AKAROA.

Lyttelton Times, Volume III, Issue 142, 24 September 1853, Page 5

AKAROA.

We have been requested to publish the following memorial, which has been signed, with very few exceptions, by every British resident of Akaroa and its neighbourhood. To His Honor James Edward FitzGerald, Esq., Superintendant of the Province of Canterbury. The memorial of the undersigned inhabitants of Akaroa, and its neighbourhood, Sheweth, That your memorialists have learned, on tuithority which they cannot doubt, that the government has resolved to make a grant of land, to the extent of 2650 acres, to George Hempelman, in consideration of a pretended purchase alleged to have been made from the natives before the colonization of these Islands; and that Colonel Campbell, the Commissioner of Crown Lands, has instructed the Government Surveyor to layout the said grant of land in four or more blocks, in and round the harbour of Akaroa, inclusive of sections which have been sold and conveyed by the Canterbury Association, under the authority of an Act of the Imperial Parliament ; and which are now, arid were before the investigation into Hampelman's claim, in the legal possession of the respective purchasers. That the claim set up by Hempelman, so far as could be gathered from the very loose and confused manner in which it was investigated by Colonel Campbell, was to this effect :—That in 1839, or thereabouts, Hempelman, who then had charge of a whaling station at Piraki, purchased from Tuawaiki, better known by the name of Bloody Jack, a tract of country extending from Flea Bay to the corner of the ninetymile Beach, and running fifteen miles inland, and gave in payment a boat, or vessel, the estimated value of which they cannot remember, but which they think was £60 or £100; and that he, Hempelman, gave another boat to the said chief, to save the'life of a boy of a hostile tribe whom Tuawaiki's party intended to kill, .and to which latter circumstance the Commissioner seemed to attach considerable importance. That the real history of the transaction, as far as your memorialists have been able to learn, is this :—Hempelman, according to the lawless manner of the time, had headed up a boy of Tuawaiki's tribe in a cask, as punishment for some trifling offence ; and Tuawaiki, having heard of the outrage, came with a gang of natives to obtain satisfaction, and seized the boat in. question as utu. Peace was then restored, and Hempelman turned it to account by asking Tuawaiki to give him a piece of land, and Tuawaiki, having no objection to give what did not belong to him, very readily signed a scrap of paper, hastily drawn up by some one of the illiterate band of whalers, and which has since been dignified by the name of a deed of sale.— The story about the boat given to save the boy's life is true, with this exception, that all the Europeans on the station subscribed to pay for it, and that Hempelman rather gained than lost by the transaction, as he charged his own price for it, and deducted the amount from the men's wages. . Your memorialists have further been given to understand that the same tract of land, claimed to have been so purchased by Hempelman, actually was purchased from" the natives previously, by a Mr. Clayton, on whose account Hempelman conducted the whaling station at Piraki ; that Mr. Clayton sold his claim to Messrs. Cooper and Holt, which firm was identified with, or afterwards became, that of Rhodes and Co. ; that in 1842 or 43 Colonel Godfrey came to Akaroa as Commissioner appointed to investigate into claims in virtue of alleged purchases from natives ; that Mr. Schultz submitted this claim on behalf of Rhodes and Co. ; and that failing to substantiate his case, it was dismissed ; that Hempelman either the next day or very soon afterwards, submitted his claim for the same land, and that Colonel Godfrey at once rejected it on the ground that Hempelman had himself given evidence in favour of Rhodes' claim ; and that Colonel Godfrey gave public notice that the time for the recection of claims was limited to a year ; so that if Hempelman did not submitt his claim, he ought to Jiave done so. Your memorialists further beg leave to represent that even if the alleged sale had been a bonafde transaction, still it was executed by a person who had himself no claim to the land.— Tuawaiki was a resident of the island of Rabuka

in Foveaux's Straits, and never had any authority or claim to ownership in this part fof the island, beyond that which his lawless band gave him for the time being, when moving about on his predatory excursions. The real and principal chief in and about this part of the country was and is Tuawa, now alive ; and he has informed one of your memorialists that he never sold any land to Hempelman, but that Helpelman had agreed to give him a keg of gunpowder each year, for permission to establish his whaling station at Piraki : and that he had never received more than the first year's utu. That evidence might have been brought forward to prove most, if not all, the foregoing particulars if Colonel Campbell had had any disposition to conduct his investigation in an impartial and equitable spirit ; but that so far. from having any such disposition, when one of your memorialists required him to hear evidence against Hempelman's claim, he refused to do so, unless your ssid memorialist should first pay him a fee of five pounds, and put himself to the expense and trouble of procuring the attendance of the witnesses.

