ARBITRATORS' AWARD IN THE CASE OF JAMES BUSBY, ESQ., UNDER "THE LAND CLAIMS ARBITRATION ACT, 1867."

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1869 Session I, D-11

D.—No. 11.

ARBITRATORS' AWARD IN THE CASE OF JAMES BUSBY, ESQ., UNDER "THE LAND CLAIMS ARBITRATION ACT, 1867."

PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, BY COMMAND OE HIS EXCELLENCY.

WELLINGTON. 1869.

D.—No. 11.

Office of the Agent for the General Government, Sic — Auckland, 6th May, 1868. I have the honor, by direction of the Honorable Mr. Richmond, to transmit enclosed herewith a certified copy of the Original Award made in the case of James Busby, Esq., by two of the three Arbitrators appointed under "The Land Claims Arbitration Act, 1867," upon the issues referred to them. I have, Ac., His Honor the Superintentent of the Daniel Pollen. Province of Auckland. To all to whom these presents shall come, we Samuel Jackson and James Tannock Mackelvie, both of Auckland, in the Colony of New Zealand, Esquires, send Greeting: Wheeeas by an Act of the General Assembly of New Zealand, Number Fifty-three of Session Thirty-one, intituled " An Act to empower the Governor to submit certain Land Claims to Arbitration," after reciting in the preamble thereof that James Busby, of Waitangi, in the Province of Auckland, did in or about the year one thousand eight hundred and thirty-nine, and at divers other times, purchase from the Native Chiefs of the North Island of New Zealand, certain tracts of land at the Bay of Islands, Ngunguru, Whangarei, and Waipu, in the Province of Auckland, in the said North Island of New Zealand, for which said land he paid to the said Native Chiefs large sums of money, and gave other considerations for the same, and that a considerable portion of the lands so purchased by the said James Busby as aforesaid had been sold by the Government to other persons, whereby the said James Busby had been deprived of the same ; and that certain of the lands so purchased were withheld by the Government from the said James Busby, and his title to others had been impaired by the Government, and that other complications had arisen, and that the said James Busby had special claims against the Crown of a nature which were distinct from the claims of any other person whomsoever ; and that it was expedient that provision should be made for the final settlement of the claims of the said James Busby : it was inter alia enacted that (the said James Busby giving the notice within the time and in the manner thereby required) it should be lawful for the Governor, any Act or Ordinance of the New Zealand Legislature notwithstanding, and for the said James Busby to refer the said matters (being the matters referred to in the said preamble) to arbitration, and that (within a time specified) three indifferent persons should be elected and chosen, one by each of them, the said James Busby and the Colonial Secretary, and the third by the Arbitrators so chosen ; and that the award of the said Arbitrators or of any two of them, as the case might be, should be final and conclusive, and should not be set aside on any grounds whatsoever ; and that the only issues which should be referred and on which an award should be made should be the issues hereinafter mentioned, and that the said Arbitrators should have power inter alia to determine by whom and in what manner the costs of the Arbitration should be paid, and that it should be lawful for the Governor, in satisfaction of the award of the said Arbitrators, to issue to the said James Busby a Crown Grant or Crown Grants of any lands comprised within his original claims and remaining unsold, and further to issue, in respect of "the aforesaid claims (being the claims last mentioned) or damages, such amount of land scrip, in such form and for such sums as should be awarded and directed by the said Arbitrators, which land scrip should be received in payment for any lands to be selected by the said James Busby within the said Province of Auckland, out of any lands open for sale or selection under the provisions of the law for the time being in force within the said Province relating to the disposal of the waste lands of the Crown: And whereas, by an instrument in writing bearing date the twenty-ninth day of November, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, made in pursuance of the said Act between His Excellency Sir George Grey, X.C.8., then Governor of New Zealand, and the said James Busby, and under the hand of the said Sir George Grey and the said James Busby, after reciting partly as hereinbefore is recited and that the same James Busby had signified he was willing that his claim against the Crown should be finally settled, and that the said James Busby had selected and chosen me the said Samuel Jackson to be an Arbitrator, and the Colonial Secretary had selected and chosen Daniel Pollen, Esquire, of Auckland, to be Arbitrator; and that I the said Samuel Jackson and the said Daniel Pollen had elected and chosen me, the said James Tannock Mackelvie to be an Arbitrator; the said Sir George Grey, the Governor, did by the now reciting instrument refer, and the said James Busby did thereby also refer, to the award and final determination of the said Samuel Jackson, Daniel Pollen, and James Tannock Mackelvie, or any two of them, in respect of the several matters referred to in the preamble to the said Act, the following issues : —" Is the said James Busby entitled to any, and if any to what quantity of land in respect of his said claims at the Bay of Islands, Whangarei, and Waipu, and has the said James Busby suffered special damages in respect to any of the said claims ? " Now, we, the said Samuel Jackson and James Tannock Mackelvie, two of the Arbitrators duly appointed as hereinbefore is recited, in pursuance of the said Act, and under the said instrument in writing, having, together with the said Daniel Pollen, taken upon ourselves the burthen of the reference, having duly weighed and considered the said Act, and the powers thereby conferred on us, the matters of fact referred to and admitted in the preamble thereto, the issues comprised in the fifth section thereof, and also the ninth section of the said Act, more especially so far as relating to the award of the

