MANAWATU-OROUA RIVER BOARD.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 2855, 7 March 1925, Page 2

MANAWATU-OROUA RIVER BOARD.

\ .-filling of the Assessment Court was held at Palmerston X. vestmJay to consider appeals against tin cla-silica I inn of ralclable properl ics in the district of the Manawatu Oi'nua River Board. The assessors were Messrs J. L. Stout, t-'.M., (>. Monrad ( Palmerston X.), end 1!. E. I .eight mi (Wellington).

An ndju-l men I was made, as a ichilli of which the I! applicants were tei! lies'll IO I I. Mr P. Baldwin, the Board’s solicitor. staled that in the matter of Urns,- tdas-dlicalion.-. the Board was quite neulrfil and wished merely fairly to apportion between the various ratepayers the Board’s work. Tin Board was not an ordinary local body, but one hnviug jurisdietion over a widely distributed district. It was thought that the fairest way in which io arrive at a classification i.f the ureas was (o engage a Government valuer, but I lie classification was necessarily made on very vague premises. The scheme was formulated but not passed, and it was therefore extremely difficult to arrive al a settlement. The classifiers were cramped bv 1 lie Act, ami it was found upon going into the three rateable classes, that the provisions were too broad. Norman 11. Mnekic, Government land valuer, then explained in a

gciicrnl review tin' method by which lie arrived at iiis classification of the properly in the Board's district, lie staled that with Mr F. C. Hay, engineer to the Board, lie was appointed as classifier (o the Board. His starting point was to consider a scheme which would give complete immunity from Hoods, and perfect drainage. His work was merely to assess the benefits estimated to accrue on those lands in the scheme. Mr Baldwin (lien examined witmss with regard to different points considered during the classification. The bearing of (be appeals was 11 i'ii commenced, five being disposed of. These were as follow: —Frederick Spencer Easton, of M.ouloa; Fox lon (Mr Bergin); George Craw and Joseph Liggins, of Makerua (Mr Eilzherbert); Samuel Bowker and Joseph Dunn, of Koputaroa. The remaining appeals will lie heard to-day.