HOBSON COUNTY BOARD OF REVIEWERS.

Wairoa Bell, Volume IV, Issue 150, 17 June 1892, Page 5

HOBSON COUNTY BOARD OF REVIEWERS.

ADJOURNED SITTING. The adjourned sitt’ng of the above Board of Reviewers was held in the Council Chambers, Aratapu, on Tuesday . The Reviewers present were Messrs F, Bradley (chairman), T. Bassett and M. Cobbald. The first objection considered was the valuation of Mr Nimmo’s property of 4-6,000 acres at £15,248. Mr McLeod, solicitor, appeared for the objectors, and Mr IV. Duncan was present to represent the Government. Air l Fade stated that when he and Judge Gillies went over the land to adjust matters between Mr Nimmo and the Railway Go. they considered the land valueless and the only compensation they allowed the former for the land taken was that the Railway Coy. should erect two stations one at either end of the property. Mr J- MiicAelson said that his firm had a ten years’ lease of the property, at a rental beginning at £1,200 and going down to £3OO per annum as the term drew to a close. They paid for gum not for land and he thought £5,000 was about the present value of their interest. The land was of no value except for gum. The firm’s improvements were valued at £750. Some of the land in grass might be worth £3 per acre.

Alt James 7 reunion said that he held the grazing rights of the property for which he paid Mr Nimmo £2OO per annum and spent £SO yearly on improvements. His lease had nine years to run , his improveme' ts which would fall to Mr Nimmo, were worth about £I6OO and and he estimated his interest in the block to be worth about £2OOO. He considered £IO,OOO full value for the whole block. Mr Lambert, Assessor, said he could not go into the value of the block if dismembered ; he had bulked the property and considered it worth 7s 6d per acre. The improvements he had placed at £1250. Air. 4. CE. Harding said that there v 7 ere at present about 1900 sheep and several cattle on the block and he considered the land well worth £15,000 for he knew that he could make good interest on that sum from the land. The valuation was sustained, the improvements being put down at £2308. Geoffrey Hunter’s valuation was reduced from £2Ol to £B7 for 87 acres at Taihora, Kauri Timber Company’s Objections. Mr Wade appeared for the Kauri Company and claimed that the Home Courts had ruled that trees could not be valued independent of land and as the Company had no interest in the land of the Opanake Block he urged that thenname should not appear on the Rate book. The Company had also been unfairly dealt with in that the machinery of their mill properties had been valued as a whole, whereas certain machines were exempt by law. Waimata, gboo acres valued at fjpoo-~ Mr Wade said that very little timber remained ;on the land and the Compy’s light to same lapsed in four years time. Mr Bramley estimated timber on the block at 6,000,000 feet worth 4d per 100. Mi'll. Smith’s estimate was 10,000,000 feet worth about Is per 100. Valuation sustained. Ounuseaho, 8190 acres, £4OOO valuation.. —Mr Wade valued Company’s interest at £lB7 10s. The land was about to bo sold by the Native owners subject to the Company’s right to remove the remaining timber. Quantity of timber agreed to be about 700,000. Mr A. E. Harding- stated that his brother was in treaty for the purchase of the land which ho valued at from 6s to 10s per acre. The Kauri Company’s interest was reduced to £175. The land to be placed to owner's name at a valuation of L 3200. Wharerama £4o.—Tbis amount was transferred from Kauri Company to owners. Maungaru. 20,979 acres, £IO,OOO. The Kauri Company’s interest was put down at £2,500 and Mr Graham, the owner’s at £7,500. 'l'e Kanaka , 11,710 acres £5,500, —Mr Bramley valued timber at 2d per hundred and Mr Smith at 6d. Kauri Company’s interest put down at £2OOO, and Mr Johnston, the owner’s at £3,500. Pukekairuhe , 332 acres, £.lso.—The Company’s name was removed and Mr E. Mitchelson’s substituted.

Maungarata, 4150 acres, £2ooo.—Reduced to £1,600. Pukehuia, 380 acres, £l9O. —Mr Wade wanted Company’s name taken off as the timber was all cut and by their agreements their interest then ceased. The Company’s lease however, still held for four years and the Board decided not to remove the name, but reduced the valuation to £IOO, Wluingamukajuna,, 2059 acres , £sooo.—Valuation reduced to £ISOO. The Assessor had evidently made a mistake. Alohtparapata Island, 186 acres, £l5O. —Reduced to £IOO. IVoheroa, 9375 acres , £3200, Reduced to £3OOO. IVallotis Grants, 8916 acres, £12,281) • 1 Assessor, Mr Lambert, admitted having made an error and the valuation was reduced, to £4,458,

Portions 168, 156 and 157 Okahu, 48 acres, -IS. —Valuation sustained, there being 350,000 feet timber on Sections. Arapohue 81 and 87, 92 acres, £92, — Reduced to £69. Axapohue rV.E. and S.W. 86, 42 acres £42. Reduced to £ll. Okahu lots, lumped by Assessor at 4,775 acres, £9OOO. Mr YVade asked for the valuations of each lot separately and protested strongly at Assessor not being in a position to give them. Air Smith said it would be impossible to find the different lots without a re-survey of the whole district. He estimated the lots to contain 18,000.000 ft, worth Is per hundred. Mr Wade valued timber and land at 12s 6d per acre. Mr Bramlev estimated timber at 11,000000 ft Valuation was reduced to £7075 10s as Ilia Kauri Company's interest. Mr Buchanan’s at L 124 10s. This was the last objection and the Court closed with a smart passage between Mr Wade and Air T. Bassett, one of the Reviewers.