Mar. 11.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 737

SECOND SCHEDULE.
ROAD CLOSED.

All in the Hawke’s Bay Land District; as the same are more particularly delineated on the plan marked and coloured as above mentioned, and deposited in the office of the Chief Engineer of Roads, at Wellington, in the Wellington Land District.

Given under the hand of His Excellency the Right Honourable William Lee, Baron Plunket, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty’s Dominion of New Zealand and its Dependencies; and issued under the Seal of the said Dominion, at the Government House, at Wellington, this fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and nine.

A. W. HOGG,
Minister in Charge of Roads Department.

GOD SAVE THE KING!

Land proclaimed as a Road, and Road closed, in Block VI, Ngatimaru Survey District, Stratford County.

(L.S.) PLUNKET, Governor.

A PROCLAMATION.

IN pursuance and in exercise of the powers conferred by section eleven of “The Land Act, 1908,” I, William Lee, Baron Plunket, the Governor of the Dominion of New Zealand, do hereby, with the consent of the lessees of the land mentioned in the First Schedule hereto, and of the Stratford County Council, being the local authority in whose district the said land is situated, proclaim as a road the land in Ngatimaru Survey District described in the First Schedule hereto; and also do hereby, with the like consents as aforesaid, proclaim as closed the road described in the Second Schedule hereto, which is not required by reason of the road first hereinbefore proclaimed.

FIRST SCHEDULE.
LAND PROCLAIMED AS A ROAD.

SECOND SCHEDULE.
ROAD CLOSED.

All in the Taranaki Land District; as the same are more particularly delineated on the plan marked and coloured as above mentioned, and deposited in the office of the Chief Engineer of Roads, at Wellington, in the Wellington Land District.

Given under the hand of His Excellency the Right Honourable William Lee, Baron Plunket, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty’s Dominion of New Zealand and its Dependencies; and issued under the Seal of the said Dominion, at the Government House, at Wellington, this fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and nine.

D. BUDDO,
For Minister in Charge of Roads Department.

GOD SAVE THE KING!

“The Land Titles Protection Act, 1908.”—Consenting to Action in Supreme Court calling in Question the Validity of Restrictions in Title to Native Land.

PLUNKET, Governor.

ORDER IN COUNCIL.

At the Government Buildings, at Wellington, this twenty-fourth day of February, 1909.

Present:

THE RIGHT HONOURABLE SIR J. G. WARD, K.C.M.G., PRESIDING IN COUNCIL.

WHEREAS doubts have arisen as to the validity of certain restrictions contained in a certain Crown grant issued by His Excellency the Governor of New Zealand on the nineteenth day of October, one thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in favour of Aperahama te Aika, of Kaiapoi, aboriginal Native, affecting all that parcel of land, containing by admeasurement 14 acres 1 rood 1 perch, more or less, situated in the District of Mandeville, and being allotment numbered 75 on the subdivisional plan of the Kaiapoi Native Reserve:

And whereas a case for the opinion of the Supreme Court as to the validity of the restrictions in question was recently stated by the Native Appellate Court:

And whereas, upon such case being heard in the Supreme Court, the Supreme Court did on the tenth day of October, one thousand nine hundred and eight, refer to the said case, but refrained from giving a definite answer to the questions submitted to it, and intimated that, having regard to the number of grants affected by the validity or otherwise of the restrictions in question, the question as to whether or not such restrictions were validly inserted by His Excellency the Governor in such Crown grant as aforesaid should be brought before the Supreme Court in the form of an action in order that the parties might be represented:

And whereas the Governor in Council, after due inquiry made, is satisfied that the case is one of importance to many South Island Natives, that a prima facie case of the invalidity of such restrictions has been established, and that it would be inexpedient to dispose of it by remedial legislation or by any other procedure which would obviate litigation:

Now, therefore, His Excellency the Governor of the Dominion of New Zealand, in pursuance and exercise of all powers and authorities in that behalf vested in him by “The Land Titles Protection Act, 1908,” or otherwise howsoever, and acting by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council of the said Dominion, doth hereby consent to an action, calling in question the validity of such restrictions as aforesaid, and praying for the recall, rectification, amendment, and re-issue of such Crown grant as aforesaid, or as the nature of the case may be, being instituted in the Supreme Court of New Zealand, Canterbury District, at the suit of Mere te Aika and Tini Arapata, being the persons claiming to be entitled to the land in question under or by virtue of the will of the said Aperahama te Aika, deceased, probate whereof was granted to the said Mere te Aika and Tini Arapata, by the Native Land Court on the thirteenth day of February, one thousand eight hundred and ninety-two.

ALEX. WILLIS,
Clerk of the Executive Council.