From the Wellington Independent, Feb. 8.]

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume VII, Issue 577, 12 February 1851, Page 4

From the Wellington Independent, Feb. 8.]

To the Editor of the Wellington Independent. g IB —I have been informed by three different persons, on their applying to the Local Government for information respecting the lands in this settlement, they have been told, and that on the highest authority, that the Government was unable to do anything in respect of the lands or to give any information about them, because I refused to put it in possession of the documents in the Company’s offices which were necessary to enable the Government to ascertain in what position it stands in respect of the lands; and in one instance it was added, as I am told, that I was about to take the documents in question away with me to England. As such a statement is calculated to operate to my prejudice, and as it is probably circulating in many quarters where I have no opportunity of contradicting it in person, I have to request that you will allow me to make such contradiction public through your columns. The following account of what has passed between myself and the Local Government, in reference to the Lands, and the accompanying correspondence, will I hope prevent misapprehension, and relieve me from the imputations which it has been attempted to cast upen me. On the arrival of his Excellency the Governor- in-Chief in Wellington early in November 1 immediately waited upon him, and proposed that I should proceed to issue conveyances to the Company’s purchasers, on bis undertaking to give them legal validity by a general confirmatory grant, or a local ordinance. The object I had in making this proposal was to fix with certainty the ownership of the purchasers under the Company, and to prevent the possibility of any confusion arising on the transfer of the lands to the Government, which would necessarily be in a state of comparative ignorance on the subject. Sir George Grey however declined to accede to the arrangement, which, if assented to, would probably have removed all the uncertainty in reference to the ownership of the land, which is now put forward as the excuse for not acting in the instances referred to. But this is not all : On the27th of January, after a preliminary letter and reply not necessary to print, I received from the Colonial Secretary a letter of which I enclose a copy, marked No. 1, requesting that, in order to prevent the heavy loss to the whole colony which must arise fiorn any delay, I would at once transfer to the Government the various documents, plans and records in the offices of the New Zealand Company.

At this dale I had received no instructions from the Court of Directors to hand over any part of the Company’s property to the Government, nor had the Government, I believe, received any instructions to take possession of it. I saw no reason therefore for taking the responsibility of such a step, and determined not to do it without instructions. But as I was desirous to avoid the possibility of any inconvenience accruing to the public, I decided to afford the Local Government the fullest access to the documents relating to land in all the settlements, provided it would employ fo.r the purpose parties who possessed my confidence, and would pledge itself not to take copies of the documents placed al its disposal. I called on the Colonial Secretary, in whose office I found the Attorney-General, and explained to them both what I proposed and why I did so. They both expressed themselves satisfied with the reasonableness of the proposition and on leaving them I put it in writing and sent it officially. I enclose a copy of my letter marked No, 2. The answer to my proposal simply is, that that the Local Government “ can be no party to any such airangement,” I enclose a copy marked No. 3. No attempt is made to suggest any other course —no reason is assigned for declining that suggested by me., I leave it to the public whether there is the slightest ground for pretending that any act of mine has prevented the Local Government ■from acquiring whatever information may be requisite to enable it to know exactly how it stands in respect of the Lands of the Province —w ; hat parts of it have been selected by purchasers under the Company, and what are open waste of the Crown. If the Government bad chosen to accept my offer, which I submit was as fair a one as man could make, it would now have had access to every document in rny possession relating to the lands. If the sense of that " power and digiiity” which one of Sir George Grey’s predecessors

