NELSON.
[Image of page 1]
NELSON.
-- No. 1. --
GOVERNOR GREY TO EARL GREY.
(No. 28.) Government House, Auckland, March 26, 1847.
MY LORD,
IN reference to my Despatch, No. 14, of the 27th January last, in which I enclosed copies of a Correspondence which had passed between His Excellency Lieut.-General Sir M. C. O'Connell and this Government, upon the subject of Lieut.-Colonel M'Cleverty, who had been sent out to this country to settle the Land-Claims of the New Zealand Company, having been appointed the Officer in command of the Troops in New Zealand, and in reference to the observations I made, in that Despatch, upon the injuries to which the Settlers were subjected by the continued delay in the adjustment of these important questions, as well as upon the disappointment which must be experienced by the Native Chiefs, who upon my explanation of the intentions of Her Majesty's Government to send out an Officer to fulfil the duties which were assigned to Lieut.-Colonel M'Cleverty, had waited patiently previously to his arrival, and since his arrival, trusting that my promises would be fulfilled, --
I have now the honor to report, that, finding that the arrangements of the Lieut-General prevented me from entertaining any hopes of Lieut.-Colonel M'Cleverty's being able to afford me efficient assistance, and that the Natives were, at the same, time, unwilling, from feelings of jealousy, to transact with the New Zealand Company's Agent any business relating to the Districts of land which had previously been in dispute, I found it necessary to take into my own hands the settlement of the most important of these questions.
[Image of page 2]
The Land-Claims which appeared, in the circumstances of the Colony, to require immediate adjustment were those advanced by the New Zealand Company, --
Firstly, To the District of country, including Porirua, and lying between that place and Wainui.
Secondly, To the District of Wairau in the Middle Island, and the country lying immediately to the Southward of that District.
In both of these Districts the Company had actually disposed of large quantities of land to European Settlers, whom it was of course desirable, if possible, to place in possession of the Sections which they had purchased; and moreover, in a military point of view, the possession of a great part of the Porirua District, and its occupation by British subjects, were necessary to secure the town of Wellington and its vicinity from future hostile attacks and aggressions from evil-disposed Natives; as it was only by the occupation of the Porirua District that the various tracts leading across the woody mountains which lie between Porirua and Wellington could be effectually closed against an enemy.
The Claims of the New Zealand Company to the Porirua and Wairau Districts had not only been decided upon by Mr. Commissioner Spain as against the New Zealand Company, but, after disallowing the claims of the Company to these Districts, that Officer had farther reported, that "the District" lying between Wainui and Porirua, inclusive of both places, "must be regarded as being in the real and bona fide possession of the Ngatitoa Tribe; and that a District of country "in the Middle Island, comprising the Wairau, and a part of" Queen Charlotte's Sound, must likewise be regarded as "being the real and bona fide possession of the same Tribe." This latter decision really gave a claim to the Ngatitoa Tribe to a tract of country in the Middle Island, extending to about 100 miles to the South of Wairau, as their claim to the whole of this Territory is identical with their claim to the Valley of the Wairau.
[Image of page 3]
Under such circumstances, I determined to purchase, on behalf of the Government, from the Ngatitoa Tribe, a large District of land surrounding Porirua, including as much of the land which had previously been disposed of by the New Zealand Company, as I could induce the Natives to alienate, thus meeting, in as far as practicable, the specific claims of European Settlers; and in addition to the land so acquired by the New Zealand Company, I determined to include, within the limits of the Purchased Land, a very extensive Block of Country to meet the probable prospective requirements of the Government and the Settlers.
The Ngatitoa Tribe, after securing an extensive Reserve for themselves in one continuous Block (as shown in the enclosed plan), agreed to dispose of the tract of country I required (which is also shown in the enclosed plan), which included the whole of the Sections the New Zealand Company claimed, with the exception of about sixteen. As Lieut.-Colonel M'Cleverty had been directed by Her Majesty's Government to decide upon the reasonableness of the price paid to the Natives for Land, and as he was then at Wellington, I thought it right to take his opinion as to the sum which should be paid for this tract of land. He named the sum of 2000l., which, under all the circumstances of the case, appearing to me to be a reasonable and proper sum, I agreed to pay it to the Natives, arranging that one-half of the sum should be paid down on the 1st of April then next following, and that the sum of 500l. should be paid on the 1st of April 1848, and a like sum upon the 1st of April 1849.
In reference to the Wairau District, I thought it advisable, not only to purchase this District, which was estimated by the Surveyor-General to contain 80,000 acres of the finest Agricultural Land, and about 240,000 acres of the finest Pastural Land, but also to endeavour to purchase the whole tract of Country claimed by the Ngatitoa Tribe, and extending about 100 miles to the Southward of that Valley, the greatest portion of which Country is, I understand, admirably adapted to
[Image of page 4]
European Settlers, and is likely to be almost immediately occupied by Sheep and Cattle, as I thought that an ultimate and decisive arrangement of this kind would be excessively advantageous to this Colony.
The Ngatitoa Tribe, after considerable discussion, agreed to dispose of the required Territory, still reserving their claims to that portion of the Country which is shown in the accompanying map.
Upon consultation with Colonel M'Cleverty, I agreed to pay the Natives (who demanded the sum of 5000l.) 3000l., in five annual instalments of 600l. each; the first instalment of 600l. to be paid on the following day, whilst the remaining instalments, of 600l. each, were to be paid on the 1st of April in each of the four next succeeding years.
Having completed these arrangements, I directed Major Richmond to write to the Company's Agent, to inform him that the New Zealand Company might, in conformity with the regulations made under the sanction of your Lordship's Department, select such portions of land in the two Districts thus purchased, as they might require to fulfil their engagements with the Settlers; it being understood that they should repay to the Government for the Lands they might select, such proportion of the total Purchase-money as Her Majesty's Government might, on being informed of the arrangements I had made, direct to be refunded as a proper and reasonable payment.
I trust that the arrangement I have made for the purchase of these two tracts of Country will be satisfactory to your Lordship. Every Land-Claim, but one in the Southward of the Colony, which is likely to occasion any future discussion or disturbance, has now been disposed of. The principle which I have adopted of Annual Money-Payments, instead of giving at once large quantities of Merchandise, will, I think, have a powerful influence on the future advancement of the Natives in Civilisation. They are already making rapid and unexpected strides in the arts of civilised life; and the funds
[Image of page 5]
thus supplied them will materially assist their advancement, whilst the experience of each year will render it probable that every successive annual payment will be more judiciously expended; and there can be no doubt, that the fact of the Ngatitoa Tribe receiving for several years an annual payment from the Government, will give us an almost unlimited influence over a powerful and, hitherto, a very treacherous and dangerous Tribe.
As the great majority of the Land-Questions, which had formed subjects of dispute and discussion, have now been disposed of, and as the Natives have now become accustomed to Europeans, and understand that the Laws and Regulations of the Government must be respected and obeyed, I have no doubt that now the uniform system of purchasing from them such Districts in their bona fide possession as may be required by the Government is adopted, that no further disputes or disturbances on the subject of Land will take place throughout the Southern portions of New Zealand.
I have, &c.,
G. GREY.
The Right Hon. Earl Grey, &c. &c. &c.
--No. 2. --
ACQUISITION OF LANDS FROM THE NATIVES.
(From the "NELSON EXAMINER" of Saturday, April 3, 1847.)
"Our readers will perceive, on referring to our Wellington Extracts, that the Governor has purchased the whole of the claims of the Ngatitoa, or Rauparaha's Tribe, to their land in this Island, with the exception of the Kaituna Valley, which is reserved for them instead of making other Reserves in the Wairau District. This step of his Excellency has placed the Wairau at the disposal of the Company, who are at liberty to select whatever they please from the purchase.
[Image of page 6]
Arrangements will, therefore, be made as early as possible to commence the surveys; and, meanwhile, steps will be taken to connect that District with this by a road. We believe Mr. Fox will start in a few days to examine the route just discovered by Messrs. Ward and Goulter. The Waitoi Pass and Queen Charlotte's Sound are not included in this purchase, as those places belong to another tribe, the Ngatiawas; but we hear they are also willing to dispose of their claims, so that we may soon hope to see the Sound also added to the Nelson District."
[How far the expectation herein expressed, with regard to the Lands of the Ngatiawa Tribe, is well-founded, the Directors of the New Zealand Company are not aware. No official communication has been received by them on the subject.]
--No. 3. --
MR. FOX TO COLONEL WAKEFIELD.
(Extract.)
No. 11/47. Nelson, 17th May 1847.
SIR,
I BEG to inform you that I have entered into a Contract with Mr. Budge (formerly one of the Company's Surveyors in this Settlement) for the survey of the Wairau District, with the view of allotting Rural Sections in it. I now forward a Copy of the Contract.
* * * * * *
I have the honor to be, &c,
WILLIAM FOX, Principal Agent.
Colonel William Wakefield,
Principal Agent of the New Zealand Company, &c. &c. &c.
[Image of page 7]
-- No. 4. --
THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY TO COLONEL WAKEFIELD.
Nelson.
(Extract.)
No. 6/47. New Zealand House, 12th March 1847.
SIR,
MESSRS. de Chapeaurouge and Co., of Hamburgh, having forwarded an application from Messrs. Kelling and Benoit, for the exchange of certain Nelson Lands, under the Regulations which were proposed by the Court in October 1845, but--failing to give the expected satisfaction--were by you suspended without being acted upon, in April 1846; and your Despatches having led the Directors to believe that both you and Mr. Fox deemed it desirable for the Settlement, under all the circumstances, that the plan should be remodelled, with a view to concentration and other advantages; the Court has been induced to reconsider the entire question of the Nelson Selections, for the purpose of devising, if possible, some mode of re-adjusting the same, which should be equally beneficial to all parties interested. This, in its literal sense, they found to be impracticable, some class of persons appearing always, under every plan that could possibly be thought of, to have opportunity to obtain some advantage from which others were excluded. After much deliberation, however, they came to the conclusion that the course most expedient for them to pursue would be, --to draw up that plan which, on the whole, appeared to them to combine the greatest advantages and to be least open to objections; --to empower you either to adopt that plan or to substitute any other which should appear to you to be more eligible, after consultation with the Landowners in the Settlement; --and in the meantime to communicate this intention to the Owners of Nelson Lands resident in this country (ascertaining, if possible, how far they approved of the plan suggested by the Court), and recommend their taking steps to secure the
[Image of page 8]
benefit, to such extent as they might themselves desire, of any arrangement which you might ultimately adopt.
This was accordingly done by means of the Circular which I do myself the honor to enclose (18th February, 1847), a copy of which was addressed to every Nelson Landowner known to be residing in the United Kingdom, and an Abstract of the replies to which will be added at the end of this letter.
* * * * * *
I have the honor to be, &c,
T. C. HARINGTON.
Colonel William Wakefield,
Principal Agent of the New Zealand Company, &c. &c. &c.
--No. 5. --
CIRCULAR FROM THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY TO THE NELSON LANDOWNERS.
