THE SUPERINTENDENT OF AUCKLAND AND THE EAST COAST LANDS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 828, 19 February 1867, Page 3

THE SUPERINTENDENT OF AUCKLAND AND THE EAST COAST LANDS.

message.

Message No. 43 was received by the Provincial Council from his Honor the Superintendent, and read as follows : — "In compliance with the wish of the Provincial Council, as expressed in their Address No. 38 of the present session, the Superintendent transmits herewith copies of all correspondence relating to the negotiations for the purchase or lease of lands situate in the locality of the petroleum springs, near Poverty Bay ; and all correspondence relating to the purchase or lease of lands in the East Coast district. "In order thafc the Provincial Council may fully understand the transactions to which this correspondence refers, the Superintendent will give an outline of what has taken place. This is the more necessary, as the correspondence is somewhat disjointed, in consequence of the Superintendent having been absent from Auokland, in attendance on the General Assembly at Wellington ; and owing to several personal communications with the General Government and the natives having taken place, of which there is no record. i. Early in May last, Mr. Vogel, -of Dunedin, at a personal interview communicated to the Superintendent the fact of there being petroleum springs, which he considered of great value, near Poverty Bay, in this province. He stated that he, as a private individual, was prevented from making a purchase by the 75th section of the Native Lands Act, 1865, but that, if the Provincial Government would acquire the land, he would take a lease of a sufficient quantity to work the springs, and engage to do so effectually. The Superintendent requested Mr. Yogel to put his proposal in writing, and he did so by letter dated the llth May. This portion of the correspondence consists of three letters — one from Mr. Yogel to the Superintendent, the Superintendent's reply, and Mr. Vogel's answer thereto. Mr. Yogel proposed, in conformity with the Auckland Waste Lands Act of 1858, to take a lease for 21 years, to pay the Provincial Government the usual royalty of l-16th of the oil raised, and to enter into the usual covenants introduced into mining leases for securing the regular, proper, and efficient mining and working of the petroleum. He further proposed, if the land acquired by the Provincial Government did nofc yield sufficient petroleum to pay for working, tb reimburse (if called upon to do so) the Provincial Government the amount expended on its purchase, and to take the . land for his own use. To this the Superintendent replied thafc, in consequence of Mr. Vogel's communication, measures were being taken to secure the land on behalf of the province, and that, if ifc were required, Mr. Yogel should be treated as the firsfc applicant, and negotiations entered into with him on the basis of the terms he had offered. Mr. Yogel treated this reply as a virtual acceptance of his offer, and expressed his intention to take steps, at the earliest possible moment after the land should be acquired, to test it with proper appliances, so that the province will not have to complain of any delay. No further correspondence has taken place with Mr. Yogel, but, during the Superintendent's stay at Wellington, whither i he went in June, Mr. Yogel repeatedly .inquired what progress had been made in the negotiations.

Soon after this correspondence with Mr. Yogel, viz., on the 2nd of June, Mr. Brooks Mason called on the Superintendent and asked to be informed if the Provincial Government would grant leases of any of the oil-springs bn the East Coast. The Superintendent stated that the existence of such springs in that locality had recently been made known to him by a gentleman from Dunedin, who, therefore, had a claim as first applicant ; but that, if oil existed in any extent of land the Provincial Government possessed or might acquire, leases would be granted on liberal terms, as the desire was to get such properties into the hands of persons bona" fide intending to work them effectually ; the leases would contain stringent clauses to secure that objeot. Mr. Mason expressed his intention of visiting. the East Coast .to examipe the springs for himself.. He did so, and returned thence on the 26th of June, bringI ing from Mr. Rice, whom the Superintenl dent had sent down in May, some samples

