GENERAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Wednesday, August 1st, 1849.

New Zealander, Volume 5, Issue 336, 2 August 1849, Page 2

GENERAL LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL. Wednesday, August Ist, 1849.

Yesterday, being the day announced for opening the tenth jecsion of the General Legislative Council of New Zealand, His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B , Governor-in-Chief, and His Excellency Major-General George Dean Pirt, X H., LieutenantGovernor of this Province, proceeded to the Council Chambrr at three o'clock, where they were received by a Guard of Honour with the regimental colour and Band of the 58th Rept., under command of Captain Parratt. At a few minutes after three (heir Excellencies and suites were ushcied into the Chamber, where they were received by the official and non-official members, namely, the honourable the Colonial Secre* tary, honourable the Attorney-General, honourable the Colonial Treasurer, the Surveyor-General, F, W. Merriman, E<q , R. C. Barstow, Esq., Lieut.-Col. W. Hulme, Major H. Matson, and S. Kempthome, Esq. The portion of the building allotted to the presi and the public is comfortably fitted with covered seats, and was thronged on this occasion As soon as the memnera were seated, the Rev. J. "F. Churton, Colonial Chaplain, offered up prayers for the Divine blessing on the deliberations of the Council. The usual oaths were administered to the new members, Colonel Hulnae, Major Matron, snd Mr, Kempthorne. The Governor-in-Chief then addressed the Council as follows :—

Gentlemen op the Legislative Council, —l have assembled you for the purpose of bringing under your consideration, matters of more than ordinary importance, and in reference to which, you may, by a judicious exercise of the powers with which you are entrusted, be the means of conferring benefits of no ordinary kind upon this Province. It has appeared to me that the recent decision of the Supreme Court upon several points connected with the validity of Titles to lands in this colony, has been such as to justify me in proposing, for your adoption, a comprehensive and complete plan for the removal of the doubts which have been entertained as to the validity of numerous Crown grants, and for the generai settlement of the land question, the prevailing uncertainty regarding which has for so many years proved so serious a detriment to the interests of this Province, although probably neither the extent of the evil, nor the difficulties of adjusting it have been either generally known or appreciated. Since the establishment of the Northern Settlements various laws and regulations for the disposal of land have been in force, and these have been frequently altered. During this period, no Jess a number than 1670 grants have been made. Partly from the difficulty of ascertaining what the binding rule was, and partly, apparently, from an opinion th^t an adheience to the rules prescribed on the subject was not essential to the validity of a grant, a large number of the grants issued have not been made in conformity with the laws and regulations. The greater number of these grants have been issued in pursuance of the provisions of the Land Claims Ordinance, yet but very few of them have been made in strict conformity with the general requirement! of that Ordinance, the great majority being irregular in a variety of ways, some of which will be illustratedjrom the returns which will be laid upon the table. In some cases these grants convey portions of land, described by exactly the same boundaries, to two or more claimants: the great majoiity of them contain no particular description of the specific parcelof land intended to be granted; some of them recite that a Commissioner had reported that the Grantee was entitled to receive the grant of land conveyed to him, when, in fact —in some of these instances—the Commissioner had recommended that no grant should be made, and in others the claim had not been heard by a Commissioner ; some of these Grants purport to convey land in compliance with the recommendation of a Commissioner, although the Commissioner lud teportcd either that the claimant had not Shown that the land had been purchased from the natives —or that it had not been purchased from the natives until after the issue of the Proclamation prohibit

