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Correspondence Relative To The Relinquishment By The College Governors Of Certain Sections At Motupipi In Favour Of The Natives.
Schedule.
No. 1.
Memorandum by Mr. James Mackay, Junr., to the Hon. the Native Minister, relative to the Native Reserves at Motupipi, in the Province of Nelson.
It appears that this question has been outstanding since the days of the New Zealand Company, and it is highly desirable to arrange it as soon as possible.
The Natives object to taking the reserve as laid out on the map of the district of Takaka. This reserve was surveyed under the direction of the Assistant Native Secretary on the 14th January last.
The Native version of the affair is as follows:—They were in occupation of sections 5, 6, 7, and 164, in the district of Takaka, in Captain Wakefield's time. Mr. Ligar came to arrange the question. He told them if they would abandon their cultivations on section 164 on the east bank of the River Motupipi, and remove to the western bank, they should have sections 5 and 6, and portions of sections 4 and 7, reserved for their use. In consequence of this arrangement they abandoned their cultivations on section 164, and removed to the west bank of the River Motupipi.
With reference to the truth of this statement, they have no documents to show in support of it; they however assert that Mr. Ligar promised to forward these to them from Nelson. Mr. James Lovell, a respectable settler at Motupipi, recollects Mr. Ligar's visit, and states that the Natives abandoned section 164 immediately after it. Lovell is well acquainted with the Maori language, and he states that he was informed by them at the time of the arrangements entered into between them and Mr. Ligar. Mr. Sinclair, when Resident Magistrate at Nelson, endeavoured to arrange this question, but did not succeed, owing to the opposition of the Natives.
The reserve, as at present shown on the plan, is of a most peculiar shape, and would require a vast amount of fencing to encompass it. It includes within its boundaries portions of sections 4, 5, and 6. The remaining portions of sections 4 and 7 have been granted to Thomas Wills, and of sections 5 and 6 have been granted to the Trustees of Nelson College.
It is now proposed to exchange section 9 for the Native land at Motueka, and to give it up to the Natives at Motupipi as part compensation for the lands which have been granted to Thomas Wills and page 336
the Trustees of Nelson College respectively. It is also recommended that the Trustees of Nelson College should be requested to exchange those parts of section 5 which are granted to them for land elsewhere, with a view that section 5 may be given up to the Natives. It will be impossible to alter the boundaries of the Native Reserve on sections 4 and 7, as these have been granted to Thomas Wills.
If the Trustees of Nelson College will not exchange the land on sections 5 and 6 for land elsewhere, I would then recommend that the boundaries of the reserve should remain as laid out on the ground, and section 9 should be given up to them.
Section 160 was reserved by Mr. McLean for Rawiri Watino and his people, in ignorance that it had been granted to the Trustees of Nelson College. It must, however, be observed that Rawiri Watino was in occupation of lands on this section long previous to the grant to the Trustees of Nelson College.
I made a proposal to the Governors of Nelson College to give up section 160 to the Crown, and take an equivalent quantity of land elsewhere. They readily consented to do so, or to let the section to the Commissioners of Native Reserves at Nelson. His Honor the Superintendent is quite willing to give land to the College Governors instead of section 160. The Commissioners of Native Reserves prefer paying a yearly rental to the College Governors for section 160 to exchanging it for other land.
It is, however, recommended that immediate steps should be taken to confirm Mr. McLean's award, and to put Rawiri Watino and his people in possession of section 160.
James Mackay, Junr., Assistant Native Secretary.
21st February, 1863.No. 2.
Memorandum by the Hon. the Native Minister, recommending that Mr. James Mackay should take the necessary steps to place the Natives of Motupipi in possession of certain lands there.
Mr. Mackay,—
The propositions in this Minute are entirely approved by me, and I request you will take the necessary steps for carrying them out, and communicating with the Trustees of the Nelson College on my behalf.
It would be a lasting disgrace to the Government if they failed to put these Natives in possession of lands which have been promised them as reserves by Mr. Ligar and Mr. McLean; and the patience with which they have waited ought to be an additional inducement to let the final arrangement be satisfactory to them.
I am very sensible of the friendly spirit in which the Superintendent and the College Governors have acted in the matter since the circumstances came to their knowledge, and it seems only necessary to instruct the Commissioners of Native Reserves accordingly.
F. D. Bell.
22nd February, 1863.No. 3.
Mr. James Mackay, Junr., to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary.
Sir,—
I have the honor to inform you that, in accordance with the instructions conveyed in Mr. Bell's Memorandum of the 22nd February, 1863, I have effected an exchange of Native Reserves sections 139, 140, and 141, at Motueka, for section 9. Motupipi, with a view to the latter being given up to the Natives of that place, in compensation for the non-fulfilment of the arrangements formerly entered into between them and Mr. Ligar, relative to Native Reserves there.
