To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator, Wellington, 14th April, 1846.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume II, Issue 80, 18 April 1846, Page 3

To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator, Wellington, 14th April, 1846.

Sir, — I beg to place at your disposal for the information of the public the accompanying copies of Reports by Mr. Commissioner Spain on the claims of the New Zealand Company to land in the Southern Division. These Reports were forwarded to Her Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for the Colonies in September 1845 ; but no knowledge of that circumstance, or of their contents, reached me until his Excellency the Lieutenant- Governor was pleased to inform me of their purport immediately upon his receipt of them from Auckland by the last conveyance. I remain, Sir, Your obedient servant, (Signed) W. Wakbfibld. Principal Agent N. Z. Company,

(Copy.) Wellington, 11th April, 1846. Sir, — I do myself the honor, by direction of his Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor, to forward for your information copie3* of the awards of Mr. Commissioner Spain on the New Zealand Company's claims to land in the Southern Division. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient humble servant, (Signed) M. Richmond, Superintendent. W. Wakefield, Esq., Principal Agent N.. Z. Company, &c, &c, &c.

Office of the Commissioner for investigating and determining Titles and Claims to Land in New Zealand, Auckland, 31st March 1845. Sir, — I have the honor to lay before your Excellency the result of roy investigation into the New Zealand Company's claims to land, comprised in casesNo.374a-f- &374J J y and founded upon two deeds herewith inclosed, and dated respectively as per margin. As the Company's Principal Agent has preferred claims under these deeds to three separate tracts of land in different parts of the Northern and Middle Islands, I propose, for the sake of perspicuity, to divide this report into three parts, by which I shall be enabled to deal separately with the claims to the several districts of Nelson, Porirua, and Manawatu ; and the general preliminary observations in the first part must be considered as applicable, with certain modifications, to the remaining divisions.

Part I. — Nelson. I will in the first place briefly mention under what circumstances and upon what grounds the Agent of the Coirpany lays claim to these lands ; and after adverting to* the evidence which I have taken at different times and places in this case, I will state what is my final judgment upon a careful review of the whole subject, together with the reasons which have induced me to arrive at such a conclusion. I entered into the examination of this case on my first arrival at Port Nicholson ; when Colonel Wakefield produced: in my Court the two deeds before referred to, under which he claimed the lands already mentioned. The first of these deeds was executed at Kapiti by the chiefs Rauparaha, Rangihaeata, Hiko, and others, members of the Ngatitoa tribe, and professes to convey all the claims

*Five enclosures— Port Nicholson, Porirua, Manawatu, Wanganui, Nelson. t No. 1. 374. a. 25th Oct. 1839. J JS T o. 2. 374. b. Bth Not. 1839.

