The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28,1894.

Timaru Herald, Volume LVII, Issue 6067, 28 September 1894, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 28, 1894.

In another column will be found a report of a special,, meeting of the Titnaru High School Board, which was held yesterday for the purpose of discussing the Harbour and Education Eeserves Bill, introduced m the House by the Minister of Lands about a week ago and read a first time. The Bill has not yet come on for its second reading. We had read several notices about this latest legislative effort of the Hon. Mr McKenzie, as well as the protests of the Otago and Christchurch Boards against it, bub until yesterday no copy of it reaohed our hands, and for that reason we refrained from comment. We were under the impression that the Boards interested m the matter had misinterpreted the meaning of the Bill, and it would have been unwise for us to criticise without having sufficient ground to go upon. And we may here remark that it is strange that a copy was not forwarded to us sooner, and stranger still that copies were not supplied at the earliest possible moment to every Harbour Board and Educational Board m the colony. Yet it appears that no member of the Timaru High School Board (not even the Hey. George Barclay, whose explanations were apparently based upon what he had read m the Ghristcburch and Dunedin papers) had seen the Bill. Now that we have a copy, let us glanoe at what it says, and then it may be possible to understand what the Minister of Lands meanß. We know of no- other way of arriving at his intentions. First of all, its title is " An Act to Regulate the Leasing of Harbour and Education Reserves. 1 ' The words are plain enough, and so far there is no limitation to any particular class of reserves. The second section is as follows:— "The Governor may from time to time, by Order m Council gazetted, declare that any lands now or hereafter reserved as a,n endowment for SDy harbour, or for

primary or secondary education, or universities, colleges, or high schools, < shall be subject to the provisions of this : Act, and whether the Bame be vested m 1 1 any corporate body or person whomso- ' ■ ever." Here again the language is sufficiently clear if a legal definition is given to the words " land reserved as an endowment." That is a point for the lawyers to settle m each particular case of land belonging to the bodies named m the section. It is safe however, to say that the Bection is very far reaching, and that most of the landed property of Harbour Boards and educational bodies throughout the colony is inoluded. The Minister intends to sweep all he can into his net. After such an Order m Council has been made, the lands described m it may be leased by the Land Board of the district m which the lands are Bituated. If any landß included m the Order m Council are already leased, they are not to be affeoted until the expiration of the term, provided that any lessee, with the consent of the Land Board, may, as to valuations and renewals, become subject to the provisions of the Act. The same section (3) provides that — "All rents payable under this Act, or under any lease granted prior to the Order m Council hereinbefore mentioned shall be paid to the Receiver of Land Revenue, and after deducting any costs incurred m the survey, roading, pay. ment of c thirds ' or ' fourths,' or the administration of the lands leased, shall be paid over by him to the body or person by law for the time being entitled to receive the same." In short, the management of the reserves may be taken altogether out of the hands of their owners, and the lands subjected to the charges above mentioned. New leases are to be executed by the Commissioner of Crown Lands on behalf of the Land Board, but " m the name of the body or person m whom the lands dealt with by the lease are vested." Such leases are to be for thirty years, renewable from time to time m accordance with the provisions of the Act. There are provisions for valuation by arbitration " not sooner than three years and not later than two years before the end of the term," and, if the lessee dees not choose to renew he gets the value of his permanent improvements. If he elects to take a fresh lease he has it for thirty years <c at a rental o£ £5 per centum on the then value of the lands, after deducting therefrom the value of the substantial improvements of a permanent character as fixed, respectively, by the arbitration." If the lessee does not accept renewal the lease is to be offered for public tender, and the rent is to be fixed by the Land Board. The provisions of the Land Act, 1892, as to classification, limitation of areas, disqualification, applications, farm of conditions of leases, etc., are to apply to leases or renewals under this Act. Lessees, with consent of the Land Board may surrender, and then there is to be a valuation, and a new lease offered for application. Section 12 empowers the Governor m Council to resume possession of the whole or any part of the land leased, " which m his opinion is required for any public purpose, or which may be deemed by him to be auriferous or argentiferous, or required for mining purposes." After such resumption the rent is to be abated m proportion to the area taken, the lessee getting (by arbitration) the value of any permanent improvements of which he may have been deprived. He may also surrender any portion of his lease which is severed by the resump tion and greatly lessened m value thereby, and get compensation as above. Power is given to the Land Board to issue licenses for cutting and removing timber from " any educational reserve or educational endowment " subject to the payment of fees, which are to be paid by the Receiver of Land Revenue to the persons m whom the lands are vested. The following are Section 14 and Section 15, m full : — 14. Notwithstanding anything contained m " The University Endowment Aot, 1868," or any Act amending the same, the Governor may grant leases of lands reserved under the said Act, m the manner specified m this Act. 15. In case no "thirds 4 ' or "fourths" have been previously paid, the Beoeirer of Land Eevenue shall, for a period of fifteen years from the date of the first reaerral of every lease, pay over to the County Council or Road Board of the district within whioh Buoh lands are situated one-third of the rent of land leased as agricultural land and oue-fourth of the rent of land leased as pastoral land to be expended m the construction of roads to give access to the lands leased. We have now given a pretty full abstract of the Bill, and have only a few sentences of comment to add. We have not a good word to say for the measure. On the whole the management of the reserves affected has been' excellent ; it has, we believe, been much better than it would have been under the Land Boards, with whom, by the bye, the present Minister has frequently had most unpleasant and unseemly bickerings. If this Bill be allowed to pass, it will inflict great present loss on the bodies concerned, for they may rest aßsnred that the Minister of Lands will make all possible nse of it. But that iB not the worst of the situation ; this measure is intended as the thin end of the wedge, which, when driven home, will leave Harbour Boards, and all educational bodies from the University downwards, landless and to a large extent dependent for support on the Government of the day.