ARBITRATORS' AWARD IN THE CASE OF JAMES BUSBY, ESQ.

D.—No. 11

CASE OE JAMES BUSBY, ESQ.

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Arbitrators and the sums to be awarded, the allegations of the said James Busby, and the proofs, vouchers, and documents which have been produced, do hereby jointly, in exercise of the power on us conferred by the third section of the said Act, make and publish our award in writing of and concerning the premises in manner following, that is to say : —■ As to the first issue referred, we do award and adjudge — 1. That the said James Busby is well entitled to nine thousand three hundred and seventy-four acres of land, at the Bay of Islands, within the boundaries of his several claims, for land at the Bay of Islands purchased from Natives by him, as the same are delineated by the plans drawn on Crown Grants dated respectively the sixteenth day of May, one thousand eight hundred and forty-four, and registered under numbers Eleven E, Thirteen E, Fourteen E, Seventeen E, Eighteen E, Fifteen E, Sixteen E, Ten E, and Twelve E, in the Deeds Registration Office for the Province of Auckland. 2. That the said James Busby is well entitled to forty-five thousand acres of land at Ngunguru, in respect of his claim for land at Ngunguru. 3. That the said James Busby is well entitled to ninety-eight thousand acres of land at Whangarei and Waipu, in respect of his claim for land at Whangarei and Waipu. As to the second issue, we do award and adjudge that the said James Busby has suffered special damages in respect to his said claims for land as follows—that is to say, at Ngunguru, fourteen thousand two hundred pounds; at Whangarei and Waipu, twenty-two thousand and six hundred pounds ; and we award and adjudge him the sum of thirty-six thousand eight hundred pounds accordingly. We do further award, adjudge and direct, and determine, in the terms of the said Act, that the Governor do pay the costs of the arbitration, which we lay and assess at the sum of three hundred and eighty pounds. And we do direct that if the said James Busby, do in the first instance, pay the said amount of the said costs, the Governor of the Colony of New Zealand shall forthwith repay the same to the said James Busby. Lastly, we direct that the land scrip to be issued in terms of the said recited Act shall be in the form set forth in the Schedule hereunder. In witness whereof we, the said Samuel Jackson and James Tannock Mackelvie, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this sixth day of April, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight. Saml. Jackson, James T. Mackelvie. Signed, sealed, and delivered, and published tho sixth day of April, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the presence of — William Gorrie, Accountant, Auckland. Bichard R. Hunt, Clerk, Auckland. The Schedule above eefeeeed to. Province of Auckland. GOVEKNMENT ScEIP. Issued under the Act of the General Assembly, intituled " The Land Claims Arbitration Act, 1867." Number Fifty Pounds, £50. This Scrip shall be received in payment for any Lands to be selected by James Busby, of Waitangi, in the Province of Auckland, within the said Province of Auckland, out of any Lands open for sale or selection under the provision of the laws for the time being in force within the said Province, relating to the disposal of Waste Lands of the Crown. Samuel Jackson, James T. Mackelvie. Witness —William Gorrie, Accountant, Auckland. Bichard B. Hunt, Clerk, Auckland.

No. 2. Copy of a Letter from Messrs. S. Jackson and J. Ma.ckelvie to Mr. J. Busby. Deae Sic,— Auckland, N.Z., 15th October, 1868. In reply to your inquiry, we have to inform you that we awarded you the Bay of Islands land only, from which we withheld the small portions you reconveyed to the Natives, and instead of the Wangarei, Waipu, the Ngunguru land, we gave you the money, which was to be paid you in scrip. The peculiar wording of the Act of 1867 made it necessary for us to submit it to two legal gentlemen for interpretation, and at their advice the award was drawn in the form which seems to have misled you, and made you suppose that we intended that you should have both land and money. We have, Ac, Samuel Jackson, James Busby, Esq., Wellington. James Mackelvie.