POLITICAL NEWS AND NOTES

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 15110, 28 September 1912, Page 8

POLITICAL NEWS AND NOTES

THE GOVERNMENT'S : LANS'

BILL.

ADDITIONAL CLAUSES. -

[BY TELEGRAPH. —PRESS ASSOCIATION.

. Wellington*, I'riday. The Prime Minister to-day gave notice that when the Laud Bill is in committee he will move certain amendments. It ia understood in the lobbies that the amendments' referred to will be in the nature of some very important new clauses. It was not intended to bring these down ' till nest session., but members of the Reform party .have indicated that they will '' be quite willing to have the session prolonged for a few days if necessary in order that the new clauses may be placed' upon the Statue Book this session. . WATER -POLLUTION BILL. The Water Pollution Bill, which the Government intends to put through ail its stages this session, is intended to meet ' a difficulty that has arisen in connection with a recent case at Palnierston North, in which •an injunction was obtained preventing flsixmilters from using streams in connection with the dressing of fibre. The Bill is designed to give adequate' protec- • tion to such industries as dairying, flaxj milling, sawmilling, etc. It is not, how- [ ever, intended to allow sawdust to be discharged into trout streams. DIVORCE FROM A LUNATIC. ; The present Jaw makes it a ground , for divorce where the respondent- to "a suit ' " is a lunatic or person of unsound miner, ' and has been confined as such in an asylum for periods of not less in the aggregate than 10 years within 12 years immediately preceding the. filing of the petition;" and where " the respondent is' un- [ likely to recover from such unsoundness ' of mind." The amending Bill introduced by the Minister for Internal Affairs in the Legislative' Council yesterday will reduce, the period under this section to r seven., years- . .. PRIVATE . BURIAL GROUNDS The Cemeteries Bill introduced bv the Minister for Internal Affairs in the- Legislative Council makes provision for the setting aside as private burial grounds ,-any land in fee simple where bodies of deceased persons have been buried 'prior. l<j the passing of the Bill. Such ' privateV- ir : burial grounds are to be managed by trustees, whoso appointment is to be notified in the Gazette THE MORA CASE.^ The committee appointed by the/House of Representatives to inquire into ,the petition presented by Mr. Joshua Jones iii reference -to his claims respecting - the s Mokaii lands met for the first tim?;-.to-. cay. Only preliminary business-; was i transacted. * Mr. Manner was appointed chairman of the committee, and - was : instructed to confer with the committee to ■-* be appointed by the Legislative .Council. 1 No date was fixed for. the taking : of- evidence. n m- a - ; -,i.. •• ■ V THE MEIKLE CASE.'^ V* - - The claim npen the State by''j John James "Mciiclo. for compensation lor : wrongful imprisonment has been renewed' -by ja-.V'-petition presented to the House of Repre- .- sentatives this afternoon, by Mr. 'Dickson : (Darnell). The concluding " paragraph "of the petition states that the petitioner hay- ; ing lost all that he possessed through his wrongful conviction and t; the weary 25 . years' misery your petitioner has had to.' endure" prays _ that compensation b<> granted, to him. , tin s ' . ' — . r; <- A SETTLER'S GRIEVANCE. . Serious allegations are made by-: John Maher, police constable of. Taumarunui, in 'a. petition for an inquiry which ' was presented to the House of Representatives * " this afternoon. He states that - sApril 16 lie selected section' 5, Block XV. Ohpra Survey District, and has found that * the particulars v regarding -the improvements: as set forth on a plan issued by the. Ta.Tanaki Land Office are ■'.wrongly'described '■>, and v grossly -misleading." The following "\ A statements arc made in the p^Htidn^-'■ '"(a) The 105 acres stated io be felled and grassed does not, exist, but-i hero vis an area possibly not. exceeding r 40 acres felled and grassed ; (b},the 55 acres felled onlv i:> also purely mythical; (c) the 40 / chains fencing is really represented by ! 30 chains only, and some of t he-,smaller §pp| items are alsoincc-rrectly described; (d) . the two mortgages; referred to are not- represented! by any tangible security other than that- set forth, amounting t0:.£320 lis Cd, which sum your petitioner says .is in excess of the. actual value. The weighting of £690 10s is, therefore, out- of allV proportion to the improvements- said to * - be effected." The petitioner declares that7;>| he was induced by the wrongful descrip-' ; tion of the property to purchase it, and has suffered and is x still suffering loss;and claims the relief of an inquiry. - - :; , .