The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1886. BLUNDERING LEGISLATION.

Temuka Leader, Volume 1509, Issue 1509, 6 November 1886, Page 2

The Temuka Leader SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1886. BLUNDERING LEGISLATION.

IHB lown District of Arowhenua is the ▼ictim of a very serious blunder, which loses to it nearly £IOO a year at present, and if all the prese'nt holdings are extended the loss will'be pretty close on £2OO. It will be remembered that when it was first proposed to constitute Arowhenua a Town District, we pointed out that the Town Board could not legally get one penny of the money which was then lying to the credit of the deferred-payment settlement in the hands of the Government. Mr Rolleston held the opposite view of the question, bat when be went to Wellington, and consulted the law officers of the Crown, he found that we were right and he was wrong. Accordingly i set abont remedying the defect in&ij law, but in doing so only half did it. fie got the following clause inserted i n the Special Powers and Contracts Act : “ The Governor may by warrant direct the Colonial Treasurer 'to pay to the Town Board of the Town District of Arowhenua all Moneys which have been payable under any Land Act in respect to the lands within the limits of such Town District held on deferred payments up to the time when such Town District ceased to form part of the Temuka Road District/* This is all right so 5 far as the past is considered, but it is all wrong with regard to the future. By referring to clause 127 of the Laud Act it will be seen that the Town District is not only entitled to moneys which bad accrued at the time of separation from the Road Board, but also for cue-third of all the money which holders of de-ferred-payment sections will pay in future. Clause 127 is as follows: “ One-third of the price, of any block of laud disposed of on deferred payment under this part of the Act shall be banded over to the County Council or Road Board of the district within which such land is situated, to be expended in the construction of roads within, dr to open up, the block lor the benefit of the settlers. And one-third of the payment made from time to time by the settlers shall, as the same arises respectively, be paid over to such County Connell or Road Board as the case may be.” This of course authorises the money to be paid to the County Council or Road Board, and if we bad not noticed this in time, the Town Board could not now get the money. The mdney cannot now go to either County Council or Road Board, because neither body could have power to make roads within the Arowhenua Town District, and therefore the Town Board ought in all fairness to get it. So far as the clause in tbs Special Powers and Contracts Act is concerned it authorises the money which bad accrued at the time thd:S*paration took place to be paid to the Town Board, but it - makes no provision for securing the Board anything after that date. Now there are a great many of the settlers who owe several instalments on their sections the Town Board ought to receive onetbjrd. of, these instalments, which Wei' ibelievW amount to between.]£9o and £IOO a year if not mors. There is also a proposal on foot to extend' the ' holdings on deferred payments, and 30 persons have already pat down their names as willing to take up more laud. If these SO persons get a quarter-acre section each at £lO a section it means £3OO, and the Board ought to get one-third-—that is, £IOO of this—but owing to the muddle which has been made of the clause in the Special Powers and Contracts Act they cannot gel it, because that clause only provides for the payment of the money which had accrued up to the time of separation. This is a very serious blunder, and it does not say much for the perspicuity of Mr Rolleston that he did not see it when the Special Powers and Contracts Bill was before the House. It would, however, aerve no purpose to direct further attention to a muddling business by which Arowhenua loses its main revenue. The only thing that can be done now is to try to rectify; the blunder that has been committed. Only tor this paper the Town Board of Arowhenua would, have to wait until next year at any rats before they could get the money to which they are now entitled, and having thus rendered them a aerviee, perhaps they will be ready to accept our ad vice again. Our advice to therti now is not to put their trust in muddling legislators in futire. Let thetn pay a lawyer for drafting . a Bill which will meet the.case, and when it is dratted let them hand it to their representative in Parliament, with a request that he will get it placed on the Statute Book. If Parliament pass the Bill Everything will then he put right ; it not a serious injury will be inflicted on Arowhenua.