COMPENSATION COURT

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 243, 11 September 1940, Page 2

COMPENSATION COURT

MOUTOA ESTATE CLAIM. TAKING OF LAND. The hearing of evidence was continued, yesterday afternoon and to-day, in the Compensation Court, in the case in which F. S. Easton, of Moutoa, claimed a total of £119,754 8s lor 4565 acres of land at Moutoa and Paiaka taken by the Government for flax development and research. His Honour Mr J ustice Smith presided and there were with him Messrs M. F. Bourke (Wellington) and W. R. Birnie (Palmerston North) as assessors. Mr M. B. Bergin (Foxton) appeared for claimant and Mr H. R. Cooper for the Crown. Continuing his evidence yesterday, claimant, said that in the depression years the outgoings on the land for taxes, rates and other charges were £2OOO a year. Since the Paiaka property came back on his hands in 1938 he had carried out improvements, including banking, which had proved adequate in the flood of August, 1939. Claimant outlined the levels of the country in the Moutoa Estate, much of this lieing fully consolidated ground. Right through the winter at least one machine weighing 18 tons had worked there on Public Works Department undertakings. Cross-examined by Mr Cooper, claimant said that since he had carried out banking there had been a great lessening of the flood menace. In 1929 the property was offered to the Government. on claimant’s behalf, for £85,636. It was stated that the land was not then suitable for farming as it was a flax swamp. In 1930 the Moutoa Estate was offered to the Government for £50,000. Claimant bought the land in taking over his partners’ shares on a basis of the whole area being worth £45 000. Claimant admitted that the price he now asked was £104,000. To Mr Bergin. claimant said the partnership had been losing money for a long t’’me when the land was offered at £45.000. J. F. Carter, farmer, and a director of the Mannwatn Meat and Cold Storage Company, said there were no better stock in New Zealand than those coming off the Moutoa area, which carried a bullock to the acre. W. F. Kruse, foreman of the Moutoa Drainage Board, described measures taken recently to encourage flood water to flow more quickly from the Moutoa area. ' This closed the case for claimant. CROWN’S CONTENTIONS.

Opening the case for the Crown, Mr Cooper said the profits from the Moutoa area had varied in accordance with the price of fibre. Prices 'had become very much reduced and the Government had taken this land in an endeavour to rehabilitate the industry. It was a hopeless industry in 1933 and 1934. Subsequently, a subsidy was granted for export fibre, but the effort failed, for the number of mills in the district dwindled to only two —both of which supplied the woolpack and textile factory at Foxton. One mill had its own flax and the other used Moutoa flax. Had it not been for the Government there would have been even no woolpack factory to supplyThis industry was so far protected that only so many imports were allowed as would be required after all the output of the Foxton factory had been taken up. According to departmental figures, there should be 12,000 tons of ' green leaf per year from the property and at 10s a ton for this the cost of the property would not be more than the present Government valuation. With the exception of a certain amount of farm land the rest of the area was swamp. Except as a flax swamp, it .would bo hopeless to try to sell the latter part of the area. The cost of getting rid of willows and weeds, plus rates and land tax, would he prohibitive. The market for New Zealand flax fibre outside Now Zealand had been “killed” by the competition of sisal, and the woolpack factory would actually import other fibre (it it could, and' if the price were comparable) in preference to flax fibre. At this stage the sitting was adjourned until to-day. ENGINEER’S EVIDENCE.

A. P. Grant, Public Works Department engineer, to-day, gave evidence that the Moutoa was a natural ponding area for the Mauawatu River. The firm ground (along the river bank) was estimated at 580 acres. The property had a boundary to tho river or JOi- miles and the area was 4 3-5 miles across. There was no direct drainage to the river, the. outlets being into a drainage system. When witness examined measures of lessening Hooding in tho Mauawatu 1-fiver he proposed using a large part of tne Moutoa Estate as a I ponding area by constructing a stopbank parallel with the river and a mile from it. Tractor plants weighing 18 tons could be used now only on the truige of the swamp. One of the plans put in by witness showed tho results of a vegetation survey. Flax was dominant over 49.4 per cent, of the estate, willows 19 per cent., fescue 7.5 per cent., raupo 8.1 per cent .and pasture 7.5 per cent., the remaining percentages being small. Other vegetation on the land included tiger-weed, swan-grass, forest, blackberry and other growth. The flax areas included only those which would produce at least five tons of flax per acre, and the willows were counted only where they covered an area of a chain square or more. A schedule of the incidence of flax growth showed that 50.(3 per cent, of the area carried no flax; 8.8 per cent., 5 to 10 tons of green leaf an acre; 14.6 per cent., 10 lo 20 tons; 10.7 per cent., 20 to 30 tons; 12.2 per cent., 30 to 40 tons; and 3.1 per cent., 40 tons or over. The total estimated- yield was 48,400 tons.

Cross-examined by Mr Bergin, -witness admitted that 21£ tons of green leaf per acre were cut from areas computed as dominantly willow in growth. No credit had been given for flax crops heavier than 40 tons to the acre. Witness admitted that some of the computations of weights of flax (as shown on tho chart) were not correct.

Tho total, on the figures shown, should be 49.017 tons, said Mr Bergin. D. R. Ogilvie, manager of Messrs Ross, Rough and Coy., flaxmillers, of Foxton, said that with flax free of cost it took £24 12s Id to produce average scutched fibre, f.0.b., Wellington. Unscutched 'fibre cost £l7 9s lOd.

Witness was under cross-examination when tho Court was adjourned for luncheon.