C—No. 1

No. 3. . MR. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON TO THE HONORABLE THE COLONIAL SECRETARY. Mahurangi, 30th March, 1854. Sir, — I have the honor to state for the information of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government, that I have returned from Whangarei, and am engaged in negociating with the Natives, for the purchase of a tract of country, known as the " Kaipara Flats," and situated to the westward of this place. Having fully reported upon the purchases lately effected in the Whangarei district, in my letter of the 20th instant, I deemed it more conducive to the public service to proceed with the purchase of land in the Mahurangi district, complaints having been macie by the Natives that the settlers were pushing beyond the boundaries of the Government Block, and upon the land offered lor sale. The chief Mate has preceded me to Auckland, and it would be very desirable if the arrangements suggested in my report of the 20th instant, relative to the Native Reserve at the Ruakaka be approved by His Excellency, that the sum of Seventy pounds (£7O), which would then, be eligible for that Chief, be paid to him without awaiting my arrival. The claimants to the Kaipara Flats are now assembled together, and appear intent on selling; but even my temporary absence for a few days might result in the postponement of the purchase of this part of the country, which 1 learn from the District Surveyor is much required by intending settlers. I have, &c, John Grant Johnson, Sub-Commissioner for the Purchase of Native Land. The Hon. the Colonial Secretary.

Ahuroa and Kourawhero. Is negotiating for the purchase of the Kaipara Flats. V. Letter No. 2,

No. 4. THE CHIEF COMMISSIONER TO MR. COMMISSIONER JOHNSON. Land Commissioner's Office, Auckland, 18th May, 1854. ►SIR, — The increasing demand for land by the European inhabitants of this Province renders it necessary that measures should be at once adopted to acquire additional tracts of country from the Natives. Ist. Your residence for so many years in the Northern portion of this Island, and the knowledge you possess of the different tribes inhabiting it, suggest that you are peculiarly qualified to undertake negociations for the purchase of land in the Northern part of the Auckland Province. 2nd. The District, therefore, which I propose for the present to assign to you for carrying on these duties, comprises the whole of the country lying North of the portage between the Waitemata and Kaipara; I have every confidence that you will use your utmost exertion to acquire from the Natives the whole of their lands within this District,' which are not essential for their own welfare, and that are more immediately required for the purposes of colonization. 3rd. Having thus conveyed to you in general terms the urgent necessity for acquinng'land, you must use your own discretion as to the particular tracts of country which you should first endeavour to purchase; but it is important before entering on fresh negociations that you should pay the instalments due "to the Natives for the purchases you have been conducting at Wangarei; for this purpose, a sum of Two hundred and twenty pounds (£220) is placed at your disposal. 4th. It is essential that you should take an early opportunity to visit the Ka'para District, to arrange a dispute between the Ngapuhi and Uriohau tribes, respecting some land claimed by Mr. O'Brien, as the dispute is likely, if not speedily adjusted, to interfere with the important trade carried on in that River. sth. I need not point out to you the necessity of encouraging the Natives to act with greater fidelity in their !and transactions than they have been recently in the habit of doing ; and I trust that by a careful, steady, and systematic arrangement of their claims, with a clear understanding respecting the external boundaries of the lands they dispose of, and the blocks they retain for their own use, that many of the impositions; they have been practising will be abandoned Wherever practicable, it would be most advisable that the reserves for the Natives should be situated within natural boundaries, such as rivers, creeks, bills, ranges, or other conspicuous features of the country. 6th. The Natives should be advised of the advantages of re-purchasing properties lor themselves out of the Crown Lands, under the Regulations of the 4th March, 1853, as nothing will more effectually improve their condition, than substituting their present precarious and unsatisfactory tenure for a permanent holding under the Crown, which also extends to them an interest in the political institutions of the Colony from being qualified to vote at elections. 7th. When you have established yourself in some central position io your District, I shall write you more fully as to any change in the system which should in future be adopted for acquiring land

General. Instructions as to purchase of Native lands.

52

RELATIVE TO LAND PURCHASES