GROWN LANDS BOARD.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XX, Issue 6750, 6 July 1883, Page 3

GROWN LANDS BOARD.

The fortnightly meeting of the Crown Lands

Board waa held yesterday afternoon. Present :—Mr. l>. A, Tole, Chief Commissioner and Chairman, Messrs. Joseph May, B. Tonks, aud Dr. Campbell. The minutes of last meeting were read and confirmed. Reserve.—The Under-Secretary for Land 3 directed the Boird's attention to Gazette notification reserving land at Mount Eden. This reserve ha 1 beea made at the reqne3t of the Board, and a man named Ash, at present in ocoupation of a portion of it, had received notice to quit. Tβ Pn.vA.— The Chairman reminded the Board that an application had been received to have a section of 50 acres at Te Pana offered for sale, and it had been referred to the Government. A reply was now received that Government did not, and it was agreed to offer the land for sale.

Recest Additions to the Public Estate. —The Chief Surveyor reported on certain blocks which had recently come under the control of the Board. Te Waiko, S4B, a forest and broken land, but wonld come' ia for settlement when adjoining lauds are taken up. Maropare, 241 a., land of good quality, suitable for settlement; will bs nseful when t . adjacent lands subdivided. Tikinui, 10,702 a., *, "Wairoa North. This he recommended should be leased for gnm-fields. Aorangiwai, 6792 a., excellent soil, but much broken. Waikohu Matawai, 1362 a. 2 roods; good land, but broken; situated at the edge of a forest on the Gisborne-Opotiki-road.—lt was agreed that no action ahould bs taken as to these lands at present. ' WiiPA.—The Chairman of the Waipa County Council applied for s. small piece of land to improve the roadway at Te Awamutu.—The Chief Surveyor, to whom the application was referred, recommended it, and it was granted. Katikati.—At the last meeting an application had been received from Mr. Harley to lease 200 acres of land at the North Head. Mr. Harley explained that his object was to preserve the pohutukawa and other trees from destruction. The Chief Surveyor recommended that the land should be leased, but the difficulty arose that, if leased at all, it must be leased by public competition, so it was agreed to give the applicant temporary occupation.

Te FrjKß.—Mr. McNaughton asked that a road might be laid off to his farm.—The Chief Surveyor reported that a portion of the road would go through land over which the Board had no control; but if the applicant got a short right of way through Mr. G. V. Stewart's land, he could have the ieat through Crown lands.—TheChairman pointed out that the Beard had the right to tako a road through either of the lands referred to ; and it was agreed to instruct the Chief Surveyor to have the road laid out.

Pafakoa.—This was an application for monetary assistance to make a road, and the Chief Surveyor reported that it deserved consideration, as the road would not only be available for deferred payment laais, but would open up Crown lands. He thought £200 might fairly be asked for this purpose. —It was agreed to forward the application to the Minister of Lands with a recommendation that it be granted. A similar application from James Hemphill, of Waihau, was also forwarded to the Minister of Lands, and recommended to be granted.

Tatxhri.—The Chairman of the Taupiri and Kerikeri Koad Boards asked to have a line of road through Crown lands.—lt was recommended by the Chief Surveyor, and granted.

Tikinui B.OCK.—At the last meeting of the Board Mr. Walker had applied for a depasturing lease of this block.—The Chief Surveyor lecommended that it would let better for gum-digging purposes, aud it was agreed to offer the land for lease for gumdigging for a term of two years. Piiospectisg Licenses.—The Chairman, said he had been requested by the Board to correspond with the GoldfiejuV Warden as to tbe conditions on which licenses to prospect for minerals, other than gold, should be granted.—Mr. Kenrick, the Warden, replied that a fair condition would be that a fair number of men should be employed daring the first six montha of the license ; and, as no prospecting, in the true sense of- the word, could be done by less than two men, he suggested that should, be the minimum. He recommended the conditions in force in Nelson.—lt was agreed to write to the Nelson Board, asking for a copy of the conditions in force there.

Mineral Leases.—The Warden's report on Mr. Walker's application for a license to prospect for minerals other than gold at Coromandel, was received.—The Chairman explained that prior to Mr. Walker's application a license had been granted to Messrs. Sneli and McLeod, and their license had been renewed. Mr. Walker appeared to have bought McLeod's interefit. Both applications were forwarded to the Warden, who now recommended that a joint license should be granted to Messrs. Walker and Snell.— It was agreed to ask the applicants ii they wished the license to issue in their joint names.

Another Application.—The Warden reported on a similar application from Mr. Livingston to prospect for minerals other than gold at the Tokatea. The Jaod was held for gold mining purposes, and he con Id not recommend that the application be granted. —The application was refused. Opuawhanca.—Therequestof Mr. Morton to have a road to his selection surveyed was agreed to. Relief.—Messrs. Fergie, Geraglity, and Sefty, settlers in Tuakau, asked tor certain specific relief under the provisions of section, 60 of the Lands Act, 1882. — Requests grauted.

Lsave of Absence. — Leave of absence from personal occupation was granted to W. A. Gardner, of Mangonui, for six months, and to anotha: settler for six weeks, that being the term applied for. Te Akoha.—Henry Baker's application for a Crown grant for his selection at Te Aroha was deferred for the Ranger's report. Improvements.—Mr. Lawlor, of Kaitaia, had asked that laud in his occupation should be offered for sale subject to his improvements.—The Chairman of the District Board had been asked to value the improvements. Hie valuation was -fMQ2, and it was agreed to offer the land for sale subject to this. Homestead Lands.—Four applications for homesteads of fifty acres eich were approved.

Miscellaneous. — Applications to have lands in various districts offered for sale were received and dealt with. Mosectm Endowments.—The Chairman brought under the notice of the Board the question of the Musaum endowments. Some of these would shortly be available for sale, and as several inquiries bad been made regarding them, it might be desirable to bring them into the market. It might, however, be courteous to ask the managing body of the Museum whether they deemed it desirable that these lands should be sold now.—ln reply to Mr. May, the Chairman said the power to sell the Unds rested with the Board, and there had been frequent applications for them.—lt was agreed that the Chairman should consult the President and Council of the Auckland Institute as to what steps should be taken. This concluded the business.