No. 294, of 1878, and 29, of Session I., 1879.—Petitions of Frederick Sutton.

The petitioner states that he is the owner of a piece of land in the District of Hawke's Bay, known as Omaranui; that he gained a suit brought against his title by certain Natives in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, but that nevertheless the said Natives and others took possession of the land, and resisted the efforts of the Sheriff of the district to eject them by due process of law, declaring that they would never give up possession of the land while they retained life; that the Sheriff, in his return of the writ, has stated that he could not hove enforced it without causing a breach of the peace, and that he had not sufficient means at his disposal to overcome the resistance which would have been offered; that the Supreme Court having accepted these reasons as a sufficient excuse for the non-execution of the writ, petitioner has received no benefit from the judgment of the Court, but has incurred costs to the amount of several hundreds of pounds. He therefore prays that means may be devised for enforcing the judgments, decrees, and writs of the Supreme Court of New Zealand.

I am directed to report as follows:—

That the petitioner, as holder of the Crown grant, appears to have a legal title to the estate, but that it seems probable that the issue of the Crown grant did a wrong to the Natives, who for a long time inhabited 163 acres included in the grant. The Committee therefore recommend the Government to inquire into the case, and effect such a settlement as may appear fair, considering all the circumstances.