That the investigation was conducted throughout in the most loose, informal, and one-sided manner : that Hempelman himself (certainly the most important witness) was never examined at all, that no evidence was produced, save the dirty scrap of paper before described, and two illiterate witnesses, members of Hempelman's old whaling establishment, whose recognition of the signature could be but imperfect, even if no feeling of old association rendered their evidence suspicious. That no native witness whatever was examined, though Tuawa was at the time in the immediate neighbourhood, and that Colonel Campbell never thought it necessary to ascertain whether Tuawaiki belonged to this part of the Island, or had any claim to chieftainship or ownership in it. That the whole tract of country claimed to have been purchased by Hempelman was also purchased from the natives by the Nanto-Bor-delaise Company, and that it was open for sale under that company ; that Crown grants have been issued for all lands so sold by that company, and that if the whole land had been so sold, crown grants would have been issued for the whole : and that it appears strange to your memorialists that the validity of sales effected by a company which had itself no legal existence or title, should be recognized by the Commissioner, while he denies the validity of sales effected by the Canterbury Association, under the authority of an Act of the Imperial Parliament. That in the investigation of claims of this nature your memorialists believe that the interests of the Crown, which are likewise those of the public, should be considered, as well as the interests of the claimant ; and that it is directly contrary to the interests of the Crown and of the public that so large a proportion of the most valuable land in and around the harbour should be recklessly bestowed on a man who, even if his own story can be believed, only gave an old boat for his claim. That the ordinance under which the Commissioner professes to have investigated Hempelman's claim (Session I. No. II.) is extinct ; its operation being limited by the 2nd paragraph of clause 5, to twelve months after the date of its enactment, viz : the 9th of June, 1841. That even the provisions of this very Ordinance, under which the Commissioner professes to have acted, have been violated by him. — j Clause 6 requires the Commissioner to ascertain the value of the consideration given, and to set forth the number of acres which such payment would be equivalent to according to the rates fixed in the schedule ; the rate fixed in the schedule for the year 1839, the date of the pretended purchase, is from four to eight shillings. Taking the average, oi 6 shillings per acre, the amount of acreage would fall very far short of the quantity awarded by the Commissioner. That such of your memorialists as are proprietors of land conveyed by the Canterbury Association, will not attempt to strengthen their case by pretending that they fear the result of Colonel Campbell's reckless disregard of their titles ; on the contrary, they are well aware that he can only legally eject them by means of a process in the Supreme Court ; and before a judge, accustomed to sift and estimate the weight of evidence they have nothing- to fear ; but although satisfied of the legality and validity of their titles, they are not the less anxious to avoid the expense and vexation which may be

heaped upon them by a man who, in resorting to litigation,will calculate on being indemnified by the government, and who will consequently have no pecuniary interest at stake. That your memorialists would not object to a fair and impartial investigation of Hempelman's claim, nor of a reasonable compensation being awarded him, if he should be fairly proved^ to be entitled to it; but such of your memorialists as are proprietors of land do protest against any attempt at infringement of their rights ; and they all protest most strongly against the reckless appropriation of so large a proportion of the most valuable land in the Peninsula, which the Imperial Legislature has so graciously placed under the control of the General Assembly, for the benefit of the entire community.

For all these reasons your memorialists respectfully pray that your Honor will take such steps as may be necessary to restrain Colonel Campbell from carrying out the instructions he has issued, and, if necessary, procure a fresh investigation of Hempelman's claim, by a competent and impartial Commissioner.

In conclusion, your memorialists disclaim all intention to reflect on the conduct of the Government in any of the foregoing remarks ; they are well aware that the Government have no other means of judging of the merits of the question than such as are afforded by Colonel Campbell's one-sided reports ; and that it cannot have had the same opportunities that a two years' personal experience has given to most of them, of estimating the utter incompetency of the individual against whose proceedings they respectfully protest.

And your memorialists shall ever pray, Akaroa, 10th September, ] 853.