MESSES WOOD, WILSON, KINROSS, AND TOSHACK ON THEIR TRIAL.

Southland Times, Issue 1347, 13 December 1870, Page 2

MESSES WOOD, WILSON, KINROSS, AND TOSHACK ON THEIR TRIAL.

" Jetbart Justice" demands that now "that three of the above gentlemen have had the extreme penalty of public opinion carried out upon them, they should be placed upon a fair and impartial trial. We shall do so without comment. The first evidence adduced is Mr W. H. Calder, who, in his place in the Council, moved— . That the following parts of the late province of Otago are geographically connected with the territory comprised in the late province of Southland, and together with that territory should be declared a land district, in pursuance of the 20th section of the Otago and Southland Union Act, 1870— that is to say : All that portion of the Province of Otago lying east of the Mataura Fiver, bounded towards the east by a line drawn firdtn Ohasland's Mistake to Black Horn Hill ; .thence by the watershed line to Forest Range, and by the watershed of that range and the east boundary of Bun No. 162 to Catlin's Cone ; thence by the south-west and south boundaries -of -^tuu 258 Ut Oairn~~Peak ; thence by the boundary of Run No. 132, and the Waiwera and Waipahi Streams, to the boundary between Buns Nos. 131 and 167 a ; thence by the south and west boundaries of Run No. 167 a ; thence by part of the Waikoikoi Stream, and by the north-west boundary of Bun No. 167 b, to the east branch of the Waikaka, and thence by the east boundary of Run No. 175 b V thence by the north boundary of Run No. 176 b to the Waikaka Biver ; thence on the east by the Waikaka Biver to its source near the Black Umbrella, thence by the watershed of the Umbrella IB^ountafus to tire head' ofjTjfmber Golly, thence on the north-east by Timber Gully and Rocky Creek t* its source near Rocky Mount, thence by the north east boundary 'of Run 359 to the Nokomai Stream, thence by a line running through Lorn, Peak to Lake Waka--1 tipu, thence by the wesfc shore of Lake WakaUpu to Round Peak, thence by a straight line running due west to Moffat Peak, thence by a ljne-due west -to a point* north-west of Barrier Peaks, thence by a line running. due south io the ocean at Rowalfan Burn — all as per sketch then produced. L . '...1 '.:■"":' . ._> The 20th section of the Otago and Southland Union Act, alluded.' to "above,.! reads as follows : — There shall be one Waste Lands Board for so much of the new province as is included within the late, province of Otago, except such portions as shall be defined as* herein provided to be geographically connected with the late Province of Southlapd, and the Waste Lands Board constituted and established by law under the "Otago Waste Lands Act, 1866," shall be such Board, and there shall be one Commissioner of Crown "Lands for the same part of the new. province,, and the Commissioner of Crown Lands, for the late province of Otago holding office immediately, before the coming into operation of this Act, shall be such Commi-sioner, -and there- shall be one Waste Lands Board for so much pf.the_new__ province as is incluJed-irrithin the province of Southland, together with such portions of the province of OtagQ as shall in the opinion of "the" -flantec^ tjouncu or tne province, be geographically :T c6^n^t^^wit&~"ffie~~presenT province ofSouthland, and the Waste Lands Board constituted and establishedby law under the "Southland Waste Lands Act, 1865," shall be such Board, and there shall .be a Commissioner of Crown Lands for the