G.—s

8

alter the boundaries shown in the deed and on the plan of the sale. It is, however, of some interest since in all the subsequent sales of land to west of it it is said to have been accepted or adopted as the eastern boundary of such blocks. The only block sold which north of Kiriwai touches Aorangi on the west is the Omarutairi, and the deed of this describes the boundary as going "to the Corangahau and runs in that stream till it reaches the old boundary and then it turns and follows the old boundary to the starting-point at Whakamaru " (to the north). From this it will be seen, since Aorangi is bounded by the Porangah.au River on the north and west, that whether Park's line or Waipukurau boundary is taken that deed includes no part of Aorangi, and we have been unable to find any deed which included any part of Aorangi prior to 1854. On the 6th January, 1854, a deed dealing with .a portion of land sometimes described'as Umuopua, south of the Kiriwai-Pa-o-Rangitahia line, was executed by four persons. The boundaries given by this deed are : " The boundary of the west commences on the boundary of the land sold by Te Hapuku—that is, at Kiriwai, and on to Waiaruhe, on to west of Korako, and on to Rangitoto; then going southward to Hakikino, and on to Waikopiro, and on to Kohiotahu; then on to the Raorao till it joins Ngahape, then on to the old boundary, then on till it joins Kiriwai." The apparent intention of the deed is to follow the old boundary and continue in a straight line to Kiriwai, from where that boundary ceased, at Pa-o-Rangitahia (a point midway between Ngahape and Kiriwai). As soon as the general body of Natives heard of this sale they appear to have put in a very vigorous protest, and as a consequence Mr. McLean gave the matter his personal attention, and met the Natives to discuss it. The result of the meeting, according to the Native version, was that Mr. McLean promised to rectify the matter by excluding a portion of the land from the sale. He was to get a surveyor to mark off this portion, and, in consideration of the money paid to Hori Niania and others, a certain portion called Umuopua was to be retained by the Government. Probably this was the reason that the land contained in that deed was never surveyed. The Natives say that in accordance with the arrangement Mr. Pelichet, surveyor, was sent by Mr. McLean to survey the line of demarcation, and that some fifty Natives accompanied him on that occasion. Apparently there is no record of this survey, but there is evidence that the survey of Porangahau Block, which the Natives say included Umuopua, was made by Mr. Pelichet. The opinion of the authorities upon such matters at the time may be gathered from the memorandum which Mr. McLean transmitted, on the 15th September, 1855, to Mr. Commissioner Cooper, containing the instructions of His Excellency the Governor that in all future arrangements for the purchase of land he was to " use the greatest possible caution in. cases where the title was disputed, or a difference of opinion existed in the minds of the Native owners, and upon no account to enter into negotiations for the purchase until such differences have been amicably settled between the parties concerned." We now come to the sale of the Porangahau Block, on the 10th March, 1858, by some eighty-three Natives, and which the Natives say carried out the arrangement entered into by Mr. McLean, by including in the Porangahau Block all the Umuopua Block which had been agreed to be given for the money advances to Hori Niania, and excluding from it the parts that they had objected to (including Aorangi). That in 1857 there was still some feeling over Mori's sale is evident from the report of the District Commissioner, and it is reasonable to assume that this deed was to be a settlement of the grievances. At any rate the deed includes the greater portion of the land sold on the 6th January, 1854, so it has every appearance of being partly in confirmation of that deed. The Porangahau Block included a much greater area than the 1854 deed, for instead of extending only to Ngawhake on the east it went far beyond, .stretching from the sea to the Maharakeke line, which the Natives say was the one arranged. On the north

2 Turton, p. 639.

2 Turton, p. 49!).

1862, C.-l p. 329.

1861, C.-l p. 269.

2 Turton, p. 522.

1862, C.-l p. 330,