PUBLIC MEETING AT TE AWAMUTU.

Waikato Times, Volume XV, Issue 1317, 7 December 1880, Page 2

PUBLIC MEETING AT TE A WAMUTU.

A PUBLrc meeting was convened at the Public Hall, Te Awamutu, on Saturday at 7 p*m., to protest against the Government removing the proclamation over the Patetere lands. At the hour named, however, no one had put in an appearance, and it was considerably past eight before a sufficient number could be got together to commence business, and even then those present did not include any of the gentlemen who had been instrumental in calling the meeting. At about twenty minutes past eight there were about ten persons present, and on the motion of Mr Sloane, Mr W. S. Rutherford was voted to the chair, and opened the business by referring to the object for which the meeting had been called. Mr SI nine said thej r had now waited for Home considerable timp, and as yet none of those who had called the meeting had arrived. He did not think they should waste any more time, and would consequently move, "That it is the opinion of this meeting 1 that the Government be 1 equested to withdnvv the proclamation from the Patotere Block and leave the purchase free to the Patetere Company or other private individuals." This was seconded by Mr W. Taylor, and there being no amendment, the Chairman put it to the meeting, when it was carried without a dissentient. After a pau-<e, a number of people entered the hall, including Messrs Roche, Cunningham, Jon.*", and others, bringing up the total of the attendance to about forty or fifty, Mr Roche asked what business had been done, and The Chairman read tho resolution, which had been parsed. Mr Roche said he had an amendment to move. The Chairman pointed out that no amendment could be made to a motion after it had been carried. Mr Roche explained that he and others had been detained at the Post-office owing to the delay in the arrival of the Auckland mail. The Chairman said the mpeting had waited until half-past eight before doing any business. Mr Cunningham begged leave to move a resolution. So F ar as he could gather from the papers, the Government had been in negotiation for the Patetere lands, and at the same time money had been paid on the land by certain speculators in Auckland, who, as a matter of course, endeavored by every means in their power to obstruct the Government negotiations. The late Government warned them to cease, but no sooner were they out of office than these private parties renewed their operations. Certain members of the House concerned in these transactions made it a point to support that party which would allow them to carry out thenpurpose. Such conduct, he maintained, was against the respectability, against the purity of the House : the assistance of the Government was nothing less than a bribe to these members ; the principle would be unaltered had they, instead of getting the support of the Government to obtain certain lands, received a reward of £30,000. Indeed, had the latter course been adopted, the loss to the country would not have been s>o great. He would move, " That in the opinion of this meeting, the Houses of Assembly will not be doing their duty if they do not make a searching enquiry into the action of the Government in handing over the Patetere block to Messrs Whitaker and Sheehan." The Chairman ask^d if Mr Cunningham approved of the handing over the land, and merely wanted an enquiry to be held afterwards. Mr Cunningham said the House ought to make the stricfest enquiry into a transaction whereby the Government handed over a block of land to two members of Parliament. Tho motion was seconded by Mr Ramsay. The Chairman doubted whether the motion was in order. Mr Roche rose to move the followingamendment :—": — " That a respectful address, be drawn up and forwarded to his Excellency the Ijrovernor, showing that the action of the Government in withdrawing 1 the proclamation over all native lands, and i more especially the Patetere Block, before the meeting 1 of Parliament, is detrimental to the progrpss and interests of the Colony." Mr Sloane objected to the amendment as being contradictory of the spirit of the resolution carried. The Chairman upheld the objection, but said he could see no harm in allowing Mr Cunningham's motion to go to the vote. Mr Roche withdrew his amendment, and said he would offer a fpw words in support of Mr Cuuniuyrham's motion. So far as he could ywiher, the Patetere Block contained between 300,000 and 400,000 Here*, lay twenty nrles south from Cambridge, and oomprispd much valuable land. Tho parties now in treaty with the natives were eudeavouiing 1 to gH thi^ land for about ()••> or 8s an acre. He had been informed that in Lirsre patches here and there, there were at least 1. "50,^00 acres of really good laud, and looking at the probability of a r ulway limning thither at no distant date, and the fact that the road to Tauranga lay through it, and its close proximity to the new goldfield, he behoved that were it put up to auction the good portion of the land would fetch £3 or £-4 per acre. Thus a sum of £500,000 would have been realised. There might not be so much g')od land in the block as he had said, but he had the authority of Mr Sheehan j for saying that it was over 100,000 acres. This land had been covered by proclamation ; therefore, to all intents and purposes, vested in the Crown, and the Government had no right to withdraw such proclamation. !No one desired more than he to see tho land thrown open for settlement, but he was averse to its falling into the hands- of pri\ ate speculators. He then quoted correspondence from " Hansard " to show that the late Government, Mr Sheehan especially, had endeavored to obtain the land for the Crown. The Chairman stopped Mr Roche. as he was wandering from the point. Mr Cunningham said it appeared to him that the meeting called by advertisement was for a different purpose from the present. Perhaps they had got into the wrong meeting. (Laughter). The Chairman read the advertisement, and said that related to the meeting lie had come to attend. Mr Cunningham said it appeared to him that they had been outwitted. After some discussion upon this point, Mr R. Bosanko asked if it was Mr Cunningham's intention to make enquiry into the consistency of Messrs Whitaker and Sheehan's conduct. Mr Cunningham aaid he could not see any differenco between those gentlemen. receiving 1 a money bribe and getting this land. The land belonged to the Colony, and when tho Government gave it away to private individuals, they were guilty of injustice to the re«t of the colonists The Government had, it was tvue, withdrawn ; the proclamation from about a million acres, besides Patetere, but it seemed to h.iiß that it had been done merely to five oo'nr to the Patetere transaction. In 1877, when Mr Whitaker, sen. . was Attorney, General, he brought down a Nitive Ltnds Bl ', which Mr G'-aivo J >v.m, Editor of the Onmrit Mail, '-aid would hive fur its obj »or the eurkhin* of Mr WhJfcaker and his friends. u'-h mk'ht or might not have been the effect of the ©assure, but certain it wua that J^r jy^cj -

