COUNTRY EDITION. The Daily Telegraph FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 1881.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3153, 5 August 1881, Page 2

COUNTRY EDITION. The Daily Telegraph FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 1881.

A proclamation under the " Public Works Act, 1876," wa3 published in the Gtaette of the 28th July, taking certain sections of land in this borough for a portion of the Wellington-Napier railway. These sections abut upon Munroe, Thackeray, and, what was once, Malcolm street, but this latter thoroughfare has been taken over by the Government. Tbe total area of the land thus 'appropriated for public works purposes is 16 «ere? '25 ptrcbes. It has for many years been suspected that the Government would sooner or later take this block of laud, and there would not have been now anything to say about the matter had not the effect of the proclamation been to cover a very great wrong. The subject is of public interest, and waa removed from the privacy to which it otherwise belonged by being brought before the House of Representatives in a petition last year. The petitioner, Mr H. 0. Robjobns, is the owner of town sections Nos. 334 and 348. In 1873 the Government, without adopting any of the formalities required by law, entered on and occupied section 348. No offer of compensation was made, and owing to the non-compliance by the Government with statutory provisions Mr Robjobns was not able to prefer any claim. And since that date of course Mr Robjohns has not been able to make any use of the land or to derive any benefit from it whatever. In spite of this, however, he has been compelled to pay rates and taxes upon it. Section 334 was taken possession of by the Government in a similarly informal manner about the early part of the year 1878, and upon this land also have rates and taxes been paid as though it bad continued in the handa of Mr Robjohns. In 1879 Mr Robjohns, acting upon legal advice, wrote to the Minister for Public Works requesting that an office should be notified where claims might be put in in accordance with the Public Works Act,

as otherwise no claim for compensation could be preferred by law. . In reply Mr Eobjohns received notice that the Public Works Office at Kopua—sixty-five miles from Napier—was appointed the office at which claims were to be'sent. The solicitor engaged by Mr Robjohna, in order to prepare a claim in accordance with the provisions of the Act, searched the files of the Government Gazette, but found that no proclamation had been made that the land bad been taken. The consequence was that as there was no evidence under the Public Works Act of the land having been taken by the Government no claim tor compensation could be made. The attention of the Public Works Minister was called to the fact, and Mr Robjohns, in November, 1879, was notified that the survey plans were not then ready, but that as soon m they were prepared the necessary proclamation would be issued. It will be seen that no less an area of land than is comprised within two whole town sections was being dealt with, so that the difficulty of speedily preparing a survey would not be exactly insurmountable. After waiting another five monthß the Minister was again reminded that the proclamation had not been issued; but, no answer being received, another letter was sent calling his attention to the delay. On June 5. 1880. a reply at last .came from the Public Works Department stating that the plans were not yet ready. It is now eight years since section 348 was taken possession of by the Government, and very nearly two years and a-balf since section 834 wus appropriated, and up to this day Mr Roi'johns has been unable to prefer his claim for compensation in the manner provided by law, and during the whole of the time that he has been deprived of the property he has been compelled to pay rates and taxes upon it. At last, however, the proclamation has been issued, and the Gazette in which it was published reached Napier yesterday—August 4, 1881. But even now a bungle has been made. In the schedule of the proclamamation the boundaries of the lands taken are set forth, but without the aid of a map and a surveyor it is impossible for any layman to ascertain what those boundaries are. The proclamation states that in accordance with the Act, maps and plans necessary to explain the portion.of the railway and the required land for workshops, have been deposited with the Registrar of the Supreme Court, Napier, but nothing , of the kind is to be found there, beyond & lot of maps that merely show the line of railway from Napier to Kopua. But Mr Robjohns' is not tho only case of the kind. There is another of which we ba.ve heard in which the land was taken in a eimilarly informal manner, the owner, who has been deprived of the use of the property, has for years been obliged to pay, not only rates and taxes upon it, but interest upon a mortgage as well ! Aβ we stated previously these cases of hardship have been made the subject of petitions to the House of Representatives, but the petitioners might just as well have petitioned the " Man in the Moon" for all the redress they obtained. They never heard in fact what became of their petitions; thus showing that Mr Ormond was perfectly correct in his statement that none but the Brogden and Sons of society can obtain from the General Assembly redress of grievances. It is a scandalous and a crying shame that, while the inhabitants of this colony cannot secure common justice, the Legislature should engage itself in pottering over uncalled for measures such as.the Gaming and Lotteries Bill.