HASTINGS NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 495, 30 April 1909, Page 2

HASTINGS NOTES.

(nr TELUGnirn—srEciAi, connE3roNBEOT.) Hastings, April 29.;?-' With tho exception of .Councillors Stylos'' and Donovan, tho newly-olected council is 1 composed of entirely new,'-/ lnembol-s as,' of course, the Mayor-elect, <; who wne- .also elected councillor, will , remgn his'seat,* on tho council. Of tho ; old Messrs. ltoach,; Smith,: Cassin, ano\' Cunnold' did not seek re-election. Couricill»i« N Styles, l)onovau, and Miller wore elected, ; and Councillors Fowler and GeoYge were each- defeated for tho offices of Mayor ; tmd councillor. Mr..Donovan is quito a recent member, of tho couh-' v cjl; having only been) elected- at a a low months ago, jkr that practically Mr, Styles is tho solo silrvivor of the old band. The general opinion l 'is that tho council; as. now constituted, will bo a ll good, well-bal-anced, working team, progressive. :.-. and 'with ,-the interest of the borough at heart;' '.'■'.' Tho Ikaroa Maori Land Board rose yesterday ovohing, after a;two days' sitting,; and proceeded this morumg'.'to Mastorton. Tho business of the board included the hearing of a number; of: applications for consent to ■• lease; and for the issuo of rocomineridatious ; to tho Governor for. tho removal of, 'restrictions so as to enable the Nativo'. ownetß to ; mortgage. Tho following'cases are of interest :—Honara Ehuka,' of Omahu, was un-. ablo to' meet his engagements, and Mr< A. L. ■' D. Eraser said that, if ho -Was agreeable, ho ; would apply to tho Board on'his behalf for permission to mortgago somo of his lands. This ho agreed to, and, Mr. Frascr applied . '.for the recommendation of the board to romoyo the' restrictions so as to allow him to ' mortgage his Ohiti property.;'. The board consented, witlr tho result' that thoiicreditors in tho estate can now, bo paid in full, : <A similar application is to be made, probably in June, on behalf of a Tehauko Native Mr. A. L. D. Fraser applied for tho board's consent to lease portion of the Rakautataki Block to William Murray. The feature of this case was that tho rent to be paid liu- ! dor the leaso was.not 5 per cent. ..of-tho capital value. Tho board wore of opinion that, under Section 16 of the Maori .Lands for Sottlement Act, .1905, thoy could not approve of any .lease if the rent wero less than C per cent. 1 of tho capital value. Mr. Fraser urged that the construction placed on the section was not correct, and argued that the board had only to be satisfied that tlio rent was adequate and that > per cent, was not t an ~ irreducible ■ mmiiiumr.'"i;M'r. ; Griffin, District Land Valuer, gafo evidraco in, tho direction that 5 per ccnt.Mih the Capital v'aluo would bo an unjust rent fot a European to pay on unimproved bush lan'ds; > i that, in similar eases a little over': £2.' per aero should be deducted from the value of •the unimproved laud, and that, instead of (as in tho present case) tho rent being Ga. an acre', it should be 3s. Bd. Tho board decided to further consider tho case and : deliver judgment later.' ;;■■'•.>' : : . .:.