EAST COAST LAND TITLES INVESTI GATIONS ACT.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XXIV, Issue 3483, 14 September 1868, Page 5

EAST COAST LAND TITLES INVESTI GATIONS ACT.

In the" House of Representatives on the 3rd of September," tbVHon. I Mr. 1 J .Richmond said that it was' the intention of the Government to introduce a bill repealing the Act, and making'other provisions in lieu ; thereof. The existing Acbihad been accpnipanied by .many most unfortunate cir'cnmstancea. Those who 'hadjthe best means of* jridging of the operation' of the lAcfc considered' it one of the beat Acts that had been passed by that House. ■> The object of the bill was to give title, and not to take away land, and to reward those friendly natives who had stood by the Europeans in the. time of, trouble. • Mr. McLb\n said; it , had been stated that he wa?, responsible for «pme of' the occurrences that had taken place on the East Coast. He had not had anything to do with native matters there between theilOfch May, 1865, and the 20th April, 1866. The natives in Poverty Bay were favourable' to annexation of that part of the country to the 1 province of Hawke's Bay, It became known there were several valuable oil springs there. ■An agent of an Auckland firm cams to the . district, and Mr. Whitaker* the Superintendent of Auckland, and agent of the General Government,, stepped in and took possession of the groundt 111 wsys necessary tfo have the matter i out. He |Mr. McLean) had been superseded by the General Government, and from that period to the date already stated he had nothing whatever to do with native affairs in that part of the country. The truth 'wavthdSe valuable springs, and the district in which they were found, were the property of the colony. ' ' ' ' The Hon. Mr.'STAFFOBD said there was evidently, a misapprehension on;tbe part of thehon. member, Mr. MoLeanj That gentleman had , never been superseded by the General Government. The fact was that the ,Government-^afc least he (Mr. Stafford) — knew nothing about what had been alleged to have taken place at the .time.. It was greatly to be re-'gretted-thatifche'hbriJ member for Hawke's Bay should 'have keitt'in'his'memory a supposed wrong, when a few words of explanation would have put the matter in its proper jlight: j' ■ . > < • , After a short. discussion, .Mr* Cabletom consented to withdraw! the b)ll.> . t ,