BUCKLEY DRAINAGE BOARD.

Shannon News, 14 February 1928, Page 3

BUCKLEY DRAINAGE BOARD.

APPEALS AGAINST CLASSIFICATION. UPHELD BY MAGISTRATE. At the Levin Court on Friday Mr J. H. Salmon, S.M., who heard evidence last Court day in suport of appeals against the classification for rating o. the Buckley Drainage Board's district, gave judgment in the cases referred to. . The Magistrate sad he had given a good deal of consideration to the appeals. It seemed to him to be a matter for regret that the machinery of these appeals under the Land Drainage Act was not satisfactory from the point ol view of the Court, inasmuch as there was no appeal. The Court was called upon to Act absolutely upon the evidence of the parties without a view ot the properties, and the Court was also called upon to over-ride a classification made by valuers who very often had the assistance of skilled drainage engineers. In these circumstances the Court felt somewhat diffident about over-ruling a classification prepared by experts. The Court could only come to a decision upon the evidence and he was bound to say that the evidence in these cases tended to support the appeals. ? • Taylor had appealed against the classification of 76 acres, 31 of whish were put in Class A and 45 in Class B. The evidence, he thought, showed that Taylor's land was not subject to Hoods by reason of the inefficiency of the Koputaroa stream and drains, but simply that when there was a flood in the ■ Manawatu it banked up the water in that stream and so flooded his proper- j ty. The only occasion his property was flooded was when the Manawatu over-flowed its stop banks. He would j therefore receive only a very indirect benefit from this proposed drainage scheme, and the Magistrate therefore put the 3.1 acres in Class B and 45 acres in Class C. In Swindlehurst's case, the evidence showed that he was in very much the same position as Taylor. He 3 had been classified 86 acres in Class A. The Magistrate thought there was some dif- j ference between Taylor and Swindlehurst, but it was very difficult to assess the degree. He proposed to put j the 86 acres in Class B.

With regard to Ro3S, Rough and Co., they " had 541 acres, of which 520 were Class B. Their position was somewhat peculiar. The evidence showed quite clearly that, owing to the fact that stop banks beyond the jurisdiction of the Drainage Board have been allowed 1o beedroe inefficient and faUen into disrepair in places, the floods came on to Boss, Rough's land when the Mana watu floods from the western end of the Board's area. This is a matter that is completely outside the eontrbl Board. The Magistrate also referred to the inefficient condition into which the Aratangata drain had been allowed to get as contributing to the flooding of this land. The position was thai whatever the Board did for the benefit of Ross, Rough's land would be quite useless under these conditions and iv would be absurd to rate them for improvements that would not benefit them at all. It was quite true that the Board must maintain the stop-banks within its jurisdiction, and it claimed that, to that extent. Ross, Rough's land would receive benefit, but the Magistrate considered that it Avas inequitable to class the company's land in A., B. or C, so long as they were liable to flood from the condition of the stop banks at the western end. He therefore put the whole of the 547 acres in Class D.

W. A. Speirs had 354 acres, partly highly improved and some more suitable for flax, and 289 acres had been put in Class A. This was the appeal on which he had had most difficulty. It was clear that there was a slight slope from Speirs' land to Ross, Bough '<. and it was affected by the same floods from the Maiiawatu which came in from the western end; but it was probably not affected to the same extent. He thought it would undoubtedly receive.some benefit from the operations of the Board in the Koputaroa stream. The difficulty was as to the extent of that benefit. The only solution he could arrive at was to place the whole 289 acres in B. The area of 65 acres already in-Class D would remain there.

The Magistrate said that lie would give a written judgment in view of a suggestion for the extension of tin Board's district. On the question of costs he presumed each party would pay their own. , Mr Moody stated that as a result of a conference with the classifier, settlements had been reached in the appeals of J. McKenzie, R. A. Speirs, and J. Bowler, and that of W. Swindlehursl was withdrawn.

On Mr Moody's application minor amendments were made in the classification as follows: —

F. Bryant. —358 acres in A, 179 acres in B.

E. N. McKenzie. —9 acres in B, 5 acres in C. •*

J. McGill.—3s6 acres in A, 23 acres in C, 32 acres in D. J. McMillan. —67 acres in A, 45 acres in D. A. K. Saxon.—3 acres in B, 15 acres in D.

J>. Sinclair.—4 acres in B. . E. A. Speirs.—6 acres in A, 7 acres in C, 108 acres in D. A. J. Wildbore.—lo acres in A, 2 acres in B,