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"General Crown Lands Office, Wellington, 6th October, 1888. " Sir,—l have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th September, requesting that some person may be appointed to assess the value of the land applied for by certain persons whose names you forward, and to inform you that the Commissioner of Crown Lands at Hokitika (Mr. G. Mueller) will be instructed to assess the value of the lands on behalf of the Government. I have, &c, " G. F. Bichardson, Minister of Lands. " H. Alan Scott, Esq., New Zealand Midland Bailway Company (Limited), Christchurch." Out of the very lengthy correspondence that followed, and which I am afraid will all have to be considered later on, I only wish at this stage to read a few letters emphasizing the points that arose in difference between the two parties. The next I will read is all dated 23rd June, 1890, from Mr. Wilson, who had become general manager about that date, to the Minister for Public Works :— " Sir, —In dealing with small applications for land within the authorised area under clause 33 of the Midland Bailway contract, we have hitherto understood that the fact of the Commissioner of Crown Lands handing to the company his assessment of the land applied for included the assent by the Government to the sale of that land, and that before handing it over he had taken any necessary steps to ascertain whether the particular land might be so dealt with. As evidence of this, the assessments have provided for applications about which there is any doubt being advertised. It was therefore deemed unnecessary to refer such applications direct to the Minister for the two months mentioned in clause 29 of the contract," I may mention that clause 29 contains a provision requiring that two months' notice shall be given of intended selection, so that the Minister, if he were justified, might proclaim them under subclause (c) of clause 16—that is, as mining reserves. Sir C. Lilley : You say these lands are all within the area ? Mr. Hutchison: Yes, all these blocks ; every acre which was reserved for mining purposes is within the-authorised area on the western side of the Island. The letter concludes, — ■ " but the Commissioner of Crown Lands for Nelson has written me, under date of 20th instant, stating that it is necessary to do so. This clause was not intended to apply to dealings under clause 33, but to selections by the company of whole blocks. " The delays which must necessarily arise from every small application having to be first referred to the Commissioner for assessment, and then to the Minister for a period of two months, will be so great as to be a serious delay to applicants, and greatly hinder any dealings with such lands, while clause 33 was inserted to facilitate prompt dealings with small applications. Such delays will be made a public grievance if it thus becomes impossible for the company to meet the natural demands of settlement by dealing with lands under this clause. " The difficulty may be avoided by the Government authorising the Commissioner of Crown Lands for the district to give its assent at the same time as he makes the assessment; and I have the honour to suggest that you should cause such a course to be adopted. " I have, &c, for the New Zealand Midland Bailway Company (Limited), "Bobert Wilson, Engineer-in-Chief and General Manager." That letter not having apparently been replied to, a further letter on the same subject was sent by he manager to the Minister on the 4th July, 1890 : — " Be Morris, and Watson, and Co. " Sir, —In consequence of a communication from the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Hokitika, I beg to inform you that the company wishes to deal with the lands as per plan and description attached by letting them to Morris and Watson and party respectively. " The Commissioner informs us that, after inquiry into the question by both himself and the Warden, he is prepared to consent to the company dealing with the land, but subject to its being referred to you under clause 29 of the contract. " In order to save time, and meet the convenience of the applicants who have already advertised their applications for the land, I now beg to inform you of the company's wish to deal with this particular land, —though, as we have already pointed out, we do not consider it necessary under the contract that all such applications should be so referred, and do so in this case without prejudice to the question as to whether it should be the practice in other cases. "As I understand that full inquiry has been made by the Government officers into the particular matter, I would further ask you to consent to the company's dealing with the land at your earliest convenience, without waiting for the expiration of the two, months provided by clause 29. It is now eight months since the application was made to the Commissioner of Crown Lands, and the applicants have been already put to considerable inconvenience." This is the reply of the Minister. It is dated the 29th August, 1890: — "Be Midland Bailway. — Land Selection. " Sir, —In reply to your letters of the 23rd June and 4th ultimo on the subject of the procedure to be adopted in effecting sales or leases of land under clause 33 of the Midland Bailway contract, and applying for authority to lease certain land to Messrs. Morris and Watson and party under the provisions of the clause referred to, I have the honour to inform you that this matter has received very careful consideration. The Government is, however, advised that, although clause 33 provides a special mode of dealing with the lands on the western side of the mountain-range, it does not shut out the provisions of clause 29, and that the usual notification under the latter clause must be made in all cases. The Government is further advised that there is no power which would authorise a Minister to delegate his functions in this matter to the Commissioner of Crown Lands.