TE ARO FORESHORE.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5367, 10 June 1878, Page 3

TE ARO FORESHORE.

. Thanks to the courtesy of "a subscriber we are enabled ' to publish below some information on this very interesting subject. It will be seen that on the 6th September, 1841, Governor Hobson notified-to Colonel AVakefiold, the New Zealand Company’s principal agent, that the Crown was prepared to forego its right of pre-emption over land) included in the schedule referred to, and that the .first item in the schedule stands as follows : “Town of Wellington, containing (1100) eleven hundred acres,, in ■sections of one acre each, numbered 1 to 1100 on the company> plan." Th-ni romui a lerter from Mr. Hornes, addressed to Lord Stanley, dated Loud -D, 29th July, 1812, which embodies the grounds on which property holders at the head of tho bay claim a right to the foreshore and free access to the harbor. Next comes a letter from Colonel Wakefield, addressed to the secretary of the company, dated Wellington, Btb February, 1842, in which he states that he, coincides in the ’ view taken by the holders of land at the head of Lambtonharbor, from Nos. 205 to '225, inclusive, in' the surveyor’s plan, and boars witness to the general correctness of the statements contained in the memorial he was asked to transmit. Then follows this document, which bears the signatures of several able and well-known settlers. We have seen some reference to Opinions exoressed by Sir John Goode ; but we should like to know whether that gentleman was made aware of the fact i;hat the owners of property at the head of the bay hold grant* issued by the Crown conveying to them land between high and low water mark, and also for land which at all stages of tho tide is covered with water. The late Colonel Wakefield was wrong when he stated the owners only lost about one-tenth of an aero ; more than twice this extent. of land, was covered by the . sea ’at high water at the time it was selected. As recently as as last year, when'the City Solicitor was framing the To Aro Reclamation Act, ha inserted a clause (No. 31) containing the following provision:- “Nothing in this Act contained shall prejudice or bo deemed to prejudice or affect any right, title; or interest of her Majesty, her heirs, and successors, or of any person or persons claiming water frontage, and the claims of air parsons claiming or entitled to water frontage shall in default of agreement between th-ra and the Council be settled m manner provided by the Public Works Act, 1876, in relation to land taken for public works.”

We hope we shall be able to publish tomorrow the extracts from the Auckland Government Gazette, dated 13th October, 1841, referred to in the letter written by Mr, Somes, dated 29tb July, 1842, and then an important link will be added to the evidence relating to the foreshore claims which we are by degrees placing before the public.

Governor Hobson to Colonel Wakefield. Barrett’s Hotel, Wellington, September 6tb, 1841. Sir, —Understanding that some doubt is en-tertained-as to the intentions of the Government with respect to the lands claimed by the New Zealand Company, in reference both to the right of preemption vested in the Crown, and to conflicting claims between the company and other purchasers. ; It may be satisfactory for you to know that the Crown will forego it-« right of preemption to the lands comprised within the limits laid down in the accompanying schedule, and that the company will receive a grant of all such lands as may by any one have been validly purchased from the natives; the company.compensating all previous purchasers according to a scale to be fixed by a local Ordinance.

