The Timru Herald WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1898.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 2889, 14 December 1898, Page 2

The Timru Herald WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1898.

Although all the complications l with regard to the Raincliff reserve j are not yet got rid of, considerable } advance has been made m that direction. At the meeting of the t Borough Council on Monday night, 1 a letter from the Council's solicitors *■ was read, stating that they had re- j ceived cable advice from London to \ the effect that counsel's opinion t was adverse to taking the case of J the Borough Council v. Hoare and { others before the Privy Council. According to the solicitors' letter, f counsel did not express a definite c opinion as to the merits of c the case. All that was said t was that " the prospects of an ap- j peal being successfully maintained i *re not sufficiently favourable to * justify the expense of taking the {! case to the Privy, Council." How- j ever, such a serious <Joubt having .

been raised, it would have been folly for the Borough Council to persist m the appeal, and so no further steps will be taken to compel Messrs A. and C. Hoare to abide by the terms of the lease. The Council's ' m solicitors have not yet been advised whether or not Mr Henry Hoare's position is such that the proposed further proceedings for arrears of rent against him, as the original lessee, would be worth pursuing. According to Mr Mackay, Mr Henry Hoare died some months ago, but if so his executors are still liable if there is enough m the estate to make it worthwhile to sue for the amount which is unquestionably owing. We are aware that m the opinion of some people the Borough Council are foolish not to let the whole matter drop at once, and that they were foolish m taking steps to see wnether it was worth while to go before the Privy Council. We, on the other hand, think that the Council have acted prudently throughout. There were very few laymen who did not believe that Messrs A. and C. Hoare were liable for the full term of the lease, and that was, and still is, the opinion of the Council's solicitors. Under those circumstances it was the duty of the Council, as the guardians of the ratepayers' interests, to test the question of liability at all events to .the extent of taking counsel's opinion m Londou. That having been done, the Council's conscience is discharged as to Messrs A. andC. Hoare ; but it would be wrong at this stage to drop the proceedings against the original lessee, if he or the executors of his estate are worth powder and shot. That point will probably be settled m the course of a few weeks. Meanwhile, as the solicitors advise, immediate steps can be taken for re-letting the reserve, that is to say, as soon as the boundaries have been resurveyed, and the 500 acres of freehold m the middle of the reserve accurately located. We begin to fear, however, that the Raincliff reserve may prove to be something like a white elephant, and the question arises whether it might not be wise for the Borough Council to endeavour to obtain legislative authority for disposing of the land altogether, or exchanging it for a block more conveniently situated.