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There are other parcels of land in the Auckland Land District formerly brought under the operation of the Native Eeserves Act, but these lands were brought under for a specified purpose, and are not otherwise available for occupation. At Taranaki the area under the Act comprises 3,552 acres 1 rood 4 perches. The rents accruing from these lands are payable to the Natives beneficially interested. The reserves at Patea and Whenuakura, amounting altogether to 500 acres, were set apart by direction of the late Sir D. McLean, but apparently for no definite purpose. These lands have all been let to tenants for twenty-one years from October, 1874, and the rents paid to the credit of the Native Eeserve Account. It is essential, for the security of the persons to whom leases have been issued, that the legal status of these lands should be satisfactorily defined. One section of 70 acres (No. 94) has been recommended by Sir W. Fox to be granted to the chief Taurua. This section was formerly let to Ei. F. Blake, who assigned to Messrs. Arundel and Eoss, and they in turn assigned their interest to Taurua, who has been in occupation since February, 1881. The reserves at Palmerston are lands acquired by purchase with the proceeds realized from the sale of some original Native reserves at Wainuiomata, and the revenue accruing thereon is payable to the Waiwhetu Natives, the persons beneficially interested. In the City of Wellington and suburbs the reserves chiefly consist of the New Zealand Company's sections, and other lands awarded by Colonel McCleverty. A number of the sections belonging to the latter class have been granted to the Natives. These lands have always been considered to belong to the persons to whom the land was originally awarded, and no control has been exercised over them by the Native Eeserves Department, the owners being allowed to deal with them as they pleased. In fact, it was decided by the Hon. Mr. Whitaker, when AttorneyGeneral in 1859, that the Commissioners appointed under " The Native Eeserves Act, 1856," had no control or jurisdiction over these lands. A large number of the New Zealand Company's sections appear to have been appropriated to other uses, as well as included in Colonel McCleverty's awards, leaving a very small proportion of the original estate available for the purposes to which these lands were to be devoted under the company's scheme of settlement. The reserves under the operation of the Act in Hawke's Bay, having been brought under for a specified purpose, are not available to be otherwise dealt with. For instance, the reserves at Te Aute were placed under the Act as an endowment for an industrial school, and subsequently granted to the Bishop of New Zealand for this purpose. The Poukawa Eeserve was brought under to secure the land from alienation, and the Waikokopu Eeserve for the late Chief Ihaka Whanga. A reserve called Te Arai Matawai, containing 4,214 acres, in Cook County, has also been brought under the Act, but no steps have been taken to utilize it in consequence of the land being occupied by the Natives. In Nelson the chief portion of the estate from which an income is derived is situate in the Town of Nelson and the Districts of Moutere and Motueka. These lands were set apart under the New Zealand Company's scheme to provide a fund for the benefit of the Natives who ceded the land included in the original Nelson settlement. The quantity finally reserved for that purpose comprised an area of 5,030 acres 1 rood 30 perches ; of this quantity, 1,294 acres have been allotted to the Natives for individual occupation, and 918 acres have been granted to the Bishop of New Zealand as an endowment for an industrial school, leaving only 2,818 acres 1 rood 30 perches available to produce a fund for general purposes. The Natives in the original Nelson settlement, in consequence of the foresight of the New Zealand Company in setting apart these lands for their benefit, have reaped a considerable advantage through being placed in a position of independence in the way of monetary aid for purposes that the Natives in the other parts of the colony have had to depend on the assistance received from the Government. The company look on these permanent reserves as the real worth of the land purchased from the Natives, as this was a price that could not be squandered away at the moment, but of which, as time glided on, the inalienable value would continually and largely increase for the benefit of the persons interested and their descendants. Where these lands have been preserved for the purposes for which they were intended the expectations of the company have been fully realized. Had the same system been observed throughout the colony the Natives in other localities would have been in receipt of a permanent income, and the general revenue relieved of a heavy annual expenditure. As an instance of the advantages derived, the total amount collected from these reserves in the Nelson District since the 1st Jannary, 1857 —the date the estate came fairly under the control of the Commissioner of Native Eeserves under the Act of 1856—to the 31st December, 1882, amounts to £33,187 10s. 8d., and the expenditure during the same period to £32,965 8s. 5d., leaving a balance of £222 2s. 3d. to the credit of the fund to that date. The total revenue in 1857 was £586 6s. 5d., which has now increased to £1,538 5s. 6d. The income accruing from these lands has been expended in various ways for improving the general condition of the Natives interested in the fund, by assisting them in their industrial pursuits, providing them with medical attendance, also education for their children, as well as aiding them in all other matters conducive to their welfare. The income derived from the iew reserves in Golden Bay that are under lease is payable to the Natives beneficially entitled. The aggregate area "of land set apart as Native reserves in the Provincial District of Nelson amounts to 10,494 acres 2 roods 23 perches. A large proportion of these lands is situated on the West Coast. The reserves m this locality consist of lands brought under the operation of the Act in 1860 by the members of the Ngaitahu Tribe when ceding their claims to territory in that quarter, and a few parcels since placed thereunder for administrative purposes, as well as reserves that come

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