G.—2

18

The Puketapu are going to have a meeting to discuss the matter, as the line of road will have to cross part of their tribal district from Whakangerengere, from which place the leading men are in favour of taking up the work. I will report the result of their meeting. I have, &c, E. Paeeis, The Under Secretary, Native Department, Wellington. Civil Commissioner.

No. 18. The Eesident Magistrate, Wanganui Native District, to the Undee Seceetaey, Native Department. Sic, — Wanganui, 7th June, 1873. In compliance with your request by circular letter of No. and date as per margin, relative to the state of the Natives in this district, I have the honor to state that, having been in charge of the district during only four months prior to this date, my report must necessarily be a very meagre one. Eepoet. I consider the present social condition of the Natives in this district as in some respects satisfactory. There is a very evident desire on the part of the younger portion of the population to raise themselves to the level of the European, which shows itself in a strong desire to possess weatherboard houses, furniture, horses (particularly draught), cattle, sheep, carts, ploughs, &c. Some of the young chiefs have very sensibly adopted the plan of erecting small weatherboard houses in the English style, just large enough to accommodate the owner and his family. These houses, being convenient and snug, are constantly occupied, and are, I consider, a great improvement, from a social point of view, on more pretentious buildings, which latter are only occupied on certain rare occasions, when every room in the house is filled with friends, who eat and sleep in them indiscriminately. On ordinary occasions, the only portion used (if used at all) is the kitchen, in which the whole family cook, eat, and sleep ; these large houses, therefore, being devoid of comfort to a Native, have failed in many instances to raise him socially above his countryman who lives in a Maori whare ; but if a Native can build a small comfortable house, lined and floored, with chimneys, and containing two or three rooms and a kitchen, according to the size of his family, the result is that, finding warmth and comfort in his own home, he gives up the habit of going to the whare-puni with his family every night, and the children are removed from those evils which are the natural result of a large body of both sexes sleeping in the same compartment. The majority of the Natives in this district possess at least a share in a team of draught horses or bullocks, a plough, cart, &c. As much as £95 has been given for a pair of good draught horses within the last four months. Some of the young men in this district are able to compete very favourably against all European ploughmen at the annual ploughing match held at Aramoho, in which prizes by the Government are given to the best Native ploughmen, and these are generally supplemented by subscription prizes to all comers. Two or three young chiefs are owners of small flocks of sheep ; several of them possess race-horses, and a few possess carriages or traps. But this great desire to adopt habits of civilized life has also its dark side in the vice of drinking, which I am afraid has been on the increase during the past few months, owing to rather large sums of money which have been paid to them on account of land sold to Government. It is not an uncommon occurrence for a young chief to spend £50 or £60 in giving a dinner, with beer, champagne, &c, to his friends, and this is to be particularly noticed after a sitting of the Native Land Court. If judgment has been given on a long-disputed question, both parties (claimants and counterclaimants) vie with each other as to who can give the most expensive entertainment, in order to prove to each other and to the world that no ill-feeling exists between them. In this manner hundreds of pounds have been squandered away during the past three or four months ; and I am afraid we must not look for much improvement in this respect whilst the Natives possess so large an extent of waste land, which can at any time be turned into ready money. In fact they are now in a transition state between barbarism and civilization, and consequently they cannot be fairly judged either by the former or the latter standard. Having a large amount of available capital in the shape of land, they are the more easily drawn into habits of idleness and careless extravagance. The remedy to this unsatisfactory state of affairs lies, I believe, in the disposal of all their waste lands; reserving sufficient land for themselves to yield a handsome income. When they have to turn their attention to the means of obtaining a living by their own industry, they will, I believe, compare favourably with the European settler, and will be led to adopt habits of industry and sobriety. Education. One great want, most keenly felt by the more intelligent chiefs of my acquaintance, is the want of literature in their own language, or (which comes to the same thing) ability to read and understand English. They are keenly alive to everything which is going on around them, and take the greatest interest in all questions interesting to colonists generally; but to obtain information on these points they are entirely dependent on the leisure or good nature of any friend who can speak both languages. It is true they have the Waka Maori; but there is a strong desire for information on all sorts of subjects beyond the province of a newspaper to afford. Having this feeling, therefore, the Natives very gladly welcome the establishment amongst them, by Government aid, of schools, in which their children can be taught the English language. One such school has been established within the last three months, at Matatera, on the Wangaehu Eiver. The schoolhouse, which was originally a dwelling-house belonging to Aperahama Tahunuiarangi and Hoani

No. 3 of 27th March, 1873.