TAURANGA.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2572, 5 April 1877, Page 2

TAURANGA.

This day. A Very influential and crowded meeting was held last night re settlement Native lands.' Two hundred persona present.: Mr Edgcumbe,. Chairman #f the Towh Board, in the chair. iJ ill classes anil interests were thoroughly represented. A firm determination .was expressed to get the Bay of Plenty lands open for settlement. Resolutions, temperately .but -strongly 'worded, wereipropoied. and 3.a1l carried unanimously, with great enthii-; siasm. A petition to fhe Government was adopted, and" is now being signed. Settlers, merchants, bankers, traadesmen and working classes are all united;. party arid personal feeling was entirely laid aside. The future prospects of this grand district .arp now. well, assured, requiring pnjy the 'cbi*dial' co-operation' of-* the■ ■- 'Ministry; The following are the resolutions:-^— Resolution ,1.. That in the opinion of this meeting they time- nas^ come for- ;- the Government to take active measures for the occupation.; and improvement of the lands acquired ixdm^heWativjesi in the Bay of Plenty.—Resolution 2. Thjat the interests of the settlers in the district of Tauranga have been considerably injured hitherto,, and are at this moment bpingserionsly imperilled by the fact that the'local: officers of the 4 Native Depart-* ment have received no full and proper authority to deal at once with any obstruction to . the settlement ] o|! lands, which- act has been made -patent during the last few weeks in Omomotdra and Te Puria.^Besoltttidn^. That in the opinion of this meeting a special commissioner should) be -immediately appointed solely to inrestigate Native titles in the district until such time as the Government hasi an oppportuniry of repealing the Tauranga District Lands Act, and bringing the Native Lands Act ijito operation.—.Resolution 4. That a petition, to the Government at Wellington be dir-' culated throughout the district for signature, and that the following gentlemen be appointed to act as a deputation: to bring the same before the notice of the Hon. F. Whitaker and the Hon. Dr Pollen, and that Captain Morris M.H.8,. be requested jto bring the contents before the General Assembly at iti< next sitting. Members of deputation!:— Capt. Morris, EI'M. Edgcumbe, J.P.:, J. Bodell, J> A. Chadwick, and B. C. Jordan.