THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MAY 23, 1873.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 221, 23 May 1873, Page 4

THE Mount Ida Chronicle FRIDAY, MAY 23, 1873.

Among the fogs and obscurities surrounding every page of the Otago Waste Lands Act. we venture to. say, the sections regulating the granting of water races, more particularly for agricultural and public purposes, will take a prominent place. Sub-section 1 of Section 65 says, if no valid objection be entered, &c, within fourteen clear days, the District Officer shall report | to the Waste Lands Board, who may I issue a license. Within the compass of a few lines it is said that the procedure shall be the same as in applications for lands on license and lease. Further, the tenth schedule, or form of notice, marked in the margin as referring to this very sub-section 1 of section 65, says that all objections must be lodged within thirty clear days, or sixteen more than the body of the section says is all that is necessary to entitle an applicant to receive a-li-cense. It is true that the power of such grant by the Board is discre-. tional only, as the word " may " im--plies. Nevertheless, the difference is strikingly clumsy, and will no doubt lead to litigation. Then again, if objected to, such objection is, by subsection 1 of section 65, to be made within fourteen days ; by section 50 it must be made within twenty-four hours of date of hearing, or on the thirteenth day ; and yet the application has to be advertised in two issues of a paper circulating in the district, which in-many cases is only a'weekly one—hence this is not only contradictory but impossible. If the District Officer is satisfied that the objection is a valid one, he must notify a day of hearing and the nature of objection—such, day to be not less than seven nor more than twenty-one days from date of such notification for the purpose of deciding the opposed application. Then again, it seems implied that a Board of Inquiry shall hear these objections ; such Board to consist of three members to be appointed by the Superintendent from time to time, of which Board the District Officer shall be Chairman. Applications have already been made for water races through the District Land Officer, but we have not heard anything about the Boards of Inquiry. Whether licenses granted under section 65, sub-section 1, in which the]

two clauses—the one bringing the procedure under the similar, machinery to that of land on lease, which makes the limit for time of hearing thirty days, and the very next paragraph which fixes it at fourteen days:—would stand good in law, the whole being senseless and contradictory, is a very nice legal question. It is very much to be regretted that such glaring blunders, casting a doubt on legal title, should have been passed over in an Act that had a very protracted consideration. It seems to us hard that this office should be thrown on the Warden, unless, indeed, a good salary is to be attached to it. That, at present, .we are not aware of. The District Land Officers—if these legal stumblingblocks are removed, and we have only pointed out one from many—will have plenty of business, and it is unfair that the work should be thrown on to the already hardest worked and worst paid Government servant. Wherever the. G-overnment appear to have confidence in the Warden, the office has been foisted on to him. When will our Government learn that it is impolitic to muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn.

