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Poverty Bay Herald, Volume VI, Issue 622, 10 February 1879, Page 2

To the Editor of the Evening Hkrald. Sir,— ln an effusion signed " Ngatiwhakaaka," m last Saturday's Standard, commenting on Capatin Porter's letter to the East Coast tribes, which appeared m a recent number of the Walca Maori, a statement is made which is calculated to injure Captain Porter, and mislead the public as to the true state of the case. It is therein stated " that great was the strength of Porter m his efforts to get the Ngatiporou tribe to hand over their lands to him as trustee," a statement which is utterly untrue. In point of fact all that Captain Porter did m the matter was to propose to one hapu, Te Whanau-a-Rua, that he should act as . the agent or medium between the tribe and Europeans m bringing into the market any lands they might wish to dispose of by sale or otherwise, and many of them approved of this ; but he never asked them to hand over to him the whole and sole control of their lands, as they are now doing to Mr. Reesand Wi Pere, or to be appointed a trustee m the same sense that they are. — I am &c, East Coast.