WASTE LANDS BOARD

Southland Times, Issue 3324, 14 February 1879, Page 2

WASTE LANDS BOARD

The ordinary meeting of the Waste Lands Board was held yesterday. Present —Mr Pearson, -Chief Commissioner, and * Messrs - ; DennistOhf /.Pratt, ;Kinrpss,i, and Toshach. T y The minutes ; ■of - tlie ■previous'oneeting ■ were read and First on tlie lis!; of '-applications was one '.from "Wm. Ha11, f0r, ,8,0, acres of land in the (Mabel district. The 'appUcation was .. With reference to Mr GiUies' application for a portion ?6f the Seaward 'Jßush,* for eaw;mill purposes, Mr George Perry, on behaff bf 'Guthrie and Lam apfuicationT'bn the gr bund ; that, ; if- : granted, it wpuldTcbhfine;' 'their ;'area,! : and "prevent the'ni''fe*bm .jextphding operations.'. T ' "■''■'■'■ ■ iMr ftattSaid t"^^ been abandoned, and there was np, reason why the : applicationshpuld not; .bej^anted, -■ Mr.iEerryHsaidlthecJand.ab^ Guthrie land Larnacn. was; in a; differ eri direction ; a mistake, he contended, 1 ; -had - been made in the Land: Office j ; of drawing a line north and south instead _of east and west. /- '*'" '"- ■ "' '"' , : : A: A. {. -f The Ranger; said it was just within the bounds of possibUity that he had made a mistake,' but- he had been three times over Jie ground beforevhe sentih his report. Mr Denniston said there had evidently been some mistake in the survey, representing virgin bush as land that' had r beeri Cut out, and* that circumstance -should -be taken into . consideration in deaUng with the application. Mr Finn appeared in suppprt of Mr Gillies,' and Submitted 'that' Guthrie and Larnach had abandoned the ground, and obtained consideration for it elsewhere ; and, 'if they to take advantage of a mistake made in the Land • Office, they ' sliould ' haye 5 dohe'so'-befbfe innocent persons came in to apply. i?>. Mr Denniston thought' the 'fair course to pursue would be to allow Guthrie and Larnach'to rectify their' boundary, inasmuch ds the Ranger ,had evidently made, a mistake. Mr Pratt could not; see that there had been any mistake, that it was just as' Mr Mussen had reported, ani he was therefore favprable to the application of Mr Gillies. $ * > After some further discussion, Mr Pratt moved,~and Mr Kinross seconded, that the appUcation be granted. ' _ ! Mr Toshach thpught the j Ranger should inspect the land again. F Mr Denniston *_aid it was quite competent for the Board *tp grarft tlie land or not, and, '.Seeing that the-.opening of the land for application was based upon a mistake qn the part^of the Ranger, he should vote for the refusal' of the application,>-|d-though he was exceedin gly sorry to do" so, as he sympathised witlj Mr Gillies, But it was purely a matter of principle.'' * Mr Finn ' said if the Board • did not grant the land, his ; client would take possession of it on hisfowii responsibility, and fight it 'out wito, Messrs Guthrie' .and Larnach. 7 , , * „ ' Mr Denniston moved as an" amendment " That seeing there is some difference of ' opinion , between the, , Inspector of Forests and the Ranger, as to the state of the Bush marked on the map Sas abandoned, the Board determines to'waitr'for a fresh report from their officers, and postponesthe consideration of the question|till next meeting." "*" $ The amendment was* seconded by Mr Toshach. On the question being put the Original motion was carried by the 'vote of the chairman. ' • ' • Applications 'from Daniel Craig-'and A. Macdonald were referred* 'to the Ranger 'to report upon. 7r. > ' ", An application fron*. Thqma^Tait, New River Hundred, was similarly" dealt with, The AP-rima Road Bqard.made apphcation for part of the money voted on account pf , deferred payment blocks, to_ bo spent on certain roads within the'^cmfliland and Wallace Counties, , , T * , ' Messrs Macdonald and' Russell, solicitors, on behalf of Mr McPherson,- applied to the Board to exchange section 4, block 5, district, for an equal area.else■wliere. ' ' The application being favorably reported on by the CMef Surveyor-, it was granted. • , A.' > With reference to an , application for land in the New River Hundred, under tho Forest Trees Planting Act, the fJJapger was instructed to visit the locaUty anS' report, ' <r, , An applicatiqn was received froin Mr Porteous for a portion of block l's, Wmtoo-, district. - - -i .

It was agreed"? "6h the recommendation of tlie Surveyor, to*i sell the land on the d oferred payment system. ■ An application was received to purchase sections 4 to 7, block 14, Jacob's River Hundred. *■( The Ranger reported on the leasing value of the land, in consideration of the lignite contained iv it. He stated that oneman was already. working the lignite in the locality. It faas resolvid that two of the sections' be withdrawn, and offered for sale under' clause ' 153 bf the, Land Act. ' ,;,' "*' The Ranger reported on certain "sections in JacobVßiver; Hundred, fpr quarrying purposes — 20 acres reserve he thought would be sufficient: '' ' - It .was resolved that the land be cut up into 1 20 half-acre sections, , the balance, after a reserve of 20 acres for' quarrying purposes, to< be", subdivided into five and ten-acre lots. The Chief Surveyor- sent in his report on S-jward^M^se-fwhich we-publish elsewhere). It -.was, .decided .to postpone its consideration for a week-, during which time the report and plans prepared ma}*, be inspected at the Land Office. This was all the business, and the Board ' adjourned. ■ ; v - 1 •. ■