f finer SHcn purchases. Some of those Grants are believed to convey quantities of laud very largely in exress of that which it is stated in the recital that the GiMntee is entitled to receive. Many of them contain surli va?ue descriptions of the land granted that it is difficult to tell what land is intended to be conveyed by them, and in the case of grants of adjoining land to several individuals, or of reservations made of certain portions out of o whole tract said to be granted, the description given is so vague, that it will be almost impossible to determine the respective rights of the various persons interested. Moreover the Commissioner who had h?nrdthc claims to land, previously to the issue of tho Crown Grants alluded to, wrote to the government stiting that he had frequently regu'ated the extent of land he had recommended to be granted to the claimants by the quantity of land which, after makings fair allowance for the claims of opposing native rights, it appeared probable to him that the native sellers had been clearly free to dispose of— and he at the same time stated that he believed that the native title to some of the tracts of land about to bs granted had never been fully extinguished — that the Commissioner could in very few instances obtain an a -curate description of the boundaries claimed, and that if the Crown Grants Bhould be issued in the manner which has been adopted, either mischief would ensue to the settleis if the natives were strong, or if they were weak and isolated, then the Natives would suffer injustice. Hitherto, in the great majority of case?, the lands so granted have been cither left unoccupieJ, or only small portions of them have been occupied ; and no person yet knows accurately tbe extent or position of the lands which have been granted by the Crown» but instances have already occurred in whichwhen theie lands have been attempted to ba taken possession of, the represeutationa made by the Com* missioner who heard the claims, to which I have alludpd have been fully borne out by the circumstances of the case. Under circumstances such as I hive above detailed, doubts were naturally enteitainel as to the validity of these grants. By lawyeis many of them were deemed to be certainly invalid, and this opinion was coincided in by the Home authorities. However strong was the opinion entertained as to the illegality of many of these grants, it would, nevertheless, have been difficult, in the absence cf any judicial decision, to huva removed these doubts by declaring thsm, by means of a local Ordinance, to be invalid an I illegal. More than once within the last two years, the expediency of sending home some person with a competent knowledge of the matter, specially commissioned to press upon the Home Gjveniment the necessity of dealing conclusively with the subject by Act of Pai 1 anaent,haB been considered by the local Government. But in the absence of any judicial opinion, and especially after the instructions to try the question at law in the colony, it would probably have been said that the proper course was toreler, in the first instance, to the cour.s of the country as a necessary preliminary for the guidance of Parliament. It thus appearing tha', without trying the validity of these grants, no hope existed of a general settlement of tbe question, recourse was had t> proceedings at law in the Supreme Court with a view to this object, and two cases, which, from their irregularity, and for other reasons, appeared suitable for the purpo-e, were selected. From the infrequency of communication between the Northern and Southern Provinces, and the importance of the questions involved, these proceedings have occupied a considerable time, but, on the part of the Government, they were prosecuted with all possible despatch. At last the judgment of the Court— given in both cases at great len§lh— has been obtained, and it has now become necessary to determine upon the course the Government should pursue. It appears that three courses of proceeding ar3 open for the adoption of the Government. lstly. As the judgments which declare the validity of the grants in question are contrary to the general opinion, the Government could appeal against such judgment with a view to obtain the opinion of the highest tribunal, previously to moving further in the matter. 2ndly. The Government could accept the decision of the Supreme Court, but move no further in the matter ; or, Srdly- At once adopting the julgment of the Supreme Court, it may attempt a general and final icttlement of the whole question by a Legislative enactment. If the Government were to adopt the first of the above-mentioned courses, two more years of doubt and uncertainty would probably elapse before the final decision of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council could be obtained. It is quite possible that the judgments of our Courts might then be reversed, but in that case, at the distance of two years from the present time, the question would be as far from b settlement as ever, with a greatly diminished probability of any general measure being assented to which would render these grants valid. The adoption of the second line of proceeding to which I have above alluded, viz., merely to accept the recent decision* of the Supreme Court, without moving further in the matter, would not, in any degree, advance the general settlement of the question ; because these decisions, in fact, only practically decide the two cases which were submitted to the Court, and leave those grants entirely unprovided for which, in accordance with the recent judgments, are probably void from uncertainty, and which are at least practically valueless for want of a description of the land intended to be conveyed by them. Many doubts would also still hang over a great number of grants, the points on which their validity appeals doubtful being very variom ; and a chang» in the Judges to others holding different views on points which are admit'edly very obscxire and doubtful ones, might at any time reopen the question and perpetuate the evil. The difficulty in which the Government has hitherto been placed may be said to have been, that whilst strong feelings were, on the one hand, entertained of the absolute necessity which existed for a final settlement of the land question at the earliest possible period, yet there appeared, upon the other hand, almost insuperable difficulties to be overcome, such at taking land from*one class ,of the'Q,ueen's subjects to give it to another; interfering arbitrarily with private rights; acting upon an uncertain and unascertained rule, which let in some and excluded others; throwing upon the public revenues a charge, and again moitgaging the land revenue to secure private interests. It may even now be said that tbe Government is placed in a position which compels it to incur the responsibility of t either having the question still unsettled for an indefinite period of time, or of incurring the responsibility of proposing to the Legisliture a measure which must be open to some of the objections above stated. I feel, however, so strongly the vast importance of a speedy, general, and conclusive removal of those doubts which hang over nearly all the titlc3 to land in this province, that, without expressing otherwise my opinion upon the the recent judgments, which— on

