CORRESPONDENCE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume I, Issue 46, 22 November 1851, Page 6

CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Times. RESIDENT MAGISTRATE'S COURT. Godley,'Agent Canterbury association, v. Dampish. Same v. Feiiius. Sir, —I request you will give insertion to this letter, in order to remove the wrong impression which appears to have gone abroad by the imperfect report of the above two cases in the Lyttelton Times of Nov. 8, the real points and merits of the defendant's case not having been referred to, which leaves them in the position of having apparently set up but a captious and frivolous defence.

It is well known, however, that the main question at issue in the proceedings was one of title and conveyance, a question of the extvemest importance to every Land-Purchaser in the colony, as involving the right and power of the Canterbury Association, (without having paid to the Crown its due proportion of the purchase money,) to bind the Crown in respect of its lands agreed to be sold by them, and to make a legal and proper Conveyance to their purchasers, such as would invest them with a marketable title, free from objection, suits and litigation. I had privately raised this point in communication with the Association's solicitor, upon the titles proposed to be conferred by their conveyances, and suggested that the point should be settled by a judicial answer from the Supreme Court, but this Mr. Godley declined, and insisted upon the purchases being completed, and to compel which, had recourse to the summary proceeding alluded to.

The most material part of the defence set up (waiving, because a technical point only, that, -which of itself would have been a perfect answer to the summons, viz., That Mr. Godley, as plaintiff, could not recover upon a contract made between the purchaser and the Canterbury Association to ivhich he was not a parti/,) was that the Association, as vendors, had not performed their part of the contract, and were not therefore in a position to call for completion, inasmuch as that body v?as not empowered to make a conveyance to the purchasers which would be good at Law, until they should have first paid the Crown's portion of the purchasemoney according to the conditions of their Act of Parliament; until when and tender of a proper conveyance, (which had not been tendered), they could not enforce the contract against the purchaser, who it appeared had in these cases tendered to the Association for their Corporate Sea], such conveyance as they were entitled to receive from the vendors, with offers to pay the purchase money on having such conveyance duly executed.

The other defence set up was that the question at issue was not within the jurisdiction of the Resident Magistrate's Court, for that the payment of the whole purchase money, which exceeded 201., was contingent on the performance of the contract by the Association as vendors, which they had not done. These important points, the Justices sitting for Mr. Godley whilst appearing as a plaintiff, took upon themselves to determine in a summary way, wholly disregarding the defences set up, and assuming to themselves the combined authority of the Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal in Equity in England, and the Lords Chief Justices of the Courts of Common Law there, or rather, perhaps, that of our excellent judge of the Supreme Court in this colony, and despite the legal authorities and cases quoted, determined the point of their superior jurisdiction, and adjudged the defendant to pay to Mr. Godley, the plaintiff, (though no party to the contract), the balances alleged to be due to the Canterbury Association. It is true, as stated in the report, that Mr. Dampier intimated his intention to appeal, as the simplest way of bringing the question before the Supreme Court for argument, and lie has since entered into the usual recognizances fov that purpose, but notwithstanding this, Mr. Godley has pursued the rigour of his summary jurisdiction, and destrained. for the damages and costs.

It is to be regretted that matters so grave and important as those which affect the titles of all the lands in the colony, should have been forced by Mr. Godley as plaintiff, before two justices sitting for him, as an inferior court, who, however upright and high principled, were undoubtedly wholly incompetent to deal with such questions as those raised before them iv the cases referred to, which involved some

