25

G.—l.

rest assured that no violence would be attempted by the Natives; but, he added, the Pirirakau were bound by their principles to protest vigorously against the occupation of land, whether confiscated or purchased, to which they believed they had a claim. He also represented that the reserves that had been made for the Pirirakau and himself were not adequate, and in one or two cases were in bad positions. I replied if that was the case they should make the facts known to the Government, and not to expect to gain their ends by annoying their European neighbours ; that I was commissioned to tell them, aud all the Natives of Tauranga, that the Government were determined to maintain the Europeans in the peaceful occupation of the lands to which they were legally and justly entitled. I arranged a meeting with a number of the Pirirakau at Te Papa for the 25th. On the 24th, I was informed that the Ngatihaua chiefs had been invited by old Hori Tupaea to his " kainga," and that I should not see them till the following day." On the 25th, I met the following chiefs of Ngatihaua: Te Eaihi, Hakiriwhi, Tana te Waharoa, Eihia te Kauae, Kereama, and Paul Merritt. Enoka and Hori Ngatai were also there. The whole question of the Omokoroa Eeserve was discussed amongst themselves. The principal points I gathered were, that, after a vain effort to lease the land in 1867, Eaihi had given Paul Merritt leave to occupy Omokoroa on behalf of Ngatihaua. That in March, 1871, when the great Te Aroha claim was being investigated by the Native Land Court, Te Eaihi and Hakiriwhi, being short of funds, asked Mr. Gill, of the Native Office, then residing in Auckland, to take it on a lease of twenty-one years. Mr. Gill at first refused, but subsequently agreed for the above term at £20 per annum. That Mr. Gill afterwards saw Paul Merritt and toid him of the lease, but informed him that he might still occupy the land till he required it. Paul at that time never questioned the right of Eaihi and Hakiriwhi to lease the land. That when Tana te Waharoa heard that Eaihi and Hakiriwhi had for three years been drawing and appropriating the rents, he thought it time to interfere. He then wrote to Paul Merritt, telling him to keep possession of the land. That, although the Ngatihaua expressed their dissatisfaction to Te Eaihi and Hakiriwhi, they still continued to appropriate the rents. Eaihi admitted having received £120 from Mr. Gill. With these facts before me, I could not but condemn the conduct of Te Eaihi, admitting that the Ngatihaua had some cause of complaint, not against the lessee, but against the trustees, Te Eaihi and Hakiriwhi. Tana said, " That is past and gone : we wish now to settle the matter finally, we have been sent here by Ngatihaua for that purpose, and we wish to have it done without delay." I told them that Mr. Gillibrand was the present lessee, and held the land legally ; that anything that was done must be done with his concurrence. I therefore recommended them to see him, and come to some arrangement. Our interview then closed. On Friday, the 27th, the Ngatihaua chiefs informed me that, after a great deal of discussion, they had agreed to sell Mr. Gillibrand the reserve (206 acres) for £350, and they begged that the Governor might give his consent to the alienation. I promised to lay their request before the Government, with a strong recommendation that it should be granted, provided that the Ngatihaua would not object. I was again informed that Tana and Hakiriwhi were acting on behalf of the tribe, having been sent for the purpose of settling the difficulty, and that what they did would be binding on the tribe. I consider the price fair—indeed high. They receive £350, to which should he added the rent already paid them, £120, because they have been in full possession ever since their agreement with Mr. Gill, which would bring the price up to £470. I would therefore respectfully recommend that His Excellency the Governor be advised to give his formal assent to the alienation only, leaving the responsibility of dealing with the right parties to the purchaser. According to my request, some of the Pirirakau came to see me on the 26th. They were the individuals most prominent in the late obstructions—namely, Manuera, Hetaraka, and another man. They were accompanied by Pene Taka and Enoka. I spoke to them of the reports which had reached the Government of their interfering with and obstructing the Europeans who were now occupying lands to which they had acquired a legal title, instancing the threats said to have been used by Hetaraka to Mrs. Fraser, and the taking by Manuera of a part of Mr. Gillibrand's fencing timber. Manuera, the offender in the last-mentioned case, stated that it was true he had taken some of the timber, but not with the idea of appropriating it. He acted on the impulse of the moment, and under irritated feelings. He wished me to remember he was acting under orders; they were under Tawhiao. It was true that the Government claimed the land by confiscation and purchase, but those under Tawhiao's " mana " would not admit it. They had obstructed Mr. Gillibrand's occupation to show every one that they protested against our encroachments; but, having given expression to their protest, they did not intend to interfere any further. I would here remark, parenthetically, that I heard afterwards that the obstruction to the occupation of the allotments at Pirongia by some of the King party was taken by the Tauranga Hau-Haus as a guide for their proceedings in like cases. Manuera added that they were waiting for " the day of the Governor and Tawhiao," when they hoped all these things would be settled—that in all probability the Pakeha would, as they always did, have their own way. Hetaraka, the man said to have threatened Mrs. Fraser, stated that he had been falsely accused by the Pakeha; that, when he was absent from his kainga, it was reported that Mr. Fraser had been down to his cultivation and had cut up some of his crops, and he simply went to his house to inquire about it; that the statement made that he had taken an axe in his _—G. 1.