NATIVE LAND LAW.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXII, Issue 57, 2 March 1912, Page 6

NATIVE LAND LAW.

TWO IMPORTANT CASES. i ' . (Per Press Association.) : ..Wellington,. March Ist. An interesting 2>oint in native land law was'argued before the Chief Justice to-day (Sir Robert Stout), when the Solicitor-General proceeded to obtnin a| declaratory judgment as to .whether, tinder the Native Land Act", 19Q9, Certain land, required for road purposes, might be taken without payment of compensation. The defend; ants in the action were Henry Bernard Cave and Aubrey Oldknow Cave, of Wanganui, owners of the land, and William Edgar Smith and Thdmai? *s& lison, of Wanganui, mortgagees;'-' •* The land in question was known as Tunuharere D Block and Te Korito Block, Section IXI, Waipakura Sur- ! vey" District. It was originally vested in the natives of New Zealand 'by the 'Native Land Court, the certificates of title being dated February 14, 1867, and March 1, 1867, respectively, and was subsequently comprised in Crown grants dated April 2, 1867, and October 24, 1867, under the Native Lands Act, 1865 and 1866. A similar case, was'i'that in which Zoe Louisa Smith, owner, and A. W. Owens, clerk in Holy Orders, njortgagee, and Claude Edgar Ohurton Smith, of Wanganui, tenant, proceeded against the Solicitor-General to obtain an answer to a similar question. The land in this case was originally vested in the:natives under a memorial of ojvrnership dated (February 8,. 1879, and;under the Native Ljind Act, 1873, but' was "now s .compriscd, in.,,a : certificate! of title in lieu of grant.

In the flatter., case it ; .was, contend-, ; ed that Spiith'had been erititfed to a ! land; transfer .title,...but.had j&gt made applica;tion*Tor M nor^obTa^ne3"c6hfirm'aCtfoh Ipf 'his rights until 1898. Now, if tHe : interpretation placed by the Solicitor-General on the Statute were Correct,..he and the other plaintiffs would be in the position of losing by retrospective legislation the right they had acquired. 1 Mr J. W. Salmon, Solicitor-General, 'appeared in perstin ,ftl each" c'ase, a fid •Mr H.,J. Treadwell represented each of the o|ipo^fHg / 'pd);tjes His Honor reseWed' his , : decision.' "'*"'' j i i ~' ■