I.—2a.

12

292. Who said ? —Hori te More said to me, " The money for you is in the bank—£loo." I said, "I will not touch that money, because I was not present when you made the arrangements." 293. Where did you say that to them ? —-When I got to the Awaroa. I was then on my way to Auckland. He spoke to me there. 294. Was that when you came down for the purpose of selling the block ?—I did not know that I was going down to sell the land. 295. Was it that time when you were going down to Auckland to sell the land ? —I told the Committee yesterday that when I came down to Auckland I did not know I was going to sell my land. 296. Was the time that you saw Hori te More at the Awaroa, and were told about selling the timber-land, the time that you were taken down to Auckland, not knowing that you were going to sell the Pakiri Block ? —No ; that was another time. It was not the time I came down when Pakiri was being sold. 297. You told us yesterday about your coming down to Auckland when Pakiri was sold, for the purpose, as you afterwards found out, of selling the Pakiri Block ?—I said yesterday that I came to Auckland for the money for Mangakuhia. When the money was counted out to me Mr. Nelson said to me, " You had better go back to the Awaroa." 298. He asked you to go to town ? —Yes ; Mr. Nelson asked me. 299. Did I ever ask you to go to town ? —No, you did not. 300. Did I ever at any time ask you to go to Auckland for the purpose of selling the land ?■*—No ; you did not ask me to go down at any time ; but Mr. Nelson did. 301. You said yesterday that when you came down you went to stop at Mr. Nelson's house, and that in the morning at 10 o'clock I came with Mr. Kelson to see you ?—Yes. 302. Did I not see you first at the Provincial Council Chambers, in the evening, near the Supreme Court ? —I saw you on my arrival, and then I went to Mr. Nelson's. 303. Why did you not say so yesterday ?—I said yesterday about going down to the meetinghouse. 304. Did you not say yesterday that when you came to town you went to stop at Mr. Nelson's house that night, that in the morning I went to Nelson's house to see you, and that in the afternoon you came to town ? —I said yesterday that myself, Hori te More, Te Ilemara, Mr. Nelson, and you went to the Provincial Buildings. 305. Where from ? —We went from the town. 306. Was I one ?—You were one. I am, under the impression that the object of our going together was to see Mr. Brissenden. 307. Did you not know that at that time the Provincial Council was sitting in Auckland ?—Yes. 308. And did you not come with Mr. Nelson and your friends up to the Council to see me ?—We went to get Mr. Brissenden. 309. Did you and your friends not come up to the Provincial Council to see me ?—We went together; Mr. Sheehan was with us, and Mr. Brissenden was one. 310. Where was he ?—He was in the House. 311. Was he a member of it then ? —I do not know what he was. He was there. 312. Had he an office there ? —I do not know whether he had an office there. 313. But you are quite clear that on that evening you and I, Nelson, Te Hemara, and Hori te More went to the Provincial Council for the purpose of seeing Mr. Brissenden ?—Yes ; and we all came back together, as I said yesterday. 314. Was that the day that you came to town, or the day after ?—That was the day that the money was produced. 315. Do you speak now of the whole of the money, or the part-payment which you said was made to you by Nelson ? —I am speaking of the whole of the money that was paid on that day. 316. Did that take place in the hotel in Official Bay, as you have told us ?—Yes; the money was paid there. 317. Now, I ask you to remember again. Can you not remember the day you came to the Provincial Council to see me because I was in the Council, and that it was because I was going down there to dine that I agreed to meet them before dinner, on the Council rising at half-past 5 o'clock ? —I do not know anything about that. All I know is that the money was paid, and that we went to get Mr. Brissenden. 318. Then you do not remember, even now, that you came to see me at the Provincial Council ?— I know nothing of that. All I know is that my Maori friends, you, and Mr. Nelson went up to this building. 319. Who were present ? —There were three Maoris. 320. Who were they ?—Myself, Hori te More, and Te Hemara. 321. What Europeans? —Mr. Brissenden, Mr. Nelson, and yourself. 322. Mr. Nelson and myself spoke Maori, did we not ?—Mr. Nelson spoke Maori. 323. Did not the whole take place in Maori ?—Yes, everything was said in Maori, because we did not understand English. 324. Do you say that before you came into the room you were not aware of the object of your coming to Auckland being to sell Pakiri ?—Yes, I say that. 325. Even if Te Hemara, Plori te More, and Nelson say you knew perfectly well what you came for ?■ —I did not know Pakiri was going to be sold. 326. Will you say so if four witnesses come forward and say you knew perfectly well ?—I would say that I did not know, because I asked Mr. Nelson, and Mr. Nelson said, " You had better go to Te Awaroa with Hori te More. We want to have a talk." I thought that they would have first fixed the price per acre before concluding the bargain, but I was surprised when I was informed that that money was the purchase-money for Pakiri. I exclaimed at the time that it was a foolish transaction, and that the proper course would have been to fix the price per acre at first.

Arama KaraTca. Ang. 3, 1880.