THE MOA FLAT SALE.

Tuapeka Times, Volume III, Issue 198, 16 November 1871, Page 5

THE MOA FLAT SALE.

'VJTe give the evidence taken by the Select Committee of the Legislative Council appointed to consider the recent sale of land .to Mr. Clarke : — . r October J3th James Macandrejfr, Esq., M.H.R., Superintendent of Otago, having attended the Committee., stated : — He believed lie was in possession of the main facts of the case ; that ,t)jie only part of the sale that he had reason to object to was the sale of 3000 aer§s of the Moa Flat, which had been preyi ously surveyed, with the intention of l^eing placed sit tlie disposal of stxidli severs j and that he held the sule of those .9000 acres to be prejudical to the pußlic interest ; that that was the view of all the .other .members of the Otago Executive now present in Wellington ; that he considered that the sale had been made too precipitately. lie would refer the .Committee .to Mr. Reid for any detailed information as to the land in the tracing. By the Chairman ; ©o yo,w think the allowance for survey excessive? — 1 imagine that the survey \v#l have to be done by the District Surveyor, whose fees are fixed by the Waste Lands Board. I think- the suryey could have been effected, for nrnclrless. [Hero Mr, ]Macandrew stated that he would obtain, the scale of charges, and. the terms on which the district surveyors were engaged.] Can you give the committee any opinion as to the com pens ition of 2s Qd per acre, said to have been*paid ?—? — I think the compensation over 11.000 acres should not have been paid. I think the covenant should have been exercised.By the Hon. Mr. Menzies;— ls there not a doubt as to the transfer of the obligation of the covenant with the letise? — The question has been raised, but I entertain no doubt myself. By the Hon. Mr, Buckley : "Was the 5000 acres in part surveyed taken under the Goldfields Act, and was any compensation paid ? — The transaction had not been completed, and no compensation had been paid under fchrufc Act, as the transaction had not been completed at the time of the sale to Clarke. By the Chairman : Can you explain the allegation about the headmoney payable ? — The hecid-money is payable in advance, and consequently had been paid up to the Ist October. "' ' " Are you aware of the commission paid for. negotiating the sale, and is there any precedent for it? — There is no precedent for paying commissions for sales privately conducted. There is an appropriation for auctioneer's commission, to which this commission has been charged, ljb js no part of the contpacjb for sale by th.c \Vaste Lands Board. Is there any poweV on the parjb .of the Government to extend the time for payment of the balance of purchase money beyond four months ?—? — In practice I believe if", is frequently. done, and I imagine for very good reasons. Ido not think there is any specific power in the Act. Has the G-overnment the power to make roads through the block ? — I think there is a power to take roads under the Crown Grants Act, l#b*6, and provision will no doubt be made accordingly. By the Hon. Mr. Menzies : Is there not a Provincial Ordinance giving power to take roads ?— Yes ; but J am putting that out of question, as the other is the more important. By the Chairman : In the. land sold was there included a block of 5,000 acres, previously surveyed ?—? — 5,000 acres had been previously surveyed, but 2,000 acres were iucluded in Mr. Clarke's homestead ; or, at all events, it was considered reasonable that be should have that amount. By the Hon. Captain Fraser : Are you aware that other runholders have applied for leave to purchase land about their homesteads, and have been refused? — I am aware that several applications have been made by landholders to purchase land within their runs. By tha Hon. Mr. Buckley : Have any reasons been given for declining these applications ? — There were no special reasons given, so far as I am aware. They were probably declined on the-ground qf being prejudicial to the public interests. By the Chairman : Has tins land been so 1 d without ]being gazetted? — That was the case. By the Hon. Mr. Buckley: In clause 83 of the Land Regulations it states that when land is sold with the consent of the runholder, it shall be sold in the same way as if in hundreds ? — When a new hundred is proclaimed, a day is named on after w.niph application will be received for puiv ch'aße of land applied for by two persons on the same day. By the Hon. Captain Fraser: If I had put in an application for the block sold to Mr. Clarke, would it not have stopped the sale/? — It could not have been received without the sanction of Mr. Clarke. By the Chairman : Is any portion of the land suitable for settlement? — About 3.000 acres peculiarly suited' for ( sale. Ttm-rest of it is very-ia^ifferent —the bulk of it — not • worth j^h an acre, I should say, or anything fike it. Have residents in neigh bo.urhood been asking £or laud to be tLrowu open

