THE GREYTOWN AND MASTERTON TOWN LANDS.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 270, 2 October 1879, Page 2

THE GREYTOWN AND MASTERTON TOWN LANDS.

To the Editor of the Wairabapa Daily.

Sir—l have read in an issue of your journal some time back that the Greytown Trustees had agreed to certain suggestions made by the Masterton Trustees, with the object of amending the Management Act of 1871 and making it more satisfactory and of extending the electoral boundaries of the town.

As the Parliamentary session has now fairly commenced, it would be well, I think, not to lose too much time before submitting the suggestions to either of our members, or fo both, who, I feel sure, will only be too glad to forward the wishes of the citizens of both townships. Though not now a member of the Masterton Town Lands Trust, I still take an interest in it, and hope through your courtesy to make suggestions that will forward the object of the Trustees in trying to obtain a good and workable Act of management. On reference to the schedule of the Act of 1870,1 find that town acres Nos 42, 10G, and 111, and rural section so. 29 were omitted; but in the amended Act of 1871, these, with the exception of 42, were included, but apparently not in sufficient words as would warrant some of the Trustees in dealing with them; hence the cause of the present difficulty in connection with these sections.

The Crown Grant of the Cth December, 1858, to Mr C. R, Carter, directs that lie was to hold the 120 acres therein mentioned upon trust in order to convey the same to the several purchasers under the regulations of the Small Farm Association at Masterton, in the Wairarapa, and in his letter to the Independent newspaper of 12th December, 1865, he reports for the information of members of the Association that all conveyances for Masterton, except 101,10G, 107, and 111 have been taken up; but two of these conveyances, however, namely 106 and 111, and rural section 29 are still unclaimed, as the owners are supposed to be dead. By the Act of 1870 all Mr Carter's interest in the lands mentioned in the schedule were transferred to Trustees for both townships, but it appears that omissions or errors were made in the schedule of this Act, but in the two subsequent Acts of 1871 and 1876 all omissions 'were provided fe r except that of 42, Masterton. In the preamble of the Act of 1876 it states as follows: " And whereas further certain lands intended to be included in the first schedule to the said Act were accidentally omitted theiefrom." The Greytown Trustees took advantage of this and included their omission, namely, 107 and 109; but our Masterton Trustees were not so active and lost the opportunity of including section 42. In a copy of an old map of Masterton I observe that Child and Ward were the first purchasers of town acres 106 and 111, and as they were believed to be dead when the Act of 1871 was before the House of Representatives, powers were, sought by the Trustees to exercise a right of management; of them, as well aB over section 29; but some of the Trusteaaa would not act in this matter, and JragH sequence gave an opening to dinNS persons entering upon the laiid, apparently now mean to keep f<n§9j The rules and regulations of the Smaß Farm Association directed that each pur-1 chaser was obliged to live on the land or' to make certain improvements, and failing to comply the land was to revert back to the Association; and as the purchasers of these sections have not complied with the terms of agreement, it is believed that the land is forfeited and becomes the property of the town, • I am, &c, Old Settler. P.S.—The conveyance executed by Mr Car er will show who was the bona fide owner of section 106.