ofthe petroleum. Mr. Mason then made an applicationtfor a lease, and was promised that his application should be recorded and not lost sight of. Subsequently, he made an offer to take the lease under similar conditions to those which had been proposed by Mr. Yogel, and was informed that the oil-springs had. not yet been secured, but that, if they should become provincial property, every encouragement would be given for the employment of capital ia working them. in. The Superintendent, so far as was practicable in Auckland, made the most; careful inquiries as to the situation of the land in which the springs were said to exist, and as to whether the owners ofthe land had been' in rebellion or were friendly. ' The conclusion he came to was that the question of title would be found one of great difficulty, and the result has proved so. Some of the owners have been engaged in rebellion — have been taken prisoners and l removed to the Chatham Islands — others of the owners have been in rebellion, and are still at large in the interior : others again have been loyal, and of these some have consented to make arrangements with the Provincial Government, while others have been dealt with by private individuals. To add to these complications, the native chief Morgan (who has renderedHhe Government such valuable assistance in suppressing the rebellion on the East Coast) has claimed the land on the ground of conquest. Under the circumstances of complication which existed on the East Coast, it appeared to the Superintendent impossible for Mr. Yogel, or any other private individual, to obtain a title to the oil springs. The Native Lands Court had no power to do otherwise than recognise the Hau-hau claims, and no title could be obtained without their extinguishment. At the same time it was clear that the General Government could not permit men who had been in rebellion, and some of whom were prisoners in their hands, to deal with land on equal terms with loyal natives. . . "In order,, therefore, to render the oil springs available, and thus open a new industrial occupation in the province, it appeared to the. Superintendent to be especially an occasion in which the Provincial Government could advantageously . employ a portion of the funds at the disposal of the Superintendent . by appropriation . of the Provincial Legislature, in acquiring from the loyal natives the title, subject to making an arrangement, with the General.Government in reference to the claims of , the Hau Hau rebels, captive and at large.! The Superintendent believed that such an arrangement could be made without difficulty, and that the General Government would afford every facility for doing so. The Superintendent hoped, after granting to Mr. Yogel any privilege, to which he might be considered as fairly entitled under the circumstances, that the petroleum district might be thrown open to public enterprise, so as to prevent a monopoly advantageous to individuals but detrimental to the public ; and he now feeLs certain that he would have been successful in affecting this object, hacl nofc the interference of a private land agent (after the negotiations on the part of Government had been successfully commenced) prevented the extinguishment by. the agent of the Provincial Government of the claims of some of the loyal natives. . IV, In consequence of Mr. Vogel's communication as to. the existence of petroleum, the Superintendent was desirous of sending to the East Coast Mr. John White, who had for some time, with the sanction of the General Government, been in the service of the Provincial Government, as a Land Purchase Commissioner ; but his. engagements were such thafc ifc was impossible for him to leave the Northern District. The only gentleman available for the service was Mr. Rice, who had just come from Tauranga, where he was no longer required ; and the Superintendent made an arrangement for him. to proceed to Poverty Bay. His instructions, dated the 18 th of May, were :— « 1. , To report fully and generally on the state of the district, in reference to both native and European population ; and 2. To examine carefully the oil springs said to exist there, and to inquire into the title to the land, especially with reference to the probability of the Provincial Government being able to acquire the same. These instructions were framed expressly with the object of nofc conferring on Mr. Rice the power of concluding any purchase of land, without further instructions, as the Superintendent did not possess the sanction of the General Government to do so ; and he was unwilling to act in defiance of the 75th section ofthe Native Lands Act, 1865, or to obstruct, by any proceeding on his part, any steps which the General Government might feel ifc necessary to take for the settlement of the complicated questions which existed in reference to the Easfc Coast. Mr. Rice's first letter, after his arrival in Poverty Bay, is dated the Ist of June. He reports his arrival, and his written intention to visit the petroleum springs. On the llth, Mr. Rice reports that he has visited the springs in company with Mr. Mason (the gentleman before referred to) ; that he, has ascertained thafc the land on which they are situate has been handed over ; to Mr. M'Lean for the Government, but that some of the Queen's natives had nofc signed the document, and, amongst them, the principal owner of the springs (Henry Ruru) ; that he (Mr. Rice) had drawn out a paper assigning the land with the springs to the Provincial Government of Auckland, and thafc the, owner referred fco had signed it, and promised to obtain the signatures of the other Queen's natives; that then, were also a number of Hau Hau proprietors ; and, in addition, that the land was claimed by Morgan, the East Coast native chief, whoso claim rests on conquest. On the 13fch, Mr. Rice wrote, again, and forwarded his letter, with a sample of the petroleum .oil, by Mr. Brooks Mason. On the 15th, : Mr/Riee informed -the Superintendent that, since closing his report of the llth, Mr. Preece (of -Messrs. ' Turton and Preece)- hacl arrived in the district, and had paid to one or two natives interested in the petroleum springs £20,- obtaining their sighaturesto a document which professed to secure to his clients (an Auckland firm) the right of purchase or lease, in the evenfcof an arrangement already made with a Napier firm falling through. Mr. Rice adds that Ihe shall • remain satisfied vrith Henry