for sale ? — £here is always agitation, in gpldfields towns, Haß any unsurveyed ]and been soltl under the Act of. l&6tf without being i^azetted ?— I cannot answer tbat question. By the Hon. Mr. Bnckley : Had the Superintendent and "Executive power to rescind the sale prior to the completion of the sale?-i-Tbe Waste LiDnds Board has the power to rescind it. Mr. Maeandrew here added as a * remark : " With all the allowances and deductions, I consider it has been a very excellent sale for the Province, except on the single point of the 3,000 p,eres." jfty .the Hon. Mr. Menzies : — In case the lea,s,e of the land had been cancelled, asd 50,000 acres thrown open for settlement, what amount do you think would h,&ye been taken up in the next four years .p-^jTofc exceeding the 3000 acres, if tha?fc; but very jikely that would have been taken up, .assuming the price to be £i, Donald Eeid, Esq., D^.H.R., Provincial Secretary of Otago^ &tte*ided the e.ominittee, and stated, with reference to a document which he Jajid before the committee, showing a .scale of charges for district surveys, in the Pro.vince of Otago, that that was the scale under which the Provincial authorities were : then acting, though. as yet it bad no JegaJ force. Mr. Reid was then examined. By ,the : It is stated \tb'a.t 'an allowance of two shillings an acre has beejjL made to Mr. Clarke ; wherer as the survey inighfc have been completed foi-gijpence an acre ? — I have no doubt tha,t -was part of the arrangement for the purpose. Wha.t i,s the. usual allowance made in such cases ? — The practice has been to give an &UoYranee of ten per cent, in land when the applicant has effected the survey ; but generally the Government has effected th,e survey, and sold the land afterwards. The cost of survey has varied from Is 3d ia blocks to 7s in case of spotted surveys, per acre. By the Hon. Captain TYaaer : Had tbe Government made a survey, would it have cost more than 6d per acre ?— r Not more under the new regulations ; but of course we pay the surveyor a retaining salary. Why was the land — I mean the 1 1,000 ~-p,cres — not taken uuder the coyesamt without compensation? — It has not been our practice to exercise the i^jjfht. Since I came into the Provinciajl Executive I do not recollect of I more than one cciae in which wo attempted to exercise the right. I think we have the power to the right if we chose to exercise it ; and I think we still have the power over the rest of the runs over which the covenants extended. By the Hon Mr. Menzies: In the transfer of the lease from Chalmers to CJarke, was the obligation retained ? I— J .cannoi saj ; it Would depend whether tUo right was retained in the transfer. Is there any power qi% ih& part of the Croyernment fa extend the time for payment of j;he balance of the purchase-money beyond four months ? ~ — I cannot throw^dny lighfc upon that. By tbe Chairman : Is there any power in the provincial Government to take roads through the block ?—lt? — It is my impression thafc there is power to take roads. By the Hon. Mr. Menztes; Is ifcnot possible still to make provision for roads prior to the completion of the suryey? — The invariable rule ie, tba£ the surveyor effecting the survey I lays down all roads which', he may I consider, necessary. The survey plans - 1 have to be approved by the Waste Lands Board, and the road lines are subject to* alteration by the Waste Lands Board. .That is the general practice. I do not know what arrangements have been made in this case. By the Hon. Mr. Gray : Would not tbe surveyor, in this case, while performing the survey on the block in question, be the servant of Mr. Clarke instead of the servant of the Government? — No more m than in all the other cases where payments are ma.de in land.' He holds his license from the Waste Lands Board, but ho is bound to protect the interests of the public in laying off roads, and giving informagenerally; otherwise he is quite independent of the Government. By the Hon. Mr. Taylor: It is stated that only one road has been reserved through the 50,000 acres by agreement. Is not this a foregoing of the right to take roads where they may be required, and is it not likely to act prejudicially to the interests of the public? — It is, assuming thafc any other, roads, would b,e required ; but I do not know the country. Referring to thp resolution of the Provincial Council, authorising the saje for purposes, of revenue of 5Q,00Q acres, q,re yon of Qpjnion that such sale has been effected with a. due regard £0 ponsen ing tho interests, of ihe public, and >n accordance with the views of the Provincial Executive ? I do nofc think tha^ the interpatg p,f the public hayp t?e?n-suf-ficiently guarded in the cage ; inaemuch as, $-$trip of land, bordering on the river. h*s bocn sold, which the Executive resolved should be withheld from the sale. [Wo shall give Mr. Braishaw'a .and Mr. Bathgate'a evidence in ov^is ,next iflßue.]