(No. 2.) A BILL TO PROMOTE COLONIZATION IN NEW ZEALAND, AND TO AUTHORIZE A LOAN TO THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume IV, Issue 247, 11 December 1847, Page 3

(No. 2.) A BILL TO PROMOTE COLONIZATION IN NEW ZEALAND, AND TO AUTHORIZE A LOAN TO THE NEW ZEALAND COMPANY.

! (As amended in Committee.) [Note.— The Words printed in Italics are proposed to be inserted in the Committee.] Whereas her Majesty, by her Royal Letters Patent, bearing date the twelfth day of February, in the fourth year of her reign, did grant and ordain that certain persons therein named and described should be and constitute a body corporate with perpetual succession and a common seal, by the name of " Tbe New Zealand Company," for the purpose of purchasing andacquiiing, settling, improving, cultivating, letting, selling, granting, alienating, mortgaging, charging or otherwise dealing with and making a profit of lands, tenements and hereditaments within her Majesty's colony of New Zealand and its dependencies, and of laying out settlements and towns, aud 'of working there all mines, pits and quarries, and »11 minerals an 1 metals, and for the conveyance of emigrants to the said colony and its dependencies, and of furnishing to emigrants all things requisite for their immediate settlement in the said colony, and for the other purposes therein set forth : And whereas by certain other Royal Letters Patent, bearing date the fourth day of August, in tbe seventh year of the reign o! her Majesty, and by a certain Act of Parliament passed in the last Session of Parliament, intituled, "An Act to grant certain Powers to the New Zealand Company," further powers have been granted to and are now vested in the said Company ; And whereas the said Company have acquired or become entitled to large tracts of lan-J in tbe said colony, and many of her Majesty's subjects have already emigrated to New Zealand, at the instance of the said Company, and have expended much of their own capital in forming settlements on lands belonging to the said Company, and by them sold or contracted to be sold for the purposes of such settlements, in full reliance on the continuance of the said Company's operations : And whereas, under and by virtue of ano- j ther Act, passed in the last Session of Parliament, intituled, " A.Q Act to make further Provision for the Government of the New Zealand Islands," and ol certain Royal Letters Palenf, bearing date the twenty-third day of December, in the tenth year of the reign of her Majesty, and certain Instructions under her Majesty's Sign Manual and Signet accompanying the same (which Letters Patent and Royal Instructions purport to have been issued by virtue of the provisions of tbe lastrecited Act), certain orders and regulations have been issued and promulgated in reference (amongst other things) to the dealings with and appropriations of the demesne lands of the Crown in the said colony : And whereas it may tend to restore the prosperity of the existing settlements, and promote tbe establishment of new settlements in the said colony, if the said Instructions, and the orders and regulations founded thereon, be for a time suspended within the province of New Munster in the said colony ; and if further powers be granted and further aid afforded to the said Company for enabling them to promote the colonization of New Zealand upon the principles on which the said Company was established, under such regulations as are for that purpose hereinafter contained ; Be it therefore enacted, by the Queen's most excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by tbe authority of the same, That the several provisions relating to the settlement of the watte lands of the

Crown, contained in tbe thirteenth chapter 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 lestrictions 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 force and effect within the province of New Munster in the said colony of New Zealand, until the Fifth day of July in the year One thousand eight hundred and fifty, and during such further time as shall be directed by Parliament. And be it enacted, that all the demesne lands of the Crown in the province of New Munster, in New Zealand, and all the estate and right of her Majesty therein, or power and authority over the same or any part thereof, shall, from and immediately after the passing of this Act, and during the suspension of the said instructions, be absolutely and entirely vested in the New Zealand Company, in trust for the purposes and subject to the provisions hereinafter contained, and during such period all the rights, powers and authorities of her Majesty in reference to the same may be exercised and administered by the said Company, in such manner in all respects, subject to the restrictions hereinafter contained, as to the said Company shall seem best fitted to promote the efficient colonization of New Zealand and the welfare of the colonists thereof. And be it enacted, that it shall not be lawful for the said Company, in the exercise of any of the rights or powers hereby conferred upon or vested in them, to sell or dispose of any of the lands hereby vested in them as aforesaid, (other than and except such lands as may by the said Company be granted or conveyed iv trust for or be dedicated to public purposes or uses as hereinafter authorized), without consideration, or for any less consideration than the sum of Twenty Shillings for each acre. And be it enacted, that it shall be lawful for