Page image
Page image
Page image
Page image
Page image
Page image

D.—2b

1875. NEW ZEALAND.

EMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND. (FURTHER LETTER FROM THE AGENT-GENERAL.)

Presented to both Souses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. 1. The Agent-General to the Hon. the Minister for Immigration. (No. 429.) 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— 21st June, 1875. I have the honor to inform you that the ship " Carisbrooke Castle" sailed from Belfast on the Bth instant, with the main party of the Kati Kati special settlers. I enclose the following paj)ers for your information : — 1. Copy of an agreement, dated June 24th, 1874, between the Hon. G. M. O'Rorke, Secretary for Crown Lands for the Colony of New Zealand, and George Vesey Stewart, of Ballygawley, County of Tyrone, Ireland. 2. Copy of letter from George Vesey Stewart, dated February 13th, 1875. 3. Copy of Memoi-andum, dated February 27th, 1875, from the Hon. J. Vogel, replying to the above letter, and concurring in certain modifications in the provisions of the above agreement. 4. Duplicates of certificates issued under the provisions of the above agreement. I have, ifec. The Hon. the Minister for Immigration, Wellington. I. E. Featherston. P.S. Copies of letter dated 3rd April, 1875, from Mr. Stewart to the Hon. J. Vogel, and Hon. J. Vogel's reply thereto, are also enclosed.

Enclosure No. ]. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Agent-General. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., My Dear Sir,— 13th February, 1875. As you requested me to submit to you in writing my views of the agreement for the consideration of Mr. Vogel1 and yourself, I beg to refer to the following points :— 1. You differ from me in the interpretation of clause IX. respecting children. lam not a lawyer or an attorney, and, on my honor as a gentleman, Mr. O'Rorke's and my intentions were that children under 12 should be entitled to free passages; children above 12 to pay the £o on being entitled to land. Does it not appear unreasonable that a child eighteen months old should pay as much as a man of eighteen years 1 » 2. Relatives, or adult members of the household, to be entitled to the land on payment of £5. This was allowed in John Mark's case, according to clause X. at close, where " household " and not " family " is used. 3. The size of the block to be increased as shown in Capt. Heale's figures on map herewith enclosed, showing 2,238 acres net, deducting Faulkner's (half cast) award of 380 acres. 4. Capitalists paying their own saloon passages to be entitled to 40 acres, independent of age, provided they do not claim more than 300 acres per family. This will encourage several highly eligible families. 5. A shed to be erected by Government at Kati Kati for our reception, goods, and baggage, <fee, as we land in winter. The materials could be sold by Government when settlers occupy their own holdings. 6. Ship to be sent from Belfast to Auckland, and passengers transferred to Kati Kati at expense of the Government. 7. Widows, with capital, of the agricultural class, with their children grown up, to be eligible for land and privileges of the agreement. 8. Contract for ship to be made simultaneously with contract for saloon passages, which I have been offered at £35 each. 9. As there will be so many saloon passengers, a large ship to be provided, and the additional space to be occupied by picked married families, of a superior class, single girls, and a few selected farm laborers connected with the settlers. I—D. 2b.

D—2b

10. All the members of the special settlement to be provided with closed berths. I understood from you when we had the pleasure of meeting at lishy, that such would be the case, and it has been published through my lectures, in every paper of Ulster. 11. Special settlers to be allowed to provide their own bedding, if they so desire. Kindly excuse this long letter, and I trust that you and Mr. Vogel will see no difficulty in agreeing to these remarks, as I am compromised and pledged to a great extent with the parties, and it would be a matter of regret, if the slightest appearance to any breach of agreement, as interpreted by me, should occur at the start. I have, &c, I. E. Featherston, Esq. George Vesey Stewart.

