A.—No. 3,

40

RELIGIOUS, CHARITABLE, AND

The Rev. George Henry Johnstone, being duly sworn, states: lam incumbent and curate of the Parish of Christchurch, Nelson. No. 4 section stands in the names of five special trustees, as follows: Dr. Greenwood, Mr. A. J. Richmond, Mr. J. M. Pierson, Mr. J. T. Lowe, diocesan trustees. The names of the Nelson local trustees are —Mr. Hugh Martin, Mr. D. Sinclair, Mr. A. J. Richmond, Mr. J. M. Pierson, and Mr. George Williams. I confirm the Bishop's remark, that the objects of the trust have been carried out. No. 5 section. —I confirm the Bishop's remark as to this section also. No. 9 section. —This section was bought by Bishop Selwyn out of the Church Funds. The school has been attended by boys of various denominations, such as Presbyterians and other dissenters, and also Jews. The Church property in Nelson is conveyed to the Diocesan Synod, in trust under an Act of the New Zealand Legislature, and by them is intrusted to local trustees, who act under instructions from, and report to, the Diocesan Synod. No. 31 section. —I know nothing, except that the parsonage at Picton stands on this section. The parsonage at Nelson stands upon one acre of land. This was given to the Church of England as a residence for a clergyman by the Hon. A. G. Tollemache, about the year 1843. ,

Mr. Thomas Brunner, having been duly sworn, states: With reference to the Motueka lands held by the Bishop of New Zealand, as far as I remember, I was called into the office of the then Commissioner of Crown Lands, and instructed to bring in what plans I had, together with the rent-roll'of the Native trust property at Motueka ; first, to point out what I considered an eligible site for a Native school, and then, what land should be given to yield a rental of £100 a year. I was obliged to select almost all, if not quite all, the lands that were then let, which of course was the best of these lands. I suggested the addition of the piece of Crown land on tho hill at the back of the Wakarewa estate, to provide a sort of run for sheep and cattle. I was not a Commissioner of Native Reserves at that time. I consider that the Native Reserves at Motueka were made for the benefit of the whole of the Natives in Blind Bay. Mr. Stephens, the surveyor of the New Zealand Company, when he first laid out the Motueka sections, found there was a long strip of Native cultivation along the border of the wood from Waiponanui to Wakarewa. Instead of leaving this in possession of the Maoris in accordance with the terms of the Treaty of Waitangi, he included these cultivations in his surveyed sections, so that they were afterwards chosen as Native Reserves, whereas they should have been altogether excluded, and the reserves chosen in addition for the benefit of the Natives. He did increase the particular sections which comprised the cultivations of the Natives, so as to make them include fifty acres besides the part cultivated. But the result was that Mr. Thompson, the Resident Magistrate, was obliged in order to keep the cultivations of the Natives, to select these sections as Native Reserves, under the New Zealand Company's arrangement, which created a confusion in administering the trust, because the Commissioners found themselves obliged to treat the New Zealand Company's Reserves as land originally belonging to and always retained \>y the Natives themselves. With respect to the lands given as an endowment for the school, and what the Natives say they have not been paid for, the grant to the Bishop excludes the greater portion of the lands that were Native cultivations. The reserves belonged to the whole of the Natives concerned with the Nelson settlement, as they represented the tenths of lands in other districts. The property given to the Church of England, if given solely for religious purposes, is in my opinion far too large and valuable, taking the numbers of the different sects as the basis. I have always opposed the grant made to the Bishop, because I believed it injurious to the Natives, and also because I believed Motueka was not the proper site for the school contemplated by the school. Being in the centre of the Natives, too much jealousy was caused by the Natives feeling others shared the rents or use of properties belonging to the Motueka Natives only. Having always had a desire to see a school properly tried, I have advised a school in Nelson to be under English masters onby, and by this I think some few children might be taught annually.

Motueka and Collingwood Church of England Trusts. Letter from the Rev. S. Poole, M.A., to tho Secretary to the Commission. Sir,— Motueka, 25th February, 1870. In reply to your letter of the 16th instant, I beg to state that my residence is built upon a portion of part of suburban section number 154, containing forty-one acres, in the District of Motueka, in the Province of Nelson. His Lordship the late Bishop of New Zealand obtained it, I believe, by purchase, and conveyed it to trustees appointed by the authority of the General Synod, in the Province of New Zealand. The following are the names of the trustees, viz., John Wallis Barnicoat, Esquire; Joseph Margetts Pierson, Esquire ; John Danforth Greenwood, Esquire; James Townsend Lowe, Esquire. " The trust for the use and benefit of the Diocese of Nelson generally ; and in case the present Diocese of Nelson shall at any time hereaiter be divided, then upon and for such trusts and purposes, either diocesan or local, as the General Synod may from time to time direct, for the benefit of all or any one or more of the Dioceses into which the present Diocese of Nelson may be divided : Subject to all such rules and regulations as may from time to time be made by, or by authority of, the General Synod concerning the same, and for securing the due execution of the trust and purpose aforesaid ; and until such rules and regulations shall be so made concerning the matters aforesaid, subject to all such regulations and rules as may from time to time be made concerning the same by the Standing Commission for the time being." Ten acres of the above-mentioned land were, in accordance with the provisions of the trust, set apart by the Standing Commission, as a glebe for the resident clergyman at Motueka. (Vide Proceedings of the Standing Commission of the General Synod. Present —Tho Bishop of New Zealand, Sir W.