used to claim for the Local Government prevents its “being a party" to so reasonable an business like an arrangement I cannot help it. The public, lam satisfied, will relieve me from all blame in the matter. ~Yn "conclusion, Sir, I may observe that this anxiety of the Local Government to get possession of the Company’s lands, registers, and plans, is of very recent origin. Down to the 17th of January his Excellency repudiated m the strongest manner the right of the Government to interfere with any lands which had ever been granted to the Company. On that day having the honour to attend his Excellency the Governor-in-Chief with a deputation of gentlemen interested in Mr. Scott s grant, his Excellency exhibited a degree of ignorance on this point, which (considering that his Attorney-General and Colonial-Se-cretary, both lawyers, were in the room, and by their silence acquiesced in his position,) absolutely made me shudder to think that the Government of the colony should be carried on by officers so ill informed on a point of the utmost importance. I endeavoured to remove his Excellency’s misapprehension, when he put me down in the most positive manner by informing me that “ the English lawyers had been consulted on the question, and had given their opinion as he stated —that it was printed in the Gazette— and that my principals the Directors of the Company took the same view.” The next day I wrote to the Colonial Secretary, requesting that as the point was of the utmost importance to roe, his Excellency would favour me with a perusal of the opinion of “ the English lawyers and the Directors." I got a reply from the Colonial Secretary in the course of the day, in which his Excellency admitted that I was perfectly correct in my view of the subject—but says not a word about the “English lawyers” whose opinion, the day before, was said to be in print in the Gazette. He then for the first time requested me to furnish him with schedules and registers, the want of which has led to this correspondence. Had his Excellency been left to, his own view of the subject and the advice of his officials, it seems that he would probably not have discovered to this hour that the Government had any right in respect of the 1 1_ i-A k.. > ictUUd nine VCSICU Hl lUC vutufiauj uy gIC*U4.“ = = and the anxiety which appears now to exist in official quarters, to get possession of the documents relating to those lands, i«, no doubt an ingenious device to conceal the fact that their previous want of promptitude arose from their own blunder. 'I he Act of Parliament and otherdocuments, seem to me so extremely dear on the subject, that how the blunder could have arisen I cannot conceive—but it is amusing to observe that had it not been for me on whom they now endeavour to throw the blame of delay, they would probably not yet have discovered that they had any right to interfere with the lands of any of the formed settlements, and consequently could have required neither schedules nor plans.

I remain Sir, Your obedient servant, William Fox, Principal Agent New Zealand Company. No. 1. Colonial Secretary’s Office, Wellington, January 27, 1851. Sib, —Adverting to your letter of the 20th inst., declining to furnish the Government with a Schedule of all Lands vested in the New Zealand Company on the sth July last, together with a Schedule of all contracts then subsisting in respect of the same, but at the same time stating that the materials for such Schedules exist in the Company’s Offices, and that in reality they could be compiled without any great amount of labour, I am directed by his Excellency the Governor in Chief to observe that, looking to the heavy loss which must be entailed upon the entire colony should the Government not be put in possession of the required information without delay, his Excellency trusts that you will hand over to persons who may be appionted by Government to receive the same, the various documents, plans, and records, in the Offices of the New Zealand Company. Upon your so doing, the Government will undertake to pay such sum for the same as may be mutually agreed upon by the Directors of the Company and her Majesty’s Government, if upon the winding up of the affairs of the former it should be thought just that such payment should be made by the latter. . I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, Alfred Domett, Colonial Secretary. William Fox, Esq., J.P., &c„ Wellington. No. 2. New Zealand Company’s Office, Wellington, 28th January, 1851. Sir, —I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th current. In reply I beg to state that, being anxious to prevent “the heavy loss” which you state must be entailed upon the entire colony by any delay in my putting the Government in possession of the plans, schedules, &c„ requested by you, I am prepared to adopt the following course, which will practically, I think, obviate any inconvenience to the col on v and to the G < vs* union* As regards Wellington Settlement—l am willing to allow Mr. David Lewis, late in charge of the Company’s land office, access to all the records in my possession relating to land, for the purpose of enabling him to prepare the schedules required by

