PETITION.

TO THE HONOURABLE THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY IN PARLIAMENT ASSEMBLED. The Petition of the undersigned inhabitants of Auckland and its Neighbourhood, Respectfully Sheweth, — That your Petitioners are deeply impressed with the evils which have arisen from exposing the Waste lands of the Colony to speculation and monopoly without any adequate provisions for securing a fair proportion of the lands of the Colony for real Working Settlers desiring to occupy the land themselves, and improve it by their own exertions. That your Petitioners are also most anxious that stringent provisions may be made by the General Assembly for securing entire publicity in the proceedings of the Land Officers, without which we cannot hope for an impartial and efficient administration of any provisions intended to protect the true Working Settler classes. Wherefore, your Petitioners respectfully pray, that your Honourable House will be pleased, in any law that may be passed for the disposal of the Waste Lands, to take care that provisions be made for setting apart, and protecting from speculative monopoly a portion of such lands for the class of the true Workins Settlers ; for assisting persons of that class to obtain land on the easiest terms, —but also compelling them to improve the same by actual occupation for some years, and also for establishing open Land Boards, in which all trsnsactions relating to the disposal of Waste Land shall be carried on with the same publicity as attends proceedings in a Court of Justice. And your Petitioners as in duty bound will humbly pray, &c. Archibald Clarke, J. P. Joseph Mason Albert William Hansard Allan O'Neil J. Williamson, M. P. C, James Grimley James Terry Charles Kemp John Styak, Thomas Kemp Peter Grace, M. Somerville William Benjamin Collins Thomas Bell George McKinlay, Martin Nolan Samuel Teague Richard Leich Charles Brinley Henry Mason Matbew Dillon Hugh Coolahan John Shean Samuel S. Forsaith John Saunders' John Mathews Barnard Tiernay Kichard Milsom Rodgei McKinlay Archibald Wallace Alexander Whisker John Bennett George Bolton A. Mears William H. Trail Archabald Campbell John Bolous John Mitchell John Green Edward King John Grundy John Kelly N. Hooker John Hayward William Singer James Jeffery B. Keane Samuel Gribble Wm. Long Thorburne Joseph Robinson J. McClellen Robert Evans Jerome Cadtnan A. Black W. Griffith Richard Matthew Barnard McDonald Charles Hampton Vincent Walters William Piper