THE WELLINGTON FENCING ACT.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 3, Issue 110, 29 October 1859, Page 5

THE WELLINGTON FENCING ACT.

To the Editor of the Maw7ce's Bay Herald. Sir, — I would avail myself of a portion of your open column in order that a question may be raised in time to prepare for its subsequent discussion in Council; I refer to the Fencing Act of the Province of Wellington still in force in this Province. Some parties interested in the present operation of this Act will possibly say we have had quite enough of this question already, but their saying so will I apprehend have but little -weight with the judges of the Supreme Court, who appear to think that they are not bound by the party laws emanating from Provincial Solicitors, till they are duly proved. Mr. Justice Jphnstoneiremarks "it would be foolish to suppose that any jwlge would take judicial notice of all r the laws tpfl'all the Provinces." Hear also Mr. Chief Justice krney, referring to colonial arrangements for special jury cases, — "It was another instance of singular procedure in the Colonies : and very possibly we shall hear of a few more instances of singular procedure when .cases are tried. in the'jSupreme Court at Napier, particularly as regards real property and the transfer and conveyance of same. Now in my opinion, (which any body taking the trouble to do so may shew to be wrong if he can), there are no means given hy the provisions of the Wellington Fencing Act to compel any person not occupying Ms land, to pay half the fencing of his neighbour's land. I can fancy all those who have bought land with the avowed. intention of making their neighbours pay half their fencing, say, look at the Act, which States that sums recoverable under this act, shall be recovered by summary proceedings, and levied by distress upon the goods of the owner found ppon such property UiiOcciipied or otherwise, and any further;aniount remaining unpaid to be leviable hy sale of a sufficient portion of tlie land, to be sold by the Resident Magistrate by public auction, and "that a conveyance of the .land so sold in the form "hereto annexed signed by the Resident Magistrate or any two Justices of the" Peace aforesaid shall vest the absolute property in such land /'in the purchaser./i'eejfr'on* all incwmbrances whatever" Now to this I say, take the case of an ab--•entee who has duly received his Crown Grant

and who knows nothing of this Act, selling his land, I and the purchaser coming and finding an old colonist in possession, is it likely that _ the conveyance: of the Resident Magistrate will over-ride the Crown Grant of the Governor ? Or that the Supreme Court will tolerate this singular, instance of colonial procedure ? Or will a mortgagee holding a good title allow that title to be upset by any provincial bylaw which is repugnant to the laws of Great Britain ? I say therefore to those who may be threatened with a sale of their land to try the case before they pay the money leviable under the Wellington Fencing Act, as I believe I am correct in stating that though proceedings have been tlweatened, the case has never been tried in the Supreme Court. Perhaps the opinion of the Solicitor General might be had on this point with advantage to the Province. Fbeeholdeb.

To the Editor of the HawMs Bay Herald. Sib, — It is very desirable that" the members of the Church of England in Napier and the neighbourhood ahould.be informed why there is no progress made towards the building of a Church. I learn from various sources that a difficulty exists respecting the site, that a sufficient sum has already been subscribed, or promised, but that those who undertook the management of the matter are divided in opinion as to where the building should be placed. It appears to me that the present state of affairs is by no means creditable to the members of the Church in Napier, and that it is quite time all personal and petty considerations should be set aside. The Eoman Catholics, a much less numerous body, have built a Church long since ; the Presbyterians have obtained a Minister from home, and have built him a manse, whilst the^ Church of England is utterly neglected. There is a valuable estate on the Island which was purchased by the Bishop, but I see no reason why a small church suited to the present requirements should not be erected in a more convenient position,' if land can be obtained, and I would also suggest' that from the rapid rise in the value of landifc will now be much more difficult to obtain than itfwould have been when the question was first mooted. If the Committee cannot agree it will be necessary to call upon the members to meet and adopt some course by which this absurd difficulty may be overcome. I trust that the Committee will publish in your next information as to the present state of the case for the enlightenment of those who, like myself, have recently settled in Napier. We have endowments on foot for the benefit of future generations, surely it is time to do something for the present. We have five Bishops for a population less than many single parishes in England, but neither church nor Minister within thirty miles of Napier. I am, &c, One op the Mesieebs, Napier, Oct. 24, 1859.

To the Editor of the Hawke's Bay Herald. Sir, — I wish to reply to "Observer" whose long letter in your paper of 15th inst., I have just read. As to the tenor of his communication ; that the present system is unfair to parties opening up new countrys, it is quite in accordance with the views generally entertained and in fact so true that it was a pity to spoil a column of your paper in expressing his sentiments on the subject ; but there is one point'on which I must most emphatically state that he is in error : he says, — "But, in conclusion, I would ask, Mr. Editor, can the squatter in this or in any other district, borrow money at 10 per cent., and that probably from an absentee, without inflicting an injury on the province ? If we in the province create such necessities for borrowing money, we know it must be detrimental to the onward progress of the place, knowing so much must be paid every year in the shape of interest, and thus circumscribe the means of the squatter. .••His ' improvements must stand still until ..his income will pay interest and leave a surplus in hand ; but how much more will be the loss to the pro-, vince when every year we find the money sent out of the place altogether to absentees." Any one acquainted with sheep farming here and finance in England would see that the writer is ignorant of both. If the proceeds of the outlay of money justify the payment of a certain interest the lender is doing a service in lending it ; there is no doubt that without seeing one's way to obtaining profits greatly beyond ten per cent, no man would bury himself in the bush. But if "Observer" will calculate up the clip of the wool, the ordinary sale of wether 3, and the gradual increase of stock he will find that ten per cent., is not too much to pay for the introduction of capital. If therefore "absentees" by lending their money, enable the runholder to increase his proceeds to a greater extent than the interest of the money amounts to, even if it be ten per cent.Jhehis most-; decidedly doing no great harm; which is more than can be said of any one who writes. in ignp-} ranee of the matter, though perhaps with very good intentions. I am, Sir, Yours &c, Jttstus. Napier, Oct. 19, 1859.