THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

Evening Star, Issue 4153, 19 June 1876, Page 2

THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

The extraordinary position of parties in Wellington has very naturally taken the country by surprise, not only on account of its novelty, but because of its possible bearing upon the future of the country. Many of the new members, evidently not knowing what they were about, voted for the motion of Sir George Grey for suspension of the Standing Orders under the idea of gaining information respecting a transaction of which so much political capital has been made. We therefore think that our readers will be glad to have the mystery cleared away by which it has been surrounded, and to have before them a clear view of the matter.

The Piako wamp forms part of the confiscated lands in the North Island : that lands taken forcibly from the Mauris to recoup the cost of war. This swamp rovers an area of 80,000 acres, and is described in the report of the Select Committee, as a*" lowlying swamp, a considerable portion of which is overflowed by the flood waters of the Waikato Kiver, which has the additional effect of backing up the local water of other and higher portions of the swamp. It could only be drained by-a comprehensive and expensive system of drainage, and the quality of the soil must be considered indifferent." It appears that the power of dealing with confiscated lands has remained iu the hands of the General Governmeut, who, acting upon authority given to the Governor in the New Zealand Settlements Act, 186*, accepted an offer made by Mr Thos. Russell to purchase the Piako Swamp at 5s an acre, less 2s 6d per acre "to be expended in the construction of a road twenty-five miles in length across the. swamp." This land had been lying open for selection for several years. It had been "the centre of .Native disaffection in the neighborhood of Waikato, and a constant source of danger to thejsettlemeuts there; and with that fact in view the Government, apart from other considerations, thought Mr Russell's offer a good one, and closed with it on grounds of public policy. In order better to form an estimate of the bearings of the matter, it may be mentioned that in Jauuary, 1867, there were advertised in the ' Auckland Government Gazette' and in almost every Colonial and many Australian newspapers, 213,000 acres of land for sale in the Waikato district. Of this large area 43,000 acres were described as first-class land open for. selection at 15s an aere; 216,000 acres of second-class, 10s per acre; snd 324,000 acres, including 153,000 acres of swamp, at 5s an acre. The Piako Swamp was included in this. Notwithstanding the effort made, and the expenditure of LIOO,OOO by the t;enerd Government, under Provincial superintendence, in the formation of roads, the quantity of land disposed of did not pay much more than the co.it of advertisements. Like many other Government transactions; one point had been overlooked in this matter. The New Zealand .Settlements Act, 1866, requires that "lands sold or disposed of under it shall be sold or disposed of under regulations made by the Governor in Council, which regulations shall be published in the • New Zealand Uazette.'" But, though the land was advertised for sale more extensively than is usual, no "regulations" were published, and Sir George Grey's contention is that on'. that ground the sale is illegal. In consequence of the stand taken by the Opposition last session, and the aspersions cast upon the Ministry, Sir Donald M'Lean on the Ist September of last' year moved for and obtained a Committee of Inquiry into the character of the transaction. In the course of the debate»Sir George <T»ey said, as reported in 'Hansard,' that "the whole thing filled him with dismay when he heard of it. He had never raised any objection to the transaction on the: ground of its propriety. About that he never said anything- and wished for no inquiry into that subject, and he was shocktl with the coolnesß with which it was stated that an admittedly illegal act must be made lawful by a new Order in Council. Sir Donald M'Lean's contention was that the transaction was fair and equitable; the Superintendent of the Province gave his full concurrence, and was authorised to select any portion of the land suitable for agricultural settlement to the extent of twenty-five percent. He said, referring to the legal character of the sale, that, under the Act ot 1866, the Government had power to validate it by an Order in Council ; but in a subsequent part of his speech he remarked that "the intention of the Government was to bring in a Bill for the purpose of ratifying

Sir George Grey was a member of the committee, and took' a very active part in conducting its proceedings, being present fonr out of the eight days on which they sat. There must therefore be some mistake in this morning's telegram in which he is said to have stated he refused to serve on it. On his motion, the question of the legality of the transaction was referred to a leading counsel, in Wellington. Sir George molted first that Mr Travers's opinion be taken, but the committee decided differ ently. Messrs Dilworth and Sinclair were communicated with and telegraphed, but their opinions were not given. Mr C. B. Izard's evidence and opinion were taken. Based upon that opinion, the committee reported in effect that regulations had not been published in accordance with the Act, that an agreement for purchase and sale had been entered into, and the land was practically withdrawn from sale by private contract by the regulations of' 1871; which .provide that all sales should be by auction after survey, and that the transaction was not in accordance with the provisions of the law at tbe time, which clearly required that the making and publication of regulations should-precede sale. Tbe committee express the opinion that the price was not inadequate, and that great public benefit will accrue from the construction of the Piako road, but are of opinion that dealing with public lands by private contract is inexpedient.

It will be seen, then, that the only objection Sir George Grey has to the purchase by Mr Russell is that there has been an informality—perhaps an oversight—but whether or not it is yufficitut; just.ikatioii for s,o fcrieksey an attack upon the Ministry we most

leave our readers to form their own opinion, ft does not appear from the records of the debates that there was any promise made, by the Government to hold the decision of the matter over for consideration by a new Parliament, although that has been alleged. >- ■

Another transaction was made the subject of a Bill entitled "The Piako Swamp Sale Exchange Bill." This was an entirely different matter, and had. no eon* nation with it further than the fact that Messrs Whittaker ted Russell were partners in it, and that a third person laid claim to purchase some of the land. '«he Bill was rejected by the Legislative CounciJ, as it was considered not a matter for decision by the Legislature, but by a Court of Law.