| ‘In Rv Symonds, a Mr McIntosh obtained a certificate from the governor of New Zealand purporting to waive the Crown’s exclusive right of acquiring Maori land. McIntosh then purchased some of this land from the Maori. Later the Crown granted some of the same land to a Mr Symonds. McIntosh sought to have the grant to Symonds set aside. All three members of the New Zealand Supreme Court held that the Crown’s certificate was ineffective as a waiver due to procedural flaws. However, Chapman J made some comments about the nature of Maori title and its relationship to the Crown’s interest in land.’ (Dorsett and, Godden, 93). Chapman held that Native title is a recognised right of customary use and possession of land, subject only to the exclusive right of the Crown to extinguish those rights. |