Enclosure No. 2. The Hon. Sir. J. Vogel to the Agent-General. Memorandum concerning Mr. Stewart's letters referred to me by the Agent-General last evening. 1. (Letter of February 13.) As children under twelve do not seem to be entitled to land, I think they should have free passages; and if it is clearly understood they are to have no land I agree to such free passages. 2. I do not understand the meaning of " adult members of the household," but I think that in some cases relatives might be looked on as part of the family, though not occupying the positions of parents and children. Each case should be decided on its own merits ; the point being, have the relatives really formed part of the family, and the point to be avoided is, to prevent families paying £5 for non-members of their family, with a view to securing land worth a great deal more than £5. 3. I have not the power to entertain the idea of increasing the size of the block. 4. Each case should be decided on its own merits; and after personal interviews between the AgentGeneral and the intending passengers, I would say if the intending saloon passengers were bona fide intending members of the settlement, and if their inducement to go to New Zealand is the settlement of Kati Kati I would admit them; but I would carefully exclude from gifts of land families not induced to go to New Zealand by the settlement, and who would go whether or not there was such settlement. 5. Mr. Stewart wants everything done, and does not seem to recognise the consideration of 10,000 acres and free passages, less £5 payment in some cases. I think the cost of shed should fall on Mr. Stewart, but as it is important to get it done in advance, he should send out a description of what he wants, and ask the Government to erect the shed for him, he entering into a binding undertaking to repay the cost, or remitting the money in advance, whichever the Agent-General thinks better. 6. The point is not clear as to whether the Government are to pay for passages from Auckland to Kati Kati; I woidd therefore give Mr. Stewart the benefit of the doubt. 7. Without absolutely refusing this request, I think the Agent-General should exercise great caution in coming to a conclusion that such families are eligible. 8. 9, 10, 11. I see no objection to, if they do not involve extra cost, or not very serious extra cost. I think Mr. Stewart's wishes respecting additional emigrants of the laboring class should be conrplied with, and, if necessary a second ship should be supplied without any hesitation. There is a strong desire in Auckland to get emigrants from Belfast and surrounding districts. Such emigrants have shown themselves well adapted for colonists. I think it is desirable the Agent-General should at once telegraph instructing Mr. Cochrane to place himself officially in connection with Mr. Stewart, and after he has made the necessary inquiries, to report what, in his opinion, are the prospects of filling up the second ship for which Mr. Stewart asks. I do not think Mr. Stewart's statement that he has committed himself to various points should influence the Agent-General. If Mr. Stewart has committed himself in excess of his authority he has done so at his own risk. Ido not feel myself justified in recommending an extra quantity of land for the doctor. I think Mr. Stewart should receive the promptest attention to any inquiries he makes; but when he asks an infraction of the agreement, he must not complain of its being refused. February 27, 1875. J. Vogel.

Enclosure No. 3. Mr. G. V. Stewart to the Hon. Sir J. Vogel. 28, Gardiner's Place, Sir,— Dublin, 3rd April, 1875. I have the honor to request that you will be good enough to extend the area of the Kati Kati Special Settlement Block, as shown in the dotted lines entered by Captain Heale, Surveys Office, Auckland, and containing by his computation, 2,618 acres. From this total must be deducted 380 acres, awarded by the New Zealand House of Parliament to Faulkner's children, leaving 2,238 acres, for which I now ask you to kindly grant us. I beg to refer you to Agent-General's letter of 10th July, 1873, as my justification for making this request. This letter was written on receipt of his instructions from New Zealand. I should also remind yon that this land being confiscated territory, is the property of the General dovemment.

2

D.—2b,

The only fault connected with Kati Kati Settlement, is the fact of being so small in area, and unless you kindly grant my request, I will be compelled to decline some most eligible families. Of course this small portion, if granted, will not remain open for such special settlement after Ist January, 1876. I have, &c, Honorable Julius Vogel. George Vesey Stewart.

Enclosure No. 4. Hbn. Sir J. Vogel to Mr. G. V. Stewart. 7, Westminster Chambers, Victoria Street, Westminster, S.W., Sir,— Bth April, 1875. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of April the 3rd, asking me " to extend the area of the Kati Kati Special Settlement Block," as shown upon the plan which was enclosed. In reply, I have to say that I am not able to entertain your application. I have, &c, George Vesey Stewart, Esq. Julius Vogel.

3

This report text was automatically generated and may include errors. View the full page to see report in its original form.I whakaputaina aunoatia ēnei kuputuhi pūrongo, e kitea ai pea ētahi hapa i roto. Tirohia te whārangi katoa kia kitea te āhuatanga taketake o te pūrongo.
Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/parliamentary/AJHR1875-I.2.1.5.6

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

EMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND. (FURTHER LETTER FROM THE AGENT-GENERAL.), Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1875 Session I, D-02b

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,636

EMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND. (FURTHER LETTER FROM THE AGENT-GENERAL.) Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1875 Session I, D-02b

EMIGRATION TO NEW ZEALAND. (FURTHER LETTER FROM THE AGENT-GENERAL.) Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1875 Session I, D-02b

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert