G.-9

6

There is one little point Ido not quite understand. You said the fence was first put up by Mr. Henry Russell; you were then a party to that fencing?—lt was like this: Mr. Russell said, " You had better let me put up the fence, and you will go half the cost," as he had the fencing materials. Was this fence erected on the line that the Maoris now claim to be the proper line ? —-In part, not altogether. It is between the two in one part. Mr. Russell evidently knew he was not putting the fence in the right place. My sons objected. They acquiesced in the erection of the fence where Mr. Russell put it?—A. lot of the timber I obtained judgment for was removed from outside the line of that fence. You are sure, Mr. Harding, the fence you have been attempting to erect now was to be erected on the line of the Crown grant ? How did you obtain that information ?—I had Mr. Ellison, Mr. Rochfort, and others, who showed me the line, and the Maoris. Was that the occasion you mentioned as the surveyor being sent up ?—No; he was a stranger here. The line has been shown to the Natives two or three times, besides the occasion I referred to with Mr. Rochfort. You say Sir Donald McLean sent up a surveyor to show the Maoris the line. Is that line that was shown the Maoris then the same as you are endeavouring to fence upon now ?—Yes ; that is the line I am endeavouring to fence upon now. Addendum. —Mr. Rochfort informed me that the fence was in the wrong place, but he could not tell me how without going over the whole line. I then employed Mr. Ellison, he having made the original survey for the Natives. —John Habdjng.

Repoet of Meeting held with H. Tohoana and others re Harding's Dispute, &c. Supreme Court Buildings, Napier, Bth March, 1880. Nepta te Apatu, Matiu Meko, Henare Tomoana, M. H.R., and other Natives, met the Hon. J. Bryce, Native Minister, at the Supreme Court Buildings, Napier, in reference to a dispute with Mr. John Harding about the boundary of certain land at Waipukurau. Captain Preece interpreted. Mr. Harding was present. Hon. J. Bryce ■ I am glad to meet you here, and see you all. I give you salutations, and I hope we will be able to settle whatever difficulty there is in this matter. I have gone over all the evidence —documents—l have been able to procure on the subject. I have looked at the plans, and compared one plan with another, and 1 have a certain amount of knowledge of the case in that way. I have also gone over the evidence given by the Natives and others before a Commission that sat in this place some years ago ; and I presume some Natives who were examined on that occasion would like to tell me what is their opinion now as to how the matter stands. I may say that from Mr. Harding's position the case is clear. He has received a Crown grant for a piece of land, and I assume he is now seeking to erect his fence on the boundary line as indicated on that Crown grant. It appears also that the Natives, through their solicitor, Mr. Sheehan, at that time —if I may assume that Mr. Sheeban was their solicitor —-made an agreement by which they in fact admitted Mr. Harding's right. It was in connection with an action at law which was then pending, and I will ask you now, Captain Preece, to read this agreement, which is signed by Mr. Sheehan, and will show the Natives what Mr. Sheehan signed on their behalf. [Copy of agreement attached, marked A. (Mr. Sheehan, in the agreement, undertook that the Natives should remove from the disputed land within two months, and that Mr. Harding's expenses should be paid up to the end of the said two months.)] I have given you a general idea of what my knowledge of the case consists of, and I shall be happy to hear any statement any gentleman interested may wish to make on the matter. Nepia te Apatu: We do not know about this agreement. The reason of our remaining on the ground is in connection with the first sale of Waipukurau. The only line we know is the line of Mr. Pelichet. I know nothing of the agreement. If we knew about that we would not remain on the land now. We were under the impression that the Crown grant was only for Mr. Pelichet's line. There was no trouble in Mr. Cooper's time. We have been twenty years on the land, and there has been no trouble. In Mr. Harding's time trouble commenced. We have still occupied the land and cultivated it, and also fenced it, and built houses on it to this time. We acknowledge Mr. Pelichet's line. That is all I have to say. Hon. J. Bryce: Am I right in supposing the original agreement was that the reserve should include the bush, and follow the line of the bush, and that Mr. Pelichet went there to carry out as well as he could that agreement? Nepia te Apatu : The line that Mr. Pelichet made at the time of the purchase of Waipukurau included the bush. It was outside the bush. The bush was included in the Maori portion. Hon. J. Bryce .- That is quite correct; the bush was meant to be included. The lines that Pelichet actually cut were not the boundary lines. The lines he actually cut were traverse lines. Nepia te Apatu : We thought they were the boundary lines ; five hundred people agreed to those lines. We have probably been on the ground for twenty-five years since. Hon. J. Bryce: Who was it assisted to cut the lines ; it could not have been you, you are too young a man? Nepia te Apatu : Probably the people who cut the lines are at the kainga; I did not. Hon. J. Bryce : Is there any one here who assisted to cut the lines ? Nepia te Apatu : There are none here; some are dead ; probably some are at the kainga. Matiu Melee: I sold the land to Mr. McLean. Some of the people who assisted at the survey are at the kainga, others are dead. We have remained within Mr. Pelichet's survey. It was after Mr. Cooper left that the trouble commenced. I know nothiug of the agreement that has been read. We never agreed to it. We have simply held the reserve. We have simply held the reserve which was made at the time of the sale. Hon. J. Bryce: I will tell you what appears to me from the evidence I have been able to get on this matter so far. Before I complete the case or give any expression of my opinion in the matter I mean to examine Mr. Cooper in Wellington, because there does appear to be a little conflict in the