THE POWERS OF LAND BOARD.

Otago Witness, Issue 1947, 18 June 1891, Page 19

THE POWERS OF LAND BOARD.

The following opinion from the Orown Solicitor was read at the meeting of the Land Board yesterday with regard to ad alleged evasion of the aot whioh was brought; under the, notice of the board by the department :—

.. . * OPINION. „ ;. , . I I do not know why it was so-.provided, but "The .Land Aot 1885 " has expressly limited land board lnqulries.under the-7Ut section to the oases of leases and licenses granted " subsequent to the last day of ,the month of June 1883." As " The Land Board'si Inquiry Act 1883" was repealed by " The -Land Act 1885 , there Is no provision under whioh the board can bold an inquiry with respect to a license granted in September 1880. , Bvenifsuoh an Inquiry, ibould be held, and it appeared on such Inquiry that the original licensee had so acted as to bring himself within the terms of sub-, section 2 or 3 of section 71 of " The Land Act 1885," I am of opinion that '-the board oould nob forfeit a small grazing run lease granted under seotion 24 of " The Land Aot Amendment Aot 1887 " in lieu of a surrendered pastoral deferred payment license after such lease had been transferred to & bona fide purchaser without notice of the fraud perpetrated by the original licensee under the deferred payment license. I donbb whether the board oould forfeit, even if the lease bad not been transferred ; but as tbat question does notarise in the present case it ia unneoei f ary to oonslder it.

Section 29 of ".The Land Act 1885" has no application to the oase of a pastoral deferred payment licensee under " The Land Aot 1877." The section it not retrospective. It provides a punishment for persons making' false declarations under that aot, or any subsequent aot, but nob for pre-. vious acts or . repealed acts. The penalty for making a false ■ declaration in order to obtain land on pastoral deferred payments under " The Land Act 1877 " will be found at the end of section 83 of that act, and no doubt; a person making a false declaration under section 83 might be prosecuted for a misdemeanour under section 111 of " The Justice! of the Peace Aot 1866." B. O. Haggitt, O. S. 12th June 1891.