G.—B

9

Mr. E. W. Pucket to the Civil Commissioner, Auckland. Sir,— Native Office, Thames, 13th July, 1872. I have the honor to enclose herewith schedule of proposed payments to complete outstanding purchases —Piako and Waitoa blocks, a balance of £713, according to Mr. Mackay's arrangements (excepting recent advances to Ema Te Aouru of £50, and to H. Tipa of £20). W. 11. Taipairi and myself have gone fully into the claims not considered by Mr. Mackay, and we think a payment of £40 to Wata Hangata, Hiri Haua, Matini Potara, and Eakena Eaukuru, fair and reasonable to extinguish their interests. The Ngatimaru have a claim, and we propose to extinguish it by a payment of £'150 ; also to give the Ngatipaoa an additional payment of £97, thus bringing the entire amount to be paid, inclusive of advances above referred to, £1,000. The schedule will explain theso amounts more fully. I have, &c, The Civil Commissioner, Auckland. E. W. Puckey.

Enclosure 2 in No. 8. Schedule of Peoposed Payments, Piako and "Waitoa Blocks. Waitoa— £ H. Tipa ... ... ... ... ... ... 150 H. Patene ... ... ... ... ... ... 200 Eilu Paka and others ... ... ... ... ... 200 *Hoia Hana ... ... ... ... ... 10 *WataHangata „. ... ... ... ... ... 10 *Rakcna Kaukura ... ... ... ... ... 10 *Matini Potara ... ... ... ... ... ... 10 Piako— Ngatimaiu claimants through Kopirimau and Kihia te Kauwae ... 150 T. Tukere ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 Te Paea Otatu ... ... ... ... ... 70 Hemi Tahatika ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 Wikitoria H. Taipari ... ... ... ... ... 10 Hanata Puao .. ... ... ... ... ... 13 MitaToEatu ... ... ... ... ... 30 Additional payment to Ngatipaoa ... ... ... ... 97 £1,000 * Claims not taken into consideration by Mr. Mackay.

No. 9. Mr. E. W. Puckey to the Hon. the Native Minister. Sir, — Native Office, Thames, 15th December, 1872. I have the honor to inform you that on the 26th ultimo., I went to Taupo accompanied by W. 11. Taipari and Mr. E. H. Power, for the purpose of making the final payment to the Natives on account of the long outstanding land purchases at Piako and Waitoa. As there were a considerable number of claimants and interested parties it was necessary to make special terms with a vessel to convey us thither and bring us back. I accordingly engaged the p.s. " Enterprise, No. 2" —a steamer plying between this and Auckland —at a cost of six pounds. We reached Taupo in the evening, and our errand having been explained and preparations made for commencing business first thing iv the morning, we retired to a new house which Haora had built for the occasion. We then had a private meeting with the resident Natives and went fully into tho question of the claims, and everything having been satisfactorily adjusted, Haora in the early morning sent off a messenger to Whakatiwai to fetch Hoera to Whareponga, whose presence at the final extinction of their claims to these lands and especially the Waitoa block, both he and I considered advisable. About 9 o'clock in the morning we assembled in the Court-house, and the proceedings commenced by W. H. Taipari reading the list of claimants and the pieces of land claimed by them. This was the more requisite as Tarapipipi had raised au objection to the claims of Te Poea te Otatu and Horata Potene, on the ground that all either had a right to was an eel weir. Upon going into the question, however, in both cases the objection was withdrawn. There was no great difficulty experienced in dealing with any claim excepting as regards Motauhiahi—a piece of land contained within the AVaitoa block. "When the amount arranged to be paid for this land was named the claimants —Hone Te Koti, Wini Kerei, Eopata te Arahai, Hota Poka, and Eiki Poka —refused to sell unless they got £400. They offered to sell half of the land for £200, but —as I considered £200 already too high for a piece of land consisting of from one-third to one-half of deep swamp, and the total area of it being probably about 2,000 acres— after discussing the matter for nearly a day and a night, with Taipari's concurrence, I cut Motauhiahi out ofthe block. Tho only advance on this land was a sum of £15 paid to Weherua, a man since dead, and who did not appear to have any claim to the land whatsoever. The claim of Horata Potene was by her desire dealt with as though it was Tipa's, she claiming the land through him and having no special or separate claim. 3 G.—B.

Enclosure 1 in No. 8.