E—No. 7
CENSUS RETURN OF THE NATIVE POPULATION, &c., IN THE PROVINCES OF OTAGO AND SOUTHLAND, AND ISLANDS ADJACENT, DECEMBER 1861.
A, C. Strode, Esq.
No. 18. N APIE R. REPORT FROM G. S. COOPER, ESQ., DISTRICT LAND PURCHASE COMMISSIONER. Waipukurau, Hawke's Bay, October 7th, 1861. Sir,— In reference to your letter of the 7th of August last, calling upon me for a report, for the information of His Excellency Sir George Grey, upon the state of the Natives ia this district, and in any others with which I may be acquainted, I have the honor to report as follows. The Natives in this district have passed through a period of excitement which, ten or twelve months ago, appeared likely to lead them to dangerous lengths. Their minds were thoroughlyunsettled on the land question. They firmly believed that it was the intention of the Government to take forcible possession of their lands and enslave them, to which conviction they were led by what they heard of the tendency of newspaper articles, and inflammatory speeches at public meetings, as well as by injudicious things said to them—sometimes seriously, sometimes in angry or drunken discussions —by Europeans; above all by a firm conviction of the injustice of the part taken by Government in the Taranaki war. They considered this to be the first step towards depriving them of their lands, and believed that the Government had forced it upon the Maoris as a pretext for importing a strong body of troops for the purpose of subjugating them; and they therefore looked with extreme anxiety to every movement of the Government, fearing every day to hear of a further advance towards the seizure of their lands. They had but recently passed through a civil war on a small scale amongst themselves, arising from quarrels about land selling, and were quite prepared to take up arms against the Government if self-defence appeared to require it, though I believe that they were always sincerely desirous of maintaining peace. And the unfortunate institution of prosecutions against squatters upon their lands occurring just at this time, tended still further to unsettle their minds. The cessation of hostilities at Taranaki was the first thing that produced a visible effect upon them; though the resistance to, aud failure of the prosecutions of, the squatters, had partly reassured them (vide'my letter of 11th March, 1861). Not long after that the debates in the House of Representatives, attended by a change in the Ministry, still further tranquillized them. But when at last it became known that Her Majesty had been advised to reappoint His Excellency Sir G. Grey to the Government of this country, all lingering feelings of doubt and uncertainty at once gave way to one of
G. S. Cooper, Esq,
38
REPORTS ON THE STATE OF THE NATIVES
Poi mlation. Area of Li mil. Li 'eStc ■k. Children. Place of Abode. Kemarks. CO s « p. s o 8 "3 CO fi a V N d .9 a > o C! H a u o £ o — ifl 9 a s 00 O H ■ o ■Jl B 3 H a ►-* | Acres 500 Acrs 65 Acrs 45 locraki 30 23 7 4 64 30 90 95 Vaikotiaiti 38 29 31 22 8 13 6 5 I 3 2 120 2393 80 57 40 114 85 )takou (head of Harbour) M 30 80 6378 58 43 32 87 70 laitapapa, (East Taieri) 9 10 30 2300 30 29 28 97 20 lolyneux 9 5 19 100 6 6 2 24 20 )reti or New River 12 10 i 7 33 1686 30 25 20 40 25 Lparima or Jacob's River 25 25 12 8 I 9 11 18 14 70 I 527 60 50 25 60 30 )ranga and neighbourhood 20 25 I 65, 1132 70 60 50 25 sland of Ruapuke 30 36 98 200 150 140 100 40 Itewart's Island 10 12 6: 5 j 104. 91 "I ! 100 30 25 10 30 I I I Totals 212 205 612' 15,316 579 480 177 672 440 A. Ch Assi: [ETHAM Strode, stant Native Secretary.