The application for trees to the Government, made by the Secretary to the Naseby Cemetery Trustees, has been a successful one. A consignment arrived by coach last week. We have to acknowledge the receipt of the new Goldfields Bill. The'Bill contains 217. clauses, and 25 schedules. The residents of Naseby intend displaying their loyalty on Monday next, 26th inst (the. day set apart for the celebration of the Queen's birthday), by making it a general holiday. The banks and public offices are announced to be closed, and the brethren of the Loyal Naseby Lodge of Oddfellows have appointed that day for the celebration of their, fifth anniversary. A ball in honor of the occasion will take place in the Masonic Hall, in the evening, wbir»h promises to be a great success. We learn, on the best authority, that immediately after the prorogation of the Provincial Council on Monday the members of the Opposition held a meeting, when it was decided to telegraph to his Excellency the Act-ing-Governor and the hon. the Premier, that reasons would be urged against the dissolution which it was understood his Honor th& Superintendent had applied for. In the evening the.meeting adopted a memorial to his Excellency stating the reasons why the dissolution should not be granted. The. memorial was signed by twenty-seven members, and will be forwarded to the North by the Mail to-morrow. —' Star.' The following appears in a recent number of the f Age':—" Liardet. —At her residence Syranga lodge, Richmond, the wife of Mr. Evelyn Liardet, of twin daughters. Father delighted." We should think so. Mb. Vincent Pyke is about to. publish a story of Colonial life and adventure, the incidents of which are connected chiefly with New Zealand. Report says that the descriptions and delineations of chai'acter are drawn in a masterly style, and will vie favorably with the works of the best English authors.—' Star.' An advertisement in another column notifies that on and after Thursday the sth. Juno prox, the banks will close every Thursday following at 1 o'clock. A Giiand art union (see advertisement) to take place in the School room, St. Bathans, on the first Thursday of July next. The in : : tention of the promoters is, we. understand, to raise a sum sufficient to wipe off the debt on the Catholic Church and Cemetery at St. Bathans, and also to aid the funds of the Catholic School there. The prizes are substantial and numerous. The small sum charged for each ticket, and the object the Church and School Committee have in view, will be inducement sufficient. to make the drawing a success. The Revising officer, Mr. Wm. Hodgkins, held a Court for the Revision of the List of Voters of the District of Mount Ida,, in the Court House Naseby, on Wednesday last. The Town Council of Lawrence have unanimously agreed to borrow £5,C00 or £6 000, out of which amount £ISOO is to be taken for the erection of a Towa Kail. The ' Tuapeka Times' says that Messrs Bradshaw and Mervyn are said to be anxious for office.as G-oldfields Secretary. Mr. Reid's party intend seperating the Public .Works from the G-oldfields department. A dissolution is imminent. Meetings for the consideration of Publi? cans licenses will be held in the various Licensing Courts throughout the Province on Tuesday, the 3rd of June prox. Applications, &o:, must be made to the respective Clerks of the Courts fourteen days at least before the, said date. The Provincial Goverment of Otago ara calling for tenders for the construction of a light railway between Pukeuri Point and the Maerewhenua. • The anniversary of the Queen's Birthday will be observed on Monday next, 26th inst., on which day the the Banks and Government offices will be closed. A meeting of the Naseby Athenseum Committee, was held in the Athengeum on Thursday, May 15. Present—L.W. Busch (chair), E. C. Smith (Secretary), G. E. Newmarch, W. J. Cooper, J. Brown, and D. Pipe. The minutes of previous meeting "were read and.

confirmed. Copies of outward correspondence were read and approved. The inward correspondence consisted of a letter from the proprietor of ' New Zealand Herald/ offering to place the Athenaum on his free list; letter from 'Witness ' proprietary, offering pajper at ten shillings per annum. The auditors, Messrs. Newiiiarch and Pipe, presented their report, from which it appeared that there was a balance of £ll6 16s. lid. in the Bank of New * Zealand to the credit of the institution. The amount already expended is £156 15s. 4d. Resolved that the auditors report be adopted. The Secretary was instructed to have a gravel footpath formed leading to the budding. Chairs were also ordered to be furnished. Resolved to open the reading room from ten till twelve noon, and 630 till 930 p.m. Secretary was instructed to advertise opening of institution on 2nd of June. It was agreed that the library should be open, and the librarian in attendance, for exchanging books, on Mondays and Thursdays from 7to 8 p.m. The Secre'.ary informed tlie meeting that H. W. Robinson, Esq. had kindly consented to deliver an inaugural address at "the opening of the institution. A number of rules for the management of the Athenaeum were formed and adopted. The meeting adjourned, with a vote of thanks to the chair, at 10.40 p.m., till Thursday, 22nd inst. The Naseby Athenseum will be opened to subscribers on Monday, 2nd June prox. In the evening H. W. Robinson, Esq., will deliver an address suited to the occasion. An excellent assortment of books, selected with great care and discrimation by the Committee, is already on the shelves, and further consign-, mehts are expected. It is arranged, we believe, that on the tables will be found—in addition to the principal Home, American, and Colonial newspapers—all the leading popular magazines and periodicals of the day. . The Committee deserve great credit for the efforts the have made to ensure the comfort and convenience of the members- —efforts which, we trust, will be appreciated by the public in subscribing, largely as members of the institution. For terms, &c, see our advertising colnmns. We are glad to be able to state that Greorge Price, who received seyere injuries from a fall from his horse on Thursday the 15th inst., is progressing favorafcdy. .