3

G.—lh

continue in full force and virtue although the inquiry may not be regularly Continued from time to time or from place to place by adjournment. And, lastly, it is hereby further declared that these presents are issued under and subject to the provisions of " The Commissions of Inquiry Act, 1908." Given under the hand of His .Excellency the Eight Honourable William Lee, Baron Plunket, Knight Commander of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George, Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Governor and Com-mander-in-Chief in and over His Majesty's Dominion of New Zealand and its Dependencies; and issued under the Seal of the said Dominion, at the Government House, at Wellington, this twenty-third day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and nine. J. Carroll. Approved in Council. Alex. Willis, Clerk of the Executive Council.

EEPOET. Native Land Commission, Wellington, 26th February, 1909. To His Excellency the Governor. May it please Your Excellency,— We have the honour to state that we have undertaken the burden of the Commission you were pleased to issue to us on the 23rd January, 1909, in regard to the Native lands, and the consolidation and amendment of the Nativeland laws. We, as our first interim report, beg to submit the following for Your Excellency's consideration: — Certain lands in the Wairoa County have already been reported on by the Commissioners appointed under Your Excellency's Commission dated the 21st day of January, 1907 (see Parliamentary Paper G.-l, 1907), and by them recommended to be reserved for. Maori occupation. This recommendation was carried into effect by Order in Council dated the 18th day of February, 1908, whereby the lands the subject thereof were brought under Part II of " The Native Land Settlement Act, 1907." Since the said Commissioners reported to Your Excellency, and since the issue of the said Order in Council, the owners have expressed a desire that the lands mentioned in the schedule hereto should be leased to Maoris. The recommendations of the former Commissioners did not go so far as to say that the lands in question should be leased to Maoris, because in most cases arrangements for the purpose were not advanced enough when such lands were inquired into. We have also ascertained from the Maori Land Board that at its recent sitting in the Wairoa district the Native owners urged the settlement of the lands mentioned in the Schedule hereto by way of lease to specified owners or Maoris. We accordingly recommend that these lands be leased to Maoris as provided by Part II of " The Native Land Settlement Act, 1907." We have the honour to be, Your Excellency's obedient servants, Robert Stout, ) . . Jackson Palmer, [ Commissioners.