RIVER BOARD'S NEW CLASSIFICATION.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLII, Issue 10108, 16 October 1917, Page 6

RIVER BOARD'S NEW CLASSIFICATION.

I THROWN OUT BT THE COCRT: / BOROUGH' SCORES 'A WIN. At the Magistrnte-’s,Court yesterday aflovnoon,; Mr W. G. 7 K. .HCeiiriek, SiM., gayo judgment in, the ease,of which the Borough Council and .several .ratepayers:.appealed i)<?ain£b tlie proposed nc>V , classification of the I’aliiunisioiuKalrilngiv Ulvor, .Board. Tile full judgment is- aft;,'follows . “At-the .opening,.of thtu])r,dcertimg ; s, Mr Cooper contended the Borough Council was not actually a; ratepayer, and could not appeal on behalf of otlun-. people-’s ' laud. Secondly, that the Act/providcd 'that, notice of the appeals should ha-yi; been given .to •the 'Board’.as well >S: ; at ilto MagiHtVg!;ii,k oflice, that 'certain 61)j(irtors,.',ha-v:iiig Tailed to do this, Could not now lie heard. . ■■■

:■ “Mr Cooke, in reply to these objections, contends the. Council of land in Church street; ..secondly,_ that the lands arc not fairly classified; thirdly, that im election oUanew;Board' would takcyplaco in December- nexto and that it would bo right and proper 10. leave the neh clafeillcat ion to the present- Board’s successors 1 fourthly, that the (‘fleet of the proposed new dassillea-lioii would bo- to make practically a uniform rate,' which is contrary to the Act, . . . “Dealing' with Mr Coppers first objrc-. 'lion to the. Borough Council's right to appeal, i am of opinion the Borough have the riglit. firstly. they object as. owners of seclion .255 in/the Borough, secondly they object noon the ground.of certain., lands not being ‘fairk'classified. 'The' first proviso to M'eiion 9 of the River .Boards Amendment Net, 1915. provides that, the Board shall consider Hill objections* in hvi;itiug"‘ rccei\ o-d !,y the Board. The Bprough' is therelore within their rights to appeal. , “in'regard to the .second objection raised bv Mr Ccdper,' that the; oj.ijet;tor.s have failed to' give notice'(if appeal to the Bofivd as we!; ad t«j*tho"Court as provided; by thp Act. 'i'hd objectovs havei given Hot ice by Section 97 oi the . 1903 Act to tho tv of the. nearest ilagirirate’s Court within tlio time specified (7 days, but they have r.uf given notice, or rather some of them liave.iKit).. to ..the. Boardmot less than seven davs Before-'the time-Fixed for hearing the aupeals. Section 93 provides iliat ,within ihreo days after the expiration of the .seven days’. notice 10 ,tlie-Board the Magistrate shill give' public notice of-a day lor'hearing. 'Rending these sections strictly the . Magistrate should, riot fix a day for hearing until a char .seven days notice hair been given to the 'Board' bv, the objectors. '1 he time allowed The .-obHetbrn 'tW.hivd notice, to th A Board is an iiiikiiown lime, tor tho /[agisirate must ’ not. fix' a" ’ tihui Until the objLriorb have given seven days'''notme; Hu* omission to give ibis notice to the. Board in lice wav prejudices dial..‘body, and it itdid they would'have been "entitled to an adjournment; " The above-' sections jreqmrp t-o be amended, fixing- a given known tune withiii which t-Ke ffoard shall have ,notice. 1 must hold as'' the k-ctioria are. aU present worded the’ objectors cannot be called -to. iic more, than .'they' Live dune ; it thev can, thin if hearing must not bo iixccl till they have don'C it. . “Mr Mellsop. a member of the pre'. Nt River Roiirfl, snys in his ovicic’ncc that tfe Board stood op. the ticket to do no woiK owing to' 'tlur ’decision pf the Royal Com-, mission m Noveniher, 1914, recommenditig . (1) That tho said Board'should be abolished.; (2) that tlic Ifercugl, .Counci] should have power to - protect' t!ie; biuiks ol tnu„ river: (3) that the River Board is not necessary for the purposes ol protecting iv, cr banks oulv. ■; , . ■ “No work has been done at all by mo mesc-nt Board during this present tonn ol cltjeo,'' wliicli expires about the end ol fbis veari llecehtly strong- representations have bec.'i made to them" in regard to erosion. ot i-’if/.TOv bend, upon which thc 'luoaid;-dead-, cd to do sonic work there. / Thu,extent oi the work "proposed to be done, 'there is a few alia ins in length a.t ,th*.- cost, of abe.it £IOOO. ' lustcad' of using the; existing ehisMticfliion,-’ the' Board lias'decided toyhaviy a new' one made foi' the pilTjosc, p{. st-nkmg a rate for consiruotiug this pttrlicuhir work;. The. evidence indicates that- - the. L-;ai d, it thev (lo am- work, ’-wiU-;do-. ; -'Ug ; m.' paiches hj, h- and there where they think it most. rV-quiicclHiud that' they think tlic"worlc will, be in tin- nature of pT.otceung the nver hank. There, is no genera! scheme lor pro-t,-cling the bans and generally duvet-mg the course- of the river, for which a. River Board is generally formed. The evidence proves any general scheme ii hud down could not be carried out. -as the present Board is constituted." two’ things being absolutely necessary for this pVirposc, name Iv, a largely oxtenclccl area, to oe brought wiuiin the Board’s jurisdiction: secondly, provision would be necessary to provide the veij large 1 sunt of nioncv ihal would be _ necessary. 1 think it- would have been wiser lor tho Board, in view 01. their having done no work during their term of office, winch expires shortly, to have left .it to .their .‘.ucces-. sors to consider-the. question of a..new efa-ssi-jic.-ition." I do'not; think a River Board iv.is intended for the purpose of doing 'patch work on river bunks hero, and-there without any general scheme,-’ and; to have- a; new classification* for ‘ ortch lit ilo work clone.There sliould be so'ine modified• scJiemo. within ; the Board’s "financial pqwers. , I came .to the conclusion' on the evidence belcre iim that the land in the new classification clashed -A ’ end B is altogether- too limited; s.uih-rie.m cnnsidenUion has. not - been given to .'the •."flooding hi" ij. lurger area, iliari A and B as now imirln.’d on the plan,' the question ot i-iairiou onlv appi'insdo have been considered, the evidence Mitisli.-s me, tliat "Ure. previous classification, known as t.Aults: classification, irttli,. proper one to be adopted in respect to A B C and I); and-1 direct, that, cla.s-n ficatioiv l:m rtUopleit n.s a whole’ in lieu of the new one. now- objected to. When seen this ’ morning, flu; Mayor ;-:tat , .*d that the. judgment.' from the Borough l.'ounoil’s poiiit oi viou';'' that of the, ratepayers, must bo .considered very satisfactory.- find endorses - the opinion tliat the former’ olassaficafioh•' wfis/. one which .was quite-■.■impartial■ to the people■ n.s a, whole. It. was as -a result, of its .many. applications received from -'ratepayers that the. . Council felt, itself duty,bound to take Uih.inalt'or.np ami oppose the suggested hew classification, villi the. satisfactory rCMill now achieved. Contis’ classification, referred to by • rim Magistrate, is’ the' one in force now. Mi- ‘IV Clocke. appeared for the*. Borough Council/Ali- tough mi hj and Mr Griy- formi number of objectors, unci /If H. H. Cooper for the River Board.