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3. That a Chairman be appointed at each Meeting. 4. That a Secretary be appointed to keep the Books and take charge of all documents. 3. That a liecord of the proceedings be signed by the Chairman. 6. That in the event of letting or leasing any portion of the Reserves, the same be submitted to tender, but the Commissioners not to be bound to accept the highest Tender. 7. That in the case of sale, due notice be given in thp local Journals, one month before the day of sale. 8. That all monies received as proceeds of the Reserves be deposited in the Savings' Bank until required for the objects contemplated by the Act. We have &c, (Signed) John Whiteley j Robert Parris. > Commissioners of Native Reserves. • H. Halse. I The. Honorable the Colonial Treasurer,

Report by the Commissioners of Native Reserves for the Province of Otago. Dunedin, 21st June, 1858. Immediately on receipt of our commission we set on foot a searching enquiry into the nature and extent of the Native Reserves in the Province with the population on each. We applied to the Superintendent of the Province for all the information in the possession of the Government on this subject, and we lately received from him a copy of a Report furnished by the Chief Land Commissioner. A copy of this Report we have the honor of forwarding herewith. We also made statistical enquiries, and enclose an abstract of the information obtained. We also enclose the Schedule which supplied that information. We find that the Native Title has not been extinguised over any of the Native Reserves in this Province, with the exception of about an acre of land in the Town of Port Chalmers, one-half of which was purchased by Mr. Mantell from Europeans, and made over to the Natives, as we presume, although we have not been able to discover where the Title has been deposited. There is also a small stripe of land on the beach at Dunedin, part of the land previously made over to the New Zealand Company, which Sir George Grey appears to have afterwards reserved for the Natives, intended as a place where they might land, free of obstruction ; at Dunedin for this purpose it is almost, if not wholly, useless ; but if it be considered as a Reserve to which the Natives have a Title, it might be appropriated to some other use for their benefit; at present it is partly occupied by buildings erected by the Provincial Government for the accommodation of Immigrants. In regard to the 75 acres added by Mr. Mantell to the Native Reserve at Moreaki, in lieu of the 75 acres abandoned by the Natives as mentioned by the Land Commissioner's Report, we are of opinion that while in one sense it may be said that the Native Title was extinguished to these 75 acres, yet it would be unwise to attempt to deal with these 75 acres otherwise than with the whole of the rest of the Native Reserve to which this addition had been made. Seeing that we have no funds whatever in our hands, and can have none, at least for some considerable time, we do not consider it necessary to suggest any regulations for our future guidance. If we had funds to pay incidental expenses, we probably would have been able to furnish the Report sooner, and if we should attempt to lease, or otherwise use for the benefit of the Natives any of the land at Port Chalmers, we would be at once stopped for want of funds ; and further, we were and must be much crippled in our attempts to communicate with the Natives for the want of a paid interpreter, who would be always at our command. Upon the whole subject of the Natives and their Reserves in this Province, we have the honor of stating as our unanimous opinion that if the general Native Title was extinguished, and the whole Reserves in the Province were divided amongst the Natives, and a Crown Grant given to each Native for the portion allotted to him, it would be one of the best things which could be done for them, and from enquiries we have been making we are impressed with the belief that this could be easily accomplished in this Province. There would however require to be this restriction, that no Native would be entitled to sell or dispose of, otherwise than to his own children, the piece of land which would be allotted to him, or at least, that no sale or lease to a European could take place without the consent of the Commissioners, the Resident Magistrate, or the Provincial Government, or some such authority. We are of opinion that the effect of such a measure would be the encouraging and stirring up the Natives to rival both one another and the Europeans in providing comfortable houses to dwell in, and in enclosing and properly cultivating their land. While their land and Pas are held in common they have no individual interest in improvements. It would tend to settle them more down on the soil, and by separating them from that common influence which they have over one another would greatly tend to make them emulate the European settlers ; and moreover, as it would settle them in one locality something more substantial could be attempted for their moral and religious education than could be done under their present migratory mode of living ; besides it seems to us to be a principle somewhat inherent in human nature that the possession of an exclusive Title to land has a tendency to increase the desire for improving the worldly circumstances and to encourage self-respect, and obedience and respect to the ordinances of Law and good Government; and as a means to these ends it has a tendency to increase the desire for mental improvement. We have not included in this Report any notice of Stewart's Island or Ruapeke, where a veiy considerable number of Natives are located, as these islands are not within the Province of Otago. Reported by (Signed) John Gillies, Commissioner. Robert Williams,