THE COUNCIL.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 299, 11 September 1908, Page 9

THE COUNCIL.

A SHORT SITTING. !The Council sat for 25. minutes yesterday, afternoon. „ " i •The amendments made by the House of Representatives ill the Town Boards Amendment ; Bill t were. agreed to. CIVIL SERVICE ACT AMENDMENT BILL. The Civil' Service ' Act Amendment Bill passed through committee without amendment, and was afterwards read a third time and! passed. ■ TAUPO NO. 2 BLOCK BILL. HISTORIC SITE AT PLIMMERTON.■The Taupo No. 2 Block Bill, which proposes to'repeal'legislation, reserving a piece of' :Maori: land at I'limmerton fon Scenic purposes, passed through . committee • without amendment. r ■ The Hon.- T. K. MACDONALD/spoakihg on tho third reading, said that Taupo No. 2 'Block >'as. a historic site,, and it, would be . sacrilege to divide "it into building lots, .as it had.been stated.would be'done bv the Maori owners if the Bill" were passed. Being situated 'at' the 1 seaside resort 'of- Plimmerton, it>;was often-visited by 'people from Wellington. At the foot of the: hill, within : a stone's throw of thfe railway station,' was the spot where Te'Raupiiraha was captured. - The value of the laud lor "grazing was about £20 a year. It consisted; of four or five acres. If subdivided f6r building, it might' be worth-£750 to £1000, but it should not be looked at from that'Jibint of view at all. It's'true'Value'was that attaching to it as an important historic site. The Hon. O. SAMUEL concurred with Mr. Macdonald's views'. < The ATTORNEY : CENERAL , (Hon. Dr.. Findlay) said the Government had introduced the. Bill to safeguard the, public, purse against an' expenditure which would not have been in the'interests of the .country. Tho owners of the land claimed £7000.compensation, and proposed to take'leptatl ' Tho Minister for Lands had inquiries'made, and was satisfied'.that the, land had no claim - to be reserved.- for ; scenic purposes. If,, it ; could have -been acquired by'.'the'Government for a small-sum, that would doubtless have been done, if only in the interests' of Plimmer-' . ton,-but the Government'was net preparedto go to. tho Compensation Court, and take the risk of having to pay a larger sum than could be justified in the interest of tho country. The, right thing was being done in putting the land back into the hands of the ; 'owners. Ought Nativo landowners to be told that' they must not make tho host use of their land because the Europeans desired it to remain as it was? - The Bill was read a third timo and passed. The Council rose at 2.55 p.m. ,