The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, JUNE 28, 1875.

Thames Star, Volume VII, Issue 2022, 28 June 1875, Page 2

The Evening Star. PUBLISHED DAILY AT FOUR O'CLOCK P.M. Resurrexi. MONDAY, JUNE 28, 1875.

So much has been said of late on the Tairua purchase,'and the agreement of lease alleged to have been signed the_ day before the conveyance of the fee simple to the Government, that we have not the slightest doubt people are altogether in a fog as to the present position of' affairs regarding Tairua. We know that some people begin to .imagine that their title to certain goldmining shares is endangered, and that they will Itand a very good chance of losing what money they have invested. We believe the alarm is needless. That certain rights have been alienated is, wo believe, undoubted. Regarding the Tairua Block, for instance, Messrs Seccombe and Son, "brewers, have secured tho right to all kauri timber on the block, with a lease for a number of years. If the Government "were blamed for recognising this lease we would join in the condemnation, and further, we would say let the Parliament step in and give Messrs Seccombe compensation, so that all rights may be acquired by the Government. But why seize upon this lease as a reason for raising a howl against an individual. The Government a3 well as Mr Mackay knew that the

Seccombes had a claim on the Tairua block. Moreover we aro informed—with what truth we cannot say—that Messrs Seccombe acquired the rights they now exercise during the time that Sir George Grey was Governor of the Colony, seventeen years ago. We have always held that the system of allowing direct leases and purchases between individuals and Natives was wrong in principle and mischievous in effect. The evils of the system are now beginning to be felt more directly than they were a few years ago, and this Tairua case is a very good example by which" to point a moral or adorn a tale ;" but we fail to mako out any exceptional circumstances in the case, or any that call for such strictures on the conduct of James Mackay as those which have been indulged in of late. The date of the signing of the lease to the Seccombes is given as the 24th November, 1872 —shortly before the signing of the conveyance to the Government. Thi3 is put forward in a manner .which would lead persons who do not know better to imagine that the Messrs Seccombe were newly on the seene —persons who were allowed to take advantage of the Government by completing rights which . acquired a value only through the Government transaction. Now, to show that Messrs Seccombe had rights which the Government-considered equitable—if not legal—we will give one or two extracts from parliamentary papers. The first is from a report by Mr James Mackay, junior, to the Hon. the Minister for Public Works, of date Auckland January 24, 1872—mind, ten months beforo the agreement was signed. Referring to the Tairua Block, Mr Mackay reported as follows :—

This block probably contains about 20,000 acres of unsold land, mostly of a hilly, broken character, unsuitable for settlement, but which is supposed to be auriferous. Alluvial gold has been found in two or three places, and it is reported that a"" rush " of miners from the Thames has taken place there during the last few days. The kauri timber has been sold to Messrs Seccombe and Son, who have a valuable saw mill on freehold land near the mouth of the river Tairua. I think this block can be purchased from the Natives. I have been requested to -get it surveyed, and to apply to the Native Land Court to investigate the title. In the same report Mr Mackay speaks of claims of the Seccombe class, as follows :— With reference to the vested interests i.and claims of Europeans to kauri timber, situated within the blocks of lands proposed to be purchased, some of which are held under valid leases made subsequent to the issue of certificates of title by the Native Land Court, and others by agreements made previous to t'ae issue of certificates,of title: to the lands comprised in such agreements, I would beg to recommend that in all cases where the parties are in actual possession of the timber, and do not obstruct the Government in negotiating for the purchase of the lands, that all such agreements, leases, and private interests shall be respected, and the conveyances by the Natives to the Crown shall take notice of and confirm all such reasonable and fair leases, agreements, and transactions. I would point out that the timber; trade: is <qf vital interest to the goldfieldsy and is one of great importance to the Province of Auckland, and very large capital is invested in it; and although the agreements for the acquisition of timber are not in the majority of cases strictly legal or valid, yet many of these so-called illegal agreements have been made by and with the assistance of officers of the Native [ Department. If the Government acquired the tauri timber,!it would only be destroyed by miners and bush fires. At the present time, when the kauri timber is not the property of mill owners, it is a fruitful source of discontent between the miners, Government; officers, and the Native proprietors. ; . - , ; There is one other extract, and it is valuable as showing that these leases or sales of timber rights were taken into consideration.by tlie Government. In a despatch to Mr Mackay of date 4th March, 1872, the Under Secretary of Public Works says : — ,

Mr Ormond is fully aware of the influence which' the holders of timbor rights and claims might exercise in opposition, to the sale of the lands by the Natives and the policy of respecting those claims whether legal or equitable ; but it must at the same time be borne in mind that many of the blocks on the Coromandel Peninsula have, apart from their mining value, no other value than that which their timber gives them, the right to which you state hat in many, cases been alienated arid required to be conserved. In. estimating,; the purchase money of all such blocks as have not acquired a value for mining purposes this 'liquid be taken into consideration, as the Government will have no option but to avoid interference wi'h these old arrangements wherever it is practicable to do so. . : •

From the above it will be clearly seen that the Tairua and other blocks were bought by the Government with the full knowledge that certain rights had been acquired by individuals. Tho Government therefore should bear the blame—unless rights have been granted which were never contemplated, or which "will interfere with 'the ;■ goldfield. If. Messrs Seccombe have included in their deed rights and concessions not granted to other persons who have traded directly with the Natives, the Government must set them aside. For instance, the water rights, the Government have not, as far as -we know, conceded to the Natives themselves the right to alienate streams and watercourses. They are the property of the Crown, and can be dealt with by the Crown. But it is- probable that Messrs Seccbmbe's. deed, I.whether legally or not we cannot say, provides for certain water rights for floating timber and for saw mill purposes, such as the Shortland Saw Mill Company exercise in the Kauaeranga and its tributaries, but no more. If any other rights have been granted, tho

same should be revoked by Act of the Assembly. We are glad that attention has been so forcibly called to this matter, because it will doubtless bring about some measure for remedying the flagrant evils of the land purchase system, which is iniquitous in that it allows persons of capital and influence to traffic with the Natives, while tho man of small means is practically shut out of the market. But for tho most prominent abuses of ihe system the present Government are less to blame than some of their predecessors. The Government that removed the restrictions" on land purchases and proclaimed a sort of free trade between Europeans and Natives for land, have left the Colony a legacy of debt and difficulty the effects of which wo are now beginning to experienc. The Tairua case, [it will be found, is only one amongst a number of instances of the ill effects of a bad system, tolerated by successive Governments,