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were purchasing Heretaunga met in Napier. I was informed by those two I have named when it came to the day of meeting. I did not come in. Two days after, I received a letter; it said, if I did not come in to Napier, my residence and all the houses at Pakowhai would be taken. I have "not been able to find the letter. Who wrote that letter ? Hamlin was the only person who wrote the letter, but the name of Ormond was at the bottom. Ido not say it was written by Martyn Hamlin. Have you looked for the letter ? I have been looking, but I have not yet finished looking for it amongst the papers. 1 immediately enme in consequence of receiving that letter. I came in and saw Henare Tomoana, who was in town. I gave him the letter. I said, This is brought in; they are leaving Heretaunga, and are going to seize Pakowhai. I said, Now I will sign Heretaunga, that it may go. I should have been clear if I had myself been taken to prison, and I should alone suffer ; but as it is, those persons who are in the Crown grant have signed without consulting me, and I will now go and get the rest of the money that is in their name. He said, That is right; the consideravion is with you. I came then to Cuff's office. I found Mr. Tanner and all the others there. I said, I have come to consult about the letter ; they said the letter was not true. Mr. Cuff, Mr. Tanner, Mr. "Williams, and Martyn Hamlin were present; they wanted me to get the other persons who were in the Crown grant, and I said, I have come to consent. I received £100 that day. I went back to Henare, and told him I had consented to the sale, and had received £100. They said Arihi was to get £3,000 : and I said, Take £1,500 for me out of it; they said they would not be able to do it without Mr. Wilson's consent. I sent a message for the other grantees, and Henare said, Do so. After that four of the grantees, with myself, came in. I signed my name, so did the others. Ido not know about the others signing. Henare was living at the house in town. Paratnena Oneone, Apera Pahora, Noa. Manaena, Henare, and myself were there. When did you first receive money on Heretaunga? When I received the £100. Had you received no money before? No. What was the next payment you received ? When we all came in. How much did you get then ? I cannot say exactly how much more it was ; £1,000, and some £400 or £500 more. Did you subsequently receive any other moneys? After this Matiaha received his £1,000. I did not receive any more after the second taking. What amount was it you were told you would receive as your share of Heretaunga ? £2,000. Was anything said during this time of part of the land being given back as a reserve? Yes, there was something said ; Cuff, Tanner, and the others said the matter of the reserve would be left with Henare and myself. What was the promise made in respect to that ? They promised it should be for Henare and myself, but it was found afterwards that it was for all the grantees ; it was when there was a talk with Arihi's solicitor in reference to the land. Mr. Malting.'] Did you consider it belonged to you and Ilenare ? Before this we thought it belonged to the whole tribe. Mr. Sheelian.~\ Before you went to Auckland, did you have conversation with Ormond about this ? (Deed of conveyance, dated March 22, 1870, Henare Tomana and others to Gordon and others, Heretaunga, produced.) Is that your signature? Yes. Was there any reference to the reserve in the deed of conveyance ? lam not aware. Did you consider the purchasers had kept faith with you and Ilenare ? They said Henare and I should get some one to look after the deed for us two. Chairman.] At the time of signing, was there anything said about the boundaries or acreage in the reserve ? I cannot suy exactly, as there was so much talk about it. Was Karamu mentioned as a reserve at the time of the signing? Perhaps so. I cannot distinctly state. I cannot recollect all that took place; it was not a clear sale. We were in trouble. Had Karamu been a reserve all the time the land was in lease to Tanner? When the land was first leased the Karamu was divided off; that was our permanent place of residence. My house was there. It was a large piece. We surveyed it for ourselves. We did not know Tanner's survey included a portion of the reserve in the lease till after. Mr. SheeJian.] When was the promise of a reserve first made to you? It was after the sale it was mentioned by Tanner. If the division had been made at the time of the sale, I should be clear about it now. Was anything said before the sale by Tanner and others about the Karamu Reserve ? Tanner and others said we were to get a Crown grant for that land ; it was to be divided off amongst the Natives, 100 acres each. What took place between Tanner and yourself in reference to that reserve ? 1 sent a surveyor to divide it into blocks, and then I intended to apply to the Court for separate grants. Chairman.] What sitting of the Court are you referring to ? It was after Heretaunga had passed. We thought it had not been included in the first investigation. We thought the piece under lease to Tanner had only been included, and that our piece had been excluded. Mr. Sheehan.] Afterwards had you any conversation with Tanner as to what should be done with reserve ? I was informed there would be no further investigation. When was that promise made about the reserve? It was perhaps after selling. Do you not also receive in addition to the money you have had, the sum of £100? Last year I took £100. Where did that come from? It was money Tanner said was to be paid by the year. When did Mr. Tanner tell you a part of the consideration would come in this way ? At the time of the selling. Do you mean when you signed the deed, or when you went and took the £100 ? It was when the four of us were there, the day I signed the deed. Mr. Wilson said the £2,000 for me should be mentioned in the deed. Were you to receive £2,000 more? £2,000 in addition to what I was to get for my share of the land. The other grantees were not aware of this. It was to myself alone. Was this kept secret from the other grantees ? The talk was Tanner's ; I only listened. What did Tanner say ?* Was there an Interpreter ? The Interpreter heard of this, and Mr. Cuff also. Did the Maoris know of this? .No. Why did you not mention this to the other Maoris ? They did not know it when Tanner mentioned ; but when I did, they understood it. When was this? It was after the sale, and then I asked Tanner what Henare was to get. Was £2,000 to be paid down in cash? £1,000 was to be paid in cash, and the other £1,000 at £100 a year for ten years. Have you received the £1,000 ? No. Was the £100 * In several instances in this evidence the questions put are printed, although the answers do not appear in the manuscript.

Heretaunga.

Complaint No. 1 — continued.