was prosecuted for libel, at the expense of the country, but won the case. Now, when they saw Mr Whitaker, hen., again Attorney- General, and Mr Whitaker, jun., a momber of the House, and the former handing over to the latter certain of the public lands of the Colony, they ought to see that a searching enquiry was made into the transaction. While members of the House were under such obligations to the Government, it was utterly imposhible that they could act as independent members. The Chairman said he understood that Messrs Whitaker and Sheehan wero acting merely in the capacity of agents for the Company. Mr Cunningham said he had heard that Mr Whitaker, jun., had drawn upon Mr Thomas Russell for £30,000 on account of this transaction. Now, Mr Russell was a partner of Mr Whitaker, sen., and the latter was a member of the Government. Mr Roche thought an open enquiry ought to be made before such a large block of land was given up to a few individuals. He hoped the country would cry out against it. The motion was then put and carried by a large majority. Mr Roche moved, " That Mr Cunningham's resolution be forwarded to Sir George Grey to lay before the House. Mr Sloane thought their own member should present it. Mr Roche said the resolution affected Mr Whitaker considerably. The motion was seconded by Mr E. Brirlgman and carried unanimously. The meeting then separated. Immediately afterwards another meeting was held, Mr Cunningham in the chair. There were about 15 persons present. The Chairman read the advertisement calling the meeting. He referred to the importance of the subject under consideration, and said the Government had upset the whole public policy of the colony in regard to native lands. The result of their action would, he felt sure, be to debar settlement. Mr Roche then moved a resolution precisely similar to his amendment rejected at the previous meeting. He spoke at some length in support of the motion, urging that the matter should come before Parliament. The motion was seconded by Mr W. Jones .and carried unanimously. On the motion of Mr Jones, a committee consisting of Messrs H. Roche, J. Cunningham, and R. Bosanko was appointed to draw up an address embodying the resolution to forward to the Governor. A vote of thanks having been passed to the chair, the meeting terminated.