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1308. NEW ZEALAND.

NATIVE LANDS AND NATIVE-LAND TENURE: INTERIM REPORT BY NATIVE LAND COMMISSION ON NATIVE LANDS IN THE COUNTIES OF WANGANUI, WAIMARINO, RANGITIKEI, AND WAITOTARA.

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

Native Land Commission, Eotorua, 12th March, 1908. To His Excellency the Governor. May it please Your Excellency,— We have the honour to submit for your consideration an interim report on Native lands in the following counties: Wanganui, Waimarino, Kangitikei, Waitotara. We deal in this report only with lands that are already under occupation, either by Europeans under lease from the Maoris or by the Maori owners themelves. We also show the lands in each county vested in the Aotea Maori Land Board. This will dispose of a large area of land in the four counties, and enable us to specify the blocks and subdivisions to be reserved for Maori occupation under Part II of " The Native Land Settlement Act, 1907." We have already, in a report presented to Your Excellency last year, and printed as Parliamentary Paper G.-la, dealt with the general position of Native lands in the Whanganui district. We arej preparing a further report dealing with lands available for general settlement under Part I of the above-named Act, and hope to forward the same at the end of this month. The following is a summary of the lands contained in the schedules to the report: — Under Lease Recommended Tr . . . ~ County. or for Maori Vested in the Negotiations. Occupation. ooaru. A. K. P. A. K. P. A. E. P. Wanganui .. .. .. .. 49,243 112 3,720 233 11,780 123 Waimarino .. .. .. .. 59,541 039 44,344 3 7 113,273 0 0 Eangitikei .. .. .. .. 47,651 136 8,992 023 Waitotara 21,763 0 7 1,213 1 12 6,748 0 0 178,199 0 14 58,270 335 131,801 1 23 Total, 368,271 acres 1 rood 32 perches. We have, &c, Eobert Stout, i n A. T. Ngata, '(Commissioners.

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