REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE RE SALE OF PIAKO – WAIKATO SWAMP.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 4547, 16 October 1875, Page 3

REPORT OF SELECT COMMITTEE RE SALE OF PIAKO - WAIKATO SWAMP.

The committee appointed to inquire into the sale, or proposed sale, of the Piako swamp to Mr. Thomas Russell, has taken the evidence thereon of the following witnesses, namely The Hon. Dr. Pollen, Hon. Sir Donald McLean, Messrs. Murray and Sheehan, M.H.R.’s, Major Heaphy, V.C., and Mr. O’Meara. 1. The opinion of Mr. C. B. Izard has been taken on the legal aspect of the transactions, and the official papers and correspondence connected with the case have been considered by the committee. 2. I am directed to report that the land in question consists of a block of 80,000 acres, and is known indifferently as the PiakoWaikato, or great swamp. It lies between Hamilton, on the Waikato river, and the head waters of the Piako river.

3. The Piako swamp is a low-lying swamp, a considerable portion of which is overflowed by the flood waters of the Waikato river, which have the additional effect of backing up the local water of other and higher portions of the swamp. It could only be drained by a comprehensive and expensive system of drainage, and the quality of the soil must be considered as indifferent. 4. Under the regulations of 1867 this block of land, or portions of it, could have been selected at the price of ss. an acre, and it remained open and unapplied for until 1871, when the conditions of sale were altered.

5. In 1873 a proposal was made to the Government by Mr. Thomas Russell for the purchase of the block at ss. per acre, less 2s. 6d. per acre, to be expended in the construction of a road, twenty-five miles in length, across the swamp. The payment of the purchase money was to be'made in two years from the date of the agreement. This proposal was accepted by the Government, and _an agreement was made, embodying substantially the terms of the proposal. 6. That the road, (the construction of which formed part of the agreement, and which is now in course of construction, considerable progress having been made,) will, when completed, be one of great public utility, affording access to land beyond the swamp, and connecting the Waikato district with the head of the navigation of the Piako and the Thames. 7. That the power of the Government to deal with the land in question appears to be derived from the New Zealand Settlements Act, 1863, and the amendments to the said Act of 1864, 1865, and 1866. That the 16th section of the New Zealand Settlements Amendment and Continuance Act, 1865, provides that “the order and manner in which land shall be laid out for sale, and sold under the provisions of the said Act, shall be in the discretion of the Governor, who shall have power to cause such land, or any part thereof, to be laid out for sale, and sold from time to time in such manner, for such consideration, in such allotments, whether town or suburban, or rural, or otherwise, as he shall think fit, and subject to such regulations as he shall, with the advice of his Executive Council, from time to time, prescribe in that behalf ; provided that no laud shall be sold except for cash, nor at a less rate than 10s. per acre. . 8. The proviso of the above-quoted section is repealed by the 2nd clause of the New Zealand Settlements Act Amendment Act, 1866, which, goes on to enact that “ it is hereby expressly declared and provided that the land in the said section referred to, shalljbe sold for such consideration, or at such price, and whether for cash or otherwise, as the Governor shall from time to time prescribe.” 9. The last-named Act in the Bth section, further provides that “ all lands sold or otherwise disposed of, or all scrip issued under this Act, shall be sold or disposed of, or issued under regulations to be made by the Governor in Council, which regulations shall be published in the New Zealand Gazette .” 10. lam directed to report, that withreapeot to the Piako swamp such regulations have not yet been issued or published in the New Zealand Gazette, and that although an agreement to sell has been made by the Government, the land has not yet been actually sold, or Crown granted to Mr. Thomas Russell. That the land was practically withdrawn from sale by private contract by the regulations of 1871, which provide that all sales should be by auction after survey, and that the transaction was not in accordance with the provisions of the law in force at the time, which clearly required that the making and publication of regulations should precede sale. 11. That it is evident that the agreement made between the Government and. Mr. Thos. Russell, tacitly implied that regulations should be issued in terms of section 8 of the New Zealand Settlements Act, 1866, which should enable the Government to sell the land in accordance with the conditions of the agreement so entered into. That the land was sold without sufficient enquiry as to its value, or the possibility of its being drained, although the General Government agent and the Inspector of Surveys both recommended that such inquiry should. |be made. 12. Finally, while it appears that the price to be paid for the block was not inadequate, and that public benefit will accrue from the construction of the Piako-road, your committee are of opinion that dealings by private contract'with the public landed estate are inexpedient, and they are glad to observe that the Government have proposed to bring the confiscated lands under the operation of the ordinary waste lands laws of the colony. 13. With regard to the petition of John Crosby, referred to this committee by the House, your- committee recommend that the petition be remitted to the Executive Government, with a view to the case being inquired into, and such redress granted to the petitioner as the facts of the case may require. (Signed) John Bryce, Chairman.