West Coast Times. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1866.

West Coast Times, Issue 338, 23 October 1866, Page 2

West Coast Times. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1866.

It is satisfactory to observe that, by the prompt action of one of our representatives in the Provincial Council, the Commissioner has been stayed in -his arbitrary course in reference to tliose portions of occupied town lands declared to be reserves. By a telegram received from Christen urch yesterday, we learn that Mr Sale has received instruction*to postpone any action oh the notice issued to the holders of sections in the Police Reserve, Weld-street, which enjoined the removal of all buildings by the 25th ult, failing Avhich, the police would be called upon to act. This cannot fail to be eminently satisfactory — not only to the occupants of the land in question, but to the holders uf business sites in Hokitika generally; for it is not too much to say that nearly two - thirds of them are as r deeply interested in the speedy solution of the question as those on the Police lieserve, they having been placed, by the culpable bungling of our local powers, in the position of trespassers — in no other light than which can Mr Sale be induced to regard them. We may now, however, be permitted to hope that a course less arbitrary and unjust will be pursued in' regard to these reserves than appears 1 to be the desire of the Commissioner, and that the long-promised commission of enquiry will shortly commence its muchneeded labors.' In Weld street, the disputes in connection- with the Wesleyan Church and the Police Reserves will have to be settled ; in ReveJl street, the encroachments of the Jewish Synagogue, and the continuation of Weld, Hamilton and Stafford streets to the beach ; and lastly, which will prove as great a difficulty as all the other questions combined., the reserve on the western side of Rrvell stieet noith, above Stafford street. It has been, announced that it is the intention of, the Government (i c, Mr Sale) to remove the whole of the residents on the ground in question, notwithstanding the fact that no notice was given of such intention until the major part of the buildings were erected, and thousands of pounds expended — as it at present appears — in waste ; for the removal of a house is almost equivalent to its utter destruction. It was not till the 15th of May that notices were po.«ted prohibiting the erection of more buildings; by which time a row o Chouses nearly a third of a mile in extent wa6 in existence, and since which notice, s»esircely a dozen have been built. What reason had the holders of ground on the west side of North Revell-street to believe that they would be treated in a different inunner to* thot-o of the south end of the sfreet? It is true that the sections were not maiked on the Government plan of the town : but it will scarcely be denied that the major portion of Revell-street, as far as „ Stafford-street, was taken up in the first instance before a surveyor's peg was placed — long before a plan was formed ; so that those who took up land at the upper end of the street had just as much reason to expect being ejected from their holdings as those at the lower — the "pioneers of the town. Were anything like a reason advanced for the threatened removal — were the interests of the town shown to be concerned — we have no doubt a less bitter feeling would be evinced ; but it is hard for an Englishman to submit to loss and inconvenience merely to gratify official caprice.

Mr Moorhouse, on his last visit to Hokitika, readily admitted the hardship under which the holders of land on these reserves would labor by the summary removal of their dwellings and places of business, and promised to compensate those whom it might be necessary to remove, providing they could show their right to such compensation ; but he was iuclined to allow those whose immediate removal was not ne - cessary, to continue in possession of their holdings at a rental of L 5 a year, the land to revert to the Government on the destruction of the buildings by fire or other accident. This, though hot altogether as satisfactory as could be desired — tlie general wish tending towards 6 purekws ifc &• t>luipta-*yrt

was accepted with gratitude a-i a preferable alternative to the summary-eject-ment policy of Mr Sale, and offered at all events a peaceful possession lor the present We presume, therefore, that the telegram received yesterday is the <first stop towards the fulfilment of the promise of Mr Moorhouse,, pn& that the whole question of public reserves will shortly meet with as full an enquiry as a matter of such vital importance to the prosperity of Hokitika deserves.