21

1.—17.

J. Jones.j

was there. He said, "It would not be prudent, Jones; you have a fifty-six years' lease; do not take the land from the Natives." 1 said, " I do not want the land." I merely say that to show these boundaries to the Committee. The boundaries have never been disputed by any one. [Boundaries pointed out.J There was a decision by Chief Judge Macdonald. He advised the iNatives that it was illegal to sign a lease, forgetting the fact that a special statute is a statute of itself which deals with one particular thing. It was laid down by Sir Frederick Whitaker that the Chief Judge had made a mistake, and it was necessary to pass this Act. This is called '' An Act to grant certain Concessions to Air. Joshua Jones in regard to the Mokau-Mohakatino Block." I ask permission to read the last clause. Clause 7: "Nothing in the Native Land Administration Act, 1886, or any other Act, shall be deemed to have repealed or affected the rights, powers, and privileges conferred, or intended to be conferred, upon the said Joshua Jones by the Special Powers and Contracts Act, 1885, and the same shall remain in full force and effect." [Exhibit C.J In connection with these boundaries, when these Natives came in to see Sir George Grey, there has never been any trouble with the King-country since. It was just about the time of the Kopua meeting in 1878, and the Government later gave me a letter stating that in consideration of my services in opening up this country they would not interfere with me in acquiring these lands, but limited me to these boundaries. 2. Hon. Mr. George.] Have you got that letter? —The original letter is in Messrs. Stafford and Treadwell's office in Wellington, but I have a copy here. It is signed by John Sheehan, Native Minister. Sir George Grey said, " Now, Sheehan, you write Jones a letter, as the Natives have requested." The letter is in the handwriting of W. T. Lewis, signed by Mr. Sheehan. But 1 will read first a letter from Mr. Fred. A. Carrington, late Superintendent of Taranaki, sent to the Chairman of the Public Petitions Committee, Wellington, 1885: "Re Mr. Joshua Jones and Mokau : I beg leave to state that in January, 1876, when I was Superintendent of the Province of Taranaki, Mr. Joshua Jones called upon me with the desire that I would aid him in opening the Mokau country for the purpose of developing its mineral and pastoral resources. I thereupon entered into a conversation with him-on that subject, and pointed out, as clearly as I could, the difficulties which at that time barred my interfering in the Mokau question. Having done so, 1 remarked to him that I considered the opening of the Mokau district, in a quiet and peaceful way, would be one of the greatest boons which could be conferred on this part of New Zealand; that I should be delighted to hear of its being done, as, I have no doubt, would the General Government also. Mr. Jones told me then that he thought he saw his way to attain this much-desired object, when I further remarked, ' If you do you will be deserving of the consideration and thanks of all who really desire the well-being of the Natives and the prosperity of this part of the colony.'—Fred. A. Carrington, late Superintendent of Taranaki. —New Plymouth, I9th May, 1885." [Exhibit E.] This next letter is just about the time of the abolition of the provinces. It is a correct copy, but I will undertake to produce the original, which, as I said, is in Wellington: "Auckland, 29th April, 1879. —Sir, —I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 26th instant on the subject of the arrangement made by you with the Natives for the lease of a block of land at Mokau, and to inform you in reply that, in accordance with the promise already made to you, the Government will not interfere with yourself and partner in the acquiring of a lease of the block of land on the south side Mokau River, now under negotiation by you. This approval only extends to a leasehold transaction, and must not be deemed to cover a larger area than that already mentioned in previous correspondence. This concession is made in recognition of the many important services rendered by you and your partner in aiding in the opening-up of the Mokau River for settlement, and inducing the Natives to allow and encourage European settlers amongst them. All assistance which the Government can lawfully render will be given to you in respect of survey and investigation of title.—l have, &c, John Sheehan. Joshua Jones, Esq., Victoria Hotel, Auckland." [Exhibit F.] In 1888, in consequence of reports being made that Mr. Jones had been doing wrong, Sir Harry Atkinson said he would have the matter investigated, and a Royal Commission was set up, consisting of Judge G. B. Davy, J. M. Roberts, and Hamuera Mahapuku, and in their report they laid very great stress on Mr. Sheehan's letter promising me assistance. They say, " In dealing with the case it should be taken into consideration that Mr. Jones originally entered into these negotiations with the sanction and encouragement of the Government of the day, as expressed in the letter of Mr. Sheehan of the 29th April, 1876, Appendix No. 43, and that his services at that time in assisting to open up the Mokau district were regarded as worthy of special acknowledgment. He has now been upwards of twelve years engaged in these negotiations, and has certainly, so far as we can see, done everything possible on his part to bring them to a successful termination. We call attention, moreover, to the evidence given by- him as to chances of making a profitable use of the lease, which have, as he alleges, been lost to him through inability to complete the title." The report is too long to read, but I will put it in. [Exhibit G. | They say, " The said Joshua Jones had undoubtedly sustained serious loss and injury through inability to make good his title; but we are unable to form any pecuniary estimate thereof." Upon this document a private and personal Act of 1.888 was passed. They said I had suffered great loss and injury, and there is no doubt I did. Sir Harry Atkinson said to me, " Look here, Jones, you had better put in a claim." I replied, knowing him as I did, "Look here, Major, you have given me this statute. It has run me into a couple of thousand pounds; but as you have been good enough to give me this statute I will not ask the colony for a This shows how Judge Macdonald, through misdirection, stopped me from perfecting my title in 1887. There was a claim for £2,000 put in by me, but when they gave me the Bill I waived the claim. This is what Sir Frederick Whitaker said, as reported in Hansard of the 30th August, 1888, page 527 : He said he thought there had been misdirection on the part of Judge Macdonald as to the effect of the Special Powers and Contracts Act. "No doubt that was a general mis-