MEMORANDUM ON THE RANGITIKEI-MANAWATU LAND CLAIMS.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1870 Session I, A-25

A.—No. 25.

MEMORANDUM ON THE RANGITIKEI-MANAWATU LAND CLAIMS.

PRESENTED TO BOTH HOUSES OE THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, BY COMMAND OE HIS EXCELLENCY.

WELLINGTON.

1870.

A.—No. 25,

MEMORANDUM ON THE RANGITIKEI-MANAWATU LAND CLAIMS.

After the withdrawal of the Eangitikei-Manawatu cases, at the instance of the Agent for the claimants, and by permission of the Judges, at the sittings of the Native Lands Court at Eangitikei, in May, 1868, some months elapsed without anything being done towards a settlement of the disputed claims. A proposal was afterwards made on behalf of the Native claimants, and agreed to by the G-overn-ment, that the question should bo left to the decision of three arbitrators, —one to be nominated by the Natives, another by the Commissioner, and a third by the Government. The Natives nominated His Honor Mr. Justice Johnston, who, on being applied to, declined to act in that capacity, and the proposed arrangement accordingly fell through. After considerable delay, a further reference of all unsatisfied claims to the Native Lands Court for final adjudication was made by the Governor in Council; and as it was understood that the Natives were particularly anxious to have their case heard before Messrs. Fenton and Maning, these Judges were induced to hold a special sitting at "Wellington for that purpose. After due notice in the Gazette, the Court sat in the Supreme Court House at "Wellington, in the month of July, 1869. Mr. Travers appeared as Counsel for the Native claimants, and was assisted and instructed by Mr. Alexander McDonald, the Native Agent. The Attorney-General appeared on behalf of the Ci*own, and was instructed by the Commissioner. A large number of the Native claimants, with their witnesses, attended, and in order to afford them every facility for bringing their case before the Court, the Government made liberal cash advances to meet their necessary expenses. After a patient hearing of several weeks, the Court gave the following decision on the issues submitted to it by agreement of Counsel, namely: —■ 1. Did Ngatiraukawa, prior to the year 1840, by virtue of the conquest of Ngatiapa, by themselves or others through whom they claimed, acquire the dominion over the land in question, or any or what part or parts thereof? The Court— -No. 2. Did that tribe, or any and what hapus thereof, acquire, subsequently to conquest thereof, by occupation, such a possession over the said land, or any and what part or parts thereof, as would constitute them owners according to Maori custom; and did they, or any and what hapus, retain such possession in January, 1840, over the said land, or any and what part or parts thereof? The Court. —The words " subsequently to conquest thereof" must be erased. Ngatiraukawa, as a tribe, has not acquired, by occupation, any rights over the estate. The three hapus of Eaukawa, Ngatikahoro, Ngatiparewahawaha, and Ngatikauwhata have, by occupation, and with the consent of the Ngatiapa, acquired rights which will constitute them owners according to Maori custom. These hapus retained such rights in January, 1840. There is no evidence before the Court which should cause it to limit these rights to any specified piece or pieces of land. The Court is not quite clear whether the hapu Ngatiteihiihi should be also included, and will, if the parties desire, hear further evidence with respect to that hapu. (Further evidence was accordingly adduced, and it resulted in the exclusion of this hapu.) 3. Were the rights of Ngatiapa, or any of them, completely extinguished over the said lands so acquired by conquest and occupation, or over any and what part thereof; or did they, in January, 1840, have any ownership according to Native custom over the said land, or any and what part or parts thereof ? The Court. —The rights of Ngatiapa were not extinguished, but they were affected in so far as the above three hapus have acquired rights. 4. Was such ownership of tho Ngatiapa hostile to, independent of, or along with, that of the Ngatiraukawa, or any and what hapu or hapus thereof? The Court.—The ownership of the above three hapus was along with that of the Ngatiapa. 5. Have the Ngatiapa, or any of them, since January, 1840, acquired, by occupation or otherwise, any and what ownership, according to Native custom, of the said land so acquired by Eaukawa, or any and what part or parts thereof? The Court. —Does not require answering. 6. What person, if any, of tho said Eaukawa Tribe (if the said tribe acquired ownership), or what persons of any hapu or hapus thereof which acquired ownership, if any, over the said land or any part thereof, in January, 1840, have not signed or assented to the cession to tho Crown of the land owned by them ? The Court. —Cannot bo answered yet. By Ngatiapa is meant all Ngatiapa, including those persons called half-eastcs—Eangitane (properly so called) and Ngatiteupokoiri are excluded. Tho Court then proceeded to sift the list of claimants before it, to the number of 500, or more, and, taking the names seriatim, heard the evidence on both sides, and decided, in each case separately, either to admit or reject the claim. The result of this scrutiny was that, out of the whole list of non-selling claimants, only sixty-two, including women and children, were admitted by the Court as having any right, title, or interest in the lands. At this stage of the case, in consequence of a suggestion by Mr. Travers, that some of the claimants whose names had been struck out were absent and were only imperfectly represented by their friends, His Honor the Chief Judge adjourned the Court for a week, to afford any of the defeated claimants, who might wish to do so, an opportunity of bringing forward any fresh evidence in support