Ruru's signature until he receives further instructions. " These letters, with the sample of petroleum, were placed in the Superintendent's hands on the 26 th of June, ns he was about to embark in the steamer Wellington, to attend the General Assembly. He, therefore, took them with him, with the intention of communicating with the General Government as to the purchase of the land, and of submitting the oil for the opinion of Dr. Hector. A copy of Dr. Hector's report is transmitted herewith. After his arrival at Wellington, the Superintendent placed himself in communication with the Colonial Secretary on the subject of the East Coast lands question, and found that the Government had resolved to adopt some comprehensive measure for their settlement, but were undecided as to what that precise measure should be. The Superintendent was, therefore, unwilling, pending the decision ot the General Government, to take any further action in reference to the native title, and ordered Mr. Rice to join him at Wellington, with three or four of the principal men of the district. Mr. Rice and the natives arrived in August, and the Superintendent had several interviews with them. The result was, that he applied to the Colonial Secretary for authority to negotiate for the acquisition of the oil springs, and received permission to do so at once, pending the preparation of a formal document. A copy of the application will be found herewith. The natives were unwilling to sell, but were anxious to grant a lease, which the Superintendent consented to accept because he was desirous to keep faith, as far as possible, with Mr. Yogel, and also to secure as speedily as possible a trial of the petroleum. The terms upon which the lease was agreed to be granted were 21 years, subject to an increasing rent, with a stipulation that the rent was to commence when the oil was found, and to cease if it should prove nofc worth working. The sum of £100 was then paid to the natives as an advance on account of the rent, and this was the first and only payment they have received. The memorandum of agreement between the Superintendent and the natives is in the possession of Mr. Rice, who is still on the East Coast. These natives informed the Superintendent that there were also oil springs in the vicinity of Waiapu, and he gave Mr. Rice instructions (copy herewith) to procure a sample of the oil and specimens of the rock through which it was said to ooze, to be submitted to Dr. Hector ; and at the same time to ascertain whether the natives . were disposed to sell or lease to the Provincial Government the site of the springs, or to sell any land available for settlement. A copy of Dr. Hector's letter on the subject is sent herewith. Mr. Rice from time to time forwarded to the Superintendent reports of his proceedings (copies of these reports are transmitted herewith) till the beginning of November last, when the Superintendent sent orders to him to return to Auckland, which he did. . The result of his proceedings is stated in his report dated in the month of November, and the plans attached illustrate his description. The result is that Mr. Rice has negotiated the lease of severeal blocks of land, for the most part supposed to contain petroleum, amounting in the aggregate, according to rough -estimate, to between 30,000 and 40,000 acres ; but the condition annexed to all (except the petroleum springs at Poverty Bay, for which the Superinten-. dent himself arranged) is that the arrangements are subject to the approval of the Superintendent; that no rent is payable unless the oil springs ai*e worked on the land occupied. Small deposits have been made. The total expense incurred and charged against the Land Purchase Fund to the Ist of January, 1867, is £429 lis. Bd., including deposits, Mr. Rice's salary, and travelling expenses of himself and the natives. The Superintendent has now informed Mr. Rice that his further service will not be required after his return to Auckland, which is daily expected, and has informed the natives that he will not proceed further with the arrangements initiated until the Native Land Court shall have investigated and disposed of the questions of title, under the East Coast Land Titles Investigation Act, passed in the last session of the General Assembly. Some time after the Superintendent's return to Auckland from Wellington, in October last, Mr. Waterston and Mackelvie, of the firm of Brown,' Campbell, and Co., called on him, and stated that ifc was on their account thafc Mr. Preece had been negotiating for the oil springs. The Superintendent on this occasion became aware, for the firsfc time, that these gentlemen had any interest in the matter. They made a proposition thafc they would surrender their claims on being reimbursed all the money they had expended, but this was a proposition to which the Superintendent could not accede. Ifc was impossible for him to purchase, with public money, claims arising out of contracts which the Legislature hacl expressly declared, by the Native Lands Acfc, 1865, to be 'absolutely void. There is one important matter affecting the transactions above referred to, and several " other cases in which the pub- * lie interests are concerned, which the Superintendent deems it proper to place before the Provincial Council. The- 73rd section of the Constitution Act enacts that it shall not be lawful for any person other than her Majesty to extinguish the native title to land, but provides that that power may be delegated to the Governor or the Superintendent of any province. The 83rd section of the Native Lands Acfc, 1865, after reciting thafc 'agreements have been made or may be hereafter made, between the owners of native land, or other persons interested therein, on the one part, and officers duly authorised to enter into the same, on the other part, for the cession of native land,' enacts ' that the Governor may refer any such agreement to tbe Native Land Court, and that the Court shall, investigate the title thereto, and make order either for the completion ofthe agreement or for the apportionment of the land between the parties.'The Superintendent applied first personally, and afterwards by letter, for authority, to act under this section last named, both generally and especially, in reference to the petroleum springs ; and he received verbal authority to do so, pending (as be^ fore stated in this message) the preparation of a formal document. But on further dis-