(Enclosure in No. 4.)
New Zealand House, 18th February 1847.
SIR,
THE intention of the Regulations for the disposal of land in Nelson, of which I did myself the honor to transmit to you a copy in the month of October 1845, was to allow to the Landowners the option of acquiring fresh land, and promoting concentration, by means of re-selection under certain proposed conditions. They were drawn up in consequence of an application from the Inhabitants of the Settlement, and in furtherance of their general object, though not in the mode suggested by them. But, failing to give the expected satisfaction, they were withdrawn without being acted upon.
The Settlers continuing to press for a remodelling of the original scheme, and the Agents of the New Zealand Company strongly advising such a proceeding, the Directors have resolved to make another endeavour to carry it into execution. With this view they propose to instruct their Principal Agent to make such an arrangement, after consultation with the
[Image of page 9]
Landowners in the Settlement, as may in his judgment seem most beneficial to all parties; and, as the Company has no interests of its own separate from those of the Settlers and Landowners, they are prepared to sanction any plan which may be so determined upon. But in the mean time, and in the absence of general concurrence in any of the plans proposed by various parties in the Colony, they deem it incumbent on them to communicate to the Nelson Landowners resident in the United Kingdom the following arrangement, as that which, after much consideration, appears to them best calculated to effect the objects sought, and which therefore they purpose pointing out to their Agent as a desirable basis for the contemplated measure; viz. --
1st. That the Unsold Numbers with the Orders of Choice thereto attached, whether selections of land have been made in virtue of the same or not, be all cancelled, and the lands thrown open for selection as hereinafter mentioned.
2nd. That every Owner of one or more Entire Sections, whether Town, Accommodation, or Rural, be allowed the option of surrendering, on or before a day to be fixed for that purpose, all or any of such Entire Sections; and be permitted, in lieu of each Section so surrendered, to select in his original order of Choice another Section of the same class of land respectively, that is to say, Town Sections for Town Sections, Accommodation Sections for Accommodation Sections, and Rural Sections for Rural Sections, out of the whole of the Sections which may be surveyed, laid out for selection, and available at the time; including the Sections which, previous to the new selection, may be surrendered to the Company under the arrangement now contemplated, as well as those which have not been heretofore sold or otherwise disposed of.
3rd. That every Holder of a Land-Order, under which no selection of land has yet been made, be allowed to select according to the order of choice specified in
[Image of page 10]
such Land-Order, without the intervention of any Unsold Land-Order or Right of Choice. The Directors request your attentive consideration of the foregoing arrangement, and will be glad to receive your assent to a re-adjustment of the selection of lands in Nelson, to be made upon the basis here suggested, or upon such other as may be adopted in the Colony, after consultation with the Landowners there resident.
As a vessel is appointed to sail for New Zealand on the 10th of March, they request also that you will favor them with your reply at your earliest convenience, for which purpose, to give you as little trouble as possible, they have prepared the accompanying form; and they beg to suggest the expediency of your forwarding by the same vessel full powers to your Representative in the Colony, to act in your behalf upon such arrangement as may he finally determined upon by the Company's Principal Agent after consultation as above mentioned.
I have the honor to be, &c.
T. C. HARINGTON.
-- No. 6. --
THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY TO EARL GREY.
New Zealand House, 18th February 1848.
MY LORD,
INTELLIGENCE having been received recently from New Zealand, of an important nature, relating to the Nelson Land Question, the Directors of the New Zealand Company think it right to put your Lordship at once in possession of it, without waiting for the fuller consideration which some points connected with this subject still require. They instruct me, therefore, to transmit now the following brief summary of the several proceedings which have taken place, together with the Documents necessary to its more perfect elucidation.
Your Lordship is aware of the difficulties which, in the year 1841, prevented the Founder of the Settlement in question
[Image of page 11]
from exercising a free choice in the selection of the site, as well as those which have since prevented the Company from putting its Purchasers in possession of their Lands.
In October 1845, having been apprised that the locality of the Settlement was insufficient for the complete fulfilment of the original plan, and having received various suggestions, originating with persons on the spot, but differing from each other, for the re-adjustment of the Land, the Directors drew up and sent out a new plan for such re-adjustment.
On the 23rd of September 1846, they received the information that the plan proposed had failed to give satisfaction, and had, in consequence, been at once suspended by the Company's Agent. On the 2nd of October, they approved this suspension, and directed a withdrawal of the plan, so that in fact it was not acted on in a single instance.
On the 26th of November 1846, a Despatch was addressed to the Principal Agent, explaining the views with which the rejected plan had been drawn up, and authorising him to apprise the Settlers that the Directors were prepared, --1st, to give the fullest consideration to any amended plan, not inconsistent with their duties to other parties, in a desire for which the Settlers should be unanimous; --and, 2nd, to apply to Parliament for such further powers as might be found to be necessary to enable them to carry that amended plan, when approved, into effect.
In the Month of June 1847, --the Despatch of 26th November 1846, having been published in the Local Newspapers by the Company's Resident Agent, the Settlers met, appointed a Committee, and after successive Meetings and the fullest consideration, adopted unanimously (with one solitary exception) a Report and Resolutions, embodying a plan in which the Resident Agent fully concurred.
Before that date, that is to say, in the Month of February 1847, --having received from two parties in Nelson an application for an exchange of land under the plan which had been rejected by the other Settlers, the Directors drew up a proposal for another arrangement; communicated it to each
[Image of page 12]
Nelson Landowner resident in the United Kingdom; and on the 12th of March 1847, transmitted it to the Principal Agent, with the replies received, and with plenary authority either to adopt it, or to substitute any other which, after consultation with the Settlers, he should deem more advisable.
The plan thus proposed by the Directors in February 1847, will be found to be almost identical with the first portion of that proposed by the Settlers in the following June. Intelligence has not yet been received of its arrival at Nelson; but its receipt at Wellington is acknowledged on the 12th of August 1847; and Colonel Wakefield was then on the eve of proceeding to Nelson and consulting with Mr. Fox as to the means of carrying it into execution. The proposal of the Settlers is so entirely in unison with the spirit by which the Directors have ever been actuated, that, with perhaps some minor modifications, they are prepared to give it their cordial assent, and to take without delay such steps as they may be advised are necessary to confer on them the requisite legal power.
On this subject your Lordship will doubtless remember that, in anticipation of the necessity of such a step, the Directors in February 1847, introduced a Bill into the House of Commons, in which it was proposed that this power should be conferred on the Company by the Local Legislature, which it was thought possessed the best means of making itself acquainted with the necessities of the case. But it was opposed by an influential Member of the House, on the ground that it would confer on the Colonial Legislature the powers of the Imperial Parliament; this opposition was concurred in by Lord John Russell; and the Bill was in consequence suspended at the time, and ultimately withdrawn.
Your Lordship is aware also that, having been favored with the communication of various Despatches from Governor Grey (subsequently printed in the Papers laid before Parliament), in which were detailed the difficulties experienced in effecting the required arrangements at Porirua, Wairau, and New Plymouth, and in settling the disputes respecting Land
[Image of page 13]
at Wellington, the Directors addressed your Lordship on the 17th of December last, and proposed that, as it was impossible to obtain sufficient information as to the facts, or to settle the questions in England, the entire matter should be referred to the sole discretion of the Governor. Of which reference, with one minor exception that has yet to be considered, your Lordship was pleased to express your approval on the 3rd instant.
On a review of the facts here stated, the Directors feel convinced your Lordship will recognise their anxiety to remedy the difficulties under which the Settlers of Nelson have so long labored; and they trust they may now indulge the hope, that not only the embarrassments of that Settlement, but those also which have hitherto impeded their operations; at Wellington and New Plymouth, are at length in course of final and satisfactory adjustment or removal.
I have the honor to be, &c,
T. C. HARINGTON.
The Right Honorable the Earl Grey, &c. &c. &c.
-- No. 7. --
MR. FOX TO COLONEL WAKEFIELD.
SIR, .... Nelson, 3rd July, 1847.
I HAVE the honor to refer you to the Correspondence which has already occurred relative to the representations made by the Landowners of this Settlement to the Court of Directors, and particularly to the Despatches lately addressed to you by the Secretary, Nelson, Nos. 18 and 19, 1846; in the former of which you are informed that "the Court of Directors is prepared to adopt any measure which the Colonists may desire provided that they be unanimous among themselves, that it be consistent with the duties which the Directors owe to other parties, and that they legally possess the necessary powers; and to apply to Parliament to confer such upon them if it be determined that they are not already in their possession."
In conformity with your instructions I caused the De-
[Image of page 14]
spatches referred to, to be published in the local Newspaper, and the impression which their perusal made upon the minds of the Landowners was, I am happy to say, very satisfactory; inducing leading members of that body to make public expression of their confidence in the honor and integrity of the Directors, and giving rise to a very general desire on the part of all concerned to see the questions at issue harmoniously and amicably adjusted.
At a General Meeting, attended by, I believe, all the resident Landowners and Agents of Absentees in the Settlement, a Committee was appointed by ballot to receive suggestions from individual Landowners, and to endeavour to arrive at some proposition which might embrace the interests of the whole and meet with that unanimous concurrence which the Court of Directors required. After a very laborious investigation of the subject, a Report and certain Resolutions, of which I have now the honor to forward copies, were agreed to by the Committee; and after two days' discussion by a General Meeting of Landowners and Agents, were adopted unanimously, with the exception of one individual, whose opposition was considered so frivolous by the others that a protest which he handed in was rejected by them; and I have been requested by the Committee to report the concurrence of the Landowners and Agents as unanimous.
I attended two of the General Meetings, and spent nearly a whole day in discussing with the Committee the Resolutions which they had framed, besides having had much conversation with individual Landowners on the subject. The result at which I have arrived is that it is my duty respectfully to recommend to the Court of Directors the adoption of the proposal now submitted to them.
The Report of the Committee is so full and explicit, and the Court of Directors is already in possession of so much information from other sources, that it seems almost unnecessary for me to express an opinion on the details of the scheme, or to do more than state my general concurrence. The principles, however, which I have kept in view it may be as well to mention.
[Image of page 15]
1st. The fact that the physical characteristics of Blind Bay are such as to render it impossible to carry into execution what was contemplated by the Prospectus of the Nelson Settlement. That any attempt to lay out such a Settlement within insufficient limits can only end in disappointment and confusion, and fail in enabling the Company to fulfil the conditions into which it enters with every individual Purchaser. That though the Company is not morally responsible for these results, which are the consequence of those acts of the Local Government which have received condemnation in the highest quarters, it is its duty to give its Purchasers the best possible substitute for that which it undertook to give them, but which it is now physically impossible for it to give. That this substitute must consist not in individual compensation, which would not meet the exigency, but in the creation of such a Settlement as may give to the Community as large a portion as possible of those advantages which the original scheme of the Nelson Settlement proposed. That this end can only be obtained by a very extensive departure from the original plan in many particulars; and that upon the whole, nobody is likely to form so sound an opinion as to what remodification would be most advantageous to the Community with a view to its present and future prosperity, as those who have staked their lives and fortunes in the Settlement aided by the Representatives of the Absentee Purchasers. That to this end no scheme would be just which did not equally embrace the interests of both Residents and Absentees, placing each on an equal footing; but that in a few special instances, actual Colonists may have claims to consideration, arising from circumstances connected with their residence in the Colony, beyond those of Absentees, and which must be met by special redress. That such special redress shall not operate to the injury of the Absentees may be safely left to the vigilance and integrity of their Agents. That the Company, in respect of its one hundred Allotments, is entitled to rank as any other Purchaser, and to share in all advantages of the remodification.
