G.—7

16

Monday, 15th May, 1905. The Commission resumed at 9 a.m. Mr. Martin handed in a supplementary list. (See No. 11.) The Commissioner stated that he would proceed to ascertain the genealogies (whakapapa) of the claimants appearing on the lists handed in, and asked, if there was any one present acquainted with the genealogies, that he would come forward and furnish the same. Te Tipi: I do not suppose there is any one here acquainted with the whole of the genealogies. It would be better to let every one put in their own. The Commissioner: I thought you might have some kaumatua (old man) here, and thus save a good deal of trouble. Mrs. Brown: I agree with Te Tipi, and think that everybody here who appears either for himself or others should furnish the necessary information. The Commissioner: Very well; but I would point out that in the Waikato we had always a man who could give all the genealogies. Mrs. Hopere said she would give the genealogies of the applicants she appeared for, and handed in a supplementary list. (See No. 7a.) The Commissioner: Before going further, Mrs. Hopere, I have to inform you that Mr. Davis arrived this morning, and says that you are appearing for him. Is his name in the list you handed in? I cannot see it. Mrs. Hopere explained that Mr. Davis appeared there under the name of Paora Hopere. Mrs. Brown handed in a supplementary list. (See 6a.) The Commissioner: If anybody has got any more lists, will they please hand them in, as I want to go on with the genealogies. The lists handed in by Mrs. Brown, Mrs. Hopere, and Mr. Martin were then handed to Mr. Fisher, the Reserves Agent, to look into and ascertain whether any of the Natives had received any awards. Mrs. Brown stated that her nephew held the whakapapa of her people. Hone Tuhaka, nephew of Mrs. Brown, then gave the genealogy of the claimants appearing on Mrs. Brown's list, stating that the Ngatimutunga is a hapu of the Ngatiawa Tribe of Taranaki. The Commissioner explained that all the information he wanted was that in connection with the genealogies. This was not a Native Land Court where interests had to be defined, as in papatupu blocks (land to which the title had not been ascertained). The claimants were not fighting against each other, but were making claims on the Government. Tapuke-o-Niu-Tireni presented a list No. 12 (see Appendix C, No. 1), and stated that he and Wikerawa appeared for the applicants named therein. Mrs. Hopere presented the names of two additional adults, which were added to List 7a. Mrs. Hopere put in her genealogical table. Mr. Kensington: Presumably the West Coast Commissioner did not consider the position of the names now before the Commission, from the fact that in the West Coast Settlement Reserves Act the definition of " Natives " implied Maoris and half-castes with their descendants by Natives. The Commissioner: That was the law of the time, but recent amendments of the Land Acts have altered it. At Gisborne, for instance, there were two brothers named Harris, one of whom was married to a European woman. That brother died, and his children were barred from succeeding. The older brother then applied to succeed, and did so, and then conveyed the land to his nephews and nieces. The law was then altered so that all descendants of half-castes were classed as Maoris. This was done by omitting the words "by Natives." Mrs. Brown agreed with the Commissioner, because her daughter had some property, and when she wanted to sell it she had to go through the same process as if she were a Maori, although she could not speak Maori. Mr. Tuhata: With regard to Tuwhareiti, I do not know anything about this claimant. Te Tipi: This claimant is next in kin to Tiwhakopu. Some discussion ensued, and Mr. Tuhata subsequently admitted, upon looking over the list, that Mr. Te Tipi's assertion was correct, and admitted an oversight on his own part. Mrs. Hopere: The claimants on my list base their claims upon their descent from Tiwhakopu and Tuwhareiti. Paora Hopere then proceeded to trace the genealogy from both, and stated that he could not exactly say whether Rangihira came before or after Tihimatengi. Mr. Fisher: It seems to me that a lot of time is lost in these whakapapas (genealogies). I had better take a list and find out who these are. The Commissioner remarked that when the whakapapas were made out the rest would be plain sailing. Te Tipi Wirihana (John Shearer Willison) gave the genealogy with regard to the thirteen grandchildren living at Foxton and having no land. The Commission then adjourned until 2 p.m. The Commissioner asked Mrs. Brown if the genealogy of Huiana, for whom a claim had been made by Rewimaka, was correct, and Mrs. Brown replied that it was quite correct. Karewa Riwai then put in the genealogy of the claimants he represented, and stated that he was not quite certain of the correctness of the information he supplied. He stated that upon consulting with some old people he would be able to verify his information. The Commissioner intimated that his case would stand down for the present. Roimata Wiremu Tamihana gave in the genealogy of the applicants she represented. She had some difficulty in supplying the information, and the Commissioner asked Mr. Martin if he would talk the matter over with Roimata and give her some assistance. Mr. Martin replied that he would be very pleased to do so.