MANGAHEIA NO. 2.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume III, Issue 340, 20 August 1889, Page 2

MANGAHEIA NO. 2.

LEASE ORDERS. At tha Land Court yesterday morning Judge Barton delivered the judgment, of which the following is a digest : — This is a motion by Messrs McFarlane Brothers, Mr Somerville, and Mr Spence, the occupiers of several portions of the Mangaheia No. 2 Block. They asked the Court for five lease orders over the five parcels, A, B, C, D, and E, into which this Court has just divided the block. The application of these ocoupie'-s is in one sense premature, for, although it is convenient that the questions argued on this motion should be settled now, the subdivision of the block has not yet reached the stage at which lease orders could be issued. The motion was opened on the Ist July and the argument took four days. Mr Brassey and Mr Nolan, solicitors, appeared for the European leaseholders, Mr Hale appaared for Himione te Kani and Arapeta Ranginia, the two natives who were opposing the issue of lease orders. Mr (Yard, solicitor, watched the proceedings for Eru Manahaia, a Gisborne native, who, though not opposing, desired to have his interests protected by counsel, Mr Day, solicitor, appeared for tha L'quidators of the New Zealand Native Land Settlement Company (Limited). Mr Mu'looly (an alleged purchaser from Himione te Kani, Arapeta Ranginia, and Karauria Pahura, deceased) appeared on his own behalf, but seated at a later stage of the case that he would allow Mr Hale to represent him. The applicants, who already held an unexpired lease of the Mangaheia No. 2 Block, in 1882 opened up negotiations for a fresh lease.

They held a meeting with the Native owners, and the terms arranged are as follows ; —(1) To give a bonus of £lOOO to be divided amongst all those who should sign such extended lease ; (2) To give to the fifty five owners who had been hitherto receiving no rent or other benefit from their land, a solatium rent of £275 per annum, to be divided among them during the remaining six years of the old term ; (3) After the expiration of the old term to give a l the sixty-five owners a yearly rent of £550 for the first five years, £6OO for the second five years, and £6sofor the remaining five years. In addition to these terms the Natives stipulated for a reserve of 120 acres, to be selected on.a fiat situated along the Mangaheia river, and when this reserve was agreed to all the owners except two signed the lease. The noticeable features in this lease, and which now form the main objections to its validity, are as follows:—■ 1. That it was a lease to commence in futuro. 2. That at the time of its execution (1882) it was forbidden by statute that any bonus should ba paid to natives whose title was by certificate under the 17th Section of the Act of 1867; therefore, it was argued, the £lOOO divided as a bonus amongst those who signed this lease rendered it worthless and void.

3. That at th'at time (1882) it was forbidden by statute that any number less than the whole number ot owners should make a lease of land held by certificate under the 17th Section of the Act of 1867. and that in this lease two out of the sixty.flve owners had not joined. The application had been left to the arbitration of His Honor and the Assessor, with the result that the Court will, in January next, when the subdivision of the Block is completed, grant the lease orders applied for, the rent to be hereafter apportioned. The native reserve is to be increased to 140 acres for the use of the whole of ths native lessors. The applicants are to pay the costs of the natives. The various deeds require to be assessed for revenue purposes by the Stamp Commissioner, and will be {awarded to Wellington for that purpose, the payment of all stamp duties being, a condition precedent to the issue of the lease orders.