was applicable to the entire lands claimed, and Mr. Webster's knowledge of the Maori language had enabled him to secure a perfect one from the natives, and which were fully acknowledged before the land commission.

Mr. Webster appealed to the Government of the United States, through its consul at Sydney, New South Wales, in the latter part of the year 1840, but by some unaccountable delay no official action was taken thereon until December 26, 1843, when Mr. Everett brought the matter to the notice of Her Majesty's Government (see his letter of December 26, 1843), to which Lord Aberdeen replied on the 3d of January and 10th of February, 1844. In the latter of these two letters (to which we beg to refer your lordship) Lord Aberdeen states that "in his instructions to the governor of New Zealand, forwarded to him in the month of March, 1841, that officer was directed to bear in mind the principle that where aliens had acquired land from the chiefs prior to the proclamation of the Queen's sovereignty there, and that fact was undisputed, the claims should be acknowledged, but that where a doubt arose whether the alien bona fide purchased the land the settler should be treated as a British subject, and his claim disposed of accordingly."

It was in the interval between the first application of Mr. Webster to his Government and the action taken thereon that he was compelled (lest he should be open to the charge of laches in not availing himself of such facilities as the English Government offered) to submit the same to the commissioners appointed. Though we have made diligent search for the purpose amongst all the papers we were permitted to inspect at the colonial office, and the reports of the correspondence relating to New Zealand, which were ordered to be printed by the House of Commons, and which were presented to the New Zealand agency, we believe, by your lordship personally, but have been unable to find any original report* or copies submitted at different times by the various commissioners upon claims of this nature, and we are therefore without information as to the ultimate fate of Mr. Webster's. It seems, however, so far as we have been able to gather, that portions of land, amounting in all to 16,468 acres, were granted to Mr. Webster, or his assigns. We are not aware whether these grants were revoked by virtue of the powers and provisions contained in the "land clauses settlement act, 1856," but we believe certain portions, at all events, were obtained by various persons to whom Mr. Webster had made conveyances prior to January, 1840. The most cogent point in Mr. Webster's case we submit to your lordship is that he is an American citizen, having duly proved his claims, ought not to have been dealt with as he was on the footing of a British subject, having regard to the distinct statement before quoted, contained in Lord Aberdeen's letter to Mr. Everett of 10th February, 1884.

Mr. Webster states that when he consented to prove his title before the land claims commission he was distinctly assured by the governor (Hobson) that he should not be disturbed in the possession of his various properties, and that that promise was kept until Captain Fitzroy became governor. During his term of office Her Majesty's Government took possession of the entire tract in the Bay of Plenty, to which Mr. Webster had proved his title, for the purpose of supplying spars for the use of Her Majesty's navy, and other purposes. In reference thereto we beg to refer your lordship to the letter of Mr. J. W. Hamilton (private secretary to Governor Fitzroy), dated March 31, 1845. The value of the spars taken and trees destroyed Mr. Webster represents to be from £8,000 to £10,000, which constitutes a claim apart from land claims. Mr. Webster bas been unable to ascertain if any case was ever submitted to the decision of the home Government, he having, as before explained, left New Zealand in the year 1847. He had waited in New Zealand until that time, daily expecting the recognition of his titles, in accordance with frequent promises, to one of which we beg to refer your lordship, contained in another letter of Mr. Hamilton's, dated March 10, 1845. In consequence of seeing no prospect of a settlement, Mr. Webster then went to Washington to seek the aid of his own Government. Shortly before the outbreak of the American war of secession his case was placed under consideration by a resolution of the United States Senate, but no further official action has yet been taken, and he awaits in this country the result of the present application to your lordship, which he trusts will not be without avail.

Mr. Webster, who has never recovered from the ruinous blow which he sustained in New Zealand, submits that a settlement of these claims should not be further postponed, and he desires only, either that a grant in conformity with "Lord Aberdeen's circular," above quoted, be made to him, or that some satis

These "reports" were not made public, but were suppressed by order of the House Government.-W. W.

factory compensation be accorded by the British Government for the enormous tracts of land of which he has been deprived, and which would have gained very pecuniary profit. He has accordingly instructed us to lay the case before your lordship, in the hope that your lordship may see fit to advise some recognition of his claims without the necessity of his having to resort to a diplomatic correspondence between Her Majesty's Government and that of the United States. It may, perhaps, be found by your lordship impossible (having regard to the dealings which have taken place with Mr. Webster's lands, upon a portion of which part of the town of Auckland and several other townships within the province of Auckland now stand) to reinstate him in his property, and seeing this difficulty, he is willing to accept as compensation any reasonable sum, and in return therefor, by deed duly executed, to release all his rights in the colony, either to the New Zealand government or to such person or persons as the Government may thinks fit.

