Legislative enactments must be accepted as the law unless altered by the Legislature, and Treaty of Waitangi rights cannot be enforced in the Courts unless incorporated in the municipal law.

The Lord Chancellor. -

This is an appeal from an order and judgment of the Court of appeal of New Zealand, dated 22nd October 1938, which dismissed an appeal from the judgment of the Supreme Court of New Zealand (Smith J.), dated 2nd December 1937, whereby judgment was entered for the defendant, the present respondent board. The appellant is the Chief of the Ngatituwharetoa, a Maori tribe, whose members own lands in New Zealand, which were charged by virtue of S. 14, Native Purposes Act, 1935, with repayment to the respondent board of a portion of a sum of £23,500 which had been paid by the latter in terms of the said section to the Egmont Company Limited. The appellant instituted the present proceedings on behalf of the tribe and as representing the owners of the said lands against the respondent board in the Supreme Court of New Zealand. Section 14, Native Purposes Act, 1935, which replaced a substantially similar provision in S.10, New Zealand Finance Act, 1934-35, so far as here material, provided as follows :

14.-(1) The Aotea District Maori Land Board (hereinafter in this section referred to as the Board) is hereby authorized, empowered and directed to accept the offer of the Egmont Box Company Limited to release and discharge the Board and the native owners from all claims and demands of whatever kind arising out of a certain agreement made between the Tongariro Timber Company Limited and the said Egmont Box Company Limited dated 23rd October 1919 (including all amounts which the said Egmont Box Company Limited claims to be entitled to set-off against royalties payable) in respect of timber-cutting and other rights on the lands known and described in the said agreement as Western Division A and B, in consideration of a sum approved by the Native Minister to be paid to the said Egmont Box Company Limited by the Board.

(2) (A) The sum approved by the Native Minister, together with all costs and expenses incurred by the Board in connexion with its negotiations with the Egmont Box Company Limited and incidental hereto, shall be paid by the Board out of moneys in its account, and shall be deemed to be a loan to the owners, including the Crown, of the whole lands described and referred to in a certain deed of agreement bearing date 33rd December 1908, and made between the Maniapoto-Tuwharetoa District Maori Land Board of the one part and the Tongariro Timber Company Limited of the other part, such deed being the deed entered into in pursuance of S. 37, Maori Land Laws Amendment Act 1908, excepting always, however, from such lands all such portions thereof as have been actually transferred to the Tongariro Timber Company Limited for an estate in fee simple.

(B) Upon payment of such sum as aforesaid the Board shall by virtue of this Act and as security for the repayment of such sum together with the other moneys mentioned in para. (A) hereof (all hereinafter in this section referred to as the loan-moneys) and together with interest thereon as hereinafter mentioned, be deemed to have a charge upon all the lands and the revenue therefrom referred to in para. (A) hereof, excepting any of such land or any interest therein acquired or owned by the Crown.

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(8) The Board shall be entitled to charge and be paid interest at a rate not exceeding 5 per cent. per annum on the said loan-moneys until repayment thereof, such interest to be charged as from the respective dates each or any portion of such loan-money is paid out.

(9) The expenditure hereby authorized shall be deemed to be a proper investment by the Board of its funds and such investment is hereby approved.

(10) Upon payment to the Egmont Box Company Limited of the said sum, the agreement between the Tongariro Timber Company Limited and the Egmont Box Company Limited, dated 23rd October 1919, shall be deemed to be determined and cancelled, and any right, title or interest acquired thereunder by the Egmont Box Company Limited shall pass to and vest in the Board.

(11) Upon payment