LAND BOARD.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1095, 24 February 1893, Page 27

LAND BOARD.

DEFERRED PAYMENT THIRDS. The Land Board held a special meeting oa Weduocday to consider proposals for expendiog accrued thirds and fourths from local bodies. Present—The Commissioner (in the chair), Mosers A. W. Hogg, M.H.U., F. Pirani and W. A. Fitzherbert. The Commissioner having referred to an article which had reoently appeared in the Evening Post with reference to the delay which had takon place in handing over the money to tho Pahiatua County Council, read the following statement :—I beg to plaoe on record my most emphatic denial that the Lauds Department bad in any way delayed the payments of thirds duo to the Pahiatua County Council, or that the amonn s due have not been paid over owing to tho settler# not replying to the circular addressed to them, asking which roads their land opened up, or that ropoated promisee of payment had been made to the Pahi-tui County Council, which have not been fulfilled. The facts, as stated iu tho Evening Post of the 10th of February last, are aa follows : On the 10th of November l&Gt I forwardod oomplote schedules and plans showing the roads to the County Counoil, asking them to show the roads on which it was proposed to expend the accrued thirds payable to the local body, as provided by clause 126 of the Land Aot, 1892. On the 13th of Jauuary, no proposals having been received from the Pahiatua County Council, I again wrote and asked them, as I wanted to try to get all the payments made by the 131 of February, to send in their proposals at once. They were not reooived until the 20ch of January, and then the plans which had bean made specially to show on what roads the thirds wore to bo expended were not returned, and the proposal ooulj not be checked After agaiu telegraphing for them, they were finally received on Monday, the 6fch of February. As there were over 1009 proposals to be oheoked, the board would soe it was simply impossible to get them ready for the last meeting of tho Land Board, and I assert that it L n-ving to the delay caused by tbs Pahiatua County Council offioon In sondiog in the proposals, and not any caused by the Land Department, whioh has prevented the money due to them being paid over, Tho cheques for the amounts to eight other road boards, who had sent in their proposals as required, were all signed by me on the Bth ef this month, and forwarded ia due oourse. Clause 126 throw on tbe board the onus of seeing that the expenditure was for'tho benefit of ssleotors from whos3 land the money was derived, and clause 132 made the local body responsible that it is so spent. Under the previous Act the proposal as ssufc in by most bodies was so imperfect that is was nearly impossible to subsequently traoa oa what roads the board had sanctioned expenditure, and time after time settlers have come to this office and complained that though the expenditure of their thirds had been aanor-ionsd for opening up roads leading to their homesteads, and the money paid to. the local body, yet the roads were not made, and no money had been expeuded on them. Mr Hogg stated that for the past year th© Pahiatua County Counoil, the Ekotahuna and Mauriceville Road Boards, and other local bodies had been vainly trying to get thirds accruing. Mr Baker asserted that the delay had been caused by the dilatoriness of the local bodies in sending in their proposals. Mr Hogg did not think it was right to condemn the local bodies unheard. Mr Baker said that if the local bodies did not send in proposals as required by the Ac# the board could do nothing. He denied Mr Hogg’s statement that the fault lay in tha unsatisfactory manner in whioh the account! had been kept by the Land Office. Mr Pirani remarked that the Commis-* sioncr had taken great paius to ascertain how the thirds were spent in the Manawatn diatriot. Mr Moore, clerk to the Pahiatua County CoudoU, who was in attendance, said that theoouncil must take some responsibility Li not having the thirds ready sinoe Novembej last Mr Pirani thought that the local bodies had been to blame since November last. In tho course of further disouosiou Mr Baker admitted that the Pahiatua Council's books were properly kept. The board then considered the proposal# for expending thirds from the Msuricevilb, Taratahi ■ Carterton, Kiwitea, Mastertoa, Wirokino, and Pohangina Road Boards anrl the Pahiatua County Counoil. Tho pro. posals were agreed to, with the exception of several oases iu whioh there was a differ* enoe between the proposals of tho selector# sud tho boards.