The Taranaki Herald. NEW PLYMOUTH, APRIL 20. 1953.

Taranaki Herald, Volume I, Issue 38, 20 April 1853, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. NEW PLYMOUTH, APRIL 20. 1953.

By the Overland Mail from Wellington we have received our files of the Spectator ond Independent ; the former to the 2nd inst., and the latter to the 3 1st ult., from which we make some extracts ; but, they contain little English news we were not previously in possession of, and the other contents are purely of local interest, except in one particular, viz. : the discussion of the recent land sales regulations.

The objections to this measure which we hinted at in a recent number have assumed a definite shape. An injunction had been applied for in the Supreme Court at Wellington " to restrain the Commissioner of Crown Lands from" received applications, and from selling land under the recent proclamation and regulationi," and was granted by the judge of that court.

The injunction appears to have been granted exparte, and from the report of the case which will be found in another column an application had been made on' the pan of the defendant, and leave given to move to dissolve the injunction for irregularity on certain grounds, which raoti«wp|||Mb£. heard on the sth inst.

Whatever may be the result oljp motion to set aside the injunction, tiff merits which have not yet, it shou|jW!flem, been gone into, would still remaj*rto be tried, anil it is these and .the probable ultimate results nlone that can be profitably canvassed. - J

That the promulgation of the regulations lias been untimely it is difficult to deny, but, that the injunction obtained will be sustained on a 'hearing on tbo merits, must be considered more than doubtful — the application made to rescind it for irregularity can only be viewed as a laving time step, pend • ing the return of bit Excellency : whether dissolved or sustained on this second motion the principal point will doubtless undergo further consideration.

In coming to the conclusion that an injunction should issue, his Honor is made to doubt whether there had been any delegation by the Crown of power to alter the price of land, or that a delegation of such a power bad ever been contemplated ; and again that any power short of the legislative power could make such regulations valid.

Notwithstanding all the complications which surround the question as at present presented, and the opinion of the learned functionary who has for the time decided the point, we cannot help considering the act to be entirely within the powers with which the Governor ia invested, howeve r injudicious and ill-timed the publication of these regulations may be.

If any doubt existed as to the delegation of the powers of the Crown under the new act to his Excellency, a reference to the 10th paragraph oC Sir j/Pakington's despatch on the Land Claimant's Ordinance, must be taken to set the point at rest, anj explains as well the fact of delegation, na the contemplated extent of the powets made over, The passage is as follows—

" If you think it advisable (in concurrence with the general feeling of the set 4 tiers) to exercise this power, I apprehenfl that the regulations respecting the pricelß land contained in the New Zealand Cjt^p pany's terms of purchase would fall of themselves, and the instructions as to the sale of hind, which are in force in the rest of the colony, would at once takeiffect within the settlements. Fuither, tho 72nd section of the new Constitutional Act invests the General Assembly with a power wholly unrestricted (except as regards Canterbury and Otago) of " legulating the sale, letting^diaposal, mid occupation of the Waslfljj&ids of the Crown in New Zealand." AmHrne proviso contained in the same section, taken conjointly with the 791h section declares that, until otherwise enacted by the Genera) Assembly, tlu same powers shall be exercised by thfc Crown, or tlio Governor if duly authorised by the Crown. It follows that under the authority conveyed to you in my despatch of the 16th instant, enclosing the Constitutional Act, you will be at liberty to make such regu'ations generally throughout New Zealand for tbe disposal of land during tbe short interval which/may elapse, until tbe awembling of the new Legislature, as you may think advisable ; nor can I foresee any legal difficulty in regard to the mode of dealing with crown Landi, which these very large powers will not enable you to overcome."

The 72nd clause of the new act vests in tbe General Assembly the power subject to

the provisions therein contained to make laws for regulating the sale, letting, disposal, and occupation 6f waste lands of the crown'in New Zealand ; and concludes with a proviso that " until the said General Assembly shall otherwise enact, it shall be Jawful for her Majesty to regulate such sale letting*, disposal, and occupation by instructions to be issued under the signet and sign manual." And the 79th clause empowers Her Majesty by letters patent or " instructions under Her Majesty's signet and sign manuel, or signified through one of Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State to delegate to the Governor any of the powers hereinbefore reserved to Her Majesty for the regulation of the sale, letting, disposal, and occupation of waste lands," &c, &c.

It would seem therefore that, whatever powers the General Assembly would possess under the new constitution, all those powers in respect of tbe point in] question, vested in the Governor by delegation from the crown pending the election of that body.

In another column will be found a communication made by the eminent ship-builders Messrs. Money Wigram & Sons of London to the Governor-in- Chief of tliis colony for the purpose of organising systematic arrangements for the regular transmission of emigrants from England to this settlement. We have the more pleasure in calling attention to this important subject that we observe an advertisement in the Wellington papers from Messrs. Bowler, Son, and Co. as agents for Messrs. Wigram & Son announcing that they are ready to receive applications from the friends of persons in England, who wish to obtain passages in any of the vessels despatched by the above parties to follow the Minerva and other first class ships*

We receive also by this mail another important piece of intelligence, namely, that two steam vessels have been, or are to be immediately despatched by Messrs. Willis and Co., to trade between the settlements, and if the promise contained in the following paragraph one of the most important requhements of the colony is about to be supplied ; and goes to prove that the colony is likely speedily to reap the advantages which must necessarily flow Be employment of so much influence, and energy, in a movement so imto its progress.

|F«s^eam. — We are very glad to be able to state that there is every prospect of the speedy establishment of Steam Communication between the different settlements of New Zea'and. We understand that Messrs. Qethune and Hunter have received advices from Messrs. Willis and Co. to the effect that two steamers have been purchased by them for this purpose, which may be expected in June or July next, and that a gentleman, who will act as their agent for the management of Steam Communication, is a passenger in the Cashmere to Auckland, and is charged with making the necessary arrangements for carrying out their plans. The colonists are greatly indebted to the enterprising firm of Messrs. Willis and Co., for affording them so great a benefit as the establishment of Steam Communication between the different settlements, and we hope that the advantages in a commercial point of view to Messrs. Willis and Co. will prove as great as those which the colony will receive from their public spirited undertaking ."—Spectator, March 23.

