PAPERS RELATING TO NATIVE SCHOOLS.

F.—No. _

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built; the other, the boundaries of which are defined in the deed, but the exact acreage of which I cannot at present state, for the purpose of school endowment. I heard some time ago of the existence of these deeds, but, although I made every enquiry at Wellington and Auckland I could get no trace of them. Two months ago I requested a brother-in-law of the late Mr. Baker, R.M., of Waiapu, who was going to Auckland, to ascertain from Mrs. Baker, widow of the late R.M., whether they might possibly be among any family papers. They were found and immediately forwarded to me. I shall be glad to receive instructions with regard to these parchments. I understand that Mr. Ormond is shortly to visit this coast. It might be well to hand them over to him. I have, &c, J. H. Campbell, R.M.

No. 20. The Assistant Undeb-Seceetaby, Native Office, to the Resident Magisteate, Waiapu. Native Office, Wellington, Sib,— 19th January, 1872. Referring to your letter of December 26th, on the subject of two parchment deeds signed by leading chiefs of Ngatiporou, conveying lands to the Crown, I have the honor, by direction of Mr. M'Lean, to request you to cause copies of the deeds to be made for record in your office, and transmit the originals to Wellington. Tou are requested to furnish the name of the person who forwarded the deeds to you. I have, See., H. Halse, Assistant Under-Secretary.

No. 21. The Resident Magisteate, Waiapu, to the Hon. the Native Ministeb. Sic, Waiapu, 15th February, 1872. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 19th January, and, according to instructions, I forward by this mail the two deeds of land at Waiapu. I have ascertained from Morgan and others that the Manutahi block contains between one and two thousand acres. It is impossible to know accurately as it has not been surveyed. Being good land, it may prove a valuable support to schools if well let. The deeds were found by Mr. Green, of Auckland, father-in-law of the late Mr. Baker, among some other papers. Colonel Eussel met with a very good reception from the Natives, and the work of school building will be proceeded with as soon as the necessary materials can be landed from Auckland. Any report of mine on the subject at present would only be a recapitulation of former proceedings reported six months ago. Hick's Bay, Waiapu, Tuparoa, and Tokomaru will be the school districts for the present, and are likely, I should suppose, to prove sufficient for the future. I have, Sec., J. H. Campbell, EM.

No. 22. The Resident Magisteate, Opotiki, to the Hon. the Native Ministeb. Sic,— Opotiki, 14th February, 1872. I have the honor to inform you that, in accordance with verbal instructions which I received from Mr. Commissioner Clarke, immediately on my arrival here I endeavored to direct the attention of the Whakatohea Natives to the establishment of a Native school. On tho sth instant, at Waiawa, T conversed with a considerable number of Natives, including the principal chiefs of Whakatohea on this subject. I explained to them that the Government would expect them to bear a portion of the cost of erecting a building for this purpose ; they, however, complain of being badly off, of their crops having failed, &c, and state that they could not raise their share of the cost, unless, indeed, they were employed on public works: in which case, they say they would set apart a portion of their earnings for this purpose. This plan, however, would involve delay. Under these circumstances, they have asked me to submit to you the following proposal:—That two buildings be erected; I—-A school-house forty feet by sixteen feet, capable of accommodating about eighty children ; 2—A cottage for the schoolmaster, the size of this to depend on the fact of bis being married or not, &c. The Natives propose to erect one of these houses (say the first) themselves; the building to be a Native one of raupo, the posts to be of totara, and the inside lined with reeds, and finished in the best and most substantial Native manner; the Government to find doo-r, windows, flooring, and fittings for the building. The other building they propose should be erected of timber, at the cost of the Government. The Natives would also find house-blocks for the timber building, fencing for the school reserve; if required, 6