ASSESSMENT COURT.

Marlborough Express, Volume XVII, Issue 295, 18 December 1882, Page 2

ASSESSMENT COURT.

Saturday, DECKMnuR 16. (Befor6 his Honor Mr .tuitice Richmond, and Messrs Hortoa and Hackett, Atsesaors.) ■' ■ ' :■ C, REDI(V'OOn,V.; iriKISTER OF PUBLIC WORKS. '.'-'. Claim £3830, for loss of water supply 'and road frontage by. the land taken for the Vernon Extension.] Mr Rogers appeared for. the claimant" and Mr Pitt for ; the Crown. Charles Redwood deposed : I am the claimant m this case. The Wither run is 4339 acres m extent. The railway has taken some of my best land, which I value at £30 per acre. My property is severed by the line. I estimate the loss by severance, together with the land taken at LIOO per aore. The railway line is tivo. miles and a-hal£ m lencth through my property. The co-operative dram is crossed by the railway m section ? 2 Vu T nr!u re ' te WaS Ot great im Portance to the Wither country. The only other available water is the boundary creek m the; drier portion of the ran, whioh is lost fas it runs down Seventeen Valley ,I|estimate my losa of water at 50 per cent on the value of that block of country I gave LGOOO odd for it. . ronMry> l y i Mr ,? lfct , : i:^? old n^>t sell any of this land for leas' than L3O per acre I sold land for the Dashwood Pass road many years ago for about L2O an acre to the iSunenntendent-I got LlO an aore and the fencing. The arrangement was a mutual one, as I was anxious to have the road. I had a fence where the railway fa npwalong.the main drain m Section 1 There is an artesian well on the land I was asked by the railway authorities how many railway crossings I required, and I said ono. One acre of my laud is worth two of my late father's m the Waimea. One paddock there was sold for LAO. It was an exceptionally good oae. I certainly think that farming can pay when land costs L3O an acre. The sandhills are very valuable to keep the Bheep from foot rot. Some of the land on the north aide of the sand hills is under crop, and has been for the past 15 years. I have not had »heep on ther« for '

the last seven years. Merino sheep require water. I •By Mr Rogers : I have tested the flow ' of water m the artesian well mentioned < as being on my land and found it very < slight. Dry weather affects sheep very ] much. The artesian well ceases to flow at 10i inches above the surface. ' Francis H. Pickering deposed : I ' estimate the value of the land taken by the railway m the manner it is taken at LBO an aore. By Mr Pitt:. l have taken land and, severance as a whole. I have not valued the land and severance separately. Ido not think the railway will doMrßedwood any good. The river is preferable for him for shipping his grain. Thomas Harding deposed : I reside near Mr Redwood's property. I value the land taken, which m part is very rich agricultural land and a portion not so 'rich, at L3O or L4O an acre, without the severance. The sand-hills are a great convenience m time of flood. The damage by severance I would put at L4OO to LSOO. At- the present, moment I am not m a position to aay what the loss of water represents. If Mr Redwood put m some of the hill country with the flat, it would be a serious inconvenience. Charles Goulter deposed : I am a sheepfarmer. I know the Wither Run. Tho water m the co-operative drain is most important to Mr C. Redwood's portion of the Wither Ran, its being ont off is a serious loss. Examined by Mr Pitt : There is no water on C. Redwood'B western side. Joseph Henry Redwood deposed : I am a farmer .resident at Spring Creek. I valiie the land -taken at L3O an acre. I value' the severance^ L"0 an acre. I would not have the railway through my land ah that.price". *' :i ■ . :. , ; ■ ' : ; Examined by. MrJPitt : ; . Mr, Charles Redwood is my uncle, the last witness is . my ?c6isin. f ! The railway runs through our farm, and we have lost more than 50 valuable sheep owing to the railway. •It is a great nuisance. We can gat stuff cheaper by river from Wellington than we can from Picton by rail. Austen Waid deposed : lam a surveyor. I have estimated the cost of diverting the main drain to the south side of the railway as far. as S9otipni26 at £3500. If made serpentine it cpuld'beidone. for "£1400. 'Six watering places could be made for about £500 by cutting small canals from the main stream, but this would cut up the land and spoil it. .. 