TE RANGITUMAU.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXIX, Issue 8382, 16 March 1907, Page 3

TE RANGITUMAU.

RECENT ALLEGATIONS

MINISTER OP LANDS INTERVIEWED.

"You have seen, Mr MoNab, the statement credited to Mr James Stuckey regarding the Government taking over his property, and that his withdrawal from the colony was almost entirely due to the insecurity ■of land -'enure under the laws of the present (Government, aui citing the compulsory acquisition c:J' his own estate ;<s an example oi what he terms an injustice?" ThH- onestion was put i'.t> the Minister of Lands by a New Zetland Times reporter. ".Yes, i have ueen the .-'atenient alleged lo have been made by Mr Stuckey. My attention has only recently boon called to it," rep'ied Mr McNab. ■'Personally, Ido r,ot allege that Mr Stuckey ever made such a statement, but that some person has made it J v >r him,and as it is receiving accept?n ■■■2 all over the colony, as his own statement, I will refer to it as being hb' own. In the first place, you will note that he instances the compultery acquisition of his own estate as an example of injustice. As a maUsr of fact the Government has not eompulsorily or otherwise acquired his estate. It has been, I understand, sold to a private purchaser. But to deal with this question of Mr Stuckey leaving the colony on account of the Government taking his estate. The Government was negotiating for the purchase. These negotiations commenced by a member of the Legislature calling the attention of the late Mr Seddon in May last to the fact that Mr James Stuckey';-: property, known as Te Rangitumau (Masterton), was iri the market for sale, and asking Mr ■Seddon to have it purchased by the Land Purchase Beard, and cut up for settlement. The writer of the communication, Mr A. W. Hogg, M..H.R., asked Mr Seddon to communicate with Mr W. B. Chennells, land auctioneer and estate agent, of Masterton, for information relative to the sale. Mr Chennells ' was written to under date May 16th, and in his reply stated that he would forward the information asked for, viz., ax-ea, price and terms which Mr Stuckey wanted for his property. On the 19th Mr Chennells, as agent for Mr Stuckey, put that gentleman's property under offer to the Government as follows:—2,2oo acres at £ls per acre, or 3,608 acres at £ls 10s per acre. Terms, cash or half cash, and balance at 5 per cent, for five years; possession to be given on March Ist, 1S07; arrangements, if required, for survey at once Mr Stuckey reserved the right for his two oldest sons to have the option of .acquiring at the upset rental, with ballot, the sections upon which their dwellings stood. He also asked for :200 acres at reasonable rental until November Ist, 1907, to carry out certain contracts. The offer was left j open for one month from date. So < far, you will notice that*the offer of I

Mr Stuckey of his Te Rangitumau I land was an absolutely free offer of . his own to the Government. That j was on May 16th. On August 11th Mr Stuckey became impatient about the sale, and his agent, Mr Chennells, wrote asking if it was the intention of the Board to inspect the property. His agent, also about the > same date, namely August, 15th, 1906, complained to .Mr Hogg, M.H.R., about the delay in the purchase in the following words:—'Dear Mr Hogg,—l have to-day received a letter from Mr Stuckey that if Te Rangitumau is not sold by August ■ 31st I am to consider it withdrawn from sale. It seems very strange that no acknowledgment was made -by the chairman of the Land Purchase Board of my letter'placing this property under offer to him, and I have ; already written him to ascertain •■whether it is intended to make an inspection or not. If you can hasten the matter forward, so that I can get some sert of reply to satisfy Mr Stuckey, I shall be glad, Thanking you in anticipation, yours faithfully, "W- B. Chennells.' Following upon rthis urgent demand for a reply, Mr ; Stuckey was given notice, dated September 17th, 1906, under section 6 of the Act, and it was registered against the land, that the Government had decided to acquire the property. On September 20th Mr Stuckey wrote to the Chairman of the Land Purchase Board that the property had been sold to Mr A. J. Stone-Wigg on the Saturday previous. On October Ist Mr P. L Hollings, solicitor, Masterton, on behalf of Mr Stuckey, wrote to the department regarding the withdrawal of the caveat, and in that letter he states the facts of the case. This letter completely disposes of the statement of Mr Stuckey that his leaving the colony was due to the insecurity of our land laws. Mr Hollings states as follows:—'Mr Stuckey, who for many years was the owner of Te Rangitumau, decided some twelve months ago, in consequence of his health breaking down to offer the property for sale, and among others the Land Purchase Board was invited to inspect it. Nothing, however, was done by the Board until early this month, when the Board's • representatives were sent to inspect it. Every facility and assistance was offered by my client to the Board in its inspection, and after the inspection my client informed the inspectors that as another buyer was visiting the property with a view to purchasing, he desired to know whether the Board would give him a definite answer, accepting or refusing the property. The inspectors stated that th«3y could not do that, but that they intended to report that it was suitable for close settlement. My client then informed them that it* must be distinctly understood that Mr Stone-Wigg, to whom the property had been previously offered, was coming; next morning to inspect it, and if he accepted my client's terms, that the property would be sold to him. Mr Barron said he was very sorry for this, -and asked my client to endeavour to put him off, but was told that this 'was impossible. —P. L. Hollings.' This extract from Mr Hollings' letter completely disposes of Mr Stuckey's suggestion that he had to leave the colony on account of the action of the Government. It will be seen that he had long contemplated leaving, had decided to sell the property, had actually invited the Government to inspect it, and that on account of the slow working of the. machinery of purchase now hac

good grounds for complaint that the Government had not taken it. Mr Stuckey complains that for many years a great deal of capital was sunk in improvements without getting any return, but he admits that for the last nine or ten years the profits have been good, and complains that under these circumstanes the Government stepped in and acquired the estate 'at a period,' l.e says, 'when one expected t-ome beneficial returns for years of hard work and the outlay of much capital.' The Land Purchase Beard report that Mr Stuckev purchased the property fir some £9,169 10s, or under £IO,OOO. He sold it to Mr Stone-W igg for £50,0C0."