E—No. 5a

property with interest, by claiming much larger damages than they had previously lost. And to such an extent had this mania risen, that the chief reason assigned by many for wishing to individualize their titles, was not that they might alienate their lands to European purchasers, but that they might be enabled to transfer them a3 payment for offences committed against each other. In which case, it is easy to see how soon the whole of the Native territory would be involved in confusion ; and how the Maori's dissatisfaction would result in revenge, on rinding himself denuded of his little patrimony, and that too, perhaps, without cause. I hope the Government will provide against this power being exercised by the runangas. Ou the other hand, I met with several Natives, in the Bay of Plenty, indebted to European merchants and traders, who expressed regret that their lands were held in common ; as otherwise they would have the ready means of defraying their liabilities, which are now being annually increased by the addition of 10 per cent, to the original sum ; and in some cases goods had been almost forced upon them, with the promise that payment wonld be accepted in land on failure of other means of discharge. At Waiheke I found an Assessor, but no runanga-maori; and at Coromandel neither the one nor the other. Some of the people obtain considerable sums by the sale of timber, or by its freight to Auckland; with this money spirits are bought extensively, and both men and women, with the youths, are given to its consumption. And if they receive cash from the Government for the working of their lands, it is to be feared that it will be mostly spent in a similar way, At Kapanga I found the Natives repeatedly drunk, and the women worse than the men. They received the liquor from Waiheke, and then would hawk it about the harbour at Bs, per bottle. In such a case a Maori runanga would be a blessing, but the people have neither the desire nor the energy to appoint one. Pita is the most suitable man for an Assessor, being one of Mr. Lanfear's Teachers; he declines the appointment. At Kawaeranga (mouth of the Thames river), I found the Natives divided into two distinct parties; the Ngatiwhanaunga under Tikapa calling for English law, and the Ngatimaru under tbe old chief Riwai all wishful to go back to the ritenga of their ancestors. At a meeting of their runanga which I called, they expounded their views fully, and pronounced for a state of pure Maori-ism as regards customs, laws, language, trade, religious instruction, and local habitation. I never heard anything so exclusive before. They would have nothing to do with the King (Potatau), nor with the Queen, nor the Governor, nor Magistrates; but simply rule themselves by their own laws, and keep entirely separate from the Pakeha. Their fathers had done without us, and so would they, &c. The argument lasted three hours, kept up with spirit and good temper; and after that the " Queen's runanga," as they styled themselves, followed in reply, and gave expression to sentiments of a very opposite character. Immediately afterwards, the Maori Court, or runanga, was opened, as if in illustration of their speeches, and for my peculiar benefit. Old Riwai sat as Judge; the case, one of " korero-teka," (slander), was introduced, and argued by two young men as "Roias" (lawyers), each having received a fee of 10s. The Judge was quickly confused by them, and sent to ask me how to proceed. I replied, that I was there as a spectator only, and wished to see how such cases were conducted. Plaintiff then began on behalf of her daughter of ten years of age, whose gentle birth had been maligned, and in a screaming speech,with abundance ofp«/raHa(grimaces)demanded damages of fifty pounds, to be paid down at once. On this, loud laughter arose on every side. Tlie child's father came forward to prove how reasonable was the demand ; saying that though the mother was a slave, he was a chief, and a great one, too, and that the sum was little enough for having called his daughter a taurekareka (slave) He was quickly supported by aunts and uncles in abundance, who all doubtless thought that £50, ready cash, would be a good thing for the family: and so they all stood up and chattered together, making confusion worse confounded. By this time the two lawyers were nearly fighting, pacing about and speechifying one against the other: and the Court was about to decide in favor of the plaintiff, who had gained judgment solely through strength of lungs and impudence, when up jumped the defendant, —a wretched looking old woman, and all in tatters: and rushing into the ring, she first divided the lawyers, then assailed the plaintiff, then abused the witnesses, heaped scorn on all the party, and justified the libel; then repeated it most expressively, and dared them to their faces. The whole Court was instantly in an uproar, like Bedlam let loose, each person siding off to his party, and every speaker grinning at the rest, and all speaking and rushing about together; when my interference was again requested by the Judge. Poor old man, he was all in a nervous s_at, and had evidently lost the train of his ideas. Order being restored, I took the case in hand, much to the discomfiture of the lawyers; and within a quarter of an hour the whole evidence had been extracted, and the decision given. Judgment was still for the plaintiff, but only 10s. damages; and yet all parties were pleased with the result. Even the old dame herself was content, crying out that " she had never had such a sum in her life, and never should have, and they might get the money as they could." This speech was received with great applause, and a collection at once commenced, when garments and coins of various value, amounting to about 255., were handed over and laid at the feet of the mother, the plaintiff,—as a cure-all for her troubled mind and daughter's daaged reputamtion. The above scene I have described as it really occurred; and ludicrous as it may appear, I was informed that it was but a type of what frequently took place at their runanga-maoris. The next day, I held a meeting of our own runanga, and found only fifteen adults, of that hapu, fit to act as jurymen; out of which twelve were chosen by sufifrage, or rather by the nomination of two or three of the head men, assented to by the rest. The Chief's son (who was acting as a kind of Assessor) I found to be very talkative and vain, expectant of high salary, and ambitious of power, especially that of throwing both Maoris and Pakehas into prison. He said, if we rule them, they ought also to rule us; otherwise, how could we say that they possessed the same right and immunities as British subjects ? But still, though very rigid, his relations would prefer him to one of the Ngatimaru'as an Assessor; whereas the latter tribe seem to hold him and his pretensions in extreme contempt. As in many other similar cases, the only remedy is to appoint one from either party,

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REPORTS AND SUGGESTIONS