THE URITI ROAD TITLE.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume IX, Issue 3039, 27 October 1888, Page 2

THE URITI ROAD TITLE.

■ In accordance with a notice of motion given an tlio previous meeting of the Whareama;:. Boad Board, Mr Oarflwell moved yosterday (Friday) " That. a full inquiry be made into tlio titles of tliß Uriti loop-lino of road," ■: From the voluminous legal and other documents produced, *on the motion being read out by the clerk: it appeared only too evident that a wordy warfare of unusual severity was in store. On the motion being road the ohairnian (Mr J5, Meredith) expressed himself at a' loss to know why Mr Carswell should bring the matter up. He had no doubt, however, being an independent member, the mover would bo able to give satisfactory reasons for his doing so. Mr Carswell said he considered he had very good grounds for moving in the direction he hid. For a very great number of years he had been a resident between here and the coast,

I and was very muohin the dark as tc ; the legality of a portion of tho Urit , road, From sevefal remarks made t by Mr R. Meredith to Mr Elder at i . previous meeting of tho Board, th< , speaker understood that Mr ft . Meredith refused to give a title to t portion of the Uriti road which • passed throughthe Messrs Merediths property. It was not solely as a member of this Board, but as a ratepayer he Bought the present informa motion. Be would also like to knon , how the road was laid off. Mr'Eldoi t and others appeared equally in'tin i dark. Mr Carswell thought Mi i Meredith sen., as chairman, ant knowing the transactions of this Board, could give the desired infori mation. Lately lie had seen: doou , inents which proved conclusively tha various large sums had been paid b' the Masterton Boad Board to Mr K Meredith in respect to the road.. of the Board to comply with M i Carswell's requeat,. to elioit the ful lest possible information' as to tb ti.'le. of tho-Uriti road.. 80 far as hi

!, was .personally concerned in this |. matter, anything, be had promised to j, the Masterton Boad : Board he was j prepared to give, to this Board e Mr Catswell: That's it. : What i agreement ia.there ? . 11 ' Mr R. R, Moredith! 80 am ! pree awe of the road, when . the local . bodies fulfil their obligations to me! The public have had tho benefit of the road through their property from , the first instance. His' brother (the , Mr-Edwin Meredith), had pro- , mieed a right-of-way {o the Maskrton 1 Road Board oh condition that . they 1 would fence it on each side. About c that timo a portion of the land was , ut and they were allow{fl in , the meantime a private right-of-way. ; This • they. continued; to use -until [ some time after his death. According ; to thp arrangement the 1 f • §i&fif;the -road, and also oomponHation for land taken for road purposes, Subsequently they,' agreed to-feiioo it themselves. This had been done but no compensation had ever bwj paid, When tin'? m paid he would b? prepared to.giye a, conveyance. He attributed this matter oropping up to Mr Moore, who he also.thought had mfluenQed, bjr;. hiSr,oonvefsatiOq(-;My Eldqivsyhioh caused the latter not' io support ,tfce ; motionre actfaattnenvof

tbe Alas* teiton Road Board, '/vS,, " r V » Mr Carswell donied that Mr M6oro had prompted:him.in-' moving Ju indirection he had done. ' Li. 1 Mr Elder also most 'omph&flw denied Mr Moore's complicity matter". fidjuatmentvofoaooouuts s between the two. mition was deuved fiom the newspaper loports. Mr Mooie had never discussed the matter with him. M i'Mooro • though ti there ;.wasllo ? any necessity: for him to. take notice of* Mr Meredith's,acousationaras - p,ipeis m his possession whioh woro m thomselves sufficiently; conclusive;; He considered it well within his right; -.' as a member of the Board, to discuss: any matter -which related to tho wel-; i faro of the ratepayers., s in deferenCei ito the opinion of : the ohairman anS? | MrR. would assert that" it was m 1871 when the Unti Road was laid off by Mr King, That gentleman alive,' and would - refute the speakers statement,'"if he was in erior. Pubho money' had been spent on the road in dispuWor somo years. The road was lj|ed ; upon as a public road k 'and it was l.only when the land through which the line of road ran through, was in • crop that the late Mr Edwin Mere-' dith objected to . the pubho goiug through until it;wai fenced, 'ln the interim he allowed them a private outlet,, The mattet was ,eventually arranged, r as the following asreemeht ; will show' " •Maatorton, fith