'to land of the signing parties , within "the 4S degrees of south latitude in the Middle Island, and an imaginary line drawn <frosa Mokai on the West to Tehirkaforo on the East Coast of the Northern Island, A considerable quantity '-of merchandize was given on this'occasioa to the signing parties, consisting of the articles at that time usually given for land in this country, viz. blankets, guns, gunpowder, and other articles (a list of which is inserted in the deed of conveyance), the receipt of which has never been wholly denied by the natives. The second deed under which this land is also claimed was executed in Queen Charlotte's Sound on the Bth November, 1839, by a large number of the natives who compose one of the numerous branches of the Ngatiawa tribe. The lands alleged to be conveyed are nearly of the same description, the extreme boundaries are precisely the same with those mentioned in the former deed} and the consideration then paid was of a similar character, and of a nearly equal amount. These are the two deeds to which in my former reports I have more than once had occasion to allude, as the over-riding deeds under which the New Zealand Company asserted that it had "acquired territories amounting to about one third of the whole surface of New Zealand, 15 Had I therefore been compelled to enquire into the title of that body to but a moiety of this enormous territory, my labors at this moment would have been far from a termination, but my investigation of its claims has been of course materially narrowed by the arrangements with Her Majesty's Government, which restricted the selection of land by its agent in the colony to certain quantities of land in certain localities. I have also, myself still further lessened the extent and difficulty of the enquiiy on all occasions, by calling upon the Principal Agent to produce in my Court, plans shewing the exact blocks, and the contents in acres on which it was his intention to produce evidence, and by restricting him from extending the surveys beyond the boundaries delineated upon the plans after they had been exhibited in Court. From various causes connected with my investigation of the Company's claim to the Port Nicholson district, I was unable to take any native evidence on this subject until the 26th April, 1843, when I examined Rauparaha and Rangihaeata, the principal parties, as I have already shewn, to the first or Kapiti deed at Otaki. I have adverted at length in my first general report, under date the 12th September, 1843, to the circumstances which compelled me on that occasion to enter into the examination of such important witnesses on the subject cf this sale by them of land to the New Company, without the presence of an agent of that body to conduct the enquiry on its behalf, and to point ' out to what portions of land and in what districts a title was sought to be substantiated by their testimony. My investigation therefore, at Otaki, so far as the two last mentioned witnesses were concerned, was directed to the whole transaction of the purchase at Kapiti, as already detailed by Col. Wakefield in his examination at Pert Nicholson; and haviug heard his statement as to what lands he supposed himself to have acquired by this purchase, I was anxious to ascertain what portions of it the conveying parties would now acknowledge they intended at the time to alienate, and to what extent they would now admit the payment of the consideration which had been already deposed to. I was particular -in my enquiries of Raaparaha as to what lands he had sold to Col. Wakefield on the Middle as well as the Northern Island ; and, while he acknowledged the receipt of a considerable quantity of property, he would not admit that he had ever sold, or intended to sell, any other place tbanTaitapu, by which name the natives, I believe, designate a district in Massacre Bay, forming part of the Nelson settlement. Rangihaeata's testimony was equally positive, as to the sale of no other place than Wakatu, the native name of the district in the immediate vicinity of, and including Nelson Haven. I subsequently examined Hiko and . Tutakangi, also signing parties to the Kapiti • Deed ; and their evidence, though not so reluctantly given as that of the other two, was of a, very similar nature, and confirmatory of their statements. .^ I need not here advert to the melancholy occurrence which prevented my visiting the AJixJdle Island in my judicial capacity, as I had intended in June, 1813. It will be sufficient for me to say now that J had previously to that event every reason to anticipate an arrangement with those chiefs by a payment from the Company, which should have set at rest for ever the existing disputes on the subject ol the surveys and occupation of land in that Island. From every conversation I had with the natives upon the subject, I was induced to suppose them willing to enter into such a composition.

'I shall have occasion to allude preiently to the nature and extent of their territorial rights on this Island, when I come to speak of the district to which they have so fatally attempted to assert and maintain their title. Such being the state of the evidence on the Company's claim to land in the Middle Island, I opened my Court at Nelson to investigate the case on the spot, on the 19th of August last. I was perfectly willing to entertain the claim of the native chiefs whom I have already named, so far as I was assured of their actual "residence on, and cultivation of parts of the various portions of land of which they declared themselves owners ; but, in accordance with a principle which I have more than once laid down in my communication to your Excellency and your predecessors, and which has guided my decisions in every instance, and been confirmed by all the evidence I have ever taken on the subject, viz. — that mere conquest unsupported by actual and permanent occupation, and more particularly where the conquered parties still remain in occupation, or having left it for a short time, return and occupy it for a series of years, bestows no title -on the invaders, I felt it my duty to receive the evidence and listen to the statements of the natives residing within the blocks surveyed by the Company to be given out to its purchasers, in order to ascertain who were the actual owners, accotding to what I had found to be native customs. Previously to visiting Nelson, I sent forward my interpreter, Mr, Meurant, who employed himself in visiting the several districts in the Nelson settlement, and endeavouring to ascertain the views of the different tribes or families immediately interested. From him I learned, on my arrival at Nelson, that the natives were anxiously waiting my coming amongst them : and that there existed a favorable disposition in the minds of those in the neighbourhood of Nelson, Motuaka, and Massacre Bay. The natives from all these places had received large presents from the late Captain Wakefield on his first arrival with the preliminary expedition, which they were ready to admit before me ; and uuder these circumstances, Mr. Meurant informed me that he anticipated an early settlement of the question, so far as they were concerned and that although he thought it not unlikely they might expect some small further payment, yet they had all expressed an anxious desire to abide the terms of my decision on the subject, and to rest content with whatever I should award them. Herewith I enclose your Excellency a copy of the minutes of the proceedings* in my Court, containing the substance of what I stated to the natives on the subject of this purchase, and the manner in which a proportion of the w hole sum ultimately agreed upon, £500, to be given to the natives as a furtie-r [payment, was appropriated by Mr. Clarke, under my sanction and superintendence. The first witnesses examined wejre called before me by Colonel Wakefield, for the purpose of proving the fact, that various presents were made soon after the arrival of the Nelson Preliminary expedition, by the late Capt. Wakefield, the then resident agent, to the natives of Wakapuaka, Motuaka, aad Massacre Bay. A schedule herewith enclosedij- shewing the appropriation of goods of various descriptions to the amount of £980 : 15 t 0 to the natives of the above districts was put in and proved on this occasion, and substantiated by the concurrent testimony of several gentlemen who witnessed the transaction with the natives, and was subsequently veiified by a reference to the books of the Company's storekeeper. From this testimony it appears that the late Captain Wakefield immediately on his arrival with the preliminary expedition assembled the resident natives of the several districts in the vicinity of Nelson, and informed them that he was about to take possession of the land by virtue of a purchase made by Colonel Wakefield at Kapiti, «f Rauparaha, Hiko, and others, but that as it was customary on such occasions to make presents to the resident natives, he was ready to give them certain articles of merchandize, which they were to receive on the distinct understanding that such goods were not to be regarded in the light of a further payment for the laud, but merely as presents. It is impossible to deny to the memory of Captain Wakefield the tribute of praise so justly due for this liberal and judicious policy, and it is to be regretted that a similar course had not been adopted in other districts, on the like occasion, in which case I feel persuaded that much of the opposition which in other settlements has so severely retarded the colonists would have been obviated or removed. At the'same time it may be remarked that the distinction thus sought to be drawn between a further payment for land, and a present, was~ somewhat too fine drawn for the conceptions of the natives ; and I think Cap-