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of their respective claims ; and the Agent for the claimants was .requested by the Court to communicate, in the interval, with all absentee claimants who might desire to avail themselves of this indulgence. His Honor the Chief Judge also expressed a hope that, during the interval of the adjournment, some arrangement might be come to between the parties as to the proportion and quantity of land to be given to the admitted Ngatiraukawa claimants in respect of their unsatisfied claims in the block. Mr. A. McDonald, the accredited Native Agent, forthwith repaired to the Eangitikei District, and put himself in communication with his Native clients. Dr. Eeatherston and Mr. Buller, on behalf of the Crown, proceeded also to the district, in the hope of coming to some amicable arrangement with the admitted claimants. Finding that the time allowed by the Court was insufficient, the Attorney-General moved Mr. Judge Mailing to grant an extension, and the Court was accordingly further adjourned to the 25th day of September. Meanwhile, Dr. 'Featherston held meetings with the various sections of claimants, and made definite proposals to them, which were accepted by some and rejected by others. At Oroua, where the first meeting took place, the Ngatiapa Chiefs who accompanied the Commissioner's party proposed that an award of ten acres each should be made to the recognized nonsellers of the three admitted hapus. This offer was at once rejected. Dr. Featherston then proposed an award of such a block or blocks as would give to each of the claimants—man, woman, and child, — one hundred acres of land, and that the wishes of those concerned should be consulted in tho selection of such award. After some discussion, this proposal was unanimously accepted by the meeting, and Hoeta Kahuhui (one of their own party) was delegated to attend the Land Court and signify their assent. Te Ara, Te Kooro, and a few other claimants, were unavoidably absent from this meeting. Te Ara's husband (Takaua.) was, however, present, and signified his acquiescence. Another meeting, with similar proposals, took place at Matahiwi, on the Eangitikei side, on the following day ; but Dr. Featherston's offer was rejected, the claimants stating that they would take nothing except at the hands of the Court. Before leaving the meeting, Dr. Featherston reminded the Natives of the day on which the Court would sit again in "Wellington, and advised them to be in attendance on that day. The Court sat, according to appointment, on the 25th September. Mr. McDonald did not attend, nor was any fresh evidence offered on behalf of the rejected claims. Eatana Ngahina, and Hakaraia Koraho, of Ngatiapa, and Hoeta Kahuhui, of Ngatikauwhata, were examined by Judge Mailing as to what had taken place at the various meetings in the district, and further Native evidence was taken as to the absolute requirements of the hapus for whom provision was about to be made. After a brief adjournment, Mr. Judge Mailing delivered the following elaborate judgment:— This is a claim made by a Native named Akapita, for himself and others, to certain lands situated between the Manawatu and Eangitikei Eivers, and which has been referred to the Native Lands Court by the Governor, under provisions made to that effect by " The Native Lands Act, 1865." The claimants ground their title firstly on conquest, stating that the land in question was conquered from the Ngatiapa Tribe, tho original possessors, by the Ngatitoa Tribe, under their Chief Te Eauparaha, who subsequently gave, or granted, this land to the Ngatiraukawa Tribe, his allies, of which tribe the claimants are members ; and secondly, failing the proof of the right by conquest, the claimants claim under any right which it may be proved the Ngatiraukawa Tribe, or any sections or hapu of that tribe, may have acquired either by occupation or in any other manner. This claim by Akapita is opposed by the Crown on the grounds that the original owners, the Ngatiapa, have never been conquered, and that the Ngatiraukawa, as a tribe, have not acquired any right or interest whatever in the land ; and, moreover, that the land claimed by Akapita is now tho property of the Crown, having been legally purchased from the right owners. A great mass of evidence has been taken in this case, from which, after eliminating minor matters and everything which has no very important bearing on the matter for decision, the following facts appear to remain : — Before the year 1818, and to that date, or thereabouts, the Ngatiapa Tribe were possessors of the land in question,—its owners by Maori usage and custom, the land being a part of tho tribal territory or estate. On or about the above date, the Chief Eauparaha, with the fighting men of his tribe and a party of Ngapuhi warriors armed with firearms, left his settlement at Kawhia and marched to the South, with the intention of acquiring, by conquest, a new territory for himself and tribe. In the course of this expedition he passed through the country of the Ngatiapa, remaining only long enough to ravage the country and drive back to the fastnesses of the mountains the Ngatiapa, who, with some parties of allies or kindred tribes, had attempted resistance, but were at that time obliged to retreat before an enemy armed with firearms. The invaders then passed on to the southward, and, after a series of battles, onslaughts, stratagems, and incidents attendant on Maori warfare, but not necessary further to notice here, Te Eauparaha, with the assistance of his Ngapuhi allies, succeeded in possessing himself of a large territory to the North and South of Otaki, the former possessors of which he had defeated, killed, or driven off. After the inroad in which Eauparaha had laid the foundation for a more permanent occupation and conquest, and being therefore, as it would appear, desirous to collect around him as many fighting men as possible —a great object of every Native Chief in those clays of continual war and violence —he returned to Kawhia with the purpose of collecting the remainder of his tribe, who had been left at Kawhia, and of inviting the whole tribe of Ngatiraukawa to come and settle on the territory which he had then but partially conquered. It is to be noticed here that on tho return of Eauparaha to Kawhia he was met by the chiefs ot the Ngatiapa Tribe on their own land, and that upon this occasion friendly relations and peace were established between them, he returning to them some prisoners he had taken in passing through their country when advancing to the southward; presents were also exchanged, and the nephew of Te Eauparaha, To Eangihaeata, took to wife, with all due formality, a chieftainess of the Ngatiapa Tribe,

