C—4b.

4

The Tikorangi military settlement was comprised in the Turangi Block of 20,000 acres, which was the property of the Ngatirahiri tribe; out of it 4000 acres were taken for the military settlers, leaving 16,000 acres for the Ngatirahiri. These, however, complained that having been always loyal, they ought to be compensated for having lost a fifth of their land. In March, 1873, proposals were made to meet the case; either that the land of the Ngatirahiri should be surveyed and secured to them by Crown grants at the expense of the Government, or that a sum of money should be given by way of compensation, for the purpose of enabling them to purchase agricultural implements. In December, 1865, instructions were given to Mr. Parris that the land situated between the Mimi and Urenui rivers was to be given back to the Ngatitama and Ngatimutungu tribes, the branches of Ngatiawa which had gone to the Chatham Islands. The state of the confiscated lands north of Waitara stands as under :— acres. To Military Settlers ... ... ... ... ... ... 14,994 Native Reserves, 1 Turangi, 16,000 f „„ ~™ Compensation, &c, j Mimi to Urenui, about 20,000 \ ' Balance not yet disposed of otherwise, about ... ... ... 239,006 290,000 The total acreage is only estimated by scaleing. Summary. It will thus be seen that in the confiscated lands on the West Coast there are— A. R. P. Apportioned to Military Settlers ... ... ... ... 90,761 315 Returned to Natives and Reserves for them ... ... 155,204 0 0 Lands sold by the Government ... ... ... ... 22,729 1 33 Miscellaneous ... ... ... ... ... 735 0 0 Not otherwise disposed of, about ... ... ... ... 875,269 232 1,144,700 0 0 Waikato. The Waikato country was confiscated under the proclamation of December 17th, 1864, and the boundary of confiscation was then defined. By various orders in Council and proclamations, several districts within the limits set forth in the recitation of boundaries were set apart as sites for settlements. In September, 1865, the proposal was mooted to transfer to the Province of Auckland the confiscated lands within it; a resolution to that effect was passed in the House of Representatives on the 26th October, 1865, and it was proposed that the Province should be allowed to raise a loan of £250,000 to enable it to carry out the resolution ; the Interest and Sinking Fund to be borne by the Province. The sum of £100,000, to be repaid out of the loan, was advanced to the Superintendent to promote settlement on these lands. The arrangements eventually fell through, and the Superintendent requested the General Government to resume the management of the confiscated lands. The question of the lands in this district set apart for Natives is treated in the report of the Commissioner of Native Reserves for 1871. Some of the lands thus appropriated are under Crown grants, with or without reservation, and some are inalienable reserves: the grant of the Te Akau Block of 90,360 acres is to thirteen trustees with power to divide among loyal Natives of the tribes Ngatitahinga and Tainui, and to lease for a period not exceeding thirty years ; and grants in trust of a similar nature exist for the benefit of the Ngatimahanga, Ngatihaua, <fee. At Waiuku some difficulty arose in consequence of the mismanagement by the trustees of the reserves in whose names the Crown grants were made out. To remedy the evils arising from this state of things, 103 pieces of land have been handed over in trust to Major Heaphy and Mr. White, the former of whom has been requested by the chiefs to work on their behalf. There are still remaining some undefined reserves, such as that at Tauwhare for returned rebels of the Ngatihaua tribe comprising 22,330 acres, and situated to the east of the Horotiu river, the boundaries of which have not been laid off. Attached is a return of the state of the Waikato lands :—- Return of Confiscated Lands in Waikato and Manakau. No. • Bistribution. acres, 1. Area granted to Military Settlers ... ... ... ... 124,503 2. Area granted to Waikato Immigrants ... ... ... . 15,988 3. Area appropriated to Natives (loyal) ... ... ... 181,516 ~ Area appropriated to Natives (otherwise) ... ... ... 119,705 4. Area of Lands Sold ... ... ... ... ... 160,805 5. Reserves for various purposes (including University Reserve of 20,000 acres) ... ... ... ... ... 24,393 6. Miscellaneous (Town Belts, Sand-hills, Rivers and Lakes, Roads, <tc.) 49,089 7. Area not otherwise disposed of ... ... ... .. 517,307 1,193,306 N.B. —No. 4 realised £90,474 16s. 45., and of it were sold in financial year ending 30th June, 1873, 6,303 acres for £6,728. Total average per acre on confiscated lands sold in Waikato—lis. 3d. per acre.