A PtAYHJi. Home.— • '• Ii your hone perfectly gentle, Mr. Trotter I" " Perfectly gentle, sir ; the only fault be bat got— if that bo a fault— i§ the playful manner of extending tho hinder hooft now and then." "By extending the hinder hooft you dont mean kicking, I hope?" Some people call it kicking, Mr. Green, bat it Is only a alight reaction of the rauiclei— » disease rather than • vice," Exit Mr. Green, whittling.

The authorities of New Plymouth have is* sued ifgulations respecting the new registration, to which we call intention. The claims must be made out, and delivered at the Police Office on or before the 15th day of May next. 4fter which and on or before the 15th day of June the list of claims will be made out and published, and notice given that all objections thereto, will bo heard and determined on a day to be therein specified, which is not to be more thna one calendar month after the dale of such notice, and nil objections are to be made in writing and delivered to the Resident Ma-

gistrate ten days at least before the day appointed.

By the 1 5th clause of the new Constitution Act, the first writs for the election of members to the Provincial Council, are to be issued not later than six calendar months next Utter the Proclamation of the act in New Zealand. The Proclamation is dated the 17th of January.

Tuesday Morning. It is now a fortnight since the last vessel which arrived here— the Camilla — was relieved of her cargo, and from that time, the unburied, and of course, decomposing carcase of a horse which died on being landed, has been permitted to infect the air of the landing place. A barque, supposed to be a vessel from England, has been sighted this morning, and should the supposition prove correct, probably brings passengers for this place ; and it cannot but greatly reflect on our police authorities that such a nuisance should be permitted to remain without notice. If the public health is not considered worth caring for to this extent, for the sake of public decency and the character of the settlement, we trust the new arrivals may be spared the disgusting sight.

We have leceived intelligence, by private communication from Whanganui, that Mr. McLean was to leave that place for New Plymouth, on the 11th instant. His intended flrouQwas to be up the Whanganui river, aiT3 from thence to cross over the country to Waitara. He may therefore be looked for daily. We presume the object of his visit is to terminate the arrangement for the purchase of land on the eastern bauk of the Waiwakaihq,

Tub New "Zealander referring to an article in the Wellington Independent on the subject of a despatch of Sir G. Grey's, respecting the Company's debt, observes :--

" When His Excellency declares that the arrangement he suggests — or any arrangement whatever by which the colony was to be saddled with the debt — " would be satisfactory to the inhabitants of this country, and would afford a complete and easy solution of the whole difficulty ;" and when, again, he assigns as a reason why such an arrangement would be unobjectionable, that " the colony receives from the Company so considerable a tract of land "—he makes statements which it is impossible to reconcile with notorious facts except by supposing that he has adopted the phraseology which the Company's advocates look good care to stereotype for their own purposes, and has spoken of the colony and the Company's Settlements as convertible or synoninious terms. It may be quite true that New Muaster will derive benefit from the lands surrendered to it by the Company, and may therefore be equitably called onto make some compensation for these lan<?- ;— indeed so far as we have been able to understand the mind of our Southern friends from their newspaper articles, and speeches at public meetings, they are themselves willing to adroit the existence of such a right on the part of the Company, and only urge

that before the amount of compensation ib finally determined there should he a searching inquiry into the Company's expenditure and receipt* no as to ascertain what the real claims of justice are. Had the Governor therefore confined himself to an assertion of what would be justifiable or satisfactory as respects the settlers of New Monster, his statements might have been borne out by public opinion — at all events, we should scarcely have felt called upon to pass judgment upon them.' 1

The article concludes with the following paragraph, which wo do not doubt to ceo carried out to the letter—

" It merits serious consideration how fur the effect of such an incorrect vi w of the leelmgs of tho colonists of New Ulster o» this subject, coming from so high n quaiter, can be counteracted by judicious steps. The petitions of lait year, and the coinmuniottioiM tif various kinds which accompanied them, have not, we are persuaded, been without their influence jH home ; but under tho New Constitution Act it will rest with the General Assembly to propose such alterations as may modify that Act; and we trust there can be no doubt that one of the earliest steps of the RepresentaiiveVof the people ol the North, whether in Provincial or in the General Assembly, will bo in opposition to the Company's debt. But, besides what may be anticipated in this way, it would be very desirable that llie hands of tho Councils should be strengthened by n Public Daclarnlion whloh migtit be signed by iho people of New Uliter universally, seeing that fnm the Execu'Wc Council down to the humblest labourer all nre united in hostility to tho infliction of any portion of tho debt on the Northern Province. The declaration should meet tbo objectionable passages in the Despatch with an explicit reiteration of the views embodied in the petitions of last year, and (he miewnl of a pledge before tho colony nnd cm. pire to tlrugglo to the utmost limits of legal resistonce against Iho monstrous injustice of charging this fraudful claim on New Ulster."