CORRESPONDENCE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 30, 3 February 1894, Page 2

CORRESPONDENCE.

HIOTAW l^nd GRAMtk- ..

(To the Editor.

Bid,T-1,4 a sabfleader^of ypur issue of,tbs 25th ulbiuib.,._sonie. ren}iirk:abla.j.titement,B Sre made iri reference tc th"c land claims' of old soldiers and others iR-^bie.'jßolouy, and these statemenbs-made,- 1 make bcld-W-say, with ne<desir.e.-on -youivparb. to.ipiure bona fide claimants, in their.-, elibVbs"for redress. Yeb, I grieve to e&y, bhe article in queition ha 3 given great uuibrage to old soldiers in this and obher* distriebs^- arid what is of mole niomenb, bo my associatibn.These com - mentsj. ce.njipg.fro,m sucn a journal a3 the Star, will materially leseenj if they do nob rendet'altogTJttreTnagatary, trfe^eiftirts-my gs^ociabichia making towards giving finality t6 these ~ever - recurring military IStMd: claims. This is ail the more strange, for hitherbo wo..have enjoyed, I am pleased to. say, "the soft word " from blie Auckland presd in our effdrta dfter.tliis'eame'tinalit^. In reference to military land claimß generally, ydur coribenbibui ia" thab on the grounds of equiby fclie Fir&fcolass Militia of this provincial district have as much right, bo a granti of land as-the Imperial soldiers, 'etc., etc." This, I should saY,- is hevirs to even bh'e Firsb-claWMinbia—i'kn-6w ib ife to old soldiers, and for downrighb audacity can go oh all fotafß wibh bhe statement made in the Imperial Institute the other day by Maorilaqd's ex-Treasurer, Sir Julius Y°£?,'» to wit)," that had hia -Government in 1870 nob initiated and carried out the famous (?) Public AYorka Policy, the ftlatiria would have risen en masse and driven the whites into tho eea." You alao contend that inducements were. held out to officers and mon of the Imperial eflfvibe engaged in the Maori war to settle'in New Zealand^ etc., etc. .Thi3 ia true in a Settae, bub only in a sense, as I'll endeavour tof show. In the eighth session of the Auckland JProvincial Council an Acb (No. 2 of thab session), and known as the "Auckland Wasbe Lands Acb of 1858, was pasaedy and amongst its many provisions for bhe aetilemenb of the waste lands Of the province, were the" military land granti clau^e3, embodied .in clauaea Noa. 80, SI, and 82, giving a land granb (ac"cordin£r bb rank), " to' every naval and military officer, whefbher oil half puy.oc nob, every non-cbrnmisaiohed or' warrant olficer, every private, seaman, or mufir.^'' H.M. Jand or Bea forces, or :'•' lion. East India Company's service » shall retiro from the service in any pa;.

ihe itiorld for the purpose of settling in K< >-■ Zealand, etc." 'i'he italics are rriino, bi; there is tho baai3, the law, by which my?eli and other old-service men have claimed land. Every Act of the colonial Legislature dealing with military land claims, up to the last passed* in the session of 1892, has been framed on the plain and broad facts of the three above-named clauses of tho Auckland Waste Land Act* 1858, No technicality as to this or that absurdity faced the old soldier in this Act, and I would also state, sir, that tho purport of the above-mentioned clauses were read out on tho parade grounds of most regiments in the United Kingdom, and also ia India, for the express purpose of inducing military men to, become 'settlers lin the colony. To attempt, therefore, to 1 confuse tho undoubted claims of old naval ■ji" line men with tuoso of tbe First-clasa :.:iiitia or.any.other colonial corps' la, to lay ; ud, but the drawing of a stale and rung smelling fish across the legitimate and legal efforts we are making ib got bnna i jidt claims tecogriised. ■ Of course, these comments of yours, sir, will injuro us. There can be no question of that, yet, nevertheless, we have great, very great, confidence in the big heart of a British community, both in the way of amending the present law dealing with military land grants in this colony, and, further, to see that in any new law doaling with these claims that tho old soldier or sailor, or colonial volunteer, who has a claim and can establish his right t6 i such claim, will get it, and th.it tho old ; veteran will nob be barred by this cr that absurd tncnnicalit.Vi but get his land ; while on tho other hand, the man, or body of men, who soek3 by presumption—or worse —to foist a bogus land claim on the colony, and co filch away tho public estate, will be cast into utter darkness.. This, sir, ia what my association is working for, and in ub Unostentatious manner as possible, God knows, us old war veterans of Maoriland have little to bo thankful for to the country for which we otton risked our all. No avenuo of public employment was over held out to us as a body in the past. After our term of soldiering was done, imd right here, Maoriland hasplayed the exneb opposite to the great American Republic, bus it is of little uso to ropihe. A generation— several generations —have arisen, "who knew not Joseph in the dn.yS"of his travail," and all that remains now. is a few greyheaded, feeble old men,, asking to-day, ag they have asked for many loflg, weary years, for justice—only bare juatice-rfor verily tbe old soldier of New Zealand's wars can say that •' Hope deferred maketlv the heart sick;" Thanking you very much for your valuable space.— YoufS truly, Jkssk Sage,. . Ex-Colour - Sergeant H.M. 58th Regiment, and Vice-Prosideuo N, and M. A; of N.Z. Karangahape Road, January 31st) 1894. [We hold that this principle ought U> be insisted upon, that- tho remaining Crown lands should nob,' on any pretext whatever, bo alienated except under, guarantees of settlement. Tho intention of tho Logiplature in oft'oring grants of land bo military sebblerSj was manifestly to secure settlemonb on the latid ; it was n'bver contemplated that those lands'would, be turned to speculative purposes. Nor could ib have been anticipated that, long tiftor the Acts under which these grants were offered had been repealed, claims dating back twenty or thirty years 'wduld be made with the simple qbjecb of getting land at the enhanced value given by the progress of settlement, for tho purpose of' burning ib into cash. There must bo finality in such matters. Of course, claims that can bo substantiated under the existing law must be acknowledged, bub ib would be an exceedingly dangerous thing to open the door by further legislation for the admission of now claims. The action taken on behalf of the First-class Militia eliows what we may expect if this be done. —Ed. E.S.]