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1915. NEW ZEALAND.-

LANDS COMMITTEE (REPORT OF) ON PITITION OF C. A. de LAUTOUR. (Mr. E. NEWMAN, Chairman.)

Report brought up 26th August, 1915, and, together with the Petition, Departmental Report, and Minutes of Evidence, ordered to be printed,.

ORDER OF REFERENCE. Extract from, the Journals of the, House of Representatives. Thursday, the Ist Day of July, 1015. Ordered, " That Standing Order No. 219 be suspended., and that a Committee be appointed, consisting of fourteen members, to whom shall stand referred after the first reading all Bills affecting or in any way relating to the lands of the' Crown, or educational or other public reserves ; the Committee to have power to make such amendments therein as they think proper, and to report generally when necessary upon tho principles and provisions of the Bill ; the Committee to have power to call for persons, papers, and records; three to be a quorum: the Committee to consist; of Mr. Anderson, Hon. Mr. Buddo, Mr. Coates, Mr. Forbes, Mr. Guthrie, Mr. Mac Donald, Mr, McCombs, Mr. E. Newman, Mr. Nosworthy, Mr. T. W. Rhodes, Mr. R. W. Smith, Mr. Statham, Mr. Witty, and the mover."-—(Right Hon. Mr. Massey.)

EEPOET. I am directed to report that the Committee recommends that the Government give favourable consideration to the claims of the petitioner for some compensation for improvements effected by him after the interviews between Mr. De Lautour's son and the then Government in 1903. 26th August, 1915. Edward Newman, Chairman.

PETITION. To the Honourable the Speaker and Members of Parliament of the House of Representatives, in Parliament assembled. The humble petition of the undersigned Cecil Albert de Lautour, of Gisborne, in the Provincial District .of Auckland and Dominion of New Zealand, retired barrister, showeth : — I. That your petitioner, in or about the year 1898, purchased the goodwill of a certain Native lease which was originally taken up by] Messieurs Murray and Bentley in the year 1893 over the Whakaangiangi Nos. 5a and 5b Blocks, containing 2,262 acres, and situate near Te Araroa, East Cape. The lease was for a term of twenty-one years from the Ist day of April, 1893, at an annual rental of Is. per acre, with an increase to Is. 3d. and Is. 6d. per acre after seven and fourteen years respectively.

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