the said Company to convey any part or parts of the lands hereby vested in them to any person or persons, or to any body or bodies corporate, in trust, for any public purposes or uses, sanctioned and approved by the Governor-in- Chief of New Zealand for the time being, or by one of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, without any money consideration for the same. And be it enacted, that of the monies arising from the sale by the said Company of the lauds hereby vested in them, a sum of not less than Ten Shillings for each acre of the lands so soil shall be carried by the said Company to a fund, to be designated " The Emigration Fund," to be by the said Company applied in satisfaction and discharge of the costs, charges and expenses to be incurred in the conveyance of emigrants to New Zealand, and incidental thereto. And be it enacted, that, except as herein otherwise provided, all monies which may come to the hands of the said Company in respect of the said lands so hereby vested in them, shall be applied toward defraying the costs, charges and expenses which may be incurred by the said Company in and about their establishments and the administration of their affairs, and the execution of the powers hereby vested in them, and the effecting of any sales, leases, mortgages, charges, or other dispositions of the said lands, and iv and about the compensation (if any) to be made to the aboriginal inhabitants of New Zealand for the purchase or satisfaction of their claims, rights or interests in the said demesne lands, or which may be incurred or contributed, or agreed to be incurred or contributed, in and about the making of surveys, maps and plans, and the laying out of settlements, and in and about the making of roads, railroads, bridges, canals, docks, quays, landing-places, wharves, piers, lighthouses, and other like public works, and in and about the clearing of waste lands, opening or working of mines, quarries, and minerals, and other outlay for the general improvement of tbe said colony, or any part thereof; and in and about the promoting, establishing, endowing or maintaining of places of religious worship, schools, hospitals, or other institutions of a like kind, and such other purposes for promoting colonization in New Zealand as shall be adopted by the directors of the said Company and approved by one of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State ; andthe residue thereof shall be applied, under the restrictions hereinafter contained, to tbe payment of interest or dividends on the capital stock of the said Company, not exceeding the proportion hereinafter mentioned, and toward the discharge and satisfaction of any ' monies then due and owing by the said Company to her Majesty or the Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury. And for more effectually securing the due performance of the trust hereby reposed in the said Company : be it enacted, that it shall

he lawful for one of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, at any time during the suspension of the said instructions, to nominate and appoint a Special Commissioner, to be called " her Majesty's Commissioner for the affairs of the New Zealand Company," and at his pleasure to remove the Commissioner so appointed, and in the case of the death, removal or restitution of the Commissioner so appointed, to appoint another Special Commissioner in his stead ; and there shall be aliowed and paid to the said Special Commissioner out of any monies belonging to and in the hands of the said Company, or which may be advanced and lent to them under the provisions of this Act, such yearly salary, not exceeding Fifteen hundred Pounds, as shall be directed and allowed by one of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, to be paid quarterly by equal instalments on the tenth day of October and the' fifth days of January, April, and July in every year, with a proportionate part for any part of a quarter of a year during which he shall hold the said ! office : Provided always, that no Special Commissioner shall be so nominated and appointed or enibled to act in the execution of this Act unless he shall have been previously approved and accepted by the directors of the said Company. And be it enacted, that during the suspension of the said instructions, the said Special Commissioner shall be entitled to be present at every Court of Directors of the said Company, and at every Committee and meeting of Proprietors thereof, and at all times to have full and free access to all documents, books, pipers, correspondence, accounts, vouchers, writings and records whatsoever, of or belonging to the said Company, and in the custody or possession of the said Company,, or of any of the officers thereof ; and to take copies or abstracts thereof or extracts therefrom ; and from lime to time, once or oftener in every year, and until* the final examination and audit of all accounts under this Act, and under two Acts passed in the last Session of Parliament, and severally intituled " An Act to authorize a Loan from the Consolidated Fund to the New Zealand Company," and " An Act to amend an Act of the present Session for authorizing a Loan from the Consolidated Fund to the New Zealand Company," shall be completed to his satisfaction, to examine and audit the accounts of the said Company in reference to all receipts and payments by them, undei or by virtue of this Act and the two last recited Acts ; and also, with a view to such