THE LANGDALE ESTATE

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1510, 7 February 1901, Page 50

THE LANGDALE ESTATE

A SATISFACTORY SETTLEMENT.

The Langdale estate, in the Castlepoint district, the property of Messrs Elder Bros., over which there has been a good deal of discussion on the Land Board, was again reviewed by the Board” on the 31st. The estate was purchased some time ago under the provisions of the Land for Settlement Act. Subsequently it was visited and inspected by the Minister and Under-Secretary for Lands, and also by the Commissioner and members of the Land Board. At the last meeting of the Board it w r as decided by the casting vote of the Commissioner that certain sections should be allotted without competition to .some of the station hands, on the ground that as they occupied residences on the estate they were tenants, and came within the provisions of the Act,

Against these resolutions Messrs Hogg and Reese voted, the former protesting that the procedure was illegal, the parties not being tenants. Objection was also raised to the application of a former lessee named Taplin, on the ground that he had not applied in writing as required by the Act, and he was already the owner of plenty of property.

The resolutions were arrived at in accordance with the wishes of the Milliter of Lands. The Under-Secretary now wrote stating that the Minister had carefully considered the question, and having obtained legal advice, he thought the Board should reconsider the resolutions. The Crown Solicitor was of opinion that the parties who were employed on the estate could not he considered tenants, and it was very doubtful whether Mr Taplin could be considered a tenant and entitled to the benefit of the Act under clause 57. The Board resolved to accept the ruling of the Crown Solicitor, and to advise Messrs Street and White accordingly ;* also to obtain the opinion of the Crown Solicitor as to whether Mr Taplin is a tenant, and if it is found he

is not eligible or declines to take up a lease, then the two sections, 1 and la, should be grouped into one lot, as suggested by the Surveyor-General. A plan of the settlement was submitted and adopted. The prices cf the various sections were arranged, varying from 2s 2d to 6s 3d per acre. The largest division, comprising 1030 acres, will be leased as a small grazing run for twenty-one years, \vith right of renewal for a further term at 3s 4d per acre.

The section containing the mansion and woolshed, 1000 acres, carries a rental of £256 per year for twenty-one years, after which tlic buildings become the property of the lessee, and the fixed rent will be os 7d per acre. Most of the other sections,, vary from 3s to 5s per acre.