Scene at the Land Board Meeting.

Feilding Star, Volume XVI, Issue 151, 22 December 1894, Page 2

Scene at the Land Board Meeting.

I Per Press Association.! Wellington, December 20. The complaints recently made at a meeting of the Masterton Reform Association against the Wellington Land Board for insisting on tho payment of rent for special settlement sections which, it was alleged, was not due, and also protesting against the inaction of the department in constructing roads and carrying out surveys, cropped up at the Land Board meeting to-day. Mr Hogp, M.H.R , who is a member of the Board, presided at tho Reform Association's meeting, and took a leading part in the business. Commissioner Baker said the Department's action was totally mis* represented, and ho considered that the more honorable conrso for a member of the Board would have been to have represented the grievances to the Board before taking a prominent part in a meeting and allowing the Executive officers of the Department to be abused for requiring tho Association to fulfil its obligations. He further deemed it most unseemly, seeing that Mr Hogg was interested, and he declared tho alleged grievances to be imaginary or trumped up to evade the payment of the rent. Mr Hogg replied, and said that he had not been in tho habit of being addressed in the language used by the Commissioner, and, before he would tolerate such asper sions being cast on his character as a public man, ho would sacrifice his pub ie position. He asserted that the settlers had grievances, and denied that he had iispersed the officers of tho Board. He hail sometimes felt called upon to speak out regarding the Commissioner's conduct, and he had sometimes heard the Commissioner speak to his officers before the Board as if they were dogs. The Commissioner : I deny that. Mr Hogg continued, and said that the Forty-mile Bush settlers held to the opinion that tho Commissioner was a friend of the big man, and not of the small settlere. The grossest blunder ever made was when Mr Marchant was sent away and Mr Baker brought here, as the latter did not understand tho settlers, many of whom were Poles, Swedes, &c The Commissioner, he said, was brow beating the settlers, and it was through his negligence all the trouble had arisen The Commissioner retorted that Mr Hogg was making absolute mis-statements and that tho settlers had received great consideration. On concluding, ho saia that, if he remained at the head of the Board, Mr Hogg would not be a member. Mr Hogs: said he thought it would be a bad thing for the settlers if Mr Baker remained Commissioner. The subject then dropped.