to Your Lordships that after careful consideration, I have come to the conclusion that there are no adequate grounds for a general reduction of the Crown Rent in these colonies, except in cases in which the present depreciation of the value of property bears hardly upon the tenant. Such reduction, involving as it would a diminution of the general Revenue of the colony, could only be justifiable either on the grounds of abstract justice, or on the grounds of a corresponding equivalent return.
I fail to see, however, that the Crown tenants who entered into their obligations voluntarily, and who simply miscalculated the course which the development of the colony would take, have any claim against the established Government on the grounds of abstract right, while on the other hand it is admitted by all competent judges that some equivalent in the shape of a revival of trade or of increased prosperity in the districts that would be relieved is to be looked for.
I have, therefore, decided, subject to Your Lordships' approval, to make no general change in the present relations of these tenants.