LATE ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume II, Issue 87, 4 November 1843, Page 347

LATE ARRANGEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT AND THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

New Zealand House, Broad Street Buildings, May 18, 1843. Sia — The correspondence with the Colonial Office, of which copies are annexed, will inform you of the very satisfactory footing upon which the Court of Directors has happily succeeded in placing the relations of the New Zealand Company with, her Majesty's Government. It is not necessary to repeat here the terms which that correspondence shows to have been arranged between the parties ; — you will not fail to observe that all doubts and difficulties affecting the Company's title to its lands are removed, and that the substantial benefits of a Local Government and the regular administration of justice are to be no longer withheld from the Company's settlements. The spirit which Lord Stanley has manifested, — showing that he is prepared to afford cordial countenance and assistance to the endeavours of the Company to execute, to the greatest possible extent, the public functions intrusted to them by their charter, — is quite as gratifying to the Court as the letter of the actual arrangement. Nor are they less pleased with the appointment of Captain Robert Fitzroy, R. N., to be Governor of the colony. Their communications with that distinguished officer have assured them that his views of colonization are sound and en* larged, and that he will enter upon the discharge of his duties altogether free from any partial perference for any particular locality, or for any par-

ticular section of the general body of her Majesty's subjects whom he has been appointed to govern. The high position in this country which he has voluntarily abandoned, in order to undertake the administration of the rising colony of New Zealand, places it beyond question that he could have been actuated in such a step only by a sense of public duty, and by a benevolent desire of becoming an instrument of good, both to the British colonists and the natives of New Zealand. All these circumstances combine to give the Directors the most entire confidence that they shall henceforth be able to carry out the great purposes of the Company's incorporation, with a vigour and success commensurate with then* importance. Upon this confidence, the Court has recommenced the sales, in this country, of land in Nelson and New Plymouth ; and the Directors have no doubt that, in the present state of the public mind in respect of colonization, the emigration of persons of all classes, but especially of capitalists, will proceed rapidly during the course of the season now commencing. The orders of the Court contained in my despatch, No. 14, of the 3d February last, directing you to suspend land-sales in the settlements of Nelson and New Plymouth, is rescinded. You will, therefore, revive the sales in those settlements, and instructions will be sent you shortly with respect to a renewal of the sales in the Wellington district. Further instructions will be given you by separate despatches, accompanying this. I have the honour to be, sir, Your most obedient servant, John Ward, Secretary. To Colonel Wakefield, Principal Agent, Wellington. * New Zealand House, Broad Street Buildings, May 8, 1843. Mr Lord — On behalf of the Court of Directors of the New Zealand Company, I have the honour respectfully to submit to your lordship the following proposals, which, should they be approved of and adopted by your lordship, the Directors confidently believe would have the effect of removing all impediments to the successful performance of the functions intrusted to the Company by its charter, and of putting an end to the local differences which have, unhappily, existed in the colony. The Company propose : — 1. To purchase £50,000 worth of land in Auckland and its vicinity ; £10,000 worth, at least, to be in the town, and £25,000 worth, at least, to be in the country ; the Company taking the remaining £15,000 worth of land in town, suburban, or country lots, provided they do not take more altogether in suburban than in town lots. 2. That the town lots be purchased by auction, and that they be offered at the upset price of £100 per acre. As far as practicable,- however, such lots to be put up together in parcels of ten acres each, and the whole lands applied for in the town, by the Company, at any one time, to be sold on the same day, unless otherwise settled at the request of their agent, and with the assent of the Governor. 3. The suburban lots to be sold by auction. If the* Company apply at one and the same time, for one hundred acres or upwards, the whole to be put up together atone general upset price of £5 per acre. 4. The country lots to follow the rule established by the Land Sale Act. 5. That credit be given to the Company by the Land and Emigration Commissioners for the sum of £50,000, in consideration of their abandoning their claim to 50,000 acres of land out of the whole quantity to which they are already entitled. On your lordship's acceptance of this proposal, it is the intention of the Company to appoint an agent, without delay, for the purpose of carrying out the terms of the agreement at Auckland ; and it is also their wish to advertise and sell the lands here, according to their usual plan, without further delay, so as to be in time for the emigration season of the present year. The Company further request that a Judge, with independent jurisdiction, be forthwith appointed for, and be sent out to Wellington, for the purpose of presiding over the administration of Justice in the several settlements on Cook's Straits, under such regulations as the Governor and Council may direct. To remedy the evil, and especially the discontent, which has arisen from the want of some competent Executive Authority at Wellington, the Directors respectfully suggest that his Excellency the Governor be authorized to appoint some person to represent him in the neighbourhood of Cook's Straits, with sufficient executive power to enable him to act, upon any emergency, without the delay of a reference to his Excellency. For the purpose of effectually settling the question of the Company's title, and- of quieting the minds of their purchasers, they suggest that your lordship should forthwith direct his Excellency to make to the Company a conditional grant of the lands selected by their agents : the Company obtaining, within the district so selected, the whole title which the Crown may have the power to grant ; and having the option, in the event of prior claims being set up, of either excluding from the selected lands such portions as may appear to be subject to such prior claims, and in that case receiving a corresponding number of acres in lieu ; or of including such portions, subject to the prior title, but obtaining from the Crown, in respect of them, the exclusive right of pre-emption enjoyed by the Crown: — the Governor and Council being instructed, as soon as practicable, to establish some general rule for denning native titles, and settling the claims to land, and to do their best to aid the agents of the Company in effecting the necessary arrangements with the natives, either for the purchase of lands belonging to them but unimproved, or for making, on the part of the Company, equitable compensation for the original value of the land which may have been occupied by themselves or their settlers without sufficient title, but on which they may have effected improvements. Your lordship, is, I believe, aware that so soon as the Directors learned the difficulties which had arisen in the colony respecting the native chums' and the consequent doubt in which their titles might, for awhile at least, be involved, they deemed it their duty to suspend all sales of land, and by consequence all emigration, together with the other functions assigned to them by their charter, which depend upon such sales : lam requested now to assure your lordship, that, should you acquiesce in

