Waste Land Board.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 52, 30 July 1885, Page 4

Waste Land Board.

;ri -, ->, ■?->.•..,■.■;' «>. ; . ••-; ■: •- • . ■ The adjourned meeting of .the Welling-, ton Land Board was held pn . Tuesday. : Presetit-i— •Mei3rs' i J : : 'W. A.. -Rlarchant^ (OomniiasionqV Yin :the- thiiir), G. Beethain,' M.11.1W. W. W. McCardle, T. Mason;, and EL Bunny-. .

HUNTERVILLE TOWNSHIP.

. A good deal, -of discussion took, place m reference to the best nuthod of living off the knd iii and around the "new township of Hunterviiie, which is close to the Main Trunk Railway, and 10 miles north of Martoa. It was agreed that all the town sections and the acres along the Ongo-road should be sold for cash; 'and that residence should be compulsory Von the deferred-payment sections. It was 1 decided to lay off nine acres as. a recrea- , tiori reserve, and three acres adjoining as a school reserve. Education, reserves, cemetery re*serve,res3i*ves for public buildings, and gravel reserves were laid off m various places. It was resolved that the sale should be heU at Marton, that applications for sections should be received at Marton and "Wellington, and :that; the date of sale should be fixed by" the Commissioner of Crown Land. Some discussion took place as •to .the advertising, and it was decided that the sale should be advertised m .the.R^ngitikei,' Manawatu,-' Wanganui, and " Wellington* papers; posters,- imps, &c, to. b3--di3tri- v " bated at the various post offices and rail*wjiy? stations. ' The Commissioner was empowered to grono sections to ba set apart;.on deferred payment, the areas, to ;bV frbin' '"five 'to ten acres. It was solved that the prices for town sections albnff 'Bruce-street and High-street snoald be fixed at MS td MO ; sections along the Eotiikutuku-road, fronting the Railway .station, £15 to . J-30 ; sections 'alpng v Milne-street, £25 to £30; sections ; f aiohg;Jparaekaretu-road, £0 to £20; sections along the Ongo-toad, .£lO to £12 ; suburban sections, from £2 10s to A'lo per acre,. ■■,-:.■■■ . THE LAND BILL. The Board then proceeded to consider the Land Bill, Mr Bunny remarking that " lie lodlced upon it as a mere consolidating I JBiJl, and, it was very necessary, Se venil suggestiona were made, and. Mr Beethanj, •M^H.R.V made a note ot them, with the view- of bringing" them before the Housq, ' regard; to clause 88; having refer , ence to the classification-.. 0f rural lands, it wras pointed out, owing to Appendix D : ■of • tne "existing Land Act ,b,eing with- '■ drawn from the Bill now before the 1 ' House, it was questionable whether the Board would have power to deal within- ; ferior lands as pastoral, or to sell them m areas exceeding 320 acres, or at.a Jess price than £l per acre. Several .membersi'stated that the. rough . lands belonging to, the Crown would be dear at 10s per. acre. Attention was' drawn* to- the . anomalies between the deferred payment and perpetual lease systems, .more es- ; "pecially with reference to the disqualifi- • cation clauses. Under the perpetual ' lease, system a man. conld tender tor several Sections, whilst under the deferred payment system he (Sould : only apply ' for one section. In one case, only 320 acres could be taken up, whilst under the other system 640 acres could be anplied for. SQnder the one system the least that could be charged" was 20s per acre ; under the other il might.' !'ouly be 10s: .Xlnder one system a. married woman conld take up land ; under the. other she was prohibited from doing so. With regard^ to the area of perpetual leased land, the Board thought the area to be set apart under that system should' not be restricted, and that the -Minister of Lands should have power to lay qff whatever areas he thought suitable.'