We may express a hope that your lordship will be able personally to deal with this question, as Mr. Webster, who is no longer young, fears that a reference of the matter to the colonial government would probably involve a long and tedious correspondence, probably unattended by any practical result, that we have made no allusion to the probable objects which the New Zealand Government had in view in their dealings with Mr. Webster, but, as a matter of fact, Governor Fitzroy endeavored to induce him to take an oath of allegiance to Her Majesty, with the view, presumably, of disposing of his claims upon the footing of a British subject. That, however, Mr. Webster always refused to do.

Perhaps your lordship will allow us incidentally to mention that there does not appear to exist in England a collection of the official gazettes of New Zealand. If your lordship should feel disposed to accord a personal interview to Mr. Webster, a member of our firm will be happy to attend with him upon your lordship, for the purpose of his affording any explanation deemed necessary or advisable. We feel assured that no effort will be wanting on your lordship's part to rectify, so far as now possible, a course on the part of the British Government which has indubitably resulted in extreme hardship and injustice.

We have the honor to remain your lordship's obedient and faithful servants, KIMBER & ELLIS.

Reply to Kimber & Ellis, and the continued correspondence.

DOWNING STREET, October 30, 1873. GENTLEMEN: I am directed by the Earl of Kimberley to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, received on the 18th of September, urging the claims of Mr. W. Webster in respect of certain land in New Zealand.

I am directed to inform you that the information in this Department differs from the statements made in your letter. His lordship will, however, forward a copy of your letter to the governor of the colony with the request that the subject may be reported upon.

I am to add that it must be understood that Lord Kimberley can not admit any liability on the part of Her Majesty's Government to the claims put forward by Mr. Webster, nor can he undertake, as requested, to deal personally with a matter in which the colonial government are concerned.

I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,

Messrs. KIMBER & ELLIS.

On receipt of this they further addressed him:

ROBERT J. N. HERBERT.

79 LOMBARD STREET, LONDON, E. C., November 6, 1873.

To the Right Honorable the EARL OF KIMBERLEY,

Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies:

MY LORD: We have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your lordship's communication of the 30th ult., in reply to our letter in reference to Mr. Webster's claims of the 17th September last.

We shall feel very much obliged if your lordship will kindly allow us to be informed in what respects the information in your Department differs from the statements made in our letter, as we may be able to explain anything which may require it.

We have the honor to remain, your lordship's obedient and faithful servants,

To which the following response was made:

KIMBER & ELLIS.

DOWNING STREET, November 15, 1873. GENTLEMEN: I am directed by the Earl of Kimberley to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 10th instant, on the subject of Mr. W. Webster's claims in respect to lands in New Zealand.

I am desired to state that as the governor of New Zealand has been requested to report on the matter, and as it is one for the consideration of the colonial government, his lordhip does not think there would be any advantage in his entering into any discussion in regard to it.

I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,

Messrs. KIMBER & ELLIS.

ROBERT J. N. HERBERT.

DOWNING STREET, November 17, 1874.

SIR: With reference to your letter of the 23d of May, 1874, and to the reply from this office of the 1st of June, I am directed by the Earl of Carnarvon to inform you that his lordship has received the report from the governor of New Zealand which he was called upon to furnish upon Mr. Webster's claims to certain lands in New Zealand.

Lord Carnarvon desires me to inform you that this matter having been most carefully inquired into, the only conclusion which his lordship can come to is that not only has Mr. Webster no claim to compensation, but that he has been treated throughout with exceptional liberality.

I am, &c.,

To L. C. DUNCAN, Esq.

R. J. N. HERBERT.

79 LOMBARD STREET, E. C., June 23, 1875. MY LORD: We have the honor to forward to you a letter we have received from our client, Mr. William Webster, respecting whose claims to certain lands in New Zealand we laid a statement before your lordship's department in 1873; we beg to add to the statement in Mr. Webster's letter, respecting the Mr. L. C. Duncan to whom he refers, that that person is unknown to us to act on Mr. Webster's behalf, or on our own, in any way whatever, and we shall feel obliged by your furnishing us with a copy of the correspondence which passed between the department and this individual respecting our client or his claims. We have the honor to remain, your lordship's obedient servants, HENRY KIMBER & Co.

The Right Hon. the EARL OF CARNARVON,

H. M. Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies.

DOWNING STREET, June 30, 1875.

GENTLEMEN: I am directed by the Earl of Carnarvon to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 23d of June, requesting to be furnished with a copy of the correspondence which has passed between this department and Mr. L. C. Duncan, in regard to Mr. Webster's claims to certain land in New Zealand, whose case was brought before this department by your firm in 1873.

