NINETEENTH REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS OF THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 80, 18 April 1846, Page 2 (Supplement)

NINETEENTH REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS OF THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

The endeavours of your Directors having at length attained a point which enables the Company partially to resume its operations, we have thought it right to summon a special meeting of the proprietors, for the purpose of laying before you a general statement of our proceedings. You are doubtless aware of the discussions which, on the motion of one of your directors, Mr. Charles Buller, took place in the House of Commons in the month of June and July last, and of the very remarkable sentiments to which utterance was then given, by members of all parties, with regard to the affairs of New Zealand, and of the colonies generally. In the course of those discussions, the prime minister expressed, in the most decided terras, and on more than one occasion, his sense of the usefulness of this company as an instrument of colonization, and his desire to promote its prosperity. Encouraged thereby, on the 24th of July, the day after the close of the second debate, we addressed a letter to Lord Stanley, in which we stated that, without abandoning our own views of the true policy to be adopted, we deemed it advisable to suggest measures which, being based upon the principles laid down by his Lordship, might lead to a practical result. Upon this (to use the words of Sir Robert Peel), Mr. Lefevre, the Secretary to the Board of Trade, " a gentleman who had not been mixed up with the previous transactions, and was therefore enabled to take a more dispassionate view of the whole case, was called in to assist the Undersecretary for the colonies ;" and, with the assistance thus given, a negociation and correspondence was entered into, for detailed particulars of which we must beg to refer you to the documents inserted in the appendix, but of which the following may be received as a brief summary : — The suggestions contained in our letter of the 24th July, had reference to the two points, the settlement of which was of most immediate importance, namely, the institutions by which New Zealand was to be governed, and the titles to land ; and we added that, should our suggestions afford means for a practical solution of these points, there would then be such an opening for the renewal of our colonising operations, that we doubted not the Government would be willing to remove the only obstacle that would remain, by advancing such a loan as would be necessary to enable us to act. Our suggestions have not been -complied with in all respects ; but arrangements have been assented to, which comprise a provision for the erection of municipalities in the several settlements, with considerable powers of selfgovernment, to be extended hereafter ; and for the introduction of delegates from those municipalities into the general Legislative Council of the colony. With regard to land, possession is to be given of the lands awarded by the Commissioner, Mr. Spain, wherever those awards have been delivered by him, either in his judicial character, by virtue of his powers under the Land Claims Ordinance — and are duly completed — or in the character of an arbitrator, whose adjudication had been authorized by the representatives of both parties. The pre-emptive right of the Crown is to be granted to the Company, throughout the districts on both sides of Cook's Strait, as defined in the agreement of November, 1840 ; the cordial assistance of the Government is to be exerted in effectingthe arrangements necessary for the satisfaction of the Company's claims, and the settlement of questions relating to the remainder of its land ; and a person duly qualified is to be specially selected, and appointed specifically for the performance of this duty. At Wairarapa, the fertile and extensive valley lying to the north-east of Wellington, which is selected as the site of the intended Church of England settlement, announced in our eighth report, and through which must run the main road of communication between Auckland and Port Nichohon, the power oi immediate purchase, granted by Governor Fitzroy, is extended from 150,000 to 300,000 acres. At Otakou, in the Middle Island, the site of the intended settlement of New Edinburgh, — 'in order to obviate the delay of effecting a survey for the purpose of selecting the portion stipulated, — the entire quantity purchased from the natives, 400,000 acres, is to be immediately granted to the Company, with power

to reconvey to the Crown any quantity, above 150,000 acres, which may not be found desi-rable-'for its objects. The statement submitted, at the suggestion of the Government, of the Company's entire claims to land on account of expenditure up to the ■present date, lias not yet been decided on ; but there is every reason to believe that it will obtain a fair and equitable consideration. The Government have declined to admit the claim which we have preferred, without specifying any amount, on account of the expenses and losses, direct and contingent, to Which the Company has been subjected. To this disclaimer, we have replied, in our letter of the 22d September, that " we feel it would be unbecoming -in us to offer at present any observations beyond the assurance that we only adverted to it, in the recent correspondence, to guard against any appearance -of an* candid suppression of our views during the discussion of the arrangements then pending." A loan has been promised, subject to the sanction of Parliament, to the extent of one hundred thousand pounds, under the conditions specified in the following extract from Mr. Hope's letter of the 30th of August : — "During the recess, her Majesty's Government have no means of rendering any aid to the Company ; but Lord Stanley directs me to inform you that they will at the commencement of the next session, apply to Parliament for authority to make a loan to that amount to the New Zealand Company, subject to the following conditions and stipulations : — "Ist. That no time should be lost in ascertaining the total amount of land to which the Company may ultimately be entitled, and in selecting the whole of the land so ascertained. "2nd. That the lands thus selected, and any further claims to land which the New Zealand Company may have, be mortgaged to the Crown, with all the necessary powers fi.r realizing the security, in such a manner, however, as not te interfere with the selection of land on the part of the Company, or with its selling the same; provided that, on the sale thereof, one m. iety of the consideration, whatever it may be, which shall be reserved to the Company, shdll be paid to her Majesty's Treasury towards the liquidation of the principal and interest of the loan. "3rd. That the Company shall engage not to apply the money so advanced to my purposes other than those specified in classes 1 and 2 above set forth, "4th. That the rate of interest be 3 per cent, per annum, to be paid as before mentioned, w from the proceeds of land-sales. ■"sth. That after seven years, Government may, unless the loan together with the interest be repaid, foreclose, if it think fit, the mortgage, or take such other measures as it may deem expedient forrealiziug its security* " It may be proper to add, in order to prevent all futute misapprehension, that under the head of contingencies specified in the above classification, no payment on account of the principal of any debentures issued by the New Zealand Company is to be included." Such are the results of our negociations and correspondence to the present timp. On the strength of the loan thus promised, the Company's bankers, Messrs. Smith, Payne, and Smiths, have consented to advance, and have in fact already advanced, a considerable portion, in the most liberal and handsome manner, of the sum which we estimated would be required for the purposes of the Company till such time as the Government Loan should become available. By these means we have been enabled, not only to meet all current engagements, but also to place at the disposal of your Piincipal Agent (by the ship Mary Catherine, which sailed for Port Nicholson on the 12th of September), such, a sum of money as we doubt not will suffice to re-establish the credit of the Company in the colony, and to effect such measures as are of most immediate and pressing importance* These measures, as enumerated in our instructions to Colonel Wakefleld, are the following, namely :—: — The discharge of existing liabilities in the Colony ; The payment of the salaries of the Company's officers, and (as stated to the Government) their restoration, from the Ist of January next, to that just amount below which, under extreme pressure, they have been for some time unavoidably reduced ; The prosecution of the surveys at Otakou, in preparation for the early arrival of the New Edinburgh colonists; " The completion of the survey at Nelson, as soon as the Commissioner's award shall be given, as anticipated, in favor of the Company, with regard to the plain of Wairau. The completion, as opportunities may offer, of transactions with the natives, more especially the purchase at Wairarapa, and the transactions, heretofore left in a state of uncertainty, at Wanganui and New Plymouth : and lastly, The prosecution of the road from Wellington to Wairarapa ; and, if possible, the commencement of the preliminary survey of the latter district The enclosure in the letter addressed by us to Lord Stanley on the 22nd of September, which will be found in the appendix, shows the regulations under which it is proposed to dispose of land in the settlement of New Edinburgh, but which are not yet finally agreed upon. On the anticipations with regard to this settlement, in which we have been led to indulge, from the peculiar features by which it is distinguished, it is unnecessary to dwell. Kept alive and brought again into

