PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 17, Issue 1016, 13 May 1871, Page 3

PROVINCIAL COUNCIL.

FRIDAY, MAY 13. The Speaker took the chair at 3 p.m. Present —Messrs. Ormond, Maney, Routledge, Kennedy, Tiffen, Rhodes, Colenso, Sutton, Lee, A'Deane, Tanner, Johnson, Dolbel, Bridge, Lieut.-Col. Lambert, and Captain Russell. The minutes of the last meeting were read and confirmed. Misreporting. Mr. Sutton complained that in the Herald of that morning he was represented as saying that the prayer of a petition presented yesterday was in contravention of the ».* Toll-gate Act." He had said noting of the kind. What he really said was, that the district mentioned was outside the boundaries laid down in the " ToM-gate Act," and that if the prayer of the petition were granted, an alteration in the Act would be rendered neeessary. Reporters ought to be more careful The report referred to did not convey what he had said, or anything like it.' Slaughter-House Fees. Mr. Sutton, by permission, withdrew the following motion standing iu his name : That the present system of lovying fees at the Slaughter-house be discontinued at the end of the present financial year. Next Meeting of Council. Mr,-Dolbel said the motion next followaa£, in his name, should not have appeared in to-day's order paper. He had given notice that he would move it on Friday the J9th, the matter being of such importance that at least a week should be allowed for its consideration. The motion (which we append) was then erased from the order paper; That in order to do away with the honorarium of country members, and to follow the economical policy proposed by the member for Napier, Mr, Sutton, it is resolved that the next meeting of this Council shall be held at Waipawa Court House, and that His Honor the Superintendent be requested to obtain permission from the Chairman of Petty Sessions to occupy the building for the above purpose. Tikokino and Hampden Reserves. Lieut.-Colonel Lambert, pursuant to fiotiee, move 1— That His Honor the Superintendent will cause to be laid on the table a return shewing to whom the Tikokino and Hampden reserves are let, at what rental, and the amount of rent received, and if the tenants have the right of felling timber growing on the land and selling it, * —His reason for bringing forward this motion, was that tbe presi nt lessee of the Tikokino reserve was in the habit of felling the timber and disposing of it in other ways than for the benefit of the estate. It was necessary that the Council should know by what authority this was done, and he hoped they would take measures to protect the property of the province. His Honor replied that the return would be prepared. He had been already aware to some extent of the circumstances complained of. He might inform the Council that he feared some rather serious difficulties might arise respecting this Tikokino land. The blocks had been originally laid out by Mr. Weber, and the results of his survey deposited in the Crown Land office. The reserves were afterwards laid out by another surveyor, and leased to various parties, and it had since been found that the surveys did not agree, and that a portion of the land set apart as educational reserves, in reality belonged to the natives, who, of course, now laid claim to it. He had endeavored to trace the cause of this discrepancy in the surveys, but had as yet failed to arrive at any definite result. A settler named William Hall had leased one of these reserves, and paid two years' rent to the Government. The natives bad taken possession of a portion of the land, and Mr. Hall had applied to him (Mr. Ormond) as Superintendent, for protection. The title being only leasehold, this matter might be settled without much difficulty; but the case was different in some instances in which property had been conveyed to Europeans as Crown land, which was now discovered to be in the same predicament. Mr. Weber, who originally surveyed this block, had been instructed to jbok into and report upon the matter. LJeut.-Colonel Lambkrt said h ; s great object was to prevent the remova' of the timber. Some of the tenants in this district, instead of improving the property they leased, were simply deriving a revenue from the valuable timber on the Government reserve, .Agreed to.

Committee of Supply. Mr. Ormond (pro forma) moved that tbe Council do resolve itself into Committee of Supply. Lieut.-Col. Lvmbert took the opportunity to congratulate His Honor on the comparatively large sum. which had been recovered this year on account of immigrants'promissory notes. - In committee, the first item having been read, the Chairman reported progress, and .asked leave to sit again on next sitting day. The Council then adjourned.