annual or other periodical auditing of the said accounts, to authorize and direct an accountant, nominated by him, and approved and paid by the said Directors, to assist him in such inspection and examination of the said accounts, or any of them, and to call for and require the production of all vouchers relating thereto ; and the examination and auditing of the Company's said accounts by the said Special Commissioner, shall be deemed to be and shall be a satisfactory and conclusive auditing and settlement thereof, as between her Majesty or the Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury and the said Company. And be it enacted, that the said Special Commissioner shall be empowered to disallow and annul any resolution, order or proceeding (except as hereinafter provided) of the Directors of the said Company, or of any court or committee thereof, or of the proprietors of the said Company, by any writing under his hand, delivered to the Directors or Secretary, or left at the office of the said Company, within one week after the passing of the same ; and from and after such disallowance, the resolution, order or proceeding so disallowed, shall be deemed to be who ly annulled and rescinded, subject, however, and without prejudice, to all acts done under the same, before the signification of such disallowance by the Special Commissioner ; and if the said Company, or the Directors thereof, notwithstanding any such disallowance, shall continue to act as if such resolution, order or proceeding were not disallowed, it shall be lawful for the said Special Commissioner, with the approval of one of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State, by any notice under bis hand, to be published in the London Gazette, to suspend all the powers and privileges of the said Company, and upon the publication of such notice in the London Gazette, all the powers and privileges of the said Company shall be suspended and vacated, until Parliament shall otherwise provide ; and a copy of any such notice shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament within Three weeks after the publication thereof, if Parliament be then sitting, ,or if not, then within Three weeks after the next meeting of Parliament. And be it enacted, that the production of any deed or instrument under the seal of the Company, or of any order, regulation or writing under the hand of their Secretary for the time being, shall be evidence, until the contrary be proved, that the same has been,executed or made with the consent of the Special Commissioner in all casei in which hii consent

is necessary to the validity thereof under this Act, and in all other cases that he has not disallowed and annulled the same. And be it enacted, that during the suspension of the said instructions the Directors and the Special Commissioner jointly shall have the custody of the common seal of the said Company, and it shall he lawful for the Directors of the said Company, with the consent of the said Special Commissioner, but not otherwise, to affix the common seal of the said Company to all requisite deeds, documents and writings. And be it enacted, that during the suspension of the said instructions it shall not be lawful for the giid Company to declare or pay any interest or dividend upon the capital of the said Company, or to reserve or set apart any fund for the purpose of such interest or divideud, or by way of bonus or otherwise, without the consent in writing of the said Commissioner ; and during the same period no greater proportion than one-tenth part of the gross proceeds of the sale or leasing of the lands hereby vested in the said Company hy the said Company shall be applied in or toward any interest, dividend or bonus to the Shareholder of the said Company. And be it enacted, that in the case of the illness or necessary absence of the Special Commis.-ioner, all the powers vested in him by tlii-> Act may be exercised by one of her Mcijis y's Piincijial Secretaries of State, or by any person whom such Secretary of State, wiih ihe consent of the Directors of the said Company, shall appoint to exercise the Junctions of the Special Commissioner during such illness or necessary absence. • And whereas doubts have arisen as to the power of the Governor of New Zealand to make and issue grants of land to any corporate body for the purposes for which it is incorporated, under the provisions in that behalf contained in the Royal Letters Patent granted by her Majesty, and issued under the the Great Seal on the sixteenth day of November in the fourth year of her Majesty's reign, for the purpose of erecting New Zealaud into an independent colony, or under the said recited Royal Letters Patent of the twenty-third day of December in ths tenth year of the reign of her Majesty ; and it is expedient that such doubts be removed : Be it enacted, that all grants of land to the New Zealand Company or to any other corporate body by ihe Governor for the time being of New Zealand, which have been or shall be mads and issued before the expiration of six calendar months after the passing of this Act, and which have been or shall hereafter be accepted by the said Company or other corporate body, i shall be deemed good and valid grants, in manner and on the terms, if any, -therein stated and declared ; and further, that it shall be lawful for the Governor-in-Chief of New Zealand for the time being, at any time or times hereafter, to grant and assure to the said Company, or to any