cussion and -consideration- of -the^fliibjiie*^?? was deemed preferable,y|hd in thw perintendent .fully concurred^; devi^-^yf little as possible from the bri^iiiary practice of the Native Land 09u^;;7^tfd\ : a;ydiaujw^' was therefore inserted, at thV'-iits^ce;.:-!^:^: the Superintendent, "in the, Native Latids Act, 186$, which has i tlie .'effect of enabling . ■ Superintendents, on behalf of their respect y tive provinces, to : makejyalid' agreements; 'y with natives for the.\sale of their latida-j; jo&'X fore a certificate of title has '..been ,tesues: . but leaving the Native 'Land XCovirb yto \mf''^ vestigate and decide on'''me'l^p^'\m/7il^X j same manner as in all other cases. '; f ! As no provincial money under 'the xieW F y Audit Act of 1866 can ,be spent .^ithpui^y having been first duly appropriated for the" purpose by the Provincial Legislature, tie y powers thus conferred on the Superintend 7 dent can only be exercised subject to the^ [ control ofthe Provincial Council:. ..both Ie- ' gisiative and executive, branches of the Government must concur in authorising money,, to be spent in the purchase of native Jand. It appears to the Superintendent that; ' such a power is not only proper but requisite' for the protection of the public interests., ■" and that its undue or excessive exercise is fully guarded against. But circumstances sometimes arise when it is essential that it. should be exercised, and especially to enable the Government to secure land for roads, landing-places, ahd various other public objects. In the opinion of the Superintendent, too great facilities cannot be given in this respect, as it has become painfully obvious that where land is required' for any public purpose, private individuals (as a rule) endeavour to squeeze the uttermost farthing* from the public purse, and often do secure the most extravagant amounts. The case of the petroleum springs clearly, proves that negotiations, after being commenced on behalf of the public for the attainment of an important object, are liable to be prejudicially in terfered with, if not defeated, by zealous agents, urged forward by private interest, acting even in opposition to v the express enactments of the Legislature. And it further proves how easily public officers may become subject to the imputation . of improper motives and to personal abuse, when, in the prosecution of what they feel to be their duty to the public, they happen to come in conflict with private interests, i [. Feed. Whitakeb^ "' : Superintendent^;;^