same part of the nevvjirovince, and the Commissioner of Crown "TSrads holding office immediately before the coming into operation of this Act, shall be such Commissioner." After a lengthened discussion (which is not published in any of the Dunedin papers), Mr Donald Reid proposed as an amendment — That this United Council respectfully requests His Honor the Superintendent to take steps at the earliest, possible date to establish a land district in terms of the 13th section of the " Otago Waste Lands Act, 1866," with a district land office at Invercargill ; and that His Excellency the Governor be respectfully requested to proclaim the said land district a registration district, under the " Deeds Registration Act, 1868 ;" boundaries of the proposed district as follows : — All that portion of the province of Otaeo lying east of the Mataura River, bounded towards the east by a line drawn from Ohaaland'a Mistake to Black Horn Hill, thence by the -watershed line to the Forest Range, and by the watershed of that range and the east boundary of Run No. 162 to Catlin's Cone, thence by the south-west and south boundaries of Run No. 258 to Cairn Peak, thence by the boundary of Run No. 132 and the Waiwera and Waipahi Streams to the boundary between Runs Nos. 131 and 167 a, thence by the south and west boundaries of Run No. 167 a, thence by part of the Waikoikoi-Stiwam-ittTTti by the north-west boundary of Sun No. 167 b to the east branch of the Waikaka, and thence by the east boundary of Run No. 175 b, thence by the north boundary of Run No. 175 b to the Waikaka River, thence on the east by the Waikaka River to its source near the Black Umbrella, thence by the watershed of the Umbrella Mountains to the head of Timber Gully, thence on the north-east by Timber Gully and Rocky Creek to its source near Rocky Mount, thence by the north-east boundary of Bun 359 to the Nokomai Stream, thence by a line running through Lorn Peak to Lake Wakatipu, thence by the' west shore of Lake Wakatipu to Round Peak, thence by a straight line running due west to Moffat Peak, thence by a line due west to a pomt north-west ...of Batrier JPeaks, ..tfoence.Jby.JL line running due south to the ocean at Rbwailan Burn — all as per sketch. . , . The 13th section of the "Otago Waste Lands Act," referred to in the amendment, reads-:- • It shall be lawful for the Board, with the | consent of the Superintendent, to create districts for the sale and disposal of land, and for the purposes of thiß Act such districts shall be called land districts, and wherever in this Act the term district is, used, it shall be taken to mean a land district constituted hereby, or under the authority hereof ; and it shall be lawful for the Board to appoint offices at such places as may be most convenient for the sale and disposal of land within such district, and also to appoint officers or other persons for conducting such sales : and for receiving applications for the : sale, letting, disposal, or occupation, of waste lands, and, for generally carrying into effect the provisions of this Act ; and the salaries or other remuneration of such officers or other persons so to be appointed shall be paid by.the, Superintendent out of revenues appropriated for that purpose ~" by the Superintendent and Provincial Council. . i " The Registration Act" provides that ■the Governor in Council may from <time jto time define and alter the limits of any 'registration district, and may create new I registration districts. . — :r On this motion .and amendment the

