(62)
of Council, was then read, in accordance with the
orders of the day.

Mr. Porter moved that the petition which he
had, a short time ago laid on the table be now
read. He would not say that he approved of
the whole of it; but as the wording of it was un-
exceptionable, he was desirous of giving the peti-
tioners an opportunity of speaking for themselves.

Mr. Earp seconded the motion, which was
carried unanimously, and the petition was read.
The concluding paragraph stated, that their sen-
timents had been well expressed in a letter ad-
dressed to His Excellency the Governor by Dr.
Martin, and which letter, they requested, might
be also read as an addenda to their own petition,

The Governor.—I have no objection to the
reading of the letter, although it is irregular in
Legislative Assemblies to occupy the time which
ought to be otherwise employed, with long docu-
ments embodying the sentiments of private indi-
viduals, the arguments and illustrations in the
petition, and those conveyed in the letter being
exactly the same.

Mr. Porter.—It is a subject of very great im-
portance, and, as the letter may, possibly, throw
some additional light upon it, I cannot see any
objection to its being read.

The Attorney-General.—I do not make any
objection to the course proposed, but it will cer-
tainly be a waste of time to read that part of the
letter which has already been read before the
Council in the shape of a petition.

The letter, which was very lengthy, was then
read.

The order of the day was then moved for the
second reading of the "Land Claims' Bill."

The Governor.—Before the Bill comes under
your consideration for a second reading, I deem
it desirable to offer a few remarks upon it. If
we had consulted our own ease, we should not
have imposed upon ourselves the labor of devising
the measure now under your consideration for
settling the very difficult question of the Claims
to Land in this country. It was evident, however,
to every member of the Government, that, con-
sistently with the interests of the claimants
themselves, no less than with the successful colo-
nization of the country, that the provisions of
the New South Wales' Bill could not be carried
into operation, and that, if no other means were
adopted, years must elapse before the termination
of the inquiry. Under the operation of that Bill,
perhaps the children of the present claimants
might get their land. It must be remembered,
that to investigate a claim to 100 acres will oc-
cupy as much time as an inquiry into the right
of a claimant to 20,000 acres.

The plan now
proposed for your consideration in lieu of the
New South Wales Bill has been adopted after the
most mature consideration of it by every member
of the Government. In some of its details it will be
found to differ from the plan originally proposed
in my opening Address. Instead of granting
leases to the claimants of so much of the land so
cultivated or built upon by them, it is now pro-
posed that the land should be granted to them
absolutely. This will be received by the settler
as a modification of the original plan; while, at
the same time, the alteration will not interfere
with the principle of the bill — the quantity culti-
vated not being, in any case, I believe so great as
to enable the settlers to form townships. My
attention has been called, by one of the petitions
read before the Council, to the circumstance that
no provision has been made in the bill, for the
guidance of Commissioners, in conducting their
enquiries. It will be necessary for the Members
of Council to bear in mind, that it was never in-
tended to interfere with the principles on which
the investigation of Land Claims has been con-
ducted. These principles have received the ap-
proval of Her Majesty's Government, and will
continue to guide the Commissioners in deciding
upon the claims remaining to be heard. As to
the quantity of land to be granted in each case,
nothing is more obvious than that it is utterly im-
possible to comply with all the demands of the
settlers, many of whom have alleged that they have
purchased tracts of land so extensive as, if con-
firmed, would be exceedingly detrimental to the
community. On this point, however, this Go-
vernment had no option. I was instructed to
apply the same rule to private claimants, as was
agreed to by the Home Government, in regard to
lands purchased by the New Zealand Company.
The rule is, that where the purchases of land are
proved, before the Commissioners of Claims, to
be valid, four acres are to be awarded for every
pound sterling expended in such purchase.—As
regards the rights of individual claimants, there
are provisions in the bill before the Council, which
cannot apply to the New Zealand Company.

Many of the lands claimed are so situated as, if
left in the hands of private individuals, would in-
terfere with the successful colonization of these
islands. It is deemed essential, also, that, as
much as possible, the formation of very small
settlements, and the dispersion of the population,
shall be prevented. With this view it is proposed
that, under certain regulations, and with excep-
tions provided for in the bill, claimants shall not
remain in permanent possession of the lands now
occupied by them; but that the number of acres
to which they are entitled shall be selected in
certain districts, viz.—the Bay of Islands, Ho-
kianga, and on the banks of the Tamaki. A
choice will also be given for selection in the
suburbs of towns. The boundaries of these se-
veral districts are set forth in schedules annexed
to the bill. Provision is further made for Native
reserves, to be chosen by the Protector of Abo-
rigines, or some person appointed by that gentle-
man, the object being to provide a fund for the
civilization and improvement of the Natives.

With regard to lands on which sawing and
whaling stations have been established, or where
considerable money and labour has been expended
in cultivation, I am willing to prevent, as far as
possible, dissatisfaction and injury, by acquiescing
in the introduction of a clause for granting leases
to such parties, for a term that may be deemed
equitable, taking into consideration, at the same
time, the peculiar position of the Government.
In addition to the three districts which the Go-
vernment have determined to set apart for satis-
fying the land claimants, it has been proposed to