Notes by Colonus.

Bruce Herald, Volume X, Issue 955, 6 November 1877, Page 6

Notes by Colonus.

. oTHE HAWKE'S BAY LANO SaLJKS. ' Hansard', is not always very lively reading, but the debate on the Hawke's Bay land purchases is rather interesting. This debate took place on. a motion of Mr Rees, that a committee of the House should be appointed to enquire into all dealings with Native lands by landed proprietors in Hawke's Bay. I have no such intimate knowledge of all the ins and outs of this business as some residents in the North Island may be supposed to possess, but, as far as 1 can gather, the principal facts of the case appear to be aB follows:— -In the year 1871, the Hon. Mr Ormond, jointly with "several other gentlemen, negotiated for the purchase, from the Native owners, of a large piece of land in Hawke's Bay, called the Heretaunga block, comprising 16,500 acres. The purchase was ultimately completed at the price of £1 6s 8d per acre cash, Mr Ormond taking apparently the largest, or lion's share, and becoming the owner of 12,000 acres. Thiß same land is now, on Mr Ormond's own admission, worth £20 per acre. A suspicion having got abroad that the negotiations for this notable purchase had not been conducted iv an altogether irreproachable manner— iv fact, that the Native owners had to some extent been "done" out of their land, in the year 1872 a petition was presented to Parliament by the Hawke's. Bay Natives, praying that the land transactions in that province might be enquired into. In answer to the prayer of this petition, a commission for the purpose of enquiry was appointed the commissioners selected being Mr Justice Richmond and Mr Manning, and two Native Assessors. The English Commissioners reported that 301 caces of complaint were made before them, but in order to save time and expense they, by the consent of the Natives, thru ugh their solicitor, Mr Sheehan, heard only a few typical casus of every class of transaction complaiued of. These Commissioners further reported that the transaction waa a fair one, and that the charges of improper conduct on the part of the purchasers had not been substantiated. .It would appear, however, that the Native ownera, are not satisfied with the report of the Oomrnissioners, and are now bringing actions against Mr Ormond, and other purchasers, in the Supreme Court. Mr Rees and others also thought it desirable that the circurr stances connected with the aaleß should be investigated by a committee of the House. The Hon. Mr Ormond, who led off in this great debate, not couteac with an endeavour to exculpate himself from obnoxious charges, mjide a furious attack on several of his antagonists, notably at Mr Reed, Mr Sheehan, and Sir George Grey. As to Sir George Grey, Mr Ormond " told a story," about Sir George Grey in days of yore, having been mixed up in some negotiations for a lease for 21 years of certain large tracts of Native land to a few gentlemen. The merits of this charge against Sir Georgo I do not propose to discuss, though the story was the cause of a vast deal ot talk in the House. .. It is sufficient to say that. in the course of the subsequent debate Sir George's conduct assumed a much more harmless appearance than it did according to Mr Ormond'B statement. Moreover, it appears the negotiations for this lease were never completed. Mr Ormond was followed in ' the debate by Mr 1 Sheehan, who, smarting from the effects of the wounds inflicted on Ulrn, by the previous speaker, aud apparently having thor roughly got the steam up, in an able and telling speech made a furious onslaught on the Bon. M* Ormond. Mr Sheehan, it would appear, became the paid advocate of the Hawkes B*y natives thuswise~A.ll the law-, yers in Napier being engaged for the pUr>. chasers, the Maoris asked Mr Gillies, the present Judge, to send down a lawyer to rgr present them, and Mr Sheehan accepted the office. Certainly Mr Sheehan made the y case look very dark against the purchasers, and especially against Mr Ormond, leading us tb suppose that a great deal of dirty work was gone through in order to get the Natives to sign their land, away, such as getting storekeepera to threaten tho Natives with actions for debts due if they did not sign,' and so on, and 30 on, ad nauseam "Mr Sheehan, ho.Wr ever, being the advoea-r-e for the Natives, and rnpreover apparently having good cause f..r indignation ffji M,r Ormond's attack on,himself, would probably dra-yv the pbjtub\a jn yerv lively golours. It would appear, al?o, that pome of the injLerprfiteH engaged in the negotiations acted in a dceitful, if hot very rascally, manna?. Of course it is difficult, or rather impossible, for anyone to arrive at an altogether satisfactory judgment concerning these Hawk es Bay land galea, without a muph more intimate knowledge of aliihe.facts than can be gained by a perusal -of the na^es of ■'■ Hansard ' It is quite possible Mr Ormond m*-y have had huich more wrong-doing laid fco fas <?barge than is justifiable. Undoubtedly, bowever, ths pnuUc. feeling concerning these gales will be one of yery gf^44& ti^ &c^ on ' arising from JJ. strong suspicion tlji'it the negtii* tiationa for the s ; d e were not conducted in an unmistakeably fair and upright manner,aud also that large tracts of. laud, said to be the Stiuot in. New Zealand, have passed in*,o the hands (if ■ a few. o#uers, to the great detrirasnt. of the State,; at least r in. the opinion,, of wall those ..>h.o, ; believe in - the -great valu^ pt ft -settled

rural population. Unquestionably, all land transactions between setltlera and Native proprietors should be subjected to the moat strict control, and additional legislation on the subject seems to be; imperatively demanded Whatever may) h© asserted as to their acuteness in bargaining, certainly the ivlaoris are not a match f dr their more educated fellow country men in the matter of land dealings, and such if allowed to take place without the strictest supervision of Government or Parliament, are likely to result in the wronging of the Native race and injury to thb commonwealth by large tracts of fine lfti*id, which should be devoted to the pnrpose^of the settlement of the country being monopolised by capitalists.