You are at liberty to give the utmost publicity to this communication.—l have, &oi, W. Hobson. Colonel Wm. Wakefield, Principal Agent to the Now Zealand Company. • Mb'. Somes to Lord Stanley. New Zealand House, July 29th 1842. My .Lord,: —I have the honor, on behalf of the directors of the : New Zealand Company, to submit, for your Lordship’s consideration, the accompanying copies* of a letter, dated the • Bth /February rlast,: which they have received from tile; company’s principal agent, in the colony, and of the memorial to which it gave cover.- - Your Lordship wi’l observe that the memorialists-have forwarded their representation tp rthe; directors, to be laid by them before your Lordship, in consequence of their being under . the impression that it is not in the power of the/. Governor - of the colony to confirm their: titles- to that part of their respective town lands, which they are fearful of losing. . . . . - 2. The case of the memorialists is briefly this. In one part of the town of Wellington, called Te Aro Beach, which appears to be about half a mile in length, and to contain 20 sections of an acre each, in the shape of parallelograms, the measurement was carried by the company’s surveyor down to low-water, mark. In the other parts of the town the land parcelled out to individuals, purchased from the oompauy, seems to be separated from the sea-shofo by public roads or wharves ; and the memorialists state that having, under their bargain with the rights of early choice, they selected the sites in question on account of : tho Water frontage attached to them. They were confirmed and 'quieted in .their possession by .the letter addressed to the, company’s agent by his Excellency Governor Hobson, dated Wellington, sth December, 1841 (of which a cpy, as published in the Auckland Government Gazette of the 13th October, 1841,1 s annexed), tho schedule attached to .which' enumerates, among the lands conceded .by the Crown to.tho company, the, “ town of Wellington, containing (1100) eleven hundred acres, in sections of one acre each, numbered Ito 1109,0 n the company’s plan, including the above-mentioned sections on Te Aroßeach.” . _ ■ 3. But 'in schedule D, appended to aßill (copy annexed) which has been proposed to -the Legislature os’the-colony,-entitled; “ A Bill to amend an Ordinance enacted by the Governor-of New Zealand, with the advice and consent of the Legislative Oeunbil thereof,* Session 1, No. 2,” relative to laud claims; the town of Wellington isdescribed as “ containing eleven hundred acres,- in sections of one acre each, numbered from 1 to 1100'on the cOmpanys, plan, excepting so muck of -the said land as is below high water-mark.” ’■ And it is stated that it waa under the discussion of the > Legislative Council, in considering the ' “ Municipal j Corporation Bill,” Whether the land lying between 5 high' and low water-mark should remain in the hands Of the Government, or be granted to the Corporation. 4. The directors respectfully request, on behalf ot the memorialists, that your Lordship will be pleased to issue such directions to his Excellency the 1 Governor as may secure to the parties owning the land purchased-from the company along Te Aro Beach the full ana Uninterrupted enjoyment of tlmir right or -wharfage down to low-water, mark. There appears to be no objection on the ; part of the memorialists to consult the convenience’ of tho public by allowing a :ioad along the beach, above high-water mark, at the back of the wharves, to bo opened during' reasonable hours of . the day ; and it would * seem that the Government sanctioned this arrangement. It also appears from Colonel -Wakefield’s letter that tho harbor contains “many bettor places” for public wharves, where their construction .would not, interfere - with the rights or ’ claims of individuals. ■ i 6. The directors beg to add, with reference to the impression of the memorialists in regard to the powers of the local Government above, alluded to, that it would seem clear that the, ) land between high and low water mark is no more 'the property of the * Crown’ than any -’other laud in Ne w Zealand which'has been acquired from tho aboriginal inhabitants, and appropriated dor sale to colonists ; and that the 'same authority which could alienate the Utter is equally empowered to dispose of the former. It is true, indo:d;:that under clause 9 of ibead--11, of the arrangement of November, 1840,,the lands granted to tho company, (and by them, in the present instance, sold to colonists) are to. bo held “subject to all laws having for;their objects tho opening of public, roads, wharves quays, or ether such like works,-and reserving to the public at largo free access to, and the free use of, all sea ports, landmgrplaces, and ' navigable rivers.’* But it appears that, in the case-under ! remark, though the whole ot the town lands Were -lotted out before the terms <)£• the arrangement made between the Crown and tho company were known, in i New Zealand, tho 21 sections in tho le Aro Beach aro tho only ones that-run down to the sea, the'shore in all other places having been reserved for,public uses ; and there seems to bo no doubt tiiat tlie ’spots available without infringing private rights, understood to bo guaranteed by the Governor’s -proclamation, aro' quit© ample, &ad moro ■ suitable for,; wuch public purposes than the land upon le Aro Beach. —Iliavp, &c., ■ Joseph Somes; Governor, The Bight Hon. Lord Stanley, &o, , ftp,'. ho.

Colonel Wakefield to tub Secretary of • ‘ the Company. Wellington, New Zealand, , February Bth, 1842. Sin,—Tu forwarding to you, by the request of the memorialists, the accompanying document, X have a few observations to make en it. ■ ■ I coincide in the view taken,,by the holders of land at the head of Lambtou harbor,! from No. 205 to No. 225,inclusive, on the surveyor’s plan, and can bear witness to - the general correctness of the statements in the memorial. I think, however, that the acres as laid down by Captain Smith, do not run into the water further than low water-mark, and that consequently not so much as a tenth of them would be taken away by, the regulations contemplated in the Municipal Bill. : At any rate, it was never my! intention, when I directed the Surveyor-General to allot the water frontage to the landholders, that they should recover from the sea further than the limits of the respective claims. Neither did I contemplate their having less than an acre each. '