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called Pikinga, notwithstanding that she had been taken prisoner by himself on the occasion of the first inroad into the Ngatiapa country. After arriving at Kawhia the Ngapuhi returned to their own country, and need not be again mentioned, as they have not made any claim on account of their alliance with Te Eauparaha on the occasion of the first invasion. About a year after the return of Eauparaha to Kawhia he mustered his tribe and some other followers, and, taking also the women and children, ho again marched for the South, with the intention of permanently occupying and securing the conquest of the lands which, up to this time, he had merely overrun. The effect of the invitation by Te Eauparaha to the Ngatiraukawa Tribe to come and settle on his newly acquired lands was, that soon afterwards strong parties of Eaukawa came from time to time to Kapiti, partly to examine the new country which had been offered to them, but chiefly, it would appear, moved by the reports which they had heard that gunpowder and firearms were procurable at that place from European traders, who, about that time, had commenced a traffic for flax and other Native produce. These parties of Eaukawa, on their way South, in passing Ihrough the country of the Ngatiapa, killed or took prisoners any stragglers of the Ngatiapa or others whom they met with, and who had lingered imprudently behind in the vicinity of the war track, when the prudent but brave war chief of the Ngatiapa had withdrawn the bulk of the tribe into the fastnesses of the country whilst these ruthless invaders passed through, being doubtless unwilling to attack the allies of Te Eauparaha, with whom he had wisely made terms of peace and friendship. In passing through the country of the Ngatiapa these Eaukawa parties also took a kind of pro forma, or nominal, possession of the land, which, however, would be entirely invalid except as against parties of passing adventurers like themselves, who might follow ; because the Ngatiapa Tribe, though weakened, remained still unconqucred, and a considerable proportion of their military force still maintained themselves in independence in the country under their Chief Te Hakeke. But what was no doubt fully as much in favour of the Ngatiapa Tribe, and which may probably have been the cause of their not having been eventually subjugated, was the fact, already noticed, that Eauparaha, on his return from the North, after having invited the Ngatiraukawa to come down, had made peace with the Ngatiapa, thereby waiving any rights he might have been supposed to claim over their lands ; and indeed, from that time, for a long period afterwards, friendly and confidential relations undoubtedly were maintained between Te Eauparaha and his tribe and the tribe of Ngatiapa, which were only broken off, more by accident than by design of either party, in consequence of a few men of the Ngatiapa having been killed in an attack made by Ngatitoa and others on a fort belonging to the Eangitane Tribe, in which these Ngatiapa men happened to be staying at the time, and whose death was afterwards avenged by the Ngatiapa, after which peace was again established between them and Te Eauparaha. To Europeans not much acquainted with the peculiarities of Maori thought and action, the destruction, by these passing parties of Ngatiraukawa, of individuals of the Ngatiapa Tribe—a tribe with whom Eauparaha was then on peaceful and even friendly terms, —their destruction by parties who were not only also allies of Eauparaha, but