of the nicest and most abstruse points of legal learning, and the practice of the courts of law and equity. It is hardly necessary to add that such a course of proceedings, unworthy as it appears to be of any public body, but j articularly so of one professing so much liberality as the Canterbury Association, will necessarily give rise to future litigation, which at tins early stage of the settlement, it would at least have been desirable to avoid. Whether the reasons which prompted these measures arise from personal feeling ov an anxious desire on the part of the agents of the Association to dispose of all their town sections before their power of conveying the Crown lands, without previous payment to the Crown, can be judicially determined, or the peculiar position of the Association, we are left to conjecture, but it is at least unsatisfactory to see the representatives of a public body professing so much, evading a fair and really judicial settlement of a question so important to every individual in the colony, as one which might involve each and every one in the labyrinth of litigation upon a moot point of title, which, for want of precautionary measures, might invalidate all and every contract made upon the sale or disposition of his lands, and it is somewhat surprizing that the question has not been investigated by the much boasted Society of LandPurchasers, whose peculiar province it would seem to have been, to have had this question of title set at rest. Your's most obediently, Chris. Edw. Dampiek. Lyttelton, Nov. 12, 1851.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Times. Sir, —I would feel obliged if you would let me know, as also your numerous readers, if the Canterbury Association are about to hold out any inducement to persons living in the Canterbury Block, to have their friends sent out. I am sure there are many respectable persons resident here, who would be glad to have out their relatives, and would make an effort to assist them, could the Canterbury Association act upon and carry out a scheme similar to what the New Zealand Company proposed in 1849. Enquires. Lyttelton, Nov. 13th, 1851.

To the Editor of the Lyttelton Times. Sir, —A Sunday eveningl now rarely passes over in Lyttelton without a disturbance of some kind or other taking place in the vicinity of the church, to the discomfort and annoyance of all engaged in Divine Service. A few weeks since we were regularly subjected to the harsh sounds produced by the use of the Association's well; that is now put a stop to. Then the shouts of crowds of children suffered to play in the barrack yard prevented anything like attention to the worship of God. But last Sunday evening the climax was arrived at, and those who came to pray found that they must do so amid the, ravings of a drunken man and the screams of frightened individuals, close to the church. Had we no machinery for the preservation of public order, we must even suffer on, but, Sir, having a magistracy and a police force, I think I am justified in asking, through the press, why these things arepermitted, and why it is that no police constable is ever to be seen where his services are so urgently required ? I am, Sir, yours, &c. A Lover op Quietness. Lyttelton, November 20th, 1851.

[From the " Otago Witness," Nov. B.] "We have to notice the arrival of the "Wave" from Canterbury, by which we have received a few numbers of the Lyttelton Times. From them we learn that our neighbours are progressing steadily in the objects of colonisation and cultivation. We observe that a Marine Insurance Company has been formed to insure the small craft trading from that port. This, we believe, is a novelty in New Zealand, there being no such company in any of the other settlements; and we are glad to see our neighbours exhibiting so much spirit and commercial activity ; and we hope the undertaking will succeed, as it will be of vast importance in fostering the coasting trade. We have also to commend the •' Society of Land Purchasers," which in its functions resembles our Otago Settlers' Association, though not formed on so liberal a basis, for their promptitude in preparing a counter Address to the Queen, to contradict the misstatements put forward in the Address to Her Majesty by the Legislative

