186

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

Gazette, the Gazette of the Provincial Government of Nelson, and the several
newspapers on the West Coast of the Middle Island, we called upon all persons
who claimed to occupy the whole or any part of the land known as the "Colliery
Reserve," or who sought compensation for any interest therein, or in any part pro-
posed to be taken for the purposes of the railway from Mount Rochfort Coal Field
to Westport, to lodge their claims with us upon a day mentioned; and we appointed
the 27th of that month to take and receive evidence in support of the same.

Three hundred and fourteen claims were preferred, which, for the sake of con-
venience, were divided by us into four classes—A, B, C, and D. Each of these
has been again subdivided into four sections. (Vide Schedules at end of Report.)

The goodwill of the allotments comprised in classes A and B, with the build-
ings and improvements thereon, were valued at £42,957, whilst the allotments and
improvements included in C and D have been estimated at £10,522, or a grand
total of £53,479. Realizing the fact that extensive private interests and a valu-
able public estate might be alike either prejudicially or beneficially affected by
the result of the inquiry we were invited by your Excellency to institute, we
determined to conduct the proceedings in the most open and public manner,
and assented to hear counsel on behalf of the claimants. The Commission,
which was formally opened on Saturday, the 27th of November, reassembled for
the transaction of business on the 29th of the same month, and sat continuously
in the Court House at Westport for the reception of evidence until the 18th of
December last. Mr. Thomas Mackay appeared to represent the Crown; Mr. J.
B. Fisher and Mr. Haselden, Barristers, attended as counsel for a large proportion
of the claimants; whilst the remainder of the applicants were unrepresented. It is
in our opinion unnecessary to trouble your Excellency with the minutiæ connected
with the inquiry: suffice it for us to inform your Excellency that, out of the entire
number of claimants, 312 appeared with their witnesses, and were heard at length
without reference to the rules or law of evidence. That, to enable us to satis-
factorily report upon the matter committed to us, we elicited evidence upon
inter alia the following subjects :—

1. The condition of trade in Westport in the past, and at the present time.
2. The past and present returns, together with the future prospects of the
   alluvial gold fields in this district.
3. The nature and extent of the communication between the Reefton Gold
   Field, Greymouth, and Westport respectively, and the ability of the last-mentioned
   town to compete satisfactorily with Greymouth for the trade of such inland gold
   field.
4. The coal resources of the district; the probabilities and estimated cost of
   time, labour, and capital for their development, and the market likely to be obtained
   for such fuel.
5. The character and accommodation of the port and the Buller River, and
   the utility, extent, and probable cost of protective works required thereat.

Upon the first point submitted to us by your Excellency, we have the honor
to report as follows :—

That the Hon. J. C. Richmond held the office of Commissioner of Crown
Lands for the Province of Nelson from the 21st day of November, 1862, to the
31st day of January, 1865.

That upon the original plan of the town of Westport, prepared in the Survey
Office, Nelson, Mr. Richmond wrote over the parcel of land now called the Colliery
Reserve the words "Reserve for a public quay and for a colliery depôt;" but, in the
absence of that gentleman in England, it is impossible to accurately fix the date
of such notation. A certified copy of that plan, marked A, is annexed hereto, and
signed by John Gully, the chief draftsman in the Survey Office, Nelson. It is
certain that Mr. Richmond, as Commissioner, had no inherent right to make
reserves, and that during the interval above mentioned reserves "for purposes of
public utility" could only have been created under the Nelson Waste Lands Act
of 1858, read with "The Waste Lands Act, 1858," or under "The Nelson Waste
Lands Act, 1863," subsequent to the passing thereof.

It is evident that the Governor in Council did not reserve the land in question
under the 12th section of the secondly-mentioned Act. There is no evidence to
show, or to lead the most credulous to suppose, that the Waste Lands Board, acting