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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Rare Volume

Note XIII. p. 16

Note XIII. p. 16.

A thorough investigation of this most important case involves

XIII. Inconsistent and injudicious confirmation of illegal crown grants.

reference to a vast number of despatches. They will be found in the Parl. Papers of June, 1847, pp. 7, 21, 22, 27, 30, 32, 47, 64, 66, 69, 70; Parl. Papers, December, 1847, pp. 26, 29, 30, 35, 64; Parl. Papers, 1850, p. 115; and Parl. Papers, August, 1850, pp. 1 to 15. The course pursued on the subject by Government has been most inconsistent The grants in question were described by Governor Grey as based upon transactions altogether illegal; in which he was borne out by a judgment of the supreme court. They were stated by him to involve claims to excessive quantities of land, the native title to which, in many cases, had not been extinguished, or even ascertained; in others, the boundaries were uncertain, and likely to lead to litigation; in many cases they involved bad faith, were opposed to the wishes of a large majority of the inhabitants of the colony, native and European; and were likely to lead to a war with the former. Lord Grey described them as impolitic and lavish—in many instances injurious to our national character and the Christian page 30 faith, and the result of an extremely inconvenient disregard of law. He also expressed his earnest desire to dispossess the grantees wherever not supported by the strict letter of the law : threatened to dismiss from the public service any officials who should not cordially co-operate with the Governor in his attempt to set them aside, and approved of his carrying the question into the courts of law. Yet, after all this, on an adverse decision of the colonial courts upon a case improperly framed, Governor Grey, without waiting to carry so important a case before a higher tribunal, which it is now understood has actually reversed the decision of the colonial courts, passed the ordinance referred to (believed to be itself illegal), to confirm the grants which were open to so many and such grave objections, admitting, while he did so, that the result would probably be, to stop all land sales in the northern province, to prevent any immigration to it for a long time, and, probably, to give rise to serious disputes with natives, some of which appear already to have commenced.