the Local Government, he to be employed on half of and paid by the Government. p be '‘ or some party deputed by him, subject to k proval, to have like access to the plans to i?' also employed on behalf of and paid by the (j vermnent. At Nelson, New Plymouth, and Otago, I b e r the necessary registers and plans are complete I am prepared to authorise the parties in charge they are to allow access by parties appro?; of by me but paid by the Government, for the n pose of making the requisite inspection, and, if quired, of preparing copies and forwarding the an/ to the Company’s Office at Wellington, there to r main till further instructions from England. I reserve liberty to inyself or to whomsoever I may leave in charge of the Company’s affairs .* determine this arrangement, if upon, receipt of in structions from the Court oi Directory it should an' pear to me or him that the Government ought not? be put in possession of the documents required, ° The Local Government to be bound in honn. not to take copies of the registers, documents, plans, placed at its disposal, as the doing so wool? be tantamount to a full transfer of the origin which I have neither authority nor power to effect, ’ I have, &c., William Fox, Principal Agent New Zealand Comp an , Alfred Domett, Esq., Colonial Secretary. ’’

■No. 3. ... I Colonial Secretary’s Office, I Wellington, January 30,185],: I Sir, —In reply to your letter of the 28th inst,de. I dining to allow the Local Government the use oil the Plans, Records &c., of the New Zealand Com. I pany’s Office, except under certain terms therein £ proposed, I am directed to inform yon that the Go- ■ vermnent cannot make itself a party to the arrange- • ments alluded to. , E I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, | Alfred Domett, . | Colonial Secretary. I William Fox, Esq., J.P., Wellington. Since tlie above was in type, I have re. | ceived the letter No. 4, printed below, whick I with my replv No. 5, I presume closes the! correspondence. . W. F. No. 4. Colonial Secretary’s Office, = Wellington. February 6,185 L i Sir, —As you have declined to put the Local Go-1 vermnent in possession of tlie documents in the New Zealand Company’s offices as requested in my i letters of the 18th and 27th ultimo, I am directed, j by his Excellency the Governor-in-Chief to repeat! my request that you will be good enough to furnish me with a Schedule of all such Property, and of all such Contracts or Liabilities affecting it, as will devolve upon the Crown by the Dissolution of the Company. Should you, however, adhere to your former decisions upon this subject, his Excellency instructs me to say that he feels it his duty to acquaint you that the Government will not hold itself liable/ur any injury or losses arising from the of the contracts above-mentioned, and which may be caused by the New Zealand Company’s not furnishing the information, for which I have done myself the honor of asking. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, Alfred Domett,, Colonial Secretary. William Fox, Esq., J.P., &c., Wellington. No. 5. New Zealand Company’s Office, Wellington, Sth February. 1851. Sir, —I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 6th instant. In reply, I have to observe that the statement contained in it that 1 have “ declined toputtheGovernnient in possession of the Documents in the New Zealand Company’s Office, requested in your letters of the 18th and 27th instant,” is calculated to convey impressions they reverse of truth.

I have not declined to do any thing which could I by possibility be requisite to enable the Government > to acquire all the information which it is necessary j it should possess in order to administer the Waste j Lands of the Province. I have stated to you that, j without the aid of official assistants (which I have! not possessed since you asked for the documentsw| question), it was not possible for me to furnish yoo| with what you have requested ; and I have declined t to transfer to the Local Government valuable docu-| ments belonging to the New Zealand Company| which I have received no instructions to transfer); and the Government, as far as I have been inform ed, received none to take possession of. But I have at the same time offered to give th* s Local Government free access to all documents in! my office necessary to enable it to ascertain the par-? ticulars it wishes to know. This it has declined Wj accept, without assigning any reason, or suggesting j any other course in the place of that which I con- j ceive my duty obliges me to pursue. ; Whether the threat held out in the last pa ra ’ graph of your letter under notice will be approved] of by the Home Government, before which I intend' to lay the present correspondence on my. return I® | England, lam unable of course to say. If h°' ? ' | ever the Local Government, by refusing to-carry ou*] the existing contracts between the Company and it* purchasers, chooses to involve itself in renewed] strife with the latter, which its acceptance of the | offer made by me would have prevented,, it will on its own responsibility—a responsibility fro® I which no disclaimer such as that contained in youri present letter will relieve it. | I remain, Sir, your obedient servant, (Signed) William Fox, Principal Agent New Zealand Alfred Domett, Esq., Colonial Secretary. |