1 visited, the, artesian well yesterday 'morning.' ' 'I screwed' on p pipe, which gave nine inches, from toe bottom 1 of ilie d'.toli; 'and got ! one 'gallon of water m 27secs. At 12J inches the flow ceased».,altogether % ...Yife, ..then^waited^a m" 52 seft3. From wii'at'l Saw of"tbiß"well I do not think it possible to get a sufficient supply of "water for.',cattle./. II would not like' to trust to it if I was the 'owner of the land. * Cross-examined by Mr Pitt : If the pipe was shortened the ' flow would be greater, I. am a nephew of the .claimant. _, < . .. - f -Bernard/ Ward deposed! If m'erino3 dp not have water the wool would become what experts called tender. If a country had its water taken from it it would depreciate it 50 per cent. Cross-examined by Mr Pitt : I nra a nephew.qf. the claimant, There is water m Bodbdary Greek in -the winter time. I cannot say whether there is now. ;Edward,Paul :'I am no relation. of. Mr Redwood, •' ' Sheep 'cannot '"exist long without water. The want of water will : cause a loss of 'wool as well as mutton. I have to let' my sheep at Spring Creek have water. In February and March no doubt all the springs on the Wither Run will be dry, and the sheep thrown back on the boundary creek. LBO an acre would not represent the full value of the land taken, including severance. If the water, was not cut off the severance would ba nominal. I think the value of the Wither Run has. been depreciated 50 per cent by the severance. . ; I clon'fc know much about the Wither Run. J. estimate the water damage'athalf the value of the Run. I estimate the value off the land taken 'at L3O an acre, for 1 severance 'I would assign LSO, for land and severance LSO an acre. Cross-examined by _ Mr, Pitt : .1-, have seen sheep .drink. 1 1 , don't i think Mr _Hpds<m_.has profited . iauph.by. his ..ox.-, perience m sheep matters. If sheep don't drink how is it they die in,thousands m Aubtrajia; for? v&flt W witerf* If the water was' not. severed the^severanca ■would bYnominaU I dcfn'Vkuoff- muoh about thVWitheVßun. I have no doubt the, want of, water may be remedied to a great extent by artesiau wells. This concluded the case for the claimant. . James E..Hodson deposed: lvalue the land taken' 'at Lls an acre, making L 342 18s 9d for the whole. I allow LSBO for severan<&\ Iftaye.\allowe4",LlQaiin raddition, for severance from the water supply. I'ddn't look upon the water as a matter of great importance on a ran. for sheep. I have never seen a 1 sheep running a- -large on a run drink; My experience that water is not necessary for sheep. '. I allow for loss of road frontage L6O, making my total allowance for compensation LIOO2 18s 9a."- I saw the artesian well put down by the Public Works Department, and saw a three-gallon bucket filled under half-a--minute. • .. ■ , - . ; Cross-examined by Mr Rogers : I valued under the heads furnished me by the Crown.' I have land equally as good as some of Mr Redwood's, and as near town, whioh I would sell for Lls 'ari'aore. Alfred ■ Dobson deposed: I value the l3ndjtaken..by the railway at' L 261, severance' oj- property L 235, severance from natural water supply' LSO, loss' of road frontage LlO3, total estimate, LG49. I think a . sufficient water supply could be obtained from the artesian well, which I estimate, would .give .57,000 gallons, per ■ day of 24 Hours. •■ 'The' land taken ■ is not the best of Mr Redwood's farm. [The witness corrected himself, and stated that his estimate of- the daily supply of waterfrom the artesian well was about 7,000, not s7,ooo. gallonsT]! '■ \ ;V~; ;\ : „ Alfred George iF.ell; deposed : My firm have sold the 'Napier,' and are not going to buy another steamer. For all produce for the Wellington market the river is tho oheapest means for shipping, but otherwise for Mr Redwood's property I should say the railway would pay Mr Redwood better. Cross-examined by Mr Rogers : We were run off the river by the railway. The Napier could not take away the produce fast enough. I have known Mr Redwood to send parcels of barley by the railway to catoh the Sydney market. William Donslin deposed : , I valued the Wither Run some time ago' at 30s an aore. The land taken by the railway is worth L 378, and injury to the other parts of Mr Redwood's property : Severance of property, L60O; severance from natural water supply, L 50 0; loss of road frontage, LSO; total, L 1.525. Mr Redwood's farm is 1,428 aores m extent. It