19

D.—la.

to form one of the special settlement party ; clause 7, which has reference to the shipping the said party from a port in Ireland, all arrangements regarding which are left to be settled between yourself and Mr. Stewart; and clause 99, which provides for a payment of £5 to the Government for each individual to whom assisted passages are granted under the agreement. I have to ask you to be particularly careful in the punctual and faithful fulfilment of your part of the agreement, so that, should Mr. Stewart fail in the performance of his part, he may have no cause of complaint against the Government. I have, &c, The Agent-General for New Zealand, London. Julius Vogel.

Enclosure in No 15. Memoeaxdtjm of an. Agreement made this twenty-fourth day of June, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy-four, between the Honorable George Maurice O'Eorke, Secretary for Crown Lands for the Colony of New Zealand, of the one part, and George Vesey Stewart, of Ballygawley County, Tyrone, Ireland, but now on a visit to New Zealand, Esquire, of the other part: Whereas the said George Vesey Stewart has proposed to organize and bring out from Ireland a certain number of families possessed of an adequate capital to occupy, improve, and cultivate land for the formation of a special settlement of farmers on certain lands hereinafter described ; and in consideration that such proposal shall be eifectually carried out, the said George Maurice O'Eorke has agreed, on the part of the Government of New Zealand, that the said lands shall be set apart for the said settlement upon the terms and conditions hereinafter mentioned : Now, therefore, this Agreement witnesseth, that each of the said parties, the said George Maurice O'Eorke and the said George Vesey Stewart, doth for himself respectively promise and agree as follows : — 1. That the said George Maurice O'Eorke shall and will cause to be set apart and kept, for the purposes of a special settlement of farmers with capital, to be founded by the said George Vesey Stewart, all those lands the property of the Crown situate in the District of Tauranga, in the Colony of New Zealand, and known as the Kati Kati Block, comprising ten thousand acres or thereabouts, as defined by the plan hereunto annexed. 2. That the said block of land shall be surveyed at the expense of the Government, and convenient roads laid out through the same, and divided into suitable allotments, so as to be ready for selection and occupation on the arrival from Ireland of the said George Vesey Stewart and the party selected to form the special settlement. 3. That the said George Vesey Stewart shall and will select and organize a party of farmers in Ireland, being married men with families, to emigrate therefrom to New Zealand, with adequate capital to occupy, improve, and cultivate the said Kati Kati Block as a special settlement. 4. Provided that no person shall be entitled to be considered as one of the said party, or to any of the rights and privileges imder this agreement, unless aud until he-shall have received from the AgentGeneral, or some person appointed by him for the purpose, a certificate in writing that such person ia accepted as an eligible person to form one of the said special settlement party. 5. That in consideration of the said George Vesey Stewart organizing the said party, he shall be deemed to be the leader thereof, and as such entitled to the special advantages hereinafter mentioned. 6. That the said party shall consist of a sufficient number of families to take up and occupy under this agreement the whole of the said block of land, not being fewer than forty families. 7. That the said George Vesey Stewart, together with his family, and the said party, or such part thereof as hereinafter mentioned, shall embark for the port of Auckland or Tauranga, in a vessel to be provided by the said Agent-General at a port in Ireland. The ports of embarkation and landing to be arranged between the said Agent-General and the said George Vesey Stewart. 8. That the said George Vesey Stewart shall be entitled .to make a first selection out of the said block of five hundred acres, with an additional forty acres on account of his wife and forty acres on account of each of his children, provided that such land shall be taken in one block of a convenient form. 9. That each of the said party shall be entitled to an assisted steerage or third-class passage to Auckland or Tauranga, on payment for each individual of the sum of five pounds before embarkation. Single women between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five, children of parents having assisted passages, shall be entitled to free passages. 10. That each of the said party of the age of eighteen years and upwards shall be entitled to select and occupy forty acres, with an additional twenty acres in respect of each child between the ages of twelve aud eighteen : provided that not more than three hundred acres shall be held and occupied by any number of persons forming one household. 11. That, as soon as conveniently may be after arrival, lots shall be drawn to determine the order in which the several persons shall be entitled to select the land to which they are respectively entitled, and a written permission to select given by the Waste Lands Commissioner accordingly. 12. That if any person, after receiving due notice, shall neglect, or refuse, or fail to attend to draw his lot, at a time and place to be appointed by the Commissioner of Waste Lands, the lots shall be drawn by those who attend, by themselves or by their agents ; and those so failing shall, on application, receive from the Waste Lands Commissioner a written permission to select in the order in which the applications are made. 13. The right of selection shall be exercised as soon as conveniently may be after the lots are drawn, or after permission' given as aforesaid, and in any event within ten days after those times respectively ; and if any person fail to select within such ten days, his order of choice shall only entitle him to select after all those who are then ready to select have made their selections. 14. On a selection being made, the selector shall be entitled to receive from the Waste Lands Commissioner a certificate in writing authorizing him to occupy the land selected under the provisions and conditions of this agreement.