A RUSH INTO LITIGATION.

Taihape Daily Times, 24 June 1919, Page 4

A RUSH INTO LITIGATION.

It is regrettable from every vieWDoill’C to learn that Borough Councilliors have decided to invoke the compulsory provisions of Statute law in an endeavour to get possession of a piece of land under which Mr, Clafrke says “he believes” there is water. We note, too, there is an, amazing difference between the Council's version of the terms upon which the land is acquir*able, and those which have ‘beencommon rumour for some time p'a:st. The Council states that the owner will [not take less than £SOOO for the half‘acre, or thereabouts; common rumour states that the owner tells the Coun-

oil to go ahead.-'-with its experiment ing, and if they they want and expect, they can just fill in the hole and there will be no payment whatever to inake. But, if water is found in sufficicnt quantity, then the Borough shall pay the owner of it £SOOO for the land required to tap and work it--No water no payment. It seems to us this is a far better and safer spec_ula.tion than the main ’ speculr-tion which the Council has decided to plunge upon; There is another aspect, for, assuming that New Zealand land ownership is based upon English statute law, owners here have the same fight to all imines and minerals as an English land-owner has. We contend that the Council is as likely to be as sucicessful in compelling an individual to sell land known to have a substratum !of coal, or anything else, to the public at its surface value as they will prove to be in the case of water. True, the Council is correctly advised that they may proceed to -take one ratepayer’s land for the benefit of all other ratepayers and public, present .and to come, at its present building site value, regardless of whether the owning ratepayer regarded that particular land as virtually invaluable for his own purposes, building or otherwise. But, they will have to satisfy the court that the land is what they think it is, and at in-esent they have nothing further to go upon than Mr. Clarke's belief that water is there. If an owner is compelled to surrender his property to the public simply because some person goes through a series of nerve-t‘witehings and con-tor-tions, and believes water or something else lies two or three hundred feet below the surface, another men~ ace to ownership of land has to be seriously taken into account. We desire the Council to fully consider the situation, so -that they may approach ,the Court with something more than la chimera, with sorueithlng more than a mere belief. Man is fallible, Water is lillusive, and law is very costly and uncertain, even when a litigant thinks his case is unanswerable. If Councillors understood that the land was not available under any circumstance —-success or failure——for less ~ than £5000,.,t,he11' determination to‘. rush the Borough into a law suit.___i'_s understandable, but if_the-y _l,g:ll=cw'i..the_ owner wanted no payment, at ‘all for the land if water i_n suificieut quantity was not found, thenthey are guilty of a rashness which is not undcrstanda.ble. Even in the remote chance, the Court did decide in favour of the Borough, it would take into consideration that it was not the surface value the Council was Wanting, but,,some other value, and it would ~pro‘oably ‘assess that value; it would also take into consideration the fact that csfiiblishrxient of such works on the very choicest part of the owner's property would considerably depi-eoiate the value of the whole, _,if,.it did not actually force the owner ‘ to 'forsal;{.3m_ll,i‘s old residence and purChQSCLflllQthey ,-elsewhere, ancl that depi-eciatipon, would be assessed; the surface valz.l,e as suggested ~_by the Council would l‘—'av_c,__to _.,-be paid,‘ and to, all this would have to ":be added the costs of the most expensive. law case this Borough lltls ever been involved in, or is likely -to be involved in; and, if the iaiid is acquired, which seems to us a remote possibility, th'e' cost would be little short of £SOOO, and this would have to be paid

whether the water, after spending anofhcr £SOO in sliaft-.m.:lkillg, materialised or not, and no person o"thcl' than a plunger would risk much"on success, Whereas, with acceptance of the offer, if there is no v.-ater no liability is incurred. The Councillors are certainly seized with a. credibility and optimism We cannot shire? We al"é' hopefi-11 of water being found, but nothing more, and in this respect we are in the company of Mr, Clarke ‘and the Electrical Engineer, although that hope does not go to the lengfli of ME Clarkc’s confidence in his reconfmendations to the Council. NeVel‘tho- - on an arrangement oi‘ “no water no pay for land” we should. feel disDosed to take the chances and sink a shaft. We hold no brief for any individual, but we are concerned for the public good and welfare, and We are bound to advise c.x‘reme caution in The question under discussion.