Governor Hobson’s view of the question was a fair one, viz., that it would be. an encouragement to the holders to build wharves if they were allowed to occupy the frontage ; but that the convenience of the public required that a road (to be liable to be closed at night) should run at the back of the wharves, i

I anticipate no practical evils or injustice from the decision of the Government, should the same view be adopted at Hoine. In case the space between high and low water be ceded f a the Corporation, they would probably grant long leases to . the present holders ; but should they be determined to build wharves in front of this land, which is improbable, as there are many better places, they could do so beyond low-water marie. Captain Smith’s absence at Mauawatu prevents me from informing you exactly, how much tho landowners would be deprived of by the proposed seizure.—l am, &0., W. Wakefield. The Secretary of the New Zealand Company. Memorial to the Court of Directors of : the New Zealand Company. , On behalf of ourselves and others interested in those sections in the town of Wellington, which are situated oa “To Aro Beach,” _we beg to call your attention to the following statement:—■ . • ’

It was the intention of the Surveyor-General of the New Zealand Company to give to such persons as might select land on that beach the benefit of water frontage, and tor .that purpose the sections were carried down to. lowwater mark, This plan was , adopted by the Surveyor-General, and acquiesced in by, the holders of land orders, in order to prevent any question arising as to the power of the holders of these sections to erect wharves, and recover from the sea.

By this arrangement nearly a tenth of an acre of land was lost on every section, but it was assumed that this loss would be compensated by the facilities for improvement thus afforded.

Acting ou the faith of the plan of the Sur-veyor-General, several gentlemen have expended considerable sums in the constructing of wharves, and leases have, been granted, and sales made, upon terms only warranted by tho presumed enjoyment of the right of Water frontage.When the port was visited by his Excellency Captain Hobson,; accompanied by the Sur-veyor-General of the.colony, and the plan of tho town was brought under their notice, no intimation was given of any intention on the part of the Government to interfere with the right which we believed onrselvelves to possess. On the contrary, we received the assurance of the Governor that tliis important right was admitted upon condition, that a private road along the beach above high-water mark should ,be opened to the public during reasonable hours of the day, and it was not until the Municipal Corporation Bill was brought before the Legislative Council that we were made aware of the existence’of any objection to the continued employment of that right. -We now,, however, learn that; all the laud in the harbor below high-water . mark, without' any exception, is claimed as the , property of the Crown, and that the only question is whether it shall remain in the hands of Government, or be conceded to the Corporation. We are are advised that, supposing the claim put forth on the part of the Crown to be .well founded, it is hot in the power of the Government of the colony to confirm oiir titles to this portion of pur sections, since by his instructions he is precluded from disposing of any Crown lands, except by sale. Our only resource, therefore, is to appeal to the Colonial Minister, in England....... We need not point" out to the Oourt the deep injury that* would be inflicted upon us, were we to bo deprived of this most valuable possession. ; The whole quantity of water-frontage recommended to be conceded to tho Corporation is very large, while the portion claimed by the memorialists is bat a fraction of that quantity. We may venture to affirm that scarcely any one of their sections would have been selected for! the very’early; numbers for which they were taken,’ had hot the right of water-frontage been attached to them. ' ' : If, this right'be. withheld, the holders of early choices will be. deprived of the advau-tages-which- they had, a right’to anticipate, and individuals will have been encouraged to inenf -expenses, and to -enter into -contracts which cannot fail to occasion serious losses. - ■ We therefore ’ feel - assured- that' the Court will spare no endeavors to secure to us the full enjoyment of whatever advantages we < were led to expect under tho plan of* the Surveyor General. ■■■..*

(Signed) T. M. Partridge. Robert Waixt, ' ' S. Revans. George Hunter, for Duncan Dunbar - and Arthur Willis. J ■ : John Wade • . * • Captain XiANiELL.byWm. V.Brewer. J, T. Wioksteed, for Frederick Herb, ■ F. A. Moloswortb, and others. R, V. MANBON; for H; Hughlings and D. Roddeford, by T. M. . Partridge. 1 ‘ Henry St. Hill, per John Heath •' and others. - ' Pro, Ridgways, Guyton, and Earp, J. Ridgway. ■