It was my intention to have completed, in time for presentation to the General Assembly during the present session, the Final Report of the Settlement of the Land Claims. I have been prevented from carrying out my intention, partly because I have not had time to put together in a readable shape and within convenient limits the large amount of curious information that I have collected in connection with these claims, and partly because it seemed premature to present a "final report" upon a matter the principal points of which it had been agreed to discuss over again this year.
The object I now have in view, therefore, is not so much to offer the full account of the general subject which I yet hope to give, as to place at the disposal of the Government a summary of sufficiently complete information on all the points which ought to be considered in any proposed measure this session. Details are accordingly appended under the following heads:—
I.— | The State of Settlement of the Claims, including—
|
II.— | The Surplus Land reverting to the Crown. |
III.— | The Special Cases remaining unsettled, reserved for consideration, or in which I propose action should be taken. |
IV.— | The General Question as to whether further relief should be extended to all claimants alike. |