who were then actually in expectation of receiving from him great benefits in the shape of grants of land, and above all, the opportunity of trading for firearms, may appear a strange inconsistency, and not to be reconciled with the fact of the people so treated being in any other position than that of helpless subjection, and not —as has been seen —in alliance with the paramount Chief Eauparaha; but to those who know what the state of society (so to call it) was in those days, and have noted the practical consequences arising therefrom, this matter presents no difficulty. The Ngatiraukawa parties would, as a mere matter of course, act as they did, without anticipating any reference whatever to the matter by Te Eauparaha, to whom they were bringing what he most wanted, a large accession of physical force, and who would not, therefore, have quarrelled with them at this time for such a small matter as the destruction of a few individuals, no matter who they were, provided they were not of his own particular tribe. It was the pride and pleasure of the Eaukawa to hunt and kill all helpless stragglers whom they might fall in with: it was customary under the circumstances, and being able, also, to do it with impunity, they were, according to the morality and policy of those times, quite within rule in doing so. As for the Ngatiapa Tribe themselves, they would not at all blame the Ngatiraukawa in the sense of their having done anything wrong; being Maori themselves, they would appreciate the circumstances of the case, knowing that they themselves would have done the same if in the same position. They would also fully understand the reason why the paramount Chief Eauparaha could not notice the matter, and that, in fact, the Ngatiraukawa had done nothing to be considered as wrong or out of order, but only something to be returned in kind and with interest at some future day, provided that the Ngatiapa should ever be able, and that it would be good policy in them to do so when the opportunity offered. I have made these remarks, which are applicable to the actions and proceedings of ail the different Eaukawa parties when on their way South to join Te Eauparaha at Kapiti, for the purpose of showing that no acts of the Ngatiraukawa Tribe previous to the arrival of their whole force at Kapiti, whether by killing or enslaving individuals of the Ngatiapa, or by taking a merely formal possession of any of their lands, did give them (the Ngatiraukawa) any rights of any kind whatever over the lands of the Ngatiapa Tribe according to any Maori usage or custom. It should be noted here, that on the first coming of Eauparaha on his expedition of conquest, he found living amongst the Ngatiapa a party of Eangitane, a tribe whose proper tribal lands were adjacent to, but distinct from, those of the Ngatiapa. These people, upon the second coming of Eauparaha, on his return from the North, were still there, and they, in confederation with some other people of the Muaupoko Tribe, did, by means of a treacherous stratagem, very nearly succeed in killing Te Eauparaha, who barely escaped by flight, leaving four of his children and all, or very nearly all, of his companions dead at the place where they were attacked. This affair occurred immediately after Eauparaha had made peace formally with the Ngatiapa Tribe, who, it is in evidence, had warned him against the treacherous design of the Eangitane and others; notwithstanding which they very nearly succeeded in ridding themselves of the most dangerous of all their enemies, Te Eauparahara —famoua 2

