PUBLIC MEETING.

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume IV, Issue 325, 20 October 1875, Page 3

PUBLIC MEETING.

A well attended and influential public meeting convened by Captain Morris, M.P.C., in response to the requisition of several of the principal residents in the district, was held at the Masonic Hotel, on Saturday evening, the 16th instant, for the purpose of taking the interests of the district into consideration.

Captain Tovey occupied the chair. Tie Chairman opened the proceed-

ings by informing those present that the meeting had been called to discuss questions relating to land and other matters with a view to promoting the welfare of the Tauranga district, and cubed upon Captain Morris to explain more fully the particulars of the subject. Captain Morris said that ho bad been requested to call this meeting to discuss more particularly the state of affairs in connection with the Tauranga lands, and to adopt some means in the interests of the district for their better management. Relative to native lands a Commissioner was appointed to adjudicate thereon, but as the other duties of that gentleman apparently necessitated his presence in Wellington, he considered some other officer should be sent to do the necessary work in Tauranga. Ho did not wish to imply neglect on the part of the Commissioner, as he believed that gentleman did the best ho could when he was able to come to Tauranga; but the permanent residence of some one to perform tho necessary duties was absolutely necessary. The lands allotted to military settlors, of which tho greater portion were unoccupied, also demanded notice. The settlement of the land question in connection with public works in this district affected every settler, though ho was afraid there was not much money available for tho latter purpose. Relative to the proposed Cambridge and Thames roads, Captain Morris considered tho first-named the most important, and recommended that every effort should be made to obtain its construction. lie bad taken upon himself to write to several members of the Assembly on the subject. The most important matter for consideration, however, was that land should ho open for selection at loss than £2 an acre; there was plenty of land in the district for all purposes, and it was absolutely necessary to get it opened up. He would therefore propose “ That, in the opinion of this meeting, the district has suffered from the absence of tho officer appointed under the Tauranga District Settlement Lands Act, and it is desirable that more opportunity should be given him for settling tho native claims of the district.”

Mr Gardiner seconded the proposition.

Mr Redmond thought it would he better to discuss the proposition before putting it to tho meeting', and he would ask who were likely to ho henefitted by this movement. He feared the land would he taken up hy sheep farmers, and considered it would he hotter that any available land should first he bought by the Government, as if sold privately it might ho taken up before small settlers had a chance to purchase. Mr Edgciimbe considered Mr Redmond misunderstood the object of the meeting; and relative to native lands the desire was only to get for the natives a title to their land that they might be able to dispose of blocks, large or small, from 50 to 500 acres or more, as it would suit purchasers to buy. Messrs Carthy and Redmond quoted instances where obstructions had been put in the way of intending settlors hy the Native Office at Tauranga, and that good settlors had thereby been lost to the district.

The Chairman put the resolution to the meeting, and it was carried unanimously.

Mr Firth Wrigloy said lie had boon asked to propose the next resolution, though he might say he did not quite agree with the first one, as it did not in his idea sufficiently explain the greivances which were sought to be remedied. Relative to his proposition lie also said that it would he more fully explained by others which would follow it in which the meeting would he asked to appoint a committee to carry out the objects in view. Similar committees had been appointed elsewhere, and their action had always been beneficial, the speaker citing a case in point at Southland. He also considered that in every respect such committees represented public opinion. He would therefore propose, “ That it is the opinion of this meeting that immediate action should be taken to watch the interests and promote the advancement of the Bay of Plenty.” Mr Redmond seconded the proposition, which was carried unanimously.

Mr R. C. Jordan considered that the time was gone by when such an Act as the Tauranga Lands Settlement Act was required for the Bay of Plenty district, and he would have liked to have heard a proposition that this Act should be repealed. There were large blocks of land in the district available for settlement—some 100,000 acres in the neighbourhood of Maketu for instance—which if opened up would certainly be settled upon, and he considered that if the Commissioner appointed under the Act could not perform the duties of his office that some other gentleman should be gent in his place.

He would propose, “ That, with the object of promoting the advancement of the Bay of Plenty in view, the Government be urged to cause immediate proceedings to be taken to investigate the title to the native lands in this district.”

