THE NELSON TRUST FUNDS.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VI, Issue 489, 10 April 1850, Page 2

THE NELSON TRUST FUNDS.

At a Meeting of land purchasers, held on Thursday last at the Literary Institution, R. K. Newcome, Esq., in the chair, the following resolutions were unanimously passed. As the resolutions themselves are so fully drawn, and as they expressed the opinions, as far as we could gather, of all the land purchasers present, we have not thought it necessary to report further the proceedings : Moved by Mr. Shepherd, seconded by Mr. Seymour — 1. That the landowners have received with the greatest surprise and dissatisfaction tbe New Zealand Company's despatch of 14tb

August last, on the subject of the Truft Funds. ~ Io justification of this expression pi their feelings, and to exhibit the state of the Trott Fund question in so far"aVtel»tes to the promises of the Company to transfer 'the administration of the Funds to a board of Trustees resident in the 'settlement, they refer ta the following documents and facts. 1. In July, 1847) acting .upon the wellknown offer made by the Company, that it would " adopt any measures which the colonuts may desire, provided that they be unanimous among themsel ves, that it be consistent with the duties which the Directors owe to other parties, and that they legally possessthe necessary powers ; and to apply to Parliament to confer such upon them if it be determined that they are not already in their possession," the Nelson landowners came to a resolution as regarded the Trust Funds^ " That the future management of them should be vested in a Board of Trustees residing in the settlement, to consist of seven members, of whom two should be appointed by. the Company, two by the private absentee proprietors, and three by the resident proprietors." 11. To the Committee which forwarded these resolutions to the Company, their Secretary wrote thus ou the 3rd March, 1848 r — " In reply lam instructed to express to you the extreme gratification with which these communications have been received, and with the slight modifications which will be communicated to you at the same time as this letter by the Resident Agent, and by means of which it is hoped that the desired ends will be yet more, effectually attained, their entire and cordial concurrence in the several arrangements which the resolutions embrace." And on the same day the Secretary wrote as follows to the Principal Agent : — " To the appointment of a BoarJ of Trustees, to be constituted as proposed in the 18th resolution^ and empowered to appropriate and expend ihe several special funds (with the exception of course of the fund for emigration, which evidently can only be administered in England,) and to the application of those funds to purposes analogous to the purposes' originally specified, but not exactly identical with them — the Court will cheerfully consent^ if it be found that it either has or can obtain legal power to divest itself thenceforward of the responsibilities which it has undertaken." 111. From the date of the above despatch** es until within a few days, 1 not a single line or hint has beeu received from , the Company which would induce the settlers to believe that it had departed from its above quoted promises, or had met with or foreseen any difficulty in carrying them into execution, On the other hand, the tenor of all the Company's communications on this subject has been such as to induce the colonists to believe that in • very short time the Trust Funds would be confided to their administration, in proof of which, a little more than two months ago the election of Trustees was accomplished. s IV. It further appears, that the Company's, own Agents held views upon this matter identical with those of the colonists, for. at the same time that the landowners elected their Trustees, two were nominated by the Resident, and confirmed by the Principal Agent, to sit on behalf of the Company. Y. The Company has repeatedly and at various times promised to forward a statement of the balance of moneys due on . the Trust Fund account, naming even the vessel by which such account should be forwarded, but its promises have Invariably been broken, and no account of the Trust Funds has yet been .received. ~ VI. On obtaining a loan from the British Government, the Company set apart the sum of £25,000 to meet claims which possibly might be due to the settlement," but the balance justly dpe is affirmed by the rjttf be upwards of £50,000. - -•- VII. After the lapse of more thin two years and a half from the adoption of the resolutions of July, the. settlers are at length informed by the Company, that they have received a legal opinion to the purport, that they cannot divest themselves of the, responsibility which they originally, undertook as adminis- [ trators of the Trust Funds of the Nelson Settlement. With the facts above Tecorded before them, the Nelson landowners: resolve that they, can consider the present conduct of the Company in no other light tjjfan an .attempt to evade the settlement of a claim justly due, and to weary them out by the sickness of indefinite delay. They will refrain from applying io suck conduct the terms which they feel it might justly merit, and will only say of it, that it bears very much the appearance of systematic deception, and exhibits an unfeeling disregard of the highest interest of the settlement. Carried unanimously. Proposed by Mr. Otterson, seconded by Mr. Strong. * ; 2. Although it is impossible within, th* compass of a Resolution to enter upon a com-