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himself for wiles and stratagems—and who, it is pertinent to the matter in hand to remark, either conquered by force, or made tools of by policy, or destroyed by treachery, almost every one he came into contact with. The Ngapuhi warriors, strong in warlike ability, doubly strong in being armed with firearms, he made use of to conquer for him a great territory, and then dismissed them, paying them for their great services with friendly flattering words, a few prisoners, and some insignificant presents. The Ngatiapa he spared and made friends with, and even allowed to purchase firearms at Kapiti, evidently with the purpose of using this tribe as a check upon his friends the Ngatiraukawa, who were much superior to his own tribe in numbers, and who, in their turn, were to be pitted against the numerous enemies by whom he was surrounded, and who had become so in consequence of his recent conquests. The effect, however, of the nearly successful attempt by the Eangitane, as regarded themselves, was to prevent Te Eauparaha from extending to them the same favourable consideration which hehad done to Ngatiapa, and to cause him to pursue them with persistent and vindictive warfare, slaughtering a great proportion of their fighting men, breaking their military force, and driving them from place to place whenever opportunity offered, during which operations we lose sight of them on this block ; and when we afterwards find a small company of people called " Eangitane," settled,, unopposed and apparently in a permanent manner, at Pukototara, just within the country of the Ngatiapa, and not far from the boundary of the proper tribal estate of tho Eangitane Tribe, we find, on investigation, that these people are called "half-castes" or children of inter-marriages between members of the Ngatiapa and Eangitane Tribes, and who, there is no doubt, owed their undisturbed possession to their Ngatiapa blood. I am, therefore, of opinion that, in the decision to be given as to the ownership of the whole block, these people holding land within the Ngatiapa boundaries by virtue of their Ngatiapa blood, and for that reason unopposed by the Ngatiapa, should be held to bo members of the Ngatiapa Tribe, and have all the rights which may accrue to them from that position, and that when the Ngatiapa Tribe is spoken of for the purposes of the decision in this case, it shall be understood to include these Eangitane half-castes. For the sake of brevity and perspicuity, I have avoided as much as possible recurring to many minute circumstances, seeing that the questions under consideration can be decided, as far as tho Court can decide them on the evidence adduced, on broader considerations, which are more easily understood. I now, therefore, pass at once to the time, about the year 1829, when we at last find the whole emigration of tho Ngatiraukawa Tribe arrived and settled about Kapiti, Waikanae, and the immediately adjacent country. The whole Ngatiraukawa emigration having arrived, it appears that they did not immediately disperse themselves over the conquered country, but remained for about three years in the vicinity of Otaki, Waikanae, and Kapiti, where they employed themselves in manufacturing flax, and producing other commodities for sale to the European traders for gunpowder and firearms, without which they could not count on being able to establish themselves on their allotted lands ; but having at last accomplished this object, the different sections of the tribe separated, and each section went to, and took possession of, and settled on, that particular portion or district of the