aconnt of the imporfnnt questions tlicy involve, and f'ii future guidance — it may still be necessary to appeal against, I have determined to adopt them, and to propoie for your consideration an ordinance declaring valid and effectual all grants to land which have been made by Her M»jesty'« Representative under the public Seal of the Colony. I lnve hither felt that, in thus adopting, as a rule foe guidance, the recent decisions of the Supreme Court, a useful precedent will probably be established, as it is not unlikely that hereafter very important dif- ! ferences may from time to time arise between the Government and large sections of the community, which may involve opposing interests of different classes of the Queen's subjects, which differencei may be of sucli a nature that the dcc'nion of the Supreme Court may be obtained regarding them, and I cannot but think that the interests of the community at large will, in, such cases, be generally be«t served by both parties adopting as their mle of guidance that interpretation of the law which may be place d upon it by its proper expositors. I have puiposely refrained from introducing into the measure 1 am about to submit for your consideration, some details, which it will probably be found es«ential to adopt into it, to secuie its beneficial working in practice ; because I thought it better, in these points, to rely upon the wisdom of the Council, for such improvements in the measure as their practical knowledge of the country may enable them to suggest* Such as the means by which, in the case of conflicting claims between grantees as to particular tracts of lana^ or as to specific boundaries, their several rights arc to be adjudicated on and adjusted, and by what »tandard priority of choice ia to be determined. As also undev what regulations main lines of road and lands, otherwise essential for public purposes, are to be reserved in cases where large contiguous tracts of country are granted away, and such like questions which will naturally suggest themselves as the measure passes through the Council. It will be observed, however, that the Government have in the measure to which I have alluded apparently aimed at something more extensive than a mere plan for affirming the validity of the grants connected with the old land claims. I should therefore explicitly state to the Council that doubts, different from those I have already stated, hang over the validity of nearly all the grants which were issued in the esrly days of the Colony, and that, after bestowing the most careful consideration upon the subject, 1 think that there are such serious doubts regarding the validity of the great majority of these grants, that the Legislature will act wisely in putting this most important question finally and conclusively at rest, by pat-sing an Ordinance which will effectually quiet such doubts. The foregoing are the causes which have led me to propose for your adoption an Ordinance which, whilst it relates to a subject beset with difficulties, I still regard as a measure of the very first necessity for the future prosperity of this country, and from which, if it is wisely matured by your experience, I believe that the most lasting benefits will be Eecured to this Province, la the hope of attaining such an end, I have resorted to you for your assistance and advice, in the ful l certainty that these will, tmon bo impoitant a subject, bo afforded to roe in the same spirit of conidence and readiness with which 1 have sought them at your hands. Another measure connected with the administration of the Waste Lmila of the Crown in the Province of New Ulster has been by my directions prepared for the purpose of being laid before jou. The object proposed to be attained by this measure is to give the force of law to certain rules which in conformity with the powers vested in me by the Chirter and lloyal Instructions I heve issued for the regula*ion of pasturage upa en Waste Lands belonging te the Cr- wn. In framing the regulations wh eh are embodied in the Ordinance to which I am alluding, I attempted to give the inhabitants of this Province some share in the nd ministration of the waste lands of the Crown, and that in relation to points wh eh m< st nearly concern the welfare and prosperity of the middling and humbler classes of society, I hoped that the result of this would be that they would soon perceive how dependent their own future interests and those of their children are upon the prudent administration by the Government of the