was valued at L9 an acre, and the annual value L 620. The Wither Run I valued at 30s an acre, as a whole. Francis Craig, artesiau well sinker, stated : I sank the artesian well on Mr Redwood's land. The pipes were driven 08 feet deep. The water comes from a depth of 34 and 36 feet. There is a very good supply. I mod only 1J inch testing pipe. The same water is obtained at the foot of the hills all over the Valley. There is plenty just the same m use at Tua Marina. lam sure the water comes from a true gravel bed, because it washed out a number of water-worn stones. Tho water is very good, and I have made excellent tea with it. Tho rise and fall of the tide affect tho well. This is a good sign. I cauld get water anywhere m the vicinity,

Cross-examined by Mr Rogers : I was told Mr Green could not get water. I t could not be sure of getting wells m * other places along the line. The expense t of putting down a good sized well on the t property would be from L2O to L 25. i James Godfrey Warner, manager for 1 the Vernon extension, deposed ; I was encamped on Mr Redwood's property ( from February 17th to April 13th. At that time we sunk a small-well at the , camp sft doep. We got water within a 1 1 f oot from the surface, and had water all I ' the time we were there. We used this water for cooking purposes, but nob for drinking. Earnest Douglas Dobaon, assistant m the Public Works Office, gave evidence as to sinking of the well and the flow of water, which he said was equal to 9,500 gallons a day according to his calculation. J. D. Frasor, auctioneer, valued the land taken stLOol ss. ■ (}. Fitzgerald, assistant engineer, gave corroborative evidence as to the artesian well. This closed the case for the Crown. The. Court intimated that its decision would be made known on Monday morning. . C. DAVIES V. MINISTER FOR PUBLIC WORKS Claim LIOOO, as compensation for loss and damage arising ont of -the taking of land on his property for the Vernoa Extension. ' ■ Mr Rogers, appeared for the claimant, and Mr Pitt for the Crown. Caleb Davies deposed : I am the owner of' Section 41, Opawa, I value the land taken by' the railway at Ll5O per acre. The adjoining sections of 46, Opawa, have bseu fetching L4O the quarter acre. Tho line goes through my section at an angle, and prejudices about five aores on each sHe of my land. I consider they will be affeoted to the extent of L5 an acre. The land is at present used as a dairy farm. Mr Pike rented it from me for LI OO a year. The lease has just run out, and its future rental is not yet determined The Government has made me three railway crossings. The railway will cause a great deal of inconvenience m the working of the farm. I think it will cause an increase of LIOO m the working expenses. William, Benjamin , Earll : deposed : I estimate* Mr Davies' land taken for the railway at Ll5O per acre. It is ju3t on the town boundary. I believe the line injuriously affects the, land. I should think the land would readily fetch L3O a quarter aare. ;The railway wonld affect about twenty acres, of Mr Davies' land. By Mr Pitt YSoine of MrDavies's land ies.low. ( : „-..: George Houldsworth deposed : I estimate the value of the land taken by the railway at from £30 to £40 per quarter acre. It codl3 findlsale :at those figures. The railway, I should say, would damage a considerable quantity of land on cither side, of the! line.. The railway caused inconvenience to the farm, as a dairy farm, to the extent of 10 per cent. The land is worth £100 an acre. By Mr Pitt : The farm' is worth; £25 per quarter acre all through. I mean that the £1500 is 10 per cent, of the value of, the farm. ; . •• ■'.'.' ' : William Pike deposed : lam the lessee of Sir Davies' land.' Sinoe the railway intersected it.it will take quite £100. a year more- to vrork> . ■ By ,Mr Pitt :> My lease expired on Jane Ist last. We have made no fresh'arrangement until this is settled. Henry S. Bush deposed :. I think Mr Davies' landf if ; cn( tip, would fetch £25 to £30 $er quarter tore. The railway has damaged the land to the extent of onethird. 