the suggestions which we now respectfully submit, the Court will feel itself at liberty to recommence the sale of land in their several settlements, as well as Auckland and its vicinity. In conclusion, the Court of Directors most respectfully, but earnestly, beg to impress upon your lordship the serious evila that have arisen in all the settlements from the profuse scale upon which the public expenditure has been conducted by the Local Government, and which it appears that it was intended to continue, had your lordship's consent been given to the estimates prepared by the late Governor. Upon the inhabitants of the Company's settlements this profusion has pressed with peculiar severity ; because, while, in order to support it, heavy taxation has been imposed, the expenditure upon public objects useful to the colony has been too much neglected in the settlements in question. Of this, the settlers of both Wellington and Nelson have loudly, but respectfully, complained. So far as the Directors have been able to ascertain the views of her Majesty's Government, and of Captain Fitzroy, on this head, I am requested to state the fullest confidence of the Court that no further occasion will arise for similar complaints ; and, under the present contemplated arrangements, the Directors doubt not that they will henceforward be enabled to fulfil their appropriate functions, as prescribed to them by their charter, to your lordship's satisfaction, to their own credit, and to the advantage alike of 'the colony and .of the public at large. I have the honour, &c. (Signed) Joseph Somes, Governor. The Right Hon. Lord Stanley, &c. Downing Street, May 12, 1843. Sir — I am directed by Lord Stanley to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Bth instant, containing the following proposals on behalf of the New Zealand Company. The Company propose : — First, " to "'pWchase £50,000 worth of land in Auckland and its vicinity ; £10,000 worth, at least, to be in the town, and £25,000 worth, at least, to be in the country ; the Company taking the remaining £15,000 worth of land in town, suburban, or country lots, provided they do not take more altogether in suburban than in town lots." Secondly, " that the town lots be purchased by auction, and that they be offered at the upset price of £100 per acre. As far as practicable, 1 however, such lots to be put up together in parcelk of ten acres each, and the whole lands applied fdrin the town by the Company at any one time to\ be sold on the same day, unless otherwise settled at the request of their agent, and with the assent of the Governor." Thirdly, " the suburban lots to be sold by auction. If the Company apply at one and the same time for 100 acres or upwards, the whole to be put up together at the general upset price of £5 per acre." Fourthly, " that the country land should follow the rule established by the Land Sales Act." Fifthly, " that credit be given to the Company by the Land and* Emigration Commissioners for the sum of £50,000, in consideration of their abandoning their claim to* 50,000 acres of land out of the whole quantity to which they are already entitled." Lord Stanley directs me to state his assent to these proposals, and to intimate further that he will be prepared to issue to the Governor of New Zealand instructions to the effect proposed in your letter, for effectually settling the question of the Company's title to land in that colony. With regard to the application of the Company that a Judge, with independent jurisdiction, be forthwith appointed for and sent out to Wellington, for the purpose of presiding over the administration of justice in the several settlements of Cook's Straits, under such regulations as the Governor and Council may direct, I am directed to acquaint you that Lord Stanley agrees in the propriety of that measure ; but the jurisdiction of the present Court having been defined by an Act of the Local Legislature, and a resort to the same authority being necessary for the creation of a jurisdiction such as that proposed, he can effect the arrangement solely through that medium. In the anticipation, however, that his recommendation on the subject will probably be adopted, his lordship will not object to taking measure for selecting and sending out at once a person qualified for the office. With reference to the request of the Company that, in order to remedy the evil and especially the discontent which they state to have arisen from the want of some competent Executive Authority at Wellington, the Governor of New Zealand may be authorized to appoint some person to represent him iv the neighbourhood of Cook's Straits, with sufficient Executive power to enable him to act upon any emergency, without the delay of a reference to the head of the Local Government, — I am directed to' acquaint you that Lord Stanley can only at present express a qualified assent to that arrangement. His lordship will, however, instruct the newly appointed Governor of New Zealand to ascertain, on his arrival there, how far it may be practicable ; leaving him, at the same time, a discretionary power to adopt such measures as he may consider expedient for giving effect to that arrangement, without the delay of a previous reference to thii country. I am, sir, &c, (Signed) - G.W. Hop*. To Joseph Somes, Esq.