THE MOKAU BLOCK.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 31, 31 July 1911, Page 3

THE MOKAU BLOCK.

. THE ACTUAL FACTS. If< is an interesting and a troubled ■ rftory how Mr. Joshua Jones secured leases of the Mokau Block on a splendid navigable waterway, and reputed to contain coal, etc. At the outset his interest was the eastern portion of the MokauMohakatino Block, comprising 30,000 acres, which was dealt with by the Native Land Court in 1882, and for which he obtained a certain numb r o" t signatures. In 1884 an Act w.is p..:>- .' j temporarily prescribing dealing-- i l ' ' native lands within a certain distrkl in j which this block was included. 'i'!u ! ■ Was done by .Sir Harry Atkinson's party. | Mr. Jones thereupon complained rli.'.i, ! the embargo (by preventing his completing his lease) was unfair to him, especially K as he had entered into negotiations for a sli years' lease of fj'.i.OOO iures. So in 1885 a clause was pasted permitting him to go on, and linaily. in 1887, Sir Harry Atkinson, as premier, ' passed an Act permitting .the completion ' of the whole lease transaction by Mr. Jones. The Natives were to receive a peppercorn rental, and were solaced .villi the promise of royalties on coal won under the development scheme which Mr. Jones was to undertake. .Having thus secured his titles, Mr. Jones proceeded to look about him for ways and menus for the great scheme of development of the mines and district which was to give a new province to New Zealand, and in which he had, amongst other support, the enthusiastic support of a very able and powerful editor of the 'Evening Post' (Mr. E. T. Gillon)—a. fact which has traditionally interested that newspaper | in Mokau affairs. Mr. Jones mortgaged! his lease to Mr. John Plinimer, of"Ark" fame, and hied himself to England to secure the large amount of capital necessary. There he became involved in a sea' of troubles, and Mr. Plimmer fore- f closed his mortgage. Mr. Jones was dealing at this time with one Mr. Wickham Flowers, an English solicitor, and the latter bought the leases from Mr. Plimmer. At, this stage Mr. Henry Libouchere, M.P., the proprietor of London 'Truth,' began to take an interest in Mr. Jones, and took up the cudgels on his behalf, and lias weildcd them at intervals ever since. Flowers died, and his trustees sold the. interest he had acquired to Jones, subject to a mortgage to them. Once more the Jones settlement schemes were revived, but i a»ain the conditions of the 'mortgage regained unfulfilled, and so "the trustees exercised their power of sale through the j registrar of the New Zealand Supreme ! Court, buying in the leases themselves. \ Mr. Hermann Lewis, of Wellington, next < purchased the .leases from the Flowers' j trustees, and again subject to a mortgage to them. I"' A DIFFICULT POSITION. j I But Mr. Lewis, though with a good . title to the leases, found himself in a difficult position when he set about realising on his investment. Throughout the chequered history of the leases there had been litigation of all kinds, and at great cost. The Maori freeholders, who had been getting practically nothing out, j of their land for more than 20 years, now ] I threatened fresh litigation to attack the i I validity of the leases. Lewis was further I faced with the .position that under recent j Acts be could not cut up and give titles j without reading. The 'existing law also 'preventing his acquiring the freehold. , The Maori owners again could do nothing j unless they broke the leases, as on an un- ' improved value of £315,000 the equity ' j of the 30 years which the lease had still |to run exceeded that of the freehold I equity subject to them. Thereupon. Lewis j and the Maori owners approached the , | Government for a way out of the deadlock. The Government, in their turn, ' j were faced by the situation that leases under the Enabling Act passed by Sir I Harry Atkinson had been since accepted '! and registered by the Land Transfer l)e- ---' partment at each successive transfer, and the regularity of the transaction* ; was further confirmed by the sale ; through the Registrar. If, therefore, the ■ Maori freeholders succeeded in breaking 1 those leases, the land transfer fund of the State would be liable for their full Rvalue; and this value, as already stated, , was greater than the freehold equity. On the other hand, if the Government '. acquired the freehold by purchase, it ' would be still subject to the leases, and therefore no return could be expected ' from it. If the Government acquired [ the leases, it would, under the then circumstances, be : "BUYING LITIGATION" • for the leaseholders, who could not buy ; out the freeholders, because under the i Act of 1909 no one could acquire more t than 3000 acres of "second-class" land, ' such as this was graded already. The •■ settlement of a great area of country' ' had been prevented for over 20 years, i and there was the prospect of its being 1 in the same state 20 years hence. ; _ THE SOLUTION, | In this dilemma the' Government took , what any disinterested person who diai passionately views the whole circum- [ stances must admit was an extremely ', wise and prudent course—one in the interests of the Dominion as well as of both the sections directly interested. They saved the State from a great potential loss, and at the same time.secured the proper development and settlement of the block, without any, risk whatever to the public exchequer, by assenting to the joint request of the freeholders and the leaseholders to facilitate the transfer of the land into hands capable of de- , veloping both interests, conditional on , the purchasers undertaking to road, cut up and sell the whole block within three years in consonance with the land laws of the country. THE NEXT STEP. A proclamation was accordingly issued under the provisions of the Native Land Act of 1909 (which provided for this be- j ing done where it was expedient in the public interest so to' do), waiving the condition preventing the acquisition of more than 3000 acres by any one person, to the extent of permitting the title to ' vest in the chairman of the Maori Land Board lis trustee for sale so that the purchasers might have the three years in which to cut up, road, sell and settle the block. Mr. Lewis then dealt with the Maoris, and having settled with them, sold out his interests to a Hawke's Bay syndicate, who ultimately sold to the Mokau 0. and E. Company.' THE NET RESULT. The mortgages were paid oil', the Maoris received £25,000 cash for their interests, subject to the leases, together with .€3500 for the expenses they had been put to, and 250 fully paid-up £lO shares in any developing company that might be formed, though the special valuation made of their interests had only assessed their value at £14,881, while the Government valuation in 1905 of their interests (subject tq the leases aforementioned) was £11,377. Manawatu Times.