ADDITIONAL, INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE SALE OF LAND IN THE COLONY OF NEW ZEALAND. [From the "London Gazette," Aug. 23, 1850.]

New Zealander, Volume 7, Issue 508, 26 February 1851, Page 3

ADDITION A L, INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE SALE OF LAND IN THE COLONY OF NEW ZEALAND. [From the "London Gazette," Aug. 23, 1850.]

The Queen has been pleased to issue the following; additional instructions, under the Royal Sign Manual and Signet, to the Governor in-chief of New Zealand, for the purpose of modifying the Royal instructions to that officer, so far as they relate to the disposal of lands in that country :—: — " Whereas, by the 13th chapter of certain instruc* tions under our signet and sign manual appioved by our Privy Council, and accompanying certain letters patent under the Great Seal of our United Kingdom, bearing date the 23rd day of December 1846, provision was made respecting the settlement of the waste lands of the Crown in the two provinces of the Colony of New Zealand, and therein respecting the sales of the •aid lands, and respecting the reservation thereou of certain rents and royalties ; and whereas, the 31st clause of the said chapter is in the words following ; that is to say,— " ' A separate account shall be kept by the treasurer of each of the said provinces of the gross proceeds of the said land sales, rente, and royalties, and of all the costs, charges, and expenses of and incident in any way to the sale, survey, administration, and manage* uient of (he said demesne of us, in right of our Ciown ; and after deducting from such gross proceeds all such costs, charges, and expenses, the nett balance shall be by us held in trust for defiaying the cost of introducing into the said respective provinces emigrants from the United Kingdom, or in trust for defraying the costs of such other public services therein as by us shall from time to time be prescribed, by instructions to be issued in pursuance of the said net of Parliament, under our signet and sign manual, with the advice of our Privy Council ; " And whereas by the taid letter* patent, we did reserve to ourselves, our heirs and succtssors, full power and authority to amend, and for that purpose to add to, or, if necessary, repeal the said instructions; and whereas it is expedient lhat the hereinbefore recited clause of the said instructions should be minded ; " We do, therefore, declare by these our instructions, given under our signet and kign manual, and approved in our Privy Council, that so much of the said recited clause as prescribes the mode of expending the net balance therein referred to shall be, and the same is hereby repealed, and that the said net balance slull be by us held in trutt for defraying the cost of introducing into the said colony emigrants from the United Kingdom, or in truit for defraying the costs of such other public services in respect of the said colony as shall be from time to time presciibed by, or in pursuance of, any msti uctions issued by us under our signet and sign manual, and approved by our Privy Council. " And whereas by virtue of certain proclamations issued, or to be issued, within the colony of New Zealand, certain parts of the said colony have beeu, or may hereafter be, divided into hundreds; " And whereas it may be expedient that part of the proceeds arising from the sale of Crown lands within the laid hundreds should be applied in such manner as may be specified by the wardens or other proper authorities thereof; " We do hereby further declare that it shall be competent for the Governor, or officer administering the government of the satd colony, to authorize the appli cation of any proportion, not eiceeding one-thud, of the gross proceeds of the sales of Crown lands, effected within the limits of any such hundred, towards such purposes as shall be signified to him by the wardens of such hundred, or by such other authorities thereof as ihall be designated for that purpose by any ordinance to be passed by the Legislature of the said colony, subject nevertheless to such restrictions and regulations as shall be imposed by such ordinance. " Whereas by our instructions under our signet and sign manual, accompanying our letters patent under the Great Seal of our Uoited Kingdom, bearing date the 23rd day of December, 1846, we did, among other things, make certain rulei and regulations respecting the settlement of the waste lands of the Crown, which are comprised m the 1 3th chapter of the said instructions ; " And whereas by an Act of Parliament passed in the 11th year of our reign, entitled ' An act to promote colonization in New Zealand, and to authorize a loan to the New Zealand Company,' it was, amongst other things, euaeied, ' that the several provisions ■ relating to the settlement of the waste lands ot the | Crown, contained in the 13th chiipter of the said instructions under her Majesty's sign manual and signet, except such as relate to the registration of titles to land, the means of ascertaining the demesne lands of the Crown, the claims of the aboriginal inhabitants to land, and the restrictions on the conveyance of lands belonging to any of the aboriginal natives, unless to her Majesty, her heirs and successors, shall be suspended, and of no torce and effect within the province of New Munster, in the said colony of New Zealand, until the sth of July, in the year 1850, and during such further time as shall be directed by Parliament ;

'• And whereas Parliament has made no such further direction as aforesaid, and the said reciled instructions | are therefore now in force in the province of New Munster; " And whereas it is by the said act further provided • thnt if the directors of the laid company shall give noticr to one of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, withiu three calendar months next after the said sth day of April 1850, by any instrument under the [ sea! of the Company, th it ihey are ready to sunendrr the charters of the said Company to her Majesty, and nil claim and title to thr lands granted or awaide'l to them in Mie said Colony, all the powers and piivileges of the said Company, except such as shall be necessary for enabling the directors to receive the several sums of money hereinafter mentioned and to distribute the same among the shareholders and other persons entitled thereunto, and for enabling the directors to adjust and close the affairs of the Company, shall cease and determine, and all the lands, tenements, and hereditaments of the said Company in the said Colony shall thereupon revert to and become vested in her Majesty as part of the demesne lands of the Crown in New Zealand, subjsct nevertheless to any contracts which shall be then subsisting in regard to any of the said lands ; " And whereas the directors of the New Zealand Company did, on the sth of July last past, give to the Riisht Hon. Earl Grey, our Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies, such notice as aforesaid, in pur*uance of the above recited provision ; and whereas, on the giving of such notice as aforesaid, all the lands, tenements, and hereditaments of the said company, in New Zealand, reverted to and became vested in us, as part of the demesne land's of the Crown in New Zealand, subj'Ct nevertheless, as aforesaid, to any contracts winch were then subsisting in regard to any of the said lands ; "And whereas certain contracts have been entered into between the New Zealand Company and certain bodies of settlers and others, in regard to lands in New Munster aforesaid, namely, with the settlers at Wellington, Nelson, and New Plymouth, and the Associations of Otago and Canterbury ; " And whereas it is apprehended that the provisions contained in the 13th chapter of the said instructions are in certain respects inconsistent with the said con* tracts between the New Zealand Company and the said respective settlers and associations, and it is expedient that the said instructions should be repealed so far as regards the lands comprised in, or affected by, the said contract, as far as the same may be inconsistent with the said contracts respectively, or any part thereof. " Now, therefore, know you, that we have revoked and determined, and do by these our instructions, under our sign manual and signet, revoke and determine so much and such part only of the 13th chapter of the said instructions as relates to the lands comprised in, or affected by the aforesaid contracts between the New Zealand Company and the settlers at Wellington, Nelson, and New Plymouth, and the associations of Otago and Canterbury, and so far as the same may be inconsistent with the said contracts respectively, or any pirt thereof. " And we do hereby declare that the said contracts respectively, or any amendments in such contracts which may hereafter be made by and between us, our heirs and successors, or parties, on our or their behall lawfully authorised, and the said bodies respectively, are and shall be in force as regards the lauds comprised in or affected by the said contracts : provided always, that on the expiration or sooner determination of any such contracts, the regulations comprised in the laid 13 ih chapter of the said recited insructions shall again become and remain in force as regards the lands comprised in, or affected by such contract."