conquered country which had been granted or allotted to them by the paramount Chief Eauparaha. During the above period of time, between the arrival of tho Ngatiraukawa Tribe and its final occupation in sections of the different districts allotted to them, it appears that the Ngatiapa had also, with the full consent of Eauparaha, and the active assistance of the Chief Eangihaeata, made the most of tho time in arming themselves with firearms, which, it would appear, they succeeded in doing to fully as great an extent as their means of purchasing allowed, and probably to fully as great an extent as the Ngatiraukawa had been able to do. This fact has a very significant though indirect bearing on the questions at issue, as it seems evident that had Eauparaha intended to depress or subjugate the Ngatiapa Tribe, he would on no account have allowed or offered facilities to their war chief, Hakeke, in coming to Kapiti, with parties of his young men, to procure those arms, winch, were it not for the friendly relations subsisting between them, would have made the Ngatiapa formidable oven to Te Eauparaha himself. The policy, however, of Te Eauparaha has been evidently, from the beginning, after having made the Ngatiapa feel his power, to elevate and strengthen them as a check on his almost too numerous friends tho Ngatiraukawa, who, were it not that they were bound to him by a great common danger, created by himself in placing them on lately conquered lands, he would never have trusted. He has also evidently had the purpose, and succeeded in it, —after having made peace with his enemies in the South, who were not likely to attack him again,—to set up both tribes, Ngatiraukawa and Ngatiapa, as a barrier against his far more dangerous enemies in the North. There, however, is no evidence at all to show that Eauparaha, in granting or allotting lands to the different sections of the Ngatiraukawa Tribe, did ever give or grant to them any lands within the boundaries of the Ngatiapa possessions, between the rivers Eangitikei and Manawatu or elsewhere; to have done which would have been clearly inconsistent with the relations then subsisting between himself and the Ngatiapa Tribe, over whose lands he had never claimed or exercised the rights of a conqueror; and, moreover, the Ngatiapa, a fierce and sturdy race, were on the land, no longer unarmed, but well provided with those weapons, the want of which had, on the occasion of the first invasion, reduced their warriors to seek, reluctantly, the shelter of the mountain or the forest. It is, however, sufficient that we have the fact, that, influenced by whatever motives, Te Eauparaha did not at any time, give or grant any lands of the Ngatiapa estate, between the Manawatu and Eangitikei. Eivers, to the Ngatiraukawa Tribe, nor is there any evidence to show that he had ever acquired the right to do so. It is, however, a fact that, soon after the year 1835, we find three distinct hapu of the Ngatiraukawa Tribe settled peaceably and permanently on the Ngatiapa lands, between the Manawatu and Eangitikei Eivers, unopposed by the Ngatiapa, on terms of perfect alliance and friendship with them, claiming rights of ownership over the lands they occupj^, and exercising those rights, sometimes independently of the Ngatiapa, and sometimes conjointly with them ; joining with the Ngatiapa in petty war expeditions ; " eating out of the same basket;" " sleeping in the same bed," as some .of the witnesses say ; and quarrelling with each other ; and, on the only occasion on which the disagreement resulted in the loss of one life, making peace with each other like persons who, depending much on

