THE PLOUGHING MANIA.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 443, 12 July 1879, Page 2

THE PLOUGHING MANIA.

At the opening of the Supreme Court at Wellington on Monday last, His Honor the Chief Justice, in addressing the Grand Jury, said that there were only fourteen cases set down in the calendar, and only two or three that would require any observations from him. Before, however, offering any observations on them, he thought it but right to offer some remarks on the state of the North-western portion of the Wellington Provincial District. So far as he had been able to gather from the accounts in the daily papers, it appeared that a number of persons of the Maori race had been entering on lands in the occupation of others, and doing acts apparently as an assertion of right to those lands. They were well aware that that portion of the colony came within the provisions of the New Zealand Settlements Act. 1863, which enabled the Executive Government to take under its provisions all lands within the districts named therein, whether belonging to the Maori race or sold to Europeans. They were entitled to take the whole under the Act. The objects of the Legislature were twofold ; first, to enable settlement to be made by sale of lands; the other, to take lands from the Maoris causing the disturbances and committing acts of rebellion, as a punishment for the troubles caused. It seemed to be reasonable to suppose amongst the Maori race that this act of the Legislature might be questioned —so far as law was concerned he meant. So far as he was aware, there could be no question as to the competency of the Legislature to pass such an Act, and if so, and the Executive Government carried out the Act according to its provisions, it might be assumed that they had taken all the necessary steps in issuing the necessary proclamation, &c., and the land then became vested in the Crown. This enabled the Crown to deal with them as they chose—to sdl or otherwise. Power was also given to the Government to give compensation to persons in those districts, in money or land, whose land might be taken, whether Europeans or Maoris. The same Act also established a Court of enquiry for the purpose of ascertaining what compensation should be given. It might be assumed therefore, that all the provisions . of the Act having been complied with, no persons had any right to interfere with the occupation of lands coming within

tts provisions, bat might brfng any of aheir claims before the Court of Enquiry, fit could easily be understood that claimants under this Act would not be satisfied, but whether this was so or not the bucstion could not be raised by any person assorting title or rights to lauds that arose anticedent to the passage of the Act in question. The Act itself might or might not have been poetically expedient or just, that was not for the Court to say, but if persons of the Maori race had acted as they had done in asserting the right of raising questions of political justice or expediency, those could not be entertained in a Court of law. They therefore must have been ill-advised if their acts wero intended to raise the question'.