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Sess. 11.—1891. NEW ZEALAND.

MIDDLE ISLAND NATIVE CLAIMS (REPORT BY MR. COMMISSIONER MACKAY RELATING TO).

Presented to both Houses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency*

No. 1. Mr. Commissioner Mackay to the Hon. the Native Minister. Sik,— Native Land Court Office, 10th July, 1891. I have the honour to transmit herewith, for His Excellency the Governor, my report on the aforesaid claims referred to me under Eoyal Commission, dated the 10th September, 1891. In consequence of there being a number of matters outside the scope of my Commission which the Natives interested in the blocks dealt with under the inquiry are desirous should be brought before the Government, a supplementary report will be furnished you on these subjects. Owing to meeting considerable difficulty throughout the inquiry, because of the prevailing opinion that the scope of the Commission was too limited to do full justice to their claims, I found it essential to the progress of the work to promise that any other matters that bore on their case outside the compass of the Commission should be referred to the consideration of the Government under a separate report. This course was adopted with a view to prevent any question being put forward in Parliament on the point raised, and also to avoid the risk of prolonging the settlement of the question, or causing further action to be needed to gather these particulars. I am, &c, The Hon. the Native Minister, Wellington. A. Mackay.

No. 2. BEPOBT. To His Excellency the Eight Honourable William Hillier, Eail of Onslow, Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over Her Majesty's Colony of New Zealand and its Dependencies, and Vice-Admiral of the same. May it please youb Excellency,— Acting under the authority of the Commission issued by your Excellency on the 10th December, 1890, empowering me to hold an inquiry touching the condition of the Natives in the South Island, being the owners and the descendants of those deceased, who formerly ceded those tracts of country comprised within the original Provinces of Canterbury and Otago, as to whether the reserves and awards of laud hitherto made for them are adequate for the maintenance and support of all the persons who may be deemed to bo entitled to have suitable provision in land made for them, in conformity with any understanding to that effect, I have the honour to report, for your Excellency's information, that such inquiry was duly held, and to submit herewith the result thereof; but, before dealing with the matter in detail, I beg to point out that, owing to the inquiry being narrowed to the following subjects, I am unable to include in this report all the matters in connection with the claims of the South Island Natives that ought to have been dealt with, consequently it will be necessary to furnish a supplementary report, to place the whole matter fully before Parliament. The scope of the Commission being limited to an inquiry into the condition of the Ngaitahu Natives, to ascertain if any of them are insufficiently provided with land to enable them to support themselves by labour on it, such inquiry to extend to all the Natives resident in the southern provinces who, either personally or through their progenitors, owned the tracts of country comprised in the blocks sold to the Crown under the name of Kemp's, Port Cooper, Port Levy, Hamilton's and Murihiku purchases, it is necessary, therefore, that my report should be confined to the matters referred to me. I— G. 7.