FREEHOLDING A BOROUGH

Evening Star, Issue 16992, 14 March 1919, Page 8

FREEHOLDING A BOROUGH

The matter of frceholding the borough of Taumarunui was advanced a stage further yesterday at a well-attended meeting of Native "owners, presided over by Mr O. P. Earl (Registrar of tho Maori Land Board). The meeting was held to consider an application by eight _ lessees for tho freehold of properties, chiefly in the main street, opposite the railway station. The Registrar advised the Natives to offer the whole native township to the Government, and the Natives seemed unanimously in favor; but after a retirement they met again and indicated that ther would deal with the private applications now before them. The meeting unanimously resolved that six of the sections applied fox be sold at the present Government valuation of the Native owners’ interest in the improved value. The 1917 valuations of these wero: Dr MacKnignt, £3.485; Mr Thomas, £2.137 ; Messrs House and Daking, £2,334 ; Messrs Abraham and Williams, £1,117; Mr G. L. Winger, £523; Mr Frank Smith, £323. The meeting also agreed to sell sections to the Bank of New Zealand for £6OO, and the Bank of Australasia for £240. The Taumarunui Borough Council have already spent £33,000 on improvements, including streets, gas, high pressure water, and underground drainage, and they are now taking a poll for raising further loans of £5,100 for electric light, gas, completion of footpaths, a concrete main road of about three miles, a stone crusher, and roadmaking plant. Unless the town is freeholded the proposals may not be carried, as every loan loads up the Native owners’ interest in the improved value.