CROMWELL ENDOWMENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22257, 9 May 1934, Page 8

CROMWELL ENDOWMENT

DEVELOPMENT COMPANY'S LEASE VALIDATION NOT SOUGHT NEW TERMS TO BE DRAWN (From Oue Own Correspondent.) CROMWELL, May 8. The lease of the Cromwell Borough endowment to the Cromwell Development Company has called for a good deal of discussion of late. The lease has been in existence for just on 21 years, and a renewal or otherwise is now due. Within the last 12 months it transpired that the lease, in so far as renewal waß concerned, was not in order, in that it had not been consented to by the Governor-General. Following representations to Government departments it Was explained that complete validation could only be obtained by an Act of Parliament, and last October the Minister of Mines wrote to the Cromwell Borough Council offering to. enact the necessary legislation should representation in that direction come from the council; as that body alone could make the request. At the same time or a little earlier the council had intimated to the lessee that so far as it was concerned it considered the lease valid. The council was out of operation for some four months through its ranks being depleted below a quorum, and the letter from the Minister of Mines was not dealt with. When a full council assembled again last month the Mayor reported on a conversation he had had with a representative, of the company, and from this the council assumed that it was too late to do anything in the way of validation. A motion informing the Minister that the council did not now require validating legislation was therefore carried by a large majority. Subsequently Mr Sargood, of the Cromwell Development Company, wrote pointing out that ,what he intended to convey to the Mayor was that it was too late to do anything in respect to validation, insofar as it affected the clause whereby -the company was re quired, by February 28, to take advantage of its rights under the lease and accept a renewal. He pointed out that validation of the lease beyond that clause would prevent the possibility of extensive litigation in regard to the question of valuation for improvements. At the' last ordinary meeting of the council Cr Yeoman gave notice of motion, to be brought before a special meeting last night, to rescind the resold tion in which it was decided to inform the Minister that validating legislation was not required. There was a full council, and the borough, solicitor was present to advise the council on the whole position. Summarised, this was that the company had not acted under the clause which gave it power to seek a renewal on the original lease, and the council could now act under the clause which gave it power to draw up and offer a new lease after having this agreed to by the Governor-General.

The; motion before the council was freely discflssed, the members who were in favour of it relying on the fact that the council had always regarded the lease as valid. The others contended that many new features had arisen, and in view of this and the solicitor's opinion the motion before the meeting was defeated by six votes to three.

The solicitor was then authorised to proceed with the preparation of a new lease, i In regard to mining, it was left for the mining interests to make their own representations through the proper channel. There Sow seems to be no possibility of a new lease on the original terms.