other body corporate, any lands to which the said Company or any such body corporate as aforesaid now is or may at any time or times hereafter he or become entitled. And whereas the Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury were empowered to advance and have advanced or agreed to advance _to the New Zealand Company one hundred thousand pounds, under the provisions of the said iwo Acts passed in the last Session of Parliament, severally intituled, "An Act to authorise a Loan from the Consolidated Fund to the New Zealand Company," and " An Act to amend an Act of the present Session for authorising a Loan from the Consolidated Fund ,to the New Zealand Company," And whereas it is expedient that further aid should he aflorded to the Company for enabling them to carry out more effectually colonization ; be it j .enacted, that it shall be lawful for the Lord High Treasurer or any three or more Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, at any tin es or times before tl.e Fifth day of Auril in the year One thousand eight hundred and fifty, to advance and lend to the New Zealand Company' out of the growing produce of the Consolidated Fund of the said Uunited Kingdom, any sum or sums of n oney not exceedjng in the whole the sum of One hundred end thirty-six thousand pounds over and above, the sum of One hundred thousand pounds already authorized and agreed to be advanced to them, as aforesaid in the following manner ; (that is to say) any sum not exceeding Jtwenty eight thousand pounds at any time before the fifth day of April in the year One thousand eight hundred and forty eight, any additional sum not exceeding Se-venty-two thousand pounds between the fifth day of April One thousand eight hundred and forty-eight, and the fifth, day of April One thousand eight hundred and forty-nine, and any sum not exceeding Thirty six thousand pounds between the fifth day of April One thousand eight hundred and forty nine and the fifth day of April One thousnnd eight Hundred and Fifty, to be by them applied together with 'such portion of the said loan of

One hundred thousand pounds as has not yet been advanced to the said Company in the discharge of any charges or liabilities of the said Company, and for the purposes of this Act ; and that the several sums of money which may be so lent and advanced shall not bear interest ; and that all claims of interest on account of the said sum of One hundred thousand Pounds, or so much thereof as has been or shall be advanced and lent under the last two recited Acts of the last Session of Parliament shall be wholly forborne and remitted to the said company. And be it enacted, that the said advances and loans, not exceeding the several amounts hereinbefore -specified in each year, shall be granted and made at such times and in such proportions, and subject to such conditions and undertakings for securing the due application and apportionment thereof to the purposes of this Act as the said Lord High Treasurer or Commissioners of the Treasury shall think fit; and the repayment of all sums of mone^ so to be lent under the provisions thereof, by a yearly payment of not less than One-fourth of the clear profits of such Company, after payment df all expenses incurred by them in such year, shall "be secured upon the security and credit of the profits of ihe undertaking, and upon the security and credit of the lands, tenements, and hereditaments in New Zealand, now belonging to the said Company, or to the possession of which the Company are now entitled by a deed or deeds of assignment and mortgage of the same under their common seal, to such persons, in such manner and at such times, and under such conditions and regulations, as the said Lord High Treasurer or Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury shall order. And be it enacted, that notwithstanding the trust hereby created, and such deeds or deeds of assignment and mortgage as aforesaid, it shall be lawful for the said Company, with the consent of the said Special Commissioner, to hold, enjoy, sell, dispose of, receive, take and deal with the lands, tenements and hereditaments now belonging to or hereafter to be acquired by the said Company, by virtue of this Act or otherwise, and the issues and profits thereof, in like manner, in all respects, both at law and in equity, as if such trust had not been created, and such deed or deeds of assignment and mortgage had not been made ; and that no purchaser from orlesseeor tenant of aperson in any manner dealing with the Company for the said lands, tenements and hereditaments, or the rents, issues and profits thereof, or any of them, with such consent as aforesaid, shall be affected by any default of the Company in making repayment of the advances made to them, according to the provisions of this Act, notwithstanding that such default may have been actually made, and he or she may have notice thereof. And be it enacted, that all mouey to be secured by any such deed or deeds of assignj ment and mortgage as aforesaid, that shall be paid by the said Company, their successors or assigns, to such person as shall be appointed by the Lord High Treasurer, or Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury to receive the same shall be carried to the credit of the Consolidated Fund, and shall go in discharge of the monies advanced, or to be advanced, to the said Company ; nevertheless, every receipt that shall be given by the persons to whom any such assignment and mortgage