SOME PLAIN TALKING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1191, 28 December 1894, Page 6

SOME PLAIN TALKING.

At the Land Board meeting yesterday "" (Dec. 20) the Commissioner (Mr J.: H. Baker) said he wished to say a few words about the farm homestead settlements, as the action of the department had . been totally misrepresented and its officer'unfairly aspersed at a public meeting lately held • in connection with the Master ton Reform Association. He considered the more honourable course for a member of the Board to have taken, if the members of that farm homestead association" had any grievances, would have been, to have first represented them to the Board before taking a leading "part at that meeting, and allowing the officer of the department to be abused for requiring the members of the association to fulfil their obligations to the Crown. He doomed it the more unseemly—and he used • the word advisedly—of the member of the Board to have so acted, seeing he was personally interested as one of the members of that Association in trying to avoid making the first payments now due to the Crown. The first cause of complaint was the demand for the present year's rant, "a? it is stated it was explicitly underst66d" no demand for rent would be made for two years after the completion of the survey.' Ho could only say that he sent a circular to the secretary of the Association on the 18th March, 1893, before .the ballot was held, fully explaining that if the members of the Association came under the Land Act of 1892 so as to get their rent reduced from 5 per cent, to 4 per cent. y on the capital value the rental would, jsf provided by the Land Act, have to mence en the Ist January or July-follow-ing 30 days' notice of the completion of the survey. He moreover fully £3Lplained~this to tho members present. when the ballot was held, and he had no hesitation in saying that they all fully understood it was to be so before they signed their applications to have their holdings brought under the present Land Act. Notice was sent to every member on the 28th November, 1893, that the rent would commence on the Ist January, 1894, and was payable in advance. Por various reasons the actual demand for the rent was not made till last month, when, of course, two instalments were due, thus the department did not claim till November what they could have claihied as payable on the Ist of January and July last. As to the next complaint, that the Land Department'demanded interest for loan raised on the block before the roads were all made, the facts were that the department had already spent .£l9Ol in making a horse road from Makuri to get to the Masterton Reform Block, and a further sum of .£1541 in opening the roads bounding the block, and on which some of the sections fronted, one - half of which sum was strictly chargeable to this Association. At Mr Hogg's special request the whole of the engineering surveys in this block were completed at a cost of .£248. Thus up to date over .£IOOO had

been spent on the roads in connection with the Masterton Reform Association Block. The interest charged to the whole of the settlers in this block for ihe year was £\H 13s "Sd, and it. will take six years' interest to refund what has already been spent. The cost of the survey of the block came to .£877, not one penny of whioh had teen charged to the settlers. . A .further complaint was the non-issue of the leases. The Land Act required a deposit of 21s for the lease and registration, thereof, and as only a deposit of 10s each had yet been received from the members-of the Association, the Commissioner was precluded from issuing the leases. > The Cro Am had spent close on JB2QOO in connection with the Masterton Refofcm Block, and only .£25 had been received from the settlers. He was prepared to prove the alleged grievances were imaginary, or trumped up to evade the paymehtfof. rent and put oft the making: of the improvements required by. the Land Act. "-, '"' ' : Mr Hogg said that before he would tolerate ,such aspersions on his character as a" public man in the shape of a carefully prepared.written address, he would be prepared: his position on the Land Bd&rdy and*'"'as * a member of the House. - Prior to the- meeting alluded to he had been waited on by a number, of settlers of the Bush, who showed him a number of documents they had received fronv the Land' Office, stating unless they were prepared to pay their rents, Jjheir leases would be liable to be forfeited. These letters -were enough to dishearten any of them, especially as they were called upon 'to" pay *£lo or £l s within 21 days. The statement made that, he had frequently aspersed the character of the officers of the jjahd .Department was not tvxie, as he had frequently .defended them against attacks from "other persons. The Commissioner hirnself spoke to. officers of the department before the Board in a way that made his blood boil. When the Commissioner said he went to Masterton in connection with the Reform Association's ballot and informed the settlers that they Would, under the new Act, ha vsso, pay the rent from date of ballot, he said what was incorrect. He (Mr Hogg) did not believe this, and in proof of this Messrs Price (Masterton), and Nordell (Eketahuna) and himself waited on the. Minister of Lands > and asked that the "arrangement- made at the time of ballot should be The Minisfcer replied, that he was.no| sure whether it could be done -under thq /new~AcV~~The/ Commissioner statement m£de at the meelting.. was ..'there he thought his conduct 'fiqt. presiding at such meeting have been called in question. *He had recently been in com- . munication with the road surveyor, who, informed ,hini : that only a Jew miles of horse ; track* outside the block, had been made.' With respect to the that i6IOOO had been spent in "connection with the block, he denied that was/ correct, as the MakurirAohangi road did not lead to the sections at all. • The Commissioner said he had the facts front Eeaney 1 , and they were perfectly ' ;/corr!&ot<c;''.;"•■; ".;'•'■ ;v ,''"':' i . . Mr Hogg, continuing, said Comextort moneyfront t the who could not" afford; to; the general opinion through the Forty* Mile 4 Bnsh that ; the Commissioner friend : ; of the big" manj -iahd "not; settler. A greattake -was/ made when -Mr Marchaitt~was - Baker was brought to take up his place. ofeatjdis T .■'c&olti. h(a4bse£lbrbught on the Land Board issue of .those threatening 'letters, as many/of ; thesettlers were forc^Tinto - money to meet the deanand?i He had taken vjup/ a, : sectionofc m this Association, and he intended to challenge the demands ©| a ' Judge Coiirtr - r ■ T * ../•'•-The/' said that settlers^ •>ai#ayA the greatest consideration, and-^wiape^not"< pushed. He had always w tried to prevent -persons in'-the district * from.evading: the Band Act. He. did \iiot •think Mr Hogg could bring forward any evidence pf his statements. "///' Mr/Hogg/replied 'that if the /Comrttis- . required evidence, he could get it if ' *he*went with him to the district referjred 'to. - :^^ ■'',.' ■ - ,'" ; '' ; v - ; //;/ .':•'-' The[Commissioner said that there: were many such>associatioiis on the West Coast /of. the North: Island, but there were no complaints, a fact which was due to the absehce : of political agitators there. The Commissioner expressed the hope that if "he'rehaained at the head of the Board Mr Hogg would not be'a member. ' '■'/ replied that it would not be .to ; /fc|ie/interest of the settlers Mr Baker should remain as Commissioner. The subject then dropped.