UNKNOWN.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XVI, Issue 153, 29 June 1881, Page 4

UNKNOWN.

(JV. Z. Times.') "We bave received from Messrs. Brog< 7 e3 a copy of their petition to tbe House of "Representative! 3 , prayiDg for corunensatii n for los.s in connection with a^prian contract (ntered into on Juno 27, 187/, and for grant of such other relief as the House mry deem just and proper. Tbeir plaint, briefly summarised, is this :— ln IS7I negotiations were concluded. with Sir rTulius Voge], then Colonial Treasurer, for tbe construction by Messrs Brogden of rnilways in Ihia colony, to tbe value of £4,500,000, and that in addition to the payment of this amount and a profit of 5 per cent, thereon tho petitioners were to receive grants of Land at the rate of three-quarters of an acre for every pound sterling of the cost of the railways, OTje-fi r th of which should be suitable far settlement, to be granted as and when required, the petitioners to land in "New Zealand •within ten years 10,000 approved European immigrants and to receive the sum of £1 per head per annum for ten years for all imm'grants so landed. To a certain point tbe arrangement war. carried i ufc b> James Brogden, at the special request of tho Colonial Treaßurer, but being deemed by the said James Brogden an affair of too much importance to be undertaken without the concurrence of bis partner?, it was in November, 1871, relegaied to tbe Agent-General lor tbe colony in Eogland on tho part of tbo Government, and to the partners of tbe Brogden firm resident in Kngland on behalf of the firm. Tbe scbeme was duly embodied in a legal instrument in June, 1872, one condition of which was that the petitioners might take from every adult immigrant a promissory note for a sum not exceeding £15 in payment of pss^ige-woneys, tbe extra £'■ being intended to cover cost of risks of non-payment and expenses of collection. The petitioners received from the Agent General the strongest possible assurance that they would he fully and effectually indemnified from all loss, and confiding in this they executed and acted upon the document and despatched, on the whole, 1290 able-bodied men, besides women and children, to the colony. The Gcyjrnment at that time was dealing in a similar manner with" immigrants, i.e., by advancing their passage-moneys and taking promissory notep, and the petitioners received assurance that no difficulties stood in tbe way of recovering and enforcing" these notes, and t % iat the law of arrest prevailed in the colony and was effectual. Immediately after the execution of the deed the G-overnment began taking out immigrants in the same vessels with those of the petitioners, upon more favorable terms, thus causing jealousy and discontent, and ultimately granted entirely free passages, which led to the petitioners being charged with riefraud ing the immigr-.nts they brought oui and the latter using every device to avoid payment of their promissory notes, The Government afterwards ceased to enforce the promissory notes of tl eir own immigrants, and repealed the law of arrest for debt, yet claiming to remain creditor of the petitioners, after having destroyed the security which the Agent-General had assured them was ample to protect against loss. The petitioners in October, 4 579,- claimed *o— Bo~"TETlevetr irom their deed, and in August 1873, petitioned for enquiry. On such petition the Public "Works and Immigration Committee, who heard evidence upon it reported in September 1873. The report. waß that the Committeo held opinion that the statements were not substantiated, that there was no good claim, either jn law or equity, and th.it in absence of proof it would be a bad precedent to entertain claims founded upon vague allegation, the admission or which would do away vrith; all finality in public contracts under written engagements. The opinion of the House was that the Committee did not consider either the defence submitted to them> or their decision, final and conclusive, and that the subject still lay open for further investigation. Keference is also made in the petition to a despatch of the Agent- General, dated May stb, 1874, in which he gives reasons for adopting the proposals of the petitioners for an amicable settlement of their claims, and recomicending the same to a favourable consideration of the Government: In 187* tbe petitioners renewed the subject, and tbeir claim for relief, and showed that practically all the immigrants, they brought out violated their proposals under a sense of the disadvantage at which they were placed relative to Government immigrants, and distributed themselves throughout tbe colony, working for other employers and benefitting the employers at the expense of the petitioners — a fact practically admitted by the Minister of Public Works (tbe Hon. E. Richardson) in a memorandum dated April ht, 1873 The petitioners allege that; they were not reimbursed by any allowance in the prices of their contract works, and that, in 1875, tbe Government retained out of moneys due to the petitioners under the railway contracts the sum of £20,739 15s. 10d., and applied the same in payment of the passage money of immigrants and interest thereon. The concluding clause of the petition runs thus:.— " It our petitioners cannot, and feel it -was not intended that they should, accept the resolution of 1873 as a final decision ; the Government in tbeir various immigration arrangements have not charged to other immigrants more than £5 cash for the passage-money of each adult, and where promissory notes for £10 or otber sums have been given by immigrants (as an alternative for casb), the Government bave not recovered the moneys under them to any appreciable extent, and have ceased to prosecute their claims. Finally the principle of free immigration was adopted, but, on the other hand, your petitioners have been charged and made to pay £10 cash for each statute adult, amounting to upwards of £18,240, while the varying and more favorable tennis granted to other immigrants since your petitioners executed the deed of June, 1872, have been amongst the principal causes.ot_ their disappointment and loss,