I do myself the honor to forward herewith the deed of exchange of the laud in question, for the purpose of His Excellency's consent being indorsed thereon, in accordance with the seventh section of "The Native Reserves Act, 1856."
It was also arranged by Mr. Bell, and personally promised by him to the Natives when at Auckland, that sections 5 and 6, Motupipi, containing 265 acres, and formerly included in Mr. Ligar's award to the Natives, and section 160, containing 158 acres, reserved by Mr. McLean for Rawiri Watino and his people, the whole of which has been improperly granted to the Governors of Nelson College, should be given up for the use of the Motupipi Natives; and I was instructed to arrange between the College Governors and His Honor the Superintendent for the land being exchanged for some elsewhere.
On applying to the College Governors they expressed a willingness to surrender the land and take other land in exchange for it. The Superintendent also agreed to assist the Governors in the matter. In attempting to carry out the proposition, it was discovered that the College Governors could not dispose of the land. In order to overcome the former difficulty, an Act was passed in the last Session of the General Assembly to enable the Governors of Nelson College to sell or exchange lands held in trust by them.
It is now proposed to buy the interests of the College Governors in sections 5, 6, and 160 at Motupipi, and that they should invest the money in the purchase of land elsewhere.
The Superintendent of Nelson lately placed a sum of money on the Estimates to enable him to purchase certain lands from the College Governors, but the Provincial Council have refused to sanction the expenditure. There is therefore no probability of the question being arranged by the Provincial Government, and it will now be necessary for the General Government to purchase 423 acres of land from the College Governors, in order to keep faith with the Natives. The land in question is worth about £2 per acre.
I have, &c.,
James Mackay, Junr., Assistant Native Secretary.
The Hon. the Colonial Secretary.
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No. 4.
Mr. Mantell to the Superintendent of Nelson.
Sir,—
I have the honor to forward to your Honor copies of a letter from Mr. James Mackay, Assistant Native Secretary, and of a Memorandum by Mr. Bell, relating to an arrangement for the purchase from the Governors of Nelson College of some sections at Motupipi, granted to them apparently in ignorance of engagements previously entered into with the resident Natives for the delivery to the latter of the sections in question.
The sections granted are those numbered 5, 6, and 160, at Motupipi, containing 423 acres, valued by Mr. Mackay at £2 per acre. Regarding the engagements with the Natives as contracts affecting the Crown lands of the Province of Nelson at the time the proceeds of such lands were made Provincial Reserves, the Government consider that the cost of repurchasing the above-named sections in order to fulfil those engagements properly falls upon the land revenue of the Province. The Government propose to pay the Governors of the College the sum agreed upon, and charge it against the Nelson Land Fund; the money so paid to be reinvested in the purchase of other portions of Crown lands in the Province of Nelson.
Your Honor would oblige the Government by furnishing them with your views upon the proposal.
No. 5.
Mr. Alexander Mackay to the Native Secretary.
Sir,—
I have the honor to request that I may be instructed as to which will be the best mode of procedure to adopt with a view to invest the Natives of Motupipi, Golden Bay, with the legal possession of three sections of land situated in that locality, and numbered respectively Nos. 5, 6, and 160 on the plan of the said district. The aforesaid sections have been recently purchased by the Government from the Trustees of the Nelson College, in order that the land contained therein should be given up to the aforesaid Natives in fulfilment of a promise made to them personally, in February, 1863, by Mr. Bell, the then Native Minister. A question has however arisen as to the proper mode of investing the Natives with the legal possession of the land in question: as to whether the land ought to be conveyed first by the College Governors to the Crown as the nominal purchaser, and for the Crown then to convey the land to a trustee for the benefit of the Natives entitled to share in it, or whether, in order to facilitate matters and save unnecessary expense, the legal estate could, with the sanction of the Crown, be conveyed by the College Governors direct to the Natives. It is presumed, if this course is sanctioned, that one deed would suffice, provided the whole transaction was set forth in it.
Mr. Poynter, the Solicitor to the College Governors, declines to convey the aforesaid land otherwise than to the Crown, excepting under special instructions from His Excellency's Government. I would therefore, under the circumstances of the case, beg respectfully to request that I should be instructed how to proceed in the matter.
I have, &c.,
Alexander Mackay, Native Commissioner.
The Native Secretary, Wellington.No. 6.
Memorandum on the above by Secretary for Crown Lands.
I think the simplest and best way will be for the College Governors to convey the land to the Crown, showing in the recital that the land has been purchased for the benefit of the Natives. The Crown can then grant it to the Natives concerned, under "The Crown Grants Act, 1862." Mr. Mackay should be instructed to ascertain the names of the Natives for whose benefit this land is bought (they, I think, would not be very many), and then the names of those among them whom the rest would wish to have made trustees for them. The power of sale of the land, if desired, might be withheld in the grant.
