A.—No. 10a.

Native Land Court Office, Sin, — Auckland, 2nd August, 1867. I have the honor to transmit to you herewith tho enclosed Beport of Mr. Judge Bogan as to the working of " The Native Lauds Act, 1805," in his district; also a list of blocks of land adjudicated on by that gentleman. I have, &c, F. D. Fjqttoit, The Hon. the Native Minister, Chief Judge. Wellington.

REPORT. Resident Magistrate's Office, Sir,— Kaipara, 29th July, 1867. In acknowledging the receipt of your circular letter dated 17th June last, No. 518, I beg to state, that owing to my absence at the Wairoa, I did not receive your letter in time to reply to it before attending the Courts recently held by me in the Thames, and it was not in my power while there, to write with any satisfaction to myself, as I was desirous of enclosing a statement showing the amount of work performed since the date of my appointment as Judge under " The Native Lands Act, 1865." It will be observed from the Schedule I have now the honor to enclose, that my operations have extended chiefly through Kaipara, Whangarci, Mahurangi, and the Thames. Acres. Certificates ordered —Kaipara ... ... ... ... 128,925 Certificates ordered —AVhangarei ... ... ... ... 64,417 Certificates ordered —Mahurangi ... ... ... ... 6,635 Certificates ordered—Hauraki ... ... ... ... 17,737 217.714 Several extensive blocks of land in "VVhangarei, not included in the above, have passed the Court last held there, but the surveys are not yet properly executed. Before the Act of 1865 had passed the Assembly, you did me the honor to forward a draft for perusal, with a request that I might suggest any alterations or improvements which might occur to me at the time; and as it then appeared to me that it contained every point necessary to carry out the intentions of the Act satisfactorily to the Natives of this district of country, who are deeply interested, I had no suggestion to offer. Now that my experience has extended over a considerable period of time, and I am better acquainted with its practical working, I do not hesitate to say that it has effectually met all the cases with which I have had to deal, and it is in my opinion complete in itself. It is with much pleasure I have to state that the effects of the Native Lands Act on the welfare of the population of Kaipara, both Native and European, is better than I anticipated. For instance, three years ago the country was almost a wilderness ; now the Natives are in receipt of half-yearly payments from settlers who have leased their lands for periods of sixteen and twenty-one years, and are busily occupied in stocking their runs with sheep and cattle ; and a feature which never before was shown in Kaipara now begins to develop itself, namely, that fat cattle are being forwarded to the Auckland market. The Natives were never in such a position before, and lam glad to say they have as a rule sufficient sense to appreciate it. Pairama has an estate for which he receives £300 per annum. Arama Karaka, Manukau, and other chiefs, are leasing extensive runs to Europeans, who are in a position to carry out their agreements; and after the next sitting of the Court shall have been held, a large proportion of the lands in central Kaipara will be taken up and stocked. It was my intention to have made a comparative statement of the value of the property, stated in the Schedule above referred to, before the Lands Act came into effect, and the value at the present time, which I believe would show better the real state of improvement than anything I could write on the subject; but lam unable to supply this information at the present time. I cannot say that the effects of the Native Lands Act have acted as a stimulus to the Natives of Kaipara iv improving their cultivations. There are four chiefs belonging to the district who farm to a certain extent on European principles—Tirarau, Tomairangi, and Pairama, are the principal persons who have horses and ploughs. European farming was first introduced into Kaipara by yourself years ago, by presenting Pairama with a plough ; afterwards the Government, through Mr. McLean, gave ploughs to Tomairangi and Manukau, long before the Native Lands Act was passed. Te Hemara of Mahurangi has improved his property recently by fencing, and building a neat house with verandah and brick chimney, which may be said to have resulted from the sale of some of his land after certificates were obtained. Several weather-boarded houses have recently been erected by the Natives in Kaipara, and by my advice they are about to cause brick chimneys to be built. There is a marked improvement in the

REPORT BY MR. ROGAN AS TO THE WORKING OF " THE NATIVE LANDS ACT, 1865," IN THE DISTRICT OF KAIPARA.