[Image of page 16]
2dly. While considering what is best for the Settlement, it is my duty, as the Company's Agent, not to lose sight of the Company's interests. It does not seem to me that the scheme proposed involves the Company in any considerable sacrifice. The feature which would most have that aspect is the giving up to this Settlement the site of another Town. But even in that particular the Company shares, in respect of its private Allotments, and its profit from the future sale of Unsold Sections. And even if any considerable sacrifice were required, it would be for the Company's interest to make it. At present, neither its Private Estate nor the Unsold Lands of the Settlement have saleable value; nor will they have, till Nelson becomes once more a contented Community, and holds out an inducement for renewed Immigration. It has in itself, subject to some such modification as proposed, a basis for that; and whenever it may become such, not only those lands which are now considered available will attain their just value, but much that may be now rejected will probably acquire value by their contiguity to, and intermixture with, occupied lands. I am satisfied, on the whole, that the Company's interests and its duties in the matter are ultimately identical, if not immediately apparent to be so.
On the question of an additional Town, and perhaps on some other points of detail, I may appear to have altered my opinion since I last addressed you on these subjects. I have not, however, so much altered my opinion, as surrendered it in deference to the wishes of the Colonists so unanimously expressed, and in imitation of the temper in which they have individually acted towards each other in coming to the general conclusions at which they have arrived. I would wish it, therefore, to be understood, that my concurrence in their present suggestions is entire, and without any reservation.
I have the honor to be, &c.
WILLIAM FOX, Resident Agent.
Colonel William Wakefield,
Principal Agent of the New Zealand Company, &c. &c. &c.
[Image of page 17]
-- No. 8. --
THE COMMITTEE OF NELSON LANDOWNERS TO THE COURT OF DIRECTORS.
Nelson, July 30th, 1847.
MY LORDS AND GENTLEMEN,
IN consequence of the publication by Mr. Fox of your Despatch to Colonel Wakefield of the 26th November, 1846, containing, in reference to the matters in difference between the New Zealand Company and the Purchasers of Land in this Settlement, an assurance that your Court would adopt, any plan of adjustment that the latter should propose, a Meeting of the Resident Purchasers and Agents was held on the 16th June last, to take into consideration the Despatch in question, and the important offer it contained.
At this Meeting a Committee was appointed by ballot, and instructed to receive the suggestions of any one interested in the settlement of the Nelson Land-Question, and to prepare, if possible, such a scheme as might solve the difficulties involved in it, and fulfil the conditions laid down in your Despatch. After a very full and lengthened discussion upon the subject in all its bearings, and a patient consideration of the views of every person concerned in it, the Committee unanimously agreed upon a Report and a Series of Resolutions which, on the 30th of the same month, and the day following, were presented to another Meeting attended by nearly all the Land-Purchasers in the Settlement; and after a renewed discussion upon every part of them, were finally adopted with a degree of unanimity that could hardly have been anticipated.
A new Committee, consisting of the Land-Purchasers who have now the honor to address your Court, was then elected by ballot, and directed to forward to your Court the result of the deliberations of the Meeting; to explain the principles on
[Image of page 18]
which the scheme they propose is founded, and to show that it fulfils the conditions requisite to secure for it the entire concurrence of your Court. It is hardly necessary to remind you that these conditions were, that the Resident Land-Purchasers should be unanimous in the proposal of their plan; and that the plan itself should not be inconsistent with the interests of other parties concerned, nor incompatible with the due fulfilment by the Company of its engagements to the latter. It is with much pleasure that we now find ourselves enabled to declare our sincere conviction that the plan agreed upon fulfils these conditions, and our confident anticipation that it will be immediately adopted by your Court, as the most satisfactory solution attainable of this very difficult and complicated question.
In strict accordance with the duty imposed upon us by the Land-Purchasers, it would perhaps be incumbent upon us now to enter upon a consideration of all the other interests referred to, and to detail the grounds of the conviction first expressed, that in the scheme we offer they have been fully attended to and preserved inviolate. But the very acquaintance we have necessarily acquired with this subject, has forced us to the conclusion, that to take this course would involve us in an elaborate and tedious review of minute and complicated details, --a discussion of interests and matters entirely private and personal, and on many of which, while they scarcely affected the general question at issue, it would be impossible to arrive at an unanimous opinion. And we reflected that the details and circumstances in question have been so frequently recounted, and so fully discussed, in letters and memorials which are before the Public, and in possession of the Court, that the task before us would, at best, be one of repetition and re-arrangement. Further, to put your Court exactly in possession of the views of the whole body of Resident Land-Purchasers, it seemed to us that our representations to you could not too closely and precisely agree with those which were made to them, and by which
[Image of page 19]
was secured their acquiescence in the scheme alluded to. For these reasons we have determined to content ourselves with forwarding to your Court on the present occasion the copy which we have now the honor to enclose; and to rest our hope of your assent to our assertion that the conditions you imposed have been fulfilled, upon the simple facts--1st, That the Report and Resolutions were adopted with only one dissentient voice--and that one condemned by the Meeting in a marked manner; --and, 2nd, That the Agents for the great majority of the Absentees were active members of the Committee that drew them up; --and that your Resident Agent, Mr. Fox, besides having attended the Committee at their request for several days, and taken part unreservedly and attentively in their discussions, has signified his full and complete acquiescence in, and approbation of, them. We do think that your Court must allow that these facts are conclusive, as to due consideration having been given, in the preparation of the scheme, to the interests both of the Company and of other parties, and to the various engagements the former have entered into with the latter.
It remains for us to press upon the attention of your Court, that the unanimous concurrence of the Resident Land-Purchasers and Agents on behalf of those Absentees represented in the Colony, has only been obtained, with very considerable difficulty, after often-repeated discussions, and by the sometimes reluctant sacrifice of many cherished and strongly entertained views and opinions. Nothing but the sincere desire to get this question finally set at rest, stimulated by the frank and liberal assurance contained in the Despatch, of your concurrence in some such scheme as the one proposed, could have brought about the forbearance and disinterestedness of purpose which has produced the unanimity fortunately obtained. And we cannot conceal our conviction, that if this favorable opportunity to remodel the Nelson Scheme, and adapt it to actual circumstances, be lost, it will be idle to look for another; because all the details of our plan have been so carefully in-
[Image of page 20]
troduced, so modified and moulded to remove particular objections, or satisfy particular expectations; so suspiciously weighed, so narrowly examined, and so cautiously adopted; that we greatly fear that its rejection by the Purchasers would almost be ensured by an alteration or suppression of any of its parts. We feel it our duty to press this fact most urgently upon the consideration of the Court, and express our earnest desire that this endeavour to effect an arrangement may not be rendered abortive by any objections that can possibly be withheld, or any introduction of new principles or details into the scheme that can possibly be avoided.
And as it is obvious that while this matter remains in suspense, a check must be given to many of the most important operations at present carried on in the Settlement--such, particularly, as those of the cultivators of land--we need hardly endeavour to paint the advantages of a speedy and final disposal of it. This, we think, would be greatly forwarded, if your Court would empower your Agents, or some other persons, with full authority to put in effect the proposed alterations and set on foot the improved scheme.
Assured that the honorable feelings and liberal views which dictated the offer our propositions are intended to meet, will be fully borne out by the mode in which the latter are accepted,
We have the honor to be, &c,
A. DOMETT.
D. MONRO.
J. D. GREENWOOD.
F. JOLLIE.
H. SEYMOUR.
To the Court of Directors of the New Zealand Company.
[Image of page 21]
-- No. 9. --
MEETING OF LAND-PURCHASERS AND AGENT.
(From the "NELSON EXAMINER" of Saturday, July 3, 1847.
A MEETING of Land-Purchasers and Agents took place on Wednesday last, in the Literary Institution, to receive the Report of the Committee appointed on the 16th of June, with instructions to examine any plans which might be brought forward for the settlement of the Nelson Land-Question, and to report thereon, that a plan might be framed in accordance with the spirit of the New Zealand Company's Despatch, of the 26th of November. There was an unusually full attendance; indeed, only two or three of the Land-Purchasers in the Settlement were absent; and the opinion appeared to be general, that an amicable adjustment of the differences with the Company might now be effected. Mr. J. Saxton, who had presided over the former Meeting, was again called to the Chair.
The Chairman briefly stated the object of the Meeting, and as it was one which so deeply affected the interests of the Land-Purchasers and the prosperity of the Settlement, he besought for it that full consideration and attention which its importance demanded. He then called on Mr. F. D. Bell, the Chairman of the Committee, to produce the Report which had been drawn up.
Mr. F. D. BELL then read the Report as follows:--
REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE.
GENTLEMEN--In pursuance of the duty which you committed to us, we have taken into our most earnest consideration the proposal of the New Zealand Company, contained in their Despatch of the 26th November last, with
[Image of page 22]
a view of submitting to you to-day, if possible, a plan which you should consider applicable to the exigencies of the Settlement; and, in accordance with your directions, we have received and carefully weighed the suggestions that various Landowners have favored us with; have devised with the help of those suggestions the plan of adjustment required; and have communicated thereupon with the Company's Resident Agent.
In returning our acknowledgments for the written propositions laid before us, we have also sincerely to thank several Gentlemen who personally attended the Committee throughout its labors, and afforded us their valuable assistance. And we should not omit, at the same time, to acquaint you that, at our special request, Mr. Stephens, Mr. Domett, and Dr. Greenwood, consented to join the Committee as Members.
Before proceeding to the details of the arrangements we have to lay before you, we wish to assure you, that considering that unless we could succeed in making such propositions in our Report to you to-day, as might be fairly expected to reconcile the many conflicting opinions known to exist, and consequently to obtain from the Landowners such a unanimous concurrence, as is held by the Company at least to be requisite for the satisfactory prosecution of the matter, our own labor would be utterly fruitless, and any expectation of amicable arrangement most probably futile, --we have throughout sincerely endeavoured to divest ourselves of every prejudice and bias, and to bring to the consideration of the subject a spirit of forbearance and mutual concession, of perfect fairness towards opinions opposite to our own individual ones, and of entire freedom from undue partiality for views which any of us may have previously entertained or even advocated. And this, because we felt deeply that the thing of all others most to be desired, is a complete and final settlement of the matter in hand; that no settlement is possible without unanimity, at least on the main points of it; and further, that no such unanimity is attainable unless all concerned could
[Image of page 23]
bring themselves to discuss the subject in the spirit, and with the feeling we have attempted to describe. And we are happy to be able to inform you, that at every stage of our proceedings, though often only after much difference of opinion at first, and after very prolonged and earnest discussion, we succeeded in arriving at complete unanimity; an unanimity, indeed, at which as a body we might have ourselves been surprised, but for the consciousness of our sincere desire to attain it. And we mention this particularly, because the doing so enables us at the same time to appeal earnestly to yourselves to adopt a similar spirit on the present occasion, and to press upon you our conviction, that without it no satisfactory adjustment of the business we have before us can reasonably be expected.