1 ii ■ ' ' ■' •' ■ : • This concluded the case for the claimant. • William Douslin depossd : I valued the land m question for the Omaka Road Board for 1880-81 at £1600. It has increased m value The land taken is worth £30 an acre." I estimate severance at £200 loss. Tin's is a liberal allowance. : James E. Hodson estimated the value :of the land taken at L3O an acre. The farm was fairly out.in the centre, and was well-fenced from the railway, besides three crossings. ( Ll5O was ah outside estimate for severance. The tota'. compensation he assessed at L249'155. J. L. Adams valued the land taken, by reason of Us nearness to town, at LGO an acre. He allowed Ll5O for severance, making his total valuation for compensation L 349 4a Gd. - • ■;••• :.;. ■ ■■■ William Benoni .Parker .estimated: the value of the land . taken, at LGO an acre, making L26G for the 3a. lr. 12p. taken. 1 He put the injury to; tjie property by\ severance at'LlOOi- Tot'aUL3oo. Alfred'iDobson valued the land taken at LuQiper.laore, l or LI6G 5s for the three acres odd. The loss by severance he put at Ll5B. Total estimate L 324 6VJ. D. Frajj^'asjejfsad the htfjl taken at ILISQ* and. injury oy. severance, at ,LISQ. Tby!L2ss; '■'■ ' ■'■ '■■ ' '"■/- r\ This concluded the case 'for the Crown, and the, Court .adjourned until Monday., Monday, 1 Dec. 18. . c. RKbwo6i>!v.iiiiinaTEß op public !■' .<)">' 1 1 \> i '■'. .WORKS. ■ T 'i •!"■■''. i ': ' The Oonrt m this case awarded the claimant; Il,200,; and awarded that the costs of the inquiry assessed at 25 guineas be paid by the claimant, together with the Assessor's fees,' 14 guineas for each assessor, or Being at the rate L7 7s per C. DAVIES V. JIIKISTER OP PDBLIC WORKS. : The 'Conrt m this cage' awarded 'the ■claimant L4OO, and ordered him to pay the costs of the inquiry 20 guineas as ;well as the-; Assessor^ fee, 10 guineas jeach, being L5 5s per .diem. F? l ADAMSv! MINISTER OP PtTBLIC WORKS? ' Claim L 1657 for compensation m connection with land taken for the Vernon extention. ■ :> ; , Mr Rogers appeared for the claimant, Mr Pitt for the Grown. Frederick Adams, butcher, deposed: lam a butcher, and the claimant, in this case. I consider the land taken to be worth L2OO an acre at the least. It is the highest land and the most valuable to me, 26 acres could have been advantageously cut up into quarter-acre seotions and sold at LSO apiece. I consider the value of the land taken as reduced one-third. I have one crossing, but with no cattle-stops to it. The railway has damaged my house and homestead to the extent of at least L 250. By Mr Pitt: I- have 70 acres of land. I hold it under lease for 14 years, of which 10 years' have yet to run. I authorised Mr Griffiths to take LI2OO m full for'my claim. Joshua Rayner, fellmonger, considered the land taken the most valuable part of Mr Adams' land for the purpose of a residence, and he valued it at £200 per acre. About 26 acres of the property were favorably situated for being cut up into small town sections, whioh would sell for L3O the quarter acre. : The damage to the house as a residence is L 250. The proximity of the railway had deteriorated the value of the land adjoining one-third. Cross-examined by Mr Pitt : Mr Adams has a purchasing-clause to his lease, and can buy his property at L3O an aore. Land m the locality has increased 100 per cent. I have business relations with Mr Adams. ; W. B. Earll estimated the value of Mr Adams' high land at L2OO an acre. Twentysix acres of his land had been damaged to the extent of one-third its value. The injury to the house he assessed at L3UO or L4OO. : C. J. W. Griffiths valued the land taken at L 399. The severance damaged the upper portion of Adams' block to the extent of LGO an acre, and the N.E. portion LlO an acre.

Henry S. Bush considered the land taken worth L2OO an acre. The railway would cause a reduction m the value of the land of one-third. Adams, he thought, was entitled to L'23o for the injury to his house, which would have to be removed. This concluded the case for the claimant. Alfred Djbson deposed : I value Mr Adams' land taken for the railway at L 257, and the injury by severance Ll2O. The land was severed almost to the same extent, previously to the construction of the railway, by the Manse creek and a pig proof fence. I allow LSO for loss of high land, L 25 for injury to orchard arid' garden, and L 8 for the sheep yards. My total valuation is L 470. This was the only witness culled for the Crown. The assessors then withdrew to consider their award, and on resuming, His Honor stated that the Court" awarded the claimant LBOO, and directed each party to pay pay their own costs, together with their respective assessor's fee, which he put at L 5 ss.