activity at the earliest possible moment, by the unconquerable zeal of its mare immediate promoters ; upheld by that deep-rooted religious principle which is their national characteristic : and aided by the facilities afforded by the Government as to the selection of the intended site, and by the appropriation as arranged, of a portion of the loan to the preliminary measures for its formation, this undertaking is re-commenced undermost encouraging auspices, and bids fair to be productive of the happiest results. o So desirable have the principles appeared to us, by which the appropriation of the proceeds is to be there regulated, that we have determined to introduce them, as far as is now practicable, into the settlement of Nelson. For such introduction a fitting opportunity is afforded by a re-arrangement of the unsold lands, which the peculiar circumstances of the settlement have rendered advisable ; which we have endeavoured to carry into effect in such a way as may best promote the interests of individuals, consistently with the general advantage of the community, and with good faith ; and of which the particulars will also be found in the appendix. New Plymouth, fertile and inviting as that settlement has been proved to be, must still wait, we regret to say, for the maturing of its prosperity, until the award of the Commissi- [ oner in favor of the Company shall have been confirmed by the Government, and possession given of the land, in accordance therewith. I Copies are given, in the appendix, of such portions of the despatches lately received from the colony as are of importance, or general interest. They contain reports, we regret to say, of a continuance of the measures which have heretofore proved so prejudicial ; of a withholding of the Company's Deeds of Grant ; and of injudicious concession to the natives, producing the most injurious effects upon their minds ; but in other respects the intelligence is satisfactory. All was still quiet in Cook's Strait, notwithstanding the disturbances, and the partial success of the insurgents to the northward. The courage and activity of the colonists were undiminished. Amid the preparations for self-defence which had been deemed advisable, and into which they had entered with unhesitating alacrity, they were continuing the more peaceful occupations of a settler's ordinary life. These labourers, for whom capitalist employers had not been found, were gradually becoming established upon the the soil. The resources of the country were in course of progressive development. Under a sense of the qualities which Mr. Fox had evinced while acting as resident agent at Nelson, Colonel Wakefield had appointed him to retain that office permanently, and to succeed himself as Principal Agent in the event of his own decease, resignation, or absence from the colony. Having had frequent occasion to express our approbation of the manner in which the duties entrusted to Mr. Fox have been performed by that gentleman, we have confirmed the appointment made by Colonel Wakefield in both particulars. Another vacancy, which has doubtless suggested itself to you, we have not yet filled up. At the very time when the difficulties of the Company were about to be relieved in the manner which we have detailed, and when therefore, to human apprehension, he was about to receive the fitting recompense for the assistance and support which he had afforded so largely when those difficulties were greatest, your late lamented Governor was suddenly and most unexpectedly taken away. We have not yet ekcted any one to supply his place. Our sense of his loss we have recorded in, the following resolution, and to the sentiments therein embodied we feel assured that every member of the Company will individually and cordially respond ;—; — Extract from the Minutes of the Court of Directors of the New Zealand Company, dated 26th June, 1845. " It was proposed, seconded, and resolved, — "That this Court, profoundly sensible of the great loss sustained by the Company in the sudden and lamented death of its Governor, the late Joseph Somes, Esq., feels it a duty to record its deep sense of the unvarying liberality, spirit, and perseverance, with which, whether in prosperous or adverse circunstances, he has ever exerted himself in maintenance of the rights, and promotion of the interests of the Company; its sincere estimation of the consideration and urbanity constantly manifested by him towards its members ; and its cordial sympathy with Mrs. Somes and the family, on the distressing bereavement with which, in inscrutable wisdom, it has pleased Divine Providence to afflict ;hem." New Zealand Home, Broad-street-ouildingi, IQth October, 1845.