A. Domett, Secretary for Crown Lands.
13th August, 1866.No. 7.
Mr. Alexander Mackay to Under Secretary, Native Department.
Sir,—
I have the honor to forward herewith a conveyance of sections 5, 6, and 160, at Motupipi, from the College Governors at Nelson to Her Majesty the Queen, in order that the said land may be vested in certain Natives residing at Motupipi, in fulfilment of a promise made to that effect in the year 1863.
With reference to the original proposal that the Crown should invest this land in the hands of trustees to be chosen from among the Natives for whose benefit it has been restored to the Crown, I would beg to recommend instead, as a means of preventing jealousy and quarrelling among those whom it is proposed to benefit, that the land should be subdivided, and individual Crown Grants, withholding the power of sale, should be issued to each of the persons interested, under the provisions of "The Crown Grants Act, 1862," and for this purpose I would beg to propose that a subdivisional survey should page 338
be made of the land in question. This would not occupy very long; and if Crown Grants were issued as suggested, it would give much greater satisfaction to all concerned than merely granting the land intact to one or more of their number as trustees for the whole.
Should the Government see no objection to the above suggestion, I could put the work in hand at once. There would, however, be one difficulty in the way of making a uniform survey of Nos. 5 and 6, owing to the intersection of these sections by Native Reserves I, J, and K. The Native title over these reserves has never been extinguished, and in the event of its being found necessary, for the sake of uniformity and for other causes, to carry the divisional lines through these lands, the title being still in the Natives would preclude the possibility of including such portions of any of the allotments forming part of such reserves in a grant of portions 5 and 6. I presume, however, that his difficulty could be overcome by obtaining the assent of the Natives owning reserves I, J, and K, whose interests are identical with those in whom it is proposed to vest sections 5 and 6, to bring these lands under the operation of "The Native Reserves Act, 1856," and, on this being effected, reserves I and J, and sections 5 and 6, could all be dealt with as one block.
It will be observed by the plan in the margin of the conveyance, that it would be very awkward to deal separately with either of the blocks, owing to the peculiar shape of the aforesaid reserves, and, for the sake of convenience, it would be advisable if the whole could be dealt with as one block; moreover it would prevent complications in future if the whole could be treated alike, and save the Natives the necessity of having ultimately to take their claims to I, J, and K to the Native Lands Court to procure a title.
Should the Government nevertheless deem it advisable to adhere to the first intention,—that of granting the land to trustees only,—I would beg to submit the names of Eruera Wirihana Te Rauakitua, Pirimona Matenga, and Raniera Matenga, as trustees for sections 5 and 6, and those of Rawiri Watino, Hohaia Te Rangirunga, and Hira Rawiri, as trustees for section 160.
Waiting your instructions,
I have, &c.,
Alexander Mackay, Native Commissioner.
The Under Secretary, Native Department.
Enclosure in No. 7.
Deed of Conveyance of Sections 5 and 6 and 160, in the District of Takaka, by the College Governors to Her Majesty the Queen, for Native purposes.
This deed, made the first day of February, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, between the Governors of Nelson College, incorporated under and by virtue of an Act of the General Assembly of New Zealand, passed in the Session holden in the eighteenth and nineteenth years of the reign of Her present Majesty, intituled "An Act to incorporate the Governors of Nelson College," of the one part, and Her Most Gracious Majesty Victoria, Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, of the other part: Whereas the said Governors are seized of or otherwise well and sufficiently entitled to the pieces or parcels of land hereinafter described: And whereas the said lands have been for some time past occupied by certain Natives of New Zealand: And whereas it has been agreed to exchange the said lands for certain waste lands of the Crown situated in the district of Amuri, which have already been granted to the said Governors, in order that the said land herein after described may be reserved for the benefit of the Natives: Now this deed witnesseth, thain suance of the said agreement, and for the purposes aforesaid, the said Governors of Nelson College do by these presents convey and assure unto Her said Majesty Queen Victoria, her sors and assigns, ali that piece or parcel of land situate in the district of Massacre Bay, in the Province of Nelson, in New Zealand, being sections numbered 5 and 6 on the plan of the said district, containing two hundred and sixty-five acres, more or less; bounded towards the South-west by sections numbered 9 and 10 on the said plan; towards the North-west by section numbered 7 on the said plan; on the North-east partly by a Native Reserve and partly by the Motupipi River; and on the South-east by the Motupipi River: and also all that other piece or parcel of land situate in the district of Massacre Bay aforesaid, containing one hundred and fifty-eight acres, more or less, being section numbered 160 on the plan of the said district; bounded towards the North-east by a reserve for hospitals and lunatic asylums; towards the East by Crown land; towards the South-west by sections numbered 162 and 163 on the said plan; and on the North-west by a road; together with the appurtenances thereunto belonging or appertaining, and which said pieces or parcels of land are more particularly delineated and described on the plan drawn in the margin of these presents, and thereon coloured pink, to hold the said pieces or parcels of land hereinbefore described, with the appurtenances, unto Her said Majesty Queen Victoria, her successors and assigns for ever.