The questions affecting the land in the Nelson Settlement, and the relations of the Purchasers with the Company, have been the subject of such frequent and varied discussions, and have now been before you so long and so intimately, that we shall not take up your time by referring to them at any considerable length. But it is perhaps necessary to remark, that in one particular our difficulties were greater than we anticipated. Upon a most careful re-examination of the estimates generally accepted last year of the quantity of available land, we have found it absolutely necessary to narrow them considerably, both in the cases of Suburban and Rural Land. At the time of the first public discussion as to a remodelling of the Scheme, last year, it was generally assumed that the Wairau and Massacre Bay Districts contained ample land for supplying the 1000 Rural Sections, and to spare. Since then, and particularly since the acquisition of the Wairau was contemplated by the Government, that District has been more fully explored: and, after deducting the large Reserve of the best land made at the mouth of the Plain for the Natives, our anticipations of the extent of good land fit for distribution as Rural Sections were very much diminished. And as regards the Suburban Sections, with every desire to make as favorable an estimate as possible of the Districts at our disposal, we are compelled to come to the
[Image of page 24]
conclusion, that there would be far from sufficient cultivable land, in any remodiflcation of the Scheme, for the actually existing Purchasers.
We think it, then, perhaps as well to pass over, with a mere allusion to them, the other grounds on which the claim of the Purchasers to a remodification of the Scheme may be taken to rest; such as the inferiority of the Site chosen for the Town, and the dispersion and distance of the present tracts of Suburban and Rural Land; and to base that claim principally on the physical impossibility, which now, more than ever, has become clear to us, of the Company carrying out the original Scheme, not merely in its integrity, but in any degree approaching to it. And forced as we are to this conclusion, we are by it compelled to recognise, not only the right of all the Purchasers to such a compromise of the original Terms of Purchase as shall remedy the actual evils in respect to the distribution of the land, but also their claim, and especially that of the Resident Purchasers, to compensation for a state of things so utterly at variance with the expectations under which they purchased, and for the disappointment and losses that have resulted from it.
It would, however, be not only a waste of time now to attempt deciding on the complication of causes by which our hopes have been frustrated, or by whom the responsibility for them should be borne or shared; such a discussion would, we believe, by renewing the differences which have so long agitated us, put the most serious obstacles in the way of any arrangement. We think it much wiser and more beneficial to put out of sight all past criminations and recriminations, and unite earnestly in proposing a plan, upon the understanding of mutual concession, for the general benefit. In reflecting, then, upon such a plan, we have endeavoured to confine our view as much as possible to the two simple points of what our expectations were when we purchased, and what our actual condition is In order to do this, we have classed the Purchasers into two sections, the interests and position of which, though alike in certain general features, are widely distinct on particular con-
[Image of page 25]
siderations. The first class may be taken to comprise the Company as Private Purchasers, and other Non-resident Proprietors, whose risk in the Settlement is confined to the sum they paid for their land; the second, those Purchasers who have, in addition to the same risk, ventured their lives, their prospects, and their capital, in the work of colonising the Settlement. Alike in the clear right to have their contract executed strictly, in so far as it relates to the investment of their money in land, they do not equally suffer from its non-fulfilment, nor equally share in other causes of loss. The first class have individual interests to guard, arising merely from that investment; the second, in addition to individual interests equally important, have others consequent upon their being members of a Community, which, as a body, has been impeded in its advance, and subjected to evils it would not have suffered from had the contract been fulfilled to the letter. But now, while the impossibility of carrying out the Scheme completely, arising from the want of its first essential element, good land, may yet be met by such a remodification of it as shall afford to each actual Purchaser the amount of such good land as he was entitled to, and even offer a better prospect of the purchase becoming profitable, if it were simply a speculation; yet to the resident Colonist this is of itself but little advantage. He no longer has the hope of a large population rapidly growing around him, of all the pecuniary profits, the bettered circumstances, the social advantages, which he had a right to look for as the natural consequence of such an influx of population. He has no hope of receiving even the benefit of a large expenditure for the improvement of that portion of the Community he has become a member of, nearly double in amount to that which has been already laid out, and which by a wiser administration would produce good in an infinitely larger degree. He cannot avail himself, in many instances, of the chief advantages even of the remodification itself, by reason of the waste of his means during his long struggles to battle against the difficulties that surrounded him
[Image of page 26]
It is for these considerations that he is justly entitled to some compensation beyond merely endeavouring to place him in a similar position with regard to his purchase of land, to that which he had a right to expect as a first condition of his contract.
While, therefore, we have recognised as indispensable the necessity, in any remodification of the Scheme, of giving to both classes, to the Absentee as well as to the Resident Purchaser, exactly the same participation in any advantages to be derived from a redistribution of the land, and have thought it right to place them on exactly the same footing in that respect, we have added certain propositions by way of compensation to the Resident Purchasers; which, however, we can clearly perceive will also be productive of benefit to the investment of the Absentees; for we remain of nothing more convinced than that in the true prosperity of the Colonists is bound up the only hope of profit to the former, and on this ground feel confident of their support to the propositions we have to submit. At the same time, the whole of our propositions must be viewed in the light of a compromise. It cannot be denied that the rights of the Purchasers have been infringed, nor that compensation is necessary: but, in order to come to a general arrangement, and to place ourselves in the position of common success, we must consent to waive the question of strict right, and endeavour to devise that plan which shall give you the greatest amount of compensatory advantage, practicable and consistent with those other claims and considerations which we have also to regard.
Pursuing, then, the division of classes just referred to, and also for the sake of clearness and proper arrangement of our subject, we shall now call your attention, first, to the general plan for the redistribution of the land, comprising those advantages which we propose should be shared by all the Purchasers equally; and, secondly, to the special advantages offered to the Resident Cultivators.
Assuming that the quantity of good land is not only in-
[Image of page 27]
sufficient to meet the requirements of the Original Scheme, but barely competent to satisfy the existing purchases, the first step towards a remedial measure appeared to us to be, that the whole of the Unsold and Unappropriated Lands in the Settlement should be offered to the present Purchasers for selection until their claims, so far as respects land only, should be satisfied. In order to do this, and after carefully weighing other plans, we are of opinion that the one which would most combine fairness, simplicity, and capability of immediate application, and best meet, as far as now remains possible, the spirit of the conditions under which we all purchased, would be, as regards the Town and Suburban Sections, a simple reselection according to the original priority of choice, with the exception of the Unsold Choices, which should be suppressed; and, in the case of the Rural Sections, a selection according to the original priority, but also excluding the Unsolds.
The question of a reselection of the Nelson Town Sections was one which long occupied our attention. After a full discussion of the arguments which could be adduced on either side, and having recourse especially to the proposition for founding a new Town which will be presently explained to you, we were of opinion that the reselection would present several advantages which its actual extent precludes. By it natural concentration of property would ensue, which will be very beneficial to individual owners; while the several hundreds of remaining acres would, by the opportunity afforded of uniting them in parcels of more than one acre, and thus rendering them available for immediate cultivation and occupation, acquire a value which may eventually contribute largely to the Public Funds of the Settlement. Of course, however, this would principally depend on the mode of their disposal; and we suggest that they should only be sold by Public Auction, at such times and prices, and in such quantities, as may seem most conducive to the interests of the Settlement. And in order that this new class of land may be
[Image of page 28]
increased to the largest possible amount, in the interest of the Company and of the Settlement, we propose that in it should be included certain small patches of now unsurveyed land, comprising what may be called the Town Belt, that is, all available land within the outside boundary lines of the Town; and that until sold, it or any part of it required should be let for the general benefit of the Funds, so as to prevent the continued or contemplated occupation of any part of it without payment; an evil, the existence of which has been most seriously injurious to the whole Community, not less than to the individual interests of the Purchasers. We believe that the land here referred to, when by the general remodelling of the Scheme the Company shall be relieved from their present obligation not to sell a single acre of it except in conjunction with Accommodation and Rural Sections, will offer considerable inducements to Purchasers or Lessees, and under proper management be the source of large profit to the General Funds.
As regards the Suburban Sections, the Committee also propose a reselection of them in the original order of priority. But here we were encompassed, as before stated, with a difficulty greater than we believe has yet appeared to the Purchasers generally. Two of our number, assisted by two other Landowners, made a most minute and careful estimate of the Suburban Sections which could at all be deemed available; and we regret to say that the total number was far below that required for the already purchased Sections, even after including a quantity of good land near the Town, which the Company's late Chief Surveyor reserved for Rural Sections, but which we propose should be offered for Suburban choice. This difficulty can only be completely met by laying out Accommodation Sections elsewhere. To effect the required object, therefore, and also with a considerable view to providing inducements for future sale, we propose that a limited number of Fifty-Acre Sections should be reserved in the Wairau District, nearest to the probable centre of value, namely, that locality to which we shall presently advert as its Shipping-
[Image of page 29]
Port, and offered, as far as they go, to the existing Purchasers in the first instance, any surplus being afterwards disposed of by Public Auction, the Proceeds to be appropriated in the proportions fixed by the Original Scheme.
In the case of the Rural Sections, no interests have yet been compromised by previous choices; and the injury which it maybe argued the Purchasers have suffered from the delay in their distribution, may be said to be compensated in some measure by the greatly advanced order of choice arising from the proposed suppression of all the orders of choice representing the Unsold Sections. It is, however, with lively regret that we felt bound to come to this last-named proposition. Had the Districts to be given out for Rural Sections offered such an abundance of good land as to render feasible the completion of the original number of Allotments, we would gladly have sacrificed the advantage of a more concentrated choice, because the existence of this ample quantity of good land would have secured the completion of the Trust-Funds and the establishment of a considerable population, fixed by a large expenditure on Public Objects, within the Districts named. But, looking at the character of those Districts, both Massacre Bay and Wairau, we cannot conceal from ourselves such a deficiency of really available, cultivable land, as compels us to relinquish that hope, and to restrict our expectations to not much more than an actual fulfilment of the Terms of Purchase in respect of the already sold Allotments.
