Waste Lauds Board.

Southland Times, Issue 4622, 4 May 1883, Page 2

Waste Lauds Board.

Thursday, 3rd May. The weekly meeting of the Board was attended by the Chief Commissioner, and all the members, with the exception of Mr Hirst. Stephen and John R. Watson applied for a sawmill area of 200 acres near Paihi, Longwood district. — Ordered to stand over. The New Zealand Land Co. were granted permission to purchase 248 acres of section 68, Eyre d strict ; being a pre-emptive right. Thos. M. Carthy'a application for 7 acres of waste land, adjoining section 28, Aparima Hundred, was dealt with by resolution to put the land up at auction at an upset price ]of £2 per acre. Boyd and Edwards, sawmill ers, were granted an extension of their timber area at Spar Bush. John Murdoch, and Trew and Co. nisi applications in for sawmill areas in Longwood district near Paihi. Mr Small for the latter firm, stated that if the Board granted the application of Mr Murdoch, as sketched, his firm would not press their application, as the bush was not of sufficiently good quality to provide profitable occupation for several mills — the previous application of the Messrs Watson, being in the same locality. Ab Mr Murdoch had written explaining that he was in attendance at one of the Courts and could not wait on the Board, the whole question was deferred till next meeting — Watson's claims to be considered at the same time. John McGregor applied to purchase half of section 53, block 10, New River Hundred. The applicant gave the land a bad character, as being swampy and not cultivateable, with the exception of a small portion. — The Ranger was instructed to inspect the land before dealing with it. Mr Lumsden remarked that it was folly to keep parcels of good land lying barren and idle because they had been tacked on to impassable swamps by the simple fact of a surveyor having placed pegs years ago in certain positions. Thos. Church and Gavin Brighton, having applied for section 62, Wairaki, were invited to tender for it. The same course was adopted with reference to section 182, Wairio, for which Gavin Brighton, T. Scully, R. Barker, and A. York were applicants. T. McLean was granted section G4, Wairaki. In connection with the application for section 182, above mentioned, some discussion arose with regard to the action of the officials at Wellington receiving land in Southland without reference to or intimation to the Board. Mr Lumsden strongly objected to this Star Chamber order of legislation from Wellington. This and other sections in its vicinity had been open for sale, but by some means, of which the Board knew nothing, they had been reserved, and the Board placed in a false position. Mr Brighton said that he had spent a day examining one of these sections carefully, only to find on application that it was not open for sale , The Chief Commissioner read a memo, he had sent to Wellington remonstrating against the practice, and pointing out that the proper course for such withdrawals of land from sale must be through the Board. The reply received apologised for the omission to inform the Board. The application of Arthur Rolfe for a small ptepe of reserved land adjoining «(3Ution36, blook 3, Aparima Hundred, was m * *n the Wallace County Council to seethe,- or i* » ■» "V P ub »° value. No objections having been raised by parties interested, the allocation of roads on which d.p. moneys will be spent by the Southland County Council was approved of Correspondence re alleged encroachment on K. Finlayson's land, sections 26, 27, and 28, block 9, Invercargil! Hundred, was read. The Chief Surveyor, in a letter to the Board, stated that Mr Finlayson was entirely wrong in his assertions, and he (Mr Spence) would advise that any claim made by Mr Finlayson should be resisted. The error had been made by Mr Finlayson's private surveyor, who had not verified his starting point. What Mr Finlayson asked was 10 acres of land more than he had paid for, and value for £150.— N0 action was taken. The application of A. Cowan for leave to occupy without residence deferred payment section 6, block 32, Limehills, on account of its being wat and mostly bush, was referred to the Ranger for report. The cWk was instructed to inform J. Wilsou, Waimea, who wrote asking that blocks at present being surveyed should be cut up in smaller areas, that- pections such as he seeks (100 acres) may be found on the Otamete. The Chief Suryevor, in furnishing a map of the extension of Makarewa town--1 ship, recommended that £5 per acre should be the upset price for all the sectionscash or d.p. ; that blocks 9 and 10, being still covered with sawmill timber, be reserved ; that Mr Tnlloch's tramway rights be reservfid for 9 months only, and the land sold subject to that condition, so as to av-oi'd the complication that had arisen on previous occasions. These recommendation were adopted with the exception of that bearing on the price : £4 per acre was considered a fair upset value. The following sections were temporarily reserved — Seotion 11, block 5 ; 8, block 7 j 9, block

9 ; 15, block 6 ; 3, block 8 ; and 6, block 10. The land to be sold as small farm allotments under the village settlement regulations.- --; The Board then adjourned.