WASTE LANDS BOARD.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XX, Issue 3903, 20 April 1877, Page 2

WASTE LANDS BOARD.

Thursday, April 19. The Board met at 11 a.m. Present— The Chief Commissioner (in the chair), Lieut. -Colonel Lambert, and Messrs Kennedy and Newton. The minutes of the previous meeting having been read and confirmed, Colonel Lambert said that before proceeding with the business before the board, he desired to draw attention to the Herald's report of the last meeting of the • board, in which a private conversation that had nothing to do with the businesß of the board was reported. He was surprised that any reporter should do so. He had said in that conversation that members of the Assembly made a free use of their tickets, and what he then said he" maintained, but it had notliing to do with what was going on at the board. If that ; sort of tiling were to go on, he would move that reporters be excluded. The • board had the power. He had no wish to exclude reporters from reporting the proceedings of the board ; it was good : that they should be published, but, rioi everything that was said in private conversation. Mr Newton : It was a mistake, no doubt. " . . The Chairman : Want of taste. Colonel Lambert : Yes, want of taate, to say the least of it. Mr Kennedy : "What the public want to know is matters relating to the board. The Chairman : I'll make a minute of it. Colonel Lambert : Yes. The following minute on the subject was agreed to : — " Colonel Lambert called the attention of the board to the proceedings of the last meeting as reported in the " Hawke's Bay Herald, and it was con* sidered that a want of taste was shown in notifying in the paper the private remarks of the members." The board then proceeded with its ordinary business. An application from Messrs Rhodes and Co. for land in the Patoka district was considered, and it was decided that that part of the application which referred to 40 acres be agreed to, subject to survey ; but with regard to the 180 acres ap- . plied for, the board suggested that the application should be amended, so as to include all the land between the precipice and the Pohtii Bush sections. A letter was read from the Resident Magistrate respecting the appeal case of Frederick Ingobrisen, who had been, served by the board with notice that he had not fulfilled the condition as to improvements upon the land he occupied as a selector within the prescribed time. The decision of the magistrate was that the appellant had, within the terni of two years, fulfilled the condition of his license. The Chairman brought under the notice of the board three other appeal cases, the hearing of which had been adjourned by the Resident Magistrate until the 30th instant, in order that the board might, if they so desired, withdraw the notices given to the appellants with respect to their not having fulfilled the conditions under which they selected. The appellants were Stenberg, Rathbone, and Ericsen. The report of Mr Ross on the subject having been read, The Chairman explained to the board the position of 'matters with respect to each of the cases. Ericsen, it appeared, had two selections, one of 40 acres and one of 100 acres, and" though taken together he had complied with the conditions, he had not done so as to each. On the 40-acre selection he had cleared 5 acres, but had not built any house ; on thelOO-acreselectionhehadclearedlOacres and built a house valued at £20, whereas I he was only required to build a house of ! £10 value. The question for the board i in this case was whether the board would ' pass over the omission as to building a ! house on the 40-acre selection, in con--1 .^deration of a house of double the required value being erected on the 100---acre selection, particularly as the two selections joined each other at one corner. The other two appellants had not a similar claim to the consideration of the board. After a somewhat protracted and desultory conversation on the subject, Colonel Lambert expressed a doubt whether the matter was formally before the board. The appeals were before the magistrate, and the magistrate should be left to settle them. The Chairman said that as to the matter being formally before the board, it was rendered so bj T his bringing the cases under the notices oi the board, with the information that the}' had been purposely adjourned by the magistrate to afford the board an opportunity of considering the matter. The appeals had been first heard at Waipawa, and then they were adjourned to Napier ; but the board not having had a sitting in the interval, the magistrate had further adjourned the appeals to the 30th iust. On both occasions Mr Parker (clerk in the land office) had attended. Mr Parker was called in, and, in reply to the chairman, he said that when the magistrate adjourned the cases he said that if the board pressed the cases he would be obliged to decide against the appellants, but as the board had extended 1 the time in other cases they might possibly do so in those of the appellants, and 1 so he would adjourn until the 30th inst., 1 and in the meanwhile the board would 'probably consider the course it would take. Colonel Lambert wished to know whether the magistrate addressed to Mr | Parker the observations mentioned. Mi- Parker replied in the affimative. He had attended the court as from the board, with a written authority from the Chief I Commissioner. Mr Kennedy suggested that in the case j of Ericsen the board should give him more time, and the other cases should take I their course. He moved that the notice | given to Ericsen be withdrawn. Mr Newton supported the motion. Colonel Lambert objected to any departure from the regulations. The board had regulations, and should abide by them. Some further discussion ensued, but i ultimately it was resolved, " That Anders ; Ericsen should be informed that the notice given in respect of application No. 71 is withdrawal ; bnl with regard to the other two cases the board do not consider it advisable to withdraw the notices given." The Chairman broxight under the notice of the board a letter lie had received from Mr Martin Chapman, solicitor, Wellington, res]iecting a selection in the Makarctn reserve made by Frederick Johnson, or Jansen. Mr Chapman wrote that Johnson wished to transfer to another person, but he had not fulfilled the conditions us to improvements, and consequently there arose a difficulty as to the board accepting the second instalment of purchase money. The Chairman stated that the surveyor's report was that the conditions had been complied with. The board decided to abide by the report of their surveyor, and resolved, '•'That the request of Frederick Johnson to transfer the land occupied by him in the Makaretu reserve lie granted, provided that application be made in proper form." The Chairman brought under the notice of the board the advisability of taking measures to cany out the provision of the Waste Lands Act 1874, in respect of setting aside a thirtieth part of all waste lands for educational piu-poses. After discussing the matter for some time the board deferred its consideration in order that further information might be obtained as to the quality, &c, of the lands which the chairman suggested should be reserved.