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at Waitara, and knew where it was going; that is why I came up with the pakeha. I did not go with that pakeha any more. I went back to the beach where the young people were holding sports. Mr. Grace came down to me on the beach, and asked me to come and sign the document that was being signed by the others. He said, " You are the only one that remains ; all the others have signed." I refused ; and he said, " Why ? Will you not do so for money ? " I said, "No ; " and he went away. By the money, he meant what I should get by the lease ; he did not offer to give me money for signing. I had seen Mr. Grace previously at the Land Court; that was how I knew him. Jones then came to me on the beach, and asked me to go and sign. I refused. He said, "Go and sign your name, and I will give you £10." Jones does not speak Maori well, but I understood him to say that. Because of the £10 I went to sign my name. There were present in the whare Mr. Grace, Captain Messenger, and Eewi's pakeha, and Wetere te Eerenga. No one spoke to me. I went in and signed my name, and came out again. Jones then gave me £2, and promised to give me the balance the next week :he has never given it to me. The pakehas seemed pleased when I came in ; they did not tell me anything. I signed my name. I did not attach much importance to it, except that I was to get £10. I could not see any good in signing the lease, because I did not see that I was to get anything out of it, until Jones promised me £10. I understood the deed I signed contained the conditions Heremia had told us of. Heremia had said, in the presence of all the people, that the coal should be given to pay the cost of the survey of the Court expenses of the Poutama Block. No date was to be fixed, but when a sufficient sum had been received the work was to cease. Heremia said this the day before the signing of the lease. It was just outside the houses where he said it; all the people were assembled there. Heremia collected us together. Heremia was a leading man amongst the Natives; he was a man we respected. The matter was placed in his hands to manage it for us. What he said we trusted. It was on account of what Heremia said to me, and also on account of the £10, that I consented to sign the deed ; but principally the £10. All the others had agreed to Heremia's words. If I had been told that the land was to go to Jones for fifty-six years, I would never have signed the deed or taken the £10. I understood that Jones was to have only the coal-pit, and timber for timbering it. I never laeard the deed read over in Maori. ' Jones has done nothing in the way of improving; he is living in our houses. I was friendly with Jones until we found out the terms of the lease. Jones took away the deed with him. He said, in my presence and in that of many others, that he would send us a copy of it. Mr. Grace explained his words to us. We waited a long time, and allowed him to go on working the coal and lime; but, as the copy never came, we began to be uneasy about it. We wrote to Captain Messenger to get us a copy; he did so, and sent it to Te Eerenga, who was at Mokau. Ido not know how r he got it. It was brought out and read to us at Mokau, and interpreted by Mr. Thompson. It was then that we first knew that Heromia's words were not in the lease. Heremia said, when he heard the lease read over, " These are not my words; there is a fixed term in the lease, and it must be broken from to-day." We all heard it. Heremia said that the Europeans who were working the coal were to be brought away, and Heremia and his people got into a canoe and went up the river. I did not go. I was busy at the time. I have only heard what took place when Heremia went up. I do not know what took place up the river. I saw the Maoris land the Europeans at the Heads, and they went away to Auckland. The pakehas brought down were those who were working the coal. Jones was at that time at his place at Waihi. Heremia has now been dead for three or four years. There are several Natives still living at Mokau, who are owners of the land. Some of them are here to-day to give evidence. When I signed I did not look at the plan on the deed, nor did I know the boundary, which was not made known to me. All I noticed was a number of names of those who had signed ; I signed my name underneath. I know that the surveyors have been to speak to the Natives at Waihi about surveying the land. I remember Mr. Skeet coming; he did not speak to me. I was not present when Skeet talked to Wetere. The Maoris have never come to any agreement about the boundary of the block. I have heard that a line has been cut from Totoro. 1 only claim as far as Panirau. There is a mineral-spring just above Mangatawa. The boundary of Shore's lease was at Mangapohua, a little above that spring. There is coal both above aud below that spring. Jones's workings are between Mangapohue and Mangatawa. I now know that the lease gives Jones a right to cut timber on the land. There is plenty of timber on the block. It is mostly forest. Heremia's words were that the timber was only for coal-working, but not to be sawn and sold. Heremia's people started up the river to stop the coal-working the day after the lease was explained to them by Thompson ; they lost no time in going. Heremia was very angry when he heard the terms of the lease, and what Jones could do under it. I saw other Maoris drinking beer on the day the lease was signed. Some of them were drinking beer when they were called in to sign the deed. I saw Jones draw beer himself and give it to the people. It was Eewi's pakeha who gave me the beer, and Jones gave me some too, before I signed. I had several drinks before I signed. I commenced to drink in the morning, and was drinking all day. The casks were very large. I think the beer had something to do with my signing. Takieau Watihi, and Mr. Butleb, the Interpreter, having been duly sworn, Takirau gave evidence as follows :— I am one of the Natives residing at Waihi Settlement, at Mokau Heads. lam one of the owners of the land there. My claim extends as far as Paniran. I know Jones ; he is living on my land. I have never signed any deed to give Jones land. I remember Messenger and Grace coming to Waihi; Dalton was there also. I know that they came to get signatures to a document. Ido not know what it was for. I never heard it read out. It was signed in a whare at Te Eainga, which is no great distance from my place. The pakehas may have been there two or

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