Wellington Independent THURSDAY, 14th FEBRUARY, 1867.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXI, Issue 2480, 14 February 1867, Page 4

Wellington Independent THURSDAY, 14th FEBRUARY, 1867.

"KOTHINO BXTKNIJATK; NOK BKT DOWN AKOIIT IN MAMRK."

The Superintendent returned to town by Cobl>'s coach on Tuesday evening, after au absence of nearly a mouth. The main object of Dr Featherston's visit to the West Coast was to settle the extent and position of the reserves to be made for the tribes concerned in the sale, and thus far he has completely succeeded in effecting that very onerous piece of business. It will be recollected that when the Manawatu Block was sold, no reserves whatever were made by the natives, because of tho title to every j)ortion being in dispute among themselves. They sold the whole of the land, and were to receive such of thoir villages, cultivations, &c, as the Superintendent chose to set apart for them, purely as a gift from himself — the understanding being that the reserves he would give them should be ample. Of course the natives did not fail to ask largely. Everybody knows their propensity for " trying it on" and the almost endless discussions to which this practice of theirs leads; but at last the acreage of tho reserves for tho Uaugitane and Ngatiapa was satisfactorily ' determined, aud the boundaries roughly defined on tho ground, preparatory to survey. Mr Stewart, the chief district surveyor, whose tact and temper have rendered him a great favorite with the natives, is under orders to commence the survey of these reserves immediately. The reserves for the Ngatiraukawa have not yet been wholly defined, only a portion 1 of ■ them j

several matters of importance requiring his Honor's presence in town, and preventing his devoting another week or ten days to the examination and consideration of the spots asked for. When this has been done there will be no obstacle to the Manawatu Small Farm Association choosing the site for their long intended operations. It is gratifying to learn that the reserves set apart lor tho Ngatiapa and Eangitane tribes, although liberal, are not of unreasonable extent, and are situated in sucli a way as not to interfere with the future settlement of the block by Europeans. At the same time the feelings and wishes of the natives concerned have been fully consulted. As was to be expected, this was not accomplished uutil after considerable discussion and much mutual concession, the result being embodied in formal memorandums of agreement, executed respectively; by his Honor and the representative chiefs. Although the fact that Nepia and some of his relatives deliberately had signed months ago was too well authenticated to allow his denial to have any weight, it is nevertheless satisfactory to find that he now proclaims himself a convert to the sale, has induced his mother and the other dissentients of hishapu to sign, the deed, and received the amount of the purchase money reserved for them. Parakaia still holds' out and complains bitterly of the desertion of his friends — indeed, he refused to believe in the defection of Nepia, until a special messenger was sent to ascertain its truth and brought back a confirmation. Mr Buller, E.M., who accompanied and assisted Dr Fcatherston during his late trip, still remains in the district for a short time longer, probably until the reserves for the Ngatiraukawß are defined Jand the very tedious, although not difficult, settlement of rents takes place.