EARTHQUAKES.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 2, Issue 337, 11 December 1879, Page 2

EARTHQUAKES.

TObarapa racecourse bill. .Q. .Q. [From Hansard.] The Hon. Mr Water-house moved the second reading of this Bill, The Hon. Mr Wilson said lie would like to hear the report of the Committee on this Bill read. The Clerk read the report.

The Hon. Mr Reynolds said the Council had a right to expect some explanation of this Bill from the honorable gentleman. To his mind it seemed very unsatisfactory. Possibly it was capable of explanation, He found that a certain racecourse—about a hundred acres-r-had been handed over to trustees, The trustees wished to borrow £750 upon mortgage of the lands and rents— power which was not given to any other body of trustees. It was not at all an unusual thine; to allow trustees to mortgage rents, but ho did not think it was a usual thing to allow them to mortgage the land itself. Then the 4th section asked for power to sell or exchange the land. He did not think power should be given to sell or exchange the land until such time as a definite proposition was laid before Parliament. If they considered it advisable to exchange or dispose of these lands, then a bill might be introduced authorising them to do so, He thought the lion. member in charge of the Bill should have given some fuller explanation concerning it.

The Hon, Mr Mantel], having taken part in the work of investigating this Bill in the Local Bills Committee, was in a position to assure the Hon, Mr Reynolds that the Committee were averso to encouraging the borrowing of money on a security of this kind for the purpose of erecting protective works, because some members, having had experience of what were called protective works on rivers, had found that, if they were successful in protecting what they were intended to protect, they very often inflicted damage on neighboring lands. But it appeared this was the only suitable land for a racecourse in the centre of this district, and that restraining the Tauherenikau River on one side would not cause it to impinge on the other, it having a wide shinglebed. The Committee therefore thought that with the amendments made in the Bill, one of which was to reduce the amount to be borrowed to £SOO, which one of the trustees (Mr Bunny) said would he sufficient, it ought to rass. The reason for giving power of sale or exchange was that, if further encroachments were to take place, the land would be useless as a racecourse; and the trustees wished to be able to sell or exchange the land, in order to obtain other land if possible. The Committee went to a great deal of trouble, and he thought the Council might safely accept the recommendation of the Committee to pass the Bill. The Horn Mr Waterhouse said his hon. friend Mr Mantell had saved him the

trouble of replying. The reason he had «f not given any explanation when moving the second reading of the Bill was, that it was a purely local Bill, and he thought the preamble fully explained its object, He could bear out what the Hon. Mr Mantell had said in regard to the river, and as to the land being useless for its, present purpose if there were any further encroachments; hence the desire of the ( •trustees for power to sell or exchange. \ He might add that the money to be bor- \ rowed would be subscribed by residents in the neighborhood who took an interest in racing, and would be lent at a merely nominal rate of interest; and, as to the words in the Srd clause which it was proposed to strike out, he had no objection, because the trustees had never intended to do more than mortgage the rents and profits. Bill read a second time.

A novel experiment (so far as this colony is concerned) has been determined on by the Taranaki Jockey Club, Members' tickets available for ten years have been issued at £lO each, No spring meeting is to be held by the Club this season, but the anniversary races will take place in March. The Rangitikei Advocate learns that the Turakina Local Board has again forfeited its claim to its share of aibsidy, through having neglected tocojplsy with the same or similar' which prevented it from being subsidised last year.