In witness whereof the said Governors have caused their common seal to be hereunto affixed, the day and year first above written. (l.s.)
The common seal affixed in the presence of Robert Pollock, secretary to the Council of Governors.
No. 8.
The Assistant Under Secretary to Mr. Alexander Mackay.
Sir,—
I have the honor, by direction of Mr. Gisborne, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter No. 115, of 24th March, transmitting a conveyance of sections 5, 6, and 160, at Motupipi, from the College Governors at Nelson to Her Majesty the Queen, in order that the said land may be vested in certain Natives residing at Motupipi; also original correspondence on the subject.
In reply, I am to state that your proposal to obtain the assent of the Natives owning Reserves I, J, and K, to bring these lands under the operation of "The Native Reserves Act, 1856," is approved, page 339
and you are authorized to get the survey of the land made as suggested; the sections obtained from the College should then be subdivided, appropriated, and granted to individual Natives, under restrictions, and under the provisions of "The Crown Grants Act, 1862."
You are requested to ascertain very carefully and accurately the names, ages, and conditions of the individuals who at the time were to participate in the gift from the Crown,—if females, whether they were married; also whether any, and if so which, have died, and who are their representatives. It should also be stated whether it was the intention of the Crown to grant the land to the Natives without restriction or alienation, or whether it was simply for themselves to cultivate or to have rights of ownership.
I have &c.,
H. Halse, Assistant Under Secretary.
Alexander Mackay, Esq., Native Commissioner, Nelson.
No. 9.
Mr. Alexander Mackay to the Assistant Under Secretary.
Sir,—
I have the honor to inform you that, in accordance with the instructions contained in your letter No. 55, of 4th May, I have obtained the assent of the Natives owning Native Reserves I, J, and K, at Motupipi, Golden Bay, to bring these lands under the operation of "The Native Reserves Act, 1856," and beg to enclose herewith the report for adoption.
The sections acquired from the College Governors have been resurveyed and subdivided into individual allotments, a report on which, including a list of the Natives to whom it is proposed the grants should be issued in favour of, will form the subject of another letter.
I have, &c.,
Alexander Mackay, Commissioner.
The Under Secretary, Native Department, Wellington.No. 10.
Copy of Order in Council bringing certain Native Reserves at Takaka, in the Province of Nelson, under the provisions of "The Native Reserves Act, 1856."
G. F. Bowen, Governor.
Order in Council.
At the Government House at Wellington, the thirty-first day of August, 1870.
Present:—His Excellency the Governor in Council.
Whereas by an Act of the General Assembly of New Zealand, intituled "The Native Reserves Amendment Act, 1862," it is amongst other things provided, that where under the provisions "The Native Reserves Act, 1856," the assent of the aboriginal inhabitants is required to bringing land under the operation of the said "Native Reserves Act, 1856," the Governor may, by Order in Council, declare such assent to have been ascertained, and thereupon the title of the aboriginal inhabitants in the land to which the same shall relate shall be deemed to be extinguished, and the land shall, from the date of such Order in Council, vest in Her Majesty for the purposes and subject to the provisions of the said "Native Reserves Act, 1856," as attested by the recited Act, and that as effectually as if the same had been ceded and conveyed by such aboriginal inhabitants to Her Majesty:
Now therefore, His Excellency the Governor, by and with the advice and consent of the Executive Council, doth hereby declare that the assent of the aboriginal inhabitants to the bringing the pieces of land described in the Schedule hereunder written under the operation of "The Native Reserves Act, 1856," has been ascertained.
Schedule.
All that piece of land situate &t Takaka, in the Province of Nelson, and known as a portion of a Native Reserve marked B on the plan of the said district, bounded towards the North by a creek which intersects the said reserve; towards the East partly by section 14, and partly by a road; towards the South by section 16; and towards the West also by a portion of section. 16, on the plan of the district of Takaka.
All that piece of land situate at Takaka, in the Province of Nelson, and known as Native Reserves marked I, J, and K. on the plan of the said district, bounded towards the North by a portion of section 4; towards the East partly by section 4, partly by a road, and partly by a portion of section towards the South by a portion of section. 5; and towards the West partly by section 6, partly by a portion of section 7, partly by a road, and partly by a portion of section 4, on the plan of the said district.
Foster Goring, Clerk of the Executive Council