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Amongst the blocks offered for settlement is Tihiotonga (1,950 acres). We have some special remarks to make about this block later on in this report. The Ngati-Whakaue are anxious that the roading of their lands should precede disposal by lease. Their partitions can then be made with due regard to road frontages. They are anxious that the state of the titles should not delay settlement. At the same time, the elders wish the partitions as between families to be clearly defined now, that a future generation, not so well versed in the hapu boundaries, may not be left to quarrel over the subdivisions. There was also handed in a list of other lands, owned by the same hapu, bordering on Lake Rotorua, between the shore of the lake and the main road that runs parallel with the lake. These are given in the schedule (1). Some of these we have already recommended to be reserved for papakaingas. We are now asked to amend this recommendation in the direction indicated in the following statement handed in to us by the Ngati-Whakaue : — " These blocks represent what are proposed to be reserved for papakaingas. The owners, however, consider the area too great for the purpose, and are desirous of obtaining the power to give leases in any of these lands subject to the consent or approval of the Waiariki Maori Land Board. "Most of these blocks occupy several miles of lake frontage, and the privilege asked for, if granted, will be largely availed of by tourists and others anxious to obtain lake frontages for summer camping-grounds, &c, on terms and conditions arranged by the owners and satisfactory to the Board." The area shown in schedule (1) is 2,321 acres and 8 perches. The NgatiWhakaue practically ask that with regard to this area they be permitted to lease to Europeans as if the Thermal-springs District Act did not exist. The lands are eminently suitable for building-sites. There would be a keen demand for "such sites, as well as for camping-grounds and leases for short periods. In view of the generosity displayed by this hapu in the past, and of their action in handing over practically the whole of their lands for settlement, we are sure that Your Excellency will favourably consider their request. It may be met by an amendment of the Thermal-springs District Act to the following effect:— That the Governor be empowered to define an area (limited, in our opinion, to the lands given in the schedule (1)), wherein the Native owners may lease for any term not exceeding fifty years, subject to the following conditions : — (a.) That application be made to the Board for a recommendation to the Governor for removal of restrictions to enable a lease to be given. (b.) That on removal of restrictions the terms, conditions, and covenants of the lease be approved by the Board. This will prevent the indiscriminate leasing of this valuable lake frontage, and secure sufficient reservation for papakainga purposes. Special Matters. In our first report we mentioned certain timber agreements, and stated that, on obtaining further information, we would submit the facts and draft deeds for Your Excellency's consideration and approval. A. Agreement between Native Proprietors of Waiteti No. 2 Block (Sections Iβ and 2a) and the Rotorua Timber Company. This is an informal agreement entered into between the parties, and has been in operation for a considerable time. The company supposed that section 26 of " The Maori Land Claims Adjustment and Laws Amendment Act, 1907," applied to Native lands within the Thermal-springs District, and applied to Ihe Board for confirmation of the agreement. By consent the parties submitted the matter for our consideration. It was agreed "that the Native owners, or any person or body lawfully acting on their behalf, should sell the timber to the company at 7d. per 100 ft.; that the quantity of timber on which such