NATIVE LAND LAW

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 209, 2 March 1912, Page 5

NATIVE LAND LAW

TWO IMPORTANT CASES. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. An interesting point in native land law was argued before the Chief Justice to-day (Sir Robert Stout), when the Solicitor-General proceeded to obtain -a declaratory judgment as to whether, un-' der the Native Land Act, 1909, certain land, required for road purposes, might be taken without payment tion. The defendants in the action were Henry Bernard Cave and Aubrey Oldknow Cave, of Wanganui, owners of the land, and William Edgar Smith and Thomas Allison, of Wanganui, mortgagees.

The land in question was known as Tunuharere D Block and Te Korito Block, Section IX V Waipakura Survey District. It was originally vested in the natives of New Zealand by the Native Land Court, the certificates of title being dated February 14, 1867, and Harch 1, 1867, respectively, and was subsequently comprised in Crown grants dated April 2, 1867, and October 24, 1867, under the Native Lands Act, 1865 and 1866.

A similar case was that in which Zoe Louisa Smith, owner, and A. W. Owena, clerk in Holy Orders, mortgagee, and Claude Edgar Churton Smith, of Wanganui, tenant, proceeded against the So-licitor-General to obtain an answer to a similar question. The land in this case was originally vested in the natives under a memorial of ownership dated February 8, 1879, and under the Native Land Act, 1873, but was now comprised in a certificate of title in lieu of a grant,

In the latter case it was contended that Smith had been entitled to a land transfer title, but had not made application for nor obtained confirmation of his rights until 1898. Now, if the interpretation placed by the Solicitor-General on the Statute were correct, he and the other plaintiffs would be in the' position of losing by retrospective legislation the right they had acquired. Mr. J. W. Salmon, Solicitor-General, appeared in person in each case, and Mr. A. J. Treadwell represented each of the opposing parties in each case. His Honor reserved his decision.