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A.—No. 3&.

each, other's support, cannot afford to carry hostilities against each other to extremity, and who therefore submit to the first politic proposals of their chiefs for an accommodation. Upon investigation of the causes which brought about this state of things, with the view of ascertaining what was the real status or position of the three Eaukawa hapu on the land, we find that they did not make their settlement on the lands of the Ngatiapa by virtue of any claim of conquest, or any grant from Eauparaha, or by any act or demonstration of warlike powers by themselves; but it is in evidence, which, from all the surrounding circumstances, seems perfectly credible, that two at least of these Eaukawa hapu, namely, Ngatiparowahawaha and Ngatikahoro, were simply invited to come by the Ngatiapa themselves, and were placed by them in a position which, by undoubted Maori usage, entailed upon the incomers very important rights, though not the rights of conquerors. The third hapu, the Ngatikauwhata, appears to have come in under slightly different circumstances. The lands allotted to them by Eauparaha were on the South side of the Manawatu Eiver, the lands of the Ngatiapa were on the North, and, to quote the very apt expression of one of the witnesses, " they stretched tho grant of Eauparaha, and came over the river j" the facts appearing in reality to have been that they made a quiet intrusion on to the lands of the Ngatiapa, but offering no violence, lest by so doing they should offend Eauparaha, as, under the then existing established relations between the tribes, to do so would have been a very different affair to the killing of the stragglers they met with several years before, on the occasion of their first coming into the countn r. The Ngatiapa, on their part, for very similar reasons, did not oppose the intrusion, but making a virtue, apparently, of what seemed very like a necessity, they bade the Ngatikauwhata welcome, and soon entered into the same relations of friendship and alliance with them which they had entered into with the other two sections of Eaukawa. That this was the true state of the case seems very certain, for in those times of rapine, violence, and war, when men could only preserve their lives, and tho trifling amount of property which under such a state of things could exist, by a constant exhibition of military strength, it is well known to the Court that all chiefs of tribes, and all tribes, particularly such as were, like the Ngatiapa, not very numerous, were at all times eager, by any means, to increase their numerical strength ; and that, much as they valued their lands, they valued fighting men more, and were at all times ready and willing to barter a part of their territorial possessions for an accession of strength, and to welcome and endow with lands parties of warlike adventurers like the Ngatiraukawa, who would, for the sake of those lands, enter into alliance with them, and make common cause in defending their mutual possessions. In exactly this position we find these three Eaukawa hapu, —a position which gives them (by Maori custom) well known and recognized rights in the soil. Those who, living on tho soil, have assisted in defending it, —who, making a settlement, either invited or unopposed by the original owners, have afterwards entered into alliance with them, and performed the duties of allies, —acquire the status and rights of ownership, more or less precise or extensive, according to the circumstances of the first settlement, and to what the subsequent events may have been. But be the motives of the Ngatiapa whatever they were, for inviting or not opposing the settlement of these three Eaukawa hapu, the fact remains that we find them in a position, and doing acts, giving or proving that they had acquired, according to Maori usage and custom, rights which the Court recognizes by this judgment, that is to say, firstly, that tho three Ngatiraukawa hapu —called respectively Ngatikahoro, Ngatiparewahawaha, and Ngatikauwhata, havo acquired rights which constitute them owners, according to Maori usage and custom, along with the Ngatiapa Tribe, in tho block of land the right to which has been the subject of this investigation. Secondly, that the quantity and situation of the land to wliich the individuals of the above-named Ngatiraukawa sections who have not sold or transferred their rights, and the conditions of tenure, are described in the following order. And the Court find, also, that the Ngatiraukawa Tribe has not, as a tribe, acquired any right, title, interest, or authority in or over the block of land which has been the subject of this investigation. Oedee of Covet. In the Native Land Court, Wellington, New Zealand, Saturday, this 25th day of September, a.d. 1869. It is ordered that a certificate of land shall be issued for the following blocks of land, namely:— Acres. To the Ngatikauwhata people, mentioned in list A annexed hereto ... ... 4,500 To the Ngatikahoro and Ngatiparewahawaha mentioned in list C annexed hereto ... ... ... ... ... ... 1,000 To Te Kooro Te One and others, mentioned in list B annexed hereto ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 500 To Wiriharai Te Angiangi ... ... ... ... .. ... 200 as marked in the survey plan before the Court, all of which blocks shall be inalienable by sale for the period of twenty-one years from the date of this order : Provided that within six months a map of the whole block, on which the position of these blocks shall be accurately represented from actual survey made on the land, shall be delivered to the Chief Judge of the Native Lands Court, and provided also that if it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the Chief Judge of the Native Lands Court that the survey has been prevented by force, then, in that case, the Court, by virtue of the discretion which is given by " The Native Lands Act, 1865," will dispense with the survey, but on no other account will the survey be dispensed with. By the Court. "Wm. E. E. Beown, Acting Clerk of the Court. List A. —Ngatikattwhata. Takana te Kawa, Epiha Te Moanakino, Hepi te Wheoro, Metapere Kahuhui, Te Ara Takana, Euera to Kawa, Hara Tauranga, Pirihira Kahuhui, Hoeta Kahuhui, Te Tura Kahuhui, Eamari Kahuhui, Marara Kahuhui, Eahira Kahuhui, Mokena Pahurahi, Mitiria Te Kawa, Tupataia Kahuhui,

