3. Upon a careful examination into the whole matter, the case appears to me to stand thus:
A Lot of ground was granted to Captain Meik (then of the 49th Regiment), Acting Land officer, some time in June 1842, but of which there is no record to be found either in the Land Office or in that of the Colonial Secretary.
Sir Henry Pottinger issued Public Notices on the 2nd and 27th May of the same year, copies of which are attached. These Notices distinctly directed that no Sales or transfers of Land would be valid, unless registered in the Land Office. The duties of Sir Henry Pottinger rendered it necessary for him to proceed to the North in June 1842, leaving Mr. Caine (not Mr. J. D. Campbell, but likely a reference to Mr. J. Caine or another person like Mr. Jshurston as per the original text, however, the original text refers to "Mr Jshurston") in charge of Government who had been prohibited from granting any more Lots of ground, except for Military or Naval purposes,—vide Extract Sir Henry Pottinger's Despatch to Mr Jshurston, dated 8th June 1842, herewith attached.
4. The state of Captain Meik's health was such that he was compelled to resign his appointment, and leave the Colony, and his agent sold the ground in question to Mr. Webster in the end of September 1842 for 960 Dollars, which appears to have included an expenditure of about 700 Dollars by Captain Meik for levelling and improving the ground and commencing building thereon. The sale and transfer of the ground were formally made through the Land Office, as is shown in the correspondence, and this was clearly in strict conformity to the Public Notices of the 2nd and 27th May, already quoted.
5. It would appear that Captain Meik obtained the ground on the proviso that he should build a Bazar for the use of the Military within a certain time, but no agreement to this effect is to be discovered in any of the Colonial Office, though the Letter from Mr. Reynolds, Land and Road Surveyor, of the 30th September, 1842...