The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, November 24, 1910. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 922, 24 November 1910, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, November 24, 1910. NOTES AND COMMENTS.

Townspeople will be pleased to learu that at last there is a possibility of the old cemetery at the north end of Main Street being vested in the borough. This small reserve, which could be transformed into a beauty spot at a very small cost, was used in the early days as a Maori and European cemetery and is owned by Aputa. The ground according to Maori custom is tapu. Aputa is the last surviving: owner of the land, and her consent has been obtained to vest the reserve in the borough. Mr Newman, M.P.,has succeeded in getting the following clauses inserted in the Native Eand Claims Adjustment Bill now before Parliament: — “Clause 13. (1) The owners, or their trustees in the case of owners under disability, of Section 97 A > in the Borough of Foxton, are hereby authorised to convey by way of gift to the Corporation of the said borough, and the said Corporation is hereby authorised to acquire, the said land or any part thereof, notwithstanding the provisions of the Native Land Act, 1908. (2). The deed of gift shall be executed in conformity with the requirements of section two hundred and fifteeen of the said Act (relating to formalities of execution). (3). Such deed shall be subject to confirmation by the Maori Land Board of the district in which the said land is situated, and the Board shall, without fee, grant a certificate of confirmation, if satisfied that the provisions of the last preceding subsection have been complied with. (4). Such certificate of confirmation shall have the same force and effect as a certificate 0 f confirmation under Part XIII of the said Act.”

The Borough Council are to be congratulated upon the success which has attended their efforts. On several occasions attempts have been made by private persons to secure this property for building purposes, but have been unsuccessful. The Borough Council will put all the graves in order, and the donor’s name or that of her ancestors should in some way be lor ever connected with the reserve.