PRE-EMPTIVE RIGHTS IMPORTANT POINT.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume IV, Issue 245, 14 November 1873, Page 3

PRE-EMPTIVE RIGHTS IMPORTANT POINT.

J ; At the Waste Land Board meeting last week, Mr. Hkggltt; ;for Mr. W. A. Tdlmie, applied to; be'allowed; to select-his pre-emptive right of -64 D acres- over run; 78a.' ' The contention was-that 78a. .and. 78b were' separate runs, and" appeared : as such on" tjie survey maps df the Province ;■ while the lease of the former was separate and distinct from the other, it having' been granted under the Act of 1872, while that of the latter was under the 1866 Act." The Act of 1872 allowed a run to be subdivided, and the runholder to obtain two pre-emptive rights,instead! of one: In: this way Mr, Tolmie, to use a common expression, was enabled to get on the windward side of. the : . Board ; and the Legislature was to blame for giving such a loophole. But while it afforded, the runholder such an advantage, it afforded disadvantages, as it allowed of two reserves ; of 1,000 acres each, being made under section 150, and of two reserves for letting on deferred payments. ■ The lease ° f TO 78a having been granted Under the: 1872 Act, and no pre-emptive right having beeh exercised in respect -ok it, • Mri Tol? mie was now' entitled 1 to have .his preemptive fight. Mr. Bastings : I may say, ; on "behalf of< the! Government, -that this matter has occupied' the attention ofr the;.* Executive since it was brought' tip last-week, and they are decidedly of opinion that;to grant the application would be a violation 1 of the spirit of-the Act, and they are disposed to resist it by all means in their power, if they can possibly do so. There; was a provision in tlie 1866 Act:thatrthe pre-emptive fight must be exercised before the run was subdivided. Was it not so,! Mr. Thomson?

The Chief Commissioner 1 was understood to say that sub-divisions had gone on always as matters 6f : course, and preemptive rights.obtained for,them. " Mr. Bastings : I, may further say that the Government think it is to; be, regretted that this course had not been adopted.; that the pre-iemptive:right' should be exercised before the runs were cut up, and the Government intend in future leases to make provisioh that ho person having taken advantage of this part of the Act shall be allowed it over any fresh lease issued.

Mr. Strode: That is the only remedy, and was suggested by Mr. Haggitt. Mr. Bastings: It is quite easy to see that a runholder might get dummies, make three or four sub-divisions of his run, and by that means might obtain the whole fee-simple of the run. ■ Commissioner: The fact of the matter is it is clearly a law point. Mr. Tolmie is the original lessee, and he retains this part of 'the run: He has already exercised his right over the other part. not under this Act, and the right was exercised under a different title altogether. The old' license was under the 1866 Act; this is under that -of | 1872. Mr. Bastings said a transferee might have applied to exercise the right of preemption over 78a, but Mr. Tolmie, being the original lessee, could not. That was as clear as possible. The Chief Commissioner contended that the pre-emptive right had already been exercised. 'haggitt: Not unless ; you are prepared to hold that Mr. Tolmie lis not the holder of a pastoral lease under section 103 a; ■.«■;.' The Chief Commissioner: Of course, I am not here to clear up the defects of this Act; at the same time, lam bound to act in the spirit and intention of the Act. nr o I ¥ atter bein g put to the vote, Mr. Clark expressed himself to-be decidedly opposed to the application ; Reid was of opinion that it was precisely similar to that Of Mr. Logan, which had been granted; Mr. Butterworth declined to grant it; Mr, Strode thought it must be granted, there being no way out of it, a l thelaw was plain; Mr. Bastings and the Chief Commissioner also opposed the application, which was refused. Mr _. Haggitt applied to have a case stated for the Supreme Court.