J.—s

12

212. They had virtually performed the election before the time ? —Tes. As to the excuse of there being floods and so on, it was not the real cause. Mr. J. H. Campbell gave a Native £5 to go round and get the signatures of the Natives. 213. Mr. Tole.] Did that Native vote ?—He did. 214. Was he a friend of Karaitiana, do you know ? —No, he was a friend of Mr. Campbell. Witness then continued his statement: I left Waiapu on the 12th, and the Natives told me they had already voted. I told the people there—the Ngatiporous —that only those votes would be legal which were given on the 15th ; and if Mr. Campbell sent in the names of those persons who had voted previously they could take action and shut them out. There was no flood to prevent the men coming to the polling-place. The day he should have come there was the 14th, and there was no flood on that date. This concluded the evidence.

Henare Tomoana.

20th July, 1876.

Wednesday, 26th July, 1876. J. H. Campbell, being in attendance, was examined as follows: — 215. The Chairman.] Tou are a Resident Magistrate, I think, and acted as Deputy Eeturning Officer at the late Eastern Maori District election ? —I did. 216. Can you produce the instructions you received from the Chief Eeturning Officer ?—Tes. (The paper containing the instructions referred to was produced and read.) 217. Is there any other correspondence which arose previous to this ?—Only two or three telegrams I received from Mr. Locke, I think previous to his giving me the instructions. (The telegrams were read.) 218. Was this all that passed between you and the Chief Eeturning Officer before the election ? — Tes, excepting that he sent up a notice inserted in the Waka Maori announcing the election. 219. I believe the poll took place on the 15th January ?—Tes. 220. What was the advertised polling-place for the district to which you were appointed Eeturning Officer? —The school-house at Waiapu. 221. Did you open the poll in the usual way?—No, unfortunately in the hurry of the moment, for I had many things to attend to, I completely overlooked the fact of its being the school-house. I took it for granted that it was at the Court House the poll should be taken, that being the place at which all public meetings were held. The contrary never occurred to me. Therefore when the polling-day came I proceeded to Te Awanui. 222. What is the distance between the school-house at Waiapu and the Court House at Te Awanui ? —Four miles. 223. Was any objection raised by the Natives to the poll being taken at Te Awanui ? —I am not aware that there was any objection. The only thing I remember is, that in proceeding to Te Awanui I met Tomoana, and he made the remark to me, " i thought the poll was to be taken at the schoolhouse " Until then I had no doubt that it was to be at the Court House. 224. Tou make a return of some forty or fifty?— Between forty and fifty. 22"). Were these taken at the Court House at Te Awanui? —Tes. 226. Were no votes taken at the Waiapu School-house ? —No. 227. Mr. Tole.] It was, you say, an oversight on your part? —Altogether I took it for granted that the poll was to be taken at the Court House. I was so very much occupied at the time, that I omitted to look closely enough to see that the school-house was specially mentioned. I took it for granted that it was the Court House, the place where the people generally met on special occasions. Moreover, there are a larger number of Natives on that side of the river. 228. There was no other cause except those you have mentioned? —No other. The course I took cost me a longer trip, and in consequence of the floods I was detained for over ten days. 229. Hon. Sir JD. McLean.] At that particular time? —Tes. 230. Mr. Tole.] When were these floods ?—They commenced on the 15th of January, at about daylight in the morning. When I proceeded to Te Awanui the river had risen very rapidly, and the floods continued for three or four days or a week afterwards. 231. On the day before was there any rain? —It rained slightly during the night. It rained very much on the mountains, but not with such great force as it did on the following day. 232. Mr. D. Reid.] What time in the morning might it be when you left home ? —I left home about 9 o'clock. 233. Did you hear afterwards whether any Natives presented themselves to vote at the schoolhouse ? —I did not hear, in consequence, I suppose, of my being kept at Te Awanui for ten days owing to the floods. 234. Were many votes polled at the Court House ?—About forty-three altogether. 235. If the poll had been taken at the proper place (in the school-house), do you think those who voted at the Court House would have recorded their votes on that day ? —I am not sure as to that, whether we should have had as many, because there are comparatively few Natives on the Waiapu side of the river. 236. Hon. Sir D. McLean.] Do you include Waiomatatini ?—Tes, and the inland settlements. 237. There are no Natives actually resident at Te Awanui ? —The Natives live immediately behind there; but that is the place where most of them generally meet. 238. Mr. D. Reid.] Can you form any opinion as to what would have been the result—whether there have been as many votes recorded in that district, the poll having been taken at the Court House, as there would have been had it been held at the school-house ? —I cannot positively say what the difference might have been. 239. But you can give your own opinion ? —Had the weather been fine no doubt there would have been more, as it was necessary for a great many of the -Natives to cross the river, and some of them might have been deterred from crossing.

Mr. J. H. Camp bell.

26th July, 1876.