SOUTHLAND WASTE LAND BOARD.

Evening Star, Issue 3567, 29 July 1874, Page 3

SOUTHLAND WASTE LAND BOARD.

From the ‘Southland Times'

The Southland Waste Land Board met last Thursday, when a petition purporting to be from settlers, was presented against granting a sawmill license to Mr T, Brown, to cut sleepers in the Woody Knoll Bush, on the ground that to do so would be inflicting an irreparable injury on the settlers in the neighborhood. The petitioners urged that the bush was not in a state of partial decay, but, on the contrary, in a flourishing condition, Mr Mitchell stated that a great deal of misapprehension had been caused by an amendment of the Inspector of Surveys, which had appeared in the ‘ Southland TimesV report of the proceedings of the 10th inst., and which, if he remembered rightly, was to the effect that the Woody Knoll Bush was the only one, within a circuit of twenty-five miles, from which settlors could obtain timber for fencing. 1 hat was altogether wrong, for the Hilleud Bush, which comprised about 200 acres, was within five or six miles of Woody Knoll, on the north side. Therefore he (Mr Mitchell) hoped that the Inspector of Purveys would now say something which, if reported in the newspapers, would di-abuse people’s minds of the misapprehension, and place the matter in its proper light. The Inspector cf Surveys (Mr Baker) begged emphatically to reiterate that the Woody Knoll Bush was the only available bush withing a distance of twenty five miles from which settlers in that neighborhood could procure timber for fencing. At the same time it was quite true that Hillend Bush was within a distance of five or six miles, but thou it was on the other side of the r.ver, and therefore not available to settlers in that neighborhood, Mr M‘Arthur said that at the present time there was a man cutting some thousands of totara and black pine posts in Hilhnd Bush for Mr Webster, of Benmore, w'hose tnanagor, Mr Harrington, w'as one of the petitioners.

Mr Mitchell said that some rmsappr<;nsion also prevailed concerning the size of the Woody Knoll Bush, which was in reality twelve miles in length, and about s-ix miles in breadth—a much mre extensive area than some people seemed to think it possessed. Mr M‘Arthur said that, inasmuch as the memorialists had made several deliberate misstate meats, he for one would decline to entertain the petition. one instance he might cite the fact that the Woody Knoll Bush was not, as the petitioners had stated, in a flourishing condition. Hr Baker prefered to think that the petitioners were right in their .-tatenicut. Mr Mitchell afterwards moved—That the memorial of the sett era in the neighborhood ' f Centre Bush having been read, the Board reclines to alter the decision arrived at in the matter at its meeting held on the 10th of July.

this stage of the proceedings, the minutes of the meeting of the 10th July were referred to, and Mr Baker pointed out that there was no mention ol how Jong Mr Brown was to get to consider whether he would accept tha application under the conditions imposed, and that consequently, Mr Brown having lodged no deposit, nor taken up the application, the matter had lapsed, and there was absolutely nothing before the Board. Mr Wade, who was present, explained that the application was to stand over pending the decision of his Honor the Judge of the Supreme Court as to whether an acting Chairman of the Board possessed a deliberative as well as a casting vote. A resolution to that effect was carried at the meeting of the 10th of July, and the Eoird agreed to state a case accordingly ; but the matter had, beyond a doubt inadvertently, been omitted from the minutes, and was attributable to the probability that the acting chairman forgot to take a note of the resolution.

The Board coincided with Mr Wade, and it was resolved to amend the minutes by addin!* the following words “ The Board undertaking to submit a case to his Honor the Judge of the Supreme Court, asking his decision as to whether or not an acting Chairman of the Board possessed both a deliberative and a casting vote under clause 8 of the Southlands Waste Lands Act, 1b65; the application to stand over pending such decision. ”

Mr Mitchell’s motion was again read, after which Mr Baker moved as an amend'l hat in the event of the Judge deciding that the acting chairman on the 10th of July had net a right to exercise a deliberative as well as a casting vote, the petition of the Wintou settlers, praying the Board not to sanction Mr Brown’s application, be submitted to a full meeting of the Board prior to accepting the deposit and survey fees for the same,” The amendment was lost, the Chairman, who did not vote, giving it as his opinion that the petition in question should receive due attention from the Board. Mr Mitchell’s motion was then put aud carried.