But, in addition to the mode of re-distributing the land which forms the subject of the preceding paragraphs, we beg to submit a proposal, having for its object the conferring of some compensation for the non-fulfilment of the Original Scheme. Bearing in mind the position of the Town and Harbour of Nelson in relation to the Districts in which will be distributed the greater part of our Rural Sections, we cannot but feel persuaded that if any prosperity is to attend the steps of those who shall become the occupants of them, and if any considerable population should bring with it the necessary accompaniment of a
[Image of page 30]
prosperous commerce, another Town is certain to spring up there hereafter: and, with this persuasion, we consider it wise policy that a Town should at once be founded on a systematic plan, and that, as founders of the whole Settlement, the present Purchasers are undeniably entitled to a participation in any advantage it may offer. Considering that the Wairau is the District most likely to be speedily occupied, and therefore to require a Shipping-Port for its produce, we propose that, after a most careful examination of the localities, a Town should be laid out in connection with such a Shipping-Port. The size of this future Town has been the subject of much discussion, and we will not at this time pretend to fix an exact limit for it, particularly as so much will depend on the site to be chosen: but we should recommend at present its being 250 acres, divided into 1,000 Quarter-Acre Sections, exclusive of Streets and other Public Reserves. And with respect to the mode of distributing them, we propose that the selection should be made by each actual Purchaser, and by the Company, in the original order of priority fixed by the general ballot for the Nelson Town Sections, including the Unsolds. You will perceive the difference between our recommendation, in this respect, and our proposal for the reselection of the Nelson Town-Acres; and we deem it right to explain it by saying, that while in a general remodification of the past choices we could see many advantages in concentrating the Acre-Sections here, we could not perceive a corresponding general benefit in a new Town of Quarter-Acres, founded besides on a site which it may be hoped will secure for it many and important commercial advantages; but on the contrary, could foresee that if the actual Purchasers only had all the first choices, but little would remain of those inducements which in the case of the new Town form our main reliance for increasing the Trust-Funds of the Settlement. We think it of great importance to the future welfare of the Settlement, that every possible source should be kept open for the acquisition of such Funds, to be applied to the formation of Roads and Bridges, to Schools,
[Image of page 31]
Churches, and other Public Institutions; and that it should not be reduced to the condition of one in which every avenue to the profitable investment of capital in land must be looked upon as finally and hopelessly closed. One of the principal objects for which it is desirable to found such a Town is, that the whole Settlement, thus improved, should still retain some of those advantages which fix the attention of Capitalists and intending Emigrants at home, invest it with an interest, and make it the object of hopes, which will materially tend to its prosperous advancement. But if all the best Town Sections were absorbed by the present Purchasers, the chance of raising any Public Funds from it would be annihilated, and much less attention would be drawn to it in England. The change we are contemplating could not then be considered as a revival, but only as a final shelving and winding-up of our Settlement and its affairs. For these reasons we propose to retain the Unsold Choices in the new Town; and that when the selections have been made there, those Sections which will then represent the Unsold Choices, should be sold gradually by Public Auction, the proceeds being appropriated in the proportions of the Original Scheme.
So far we have proceeded upon the basis of offering to every Purchaser the same benefit of the proposed remodification. But many of the Resident Landowners have, by a large expenditure on their present Suburban Sections, debarred themselves from the advantage of the proposed reselection. They will thus be compelled to retain possession of inferior Sections, while they will see their more fortunate Co-purchasers, free from the shackles which fetter them, take the opportunity of a benefit in which they could not share. It would be manifestly unjust, it would be as undeniably most impolitic, to make the very circumstance which entitles the Resident Cultivator to peculiar consideration, namely, the expenditure of capital in the Settlement, be the only bar, not merely to the peculiar advantages this circumstance entitles him to, but even to those which all the other Landowners may avail themselves of.
[Image of page 32]
The very claim he has for any compensation for past loss would then be the source and occasion of fresh loss and renewed disappointment. We think it fair and reasonable that he should receive some special advantage to compensate for the peculiar position he is placed in. We therefore propose in the first place, that the Resident Purchasers, being Cultivators, should have the option of selecting an equivalent to their Rural Choice, in contiguity to their own Cultivations. But as the Company would only have it in their power to effect such an arrangement either with land at present unsold, or which shall remain available by being given up in the reselection, it is proposed that the claim of any such Resident Purchaser, willing to avail himself of this advantage, should be adjusted so far as practicable, before the reselection of the Suburban Sections, and the arrangements finally completed afterwards, when the Company would have the command of the desired contiguous land. We have, however, thought it desirable to make a limitation of the privilege just mentioned, in order not to include parties who, by availing themselves of the almost unrestricted choice of Unsold Sections for exchange at the time of the Company's stoppage in 1844, and thus securing what may be considered among the best land in the Suburban Districts, virtually divested themselves of any claim for compensation in respect of their original bad land, and can set up no claim now in respect of their actual cultivation. The arrangement here contemplated will hardly at all affect individual interests in the reselection, the number of actual Cultivators to have such priority being so few; while by giving them an increased interest in their cultivations, and enabling them to continue operations on a larger scale, and therefore with a better prospect of return, besides substituting a feeling of content for the dissatisfaction that now exists, it will tend in a great degree not only to the general good, but also to promote the value of the remaining lands.
But there are three other propositions by which the Resident Purchasers, whether Cultivators or not, may receive some com-
[Image of page 33]
pensatory advantages not originally bargained for, and which we beg to recommend to your adoption. The first of these is to allow two or more Suburban Sections of inferior quality, according to the degree of such inferiority, to be united for Suburban Choice. Several, which would be singly rejected, might be considered by some Purchasers as constituting, if increased in size by the addition of an adjoining Section, an equivalent for a cultivable Fifty-Acre Section.
The second is to allow Suburban Sections, rejected at the time of the reselection, to be chosen for Rural Choices, after adjusting the special claims of the Resident Cultivators in the manner we have before mentioned. It is not possible to lay down any rule applicable to each case without modification, as the question of value arising from quality of land, original priority of Rural Choice, proximity to the Town, or other causes, would have to be considered; but we conceive there may be many cases, especially of Purchasers having more than one Allotment, who would prefer inferior land within the Nelson District to a better Rural Section 100 miles off. It may accordingly happen that, out of the probable large extent of Suburban Land rejected in the reselection, a considerable number will be taken for Rural Choices; thus the choice of the Rural Sections would be pro tanto narrowed, and each party would receive what he would consider a benefit.
The third proposal is, that the Company should be at liberty to give a larger extent than 150 Acres for a Rural Choice, where the land was of inferior description. Thus, to take an instance familiar to us all; in some of the small and narrow valleys in the up-country, now laid out in Rural Sections of the most fantastic shapes, where no one would dream of choosing his Rural Land if he were limited to 150 Acres, several Purchasers might be willing to exchange their Land-Orders for 300 or 400 Acres of what would be waste land to others, but which they might find useful to themselves. Again, this would increase the field of choice to the other Purchasers, and both they and the individual exchanging be benefited.
[Image of page 34]
Having thus referred to the principal points of our scheme, we consider ourselves bound to express the opinion we have come to regarding the system of sale that should be adopted for the future. Although we are aware that by calling for a modification of the Original Scheme, and accepting a compromise, we release the Company from the strict letter of their obligations as to the price of land in the Nelson Settlement, and that after satisfying their actual Purchasers any remaining lands must become their absolute property, yet we conceive that relieving the Company from further claims in respect of a past contract, with the exception, of course, of the Trust-Funds, which are reserved for future consideration, does not divest us of all right to require that their future operations should not be detrimental to us. Now, we believe the sale of land by Lottery to be most mischievous and ruinous, equally to those who buy under the system and to those who sell, the only difference being in point of time when the loss comes to be felt. And looking especially to its lamentable effects in our own cases, we feel not only justified but bound to call upon the Company at once to relinquish it as regards Nelson, and to put into operation the plan they themselves laid down in a Despatch to their Principal Agent, dated 26th April 1841, by selling the land that will remain to them after the proposed reselection by Auction on the spot. Thus the Immigrant would have a free choice of land, and in the long run the Company as well as the Settlement would be gainers. And with regard to the appropriation of the Funds to be derived from such sales, we can at present suggest none better than that fixed by the Original Scheme, and, as in the preceding cases, we recommend its being pursued accordingly.
It was our intention originally to have discussed the question of the existing Trust-Funds in this Report; but we were met at every step with so much difficulty, from the want of full information, that upon the whole we deemed it best to refrain entirely from more than a reference to them now, and to defer the consideration of the subject until after the arrival
[Image of page 35]
of the promised information from the Court of Directors; assured that when they shall have sat down to write the promised explanation, they will have felt it incumbent upon them to make it as perfectly full and clear as its importance and their own characters as Trustees demanded. But in one point of view, distinct from the past administration of those Funds, we had no difficulty in coming to an opinion; namely, that the management of them should, for the future, be vested in a Board of Trustees residing in the Settlement. The constitution of such a Board is one that demands much consideration; but we believe a fair plan would be, that it should consist of not less than Seven Members, of whom two should be nominated by the Company, two by the Private Absentee Proprietors, and three by the Resident Purchasers. This proportion would, we conceive, fairly represent the interests of all concerned; for the interests of the Absentees and the Company being to be considered as very similar, if not identical, and the Resident Purchasers being so much more materially and seriously affected by the disposal of the Funds, we thought it fair to give to the Residents in this representation a number of votes greater in proportion to their own number than to that of the two other parties concerned.
One subject, arising out of our proposed plan, but not coming strictly, perhaps, within the scope of our own duties, we yet consider it our duty to make a few remarks upon--we allude to the Native Reserves. With respect to the Rural Sections, it is understood that the Governor, in making the large Reserves he has for the Natives at Wairau, has released the Company from laying out and choosing the 100 Rural Sections according to the Original Scheme; but in the case of the Town and Suburban Sections, the effect of our proposal would be to allot a much larger proportion than one-tenth of the land actually sold, to the Natives. How far, now that the Crown has taken these Reserves into its hands, any alteration in them would be sanctioned, is a question: but we should suggest a
[Image of page 36]
memorial being addressed to the Governor, with a view to limit the number of Town and Suburban Reserves to one-tenth of the land actually sold, so as to throw open the remainder for present choice.
In thus laying before you the outline of a general plan of adjustment, we beg to say that we consider it absolutely indispensable to apply to Parliament for an Act enabling the Company to carry the proposed alterations into effect. At the same time, we are now, as we expected from the beginning we should be, perfectly aware that among so many conflicting interests our suggestions cannot meet the requirements of every case, nor provide adequate compensation to every claim, far less place us all in the same good position as if the Scheme had been completely carried out as originally intended. There may be special claims, independent of the mere land-question, which (however unable we necessarily were to determine upon or even entertain) it is right to provide for the possible advancement of. It would therefore be a necessary condition of such an Act of Parliament, that it should contain a provision for empowering any Purchaser to refer such special claim to Arbitration, if he and the Company could not agree as to its adjustment; but in that case we would consider it only fair that the Arbitrators should have power to look at the whole circumstances of the case, and that their award should be final and conclusive, for which purpose, before entering on any Arbitration, the Claimant should deposit in the hands of the Arbitrators a release to the Company, to be handed to them on fulfilment of the award.