• No. 3. Minutes of Proceedings. t No. 4. Schedule of goodi given to the natives by Captain Wakefleld.

tain Wakefield carried his assumed position too far in claiming the land under a purchase from the conquerors only, and not admitting to some extent the title of the natives whom he found in actual possession. Thus, while he made them presents to conciliate their friendship and good will, and in a manner reconcile them to parting with their land, he refused to admit their title to any of it, and consequently was at no pains to procure from them any acknowledgement of the receipt of the presents, or any declaration in writing of the lands which they then virtually consented for such consideration to alienate. Had this been done, I have little doubt that the resident natives would have regarded and acknowledged the transaction as a regular sale and disposal of their lands. As it was, an over anxiety not to compromise the Company's title under the original alleged purchase in some measure counteracted the beneficial results of the otherwise judicious course adopted by the Resident Agent. Te Iti, the only native witness called before me by Colonel Wakefield, endeavoured to throw discredit on the testimony already taken, and gave his evidence not without reluctance and some prevarication. I saw that he was under the impression that by denying having received, in common with many others, the presents which had been made to him by Captain Wakefield, he should ensure for his people some further payment; in order to obtain which few natives will refrain from making statements contrary to fact, Mr, Protectoi Clarke intimated to me that Te Iti was not speaking the truth — that he had been with him in the morning before he came into Court instiucting him as the advocate of the natives, as to the real state of the case — and that he then told a different story to his present statement. Mr, Clarke then gave him a strict cross-exa-mination. I was therefore glad to find Mr. Clarke and Colonel Wakefield join in an application for an adjournment, with a view to obtain an opportunity of impressing upon the natives the necessity and propriety of their stating the truth, and of explaining to them that an admission of what had actually taken place on the arrival of Captain Wakefield, would not have the effect of lessening any claim they might shew they still justly advanced, or of causing their real interests to be overlooked or disregarded. I readily granted the adjournment, and endeavoured through my Interpreter to impress upon the natives generally the propriety and expediency of their telling me the truth ; after which they separated to meet Mr. Clarke again in the afternoon. Next morning, however, Colonel Wakefield applied to me to suspend ray inquiry, and to allow him to compromise the matter, by authorizing Mr. Clarke to negociate with the natives for the receipt of a further payment. To this I immediately consented, and went myself among the assembled natives accompanied by Mr. Clarke and Mr. Meurant, who I ad much conversation with many of them, the general tenor of which was favorable to the terms of the settlement we were anxious to accomplish. I need say no more on this conference, which your Excellency will see was fully described in the " Minutes" before referred to, and which resulted in the payment as above stated, to all the natives present, of the sum which Mr. Clarke had agreed upon with Col. Wakefield, as a final consideration for the cession of their land. I proceed therefore at once to state in a few words my reasons for sanctioning the composition which was volunteered by Col. Wakefield. The evidence of the gentlemen who had witnessed the transaction had left no doubt upon my mind that a very liberal distribution of goods had taken place under Capt. Wakefield's directions, amongst the natives occupying the several districts before referred to,' but that owing to the circumstances mentioned above, no deed had been*signed on that occasion defining the boundaries of the land treated of between the parties concerned. From Te Iti I had also by a little crossexamination elicited a reluctant confirmation of these statements, and an admission that he with many others had received presents from Capt. Wakefield, who had endeavoured, to impress upon them that the land had been already sold by Rauparaha and others, and that what he then gave them was merely a free-will offering, and by no means to be regarded as a further payment. I was satisfied from all the evidence that the natives had always looked upon this transaction with Capt. Wakefield as an alienation of their rights and interests in the lands treated of, more particularly as it appeared i that they had at the time stipulated for the retention of a certain portion of a large wood atgMotuaka which had been promised them, as well as the retention of their pas and cultivations ; and I found that the conditions, as regarded Motuaka, have been in a great measure complied with by the allotment into native reserves of a considerable proportion of

