GRAZING RUNS.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 425, 6 February 1909, Page 6

GRAZING RUNS.

THE STRANGE CASE'OF"MR. BLACK. -A. MATTES', FOEi INQUIRY.:,' : ' ! ,-. : '. • At intervals.duringvthe:last;-three or four j months references'have been made to" a curious transaction in respect-of'certain grazing runs • in. the Gisborne district.- The'case has some D very -strange' features, and it will - probably" be ■ of interest to the publio'to have a.brief .sum- - mary: of: the. known facts in ■ connection .with i the'affair, v " ' ' . ■'.'. v i Early < in; 1905 Mr.-: ■ G.' • J;- ; Black/ of ■'" Akaroa, 1 bought the', goodwill of the lease of Grazing 1 Kun A3, in the Poverty -Bay .district,..which, v first let'in 1888, had four years'to run. Mr.. Black, under the mistaken-idea that>the lease' ■• earned a right of;renewal, spent a: great deal' ■ of money'on it. Towards"the end of the' first J term- Mr.:,Black:-received ■,notice , from ~the i Napier Land Board, that the Government intended to. resume the run for.sutdivision.: Mr.'-' i Black, protested - to'. Mr., : . M'Nab, and was;adr ) vised' to ."interview the ! .and Board, on .whose [. recommendation tho Minister "would act. The , board on June 12, 1908, notified Mr. Black that , it .had. rescinded-its rocomiuendation- that -the . run should.be resumed. -On July, 8 the TJnder- . Secretary approved' the recommendation that Mr. Black should ..be granted., a: renewal,:, butthe. Minister : refused -to act • on- : the-; recom- ! mendation, and. determined not to.renew Mr. Black's'lease.' '. - ■ • .■ •• ; - ■■'..-. '.- ; the meantime the land Board had notified rc r v v? ' a prominent Government supporter, ;■ that -his grazing run, No"; 42, would also be 're-. ; sumed., Mr, Hall induced the Hon.- 3. Carroll , ( ;tq intercede for him, which Mr: Carroll did ; m a-memorandum to Mr.'M'Nab dated Maroh i. 2,.1908.: (Mr.- Carroll, read his memo.- at a political meeting in Gisbprne. on .November, 4 last.) Very.-;quickly,-Mr..'Hall received .notice 1 from the Commissioner, that his lease ; , would be renewed. 'MV/BlackUhen began hisvcainpaign' i of protest; against what he considered the unfair r i uisorirainatabn'of the* Government. \ ..'•'? i ■ Mr.:M'Nab, feeling that some , explanation was [v jneces.sary, niade a long statement to the Durii edm Star of : November 11. He - said that on ; February 18, 1908; the' Commissioner of Crown Lands sent him , a. report , on- the.runs'of;which. ; the leases were soon to expire. ...In:the schedule M T : , . iJ ! a . ck s ' mn .was reported as • suitable for ; subdivision and-Mr./Hall's as unsuitable; "FoU fel n ? t! ??. Practice, of. the Department," Mr. !. M Nab,said, Mr. Hall was accordingly granted ; a renewal. The Minister.went;on to say that : pn .September 25 last he .stated this fact:in i the House—as indeed he did. .Heradded, that it_.was-a-week after'the ending of last session i when, for,the'first time ■: he learned i that' the description.of ; Mr.. Hall's run in' the schedule , as unsuitable ■ for; subdivision .was a-olerical , error. (( . He-further declared (on November:-11), . that prior to .the decision in -regard to the : granting of'the lease";■ he. had "no .recolleotion , of-any persoi communicating , with' me 'in the ; 1 ■ ln '?J esi| s. , °f.<.Mr.iHall > nientioning-.hisVjiositiiJn,- ' political-viewsj:or, anything-in-connection 'with 1 .. him."- (Mr, Carroll's;memo'. ' to'.Mrl- M'Nab; : i: which-stated:.the fact-that-Mr.'-Hair-had''re-' (. ceived. notice '-of-the ■ intention to : resunW.his.run,- was written; on MarchA 1908.) ! ' In we ensuing-; newspaper , criticisms'- it ; was ,: noted- as..singular,!that;Mr.;M^Nab , . should, have ™f nothing- to act ;ch except an!erroneonsr6che- ; dule. .The poimnoN. suggested'that : he-must . ihaye-had-jthe full-.report/of;the Eanger. :-'On i ;Npvember.2s, the:"Lyttelton Times". printed:a ' iftter'.fr 0111 %•■ Black,-who'quoted.a.telegrak: ! ;£ e - na ? received: .from. ■the;.;Commissioner.!-of. i Crown Lands at.Napier-on November. 16, (in ,' which, the Commissioner said that the.-EangerJs /had. indeed-accompanied'the schedule.. fact induced, the "Lyttelton Times/' , which had earlier pooh-poohed Mr! Blaoi's complaints, to Bay'on November 25 that it .trusted that Mr. Black's'charges,will be : submitted •to an independent, cpmmissiqh." .■ '■•:•. , ■■'■■ ■ : : ;Oni Monday .last a' , brief -message fromV Gis-" ;. borne reported the Prime Minister as telling , . 'a Ctisborne-deputation that "he regarded ,with--1 supreme contempt" -the people,' who.had at-; ! tempted; ip influence.a southern.constituency. , -adversely to the Government over this matter. ,, - . ; "If," ; said the .-Prime; Minister, ''tKe..G6v!e'fn'- : m .ent ■ ;;-,,- ;.'was.tb consider, what r- political : views persons interested: held,'he for one would 1 ■ not.be a member-of-.the-Government/"- ,; ■■"■"' V This: message ■did-.-not report the .'fact, ■ 'whioh ; i. is reported , in.'the.Gisborne:;papers, ;'-tliat the • Government; has. agreed to let Mr. Black have ; a:- renewal, of-his- lease, after: all. ; - .The ■ ''Gis-' ■porne,Times", says that ."there'is not a single', . .individuals Poverty Bay;but is.satisfied that t - jpolitical influence was exerted" in.the'ea'se of. .Mr. Hall,, and-it-says also, that "the Govern-: ■;ment"nas taken-the most'effective method of '. -stopping-further 'inquiries into a particiilarly , : .unsavoury.matter.".. , ,'.','. 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