plete analysis of the despatch, the landowners nevertheless wish to direct ahention to the following points. I. It appears that in June, 1848, the Company were advised by counsel that Parliament would not pass a bill conferring on them the desired powers, and withheld from the colonists, as from their own Agents, all knowledge of the fact. 11. The opinion given by Mr. Rolt affirms the legality of the intention of the landowners,' as expressed in their resolution, to apply the special Trust Funds to purposes analogous to those originally contemplated. . ' 111. The opposition of landowners, nonresident in the colony, to the proceeding of a local Board* of Trustees, appears altogether gratuitous and chimerical, because it appears from the letter of the Secretary of the Company to the Committee of resident landowners, dated March 3rd-, 1848, that " a copy of these Resolutions (t.e ft the resolutions of July) has been forwarded by order of the Court to every owner of Nelson lands, known to be residing in the United Kingdom," and the settlers have never been informed that any objection has ever been raised by these parties. On the contrary, they learn from the Nelson Agents who represent the great majority of the absentees, that in no single instance has any opposition been made by them to the wishes of the colonists, expressed in their July resolutions. IV. Notwithstanding the opinion of Mr. Rolt upon the case as submitted to him, the landowners, with all due deference, still believe that no insuperable obstacle exists to the Company transferring its administration to a Board of Trustees resident in the colony. Y. The colonists cannot admit that the two questions of the remodelling of the land-ar-rangements of the settlement and of the Trust Funds can be separated. They hold that without a sufficient authority, the Company could no more infringe the scheme of the settlement, than they could transfer the Thrust Funds. Both these subjects were in the resolutions of July indissolubly united, and they consider the Company equally bound in law and honour to carry out both. Carried unanimously. Proposed by Mr. Martin, seconded by Mr. Kellrag. 3. The, landowners cannot remain indifferent to the question, whether the Trust Funds are to be administered by the Company or by a local Board. The common sense view of the case', as well as all past experience, convinces them that the settlement will derive an infinitely greater amount of advantage from the latter than from the former course. To the transference of ' their Trust to a Board resident in. the settlement, they bold the Company irrevocably committed, and observing with the deepest regret and surprise their attempt to escape from this obligation, this meeting hereby pledges itself to use every means to compel the Company to fulfil its engagements, and to obtain from it an account of its past administration of the Funds. Carried unanimously. Proposed by Mr. Seymour, seconded by Mr. Mackay. — 4. That this Meeting instruct the Board of Trustees to communicate with J. S. Tytler, Esq., formerly of, Nelson, with a view to appointing him as Agent on behalf of the landpurchasers, invested with the necessary powers to arrange the questions at issue with the New Zealand Company, amicably if possible ; and if necessary, to take the best advice that can be had in England with regard to the power and position of the land purchasers in respect to the New Zealand Company, and all other question's connected with the Trust Funds. Carried unanimously Proposed by Mr. Strong, seconded by Mr. Martin. — . 5. That this. Meeting is of opinion that the absentee landowners, being directly interested in the question of the Trust Funds, as in all matters connected with this settlement, should be earnestly requested to cooperate cordially with the resident landowners in obtaining a settlement of the Trust Fund question, on the 18th of the Resolutions of July, 1847, both by giving their countenance to the position taken by the resident landowners at this meeting* andby their pecuniary support if necessary. Carried unanimously. Proposed by Mr. Heine, seconded by Mr. .Elliott. — 6. That this Meeting pledges itself to subscribe £5 per vote, to enable the Trustees to defray the. expenses which must be incurred in carrying out the 4th Resolution, and expects all the resjdent original purchasers, and the representatives of absentees, will contribute cheerfully in the same proportion. This Meeting further requests the Trustees to act at once upon the above Resolutions. Carried unanimously.