27

a—s

could take effect. I succeeded, by reasoning with them, and by not forcing my transactions upoi them, in obtaining the land which Sir D. McLean sent me about, i.e., Motu, afterwards divided intc Motu and Waikohu Matawai. Had I at that time urged upon the Natives the alienation of theii land, I should only have increased their opposition. I wish now to state how surveys were at that time conducted. Mr. Heale, the Inspector oi Surveys, told me that he thought I ought to employ the surveyors and to pay them. At that time and previously I had been accustomed to transact a great part of my business with the Survey Department verbally. Mr. Heale stipulated that no surveyors should be employed except such as he considered efficient. In that way business went on. I engaged surveyors and told them where to work the men being approved by Mr. Heale, and their remuneration being named either by Mr. Heale 01 Mr. Turner, the District Engineer at Tauranga. This system was changed during the year 1874 by the payment of the surveyors being made through Mr. Heale's office. I hand in documents showing how these things were managed. [Documents handed in.] In April, 1875, a further change was made, Mr. Horace Baker being appointed Deputy Inspector of Surveys. I was told this by Sir Donald McLean. (These documents consist of letters and reports of surveyors and correspondence as to the rate of payment, showing that the surveyors took their instructions from Mr. Wilson, and looked to him for their pay, whilst he applied to Inspector of Surveys to authorize the particular surveyors, and also consulted him and Captain Turner, as to the rate of pay.) [The Commission adjourned from Ito 2 p.m.] After this all requisitions for surveys were made to Mr. Baker, with which he complied or otherwise as he saw fit as an officer of the Court, and payments were made by him. I come now to the Waingarornia Blocks. The first payment I made upon the Block Tauwhareparae was on 7th October, 1874. Tauwhareparae includes a portion of Waingaromia No. 2, also part of Tuakau. The Natives at Anaura, extending as far as Tangoiro, sent me a message stating that they wished to lease some land to the Government to the west of Mr. Arthur's run. The messenger who came to me was Petatoto. I paid money (£5O) upon the land, and it was arranged that I should meet the Natives in their own district about it. The Natives met me on the Kith October, at Tolago. All the tribe were present except Wi Tawawhaikai. Hoani te Parehuia was there. The land to be leased was a part of Tauwhareparae, including part of Tuakau. It was only a few of the old men who knew anything about that part of the country ; so much was this the case, that Mr. Locke advised me to buy the whole interior in a lump. Their knowledge is much improved now. I called the block Tokomaru West. As the negotiation went on, the name was changed to Pua ote Eoku, which is the most general name in the Native traditions of that district, and can be made to spread over 100,000 acres. This name was afterwards abandoned for the greater part of the land. The £50 I paid was for land now called Tauwhareparae. On 27th October Mr. Locke introduced Henare Potae to me, for the purpose of transacting the business. On that day I paid Henare Potae two sums of £50 (shown by the vouchers now put in) being part purchase money £50 for Pua o te lloku, Tokomaru West, and £50 for Parariki. The payments are witnessed by Mr. Locke. I put in a map furnished mo by the Natives, to show how ignorant they were at that time of the land. On or about the 16th October I also met at Tolago Bay some of the principal Aitangahauiti Natives, and we negotiated for Arakihi and Parariki, also Paraheka (which is a part of the block shown as Parariki on the map.) Those negotiations were left in abeyance in regard of the price per acre. I left the district on or about 28th October, and went to the Bay of Plenty. I returned about 16th January, 1875. On 27th January I had a large meeting, by appointment, with the Aetangahauiti chiefs at Tolago, in the open air. At that meeting I arranged to buy nearly all their land at 2s. an acre, Government paying all expenses. About the same time, I agreed with the Ngatira to lease the Tauwhareparae for forty years at £10 per 1,000 acres per annum. I also agreed to purchase the Huiarua Block at Is. an acre. All except the Tangoiro Natives consented to that. These arrangements were the result of many meetings and much canvassing, extending over several days. I may mention here that I paid the £50 to Henare Potae for his mana over the land at Pua o te Eoku. He was an owner also, I believe, in another 7'ight. I recognized his mana. On 30th January I paid two of the Ngatira and Henare Potae<a further sum of £500 as an advance of rent on Tauwhareparae. A further sum was paid for Huiarua, £500, making an advance of £1,000 for. 110,000 acres. These transactions were reported to Sir D. McLeau by telegram. As soon as it was known that I was obtaining the land at that rate, Europeans endeavoured to obstruct my operations. On 20th February I telegraphed to the Native Minister on the subject. At this time I could not get any surveyor to survey the lands. I got one surveyor for a part of these lands. On 25th February, I applied to Mr. Heale here for two parties of surveyors. On Ist April, not having got the surveyors I asked for*; I telegraphed to the Native Minister at Maketu and asked for three parties of surveyors, stating that some influence seemed to hinder my getting surveyors; and asking that the surveyors who were interfering with my purchases, should be called in. (See " Native Lands Act, 1873," section 74.) I did not know at that time that they had any authority to do so. I ascertained afterwards that these surveys had been authorized by Mr. Locke, the District Officer. The usage is for the District Officer or the Judge to order the survey. Mr. Locke was here before Mr. Baker came as Deputy Inspector. I did not apply to him. He has never appointed my surveyors, nor does he do so now. Mr. Baker was here as head of the trigonometrical survey some two months before he was Deputy Inspector. On the 19th April Mr. Heale came to my office and expressed his regret that surveyors had been prevented from doing my work by instructions from Mr. Baker that they were to get his authority before going out. Mr. Heale regretted that I had not been informed of this. On 6th April Mr. Heale telegraphed, in answer to mine of the Ist, that the surveyors could be supplied. On 30th April I got a telegram from Colonel Macdonnell, for Colonel St. John, directing me to discontinue paying the surveyors, as the Deputy Inspector would pay them in future. In reply to my telegram of the Ist April to the Native Minister, I got an answer on the 10th May (having had a verbal one from him previously) to the effect that the Deputy Inspector of Surveys 4—G. 5.

i ! Appendix, ! Nob. 4 and 5. L I I I I I I I I