Council divided, with the following result : — ~ Ayes— Messrs Allan, Barr, Brown, Clark, Duncan, Pish, Prance, Green, Haggitt, Haughton, Hay, Henderson, Hughes, /fiutcheson, Kinross, Mills, Mouat, Murray, Reid, Shepherd, Thomson, Toshack, Wilson, and Wood (24). Noes— Messrs Basstian, Calder, Driver, Johnston, M'Kenzie, M'Dermid, M'Gillivray, M'lndoe, Millar, Mollison, Seatori, G. - Shand, Sibbald, Tayler, and Turnbull (15).

TO THB BDITOB OB THB TIMES. . ■' Sib, — In compliance with your request, I subjoin a copy of that part of the telegram received by me from Mr Calder on Tuesday last, having reference to the. extended boundary question, as followß : — " Extended boundary under Union Act loat. Wilson, "Wood, Kinross, Toshack, voted against. . ... "Calder." I communicated this intelligence to a few gentlemen I met, and while very much surprised at the result of the question, T. suggested that as we were without information as to whether any other proposal was made, we should suspend our judgments on the conduct of the four members named until further particulars reached us. Having made this explanation which is due to myself, and now that the questions upon which bur representatives divided are known, or easily ascertainable, I may perhaps be allowed this opportunity to point out what appear to be the essential distinctions between them. ; ! As Mr Calder's resolution was introduced professedly in order to carry out the terms of union, it will be well to see if it really effects that object, and to do so it will be necessary to ..refer to the report of the Commissioners, for arranging the basis of Union. . That report, I would remind you, was before the electors during thewhole of the electoral campaign on the Union question, and -was subsequently adopted by the respective Councils of the two provinces. ". The sections referring to the land district are Nos. XI, 12, and 13 of the heads of the Bill proposed by . the report, and read as follows:— ' ' 11. " Land district to be created by the Act to consist of the area presently included within the boundaries of the province of Southland, together with such portions of the province of Otago as shall, in the opinion of the united Council of the province, be geographically connected with the present province of Southland." 12. "Land district to have a Crown Lands Commissioner and a Waste Lands Board, as provided in clause 14, Southland and Otago Union Bill, passed the House of representatives during its last session." 13. " All business relating to the sale, letting, disposal, and occupation of waste lands » within limits of the land district to ba constituted by united Provincial Council, shall be conducted by district Waste Lands Board." The plain, natural meaning of these sections seems to be that the late province df Southland,and such additional territory as should be pronounced by . the united Council to be geographically: connected therewith, were to form one land district, and_that the land laws in force within that district ' should be wholly administered by the Southland Board constituted under the " Southland Waste Lands Act, .1865." ■■■■■':-■■ • In the courseof numerous 7 public and private discussions on— tao question, I never once beard a different meaning attached to these sections of the Report, -wn^-X-tliiafe_there__can^ be no doubt that they were so understoooTby^he electors, and by the Southland Council when adopting the Commissioners' report. Further on in the report the Commissioners also say — The recommendation under clause 11, the Com. raissioners consider would naturally suggest itself to the inhabitants of the consolidated province, and intelligence of" the united Council. The fundamental principles which should, in the opinion of the Commissioners, dictate the action of a wise Government, are the consideration of the moral and material requirements of the people, economy of expenditure, and efficiency of administration. These requisites can be best obtained by affording every facility to th« inhabitants of a district to transact their business from a place which is its geographical centre, and with which their interests are identified. . But the words of the-20tn section of the Union Act of 1870, which enacts this part of the Report, and is strictly in^accordance with it, are still more free from' doubt. Beyond dispute, the operation of this section would be that upon the united Council defining the . territory^ which it considered to be gedgraDhioatty" jionneeted-wtth-SoTitbianTiri^raTterritory would, together with the late province of Southland, fall at once under the administration of the Waste Lands Board here, and the inhabitants of the added territory would be able to transact their land business as if they had formed part of the late province of -Southland, except that their land law would, be different. Had Mr Calder's resolution been adopted, such would have. been the result. The first thing that is suggested by the reading of the amendment and the 13th section of the-. Otago Land. Act, is that the amendment itself effects nothing as regards the land district; the power of creating the land district, fixing the boundaries, and appointing offices and officers, is in the Dunedin Board, and is to be exercised with the consent of the Superintendent. Whether the Board will carry out the resolution fully or partially, or at' all, still remains to be seen. Should, however, the Dunedin Board think proper to act upon theTesolutionjfcnd constitute the district, I would have you obser?e that the boundaries of the Southland district will not have been extended. All that will have been done is the creation of an Otago district on the borders of the Southland district, under the direction and control of the Dunedin Board. It is true that there may be an office at Invercargill, but this would be a mere agency of the Dunedin Board, acting under the instructions of, and removable by that Board. Had Mr Calder's resolution been carried, the territory tLefined-by it would have been welded into the Southland district, by the operation of the 20th section of the TJnion Act, 1870, and the .extended district thus formed could only have been altered by Act of the Assembly, j Again, the ' Government proposal, -if 'carried Tout, will not \ajjfbrd the. same

