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79th section, declares, that, until otherwise enacted by the General Assembly, the same powers shall be exercised by the Crown, or the Governor if duly authorized by the Crown. It follows that under the authority conveyed to you in my despatch of the 16th instant, enclosing the Constitutional Act, you will be at liberty to make such regulations generally throughout New Zealand for the disposal of land during the short interval which may elapse, until the assembling of the new Legislature, as you may think advisable; nor can I foresee any legal difficulty in regard to the dealing with Crown Lands, which these very large powers will not enable you to overcome.

11. The quasi-judicial machinery established by the Colonial Ordinance will, I hope, suffice to deal satisfactorily with those of the compensation claims which may call for revision. With regard to these I think, that although cases of gross fraud, or exorbitance, should be severely scrutinized, yet the mass of the claims should be dealt with in such a liberal spirit as may secure a general submission to the provisions of the Ordinance. And I take this opportunity of observing that I do not consider that the merits of any particular case, or even as they all do mixed considerations of justice and policy, can be properly dealt with in this country. I cannot, of course, prevent or prohibit direct appeals, from any decisions at which the authorities appointed by you may arrive, to the Secretary of State, if the parties choose to make them; but it is my earnest wish, if possible, to leave the adjustment of each separate case entirely to those authorities.

12. With regard, therefore, to compensations in Wellington and New Plymouth (if there are such) I apprehend that you will have no difficulty. With regard to Nelson the case is different. Lord Grey transmitted to you by his despatch of January 10th, last, copy of a report from the Land and Emigration Commissioners, dated December 10th, 1851, from which you will have perceived that the law advisers of the Crown had reported that the resolutions adopted at Nelson, on July 1st, 1847, were binding on the Company and, consequently, on the Crown. Her Majesty's Government have, therefore, no alternative but to regard them as still in force, and to consider the proprietors of Land at Nelson who may be within the terms of those resolutions as entitled to demand compensation in the particular manner which they authorize. No Provincial Ordinance can absolve the local, or her Majesty's Government, from the necessity of fulfilling Act of Parliament obligations.

13. But, on the other hand, if any Nelson proprietors, who may be within the terms of those resolutions, have already accepted the compensation provided by your Ordinance, you may safely regard them as having waived that to which they were entitled under the resolutions, and accepted the other in lieu of it; and their cases are concluded.

14. If, on the other hand, there are still outstanding Nelson claimants, it will be necessary to propose to them, as an alternative, either the compensation given by the Ordinance, or that given by the resolutions.

15. I transmit, for your farther information, a copy of the opinion of the late Law Advisers, now in question, as it does not appear to have accompanied my predecessor's despatch of January 10th.

16. With these observations I leave this matter for the present in the hands of yourself and the authorities of New Zealand. I cannot, however, do so without expressing my sense of the care and industry with which the subject has been investigated in New Zealand, which I hope will enable you, with the powers with which you are now invested, to make a rapid progress towards the settlement of these embarrassing questions. If you should be enabled to complete it before the Constitution comes into force, you will probably spare the future Legislature much embarrassment, and it will take the land questions into its own hands comparatively free from the many difficulties which have unavoidably beset them during your administration.

I have the honour to be,
&c., &c., &c.,
(Signed) JOHN S. PAKINGTON.
Governor Sir George Grey, K.C.B.,
&c., &c., &c.
• 13th November 1852.

Copy of the Opinion of the Law Advisers referred to in the foregoing Despatch, clause 15.

Temple, 13th November, 1851.

MY LORD,—We were favoured with your Lordship's commands, contained in Mr. Elliott's letter of the 23rd of September last, in which he stated that he was directed by your Lordship to transmit to us the accompanying case, which had been drawn up by the Colonial Land and Emigration Commissioners, on points arising out of certain resolutions passed by the purchasers of land in the settlement of Nelson in New Zealand, and he was to request that we would favour your Lordship with our advice on the several questions raised therein.

In obedience to your Lordship's command we have considered the several documents transmitted to us, and have the honour to report:

1. That as Colonel Wakefield had received plenary authority from the New Zealand Company to adopt the plan sent out by them for the adjustment of the differences between their purchasers and the Company, or to substitute