For the convenience of placing before you, in a more concise manner than could be attained in this Report, the plan which we recommend to your adoption, we have appended a list of Resolutions, which are embodied in it, and to them we beg to refer you. It only remains to say, which we have sincere pleasure in being able to do, that having, in compliance with your directions, consulted with the Company's
[Image of page 37]
Resident Agent on the subjects that have occupied us, and fully discussed every one of our propositions with him, Mr. Fox expressed his general concurrence in them, and his readiness to recommend their adoption by the Company. We owe our acknowledgments to Mr. Fox for his patient attention to our statements, and for the spirit in which he met us: the more so because we had no communication whatever with him until all our Resolutions had been passed.
Such, Gentlemen, is the result of the labors which we have undertaken at your request, and which we must now leave in your hands. Knowing, as almost all of you do, the many peculiar opinions which some of us have entertained for a long period of time, you will not have failed to perceive that we have arrived at the propositions we now submit to you, only after many sacrifices of old feelings and views. But by those sacrifices we have attained that which emboldens us strongly to recommend our Plan to your adoption; namely, perfect unanimity. Every one of our propositions has been passed, not only without dissent, but with cordiality also. And if we shall be fortunate enough to find a similar spirit reciprocrated by you to-day, and a sincere desire on your parts to put an end, by an unanimous concurrence in some amicable arrangement, to the differences and dissensions this subject has unhappily produced, and to all the pernicious effects inseparable from its agitation, both upon the internal state and the reputation elsewhere of the Settlement in which we are all interested, we shall be amply rewarded for what has in truth been an arduous and laborious task to each of us; we shall rely on the ready adoption by the Company of a Scheme which is grounded on a fair and liberal spirit towards them and their interests; and we shall look with entire confidence for the support of the Non-resident Purchasers to a Plan which we believe adequately meets the exigencies of the case, presents a favorable prospect to all the Purchasers, while it especially offers fair advantages to the Residents;
[Image of page 38]
and will tend to strengthen the foundations, to revive the prosperity, and to assure the real advancement of this Settlement.
F. D. BELL, Chairman.
C. A. DILLON.
H. SEYMOUR.
JOHN SAXTON.
HUGH MARTIN.
JAMES MACKAY.
J. D. GREENWOOD.
SAMUEL STEPHENS.
ALFRED DOMETT.
W. O. CAUTLEY.
Nelson, 30th June, 1847.
RESOLUTIONS OF THE COMMITTEE.
1. That it is indispensable that the Company should apply to Parliament immediately for an Act to enable them to make the adjustment in the Scheme of the Nelson Settlement now proposed.
2. That such Act should contain a clause to empower any Purchaser who should decline to avail himself of such adjustment, or who having availed himself of such adjustment should still be dissatisfied, to refer his claim--in the first case to Arbitration, in the Settlement or in England, at his option, without reference to such adjustment; --and in the latter case, to have it determined by Arbitration to what amount of additional compensation, if any, he may be entitled.
3. That where such Arbitration shall take place in the Settlement, the expense thereof would be properly chargeable on the Establishment Fund.
4. That the propositions now submitted are founded on the physical impossibility of carrying out the Original Scheme of
[Image of page 39]
the Settlement, and the consequent necessity of some equitable compromise.
5. That a redistribution of the Town and Suburban Sections, is just and necessary; and that some land not hitherto included in Suburban Choices should be made available for that purpose.
6. That upon the consideration of the various modes proposed for the redistribution of the Town and Surburban Land, the plan which most combines fairness, simplicity, and capability of immediate application, and best meets the spirit of the conditions under which the purchases were made, is a simple re-selection according to the Original Order of Choice, with the exception of those Orders representing the Unsold Sections.
7. That a Town should be laid out as a Shipping-Port to the Wairau District, the site to be determined hereafter upon a careful examination of the localities; that the Town should consist, if possible, of not less than 1,000 Sections of quarter-acres; and thai the selection thereof should be made in the Original Order of Choice fixed by the ballot for the Nelson Town Sections, including the Choices representing the Unsold Sections as well as the Sold.
8. That a limited quantity of land in contiguity to the new Town, to be determined by the nature of the locality, should be laid out and offered for distribution as Suburban Sections, in order to make up for the ascertained deficiency of available Sections in the Blind Bay District.
9. That it is desirable to compensate such Resident Original Purchasers, being Cultivators, or others who have been Residents and Cultivators, who have debarred themselves of the advantages of the proposed redistribution by the outlay made on the Sections in their occupation--by enabling them to take their Rural Sections, or portions of land equivalent thereto in amount to be determined by Arbitration, in contiguity to their Suburban Sections; and the redistribution of Suburban Land be postponed until after such cases shall be adjusted.
[Image of page 40]
10. That the above Resolution, however, should not extend to the holders of those Suburban Sections who have already effected exchanges for "Unsold" Sections subsequent to the day of September 1844.
11. That it is desirable to allow of two or more inferior Suburban Sections, or portions thereof, according to degree of inferiority, to be decided by Arbitration, being united and made available together for choice as equivalent to a cultivable Fifty-Acre Section.
12. That the Purchaser should have the option of taking Suburban Sections rejected in the reselection, for Rural Sections.
13. That the Company should be at liberty to accede to applications for increased quantities of inferior land in exchange for Rural Land-Orders.
14. That in the selection of the Rural Sections the Unsold Orders of Choice should be suppressed, so that the actual Purchasers may choose first; and that the distribution of the Rural Sections should be postponed until the proposed arrangements respecting the Suburban Sections shall have been carried out.
15. That the surplus Sections in the town of Nelson, including portions of land within the outside boundary lines not yet surveyed, should be sold by Auction in quantities and at upset prices to be fixed from time to time; that such lands should be let, if possible, in the mean while; and that the Proceeds should be appropriated according to the proportions of the Original Scheme.
16. That the land taken for the Unsold Choices in the proposed Town at Wairau, should only be sold by Public Auction, the Proceeds to be appropriated as above mentioned.
17. That supposing the estimates which have been made of the available land in the various Districts should be inaccurate, and any quantity of the land should remain towards the completion of the original number of 1,000 Allotments, it will be desirable to dispose thereof by Public Auction on the
[Image of page 41]
spot, the Proceeds to be appropriated as mentioned in the two preceding Resolutions.
18. That the Committee defer expressing any opinion on the subject of the past administration of the Trust-Funds, until the receipt of the promised information from the New Zealand Company, but consider that the future management of them should be vested in a Board of Trustees residing in the Settlement, to consist of Seven Members, of whom two should be appointed by the Company, two by the Private Absentee Proprietors, and three by the Resident Proprietors.
19. That after agreeing upon the general principles on which the Scheme of the Settlement would be fairly remodelled, and after carefully considering the complicated question of compensation, the Committee remain sensible that the details of the proposed Arrangements will probably be insufficient to meet all the cases contemplated; but, after the most anxious deliberation, they can perceive no mode of meeting the merits of such cases, except the recourse to Arbitration of special claims provided for by the second Resolution.
20. That the co-operation and assistance of the Nonresident Proprietors be most earnestly requested to promote and carry into execution the foregoing Resolutions.
21. That taking into consideration the diminished amount of the Trust-Funds, as compared with the sums originally contemplated, it is not desirable strictly to limit the powers of the proposed Board of Trustees to the specific application of those Funds to the exact purposes named in the Terms of Purchase, provided their general application to analogous purposes be maintained. 1
The Resolutions as read were not in all respects precisely what are now printed, as they underwent some trifling alterations the following day when they were discussed in detail, though the principles of them remain untouched. We have given them as they were passed.
[Image of page 42]
Proposed by Dr. MONRO, seconded by Mr. STAFFORD, and carried unanimously;--
"1. That the thanks of this Meeting be given to the Committee for the very valuable Report which has just been heard."
Dr. MONRO objected to the selections in the proposed new Town being made according to the Original Orders of Choice for the Town of Nelson. He wished the Unsold Numbers to be deferred until the actual Purchasers had selected, otherwise the evil of dispersion would be created there in the same degree which it had been here.
Mr. DOMETT, and other Members of the Committee, strongly opposed such an alteration, which would destroy all hope of the new Town aiding the Trust-Funds of the Settlement,
After much desultory discussion, it was proposed by Mr. Jollie, seconded by Mr. Cautley, and carried unanimously: --
"2. That the Resolutions be printed on which the Report of the Committee is founded; that the Report be open for the inspection of the parties concerned; and that this Meeting be adjourned until to-morrow (Thursday, July 1st) at two o'clock.
On Thursday, July 1st, at the time appointed, the Landowners and Agents again assembled, and as the Resolutions hud been printed and circulated, every one was in a condition to discuss them fully.
Mr. BISHOP was opposed to the Resolutions, and the whole Scheme of the Settlement proposed. The plan propounded by Mr. BEIT eighteen months ago was far more simple and efficacious, and he therefore proposed its adoption.
As this proposition received no support, it at once fell to the ground.
On the motion of Mr. MARSDEN, the Chairman proceeded to read the Resolutions. This led to a very protracted discussion, as each one was put to the Meeting separately. A few verbal alterations were made in them, and they were then, with two or three exceptions, passed by the unanimous consent of the Meeting, in the form in which they appear above.
[Image of page 43]
Proposed by Mr. JOLLIE, seconded by Mr. STAFFORD, and carried unanimously: --
"3. That the Report and Resolutions now read develope a plan for adjusting the Original Scheme, which appears to be as fair and practicable as can be devised under all the difficult and complicated circumstances of the Settlement, and that the same be adopted by the Land-Purchasers and Agents, and forthwith submitted to the New Zealand Company with a view to their approval, adoption, and execution at the earliest possible period."
Proposed by Dr. MONRO, seconded by Mr. SEYMOUR, and carried unanimously: --
"4. That a Committee of Five be appointed by ballot, for the purpose of noticing the proceedings consequent upon the adoption by this Meeting of the Report just read, conferring with the Company's Resident Agent in Nelson, upon the details of the arrangement contemplated, and preparing a Memorial to the Board of Directors in accordance with the present Report."
A ballot was then taken, and the following Gentlemen wen elected a Committee. --Messrs. Monro, Domett, Seymour, Bell and Dillon; but the two latter Gentlemen requesting to be excused, Messrs. Jollie and Greenwood's names were added instead.
Proposed by the Hon. C. A. DILLON, seconded by DR GREENWOOD, and carried unanimously: --
"5. That the Report and Amended Resolutions be printed."
A Vote of Thanks was then given to the Chairman, and the Meeting broke up.
-- No. 10. --
THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY TO THE COMMITTEE OF NELSON LANDOWNERS.
New Zealand House, 3rd March, 1848.
GENTLEMEN,
On the 7th of February I had the honor to receive through
[Image of page 44]
Mr. Fox, and to lay before the Court of Directors of the New Zealand Company, a Copy of the Resolutions adopted by the Landowners of Nelson on the 1st of July 1847, as published in the Nelson Examiner of the 3rd of that Month; and on the 21st of February, to receive and submit in like manner your letter of the 30th of July 1847, addressed to the Court, on the same subject.