public lands, and that they would be brought to understand that the government simply administer these lands as a trustee for the public benefit, and that its only desire » to maintain the rights of tho public in relation to them. The management of the Waste Lands of a Hundred,, and of the funds raised ft om those who depisture stock upon them, are also subjects in which nearly every colonist must be interested, and I cannot; but think that the entrusting the settlers with the nccsssary powers for these purposes, will have the effect of creating much public spiiit in the colony, and of gradually inducing people to take a far greater degree of intereit in the affairs of the neighbourhood in which they reside, than they do at present. Upon the whole I think, that although this measure may not be so striking in its features at that which I have submitted to your consideration for the purpose of quieting titles to land in New Ulster, yet that it will hereafter be regirded as a measure of great importance, which will secure very valuable privileges to the inhabitants of this country. It is only neceasary for me to call your attention to one other subject. No immediate necessity having hitherto arisen for legislating on matters of interest peculiar to New Ulster, and which were within the juiisdictionofa Pro* vincial Council, no such Council has yet been constU tuted for this Province. It was my intention, however, about this time to have constituted such a Council, to have assembled it for the appropriation of the revenue for the ensuing year, for the despatch of business. TII 3 preliminary arrangements for thia purpose had been already completed. When, from the circumstances I have before explained, a necessity arose which appeared to call for the immediate enactment of some measure to provide for the quieting of titles to land. This, whilst it was a subject of the greatest importance, was not within the jurisdiction ot a Provincial Council, and yet it was a matter of only provincial inteiest. Under those circunrtancei, I felt justified in deferring for the present, the assembling of a Provincial Council, and determined 10 summon a General Council, composed altogether of gentlemen of this Province, no other persons having yet been called to this Council. I did not think it necessary to summon for this special purpose gentlemen from distant portions of New Zealand, the matters to be submitted to you relating wholly to New Ulster, and being only of provincial interest. I feel it necessary to enter into these explanations upon this point, as I should be soiry to do any thing which might be drawn into a dangerous precedent, and in order to prevent the possibility of such an evil arising, I shall only submit for your consideration two other measures in addition to those 1 have already named. One, for the appropriation of the Revenue for the ensuing year, as it is necessaiy that an Ordinance for that purpose should be transmitted to England, without delay, to enable the home Government to make the

requisite financial arrangements— and another measure to provide some relief for those persons employed under tUc Civil Government who were severely wounded during the northern rebellion. Mr. Merriman moved that the address be printed, and in doing bo took occasion to ask His Excellency whether it would be competent for Members of the General Council who wighed to originate a measure, to go upon the principle laid down in the lGth Clause of the Provincial Councils Ordinance, and memorialize the Governor to introduce it. The Governor-m-Chicf said certainly the members of every Council had that course open to them. Mr. Merriman's motion was pecomled by Mr. Barstow, and the address was ordcrel to be printed. Mr. Merriman rose to give notice that he would move for all the returns alluded to in the Governor's address connected with the land claims ; but on being informed by His Excellency that the returns were already prepared, and were ready for the inspection of members, he withdrew his notice. The Governor-in-Chief then laid on the table " A Bill for Quieting; Titles to Land in the Province of New Ulster," and " A. Bill io Regulate the Occupation of the Crown Lands in the Province of New Ulster." The Attorney- General gave notice that he would move the firht reading of the " Ciowu Titles Bill" tomorrow. The Coloniul Secretary gave notice that he would move the first reading of the " Crown L-mds Bill" tomorrow. The Council was then adjourned until one o'clock on Thursday (thia day).