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E—No. 4

ascertaining. It has a position value being the place from which passengers are ferried across the Waitangi. It is destitute of bush, but a Reserve was made by Mr. Mantell of bush on the West Cliff of Waipoura Valley, but which was not surveyed. No description of its extent is given, nor can I from the records of the Office, or from Mr. Thomson's reconnaissance map ascertain its position. There is a stream called by Mr. Thomson the Kaura which with the prefix of the word " Wai" (water) would indicate the spot, but there appears to be no bush there. This supposed Reserve is referred to as 10 ; another small Reserve is said to have been promised by Mr. Mantell at Hakataia Mea, Waitangi Gorge about 30 miles inland of Te Pemao Manu, but I cannot from the records of the Office ascertain its position. This Reserve appears to have been recommended by Mr. Mantell to be 150 acres for the special use of a Native and his family of the name of Te Ware Korari who appears to have been resident on the spot. Mr. Mantell in a letter to the Honourable Colonial Secretary, of the 19th March, 1853, speaks of being about to visit the spot and send a sketch survey, but no further record can at present be found in this Office. I have reason to believe that the Reserve is on the North side of the River Waitangi and is therefore in the Canterbury Province. Reserve No. 11 was made at the time of the purchase of the Northern portion of the Province in 1848-9. It is situate at Kakamu Bay, about 15 miles north of Moreaki Bay, it comprises 75 acres and is entirely open land. From a letter from Mr. Commissioner Mantell to the Colonial Secretary, of date 19th March, 1853, it would appear that this Reserve was abandoned by the Natives, and Mr. Mantell recommended that an addition to the Moreaki Reserve should be made of 75 acres in lieu of the abandoned Reserve, an arrangement which received the sanction of the Governor-in-Chief as intimated in a communication from the Colonial Secretary to Mr. Mantell, dated the sth April, 1853. No further evidence of the transaction exists, the abandoned Reserve appears not to have been conveyed by the Natives. Nor was any Title to the land adjoining the Native Reserve at Moeraki given to the Natives. It will be the duty of the Commissioners for Native Reserves to consider within which class of reserve as distinguished in the Native Reserves Act of 1856, this last mentioned land comes, and whether the abandoned Reserve can be considered legally abandoned. Reserve No. 12 was made in 1848-9, it is situated at Moeraki, and was originally 500 acres in extent, an addition of 75 acres was sanctioned by His Excellency the Governor as mentioned in Report on Reserve No. 11; it is well wooded, and is a particularly valuable piece of land, both from the nature of its soil and position. In January 1849 there were 87 Native inhabitants, its present population or the extent of cultivation I have no means of ascertaining. Reserve 12c. This is a Reserve of 10 acres of Timber in the Huri bush made by Mr. Commissioner Mantell in 1848. Reserve No. 13 was made in 1848. It is situate at Waikowiti, it originally comprised 1800 acres, and was surveyed by Mr. Mills. Certain European cultivations were temporily exempted from the Reserves, though situate in the centre of it. The Land was afterwards given up to the Natives, the Governor disapproving of the exemption. Subsequently Mr. Kettle re-surveyed the Reserve, and extended its boundaries so as to include 2393 acres, 3 roods, and 24 perches, of which proceeding Mr. Mantell disapproved and reported upon the subject to the Governor, whose decision was in favour of the extension as intimated in the Colonial Secretary's letter of the 16th March,, 1853. The Reserve is well wooded and cultivated to a considerable extent, the soil is good, and the land from its position valuable. In 1848 there were 121 Native inhabitants. I have no official information as to their present number. Reserve No. 14 was made in 1848. It is situate at P. Purahanui Bay, it consists of two lots of land, containing 270 and 28 acres respectively, the larger portion is chiefly wooded lands, the soil is good and suited for cultivation. In 1848 there were 45 inhabitants. Of the whole of the before-mentioned Reserves, sketch-maps will be furnished immediately they can be obtained from the Survey Office. Reserve No. 15. There is no Reserve bearing this number, but I propose for the sake of convenience to give that number to the Reserve at the Otago Heads, this Reserve was made at the date of the purchase of the Otago Block, by the New Zealand Company, it is now two lots, comprising about 4305 acres, and 2075 acres respectively, the former portion adjoins a Reserve for General Government purposes, for Light House, Pilot Station, &c, and it is not quite clear what the extent of the latter Reserve is, as there is no record of it in the Land or Survey Offices, excepting that in one of the Maps in the Survey Office, a Reserve is roughly marked off at the point which comprises about 250 acres. I have observed that Mr. Mantell in a letter to the Colonial Secretary of date the 17th August, ] 854, states that extent 250 acres to be too great, and that the error had arisen from the Crown Grant to the New Zealand Company, in which the extent of the Crown Reserve is estimated at 250 acres, and in the said letter he refers to a map copied from certain Parliamentary papers, but for the present I have no means of knowing what the nature of the Map was. The above Reserve No. 15 is well wooded, and contains much fine agricultural land, it has a high position value, and it is to be regretted that from its great extent and its monopolizing the whole of the land available for the site of the Town. Europeans of good character and industrious habits have been prevented from settling in this neighbourhood. Tims the Natives have been deprived of the many benefits which would have arisen to them, both pecuniarily and shortly, had the nature of the Reserve permitted their close contact with a civilised community.