CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MR. BUSBY AND THE GOVERNMENT OF NEW ZEALAND.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1869 Session I, D-24

D.—No. 24

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MR. BUSBY AND THE GOVERNMENT OF NEW ZEALAND.

Return to an Order of the House of Representatives, of the 22nd day of July, 1869. That there be laid on the Table of this House —" The Correspondence between Mr. Busby and the Government, from the Ist June, 1869." (Mr. Clark.)

WELLINGTON. 1869.

D.—No. 24.

No. 1. Copy of a Letter from Mr. J. Busby to the Hon. E. W. Stafford. Sib,— "Wellington, 10th June, 1869. I have the honor to enclose herewith a scheme for the settlement of my case which was suggested by Messrs. Clark and Macffarlane, and to which I earnestly beg your early and particular attention. It was proposed to the Superintendent of Auckland by Mr. Macffarlane, who informed me that he was not able to prevail upon him and Mr. Creighton to agree to it. The following are the circumstances :—Having accidentally met Mr. Macffarlane at the lodgings of Mr. Clark, I was informed by these gentlemen that they had been discussing my case, and that they wished that some compromise could be agreed to, in order to prevent the matter from becoming a political question as it did last Session. They invited me to tell them my views. I replied that the sum of £36,800 had been awarded to me, and that it could not be expected that I should be satisfied with less than that sum, as the Province had received my property to the amount of between £50,000 and £60,000. That as a majority of the Provincial Council had indorsed the action taken by the Superintendent in placing the lands of the Province, having any value, not only beyond the reach of tho scrip, and thereby rendering it useless, but in so disposing of a great part of the land as to place it out of the power of the General Assembly to recover it, there appeared to be no other alternative than the payment of the debt in money or debentures ; that fortunately the increase of the Provincial Eevenue had been so great since the last Session of the Assembly* that the Province could well afford to pay the debt in money, and thus not only get over the difficulty which the Select Committee of the last Session had experienced in finding the means to do me justice, without encroaching on the funds of the Colony, but enable the Superintendent to attain the objoct which he had in view in withdrawing from sale all the lands previously offered, and which he explained in the following words, viz. : —" He (Mr. Williamson) had taken the step he had done to save the lands intrusted to his keeping for those immigrants who had already arrived in the Province, or were coming out under the Act of the last session of this House ;" and he added " that he had not taken the course he did with a view of depriving Mr. Busby of a single advantage which he had derived from the award." f Mr. Clark referred to my having told him that I had offered to take some out-of-the-way blocks of land which were not likely to be soon required for settlers, and asked whether I would now be willing to take those blocks ? I replied in the affirmative, upon which he took a pencil and noted down the particulars which amounted to about £9,000. I stated that on receiving the lands thus referred to and the remainder either in money or debentures bearing interest, I should give up Provincial Government all the land at Ngunguru, and all that remained unsold at Wangarei, saying as much as would cover the expense of the survey ; although I had the best advice that my legal title to that land was not impaired by the fact which now appeared that there was a difference of opinion between the Arbitrators as to the effect of the award. I now, Sir, respectfully submit, for the consideration of the Government, whether it is not more fitting that any Bill which may be brought in for the purpose of dealing with the case should emanate from tho Government, rather than from a private Member, seeing that, as was stated in the House, the question is one more affecting the relations of the General Legislature to the Provincial Authorities than to myself, and seeing also that it is necessary to vindicate the signature of Her Majesty's Bepresenta'tive, 'and the Legislature of the Parliament of the Colony, from the dishonor which has been cast upon them. I have, &c, The Hon. E. W. Stafford, Colonial Secretary. James Busby.

Enclosure in No. 1. Scheme of Settlement, as suggested by Messrs. Clack and Macffablane, and proposed by the latter to Superintendent. 1. All the lands of Ngunguru to be given up to the Provincial Government. 2. All the lands remaining unsold at Wangarei and Waipu to be given up to the Provincial Government; saving as much as will meet the expenses of the survey, about £500, in such surveyed allotments as may be found suitable; or, if in the unsurveyed land, in pieces of not less than 100 acres. 3. In regard to the sum of £36,800 awarded as special damage. To be paid in cash, £5,000; in debentures bearing interest at 5 per cent, at 1, 2, 3, and 4 years, £20,000.