The Chairman ' , Maaterton' Highway Board,-I beg to aoknowladgel redaibt o! '7. £133 amount due to me;fortfie«reotioaoi: ; a fence on each tide 61 the'road'known >as7' the Uriti, between the points oommenoing' first at'tbe bouadary line on; the banks "o! V-: thS;Patabui Btreainbeiwoen : :Messr^lMi Moire's and Messrs Meredith'"and man's,, attending at the; most south-west comer of the garden , paddock round the Wairongahouse,more clearly defined on the—planattaohedh ere to.'And.l - hereb rgive - my ooDsont ': to'.'road ; referred : 'to opened tor public use iubjeot to the®*.' ing conditfons ;-That,myself: or asjigw may at all times maintain gate,on south - end ol the said-road until auoh time as the whole road is fenced to Uritir 1 further agree to allow the publio tp use the' bridge '• ■ over Wairongo ereotMbjr me for the period . of two 'years the jaid bridge t» be kept' in repair by the Koa'd Board during its'use' by the Board., (Signed) t , i ;; r;-EpjriM..Ubuditb ;'-^•7: . : Job. Bbnnett, Chairman, . DosiibDosiwlWardon, '' Some years'after this, the road was again closed to (he publio. aad tho v traffic diverted, along tlie beaoh r " which took him with a dray la long'. day to get from his property to Uriti, j Meredith's,'he oould cover the same distance id half the time;.' Jlte road? : was dosed owing to the gate being! looked. _ Arrangements were again' entered into,-as Mows - 7' 7'.' f ' Memorandum of agreement between the Mastcrton Highway Board andAß. fB. Meredith, trustee for Mrs E, Meredith, juni' \ The' inid R. Hi Meredith tgreesito give-a ' right-of4ay. through' 'the', Wairongo pro. perty, and he heieby acknowledges: to haw' thrc'o-ioundi,;in full land taken for the road, ajid to sign a deed of conveyance;of !the land required : for-th# ■' l ' road," when palldd aporis l to. Tho Board agrees .to grant, permission i-tOverect two gates aerbsstheioad until itha feMlngj is ooropjeted on :both 'side's of- tho fwajs' leading ' to -'.Uritti f .orie.,at7Patandi,' J \ another at' the boundary :tde 7 it if Mmsirn, 1 W,H,'BEmiM/Qiurman7 He also', read. the following report " tearing' on the agreement'.wbiob ap.7 : peared in the columns of tlie Daily atthetime. 1 j,-., J ; Mr Dagg remarked that, inasmuch as £144 was borrowed for fenoing' if the* ■ handed the money over to the TrnsteesV sides the £93 for compensation they would'. be acting illegally. .: .7;,'; ." Mr Meredith: replied that it"was never 7 intended to exact, £144 as compensation,-:,. . ■' The Chairman'!' One of the TitiEtees i'a.; timated that no fence neb'd bB erected iiiaV asked leavo to remove the fence alreadv erected,'. #» "MrMeredith: What he said wit tM S// the sum of £144 would not be sulld&' for the fenoing. Ho agreed with Mr Km that thepioneyshouia no striotly appliedto the purpow for. which - it was - borrowed, It • appeared that tho bank of the stream was : becoming undermined 'where it waß. posed to ttab the new crossing, and as this V .' would bo a serious impediment to : the settlors, ho proposed to obviate the difik : oultyby allowing the line to be made as survoyed by Mr Bremnor. Ho would sug. gest that toe Board invite tenders for fenecing independently of the compensation for land altogether,. .' ;. " Mr Dagg said part of the proporly had lately been sold. .. : "Mr Moredith. replied that' it'was die-. posed of subject to right .'of road.' He was' further agreeable that the road-'should be granted at the beach, above highwater ' mark, provided it did not interferi with his • shearing shed;. ' - " The resolution was passod and- it was - ■ resolved on the motion of Mr Dagg, i seconded by Mr Chamberlain,' That £9B, be paid lb Mr .Meredith, senr., and ,th» trustees of tho Waironga estate cn-their - undertaking to: oonvey to the -.Board the land required for tho Uriti roadj sad that; : the Bum. of £144 be expended oh. fenoing' the road.'". ' ''■■■ ,: >*• The mooting then adjourned. : .'; » The Chairman agreed with the last; speaker that the gate was looked and ,a private road- given by. bis' ■Edwin, but the latter was given the understanding that a bridge was' - erected. For this the Masterton : Board acknowledged their responsibility by giving his son compensation!; • for the bridge Mioh was washed; away, .v' 7 ::: 7.. After-referring to varioiis-sams-expended in fencing the road- Mr Moore read 'a letter, dated August 20th, 1887, from Mr Beard, solicitor to the Board, in which tKo latter 1 stated; '.'After, the oonveyanoe was - sent to him by Mr Meredith senr'ssolicitor, .he wrota twice to the latter to call at his office and exeoute it." The writer alaospoko to him oh one.ooca?, sion when,he promised he would oalf upon him. : -This he did db, and in thepresence ot twowitnesaesdeolined to sigu the conyeyaa ce' hia' solioitor'a costs were co'sti whioh: the Board were not either ■ legally or morally bound to pay. Thiib writer ooncluded by stating he cotilS* 1 hardly seo how "if Mr Moredith admits these faotsihe can emphatically deny his (Mr Beard's) -statement.". • Mr Moore went on to say after the Board, had- received this letter lie was $&;•- tborised to gain , the conveyance and'-. ture. ; This heiidf buf'Mr S l .'" dith refused to sign, although a memo ' was attaohed from his own solicitor, stating-if the parcels were oorreothis client oould sign the- conveyance. thai Mr Meredith did not wish to : hand- over tho conveyance to this - Board. . r . The Chairman: That is it. My reasons for not signing the anpe is beoause- we parcels' aro not- -> correot. Mr R. E. Meredith hero read a letter written by Mr. G,, Mow to Mr W. Hi Beethara, the former, asked tho a? of tltf Road Board to hurry.on a,settlement as he believedOld M'!,would 'liayo j to pay Mr ;Girdw6od'a7contrao£ out .of . bis own 'pookefcl -Froni 1 other jii in'dispute itlappeared very ,con- s been using- his influence''outside;tg"' '■>*

