364

THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE.

[No. 8

from the date of the publication thereof in the Gazette: And provided also that every alienation under the provisions of this section shall be confirmed by the Court in terms of section fifty-three of the said Act:

And whereas the Native owners of the lands described in the First Schedule hereto are desirous of opening up by means of tramways and roads the said lands now lying wholly undeveloped, unproductive, remote, and inaccessible, and thus bringing into immediate profitable use the timber growing on parts of such lands: And whereas the said Native owners, or the greater number of such Native owners, have entered into an agreement with the Tongariro Timber Company (Limited), (a true copy whereof is deposited at the office of the Under-Secretary, Native Department, at Wellington), under which the said Native owners have agreed to sell, and the said company have agreed to buy for the purpose of cutting, all timber on the lands comprised in the said agreement which at the date thereof was fit for cutting for timber purposes, subject to payment of the considerations, and subject to the terms, conditions, and stipulations, expressed in the said agreement; and by the said agreement it was further provided that the said Native owners should transfer to the company all land (parts of the blocks of land comprised in the said agreement) required by the company for the construction of the railway-line, extensions, and branches mentioned in the said agreement, and also for the railway-stations mentioned in the said agreement; and by the said agreement it was further agreed that the said Native owners should transfer to the company, at the fair market value thereof (not being less than one pound per acre), such further areas as the company should reasonably require for mill-sites, yards, and workmen’s cottages, and the widening of railway-lines, if required, and that the Native owners should grant to the company the exclusive right to erect, maintain, and use for so long as the said agreement should remain in force, at or near the point where the aforesaid railway strikes Lake Taupo, such sheds, wharves, mills, and other erections as may be necessary or convenient to enable all goods and passengers to be stored, shipped, and unshipped: And whereas the Native owners have applied that His Excellency the Governor in Council may, by Order in Council, except the lands hereinafter mentioned from the operation of section one hundred and seventeen of the said Act for the purposes hereinafter appearing: And whereas the aforesaid application of the Native owners was referred to the Maniapoto-Tuwharetoa Maori Land Board for its consideration and report, and, after full and proper inquiry and investigation into the matter of the said application, the said Board did on the fourteenth day of March, one thousand nine hundred and seven, recommend His Excellency the Governor to accede to such application in the manner and for the purposes hereinafter appearing, subject with respect to the following blocks of land which are not subject to the provisions of the aforesaid agreement—namely, Pukawa No. 3A, Pukawa No. 2c, Pukawa No. 4c, Oreti No. 1, Hohotaka, and Taurewa Blocks—that any Order in Council made in pursuance of the foregoing recommendation should provide that the consideration for the land taken from such blocks for the said railway-line or for any other purpose should, if in the form of money, be not less than the Government valuation of such land, or if, in pursuance of an agreement made between the Native owners and the said company, the same should be in some other form, such consideration should be at least equal or equivalent to such Government valuation, and subject also to the proviso that the said recommendation of the said Board should not be deemed to extend to the alienation of papakaingas, and also that there should be excepted from any such Order in Council as aforesaid all Native kaingas, cultivations, and burial-places:

Now, therefore, His Excellency the Governor of the Dominion of New Zealand, in pursuance and exercise of the powers and authorities hereinbefore recited, and of all other powers and authorities him thereunto enabling, and by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said Dominion, does hereby except the lands respectively mentioned in the said First Schedule hereto (being the lands mentioned in the said recited agreement, and the other recited blocks not subject to its provisions), and all or any parts or part thereof, from the operation of section one hundred and seventeen of the said Act, and, so far as he is empowered to do so, from the operation of any other statute in force in New Zealand restricting the alienation of Native or Maori lands, or of any right, estate, or interest therein; and also does hereby remove all restrictions against the alienation of the aforesaid blocks of land, or any right, estate, or interest therein (whether such restrictions are contained in any Act of Parliament or Crown grant or other instrument of title), now affecting all or any part or parts of the said blocks of land respectively for the purpose of enabling the Native owners, or any one or more of the Native owners, of the said blocks of land, or any of such blocks, or any part thereof respectively, to sell and alienate in fee, or for any lesser estate or interest, any part or parts of the said blocks of land, or any of them, to the said company, its successors and assigns, for all and singular the following purposes, namely:—

(a.) To sell and alienate the lands part or parts of all or some of the aforesaid blocks necessary for the construction of the permanent-way of the railway or tram proposed to be constructed from the Kakahi Railway-station on the Government main trunk line to a point on Lake Taupo lying between the mouth of the Kuratau River and the Oreti No. 1 Block, together with any rights of water necessary or desirable in connection with such railway or tramway, the general direction and course of which line is approximately indicated in the Second Schedule hereto, but so that the lands so sold and alienated shall not exceed along the whole course of such permanent-way an average of one chain in width.

(b.) To sell and alienate the lands part or parts of all or some of the aforesaid blocks necessary for the construction of the permanent-way of any branch railways, trams, or roads leading through all or some of the said blocks to the main railway or tramway mentioned in the last preceding paragraph, together with any rights of water necessary or desirable in connection with such railway, tramway, or roads, the general direction of which branch railways, tramways, or roads are approximately indicated in the Third Schedule hereto, but so that the lands so sold and alienated shall not exceed along the whole course of such branch railways, tramways, and roads an average of one chain in width.

(c.) To sell and alienate the lands part or parts of the said blocks or some of them necessary for the construction of stations for the aforesaid main and branch railways, tramways, and roads: Provided that the lands so sold and alienated shall not exceed five acres in area for and in respect of each station; and the number of stations shall not exceed five; and the general position of the proposed stations is approximately indicated in the Fourth Schedule hereto.

(d.) To sell and alienate the lands part or parts of the said blocks or some of them necessary for mill-sites, yards, workmen’s cottages, and other conveniences in connection with the cutting and milling of timber off all or some of the aforesaid blocks, together with any rights of water and easements necessary or desirable in connection therewith: Provided that no more than four blocks of land shall be acquired for such purposes, and that the area of each such block shall not exceed two hundred acres, and that the price to be paid by the company shall be the fair value thereof (not being less than one pound per acre). The general position of the proposed sites and the approximate area thereof is approximately indicated in the Fifth Schedule hereto.

(e.) To sell and alienate such land adjacent to or within Lake Taupo at or near the point where the main railway or tramway mentioned in paragraph (a) hereof intersects or nearly intersects the shores of Lake Taupo for such estate or interest as may be thought desirable, but only for the purpose of erecting such wharves, quays, moles, sheds, cranes, appliances, machinery, and other conveniences and erections necessary in connection with the milling and disposal of timber, or embarkation or disembarkation of passengers and goods and mails, and the storage of goods and other purposes necessary and usual in carrying on the business of a general carrier:

Provided always that with respect to the said recited blocks of land which are not subject to the provisions of the said recited agreement—namely, Pukawa No. 3A, Pukawa No. 2c, Pukawa No. 4c, Oreti No. 1, Hohotaka and Taurewa Blocks—this Order in Council shall be subject to the condition hereinbefore recited and contained in the recommendation of the Maniapoto-Tuwharetoa Maori Land Board: Provided further that nothing in these presents shall be deemed to recommend or authorise the alienation of papakaingas, and that there shall be excepted from the operation of this Order in Council all Native kaingas, cultivations, and burial-places: Provided further that the Tongariro Timber Company (Limited), its successors, assigns, and licensees, shall, as soon as the tramway and its branches have severally been opened for traffic, carry timber and farm-produce from Crown lands to the Kakahi Railway-station at rates not exceeding the Government railway tariff for the time being.