The Taranaki Herald. NEW PLYMOUTH, SEPTEMBER 7, 1853.

Taranaki Herald, Volume II, Issue 58, 7 September 1853, Page 2

The Taranaki Herald. NEW PLYMOUTH, SEPTEMBER 7, 1853.

Our readers will have observed in our last issue an advertisement from the Crown I Land Commissioner, declaring that Rural Lai.d in this Province, included within Hundreds, will, on and after the sth instant, be made available to the wants of the settlem. Nt under the General Land Regulations of the 4th Match last. It is also undeislood that a new bock of land has been ptitchascd, extending fiom the Una to the Waiwaikaiho ; and that there is a probability of other lands being early acquired in the same diiection. The way in which the lands at present obtained, and al-o that which may hereaftei be acquired, arc to be made available is now occupying much of the public attention ; and is, indeed, matter of se.ious consideration to the settlcis in this Province. An iinptesiion appeals to be abtoad that the outstanding claims for land on the Com" pany or the Government — they must now be considcied identical — are piivilegcd to take precedence of all < 'Jitsr applications in the si qncnee pr^ic- Led by the old formula. We appichfnJ t!)<r ti.is impicssion h allogclhci riioncou', and that it will be found tint all lands in possession, or to be acquned, will be open to a'l alike — claimant? or non claimants — under the General Land Regulations above lefi'ired to. Those Regulations pi escribe certain modes of application, and the conditions to which applicants will be bound, these vaiying with the character of the land applied for. And in the (ith section of the same legislations it is delaied that " The scrip to be issued in satisfaction of claims under land oriiera of the New Zealand Company, shall be t.ikin in payment for town and 'lUbuiban latid nt the nominal value of such scrip in pounds sterling." And "In the puichtise of Ruial Land the scrip shall be taken at such a vatic that one pound i, t scrip lepresent the up»et price, oi fixi.il piice, as the case may he, of one acie of Rural I and at the dale when the sc lp ma y be tendeird at the Ticasuty ; and fur the jTolcclion of the scriphol lets, this rule sh.il] equally prevail if the general price of countiy land throughout the colony "-lia.il at any time be raised ; Provided always, that in the purchase of all Rural Lands within the limits of Hundreds, and of such Rural Lands within the limits of llundieds, and of such Ruinl Lands outside the limits of Hundreds as may be put up to auction, or sold at a fixed piice undci clans s 1) and 11 of these llcjulations, one pound in scrip sha'l rcpnsent its nominal value of one pound sterling, except where such fixed or lips-it price is lower than one pound pei acre, in which case it sha'l represent such lower pnee only." Me ie theie is a settled value put on all or any of the s( cm Hies held by the public for their clai.ns on the Company or the Government; and the other sections of the Regulations piesciibe ihe general rules to 1 c observed in making applications. There aie no reservations in favour of the holder' of stcuiitics made ; they must be understood as going to the choice of land on equal terms with the rest. And the provision for those claims as above stated must be understood as clearly bringing all such transactions within the general scope of the previous sections of the Proclamation. It may be objected, that although those who

have accepted Government scrip in exchange for their securities on the Company, may have concluded t hemselven, that with those who have rejected all change of secuuiH) the case is far different. We are inclined to think that this objeciion will be found but a reed to rest on. In the Crown Commissioner's last advertisement, applicants are reminded that at the time of making application for land they will be required to deposit the price of the land in cash, or Now Zea'and Company's land ordeu; and that this vvis the intention of the framers of the Proclamation may be clearly seen by r< ference to the 6th section of the Proclamation above given. There is clearly an intention to meige all the outstanding c'aims in a new species of sreurity, on which, and necessarily upon those s curities for which it is to be exchanged, a value is put as dcsciibcd. This view of the Regulations was also taken by the opponents of the Land Regulations in the Injunction case. Mr. Sewell in his application staled amongst other unfulfilled contracts of the Company, one was " that land should not be sold in the Company's settlements at less than £l per acre." " That the plaintiff was the holder of three land orders one selected, one nnselected, and one compensation scrip Thit the p'aintiff claimed in nspect of stie.li un elected lan" older a light of selection over the Kind which the Government might bell under the lecent Regulations, and the effect of these j legulationt would be to leduce the value of the land selected by him," &c. Those proceedings were inoperative ; and the Proclamation and the Regulations it promulgated stand, nnd will have the force of law until altered l>y the Geivral Assembly. That some alterations may be engrafted on the m ; that the power of dealing with the land will ultimately be vested in other hiinds than those of the General As. senibly is piobab'e ; but that the most essential ingredient of those Regulations, viz., the opening of the lands of the colony lo the wants of the several settlements without let or hit.diancc, will lie qualified or compiomised by any act of the General Legislatuie without the pa'e of probability.

