STATEMENT OF PER CENTAGE OF FIVE PER CENT. DUE TO NATIVES AT WAIRARAPA ON PROCEEDS OF CERTAIN LAND SALES.

Votes and Proceedings of the House of Representatives, 1856 Session I

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES.

STATEMENT OF PER CENTAGE OF FIVE PER CENT. DUE TO NATIVES AT WAIRARAPA ON PROCEEDS OF CERTAIN LAND SALES.

Laid on the table of the House May 27th, 1836, and ordered to be Printed.

Government House, 26th December, 1855. Sir, —I have the honor, by the directions of his Excellency the Governor, to request you to be good enough to report, for his information, on the nature of the arrangement made by the late Governor, Sir George Grey, by which 5 per cent, from the proceeds of certain lands has been reserved for the Natives who originally sold the land to the Government. I am also to request you to state to what extent such a contract is now in force, in what Provinces, and over what lands, and whether any sum due on that account is included in the £13,000 estimated by you as necessary to complete purchases of lands already made. Hip Excellency would also wish to know whether a contract of that kind is now being made in Native Land Purchases, and if so, his Excellency is of opinion that it should not be repealed in future negotiations, and requests you to be good enough to issue instructions accordingly. I have, &e, (Signed) W. Gisborne, D. M'Lean, Esq., &c., &c ; &c. Chief Commissioner's Office, Wellington, January 18th, 1856. Sir, —I have the honor, in compliance with the request contained in your letter of the 26th December last, to enclose a statement for the information of his Excellency the Governor, of the probable extent of land in this Province on which five (5) per cent, is payable to the Natives, out of the net amount that may from time to time be realized by the Crown for such lands. The Deeds of Sale by the Natives, the translation of an extract from one of which is herewith enclosed, specify that the five (5) per cent, is to be applied for the erection of mills and schools, for medical aid, for presents to chiefs, and such other similar purposes as may tend to the advancement of the Native race. With reference to the second paragraph of your letter ; f>s to the extent to which such contracts are now in force, in what Provinces, and whether included in the sum of thirteen thousand pounds (£13,000) estimated by me to complete purchases already made : I have the honor to state : Firstly, That such contracts are not in force in any of the Provinces excepting Wellington, and a few at Auckland ; the exact nature and extent of which id the latter Province, I am at present unable to furnish, as the contracts with the Natives of Auckland were made under Sir George Grey's directions previous to the year 1854 by the Surveyor-General, who will be able to furnish the necessary returns. Secondly, That a sum of £1000 out of the estimate of £13,000 is on account of five (5) per cent, due to Natives.

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I should add, that in all arrangements made by me for the purchase of land at Auckland, no contract of tlvskind has been entered into ; neither had any purchase been made, in this Province or elsewhere, subject to the payment of five (5) per cent, since the month of December 1854. I have, &c., (Signed) Donald M'Lean, Commissioner. W. Gisborne, Esq., Acting Colonial Secretary, ENCLOSURE NO. 1. Crown Land Office, Wellington. 28th January, 1856. g IHj Ido myself the honor, in accordance with the instructions recently received from his Excellency, to transmit you enclosed a Statement, so tar as I have been able to prepare it from the memorandum of Mr. Commissioner M'Lean, also enclosed, relative to the 5 per cents, reserved to the Natives on certain lands at Wairarapa, showing the amount due under that head to the Natives up to the 31st December, 1855. With regard to the future, I feel quite unable to make any reliable estimate or the probable amount that would become due during the remainder of the financial year. I think the best plan is that which will be recommended to his Excellency by Mr M'Lean ; namely, to assume a certain average in the several Blocks subject to the 5 per cents, reserve, calculate what would become due to the Natives ultimately, on the sale of that average, and then come to an equitable arrangement with them for the surrender of the condition for a stipulated sum, payable in ceitain fixed instalments. I have, &c., (Signed) F. D. Bell, Commissioner of Crown Lands. The Honourable The Colonial Secretary, &c., &c., &c. 9 Statement of Amount due to the Natives of Wairarapa and East Coast, under the arrangements for paying them five per cent, on the amount of Land Sales in certain Blocks, specified in Mr. Commissioner M'Lean's letter of January 18th, 1856. £, s. d. Total amount of cash received up to the 3lst December, 1855, for land in the above Blocks .. .. •• •• •• l 5 ° J Amount due to the Natives, being 5 per cent. .. .. •• ?oU ID (Signed) F. D. Bell, Commissioner of Crown LandsWellington, January 18th, 1856. The Blocks of Land on which 5 per cent, is payable in the Wellington Province, are— I. block No. 1, West side of Wairarapa Lake, estimated in all at 200,000 acres ; but of this extent not more than 20,000 acres can be considered as immediately available for sale. This would irive the Natives £500 when all that land is Acres. disposed of 20,000 '2. East side of Lake .. . • • • • • ) 3. McMasters Run, containing of saleable land (say) • • 20,000 4. Tauwharenikau .. . • • • • • 8,000 5. Wilson's Run, on the coast .. •• ••• 7,000 6. Manawatu Block ... •• •• •• 1 7. Part of Block No. 1 (say) .. •• •• 7,000 8. Wairongo .. .. .. •• •• 9. Tautaue .. .. .. •• •• JO. Wharekaka ... .. •• •• •• 11. Part of Whareama Block .. •• *>'000 12. At Ahuriri .. ... ••• •• •• 6,000 Total .. .. 140/)00

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It is not possible, until an actual survey is made, to give any more correct estimate of the extent of land which will within the next ten years be sold out of the Blocks bearing 5 per cent., but in the absence of such surveys, the above statement is as near an approximation to it as I can furnish. (Signed) Donald M'Lean, Chief Commissioner. I consider from what I know of the various districts that the above estimate is a very fair one (Signed) F. D. Bell, Commissioner of Crown Lands. ENCLOSURE NO 2. Extract from translation of Native Deed of Sale of Land in the District of Wairarapa ; dated Ist September, 1853. It is further agreed to by the Queen of England on her part to pay us at certain periods within certain years, to be decided on by the Governor of New Zealand and ourselves, that is, that we are to have a certain additional consideration for tbe lands we have sold, to be paid to us for the forming of schools to teach our children, for the construction of flour mills for us, for the construction of hospitals, and for medical attendance for us, and also for certain annuities to be paid to us for certain of our chiefs; but it is hereby agreed that we ourselves, and certain officers who shall be appointed by the Queen, or the Governor of New Zealand, shall carefully discuss in Committee to which, and at what times, and in what proportions, the said money shall be applied to each of the purposes above specified. The payments to be made annually to our chiefs are to be decided upon by the Governor of New Zealand only, or by an officer appointed by him, who shall have the power of deciding as to which chiefs shall receive the said annual payments. These payments for all the above purposes are to be as follows, —that is when the surveys are complete, and the land is resold which we have transferred to the Queen of England, or to the Kings or Queens who may succeed her, a certain portion of the money to be received by the Queen or Government of New Zealand as pa)ment for the said land, is to be deducted for the purposes which have been above specified ; the amount of the money to be returned to us is five per ■cent, or equal to five pounds out of every hundred pounds, after deducting the surveys and other expenses connected with laying oft' the said lands. (Signed) Donald M'Lean, Chief Commissioner.