KAWAU ISLAND.

Auckland Star, Volume LIII, Issue 192, 15 August 1922, Page 5

KAWAU ISLAND.

ALLEGED JAPANESE OFFER. PROPOSAL TO IMPORT LABOUR. INQUIRIES AS TO AWARDS. A statement that the Japanese Government had negotiated with him for the purchase of Kawau Island, the old home of Sir George Grey, was made on oath by Andrew Joseph Farmer, who owns a portion of the island, and formerly owned the whole of it, at his recent bankruptcy proceedings in Auckland lie then stated that lie would hand over the papers and documents in connection with the negotiations to the Assignee (Mr. W. S. Fisher), who received four letters yesterday. None of the papers, however, refer to an offer by the Japanese Government. Two of the letters were written to the bankrupt by his solicitors. Another was forwiirded" to a Japanese. Mr. J. Nishimura, of Sydney, by the English secretary at the Imperial Japanese Con-sulate-General, together with a letter he had received from a Sydney solicitor with reference to the matter. JAPANESE NEGOTIATIONS. The address of Mr. Nishimura, in the first letter, was given as "C/o the Mitsui Bussan Kaisha. Bridge Street, Sydney,"' and was, as follows: 'With reference to our conversation about Mr. A. J. Farmer and his capacity to offer you Kawau Island, New Zealand, 1 beg to incloee herewith a letter of even date, which I have received from Mr. K. Pritehard Baasett, solicitor, of George Street, which I think explains itself." The letter was signed by Mr. E. W. Foxall, the English secretary at the Japanese ConsulateGeneral, in Sydney. The enclosure was a letter from Mr. E. Pritehard Bassett to the English secretary, in which he stated that Mr. Farmer was the owner of Ka"wau, with the exception of some parts which had been subdivided into farm and residential sites. The rest was the property of Mr. Farmer. The balance of the deeds were in New Zealand, but he had in his possession the original certificate of title under the I,and Transfer Act. Mr. Bassett -wa s a commissioner of affidavits for New Wales, Western Australia. South Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand. The letter was dated at Sydney on November 15, 1915. IMPORTATION OF LABOUR. The other two letters, both of which have been deposited in copy with the Official Assignee, -were from Hammond and Cracknell, solicitors, Auckland, andwere addressed to Mr. Farmer, at the Civic Club, Sydney. The first, dated October 12, 1015, stated:—"When replying to your inquiries as to whether Japanese cou-ld be employed on "works at Kawau Island, there was no time to ascertain definitely whether there were any Labour awards in force there, "but we feel sufficiently safe on the point to reply without waiting. We have made inquiries at the Government Labour Bureau, and are assured that nothing of the kind exists. The Miners' Union only applies to the Thames and Ohihemuri districts—that is, to gold mining districts. The coal miners also have a union affecting the coal mines area. The General Labourers' Union is confined to the city and immediate suburbs. Inimi-. grants will be required to pass a simple test in English, .but this should not occasion any difficulty." STATUS OF JAPANESE. The second letter, ateo written in October by the bankrupt's solicitors, was in reply to an inquiry by Mr. Farmer as to whether Japanese could acquire real estate in New Zealand. "We do not prohibit any foreign subject from purchasing, utilising, or disposing of any kind of property except a ship," ran the reply. "A Japanese can therefore acquire either freehold or leasehold. The law is contained in the Aliens Act, 1908, sec. 13. This i≤ part of the Consolidated Statutes. A property owned by Japanese can be worked by Japanese lafoour." The letter also contained the section of the Act referred to. No definite date has been set down for a further meeting of creditors in the estate. »