* The increase on the last December and January quarters, over the previous corresponding quarters, amounted to no less than £43,719. t See Hansard, 2nd September, 1868, p. 114.

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MR. BUSBY AND THE GOVERNMENT OF NEW ZEALAND.

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MR. BUSBY

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4. A first selection of land in pieces of not less than 1,000 acres from the following blocks, viz. : — Mokau ... ... ... ... ... ... 5,000 acres Piako 8,000 „ Mata Mata ... ... ... .... ... 3,000 „ 16,000 acres £8,000 5. Parnell allotments ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,025 6. Land to be selected in pieces of not less than 500 acres, from the Tokatoka Block at Kaipara, from the Block at Wangarei, and from the Bay of Islands, in all 5,550 acres ... ... ... ... ... ... .'.. 2,775 % . £36,800 James Busby.

No. 2. Copy of a Letter from Mr. J. Busby to the Hon. E. W. Stafford. Sic,— Wellington, 16th June, 1869. Eeferring to my letter of the 10th instant, and the scheme of settlement therein proposed, I have the honor to inform you that in addition to Messrs. Clark and Macffarlane, the following Auckland Members have authorized me to use their names as agreeing to the proposed compromise, which they consider reasonable and fair to the Province, viz., Messrs. Ball, Earmer, Carleton, Swan, and Eussell. These seven form a majority of the Eepresentatives of the Province of Auckland, exclusive of the Superintendent and Members of his Executive Council. Other Members have expressed themselves as favourable to the scheme so far as regards myself, but object to it as considering that the Colony and not the Province should be held liable. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary. James Busby.

No. 3. Copy of a Letter from Mr. J. Busby to the Hon. W. Eox. g IE Wellington, Ist July, 1869. I trust you will excuse my anxiety that your Government should give its early attention to my case, and deal with it with as little delay as possible. I have the honor to refer you to my letters of the 10th and 16th ultimo, by which you will perceive that a compromise was suggested by two of the Auckland Members of the House of Eepresentatives which was subsequently agreed to by five others. May I be allowed to suggest that the proposed compromise should form the basis of a Bill to provide for the settlement of the claim in cash or debentures. The difficulty which stood in the way of a settlement last Session of providing the means out of Provincial funds being now removed by the increase of the revenue of the Province of Auckland, which was so great that the whole sum awarded for special damage might be paid out of the excess of the revenue during the last December and March quarters over the corresponding quarters of the previous year, and leave a balance of about £7,000 in favour of the Province. I have, &c, The Hon. W. Fox, Colonial Secretary. James Busby.

No. 4. Copy of a Letter from the Hon. W. Gisbokne to Mr. J. Busby. ("No 510 ) Colonial Secretary's Office, Sic,— Wellington, 6th July, 1869. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Ist instant, referring to your land claims, and to state that the Government will offer no objection to the adoption of a compromise of the kind mentioned by you, provided that compromise be agreed to by His Honor the Superintendent of the Province of Auckland, and a majority of the Members of the House of Representatives from Auckland. I have, &c, "VV. GrISBOEJjTE James Busby, Esq., Wellington. (for the Colonial Secretary).

No. 5. Copy of a Letter from Mr. J. Busby to the Hon. W. Fox. Sib,— Wellington, Bth July, 1869. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 6th instant informing me that " the Government will offer no objection to the adoption of a compromise of the kind mentioned by me, provided that compromise be agreed to by His Honor tho Superintendent of the Province of Auckland and a majority of the Members of the House of Eepresentatives from Auckland." I beg to say that' unless the influence of the Government should prevail to bring about such an agreement, so far as regards the Superintendent, there is no hope of its being effected; as it

AND THE GOVERNMENT OE NEW ZEALAND.

