H.—29

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176. Arc you positive that you did not receive £325 for that land ? —I know nothing about the £25. All that I know about is what I saw, and that is the sum of £300. 177. Mr. Worgan] Were you satisfied with the Government purchasing price of 10s. per acre ?— I was satisfied with the price. Mr. Worgan told me that the Government price of the land was 10s. an acre, and I agreed to accept. 178. AVere you ever at any time offered more money by anybody else ? —I never was offered any higher price for the land. We Natives would have wished a higher price, but understanding that tho Government only could buy the land, we accepted the Government terms. 179. Was there any other witness besides you and me to the original transaction ? —AVirihana Puna was present. 180. Do you know whether Wirihana was intimately acquainted with all the circumstances of tho case ? —Wirihana knew all about it. He told Mr. Worgan that my wife had an interest in this land, being a descendant of Wahanga. 181. Was AVirihana not present on all occasions, and intimately acquainted with the nature of each transaction ?—He is familiar with all the circumstances of the purchase. He acted for me and advised me in the matter. 182. The Court] Did AVirihana see the receipts given for both the £50. —AVirihana saw us receive the money, and saw us sign the receipts in one of the rooms of tho office here. 183. AVas AVirihana present on both occasions ? —Yes. 184. Was AVirihana present when the resale took place to 11. S. Taylor ? —Wirihana was not present, but ho heard all about it. 185. How did ho know all about it ? —He told me that he heard that we intended selling this land to Mr. Taylor. 186. Who is AVirihana—does he occupy any official position ? —He is an assessor. 187. Is he connected in any way with the Land Purchase Department ?—He acts for Mr. Worgan in speaking to tho Natives about tho land, more as an agent than interpreter. 188. Do you consider him as an agent for tho Government ? —I think he is ;he has acted in that way since he has been with Mr. Worgan. 189. Why do you say you can sell only to Government ? —First of all, I did not know where this land was, there being no boundaries laid down. And when Mr. AVorgan spoke to us about the land we agreed to sell it to him for tho Government, thinking that we could not sell it to others, becauso persons wishing to buy went to him about it. 190. Having sold the land to the Government, what induced you to sell it to another person ?— Becauso Mr. AVorgan told us we could sell it again, therefore we sold it. AYe sold it in the first instance for £200 ; but finding we could get £300 for it, we decided to accept it. 191. AVhose property do you consider tho land to be, Mr. Taylor's or the Government's?—l am unable to say whether it is Mr. Taylor's or the Government's; perhaps tho Native Land Court can settle the matter. 192. Do you know there is a Native Lands Frauds Commissioner's Court ? —I have not heard of such a Court. 193. Do you not think you acted very dishonestly when you sold the land a second time ?—I do not understand that I acted dishonestly in the matter. 194. How do you know that your claim amounted to 400 acres ? —He saw published certain notices of the Compensation Court allotting each person named with so much land. 195. What name stood opposite this land? —Tho name of AVahanga; my name is not mentioned. 196. Are there any other descendants of AVahanga besides those mentioned?—AVahanga has two sons and one daughter living. 197. Did you understand, when selling this land, that you were selling the whole interest in the land ? —I spoke to the others about the land, and they agreed that I should act for them in the matter. I signed for the others, not myself. I signed for Paramena, Te Wharetiti, Apiha, Te Pipi, Riheta Te Puihi; these are of the sons and daughters of Wahanga. I signed also for the two women, the daughters of one of the persons mentioned. 198. Did you state on the deed that you signed for those people ? —I do not know whether it was so written on the deed. I stated at the time that I signed for those persons. 199. Had you any written authority to sign for those people?— They only told me ; they did not give me any written authority. 200. Had the land been surveyed at the time of sale ? —I never saw the land; Ido not know whether it was surveyed. 201. Do you know if it has since been surveyed? —I do not know. 202. Did you mention, when selling it to Mr. Taylor, that you had previously sold it ? —No ; I did not mention it, as I thought he already knew that I had sold it to the Government. Edwin Woon recalled. 203. Mr. Booth] Do you recollect a block of 400 acres being sold by Poari Kuramate to Mr. H. S. Taylor?—l remember Poari Kuramate, Rahira Kuramate, wife of Poari, and Ngakari or Panga, the same person, as representatives of Wahanga, selling a block of 400 acres, awarded to Wahanga by Compensation Court, to Mr. H. S. Taylor. 204. What was the price per acre given by Mr. Taylor for this land ?—lss. 205. AVas Mr. Worgan present when the sale of this block of land was negotiated ? —Mr. AVorgan was present a short time during the time I was arranging the business. If I remember rightly, his (Mr. AVorgan's) business was relative to the allotment of the land. 206. AVas Mr. AVorgan present when the money was paid for the land?—l think so. 207. Did tho Natives know the number of the allotment which they sold to Mr. Taylor ?—Yes ; the allotment was fully described in a schedule of the deed, and formed part of the deed. 208. Do you know of your knowledge that before the land was sold to Mr. Taylor that the Natives had any idea as to the position of the land ?—I do not think that they had the remotest idea.