In reply I am to transmit to you copies of the correspondence which has passed with Mr. Duncan, but you must distinctly understand that in furnishing you with this correspondence, which Lord Carnarvon sees no reason to withhold from you, his lordship adheres to the decision expressed to you by his predecessor on the 15th of November, 1873, not to enter into any discussion as to the merits of Mr. Webster's claims, which should be preferred in New Zealand to the colonial government, with whom the decision in the matter rests.

I am to add that Lord Carnarvon thought it right to send Mr. Duncan a copy of your letter and of this reply, and that Mr. Webster has not been in any way prejudiced by Mr. Duncan's action in the matter.

I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,

Messrs. HENRY KIMBER & CO.

W. R. MALCOLM.

79 LOMBARD STREET, E. C., London, July 19, 1875.

MY LORD: We have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your lordship's letter of the 30th ultimo, inclosing copies of certain correspondence with which we requested to be furnished with reference to the claims of Mr. William Webster to lands in New Zealand, and for which we are obliged.

In the reply to our letter, we observe that your lordship declines to enter into discussion as to the merits of Mr. Webster's claims, your lordship stating that they should be preferred in New Zealand to the colonial government. We find, however, on referring to the communication of the 17th November last, contained in the copy correspondence with which your lordship has furnished us,⚫ that your lordship comes to the conclusion that not only has Mr. Webster no claim to compensation, but that he has been treated throughout with exceptional liberality!

Although your lordship may desire to avoid entering into a protracted correspondence as to the basis upon which the claims are founded, still we venture to submit that we are entitled from equitable reasons to be made acquainted with the grounds upon which your lordship has arrived at the above conclusion, and we shall therefore feel obliged by your lordship furnishing us with the following information:

First. The time when and the manner in which Mr. Webster was treated with exceptional liberality.*

Secondly. The facts or reasons which induce your lordship to arrive at the conclusion that Mr. Webster has now no claim to compensation, and also the time when, according to information in possession of the department, Mr. Webster's right to further compensation were extinguished.

We have the honor to be, my lord, your lordship's obedient servants,
HENRY KIMBER & CO.

The Right Hon. the EARL OF CARNARVON,

H. M. Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies.

DOWNING STREET, July 28, 1875.

GENTLEMEN: I am directed by the Earl of Carnarvon to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th instant in reference to the claims of Mr. William Webster to lands in New Zealand.

You have already been informed by the letter from the department of the 30th of June last, that Lord Carnarvon can not enter into any discussion of the merits

* I. c., the “erroneous" executive report on file in the British colonial office.-W. W.

of your client's case, and I am desired to state that his lordship must adhere to this decision, and therefore begs to be excused from replying to the questions you put.

SIR: Your letter of the 16th of April last, in relation to your claim against the British Government growing out of the seizure and appropriation of your lands and other property in New Zealand by the British authorities in that colony during the years 1840 to 1844, has been received.

You desire information in relation to certain statements made in reference to your claim in a communication from the President to the Senate in January, 1859. It would be difficult, if not impossible, to answer your inquiries categorically at this distance of time from the date of that communication. I may state generally, however, that upon a very thorough examination of the case recently made by an officer of the Department charged with such duties, it is found that no claim was directly presented by you, or on your behalf, for indemnity until September, 1858. The general subject of the claims of American citizens to lands in New Zealand became a question of diplomatic negotiation between this Government and that of Great Britain about the time of the acquisition of that territory by the British Government, and it is believed that in making up the report of this Department to the President, upon which the message in question was based, either through inadvertence or misconception of your letter to Mr. Consul Williams-a copy of which that gentleman had forwarded to the Government-the officer charged with its preparation supposed that a claim on your behalf was then before the Department.

The investigations since made show that supposition to have been erroneous. No reason is perceived why that statement should in any way work a prejudice to your claim. It does not so operate in the estimation of this Government, and it is not conceived that it will have the effect of lessening the equities of the demand against that of Great Britain.

I am, sir, your obedient servant,

JAMES G. BLAINE.

Brief.]

APPENDIX No. 4.

WEBSTER'S CASE.

William Webster, a citizen of the United States of America, claims from the British Government compensation to the amount of £224,624, in respect of lands in the North Island of New Zealand, purchased by him from the aboriginal owners, and, as he alleges, wrongfully taken by the Crown, and afterward sold or otherwise disposed of, in violation of preexisting rights.

The following is an abstract of the argument in support of the claim:

1. In April, 1840, Lord John Russell, the then secretary of state for the colonies, addressed a memorandum to Lord Palmerston, secretary for foreign affairs, in which the following passage occurs: "The British statute book has, in the present century, in three distinct enactments, declared that New Zealand is not a part of the British dominions; and, secondly, King William IV made the most public, solemn, and authentic declaration which it was possible to make, that New Zealand was a substantive and independent state."

2. In Her Majesty's instructions, conveyed by the Marquis of Normanby to Mr. Consul Hobson, directing him to treat with the aboriginal natives of New