the " big wood" in that district. The natfff witness (and I was aware he spoke the sentiments of his countrymen) could not deny having received the presents so often referred to, or that he then considered them as given in lieu of his interest in the land ; but he evidently wished to ground a claim to some further remuneration, on the double plea that.he had received no portion of the payment originally made to Rauparaha at Kapiti (whom he asserted he had assisted in conquering the country), and that no boundaries of the land were mentioned as agreed upon between Capt. Wakefield and himself. Under these circumstances I was inclined to conclude that the resident natives had not only been amply remunerated for their land by presents, in which with scarcely an exception they had all participated, but that they were aware at the time of the nature, and satisfied with the termination of the transaction to which they had been parties. I also bore in mind that the lands included in the Company's surveys — with the exception of the Wairau — were those of which Rauparaha and Rangihaeata had admitted the sale to Colonel Wakefield at Kapiti, under the denominations of W&katu and Taitapu. Thus whatever might be their right to or interest in these lands, by their own evidence it had been alienated and paid for. Unless therefore, some much stronger evidence than I had yet heard could be given by the natives in contravention of the statements made by the English witnesses, I was prepared to decide in favor of the Company, without allowing the resid.ent natives any further compensation. But when I found Colonel Wakefield ready after examining but one native witness, to negotiate for a further payment — and understood from Mr. Clarke that he was prepared to arlange for the final alienation of the native claims by the payment of a few hundred pounds, which the Principal Agent was willing to advance, I was glad of an opportunity of so easily complying with the expectations without acknowledging the rights of the natives, and by effecting an immediate adjustment of leaving this settlement in quiet possession of the land and on amicable terms with the resident aborigines. By this arrangement the boundaries of the several districts were finally and definitely agreed upon, the natives received a further remuneration, their pas and cultivated lands were secured to them, and one or two exchanges of the reserves for their use and benefit were effected by Mr. Clarke at their instance and in compliance with their wishes — and your Excellency will perceive by the minutes that the natives in the immediate vicinity of Nelson were paid as per margin,* for which sum of money they respectively executed the necessary receipts in my preseuce. Your Excellency will be glad to learn that this matter was concluded without any disturbance — that there were but a few of the usual instances of discontent shewn on such occasious by the natives, and that in a day or- two after the transaction they had all returned to their accustomed places of abode in the several districts where they reside. Mr. Clarke paid Nga Piko £10 for services he had rendered in assisting to get the other natives to accept the offered terms. The surplus of £290 out of the total sum of £800 agreed upon between Mr. Clarke and Colonel Wakefield, was designed by the former gentleman to be appropriated to the resident natives of Massacre Bay who had not attended the Court. After waiting several days in expectation of the arrival of these natives, I was induced in order to save time, to send Mr. Clarke accompanied by Mr. Meurant my interpreter to Massacre Bay, to negociate with the resident natives there, and bring them over to receive their proportion of the compensation in my presence, I had seen two of the chiefs from this district who were favorably disposed towards the settlement of the question, and who with some of those who had been paid already accompanied Mr. Clarke to Massacre Bay. I must here refer your Excellency to the enclosed letter from Mr. Clarke f addressed to me on his return from Massacre Bay, reporting the'progress and result of his mission, for information upon this part of the subject. The evidence I had taken was direct and conclusive as to the participation by the Massacre Bay natives in the presents distributed by Capt. Wakefield ; and it will be seen by Mr. Clarkes letter that they all admitted this fact, with the exception of one man, who stated that through absence he had not come in for his proper share on that occasion, notwithstanding which, the resident natives of Motupipi positively refused to take any further payment, alleging their former ignorance of the value of the coal found in their neighbourhood as a ground for now demanding some

• Motuaka, .£2OO Wakatu, 200 Ngatiawa, 100 £SQO No. 4. a. 4 Deeds of Release from Natire* . t No. 5. Mr. Clarkes Report. [See Supplement Q^*