In reply, I am instructed to express to you the extreme gratification with which these communications have been received; the sense entertained by the Directors of the forbearance and surrender of private opinions, by which alone, they are sure, could unanimity have been obtained in a matter involving so many individual interests; their appreciation of the great benefit conferred upon the Community and the Company by the Members of the Committee, and by every person whose example or influence has contributed to this most welcome result; and--with the slight modifications which will be communicated to you at the same time as this letter by the Resident Agent, and by means of which it is hoped that the desired ends will be yet more effectually attained-- their entire and cordial concurrence in the several arrangements which the Resolutions embrace.
A copy of these Resolutions has been forwarded, by order of the Court, to every Owner of Nelson Lands known to be residing in the United Kingdom; and in the anticipation that the desirableness of the modifications alluded to will be at once admitted, the Directors are about to take the Opinion of Counsel, and if advised that an Act of Parliament is necessary, to adopt the requisite measures for obtaining it.
It is scarcely necessary to assure you of the unfeigned pleasure with which the Directors have seen themselves at length re-instated in that relation of reciprocal confidence and cordiality with the Inhabitants of one of the most important of their Settlements, which they are conscious that their intentions have ever merited; or to express their hope that the harmony thus happily restored, will exhibit its earliest and
[Image of page 45]
most appropriate effects in the prosperity and happiness of every individual to whose interests its influence may extend. Sincerely trusting that such will be the result,
I have the honor to be, &c,
T. C. HARINGTON.
Messrs. A. Domett, D. Monro, J. D. Greenwood, F. Jollie, H. Seymour, Nelson.
-- No. 11. --
THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY TO COLONEL WAKEFIELD.
Nelson.
No. 1/48. New Zealand House, 3rd March 1848.
SIR,
The Court is in possession of the Duplicates of Mr. Fox's two letters to you, dated respectively the 3rd of July and the 14th of August 1847, Nos. 14/47, 19/47, and enclosing, --the one a Copy of the Nelson Examiner of the 3rd of July, containing the Resolutions adopted by the Landowners on the 1st of that Month, the other a Copy of the Letter addressed by the Committee of Landowners to the Court on the 30th. It has also received your Despatch dated Wellington, 12th August 1847, Wellington, No. 50/47, announcing your intention of proceeding to Nelson, and is aware from private communications that you were there on the 21st of August. But your Despatches, giving cover to the originals of the letters above-mentioned and your Report of the result of your personal communications with the Nelson Settlers, have not yet come to hand.
Without waiting for these, the Court has proceeded at once
[Image of page 46]
to a consideration of the important questions at issue; and I am instructed to transmit to you the result in detail as follows.
To the several proposals of re-distributing the Town and Suburban Lands by means of re-selections according to the respective Original Orders of Choice, with the exception of the Orders representing Unsold Sections--of including as Suburban some Lands not hitherto laid out as such, --of permitting, with the exception stated in the 10th Resolution, persons who have improved their Suburban Sections to take in contiguity thereto their Rural Sections, or such equivalent for the same as may be determined by Arbitration; --of allowing larger quantities of inferior Suburban and Rural Lands to be taken under Arbitration as respectively equivalent to smaller quantities of superior; --of suppressing or postponing the Unsold Orders of Choice with regard to Rural Lands and of permitting rejected Suburban Lands to be selected as Rural; -- the Court gives its full assent, the mode of Arbitration being pointed out below.
To the proposals for laying out a Town as a Shipping-Port to the Wairau District, in such locality as may upon examination be deemed most eligible; --of allowing Quarter-acre Sections to be selected therein [without additional payment] in the original order of Town choice, including the Numbers both Sold and Unsold; --and of permitting some Surburban Lands to be laid out, if practicable, adjoining such Town; --the Court consents also; and it has requested of the Secretary of State that the Governor may be instructed to take steps for acquiring possession of the Site of such Town without delay. But it appears to the Court that, if the Site eventually determined on permit, and if no material objection suggest itself either to you or to the Settlers, it will be advisable, with the view of eventually obtaining larger Funds for Public Purposes, to lay out a Town of 2,000 instead of 1,000 Quarter-acre Sections only, --the Proceeds of the Sale being applied always to the purposes of the several Special Funds in the established
[Image of page 47]
proportions. If such Site be obtained and the Town laid out, two questions, apparently not adverted to by the Committee, will require decision; namely, 1st, --Whether the right of gratuitous selection is to be given in all cases to the original Purchaser of a Town Section, or to the Transferee of such original Purchaser in cases where a Transfer has taken place; and 2nd, --If to the Transferee, in what manner such right is to be exercised in cases where the original Section is subdivided among two or more parties. It must also be understood that, if from any cause it be found impracticable to obtain and lay out the Site of any such Town, the Company is not under obligation to provide any substitute. But on none of these grounds does the Court anticipate any serious or insuperable difficulty; and it does not propose, on their account, to make the slightest delay in carrying out the arrangement.
On the principle of reserving to such persons as may remain dissatisfied with the arrangement or its results a power of having recourse to Arbitration, there can be no question. Objections would probably be raised both by the Government and by Parliament, to a proposal for referring to Private Persons the decision of cases which might involve a virtual diminution of the price of Waste Land, that is, the disposal of it at less than Twenty Shillings an Acre. But all difficulties on this ground have fortunately been removed beforehand by the arrangement which (long before the receipt of the Resolutions of 1st July) had, as you are aware, been proposed by the Court to Earl Grey on the 17th and 23rd of last December, and been assented to by His Lordship on the 3rd of last February. Under that arrangement, the decision is in every case to be left to the sole discretion of Governor Grey, restrained only by the condition that the award shall be made exclusively in land. Than this, it is believed that no simpler or more effective means of obtaining an impartial and satisfactory judgment can possibly be devised; and to this arrange-
[Image of page 48]
ment therefore the Court is to be considered as referring whenever it uses the word Arbitration.
In those Resolutions which relate to the future disposal of such lands as shall remain available after the arrangement now contemplated shall have been carried out, it appears to the Directors that the Landowners propose unnecessarily to tie up their own hands, and so far to run a risk of defeating their own intentions, by restricting all future sales to the one mode of Auction. Those intentions, the Directors conceive to be, -- to promote the development and prosperity of the Settlement; to allow individuals an opportunity of obtaining such lands as they judge to be best fitted for their respective purposes, whether in point of extent, locality, or description; and to ensure in every transaction, despatch and impartiality. In the course of a long and anxious deliberation on the mode in which these ends could be best attained, not in Nelson only, but in every Settlement established by the Company, the Directors came lately to the conclusion that it would be certainly expedient, with regard to all Purchasers in the United Kingdom to offer lands of every description at Fixed Prices, to be raised from time to time after due Notice; and, with regard to other Purchasers, probably expedient to adopt the same plan also, in respect of Rural and Suburban Lands. Under this conviction, they propose in the Parliamentary Enactment--if such Enactment shall be found necessary--to release the Company from the obligation of adhering to the mode of sale by Ballot, but to leave open the power of adopting any mode that on mature consideration shall from time to time appear to be best. In this they anticipate the ready concurrence of the Landowners.
To the appointment of a Board of Trustees, to be constituted as proposed in the 18th Resolution, and empowered to appropriate and expend the several Special Funds, (with the exception of course of the Fund for Emigration, which evidently can only be administered in England)--and to the application
[Image of page 49]
of those Funds to purposes analogous to the purposes originally specified, but not exactly identical with them--the Court will cheerfully consent, if it be found that it either has, or can obtain, legal power to divest itself thenceforward of the responsibilities which it has undertaken. To such Board also the Court will be prepared to give the fullest information on every point connected with the past administration of the Funds, and suggests that in the interim, the Landowners should instruct their Committee to draw up a statement of the points upon which such information is specifically required. It must be understood, however, that the proposed Board is to execute in detail the several measures upon which it may resolve, as the Court cannot consent to interfere, or be in any way concerned in the administration or expenditure of any Fund which may be entrusted to such Board after its appointment.
Having thus, as I believe, communicated distinctly the sentiments of the Court upon each separate subject embraced by the Landowners' Resolutions, I am to request that you will cause a copy of the present Despatch, together with copies of the Correspondence relating to the arrangement for referring Land-Questions to Governor Grey, and the accompanying letter addressed to the Committee, to be immediately delivered to those Gentlemen; that you will lose no time in coming to a final agreement with them upon the several modifications suggested, or such of them as require their assent; and that you will then proceed at once to carry the measure into effect, without further reference to the Court.
If to this end, you deem it necessary to comprise within the limits of the Settlement of Nelson, as a part of the land to which the Company is entitled, any moderate portion of the lands which have been acquired by the Crown, not heretofore considered as forming part of that Settlement, but immediately adjoining thereto and comprised within the same natural boundaries, you are at liberty to annex them accordingly under the arrangement communicated in my Despatch of 29th
[Image of page 50]
February, Wellington, No. 13/48. In so doing, you will bear in recollection, on the one hand, that it is the desire of the Court, in granting this sanction, to augment the resources of the Settlement by annexing to it such additional tract of fertile land as may fairly be deemed to form part of the area, to which the Town of Nelson and the other Town about to be founded shall be the natural emporiums; --on the other hand, that the future occupants of that tract will have just cause of complaint, if they find themselves tied compulsorily to a Town and Settlement to which their District does not naturally belong; that the whole quantity of land which the Company is entitled to call its own, as contradistinguished from the Demesne Lands of the Crown which it is entrusted to administer, is no more than 1,300,000 acres; that of this quantity considerable portions have been already disposed of; and that the remainder must be most carefully husbanded in such way as may best promote the welfare both of the Settlements already established, and of those which it is so desirable that the Company shall have full means of establishing hereafter.
In conclusion, I am to convey to you the approbation of the Court of the very discreet and able manner in which Mr. Fox has conducted himself throughout the negociations attending this complicated and troublesome affair; and to which, not less than to the conciliatory and disinterested conduct of the Honorable Mr. Dillon, of the Ex-Chairman and Committee who drew up the Resolutions and Explanatory Report, and of other influential Members of the Local Community, the Directors feel assured that the Company and that Community are indebted, for the successful termination to which it may be hoped the affair is now virtually conducted.
I have the honor to be, &c,
T. C. HARINGTON.
P. S. ---The following Papers are sent direct to Mr. Fox, viz.:--
Copy of this Despatch.
Duplicate of the enclosed letter to the Committee of Settlers.
[Image of page 51]
Copies of the Correspondence respecting the reference to Governor Grey, viz.:--
1847-- Dec. 17--to Earl Grey;
" -- " 23--to Earl Grey;
1848- Feb. 3--from Mr. Hawes; and--
" -- " 29--to Earl Grey.
Colonel William Wakefield,
Principal Agent of the New Zealand Company, &c.
--No. 12. --
MEETINGS OF LAND-PURCHASERS AND AGENTS.
(From the "NELSON EXAMINER" of Saturday, August 28, 1847, as re-published in the "NEW ZEALAND SPECTATOR" of Saturday, September 11, 1847.)
