearly stated at the time and whoa the matter came before the Board, and it was asked if it cou d grant the application, that it could not be granted; and he called attention to the a. rangement; declining to listen to the statements made by the chairman. He found also th t the people of the district had made great complaints about the sale, saying that its effect would be injurious to the district; and seeing that they had conceded a great deal in their original demands —that according to Mi Mackay they were to take a part of the block, leaving that part which was occupied as a station —and seeing that his vote entirely carried out the 46th clause of the Act, he would support Mr Keid’s motion. Mr Hughes would support the resolution, which was then agreed to. Mr James Smith : With reference to the decision just come to, I have to inform the Board that Mr Clarke will not accept one acre less xhan the area surveyed, Mr Keid : Mr Clarke will be entitled to the area surveyed; hut tbo Board has the undoubted power to say where the laud shall be taken from. Un ler the 46th clause he can abandon bis survey or not; in that case, the Act decides how his deposit will he dealt with.