facilities to the settlers of the district which would have been conferred had Mr Galder*s resolutio\. iee^'-fiaime^'^:^ The fact J;hat the office^ --at; Inyercargill. will be a^mejre agency;,and the dii^Tve^to r ~ be created will ; be a me^^xcreoinw'fefv the Dunedin Board, ia of iUelf su ficdent : . proof, but an 1 illustration jwill pierhaps / make it more cleai". If a -pension' it ' desirous of purchasing raral x land in the | new district, liis application can •"■' received in Invercargill, bat can be dealt with only by the Dunedin Board, to whom it must be Iranßihit<»cl, and if the applicant requires to support the. . application, he must appoint an agent in Dunedin to do so, or . appear -in- person. All revenue arising within the district must be received by the receiver of land revenue in Dunedia, and if by any ds- ; parfcmental arrangement such revenue could be received at Invercargill (which seems at the least doubtful), it would be . liable to change from time to time. If the Southland district had ' been extended according to the resolution, all applications haying reference to land in the district could be made at invercargill, and finally : dis- . posed of there, and all land revenue received there. If any political advantage is to be gained by an increased land revenue being collected at Invercargill, sucli advantage would have been derived *- by the passing of the original motion. But by. far the strongest) and most important objection to the amendmentria that if is not in fulfilment of the [terms of Union as embodied in the Union Act. Ii have already shown that Mr Calder's resolution was strictly in accordance with the Act, and a clear fulfilment of : r the terms of union, and it is as clear /as it can well be, that the amendment was ~" not. The course proposed by the amend-L ment could be carried oat irrespectively of the Union Act, and without the vote of the -Provincial Council, and is certainly a ■ miserable' substitute for what was agreed upon in the treaty- of- union. — Thattreaty has been carried , out i»jr ( the; , Southland' people, and that the Executive of the province should refuse to fulfil their part may besurprising enough, but that one half of the Southland mena- .- bers should actively support such a line of conduct, ialmost passes^ belief.-H-I, am* Ac., Thos. M. Macdonalix

(TO THE IDITQILPI THB TIXB8.) Sib, — I find<by your issue of Friday: last that statements , have been made by some person or persoas- to. the effect that the proposal to enlarge thie boundaries of Southland had been lost id Council, and th <t four of tbe Southland members aided in defeating tfie proposal. Whoever the, author, or authors of the above state rn^rits^ tn*y ' be/ I say emphatically it is a grb^s'fiilsehood. Bvetry inch of country named i 4 the resbltttxdnproposed by Mr Calder is accepted and included™ the boundary agreed to by the United Council, and will be declared a Waste Land District. ~His Excellency 1 r the Qrp vernor -will also be requested -to _ proolaimuthe same boundaries to be the boundaries of the~~TegisiitaUim dlairiot>ria proof of the above statement I hand your a~correct copy of , the resolution as-ifr-passed^he TTnitednCoanoU^the boundia^ ' ries being word for word as proposed by Mr Colder. 1 By referrt!ig--tQ^_the aj>r pended division lwt you will Bee~~tha*~^^_ -Messrs Wilson, Kinross, Toshack, 'arid l . 5 •""-- myself voted for this extended boundary, - and not against it as the people of :•: " Invercargill have been led to suppose. Iramediately on my arrival in Invercar^ill I hanled theresolatioa as passed .• by the United- Council, together with the division list, to \tr Crouch for publication in the Southland UTeios of the v following day, so thit all .persons in-^ terested in the matter might read the truth for themselves; that paper, how- . ever, came out without them. Itherr * waited on Mr- Crouch, and lie informed me that they were* left out for want of apace. - ' • ' •--•..• ; - ■■'- _'■■■[' ■^■■■■■■^ .-. I cannot think so meanly of the people l of Invercargill as •to • suppose that this contemptible electioneering dodge^ witt meet with their approval, ptheriwse 1 ! r should think the author of it' a most fitting person to represent them. ~ " I have had the honor of representing; f.liom-in_tlia_ (Imaral Aaaemblyfor five sessions, during whictf~tim«) I liar©endeavored to discharge my. p üblic duties faithfully. If any other person aspires to that honor, he should endeavor to obtain it fairly and honorably without slandering me or deceiving the electors ■— \ lam, Ac, . William Wood. Easii Eoad, Dec. 12th. .