CONFISCATED LANDS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 1786, 7 September 1866, Page 3

CONFISCATED LANDS.

report of the Select ittee of the House of liepresentatives C< ""! n tpi] t0 report on the confiscated lands "% North Island- It is signed by Mr. rrfeWard.asClmirman:- ' committee to whom was referred the * ..murine into » nil reporting on tke W ',°ut nd value of lands brought under « M ion of the New Zealand Settlements the opei» sev(iml p roc i„ m ation9 and Orders A , n, 1 issued under the said Acts, and 1,1 l °t .est mode of disposing of such as ,v,ilable for settlement, having carem». v be \L td the subject referred to them, f ff'tSn evidence, have the honor to report &i l- llo M'nmmittee have found great difficulty in ° So the extent and value of the Tl„"onic cases even the areaua matter la,ul, • »L and in all cases the number of ot v,ih''ue for sale or settlement, and the 2p W acre, have been arrived at only as * fe ati !f the confiscated bnds lying '". ,i,nrnvmce of Taranaki, your comfsK Messrs. l'arris and Carringtl,E tav supplied f«H and substantially ft and the various claims upon it. SSoSconnmrative simplicity of these ■ the case of Taranaki has been the c]n Tn of all to deal with, and yet the it «i (•lined by your committee may be correct, although nnnot be considered precise or final in fSSnR respects;-First, the total Jen of land confiscated is estimated from a t rl map of the coast. Second, the extent !a.ion Court during its approaching sip mhe due to absentee or other claimants S°be Sold. Thirdly the area whick tnnvbe thought fitting by the Government "rnito'rebelswbo may return and stirrer is uncertain. And lastly, the extent ?the land in the interior which maybe lihble for settlement within a moderate wriodnas been arrived at, in practical ignore of the facts, by an approximate calcu;tion \ rule has been followed in making L calculation, which is found not incorrect in oilier cases. Half the area of that part of ,he land which is yet unexplored, but known to be a broken and hilly country, has been taken to be of some value, and the rest to be Kklly unsaleable. In the case of the confiscated lands in the Wiikato district, in the province of Auckland vour committee have drawn the greater part'o'f tlitir inform.ition from the records of the Compensation Court, and from returns and written opinions furnished by Mr. C. lltapliv and Mr. J. Mackay. The computat:on of'tbe extent and value of these lands has ken exceedingly intricate and complex, The number of claims, both native ami European, on these lands, the variety of objects to which they must be appropriated, thediversity Of dealings which have already taken place, anil die uncertainty of future dealings, have rendered the task of your committee extremely difficult. In this case, as in that of Taranaki, the extent of the land which may prove entirely unavailable for purposes of settlement can only be regarded asaprobable conjecture; and, in addition, the area which it may be nVlit to set apart from the most available lands for the residence of former owners who have been in rebellion but may hereafter profess allegiance to the Queen, cannot be estimated by your committee on any certain basis of authority. In the case of the Tauranga district, in the province of Auckland, your committee have taken the evidence of the Superintendent of the province. Owing to the small extent of country taken by the Crown for European settlement, aud the necessity which exists for devoting almost all the available portion to the u--e »f the Militia, the extent which may be available for other purposes is merely nominal, and the final results cannot be very different from those set down by your committee.

In the case of the Bay of Plenty, or Opotiki district, the utmost uncertainty prevails. Ynur committee have been unable to obtain anv definite evidence whatever as to areas: and the deductions to be made by way of compensation to friendly natives, and grants to returning rebels, are as yet wholly undetermined. In their attempt to form an approximate calculation, your committee have assumed, from such opinions as have tan laid bef-.ire them, that there may be in the district 100,000 acres of useful land; that as about one-half the original native owners have been friendly, or neutral, onoMf of the whole land must be restored to them; that of the other half, or .10,000 acres, 2 MOO acres will be required for military settlement; and that the remaining 25,000 acres will he available for any other purpose. The block of confiscated lands within the province of Wellington will be, as your committee are informed, handed back to the loyal native owners.

lour Committee have prepared a tabulated statement, which they append to this report, ™rins the gross area of each district, the deductions mad? or to be made under the • v &noM heads of appropriation, and the apextent of the remaining available la ™. To this they have attached such ™ues as, on the evidence given, have seemed most nearly to approach a true estimate. 'our Committee have carefully considered ™t part df the order of reference which "'/eels them to report upon the best mode of oisposing „f sucll | anc j g as may be available ™ settlement. They find that the lands in aikato and Tauranga have already been "'Wised of to the province of Auckland on p a| n terms, and are therefore withdrawn ™n their consideration. No such arrangement has y et | )een com pi ete( ] as regards the ,av of Pie ;ty district, or the confiscated ' a ™ in the province of Taranaki, nor has an - v pr<>posalon the subject been submitted !5 'he consideration of your Committee. . Ile y>ld the belief that it was not in the 1 ""■ntion of the House of Representatives •it your Committee should themselves init] a plan f ( ,r disposing of these lands, and . •) refrain from themselves assuming so '^responsibility. I)tnd'V°"° winK is an al,3tract of a ta,),e aP- . I ' to the above report, shewing the /" amount of land confiscated, the amount ami the estimated value:i ■ . .

WJ* c f e of the Auckland lands there n-mer M ' M for liabilities in tarv sJtli" mptnsation to natives and to militl„:. !' rs - llnd expenses of survey, &c. In di* B l ™ , . lllc ! of Wellington 200,000 are set tohar(. i " Kbeen but it seems com J; ,'!•" &m t0 the friendly natives in and for reserves

frovincci. Total araoun Confiscated. Total amount Saleable. II Total lCstimo Value. iw a»alri Acres. Acres. •■ l:0ll,«7 «3,978 •• 1,144,300 695,705 £ 183,383 418,850 H^nHH