Council of New Zealand. Nothing can reflect more strongly upon the nominee constitution of that Council than the fact of a majority of its members voting an Address at the bidding of the Governor, the statements put forward in which are so far from the facts. We also see that LieutenantColonel James Campbell has been appointed Crown Commissioner of the lands outside the Canterbury block, —the land which must, a few years hence naturally form part of that settlement. We alsa observe that the Crown Commissioner has put forward a notice that rural lands and town lots will be sold at the upset price of 11. per acre. It is quite clear from this that His Excellency's hostility to the Canterbury Association is so great, that he has determined to use every means, fair orffourl r to embarrass and hinder their colonising operations. The hypocritical sympathy for the Nelson settlers is thus exposed, the spot fixed upon, as far as we can judge from the description of it, being part of the lands of that settlement on which the Canterbury Association were stated to be desirous of encroaching. We see also that the same hypocritical sympathy is expressed in the address for the Presbyterian settlers of Otago, the encroachment upon our settlement being the assvimed desire of the extension of the Canterbury block to the Waitangi river. But yet his Excellency has appointed a Crown Commissioner for the whole land south of that point, with the exception of that portion of the district known as the Otago Association's block; thus shutting us up into the smallest possible space, and this, too, in defiance of an agreement to the contrary, sanctioned by the Imperial Parliament; and thus also proving that his Excellency's sympathy for the extension of our settlement is as great a (we had almost been vulgar) farce as his sympathy for the Nelson settlers. The Lyttelton Times justly says that if his Excellency really intended to colonise this new district, they would not complain; and then proceeds to show, from the total absence of preparation, that no such intention exists. It certainly does appear to us that it is his Excellency's object to impede progress, and to stop sales at Canterbury, by advertising cheap land close by; and the proceeding bears an analogy to the case of a thriftless varlet who sees an honest tradesman doing a thriving business, and opens a shop next door to undersell him. We should not be surprised to see his Excellency carrying out the metaphor by calling his settlement " Tanterbury," or " De Canterbury," or some such paltry imitation. The Times is mistaken in assuming that it is the only journal in New Zealand which advocates the theory of the sufficient price of land. We quite agree with it in its judicious remarks upon the subject; and would point to the selection of the Governor's new settlement as evidence, if not of his Excellency's belief in the theory, at least of his willingness to take advantage of its practical benefits, by taking up a position so near to a settlement where land has been sold at a high price, so as to smuggle away its labour, and to give his settlers access to a good market—the one being brought to the colony, and the other created at the expence of the purchasers of the high priced land. That Sir George Grey has no intention of colonising this spot, is clear; he has not the means. His Legislative Council have, by the Land Claimants' Ordinance, created an amount of scrip, which is to be taken at par, in exchange for Crown lands. This scrip is already at 75 per cent, discount, or worth but ss. in the pound, and not one farthing of that ss. goes into Sir George's hands. The emigration fund is spent; he therefore has no means of introducing labourers ; and that that class can, or would if they could, pay their own passage to New Zealand, 16,000 miles, in hopes of getting a piece of cheap land, Sir George is far too shrewd a man to expect. It is clear, therefore, that his Excellency will entrap the labourers brought out with the funds of other settlements. This is no new game to be played by the Governors of New Zealand; and it will be as well for his Excellency to look in:o the blue-book, and refresh his memory by a review of the opinions expressed in the House of Commons of the dirty trick.

It is as likely as not that the next news from Wellington will bring a notice that town and r«ral lands will be for sale at Blue Skin Bay or Wai* kouaiti, and scrip be taken of course at par. This measure would have the effect of reducing the value of land in this settlement to ss. per acre, and be a positive loss to the present holders of 355. per acre upon every property already sold, and would, of course, prevent the sale of one acre more by the Association at the present price, thus at once cutting from under us the funds for Emigration and Civil and Religious uses. And this appears to be Sir George's object: he will ruin the class-settle-ments if he can.

This dangerous power was placed in his hands by a Legislative Council, in which the AttorneyGeneral bemoaned the effect of change in the price of land ; but we verily believe that not one of the members of that Council saw the effect of the Ordinance they were passing; or if they did, they saved their heads at the expence of their integrity. But we would warn His Excellency that this is not an age in which men, who are sufficiently en-

lightened to think that their religion is as essential in a new colony as any other of their rights and institutions, are to be lightly interfered with, and their property wasted by mock legislation, to gratify the desire of despotic rule of even a Governor- in 4 Chief. He may damage us, but he will as assu- • redly ruin himself: the reputation he has acquired ' ydll be of no use to him, —like a garment it will become threadbare with continual hard brushing, t and will only serve to present a strong contrast of f what he was, and what he is.

There has been some talk of a probable gold field at the sister settlement of Otago. We learn from the Witness of Nov. 1, that specimens of auriferous quartz have been found on the estate of C. Suisted, Esq., at Goodwood, which were forwarded to Mr. D. Macandrew for the purpose of testing. The following is his report thereupon. Dunedin, Oct. 31, 1851.

Captain Cargill, Dear Sir, —The several pieces of quartz and dust you handed me yesterday from Goodwood, indicate Gold in that quarter. The spangles of two of the quartz specimens, and most of the dust, took the tests —Nitro Muriatic Acid and Quicksilver. I remain, Dear Sir, Your obedient Servant, (Signed) Daniel Macandrew.