shall be made as aforesaid, or the survivors or survivor of them, his executors or administrators, or their or his assigns, for any money to be secured by any such assignment and mortgage, shall exonerate the said Company, their successors and assigns, from all liability wich respect to the application thereof. And whereas it is expedient to provide for the contingency of the New Zealand Company finding themselves unable to continue their proceedings with profit to themselves, and benefit to the said colony ; he it enacted, that, if the Directors of the said Company shall give notice to one of her Majesty's Principal Secretaries of State within three calendar months next after the said fifth day of April one thousand eight hundred and fifty, by any instrument under the seal of the Company, that they are ready to surrender the charters of the said Company to her Majesty, and all claim and title to the lands granted or awarded to them in the said colony, all the powers and privileges 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 distri- ' I bute 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 patft of the demesne lands of the Crown in New Zealand, subject nevertheless to any contracts which shall ho then subsisting in regard to any of the said lands, and upon the condition of satisfying > any liabilities to which the said Company may

then be liable under their existing engagements with reference to the settlement at Nelson, or any liabilities of the said Company which during the suspension of the said Instructions shall have been contracted by them with the consent of the said Special Commissioner, and all claims of the said Company tb any further grant of land shall cease, and the said Special Commissioner shall not be empowered to annul any resolution of the Directors or Proprietors for giving such notice as aforesaid, and shall be bound to consent to affix the seal of the Company to such instrument as shall be prepared by order of the said Directors for that purpose. And be it enacted, that upon the rever- , s : on as aforesaid to her Majesty of the lands belonging to the said Company, all claim on behalf of her Majesty, or of the Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury, upon the said Company, in respect of either the siid loan of one hundred thousand pounds, or ihe loan authorized by this Act, or of so much as shall then remain due and unpaid, shall be remitted to the said Company ; and there shall be charged upon and paid to the New Zealand Company out of the proceeds of all future sales of the demesne lands of the Crown in New Zealand, alter deducting the outlay for surveys, and the proportion of such proteeds which is appropriated to the purposes of emigration, the sum of tuo hundred and sixty-eight thousand three hundred and seventy jounds fifteen shillings, being after the rate of five shillings for each acre of the one million and seventy-three thousand four hundred and eighty-three acres to the possession of which the Company are now entitled, including therein twenty-four thousand four huudred and ninety-one acres and half an acre purchased by the said Company within their own settlements, and now held as their private estate, with interest after the yearly rate of three pounds ten shillings in the hundred pounds upon the said sum, or so much thereof as shall from time to time remain due and unpaid, to be computed from the day of the delivery of such notice as aforesaid. And be it enacted, that the receipt of two of the Directors of the said Company authorised to give such receipt by any resolution under the seal of the Company, shall b.e a sufficient acknowledgment of the payment o>- advance of any monies authorized by this Act to be paid or advanced to the said Company, and that neither the Special Commissioner nor the Commissioners of her Majesty's Treasury, shall be bound to see to the due application of the said monies otherwise than is herein provided. And be it enacted, that nothing herein contained shall invalidate or in any manner alter or affect any ordinance or ordinances which shall have been duly made in New Zealand before the promulgation of this Act in the said colony, for regulating the sale of lands belonging to the aboriginal inhabitants of New Zealand. Provided always, and be it enacted, that nothing in this Act contained shall in any way prevent, impede, interfere with, alter or affect any sales or contracts for sale of lands made and entered into before the fifth day of July in this year, by the said Company, whether before or since their said incorporation, or by the New Zealand Land Company, or by any person or persons as Trustees or Trustee for the New Zealand Company, before their incorporation as aforesaid, or for the said New Zealand Land Company, or made and entered into by a certain Company, called, " The Plymouth Company of New Zealand," or by any Trustees or Trustee for such lastmentioned Company ; but the said New Zealand Company, so incorporated as aforesaid, shall have full liberty and power to carry the said several contraccs and agreements into effect, under and subjec: to the provisions coutained in the said Act of the last Session of Parliament for granting certain powers to the New Zealand Company, without any right 01 power of interference therein by the Special Commissioner, and without any necessity for his consent thereto. And be it enacted, that this Act may be amended or repealed by any Act to be passed in this Session of Parliament.