7 A—No. 17.

Public meetings took place in front of the raupo whare used as a Court House, where I had to speak very plainly as to the course which would be pursued in the event of a rush to Ohinemuri being attempted. It is due to the majority of the miners to say that, under all the circumstances of the case, they behaved well, and that the agitation was got up either for political purposes by a few, or by new arrivals from the Middle Island, who could not understand " a Native difficulty," and were not easily convinced that they were not as free and unrestrained at the Thames as in the wilds of Australia, Otago, or the West Coast. On the 16th October, His Honor the Superintendent (having just returned from "Wellington) paid his first visit to the gold field. A public meeting of miners was held, which he and I were requested to attend. Strenuous attempts were made to obtain permission to mine at Ohinemuri, and His Honor most ably and firmly supported me in the matter, and I am happy to say that the majority of those present were convinced by his arguments of the extreme inadvisability of attempting to take forcible possession of Ohinemuri. Some malcontents, incited by a man named Edmonds, determined to proceed up the Waiwhakarunga River on to land which the old chief Eiwai of Ngatimaru had declared should not be opened for gold mining. I determined to teach these men a lesson, and sent Detective Crick and three Native Police, all well armed with carbines and revolvers, and ordered them to bring back the trespassers. This had the effect of stopping further proceedings of this kind. A deputation of twelve men, who had been selected to visit Te Hira and induce him to consent to open Ohinemuri, were also deterred from going there. The chief Eopata te Arakai, of Ohinemuri, who has always been loyal and well-disposed towards Europeans, came to vShortland to see His Honor the Superintendent, and said he was willing to lease his lands for gold-mining purposes. I then arranged with His Honor to go and see Te Moananui at Maiariki, while he remained at Shortland to attend to gold fields business. On arrival at Matariki, To Moananui expressed himself willing to accompany His Honor to Ohinemuri, but at the same time said, " There was not the slightest chance of success, as To Hira was very obstinate." We then proceeded to Shortland. Te Moananui arranged to accompany the Superintendent to Ohinemuri, and I was to follow if possible. Just at this time, however, gold was found near Waipatukahu, or Tapu C/eek, and a favourable opportunity presented itself to divert the attention of the miners from Ohinemuri. I therefore used every endeavour to obtain the cession of the Ngatitamatera lands to the north of Shortland, so as to connect the Thames field with Coromandel. This occupied my lime until the 9th November, 18G7, when I procured the consent of Te Moananui and the principal chiefs of the tribe Ngatitamatera to permit mining for gold over all their lauds, except reserves for Native residence, cultivation, and burial-grounds, from Cape Colville on the north, extending thence south to Te Mamaku on the east shore of the Hauraki Gulf, and Mercury Bay on the East Coast. The terms were the same as those in the agreement made by the Ngatimaru on the 27th July, 1867, with the exception that I had to advance the sum of £500, to be refunded from miners' rights when received, for the lands leased. I then returned to Shortland, and commenced negotiations with the Ngatiwhanaunga Tribe for a lease of their lands. This resulted in five of the principal men signing a memorandum to permit mining on their lands, from Hikutaia and Whangamata on the south to Cape Colville on the north. They received a deposit of £100 on the same. A considerable portion of the land at the southern end of this claim, in the neighbourhood of Hikutaia and Whangamata, was disputed with these people by Herewine te Eangai and other Hauhaus of Ngatimaru, residing at Hikutaia. I therefore took no further action about that portion, being content to take such part as the Ngatiwhanaunga could hereafter substantiate their title to. On the 18th November, a meeting of the Ngatimaru Tribe was held, and after a hard contest on that and the following day. I succeeded in obtaining their consent to allow mining in the Whakairi or Waiwhahaurunga Block. The old chief Riwai and the Land League party would not, however, hear of any mining operations being carried on within the Otunui Block, lying between Shortland and Whakairi. It was arranged to defer the signing of the final agreement until the whole of the Ngatimaru and Ngatiwhanaunga claims were arranged. The additional area thus arranged for diverted the attention of the miners from Ohinemuri; and in order to render it at once available for gold mining, His Honor the Superintendent proclaimed a considerable portion of it to be a gold field, by notice published in the Provincial Government Gazette of the 21st November, 1567. On the 21st November I was confined to my bed with illness, which arose from overwork and anxiety. I was unfit to do any duty from that period until the 9th December —though such was the pressure of business, and the amount of work which was thrown on Mr. Baillie, the Warden of the gold field, thatj was compelled to hear some Court cases, and attend to other matters, when lying on a sofa in my private house. On the 13th December, the Ngatimaru of Manaia agreed to lease their lands at that place for gold mining purposes ; but in consequence of a dispute with the Tawera Tribe, about a boundary, the ground was not immediately available for general mining. Permission was however given to Mr. Cadrnan and others to " prospect " or search for gold there. On the 16th November, I completed an arrangement with the Ngatimaru Tribe, and my old opponent Eiwai, to allow mining over the Otunui Block. In January, 1868, I took some miners to prospect in the Cape Colville Block; thence I proceeded to Manaia to endeavour to arrange the dispute between the Tawera and Ngatimaru about the boundary of their land. After discussing the question for several days, it was found necessary to abandon it, owing to the obstinacy of Te Wikirivvhi of Ngatimaru. On the 14th February, 186S, I went to Hikutaia, and visited Herewine te Eangai, and the Hauhaus of Ngatimaru residing there, with a view to inducing them to arrange the dispute about the boundary between their lands and those of the Ngatiwhanaunga Tribe, as it had become a matter of importance, owing to the discovery of gold at Te Puriri. I however found them civil, but very obstinate about their claims ; they would neither agree to any adjustment of the dispute, nor allow gold mining on any land claimed by them. They said their boundary commenced at Te Eata, on the bank of the Eiver Waihou (Thames) ; thence to Whakaota; thence ascending to Pukawhau; thence

Enclosure GK

THE THAMES GOLD FIELDS.