LICENSED SURVEYORS AND THEIR FEES.

Evening Star, Issue 3272, 15 August 1873, Page 2

LICENSED SURVEYORS AND THEIR FEES.

The question of surveyors’ fees was brought under the notice of the Waste Land Board yesterday by the Chief Commissioner, who reported that exceptional cases of hardship to the public had come before him. He explained that the purchaser of a 3,000 acre block, bought at 10s an acre, was obliged to cut it up into eighteen sections, and by the regulations in force the surveyor could charge travelling expenses for each section. Che travelling allowance was 3s per mile, being one third of the proper rate. A purchaser of a block which had been cut up into eighteen sections had complained bitterly that he was obliged to pay travelling expenses upon each, and he (the Commissioner) thought that in such a case the surveyor, if he had no other business in the district at the time, should only charge travelling expenses once.—Mr Bastings knew of a district that had arranged to get up a surveyor from town, and he charged travelling expenses upon each allotment; L 64 travelling expenses for going twenty-four miles was monstrous. The Chief Commissioner wished the Board clearly to understand that the standard was 10s per mile; and a surveyor with his three men could not travel for less. —Mr Connell, who appeared for the surveyors, furnished a comparative statement of the cost of travelling expenses in stated cases in which ho had done work for the Government during the past twelve months. For the first, a distance of twenty-five milts, ■ 11 11s w r as charged; iu the second, a distance of forty miles, L 22125. (in three trips, to a distance of twenty-live miles, to survey one section, the loss to the surveyors was L 23 8s; on three trips, a distance of forty miles, to survey one section, L 39 16s; on three trips, a distance of twenty-five miles, to survey three sections, 18s ; and on three trips, a distance of forty miles, to survey three sections, Ll3 16s ; making a total loss of L 77 18s. On the other hand, for two trips, a distance of forty miles, to survey six sections, his gain was L 36 16s; and one trip to survey twelve sections, L 33 9s, or a total of L7O ss, which showed a loss on the twelve months of L 7 13s. He asked the Board, before making any alteration, to look at the matter carefully. The cutting up of a block into 320 acre allotments was an exceptional case, and the allowance on it only enabled the surveyors to about loss. After all, it did not amount to more than 2d an acre, if the Board interfered with the district surveyors; they ran the risk of causing the best of them, if the fees were reduced below a fair and honest remuneration, to leave the Province.—The Chief Commissioner said that he bad considerable difficulty with these cases of charging travelling expenses on a number of sections, and in a recent case the purchaser complained bitterly of the charges made. He (the Commissioner) then felt bound to bring the matter before the Board. The charges, in respect of these exceptional cases, certainly required revision. —Mr Bastings suggested that these exceptional cases should be dealt with on their merits.—Mr Connell said these cases only balanced the surveyors’ Josses on single transactions.—The Chief Commissioner thought it would be better to raise the charge on single transactions, and deal with the exceptional cases in a more equitable manner.— Mr Bastings said the matter had better remain in abeyance. It was the intention of the Government to make some alterations in the survey system of the Province, and until those alterations which were now under discussion were decided, this question should stand over. The matter was accordingly postponed for a week.