MOKAU ESTATE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 894, 13 August 1910, Page 6

MOKAU ESTATE.

A WEli- KNOWN CASE REVIVED. PETITION BY MR. JOSHUA JONES. ASKS TO BE HEARD AT THE BAR OF'THE HOUSE. ,■■..;, A petition." traversing incidents as far back as 1876 has been presented to Parliament'by Mr. Joshua Jones, of Mokau, Taranaki. The petition goes exhaustively -into tho-history of what is, : known as thoMpkau Block, and states that it was. because of acts of Government officers and adverse legisla-, tion that' capital which had been secured in Australia to work the block was driven away. In 1888, after in-. 1 quiry by a Royal' Commission tho Legislature .passed a private statute for Mr. Jones's relief. In 1892-3., the time of the financial crisis in New' Zealand and Australia, petitioner went to a;London .firm'; of' solicitors named Flower; and Mersey, and . Mr. Wickham Flower undertook to advance ■ certain moneys that were due upon the property and bought it, in at a sale for the amount due in New Plymouth on April 8, 1893. This .solicitor then (fraudulently alleged that,ho had bought the property for himself,,, and many_,years of litigation resulted; in'.his being found guilty of misfeasance by tho High Court, and ordered ; to .pay ■'■ a . large sum by way of fine.' Flower 'subsequently procured a fraudulent report upon the,, value ■''■; of -the estate,, and in ." dispute'v of ; petitioner's -•title maliciously ■ distributed '•• these . reports over .- London' to prevent petitioner dealing', with the estate. These reports; •together,; with! other , false.Treports,- prevented petitioner dealing with the property, r and the: executors -became the owners; ofi.it by-.putting.-, tho mortgage up for. sale, at New Plymouth on AαJ gust 10, and buying it in-, at £1 over the.mortgage sum. The petitioner also urges that, during the litigation -in. England,, when -Flower 'was .held, guilty .of. misfoasanco in claiming the. estate,,;the,same'..decision held, him to be;a;trustee.for.hihV(the petitioner) of the. property, with-..a mortgage . of his .own over, it." At; his'death, the executors stood in his. position.'•' There was ■;no-> other trustee .appointed. ..' Finding 'his .dealings, had been thwarted by the circulation 'of. the . false reports petitioner consulted counsel,-and was advised that such dishouest conduct would be held by'the; Courts to'annul the com.pacts.' , : Counsel further' advised' entering an action; for redemption; and accounts.- 'An action was commenced, but. ■the'judge",-expressing doubts as. to the jurisdiction being in England,' petitioner allowed tho action to.lapse 'and came to- New .'Zealand to recommence !it here., ■.- ; ''" :: ■ " ' .'- ..- A Caveat Lodged. / After returning'-to 'New" Zealand. in February,:'l9oß, petitioner lodged a, caveat .over ;the .preparatory to commencing the action; for redemption as advised in England.- The Court' of Appeal in Wellington, on July.2B of the same: year, ordered .the removal of ;caveat, ■ prohibited ,petitioiier\enter-; ing -the intended action on the ground that-it would be him leave to appeal to'the Privy Council.' -Mi , ; Hermann; Lewis; at whose instance the caveat was removed, .is a gentleman whoke ; name'between Messrs. .'Xrsivers,'-"Campbell,-; the local/agents for .Flower's executors, and the' firm of Findlay and Dalziellcombined, has been placed on the Land ,Traiisfer Register as owner of 'the Moka'u property;-with-, outi any consideration' having passed hands, or security being given, ho having,- on .Juno 12; 1 1908, gono through a form of purchase at £14,000, and' mortgaged it back. to; "tho executors from; whom lie purchased, the same day, and for, "the same \ amount (£14,000)— a dummy transaction, in'fact. Onthe dato of:, the. registration! of the alleged purchase.- and mortgage ■'■ by Hermann' Lewis there was caveat lodged.over the property,' and' petitioner submits ■ that there, was irregularity jn- these, acts.of registration; that ■ should. be, inquired, iinto. , ,-, - ..'