Wellington Land Board

Feilding Star, Volume XV, Issue 102, 27 October 1893, Page 2

Wellington Land Board

♦— The regular meeting of the above was held yesterday. Present— The Commissioner (Mr J. H Baker) in the chair, Messrs W. A. Fitzherbert, T. W. Fisher, and Fred Pirani. Before the proceedings commenced, the Commissioner rend the following state. ißcnt : — "I would like to point out that the action of the Board iv asking Mr Shannon to explain the position his daughter held in connection with the land taken up by her before allowing her i application to complete her purchase and i obtain the title to the land, has apparently been misunderstood. The Crown Lands Ranger, wnose duty it is to in* spect the land to see that the improvements required by the Land Act to be made on the land before the title thereto could issue, having reported Hint there was reasonable ground for suspecting the buna fi(ffi of this land purchns*?, the Land Board, if they are to carry out the pro visions of the Act they are appointed to administer, had no other course before them but to make inquiries into the matter to which their attention had been called by one of their officers. They could, without straining tho Act in any way, have summoned Miss Shannon be fore them and required her to gire evidence on oath as to the occupation of her section. As, however, I deemed the matter was one which could probably be explained, I suggested, to save the young lady the annoyance of having to appear before the Board, her father should be asked to appear on her behalf and give the explanation they, on the face of the ranger's report, had every right to ask for as to her position with respect to the occupation of the land. That the ranger was perfectly justified in calling our attention to tke matter, tho tracing I had prepared showing how the several sections owned by this family have been fenced, will prove, because, ns a rule, when land is occupied for the use and benefit of the purchaser, one generally finds the division fence between the two holdings is erected on the common boundary line. The Board will, however, sec by a glance at the map, the fenco between section 7 and 25 is not on the boundary, but the paddocks nrc so arranged as one would expect to find them if the owner of the two sections were one and the same person. Miss Shannon was not living on her section, so the ranger could not ask an explanation from her, nnd it would not have been much use asking Mr M. V. Shannon, the holder of section 25 (adjoining), and the apparent occupier of Miss Shannon's land, for the father hiintclf wrs not on the ground at 1 the time, and it can scarcely be held to be ] the duty of the ranger to run about the countrj' Io find the owner of the land to get an explanation of the wuj the ground is occupied. Mr Young appeared for Mr Howie to explain the occupation of a deferred pay ment section in the Pemberton Blo^k by Mr Martin, who was doing the bushfel ling on it — It was decided to allow the title to isaue. The following title was granted, sub* ject to completion or improvements : — J. Hyde, section 12, block X, Apiti. The sections of land disposed of since last Board meeting were approved. Mr J. Smith was gran'ed permission I to sublet section 14, block VI, Apiti. The following applications to obtain titles were approved :— B F and T G Porter, section 1, block IV. Mangaone; E Roper, section" 41 and 43, block IV, Ongo ; K Goodbehere, section 15, block XI, Apiti ; W W Corpe, sections 17 nnd 18, block XIV, Pohangina ; Job Palmer, section 27, block X, do ; B Bresltn, sec» lion 6, block XIV, do; W J Port, section 5, block XIV, do. The following application to transfer was approved : — M V Donton to P Linder, section 1, block 111, Pohangina. The following applications to capitalise were approved :— W W Corpe. sections 17 and 18, block XIV, Poh-ingina; B Breslin, section 6, block XIV, do.