Ohinemuri District: Ohinemuri

The orders are for Certificates under the Act of 1880, and were made on 27 June 1882.

I presume these orders are therefore bad. What is to be done about preparing Certificates?

Query - Can orders for Certificate be made under Section 43, Act of 1880, in respect of land held under Memorials of Ownership, as the Ohinemuri Blocks were? Section 43 appears to apply only to land title to which has been originally determined under the Act of 1880.144

The Chief Judge responded that Section 43 could not be used, and that "you cannot decide a point of law by the results". The Registrar of the Court then asked him

According to your ruling all these orders are bad. It will be a serious thing if it is so, as there are about twenty of them, and plans are put on forms for Certificates of title for the whole of them.

With Mr Edger I do not understand how Orders in division can issue under the Act of 1880 for lands held under Memorials of Ownership.145

The Chief Judge instructed that the matter stand over, and it was not resurrected until April 1885, when it was stated that

C.J. has now, I believe, decided that Certificates can be ordered for portions not sold, on the application of the Crown, i.e. when no application from the natives appears on the Gazette notice of Court.

Please note that the original titles were Memorials, while the division orders are for Certificates under Act of 1880. I believe in similar cases proceedings are considered to have begun under '73 Act and completed under '80 Act.146

The Chief Judge was asked if this was so.

I understood your ruling to be that Orders in favour of the Crown were not to be looked upon as Division Orders, but as a transfer of the portion to the Crown, which could be registered against the original title without upsetting it.147

He replied that

As so many orders in this class have been made, I withdraw my objection so the Certificate can issue, in the hope that so far as needed they may be hereafter validated.148

Survey of the Reserves

The reserves to be granted back by the Crown were surveyed in 1883–1884, at the same time as the Crown and non-sellers awards were surveyed.

In February 1885 the new Native Minister, Ballance, toured the country and held a series of meetings. One was at Thames, where Haora Tareranui told him that

Another application of ours is concerning the Native reserves in the Ohinemuri block. When the reserves were marked off by the Native Land Court, it was done on the map. We considered

144 Chief Clerk Native Land Court Auckland to Registrar Native Land Court Auckland, 20 September 1884. Maori Land Court Hamilton Correspondence file H883. Supporting Papers #L5.18.

145 Registrar Native Land Court Auckland to Chief Judge Native Land Court, 22 September 1884, on Chief Clerk Native Land Court Auckland to Registrar Native Land Court Auckland, 20 September 1884. Maori Land Court Hamilton Correspondence file H883. Supporting Papers #L5.18.

146 Chief Clerk Native Land Court Auckland to Registrar Native Land Court Auckland, 7 April 1885. Maori Land Court Hamilton Correspondence file H883. Supporting Papers #L5.19.

147 Registrar Native Land Court Auckland to Chief Judge Native Land Court, 11 April 1885, on Chief Clerk Native Land Court Auckland to Registrar Native Land Court Auckland, 7 April 1885. Maori Land Court Hamilton Correspondence file H883. Supporting Papers #L5.19.

148 Chief Judge Native Land Court to Registrar Native Land Court Auckland, 22 April 1885, on Chief Clerk Native Land Court Auckland to Registrar Native Land Court Auckland, 7 April 1885. Maori Land Court Hamilton Correspondence file H883. Supporting Papers #L5.19.

53