TWO Meetings of the Land-Purchasers and Agents have taken place during the week, for the purpose of coming to an understanding with the Company's Principal Agent regarding the scheme which was lately proposed to the Company for the final adjustment of the Land-Question in this Settlement. Colonel Wakefield met these Gentlemen on Thursday, and after thanking them on behalf of the Company for the pains which they had taken to prepare the scheme in question, said that he wished to confer with a Committee on one or two points, with the exception of which he was willing to give their views immediate effect. A Committee was accordingly named, who reported to the body of Land-Purchasers, on the day following, that Colonel Wakefield wished only to stipulate that whatever compensation was awarded should be taken in land, as he was in no condition to pay money on behalf of the Company. The Meeting was not able to agree on this subject, and it will be seen by an Advertisement that the further consideration of it stands over until Friday next, and that, meanwhile, Claimants are requested to make the Agent acquainted with their individual wishes on this point, that it may be seen whether it is practicable to arrange the matter in a way which shall be satisfactory to all parties.
The following Resolutions were agreed to at an Adjourned Meeting of Landowners and Agents, and were forwarded to the Company's Principal Agent for his information: --
"1. That the Company's Agents be requested to communicate severally with
[Image of page 52]
each Resident Purchaser, in order to ascertain the conditions upon which such Purchaser would agree to a final compromise of the difference in dispute.
"2. That no arrangement can be considered final or satisfactory to the great body of Resident Purchasers, which does not recognise the necessity of a full and satisfactory arrangement of the question of the Trust-Funds, and the right of the Purchasers to have the Accounts of their Trustees audited.
"3. That this Meeting do postpone the further consideration of the alteration of the Resolutions agreed to at the Meeting of July 1st, suggested by Colonel Wakefield, and adjourn until Friday next, the 3rd September, in order to afford the Company's Agents time to ascertain the claims of the Purchasers severally, with a view to complete the contemplated compromise on the basis of the Resolutions."
-- No. 13. --
THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY TO COLONEL WAKEFIELD.
Nelson.
No. 2/48. New Zealand House, 3rd March, 1848.
SIR,
Since writing my former Despatch of this date, Nelson, No. 1/48, the attention of the Court has been drawn to the New Zealand Spectator of 11th September 1847, containing extracts from the Nelson Examiner of 28th August, in which are reported the Proceedings which had taken place at Nelson, from the time of your arrival up to that day.
From this Report it appears that, in consequence of your having mentioned to the Landowners' Committee your wish "to stipulate that whatever compensation was awarded should be taken in land, as you were in no condition to pay money on behalf of the Company," certain Resolutions were adopted, by which you were requested to communicate severally with each Resident Purchaser, in order to ascertain the conditions upon which such Purchaser would agree to a final compromise of the difference in dispute; --it was declared that no arrangement could be considered final or satisfactory which did not include the question of the Trust-Funds and the right of the Purchasers to have the Accounts audited; --and further Proceedings were adjourned until the 3rd of September.
Both the points raised appear to be answered by anticipation in my former Despatch. For the reasons stated, it has been deemed to be an indispensable condition, even when Governor Grey is to be the Arbitrator, that all awards shall be (as you had previously understood) exclusively in land. And the Court has both given its consent to the appointment of a Board of Trustees for the administration of the Special
[Image of page 53]
Funds, and expressed its readiness to supply to that Board the fullest information upon every point.
In the absence, therefore, of any information as to the result of the Adjourned Proceedings, the Directors can only express their hope that nothing may impair the cordiality which prevailed in those of 1st July, or weaken a second time the ties which unite the Settlers and the Company; and their ardent desire that, if not already suggested by your personal inquiries of the Settlers on the spot, the means may be supplied by the Arrangements now sanctioned, for the removal of all grounds of dissatisfaction, the adjustment of every difference, and the continuance henceforward of an uninterrupted course of harmony and reciprocal usefulness.
I have the honor to be, &c.
T. C. HARINGTON.
P. S. --A Copy of this Despatch is sent direct to Mr. Fox.
T. C. H.
Colonel William Wakefield,
Principal Agent of the New Zealand Company, &c. &c. &c.
-- No. 14. --
ADJOURNED MEETING OF LAND-PURCHASERS AND AGENTS.
(From the "NELSON EXAMINER" of Saturday, September 4, 1847.)
The Adjourned Meeting of the Land-Purchasers and Agents took place at the Literary Institution yesterday, pursuant to notice. The attendance was very full. Mr. J. SAXTON in the Chair.
The Committee, which had been appointed at a former Meeting, were requested to wait on the Company's Agents, and learn their views, now that the individual claims of the Settlers had been laid before them. After a considerably lapse
[Image of page 54]
of time, the Committee returned, when Dr. Greenwood read the following as the result of the conference:--
That the Company's Agents are prepared to carry out the proposed scheme for the re-adjustment of the Settlement, as far as regards the re-selection of land by all.
They are also willing to refer all claims for additional compensation in land to arbitration in the Settlement.
But must leave all claims to additional compensation in money, to be pressed on the Company by the individual claimants.
Parties must decide whether they will make their claims in land or money, or specify what part of their claims they will be willing to compound for land, and what for money.
It appeared (said Dr. Greenwood), that thirty-nine Land-Purchasers had communicated with the Company's Agents since the last Meeting, and out of that number, one only claimed compensation wholly in money, six partly in money and land, and the remainder in land alone.
Dr. Monro spoke at some length, complaining of the treatment which the Committee had received from the Company's Agents, and also, after the Land-Purchasers had conformed to the terms proposed by the Company itself, and by great sacrifices of individual opinions had unanimously agreed to a scheme for the adjustment of the Land-Question, that Colonel Wakefield should now seek to impose conditions which would virtually set aside one of the Resolutions. He (Dr. Monro) considered that the refusal of the Agents of the New Zealand Company to sanction a money-compensation, when a just claim could be established before a Court of Arbitration, should induce the Settlers to refer the whole question home to the Company; and although another year would be lost by such a proceeding, he thought that would be far better than to submit to be trampled on in the way which was now attempted.
The Hon. C. A. DILLON totally dissented from the observations made by Dr. MONRO. He had seen nothing in the
[Image of page 55]
bearing of the Company's Agents to call for the remarks which had just been made. The Committee had been received by the Company's Agents in the most courteous manner. So far from any of the Resolutions being set aside by the plan by which it was proposed to carry the scheme into execution, he considered the Agents had done all which could possibly be expected of them, and that they were ready to adopt the Resolutions in all their integrity. What Colonel Wakefield said, was to this effect:-- "If you will take land, here it is; I can give it you now, and satisfy your claims at once: but if you require money, I have none at my disposal, nor can I pledge the Company to give it. At the same time, you will be at full liberty to avail yourselves of the re-selections, and make your claims for money-compensation to the Company afterwards; and I will throw no obstacle in the way of your getting it." Now, what more could the Agents of the Company say? He (Mr. Dillon) thought it was the interest of the Land-Purchasers to avail themselves of the settlement which was now offered, and at once.
Dr. GREENWOOD concurred with Mr. DILLON both as to the reception which the Committee received from the Company's Agents, and of the desirability of carrying the scheme into immediate effect.
Mr. DOMETT and Mr. CAUTLEY spoke to the same purpose.
Mr. C. KELLING questioned the ability of the Company to satisfy the claims of the Settlers even in land, which should be unobjectionable in quality, and within a moderate distance of the present Settlement.
Mr. DOMETT said, in reply, that, if it should prove that the Company was unable to fulfil its engagements in this respect, which, however, he did not anticipate, then the Settlers would, of course, have an undoubted claim on the Company, which they would have to satisfy in another way.
After some further discussion, in which several Gentlemen took part, it was
Proposed by MR. MACKAY, and seconded by MR. OTTERSON--
[Image of page 56]
1. "That this Meeting is satisfied with the course proposed to be adopted by the Company's Agents, and requests them to put the Resolutions of July in execution forthwith."
To this, the following Amendment was moved by DR. MONRO, and seconded by MR. KELLING--
"That the New Zealand Company, having made us a distinct offer that they would agree to any scheme which we should propose, provided certain conditions were fulfilled, and as we have made a proposal consistent with those conditions, and approved of by the Resident Agent, we consider it advisable, before proceeding further, to wait until an answer is received from the Company, and in the meantime to inform the Company of the steps which have been taken by its Agents."
The Amendment was then put, and being supported only by a small number, was consequently lost. The Resolution was next put, and was carried by a very large majority.
Proposed by DR. GREENWOOD, seconded by MR. FELL, and carried--
2. "That a Copy of the Resolution passed be forwarded to the New Zealand Company's Agents."
Proposed by MR. SEYMOUR, seconded by MR. WITHER, and carried unanimously--
3. "That the existing Committee be requested to communicate with the Company's Agents on the details of the proposed settlement."
A Vote of Thanks was then given to the Chairman, and the Meeting broke up.
-- No. 15. --
THE SECRETARY OF THE COMPANY TO COLONEL WAKEFIELD.
Nelson.
No. 7/48. New Zealand House, 15th April, 1848.
SIR,
No Report has yet reached the Court officially, from either
[Image of page 57]
Mr. Fox or yourself, of the result of the further Meeting of Nelson Landowners which, at the time of writing my last Letter on this subject, Nelson, No. 2/48, was known to have been about to be held on the 3rd of September 1847. But a copy having been received, through a private channel, of the Nelson Examiner of the 4th of September, containing a Statement of the Proceedings on that occasion, and the Cornelia being under immediate despatch, I am instructed to apprise you of the views of the Court without risking the inconvenience of further delay.
From the Statement above mentioned, it appears "that thirty-nine Land-Purchasers had communicated with the Company's Agents since the last Meeting, and out of that number one only claimed compensation wholly in money, six partly in money and land, and the remainder in land alone." Also that, after an Amendment proposing "before proceeding further, to wait until an answer is received from the Company" had been lost, "being supported only by a small number," a Resolution was carried by a large majority, to the effect "That this Meeting is satisfied with the course proposed to be adopted by the Company's Agents, and requests them to put the Resolutions of July in execution forthwith."
As the course thus referred to is substantially the same as that on which the Court has already decided, it appears unnecessary to give any further instructions. By that decision, the Directors feel convinced that the equitable and immediate adjustment of pending questions, and the ultimate interests of all concerned, have been best promoted; and they are happy to find that this view is confirmed by the almost unanimous voice of the Landowners resident on the spot. In its reasonableness it is hoped that all will eventually concur, not excepting the few who were for the time dissentient.
I have the honor to be, &c.
T. C. HARINGTON.
[Image of page 58]
P. S. --It is to be of course understood that there is no intention on the part of the Court to disturb any award, of Land, which may have been pronounced by any Arbitrator, to whom a reference may have been made with your consent, previously to your receipt of the Court's instructions.
A Copy of this Despatch is sent direct to Mr. Fox.
T. C. H.
Colonel William Wakefield, Principal Agent of the New Zealand Company, &c. &c. &c.
