THE GREY COAL RESERVE.

Grey River Argus, Volume X, Issue 812, 4 March 1871, Page 2

THE GREY COAL RESERVE.

The Colonial Secretary has forwarded to his Worship the Mayor copies of correspondence which has passed between the late County Chairman and the General Government on the subject of the coal reserve on the River Grey. Some months ago the attention of the Government was directed to the subject of reserves in Westland, and it appears that with regard to the particular reserve in question some informality existed in the conditions under which it was made. The then chief surveyor (Mr Malcolm Fraser) was directed to forward to the Government a statement and description of the various reserves, and the purposes for which they were made, and amongst others he mentioned the reserve in question, which was made by the Canterbury Government for the purpose of \providing a fund for the improvement of the navigation of the River Grey. On receipt of the chief surveyor's report the Colonial Secretary addressed the following letter to the County Chairman (Mr Hoos) : — "Colonial Secretary's Office, " Wellington, 1 3th Dec, 1870. "Snt, — With reference to the enclosed description of a reserve, Noi ; 274, in red, forwarded by the Commissioner of Crown Lands of Westland, I have the honor to " inform you that the Government is advised that the reserve is invalid, as, at the time the reserve was made, there was no authority for making a reserve for the purpose of raising such a fund as that mentioned in the description, viz., — improving the navigation of the River Grey, &c. There is, however, now, under Section 22, sub-section 8, of " The Westland Waste Lands Act, 1870," a power to reserve it for such a purpose: The purpose authorised would be endowment of the Municipality of Greymouth. The Governor, as you are aware, has power to make such a reserve, on the recommendation of the Waste Lands Board. "I have to request that you will be good enough to state your opinion as to the expediency of making such a deserve. "J have, &c., "(Signed) Henry Sbwbl. " (In the absence of Mr Gisborne.) " The Chairman of the County Council. "Hokitika." In reply to this communication, the County Chairman, on the 20th December last, forwarded a minute to the Colonial Secretary, setting forth the circumstances under which the reserve was made, and stating what steps had been iaken with regard to it. After referring |o the lease of the reserve to the now defunct Canterbury Company, and their failure to carry out the development of the coal seam, Mr Hoos remarked — "The area (5000 acres) is, however, too large, and there is no probability that. the whole area contains coal, especially towards the Arnold River, where the formation is more oi; an alluvial deposit of a more recent formation than" the coal measure. This is a reason that the area [of the Coal Reserve] should be reduced to 2000 acres, allowing the remaining 3000 acres to be occupied for other purposes, the land being excellent arable land, though heavily timbered at present." This minute" /he followed up by a letter on the 22nd December, in which -he " J " iaid : — " I quite concur with your suggestion that the reserve should' be declared invalid^ though I am of opinion that at the time when Westland was part of the Province of Canterbury the Superintendent and Provincial Council had to make such a reserve under the Canterbury Waste Lands Acts and regulations. " The purpose, however, for which the reserve was made is, to say the least of it, useless ; neither can I see the necessity for a river, with a constantly shifting shingle bed, to be kept navigable, especially when the facilities that exist on the Westland side of the river, for the construction of a railway from Greymouth to the Coal Mines, by which the products of both the Nelson and Westland mines, can be brought to the vessel's side without once re-loading, at a small' expense, are far greater than can be offered on the Nelson side of the river. The estimated cost of an iron railway, Government gauge, from Greymouth to lie " Coal Mines, a distance of seven (7) miles, is about seven thousand pounds (L 7000). "This reserve, after having been legally made, should, under section 27 of 'The Westland Waste Lands Act, 1870/ be vested in the Corporation of the County of Westland for the purpose contained in the latter part of sub-section 8 of section 22 of the above Act, in other words to augment the revenue of the County for the purpose of constructing and maintaining public works. It would not, in my opinion, be a fair arrangement to vest the reserve in the Corporation of the Borough of Greymouth, as the expenditure within that borough has been borne by the public funds of the County. "l am, &c., "(Signed) C. Hoos, " Chairman of the County Council." On the 23rd July the Colonial Secretary wrote as follows :— T " Colonial Secretary's Office, " Wellington, 23rd Feb., 1871. "Sir— l have the honor to acknow-

ledge the receipt of Mr Hoos' letter of the 22nd December last upon the subject of the Reserve, No. 274, in red, in which he states that he concurs with the Government in thinking that the reserve should be declared invalid, though he thinks the Superintendent and Provincial Council of Canterbury had power to make such a reserve when they made it. And he expresses his wish that the reserve, after having been legally made, should be -vested in the Corporation of the County of Westland, to augment the revenue of the County for the purpose of constructing and maintaining public works, and states that it would not, in his opinion, be fair to vest the reserve in the Corporation of the Borough of Greymouth, as the expenditure within that borough has been borne by the public funds of the County. " When my letter of the 13th December was written, attention had not been called to the fact that tbe land had been granted to the Superintendent of Canterbury, and dealt with by Ordinance ; but as this is an the Government, though still of opinion that the purpose for which the reserve was made was not one for which the law entitled the Superintendent to make it, do not think it advisable to disturb or disregard what has been done, especially as it is probable that, the reserve has been validated by the 24th section of 'The Westland Wastle Lands Act, 1870. ' "Unless, therefore, the grant to the Superintendent is repealed by scire facias it must be deemed to be good. "Assuming the grant to be valid, the land is now vested in the Governor, and the Governor in Council can change the purposes upon which the whole or any part is held, and can order the whole or any part to be sold, in which case the proceeds of sale would go to the County Council public account. Or, the Governor in Council could vest the whole or part in the Greymouth Corporation for endowment. "Looking, however, at the original purpose for which the land was reserved, it i 3 clear that the primary purpose was of a general kind, and that the improvement of the township was only secondary. " Upon the whole the Government are of opinion that it would be inequitable, either to deprive the town of Greymouth of all interest in the reserve, or to give the whole of it to the Municipality. "A portion of the land will, therefore, be vested in the Corporation of the town of Greymouth as endowment, and the rest will remain vested in the Governor, and will either be leased by him, or the whole or a part of such remaining portion will be sold, and the proceeds or rents, or both, as the case may be, paid to the land fund of the County of Westland. "A copy of the correspondence has been sent to the Mayor of Greymouth. " I have, &c, "(Signed) William Fox, "In tlie absence of Mr Gisborne."