TRAFFICKING IN LAND.

Northern Advocate, 8 December 1910, Page 5

TRAFFICKING IN LAND.

STATE OFFICER INVOLVED. THE COHUNA INQUIRY. (Received.Dec. 8, 11.21 a.m.) MELBOURNE, Dec. S. The Commission appointed to inquire into the circumstances surrounding the purchase of land in the Cohuna district by the Closer Settlement Board, examined Mr Ellwood Mead, chairman of the "Water Supply Commision.

Mr Mead said that he recommended Government to purchase the land at Cohuna. Prior to this, and before anything was done by« Government towards securing the land, he consulted with Mr Anderson, an engineer in the employ of the Water Commission, and a farmer named Kemp. He suggested that they should buy the block. Then he left on a trip to Europe, telling the others that if they did buy the block he would like a farm out of it. „ He made no secret of the matter He wanted part of the land for two friends in America and the rest for himself, in order to demonstrate the value of irrigation. He admitted that it was not desirable that an officer of the State should traffic in land.. t He advised Anderson to purchase the land, because he wished to get the farmers antagonistic to irrigation out of the district. He was unaware then that Anderson was connected with the sale of the land to Government.

Mr Brown, Attorney-General, examined, stated that as the result of inquiries he found that Anderson had bought the land as an investment, but that it was not proposed to extend irrigation to the district. He did not know that Mead was interested in the land.

A letter from Mead to Anderson, dated March last, was read, informing Anderson that the Settlement Board had decided to make a call for the lands at Cohuna (which the Board previously declined), and advising Anderson to offer his land to the Board.