An event of more than common interest is appoint, d to take place to- Jay. The keel of a .schooner of 100 tons will be laid at Moturoa. Mr. Rijntiu: Mid two or three other enteip ising individual have originated this undertaking, which is calculated to enli-t the best wi lies of the people of New Plymouth. The vessel is to be 58 feet long, with 19 lict 11 inches extreme breadth of beam. She is to be built of Rata, Puriri, and Miro. The deck planking is lo be of Whitu Pine. It will probably require 8 or 9 months to complete her. She is intended for the coasting trade of these settlements, and for trips between New Zealand and Australia.

By the Overland Mail from Wellington we have received files of the Spectator and Independent to the 20th ultimo The elections were nearly all completed, and it is said that the results show a large array of liberal members. The Governor left Wellington for the North, on the 18th ultimo. The Spectator has the following notice of his Excellency's departure:— " On Thursday his Excellency Sir Geo. Grey left Wellington on his journey through the interior to Auckland. His Excellency went on board the Government Brig, which would land him on the coast road noar Palliser Bay, from whence he will pioceed to the Wairarapa to acquire that district from the Natives for the set-

tiers, and so with other districts on his route to the North. We fear the settlers have bid Their last adieus to Sir George — it n:ll be long before they look upon his equal." The following official announcement of the election of the Superintendent of this Piovince is from the Government Gate tie of the 15th ult.:— "Civil Secretary's Office, Wellington, 3rd August, 1853. " His Excellency the Governor directs it to be notified for general information that a Writ for the Election of a Superintendent of the Province of New Plymouth having been issued in accordance with the provisions of an Act to grant a Representative Constitution to the Colony of New Zealand, the Principal Returning Officer for the nfores,tid Province has returned the said Writ with a certificate to the effect that the undermentioned gentleman has been duly elected to seive as Superintendent for the Province of New Plymouth, ) Charles Brown, Esquirk, of the Town of New Plymouth, in the Province of Niw Plymouth, Engineer. % his Exc.llency's command, Alfred Domett, Civil Secretary. The Gazelle of the 29th July last lus the t following announcement of instruction* to the lie.ids of departments in [la Province of Wellington • — Civil , J emtar\'s Office, Wellington, '29- ll July 1853His Excellency the Goveenor di eels it to be notified for general information that fr..m and after the Ist day of August next, the heads of the undermentioned Departments of the Establishments of the late Proviucc of New Minister will receive their instructions fn.m and make all their reports to his Honor U o Superintendent of the Piovii cc of Wellington :: — • The Officeri in tho Colonial Secretary's Depirtme t. The Officers in the Provincial Council's Di ptrtnipiit. The Officers in the She.iff's Department. The Officers in the Resident Magistrate's Depirtim-nl ii the Town of Wellington. The Oflicrrs in the Police Department. The Officer in tlio Mulical Department, The Oflicei s in the Public Woiks and Itoadi. The Inspector of Sheep and Slaughter Uousci. Isy his F xcellency's command, Alfred Domltt, Civil Secretary. Tlie "Cornwall," and the "Admiral GrenMl" had arrived at Port Nicholson from England. The Independent of the 1 3th ult. has the following : — " It is now known as a positive fact that Lord Lyttelton has been appointed Governor in Chief of New Zealand in place of Sir G. Grey, and his Lordships's airival may he expected here at the very farthest in a day ot two." The Gazelle of the 15th ult. contains a notification to the effect that all officers engaged in the Customs in New Zealand thai} for the future wear during hours of business, and while on duty, an undress uniform, the pattern of which is also set forth and described,