THE MINISTER AND THE WELLINGTON LAND BOARD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9118, 18 May 1891, Page 6

THE MINISTER AND THE WELLINGTON LAND BOARD.

\ . WELLINGTON, May 14. c At the Land Board tMa afternoon a discussion t took place relative to letters received by the c board from the Minister for Lands regarding a the recent dummyism cases, in which he referred c to the "new-born zeal" of the board. The i_ following resolution, moved by Mr D. H. d M'Arthur, M.H.8., was carried : —" That this j. board receives with regret the letter of the c Minister of Lands, in which the Wellington £ Land Board is charged with neglect of its duty 0 in detecting evasions of the Land Act, and its ie action in asking for more rangers is termed • s 'new-born zeal.' The board resolves that the ,} commissioner be requested to. draw up and f or!e ward to the Minister for Lands, and also to the it press, a precis of the action taken by the board ■ 8 in the matter of detecting and punishing [. evasions of the Land Act." The members of y the board are confident that the record of their , 6 proceedings, commencing in 1889, will show that j the Minister's strictures are not borne out by !( J the facts of the c&se, and that so far from the ff board's zeal being new-born it has been foremost • 6 among the Land Boards of the colony in striving iQ to prevent and detect breaches of the Land Act. and ha 3 only been prevented from carrying out s its wishes to their fullest extent by the iusuffiit cient staff of surveyors and limited powers le given to the board by the present Land Act. 3. A further letter was read from the Minister, , n in which he said there evidently had been gteat )e negligence or indifference on the part of the board as to the manner in which the settlement conditions had been carried out. The board considers that Mr M'Arthur's resolution suffifi ciently answered both letters. '' Before separating tha members of the board expressed regret that the commissioner (Mr J. Marchant) had been transferred to the Canter-