■■■'.;' ,:, ' ■ .;■ , Petition; to Parliament.' ' .Having' been refused trial of action and.leave. to 'appeal .'. to the;. Privy. ■Council,.. petitioner laid ,;.the position before the. Prime Minister, who suggested that the proper course would bo to petition Parliament and '.have - tho case reported upon.-. This' was -'done, and the Public Petitions Committee of the Legislative Council reported in.1908 recommonding the . Government to appoint a competent tribunal to inquiro into the merits; of the position, and that, pending such inquiry, steps, bo taken to. prevent further, dealings with the land. Petitioner goes on to say that certain'questions; wore put to-the Prime.Minister b.v-Mr. Okey, M.P. for I'New Plymouth, ..in July last,. with, regard to certain dealings with the title. of-tho Mokau-Mohakatino Block. Tlio Prime} Minister replied .on July. 27', these replies evidently'.' being framed from information supplied-by Dr.-.-Find-'lay. .The statement on tho Order. .Paper that.the; Attorney-General -was not asked arid had no power ;.to give .effect, to the recommendation 'was not. in accordance with, the information of : petitioner,.'who states that. Dr. Fiudlay informed his".solicitor that-the- Govern-, ■ment would not set up .the commission, or .deal 'with or investigate the petition. At the same time .Dr. 'Findlay. put \forwa.rd on. behalf .of his firm's! client, Hermann Lewis, as the only altemativo for petitioner to consider.certain terms, demanding a sum of £5000 (which a few days .later was increased to £11,000), .and £14,000.'0n' 'behalf of 'Flower's 'executors, £25,000'■. altogether.'. The land was; to be isold through tho Maori Land' Board, and these .suras were to bo; a first charge upon.! the' proceeds. Arbitrators were to be appointed', to determine how much more • money, if any, , Lewis was to get .when the; land was all disposed of. ''■'-'~'■'• , "A So-called Inquiry." . The, allegation in tho document of alleged fraud on thu pt'irt of Mr. Jones with his Native lessees-was put forward irj the; report of .tho Stout-Palmer Nativo Land Gomniission that ha(l a socalled inquiry behind petitioner's .back. Petitioner , was / prepared to' submit evidence to show that this Stout inquiry had previously been threatened by Dr.. findlay to petitioner's injury, in consequence of a letter written oh November 3 by the Hod. J. "Bigg, . M.L.C., who presented Mr. Jones's, petition to the Prime .Ministerj drawing his notice to the terms demanded on behalf of Hermann Lewis'and ''others by tho Attorney-General or his firni. ■ Petitioner says that tho .statement that tho Attornoy-Gcnenil has not and never'had any interest direct or indirect in tho mortgages does not afireo with the evidence before him, which was that on May 2 last Mr. Bamfdrd, the Registrar-General, went to New Plymouth, and, without legal authority, ordered the removal of a caveat whilo thore . was a written protest against any intended removal without inquiry, upon the ground that fraud had been committed in comitction with the titlo, and, that on that same day the first i mortgago registered after such removal of caveat was one over half tho property from Hermann Lewis in favour of John Gcorgo Findlay a.nd Frederick George Dalziell, that this took piocedcjico of tho mortgago for £25,271 Bs. 2d.', Hermann Lewis to T. G. M'Carthy, who the paper states had t-liroatonod legal proceedings. Thcro are other matters roferred to in tho as well as in connection with the.

whole transactions of the title to this property that demand the earliest' investigation. The suggestion. that Mr. Jones should go again to the law courts ;is not tenable, in view of the. decision already given. Petitioner submits that the, Land Transfer Act was never intended to bo tho medium of fraud by the transfer of properties to dummies, much less, as in this case by trustees, that the interest of. every person holding a. foot of land in this Dominion stands in jeopardy while such a state of things and tho. disregard of and removal of caveats without judicial authority is , permitted. . Petitioner asks to be examined at tho Bar of tho House.