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RANGITIKEI-MANAWATU LAND CLAIMS.

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List A.— Ngatikauwhata— continued. Karehana Tauranga, Eetimana Te Hapoki, "Wiremu Karamoa, Mata Kahupureke, Taimona Pikauroa, Hakaraia Whakaneke, Hori te Hapoki, Eiria te Moanakino, Maraki te Eangikaitu, Titaha Pape, Moringa Hapoki, Ataneta Paratawhake, Te Iti Turanga, Hepi Kahuhui, Wiremu Hohimi, Te Wani Turanga, Makeruke Te Aewa, Merihira Tauranga, Hemi Hohimi, Harata Kiore. List B. Te Kooro Te One, Erina Te Kooro, Eeupena Te One, Noa Te Tata, Tino Tangata. List C. —Noatiparewahawaha and Ngatikahoeo. Atereti Taratoa, Apia Te Hiwi, Eruera Taiaho, Paiura Taiporutu, Wiremu Taratoa, Pita te Aikiha, Hori Ngawhare, Taniora Eehua, KeremihanaWairaka, Mere Te Hiwi, Hemi Eangiwhakairi, Heperi Matiaha, Pirihira Wairaka, Te Au Te Hiwi, Miratana Te Eaugi, Kepa Paiura, Wereta Kimate, Arapata Te Hiwi, Pumipi Te Kaka, Euta Te Kimate. List D. Wiriharai Te Angiangi. These are the lists referred to in the annexed order of Court. W. E. E. Beown, Acting Clerk of the Court. Shortly after this the survey of the block was commenced under the direction of the Provincial Government. Obstruction was immediately offered by a small party of Ngatiraukawa, headed by Miratana, one of the admitted claimants. The survey pegs were pulled up, and a trigonometrical station destroyed. Amicable negotiation was first tried, but with no result. The vexatious opposition being persisted in, an information was laid by Mr. Jackson, the Chief Provincial Surveyor, charging Miratana and two others with a breach of the Trigonometrical Stations Act. Failing to answer to a criminal summons, a warrant was issued, and Miratana was apprehended at Eangitikei, in spite of strong local opposition. He was convicted, and fined £25 and costs, and, in default of payment, was sentenced to three months' imprisonment. Mr. A. McDonald was afterwards prosecuted for counselling and procuring persons to commit a breach of the Act, and, being convicted, was fined in the sum of £30 and costs. This decisive action on the part of the Government put an end, for the time, to all opposition on the part of the Natives. But, owing to the delay thus caused, and the general hindrance of survey operations in the district, the period of six months allowed by the Court for the survey of awards having almost expired, the Deputy-Commissioner was ordered, in February last, to proceed to Auckland, in order to obtain from the Court an extension of time. The application, supported by affidavit, was made to the Chief Judge by Mr. Wynn, acting on behalf of the Crown, and the Court thereupon made a fresh order, enlarging the time by a further period of six months. Eecently, however, the opposition to the survey has been renewed, not by the hapus of Eaukawa, who were admitted by the Court to have claims, but by a section of Natives whose pretensions were absolutely ignored and rejected by tho Court. Several trigonometrical stations have been destroyed, and the pegs along several miles of survey lines have been pulled up. This opposition, however, is local in its character, being confined to one discontented hapu, and limited to certain boundaries. Survey operations are being carried on in other parts of the block without interference of any kind on the part of the Natives. Walter Bullee, E.M., Deputy-Commissioner.