G-.—4c

36

survey. Weten ired, "None whatever; I will accompany the surveyors myself." Eewi jumped up and said, " There will be no broublo." The Judge sent for Mr. Humphries. I was present, also Messrs. Grace and JJooth. Judge Eenton said, " Will there be any objections in the department to this business?" "None, whatever," said Mr. Humphries, "the Government are glad of the opportunity ; and we will now cut the, confiscated line." Judge Fenton said to Mr. Humphries, " The order of the Court is that the Natives survey this block, and also the Poutama Block, subject to the approval of the Government as to how it is to be done." The reason this was done was that there was an agreement between myself and the Natives that I was to get it done for them and pay for it. I made an agreement with Mr. Tole, of Waikato, to survey the laud. Mr. Humphries approved of it, and gave Mr, Tole his written approval. I saw some correspondence between Messrs. Tole and Humphries, in which Mr. Tola offered to put up trig, stations for the Government if they would pay his expenses. Mr. Tole put a man on the ground; his name was J. E. Dalton. Mr. Dalton built a whare and formed a depot; I think it cost £20 ; I paid £10 towards it. Mr. Dalton was expecting Mr. Tole down. The next thing I heard was, by telegram from Mi1. W. H. Grace, that the Government had stopped the survey. The telegram, which I now produce [Exhibit No. 8-5] was dated the 19th September, 1882. I immediately telegraphed to Mr. Bryce (copy of telegram now produced) [Exhibit No. BCj ; but I got no answer. I then came down to Wellington. I saw Mr. Bryce, but got no satisfaction. He would not even give me an answer as to w 7hy he had stopped the survey. I saw him again in Auckland, and he would not give me any satisfaction, nor allow the survey to go on ; and he kept up that attitude all the time he was in office. On the 19th September of the same year I telegraphed to Judge Penton [Exhibit No. 37, produced] ,to which I received no reply. I took the steamer and went specially to Auckland and met Mr. Tole there. He had come to Auckland by arrangement to meet me. I went to Judge Eenton and asked whether he could not enforce the order on his own account of his own Court. He said, if the Government choose to override his orders the Government was responsible and not himself. I could get no satisfaction from anybody. At this time there were some people in Auckland who came over with money to work the Mokau coal-mines, but, seeing the attitude of the Government, they cleared out and went away. There was a Mr. Denford, who came over from Adelaide and saw me on the subject; he came over in consequence of communication from me, with the idea of forming a company to take up and work the mines and minerals in the Mokau-Mohakatino Block. To return to the time when the block passed through the Court, 1 made an agreement with Wetere and his people for a lease of the whole block as it went through the Court, which was in accordance with the old agreement, the plan of which has been already put in. 1 went to New Plymouth and brought out Mr. Hamerton, Mr. Staudish's clerk, to Waita-ra, to take instructions from the Natives as to how to draw the lease. A number of leading Natives met in Grimley's hotel, at Waitara. Mr. Hamerton. came out twice, the whole of the conditions of the lease were thorougly discussed through Messrs. Dalton and Grace, and there was a man named Campbell assisting, who was a Maori linguist. There was not the slightest misunderstanding about the deed, it was drawn in both languages, and taken to Mokau. Mr. Grace went up with his wife and with Dalton. 1 employed Dalton to interpret the deed for me. I paid him his expenses and a stipulated sum for his work ; the steamer went up at the same time. I have noticed the statements made in certain evidence with regard to beer being taken to the Native settlement at the time of the signing of the lease, which I wish to explain. After the sitting of the Land Court the Native named Epiha, now dead, seemed very proud to have had a successful sitting of the Court, and told mo he was going to take up two casks of beer to Mokau as a present to the inland Natives. I told him I did not think it a wise thing to do, but 1 deferred to his wishes, and he took it. The brewer asked if I would pay for it. 1 said "No ; let Epiha pay for it." Afterwards, as Epiha did not pay for it, I paid for it. That was about three months after the signing of the lease. The beer was landed at Mokau the day 1 arrived there, which was the day after the steamer arrived. The Natives, and Epiha amongst them, would insist on opening a cask of beer. I said, "Do as you like." There were about a hundred people present, Natives and Europeans, and they drank one hogshead of beer ; the other- was put away under lock and key in Poole's store. Ten days elapsed between the drinking of the cask of beer and the day the lease was signed, and in the interval there was no other beer or spirits on the ground. Immediately the lease was signed Captain Messenger left the settlement. After Captain Messenger left, it may have been the same day, Heremia took possession of the remaining cask of beer, and the greater part of it was taken up the river. The statement that any Native was drunk, or had beer for ten days previous to the signing of the deed, or on that day until after the deed had been signed, is untrue. With this exception, Ido not think that, in all my dealings with the Natives, there has ever been any beer drunk at Mokau ; nor have I ever solicited or obtained a single signature with which any beer or spirits was in any way connected. I have always tried to keep the Natives away from spirits and beer. I have read ovei: the evidence given by James Holmes with respect to the steamer. I never, in any way whatever,i|tgroed that he should have any land or interest in the lease ; the agreement for the steamer was bot^-gen Shore and Holmes only. With ros-pect to the agreement stated by Holmes to have been written by me, in his office in Auckland, th^ro was such a document. In the year 1876 Mr. Holmes, knowing who I was, when travelling on board a steamer from New Plymouth to Auckland, introduced himself to me as having great influence with the Government of the country. He told me that he had large business relations with a gentleman who was then.a Minister of the Crown. He said, "I can get the lease completed for you at once, through the influence of this Minister, if you will give me a share in it, and I will get the Land Court at once." I said, "If you will undertake to do that, and let us have it in writing, I will give you a sixth share in the concern." He went with me to the Supreme Court