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is understood that he and several other Auckland members hold it to be their duty to the Province to use every means in their power to prevent the settlement of this debt from becoming a Provincial charge, though not disputing its validity. Under such circumstances I trust I may be allowed to request the serious attention of the Government to the words of the award which appear to me to impose upon the Government of the Colony an obligation to make provision for the settlement of this debt of so binding a nature as to be incapable of being set aside or impaired by any proviso or contingency whatever. The words to which I refer are the following:— " Asto the second issue we do award and adjudge that the said James Busby has suffered special damages in respect of his said claims as follows—'that is to say, at Ngunguru, fourteen thousand two hundred pounds ; at Wangarei and Waipu, twenty-two thousand six hundred pounds ; and we award and adjudge him the sum of thirty-six thousand eight hundred pounds accordingly." I may further be allowed to quote the following words from speeches made by Mr. Williamson in the House of Eepresentatives, as reported in Hansard:— "He (Mr. Williamson) published a notice which ho issued by law, withdrawing from sale or selection all lands which had been before that time open for sale or for selection. He had taken the step he had done to save the lands intrusted to his keeping for those immigrants who had already arrived in the Province or were coming out under the Act of the last Session of this House. He had not taken the course he did with a view of depriving Mr. Busby of a single advantage which he had derived from the award." Possibly it may appear to the Government that by recalling these passages to His Honor's recollection it might convince him that it was not altogether consistent with the views therein expressed to refuse his assent to an arrangement which would not only leave the disposal of all the Provincial lands for the encouragement of immigration, but add to those lands all that remain unsold at Ngunguru (estimated at 45,000 acres), and at Wangarei and Waipu, and still leave tho pecuniary position of the Provincy in a more satisfactory state than it was when he considered it necessary to save the lands for immigrants. I have &c. James Busby.

No. 6. Copy of a Letter from the Hon. W. Gisboene to Mr. J. Busby. (No. 552.) Colonial Secretary's Office, Sic — Wellington, 20th July, 1869. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the Bth instant, and to express the regret of the Government that you have not been able to arrive at a compromise in reference to tho settlement of your land claims. The Government are unable, in the present state of the business of the Session, and under the great pressure of other matters, to devote their attention at present to your case ; but they will, during the recess, if you continue unable in the meantime to effect a compromise, consider the whole question with a view to its final determination. I have & c . James Busby, Esq., Wellington. V. Gisboene.

No. 7. Copy of a Letter from Mr. J. Busby to the Hon. W. Giseoene. Sie >~ Wellington, 23rd July, 1569. I have the honor to acknowledge tho receipt of your letter of the 20th instant, exprossin"the regret of the Government that I have been unable to arrive at a compromise in reference to the settlement of my land claims ; in reply to which I beg to submit that I consider my land claims to be definitely settled by the award of the arbitrators ; and that, were that award against a party who wero within the jurisdiction of a Court of Justice, I should be put in possession not only of the sum of £36,800_ awarded and adjudged to me, but of grants for all the lands remaining unsold within the boundaries of my original claims. My legal title to these lands which was suspended by an Act of the Imperial Parliament, the 28th and 29th Vict. c. 63, was revived by the 9th clause of the local Act, " The Land Claims Arbitration Act, 1867." The sum of £36,800 was awarded exclusively for special damages. The title to the land remaining unsold was left untouched. While, therefore, I felt myself entitled to stand upon the legal interpretation of the award which the Act provides " shall not be set aside on any grounds whatever," I readily yielded to the su"-o-estion of two of the Members representing the Auckland Province to relinquish all claims to those 3 lands (saving as much as would cover tho expense I had incurred for their survey) on condition that the sum awarded for special damages should be at once settled by cash or debentures, which proposition was made as that of a settlement which would leave no room for party action. I have further the honor to submit that before the receipt of your letter, Mr. Clark had given notice that he would ask leave to introduce the Bill which I submitted to the Government, and if a petition which I have prepared, to bo heard at the Bar of the House (which I trust will be favoured by the Government), should be granted, I hope to convince the Government, and a large majority of the House, that a due regard to the public faith can leave them no alternative but that of agreeing to a proposal so advantageous to the Government, unless it be that of carrying out the award in its integrity, by issuing grants for the lands remaining unsold, as well as paying the sum of money awarded. With regard to the second clause of your letter, I would most earnestly deprecate the deferring till another Session the final settlement of the matter, as I am so situated that such a delay would be most disastrous if not absolutely ruinous to me. I have &c. Tho Hon. the Colonial Secretary. ' J AMES Busby n

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CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN MR. BUSBY, ETC.

No. 8. Copy of a Letter from the Hon. W. Gisbobne to Mr. J. Busby. Colonial Secretary's Office, Sir,— Wellington, 26th July, 1569. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 23rd instant, on the subject, of the settlement of your land claim, and to express my hope that the Bill which you state is about to be introduced will be such as will meet the approval of the General Assembly, and thus enable it to definitely settle the question this Session. I have, &c, Jas. Busby, Esq., Wellington. W. Gisboese.