I.—3b.

JT. PAKATA.

28

• was heard there, but no interpreter was available, and I myself was sworn in and acted as the interpreter. 1 was called upon by Mr. Strode, the Magistrate, to act as interpreter. This was m the year 1852. The result of the hearing was that the Magistrate fined each of these old men 10s. for having interfered with the surveyor, because he was the servant of the Government. I am stating this to show to the members of the Committee that, as 1 have already said, the Government's officers were guilty of curtailing the area of lands surveyed to a less area than the proper boundaries would have contained. This, no doubt, was with a view to carry out Mr. Mantell's idea of limiting the area of laud to 10 acres for each man, woman, and child: If the boundaries contended for by the Maoris had been agreed to, the Waikouaiti Reserve would have contained 6,000 acres at the very lowest computation. I think it necessary to particularize in this way in order to show the members of the Committee that of the promises made at the time of the sale not in one single instance was any one of these promises carried out when the land came to be surveyed. 1 myself with my own ears heard Mr. Kemp give his evidence before Commissioners.Smith and Nairn in the year 1880, and the evidence given and all the proceedings taken by that Commission are contained in parliamentary papers which, for some reason or other, are withheld from me and from this Committee. Now, Mr. Chairman, 1 desire to urge upon, you and the members of the Committee the fact that by the order of reference to and the appointment of this Committee you have the power to demand the production of papers and persons, as you think fit. Now, sir, these papers have been withheld. The evidence given before Commissioners Nairn and Smith is' still in existence and in the custody of the Department presided over by the Native Minister. The Chairman: Perhaps it has been burnt. Mr. Parata: I think you will fina that the evidence has not been burnt. When the Clerk of this Committee asked Mr. Fisher, the Under-Secretary of the Native Department, to produce the documents to which I refer he replied that they were confidential documents, and that they could not be produced to this Committee. I think it will be within your recollection, Mr. Chairman, that Mr. Hosking stated before this Committee that all the proceedings of the Commission presided over by Commissioners Nairn and Smith were contained in two volumes, which are still in existence. I do not know where they are, but my belief is that those are the two volumes which the Under-Secretary of the Native Department declares cannot be produced on the ground that they are confidential. Now, I regret to have to make these statements here to-day and in the absence of Ministers who are members of this Committee, but it is not my fault that they are not present. That is all I desire to say upon that head —that is, in regard to the reserves. Now, we are continually asked, "Why is it that you have remained silent all these many years past? " 1 say, Mr. Chairman, that since 1889 the "Maoris of the South Island have continually written and petitioned the Government and successive Parliaments in connection with this matter. They have also made representations to each successive Governor from the Governor of the day of the original purchase down to the present day. So that it is entirely wrong to say that the Maoris of the No'aitahu Tribe have been negligent in connection with this matter. After Governor Grey came Governor Brown. That was in 1856. Governor Brown came to Otago, Dunedin. The Maoris assembled at Otago. There were Maoris present there in attendance from Moeraki, Waikouaiti, Purakaunui, Otago, Taieri, Te Karoro, &c, within the district affected. After they had finished their words of greeting to Governor Brown on this occasion the Maori chiefs requested Governor Brown to afford them an opportunity to place this matter before him. The Native chiefs present were Haereroa, Matiaha Tiramorehu, Tanahira Waruwarutu, Henere Mauhara, Rawiri te Mamaru, Rawiri te Make, Kahutii, Te Weha, Matiu Kihepane, Taiaroa, Karetai, Wi Potiki, Hoani Korako Wetere, Taare Wetere te Kaahu, and others. Haereroa and others were the first spokesmen, and were followed by others of the chiefs assembled there, and after the European residents and the Superintendent of Dunedin had finished addressing the Governor the Maoris then approached him. These chiefs then asked the Governor how it came about that the promises which had been made to them by Mr. H. T. Kemp at the time of the sale of their land to the Crown in 1848 still remained unfulfilled. The Governor's reply was that that was the first time he had been aware that the Maoris had any grievance to lay before him, or that a promise had been made to them which had up. to that time been unfulfilled. Governor Brown went on to say that on his return to Wellington he would have the matter inquired into, because this was a matte]' of importance that merited immediate attention. That satisfied the minds of the Maoris to a great extent, because it was an expression of opinion from the Governor himself, and they looked upon the Governor as the mouthpiece of Her Majesty Queen Victoria. So the chiefs decided to take no further action until the inquiry which the Governor promised should take place. I was present myself that day. I want the Committee, Mr. Chairman, and yourself to thoroughly understand that in what I am saying now 1 am speaking first hand. I myself with my own ears heard the Governor with his own mouth make that promise. I want to add to what I have already stated that on every occasion definite promises were made to the« Maoris, and those promises were made simply to hoodwink and mislead the Maori people and deny them their rights. That is all I need say upon that head. Now sir, that will bring us down to the year 1868. In 1868 the Native Land Court sat at Otautahi' Christchurch. Judge Fenton was then the Chief Judge, and lie came there and presided. I may say, Mr. Chairman, that the reason for this sitting of the Court was that the Court should deal with 'a dispute which had arisen between the Maoris and certain Europeans about a place called Kaitorete, which adjoins Lake Ellesmere. Now, I say that Judge Fenton might have published a notice in the Gazette, or at least have written letters informing the Maoris that he was about to proceed to the South Island to hold a Court to deal with the matter of the land sold by the Natives to Mr. Kemp. But he never did so; for the reason, perhaps, that he did not anticipate that the Ngaitahu Tribe would set up this claim. The point I wish to make, Mr. Chairman,