11

C—6.

Inspector of Surveys, awaiting particulars of the linkage of some of the lines, which he was not at the time able to furnish me with, a surveyor having gone to the block to re-chain them. This, however, does not affect the boundaries, which were cut long ago since, but has delayed the transmission of the deed, so that the Trust Commissioner will have an opportunity of making the " most searching inquiries " desired by Mr. Tole, and equally courted by myself. J. W. Peeece. 20th April, 1876.

Enclosure 2 in No. 8. [TRANSLATION.] Mr. J. W. Peeece to Heta te Haaea. I. eiend,— Kaihu, 2nd February, 1876. Greeting. Tour letter has reached me, but Te Wharepapa and the others did not agree to give Te Haurangi any money ; but Te Wharepapa says that they will consider you both. I have paid the money to them, as I have no right to retain it; so you two must demand it from them. If any of those moneys are paid over to you both, well and good, but I did not like to see you not get any, and on that account I have paid to Te Haurangi £100 in full satisfaction of the claims of both of you to that land, so that neither of you may hereafter turn round on the Government to search for further payment. If you both choose to obtain any further sum from Te Wharepapa, well and good ; but this, which I have paid, is a payment in full as far as I am concerned. The £10 I have given to Te Haurangi, and the balance, namely, £90, I take to Auckland in accordance with the word in your letter that I should hold it, and Te Haurangi agrees to your proposal. Prom your affectionate friend, Te Heta te Haara, Ohaeawai. Peeece.

No. 9. Mr. Preece to the TJndee Seceetaey, Native Office. Sic, — Auckland, 12th February, 1876. I have the honor to report that I returned on the 10th instant from attending the sitting of the Native Lands Court, held at Kaihu, where I have been able to complete the purchase of the Waipoua, Maunganui, Kairara, Opouteke, Waerekahakaha, Pekapekarau, and Oue Blocks of land, containing in the aggregate 155,400 acres. It will be remembered that with regard to the first two blocks, namely, Waipoua and Maunganui, a very sore dispute has existed for some time between the old chief Parore te Awha, supported by Te Tirarau. and the Ngapuhi on the one part, and Tiopira Kinaki (a man comparatively unknown outside his own tribe, the Roroa), supported by the Ngatiwhatua and TJriohau tribes on the.other part. The Agents having paid to the last-named tribes very excessive deposits, and having entirely ignored the rights of Parore and his people, caused so strong an opposition on his part to the survey and sale of the land that at one time (about this time twelve months) there seemed to be every probability of hostilities breaking out between the tribes. At that time Parore, on my advice, desisted from taking active measures to forcibly stop the survey, and contented himself by asking the Government to stop it, instructions to which effect were given by the Hon. the Native Minister, which, however, did not reach the surveyors until the work was done. I was at this time acting as a private Agent, and advised Parore to permit the survey to continue, and trust his claim to title to the Native Lands Court, where he would be sure to secure his rights, whether the land was surveyed by other claimants or not: to which he, after considerable hesitation, consented, and has since then patiently awaited the result of the decision of the Court: at the same time he has carefully refrained from taking any deposit, or committing himself in any way as to the sale of the land. The case was to have been heard in May last, but the feeling was then still running high; and the Waipoua Block, being a portion of the same estate, having been advertised to be heard at Hokianga about the same time, I deemed it advisable to get them both postponed. The cases were again advertised for August last, but were again put off. On the occasion of the present sitting of the Court, the weather being fine, and all parties being assembled and anxious to get rid of so long and unsatisfactory a dispute, the question was gone into by the Court by consent of all parties concerned. The Court was composed of H. A. H. Monro, Esq., and Captain Symonds, Judges; and Hori te Whetuki, Native Assessor. The Court was opened on the 27th January, and the Maunganui case commenced. The Eoroa, TJriohau, and Ngatiwhatua were represented by Paora Tuhaere, who conducted their case for them. Parore te Awha and his people were represented by Taurau (brother of Te Tirarau), who conducted their case. < The whole question was fully gone into, a number of witnesses having been examined and crossexamined, which fully gave the whole history of that part of the country for some fifty years past, leaving the Court in a position to give a judgment without any hesitation. On the conclusion of the hearing of the Maunganui case, which lasted several days, the Court asked the claimants and counter-claimants whether they wished to go over the whole ground again in the Waipoua case, or whether they would take the evidence which had been taken for Maunganui to