The Waikato Times. TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1878.

Waikato Times, Volume XII, Issue 982, 8 October 1878, Page 2

The Waikato Times.

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 1878.

Equal and exact justice to all men, Of whatever state or persuasion, religious or Boliwcal. : i * • * * * '* t\ Here shall the Press the People's right niaiutaiu, Unawed by i'lfb'.encß and unbribed by gain. ■ „ .

A'«: a meeting of the Waste Laiul:* Board, held ou Thursday, the question of the Broom hall special settlement was again biought forward by Mr J. 0. Firth. As our readers are aware, the arrangement made with Mr Broonihall proved to be illegal, but the Government, desirous of not eveu appealing t.) break faith, brought into flic Assembly during the present session a bill intitulec 1 the Broonihall Validation Act, which will enable the arrangement made to be legally carried out. For our own part, we have had no sympathy with Broomhall or speculators of that class, and have looked upon the granting of these 50,000 acres of the pick of the Upper Thames Country as nothing leas than an injustice upon the colony aud the settlers. Nor have we hesited openly to state our opinion. From the first, we pointed out that the terms were most unfairly m favor of Mr Broomhall, and warned the Waste Land Board that they would be made tbe medium of victimising the colony for purely selfish and interested purposes. And the Board now seem to see the matter m the same light. Less than a year has served to verity ihe pre dictions we made at a time when the Auckland Waste Land Board aud the Auckland Press weru loud m their congra.ulatious on the advantage to settlement which thi> special settlment scheme of Buom hall was to bri g to tbe Provincial district of Auckland and the Uolouy generally. Noue more I hanourselves would gladly see tuewastelatulsofthe country settled with a busy and prosperous population, iet the tirst price obtatnine i for the laud be never so tritliiig. But, we pointed out that iii this case specu'ation, not colonisation was : the view of the promoters of the Br.jomiuill settlement scheme. According to the agreement entered into by Mr Bro >mhall, when m New ZeulauU, the money was to be paid abouce ; a certain number of immigrants were to be located, and n certain area brought Uoder cultivation m tivc years. Subsf qtieiitly, Mr Bi'botnlmU represented that if he could procure a clear Crowu gr.tnt tv; w.is prepared to give security for luilf the purchaso money, and the Board endorsed that. At a subsequent date, intelligence reached the Board that Mr Broonihall was about to transfer his interests ; tint while the Board was bona tide m their transaction, Mr Broomhall was prepared to give a new current to the transactions. The fact is, the scheme has been passed on at a profit to other speculators and so may get from one hand to another till we know nothing of the character or sur.oundiugs of those who may be left at last to carry it our. If the grant is to be validated it fo lows that the coloiy m self defence of its interests must enforce the original conditions on which it was made, conditions v/hich have been allowed to fall out of the valdation Act altogether. It m well perhaps that the coJo ly should place itself beyond the suspicion even of having broken faith m a transaction of this kind, but it is equally desirable that it should as stringently enforce the terms of agreement on the other side. The proposal contained m the motion of Dr Campbell, which was agreed to at the Board on Thursday will secure this, and we trust that the Minister for Lands will take care that the Validation Act does not become law without the insertion of such a clause.