I.—3a.

104

JF. G. DALZIELL.

there xvere any temporary hitch in our negotiations, to get the thing through at a later stage. You xvill probably be seeing Dr. Findlay- before Monday, and I therefore think it is desirable that you should have the opportunity of considering the suggestion—Yours truly, C. H. Treadwell." That, as a matter of fact, is the only way in xvhich Dr. Findlay interested himself in this matter. It was at the request, as you xvill see, of Mr. Treadxvell. We could do nothing with Mr. Jones, and the nearer xve got to a settlement, apparently, the farther xve were from it, because Mr. Jones xvould always consider, if we made any approach to what wore his terms, that we were prepared to go farther; and so it went on, and nothing came of it. Then, early in January, 1910, I took up the matter with the Government again. At this time the Prime Minister had taken charge of the question, and I wrote him a letter on the 25th January, 1910, as follows: "-25 th January. 1910.—The Hight Hon. Sir Joseph Ward, Wellington.—Dear Sir Joseph,— Re Mokau : I understand that the principle Xative owners have been in Wellington during the last fexv days, and that they are now asking more than the £15,000 they informed mv client they xvere willing to accept. The uncertainty about the amount the Xatix-es xvill sell for presents a difficulty if you do not take compulsorily ; and it has occurred to me that probably the best way out of this difficulty will be for the Crown, if it determines to acquire the block, to settle xvith the lessee upon the basis of the contract entered into in May, 1908, between the lessee and Mason Chambers, Douglas McLean, and Sir Francis Price, all of Haxvke's Bay, sheepfarmers. This contract xvas entered into by the Ilawke's Bay people after full inquiry as to the value of the land and of (lie leases, and under it they agreed to pay the sum of £25,000 for the lessee's interests, together with a one-eighth interest in the leases—that is, about £28,000. The sum of £700 was paid to the lessee under this agreement, and the sum of £4,300 (a further part of the purchase-money) has been placed on deposit with a firm of solicitors in Wellington, pending the transfer of the leases to the purchasers. The Hawke's Bay people seek to determine this contract because of the doubts which have been cast upon the title, but they have acquiesced in an arrangement under which matters have been allowed to remain in abeyance pending a settlement of the Jones trouble. I think you will probably agree that the Haxvke's Bay people are competent judges of the value of the leases, and that their undertaking to pay the price referred to is very strong evidence that the leases were xvorth that sum. As T have already informed you. Hie lessee is prepared to allow- the purchase-moneys payable to him on a sale to the Crown (except such as may be necessary to pay off the English mortgagees) to remain in the hands of the Public Trustee until some time after Parliament meets this y-ear, in order to alloxv Jones (or any- one else who may claim these proceeds) to take action to enforce his rights. When I last saw you about this question I suggested that the lessee would probably agree to sell on the basis of £1 per acre. We xvould be quite agreeable to this if the price payable to the Natives amounted to something like £15,000, but, of course, xve could not agree to that basis xvithout a prior settlement of the Natives' claims. I think, however, that if you get some actuary in your service to go into the matter you xvill find that on the basis of £1 an acre the value of the Natives interest is less than .£ls,ooo.—Yours truly, F. G. Dalziell." Then I reported, on the Ist February, to Messrs. Travers, Campbell, and Peacock as to the position: "Ist February, 1910.--Messrs. Travers, Campbell, and Peacock, Solicitors, Wellington.—-Dear Sirs, — Re Mokau: We arc noxv informed by the Prime Minister that the Cabinet lias definitely- resolved to purchase this property if the Government valuers place upon it a value anything like what we suggest it is xvorth—that is, not less than £1 to £1 2s. 6d. per acre. He also informs us that he has, in accordance xvith the Cabinet minute, instructed Mr. Kensington, Under-Secretary for Crown Lands, to have a valuation made immediately. Mr. Kennedy's valuation is £1 7s. 6d. per acre, while Xative Minister suggests value is £2 per acre. The understanding upon xvhich the Government xvill purchase is that the Natives' interest is to be acquired by the Crown; that your clients, the mortgagees, are to be paid the mortgage-iiionevs : and that the balance is to be paid to the Public Trustee to be held by him until a reasonable time after the meeting of Parliament in June or July next; the object beine' to enable Jones or any one else xvho claims to be entitled to any interest in these moneys to move either in Parliament or in the Courts for relief. The Government desires, in acquiring the interests of the" Natives, to have the benefit of the Native bands Act passed last session, under xvhich the Natives are entitled to dispose of their interests in X T ative lands byresolution of a meeting of all the oxvners called in the prescribed manner. The Act does not come into force until the 31st March next, so that this procedure cannot be adopted till that date. We are hopeful, however, that as soon as the Government valuation has been obtained an arrangement Can be come to by which the Crown will take over the mortgagees' interest and pay them out. We trust this xvill be satisfactory- to you.—Yours truly. Findlay. Dalziell, and C 0... That valuation took sonic time. At any rate, it took some xx-eeks, and we were finally informed that the valuation would not justify the Government in paving the price Mr. Lewis asked for his interest. T then suggested to the Prime Ministei that he should buy the interests of the Natives. xvhich T understood he could buy at the time for £22,500, and acquire the interests of the lessees compulsorily. The position as at 21st June is set out in a letter to Mr. McLean : —" 21st June, lilin. P. S. McLean. Esq. (Messrs. Carlile, McLean, and Wood. Solicitors). Napier, —Dear Sir, —Re Mokau : I must apologize for not having replied earlier to your letter of the 4st instant. Negotiations have been going on during the last txvo weeks, which T hoped might enable me to give you information that finality had boon arrived at in this very complicated matter. We have been recently endeavouring to proceed under the new Native Land Act for the purchase of the interests of the native owners, in view of the difficulty in getting the Government to interfere oxving to the agitation fomented by Joshua Jones. The principal Native oxvners are now in Wellington. They have boon conferring xvith the Xative Minister and Premier during the last fexv days, in the hope that the Government would purchase their interests, and T am assured to-day by the Native Minister that the Government xvill, in all probability, agree during the next fexv days to buy the interests of the Natives, and in this case xve understand that they xvill take compulsorily the