Mr Edgcumbo seconded the proposition. Mr Eliodes spoke in opposition from the point of view that any action proposed would be detrimental to the interests of the small settlers, and objected to the idea of a committee, as he considered every man had a right to act individually, and should not be asked to relegate his right to others, lie said that people in Auckland were told that land could be purchased in Tauranga, but when they came they found there was no land to be had. He was sure that every one knew that small settlers were better than large ones, and lie was sorry to see that while grain and other produce was grown in this district other necessary articles of consumption were imported and sold for twice their value. He considered that the meeting was drifting into error, but that for the benefit of would-be setttlers a permanent officer should be at Tauranga to give all necessary information, and not be here a month and then go away. Mr Eliodes’ idea was that the waste lands in the Tauranga district should be placed under the Homestead Act. Mr Jordan’s proposition was then put to the meeting', and was carried unanimously. Mr Vercoe rose to propose the next resolution, and in an able speech explained the origin of the system under which the natives had been put in possession of the land now under discussion. He stated that at the present time there were lying in the Native Lands Court claims from natives to pass some 500,000 acres in the Bay of Plenty district. In reply to what had fallen from Mr Ehodes relative to small settlers, he would say that'there was not much land suitable for such settlement. Large capitalists were required to work the land first, and afterwards small settlers could step in. With regard to the committee which he would presently propose to be appointed he considered a misaprehension existed. It was not a vigilance committee that was proposed, but it was well-known that “what is everybody’s business is nobody’s business,” and as the settlors of Tauranga had not done their duty in the past, it was to undertake these duties that the committee was proposed. He had heard it said that Government would not attend to the committee, but he differed from that view. The Government was not supposed to know 7 all the wants of the district, and it would be the duty of the committee to point out to the Government what really was wanted. He would therefore propose, “That a committee be formed to carry out the objects of this meeting, and to watch the interests and promote the advancement of the district generally. The committee to be composed of the following gentlemen with power to add to their number:—Messrs. Faulkner, Tovey, Lundon, Thomas Wriglev, Jonathan Brown, Yereoe, Firth Wriglev, Edgoumbe, Bodell, T. D. Wrigley, E. G. Norris, Morris, M.P.C.; William Kelly, M.11.E.; A. Cook, Hannon, A. Anderson, McLean, Shaughnessy, E. 0. Jordan, Johnson, Redmond, and Roger Hill”

Mr Jonathan Brown seconded the proposition. In reply to Mr Redmond, Mr Yercoe stated that Mr J. A. Chadwick had been asked to join the committee but had declined.

Mr Kedmond, replying to remarks made relative to the failure of the military settlement system, said it was not the quality of the land that had caused the scheme to fail, but the action of the Government in not acting rightly towards the settlers. There was no better soil in the Province of Auckland.

Mr Rhodes spoke to the success of the Whaugarei settlement under the 40-acre system, and expressed his conviction that this district offered similar capabilities -for settlement. He said that land was wanted for the poor man as well as for the rich.

Mr Yercoe explained that the lands open for settlement were principally in the back country. Mr Mitchell thought it probable that the committee appointed 'would clash with the Town and Country Boards unless some definite powers were assigned to it. '] Mr Edgcumbe explained that most of the members of the Boards were on the committee; the duties of the committee would be to assist the representative of the district when he was sitting in the House, and also to watch the interests of the district generally, whereas if the supervision was left in the hands of the community at large, or even to the Press, , which was not infallible, matters of general interest might be overlooked. The committee as proposed represented all classes and

all shades of polities in the district. Mr Mitchell had every confidence in the committee, he merely wanted to have its duties clearly defined. Captain Morris thought it would be of great advantage to tho representative of the district to have some one to refer to, and mentioned a case that had happened to himself when for want of proper information he had obtained from the Provincial Council a grant of £IOO for a road which he might not have asked for had he been in a position to consult a similar committee to the one proposed. Mr Carthy considered the institution of the committee would bo a great boon to the district. The resolution was carried unanimously. A vote of thanks to the chairman for the able manner in which ho had conducted tho meeting terminated the proceedings.