G—6B.

From the records of the Lands and Survey Office it is found that the claim for Mangaopuraka was first made by Hami te Rarere, Te Teira Marutu, and others in May, 1879, asking that this land be surveyed as it was not included in the original sale. No action was taken. In April, 1881, Te Teira Marutu again complained, and in the following month he reiterated his claim. In April, 1886, Hone Whariki wrote complaining of the sale, stating that he did not receive any of the purchase-money and that the area of the land was about 4,000 acres. In November, 1895, Te Teira Marutu again writes stating, inter alia, that the land was where the hot springs were situated and that the area was about 4,000 to 5,000 acres. In July, 1896, Makere te Waru complains. In 1898, Te Teira Marutu and others petition Parliament (No. 154/1898). Maika Taruke and others also petition Parliament (No. 153/1898). In 1899, Te Teira Marutu again petitions (No. 358/1899). From the records of the Native Land Court we find that in 1881 a sitting of the Court was notified for Wairoa on the 18th November —this notice included, amongst many other papatipu claims, three applications for the investigation of title to Mangaopuraka. The applications, however, were dismissed because the land was then Crown land. From applications numbered 28 and 35 on the " Panui " by Te Teira Marutu and Hami te Rarere and others it is noticed that the boundaries laid down in the applications place Mangaopuraka as being all the land between the Nuhaka River and Kopuawhara Stream extending northward from the sea as far as Tunanui Stream on the one side and the Waiau Stream on the other, and takes in the whole of the Kopuawhara Block lying to the east of Nuhaka No. 1. Mangaopuraka as fixed by the present petitioners places the block in the north-eastern corner of the Nuhaka purchase, and only a small part in the south connects with the land as claimed before the Court in 1881. The claimed areas of this block also gives cause for reflection —the present petitioners fix the area as 10,680 acres, whereas Hone Whariki in 1886 gave the area as 4,000 acres and Te Teira Marutu in 1895 gives the area as between 4,000 and 5,000 acres. Before the Confiscated Lands Commission the area was 20,000 acres. It would appear to this Court that Mangaopuraka had a " will o' the wisp " existence. First it extended from the sea-coast northward ; now it is many miles inland, and only as to a small part do these areas contact with one another. Te Teira, in one of his letters, claimed the land to be where the hot springs were —the boundaries of the present petitioners do not extend as far south as these springs. Although Te Teira Marutu did not sign the deed, his co-claimant before the Court, Hami te Rarere, was one of those who did sign, and his signature would be deemed representative of his faction. Hone Whariki's main complaint in 1886 was that he did not receive any of the purchase-money, but the custom then was to recognize the paramount chief as the payee and he distributed the money as he saw fit —Hone Whariki was one of the ninety-three who signed. Maika Taruke, a petitioner in 1898, also signed the deed of sale. In view of these unexplainable differences, the Court has come to the conclusion that the petitioners have not made out any case for relief and that the deed of sale complained of gave effect to the intentions of the chiefs and elders on the one hand and the Crown on the other. Attached hereto is a litho showing — (1) The Nuhaka purchase of 1865. (2) The Mangaopuraka area — (a) As claimed by the present petitioners. (b) As claimed by Te Teira Marutu, Hami te Rarere, and others before the Native Land Court in 1881. For the Court: [l.s.] H. Care, Judge. The Chief Judge, Native Land Court, Auckland.

Approximate Cost of Paper.—Preparation, not given : printing (472 copies), £6 53.

Authority: E. V. Paul, Government Printer, Wellington. —1940.

Price Gd.]

3