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An Epitome of Official Documents Relative to Native Affairs and Land Purchases in the North Island of New Zealand

Copy of a Despatch from Governor Grey to the Right Hon. Earl Grey

Copy of a Despatch from Governor Grey to the Right Hon. Earl Grey.

Wellington.—Transmitting Report of Commissioner McCleverty on Conflicting Claims to Land of Europeans and Natives. Government House, Auckland, 21st April, 1847.

My Lord,—

I have the honour to transmit a report on the subject of conflicting claims of Europeans and Natives to certain portions of land, which I received upon the 8th instant from Lieut. Colonel McCleverty, who was sent out by Her Majesty's Government for the purpose of adjusting these land claims. The following is a summary of the most important subjects and recommendations contained in that officer's report. Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty estimates the number of Natives inhabiting the Harbour of Port Nicholson as 633, including women and children; whilst the quantity of land they have under cultivation amounts to 639 acres, which is estimated to be not more than sufficient for their wants, reference being had to their imperfect mode of agriculture: 528 acres of the above quantity of land are on sections which have been sold by the New Zealand Company to Europeans The Native cultivations upon sections claimed by Europeans are generally in small patches of a very irregular form. They thus decrease the value of the farm of the European, as he would find it more difficult and expensive to cultivate his land, especially to fence his irregular boundary. The Europeans and Natives equally consider themselves entitled to these cultivations; they form a subject of frequent dispute, which it is most desirable to adjust. This, however, can only be done by procuring for the Native land which is equally suitable for his purposes with that which he gives up; and it must here be borne in mind that the present cultivations of the Natives have been chosen by them as being on good land, and of a suitable aspect, and in situations easy of access from their places of abode.

Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty calculates that at least twelve sections of land, of a hundred acres each, would be required to compensate the Natives for the land it is desirable they should give up. But, to make an arrangement which would be a permanent one, he remarks that a larger extent of land would have to be provided, because the Natives do not understand the rotation of crops, and therefore wear out their land in three or four years, and are then obliged to occupy new land.

Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty also remarks that, the Port Nicholson District not belonging to the Government, they have no land there applicable to the contemplated purpose, and that this renders it nearly impossible to put the Natives in possession of the land requisite to effect an equitable exchange, without purchasing it from Europeans. The Government has already been compelled to purchase two sections of land for the purpose of meeting the wants of the Natives, at an average price of £375 for each section. Assuming, therefore, that in order to obtain the land required from the Natives it was only necessary to purchase two-thirds of the quantity named by Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty (viz., eight sections), the sum of about £3,000 would have to be at once provided for page 9this purpose. It however also appears, from Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty's report, that it may be probably found impracticable to purchase the required land, for but few of the resident settlers will sell their land, and much of the land belongs to absentees, whose agents are generally only empowered to let land, rarely to sell it.

Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty proposes the following partial remedies for the difficulties above detailed:—1. He recommends that a portion of the Town Belt, which was estimated originally to contain 800 acres, but which, he thinks, really contains about a thousand acres, should be given in exchange to the Natives for such of their cultivations on European settlers' sections as they may be disposed to exchange in this manner.

I believe that many of the inhabitants of Port Nicholson object to such exchanges being made, on the ground that they bought their town land on the understanding that the Town Belt was to be reserved for the use of the inhabitants of the town for the purposes of health, recreation, and the like; and that the Town Belt also separated the country lands from the town, and thus secured as it were a certain value to the town land, by preventing the town from being extended beyond certain limits. For these and similar reasons they think that any diversion of the Town Belt from the purposes originally contemplated will be a breach of contract, and will injure the value of their town property. I feel great regret at being compelled to act contrary to wishes urged on such reasonable grounds; but the answer to the above objections appears to be that the Commissioner appointed to inquire into the land claims disallowed the original Port Nicholson purchase, and, whilst thus not admitting the rights claimed by the purchasers, he at the same time gave the Natives certain rights, which must be respected; and that the necessity of the case also compels me to approve of this recommendation; which is indeed in conformity with my original instructions to Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty.

As, however, the surrender of patches of the Town Belt to the Natives will only suffice to procure a very small portion of the Native cultivations claimed by Europeans, Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty makes the following further recommendation, viz., that; as many of the settlers' sections which have been cultivated by the Natives have been cleared by them to a valuable extent, an average value per acre, for the benefit accruing from this clearing, should be paid to the Government by the settlers, or the New Zealand Company, on the European claimant being put in possession of the Native cultivations; the money thus obtained being intended to form a fund for the purchase of the additional land required by the Natives. In as far as the settlers are concerned, I could not, now that I am fully acquainted with the circumstances of the country, recommend the adoption of such an arrangement. I find that the settlers regard the number of years during which they have been kept out of possession of the portions of sections occupied by the Natives as a loss which is by no means compensated for by their having this land now given to them cleared; and I am now apprehensive, from discussions which have recently arisen, that they might on such terms refuse to receive their sections from the Company, and thus one object contemplated in the attempt to arrange this question of Native cultivation, viz., to enable the Company to fulfil their engagements with the settlers, would be defeated. The other question raised in Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty's' report, viz., whether the New Zealand Company should be required to pay for the cultivations obtained from the Natives and given up to their settlers, is a question which can be arranged between the Government and the New Zealand Company when Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty's final report is received.

Another point raised by Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty is that the sections allotted to their purchasers by the New Zealand Company contain, instead of 100 acres, generally from 110 to 120 each, and sometimes as many as 130 acres. In this case, I think that the Crown has no right to interfere with the surplus, because Mr. Commissioner Spain's award was that a certain district containing so many sections should be granted to the Company, but that all Native cultivations should be excluded from the grant. I think, therefore, that the grant to the Company, although estimated to contain so many acres, had reference really to a certain district, containing so many sections, the exterior boundary-lines of which were the boundary-lines of the district. The question raised by Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty appears, therefore, to be rather a question between the Company and their settlers than between the Government and the Company.

Upon the whole there appears to be nothing contained in the enclosed report from Lieut.-Colonel McCleverty which should induce me, until I have been made acquainted with the pleasure of Her Majesty's Government on this subject, in any way to modify the instructions which I issued to that officer upon the 14th September last, a copy of which I transmitted to your Lordship's predecessor in my Despatch No. 89, of the same date.

I have, &c.,

G. Grey.

The Right Hon. Earl Grey.