NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT GAZETTE.

PROVINCE OF NEW ULSTER.

Published by Authority.

All Public Notifications which appear in this Gazette, with any Official Signature thereto annexed, are to be considered as Official Communications to those Persons to whom they may relate.

By His Excellency’s Command,

ANDREW SINCLAIR, Colonial Secretary.

Vol. II. AUCKLAND, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 15, 1849. No. 18

JOURNAL OF PROCEEDINGS

IN THE

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL.

Wednesday, 1st August, 1849.

Present:
His Excellency Sir George Grey, K.C.B., Governor-in-Chief,
His Excellency Major-General Pitt, K.H.,
The Honourable the Colonial Secretary,
The Honourable the Attorney General,
The Honourable the Colonial Treasurer,
The Honourable the Surveyor General,
Frederick Whitaker Merriman, Esq.,
Robert Clapham Barstow, Esq.,
Lieutenant Colonel Hulme,
Major Matson,
Sampson Kempthorne, Esq.

The Council met pursuant to summons.

The Rev. John Frederick Churton, Colonial Chaplain, being in attendance was introduced and read prayers.

The path of allegiance, supremacy, abjuration, and the oath of office were administered by command of His Excellency the Governor to Lieutenant-Colonel Hulme, Major Matson, and Mr. Kempthorne.

His Excellency the Governor-in-Chief then opened the Council with the following address, which on motion of Mr. Merriman was ordered to be printed.

GENTLEMEN OF THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL,—

I have assembled you for the purpose of bringing under your consideration, matters of more than ordinary importance, and in reference to which, you may, by a judicious exercise of the powers with which you are entrusted, be the means of conferring benefits of no ordinary kind upon this Province.

It has appeared to me that the recent decision of the Supreme Court upon several points connected with the validity of titles to lands in this colony, has been productive of much serious inconvenience.

A comprehensive and complete plan for the removal of the doubts which have been entertained as to the validity of numerous Crown grants, and for the general settlement of the land question; the prevailing uncertainty regarding which has for so many years proved a serious detriment to the interests of this Province, although probably neither the extent of the evil, nor the difficulties of adjusting it, have been either generally known or appreciated.

Since the establishment of the Northern Settlements various laws and regulations for the disposal of lands have been force, and these have been frequently altered.

During this period no less a number than 1,070 grants have been issued. Partly from the difficulty of ascertaining what the binding rule was, and partly, apparently, from an opinion that an adherence to the rules prescribed on the subject was not essential to the validity of a grant, a large number of the grants issued have not been made in conformity with the laws and regulations. The greater number of these grants have been issued in pursuance of the provisions of the Land Claims Ordinance; yet but very few of them have been made in strict conformity with the general requirements of that Ordinance, the great majority being irregular in a variety of ways, some of which will be illustrated in the returns which will be laid upon the table.

In some cases these grants convey portions of land described by exactly the same boundaries, to two or more claimants; the great majority of them contain no particular description of the specific parcel of land intended to be granted; some of them recite that a Commissioner had reported that the Grantee was entitled to receive the grant of land conveyed to him, when, in fact—in some instances—the Commissioner had recommended that no grant should be made, and in others the claim had not been heard by a Commissioner; some of these Grants purport to convey land in compliance with the recom-