bring tbesfe cli|r^s.'up against- Hi -i Messrs Moredith. ■' - ■> ■ Mr Hlooro: I should like to- know how you got possession of that pii vite lottor to Mr Deellmra ? Wlmt is tbo dale ? . ; /Mr.lt. Meredith: January 1888, ■ • Mr Mooro said the lottor was a private ono written byliirn from Wellington .to Mr Beetham, If it had been,a public letter lie would not bayb styled Mr Mor. dith as' Old M.' He again asked how tbo letter came into Mr Meredith's hands, Mr R. Meredith said ho believed the letter was laid on the table of the Masterton Road Board and was given to him by Mr Hogg. With the aid of doouments and letters received from the Masterton Road Board Mr E. Meredith strongly argued to refute Mr Moore's statements, denying that the road was ever stopped to traffic, and intimating when his requirementawera fulfilled the Mossra give the conveyance asked for. Mr Moore contended the whole - of Mr Meredith's rambling statement was carefully prepared to throw dust ill the eyes of the mombers of this ' Board. Ho firmly believed the money , had been paid twice over to the Messrs Meredith for this portion of tlio Uriti road. It was a mine sprung on him for them to say it was a breach of faith on tbo part of the Board in not completing their agreement. By quirk and quibble the Board had been deprived of their legal rights, and in spite of what tho Messrs Meredith might say he would contend the Board had purchased the right-of-way. ■

Mr R. Meredith said il was only when ( the bridge broke his brother stored them going' through his pauJocka. That was dono to compel the I Board to replace the bridge, Th* road was never barred but the traffio had to go through the yards and woolshed.

The Chairman said by reiterating their statements it would not benefit the matter in dispute one iota, but he would mention positively that his Bon had not made one penny out of transaction. He strongly deprecated the iction of Mr Moore in continually bringing' up accusations against the Messrs Meredith. Ho ■would like the. Board to clearly understand how lie was implicated. He was ready to fulfil any obligation he had promised so soon as this Board was prepared to do the same. Once the property is conveyed it becomes a tenanoy. Why this discussion had crept up he could not conceive, as the public had had the benefit of tho road without being deprived of a right-of-way. Mr Moorelt is a very good thing Mr Carswell brought up this important question.'

The Chairman: But there was no

intention to prevent traffic, neither was there t any. complaint from the ratepayer!. There was nevor any Exception taken or difficulty raised until it ijis brought up by Mr Moore, Mr Moore: You are wrong, The traffio hps been impeded! The Cpairman said that all through the diicussion, Mr Moore had avoided mentioning about the road leading through his own property. Mr Moore: .No I because I never had tbe'nerve to ask £lO an aoro for »■ i The Chairman said the tone of the discussion, and the letters read, bronght discredit to himself and his eontr, whiih he considered was not right, '

Mr Carswell thought it was useless to prolong the discussion any further. From what he could see the matter

was likely to Btay in tbo same *, position as it had been, and in n

great measure the Masterton Road was to blame, V Mr Moore: Yes, tho owners of the land are very clever. - They liave received a large aum of our money, and we have got nothing for it. This | ended the legality of the Uriti loop-line dißoussion.