Page image
Page image

C.—6

22

self came to Auckland about it. We went to Mr. Kemp's office, and saw Mr. Kemp and Mr. Preece. Mr. Preece handed us the £90, and Heta would not receive it, as he did not approve of it, as the land was a large piece. We did not then take it. Heta said he would retain the land. We saw Mr. Nelson. I did not speak to him about this matter; perhaps Heta did. We went back to Kororareka. Before this (our return), Paora Tuhaere, Heta, and self were standing in the street at the corner of Queen Street, outside an entrance. Nelson had pointed out the place, saying that was the house of his lawyer. We went upstairs, and Nelson came up after. He interpreted for us. We did not speak, only Nelson :it was he who had advised us not to take the money (£9O). He had talked to us at a public-house before this. We met him in Queen Street, and said he was very glad to have seen us before we went to the Native Office. He gave us all the information about the area of the land and everything. We went to see Mr. Tole to try to get money from the Government, not from Wharepapa. We all went together to Sir George Grey. We never said anything; the lawyer did all the talking. Paora spoke a little about his matter with Tiopira. We all went to Colonel Haultain also, then we returned to Kororareka, as I have said. I was not aware that Heta received this £90 while in Auckland. Before the payment of the money, I spoke to Mr. Preece not to pay all the money to Wharepapa. Ido not know if he heard me, as there was a noise. I was not present when Wharepapa was paid. I went to the Court House, but the door was closed. I may have got the £100 from Mr. Preece before Wharepapa was paid. Mr. Kemp was present. It was in the day-time, about noon sometime. Na pei te, Te Haueangi. James Stephenson Clendon: lam Clerk of Native Lands Court, Kaipara District, sitting at KaihuI remember in May, 1865, the investigation of Opouteke Block. I was acting there. The adjudication was in favor of Kamariera AVharepapa, with consent of Heta te Haara and Haurangi. The opposition was in Haurangi's name. During the investigation, Haurangi pointed out a portion of the plan which he claimed. Captain Symonds, the Judge, drew a mark across with a ruler. It was a line between the two points known to Haurangi. Wharepapa made no objection at the time. He was to be sole grantee, but was to pay Haurangi for the acreage contained in the portion marked off. Wharepapa's name was inserted in several Crown grants, amounting to 80,000 acres in all. He was so put in at request of the Natives to act as agent for them. Mr. Nelson was present at this Lands Court during part of the time. I was present at Kaihu when the purchase was completed at last Kaihu Court (January and February, 1876). I interpreted the deed. I remember Haurangi expressing great dissatisfaction at Wharepapa not acceding to his claims —not giving him what he wanted. It was against Wharepapa, not against the Government. It was both before and after payment for the block. Heta te Haara was not at Kaihu at all, or probably would have got a larger share. Wharepapa had only a small interest in Opouteke. The money was distributed all through the country, to Bay of Islands and elsewhere. James S. Clendon. John Jermyn Symonds: lam a Judge of Native Lands Court. I held a Court at Kaihu in May, 1875. The Opouteke Block was then adjudicated upon. Kamariera Wharepapa was appointed agent by the Natives concerned, and at their request his name was put in the memorial. Two Natives named Heta te Haara and Te Haurangi were present, and claimed a part of the block. Their claim was admitted. They pointed out the spot before the people in Court and W'harepapa; and a line was drawn across, either by myself or in my presence, to indicate the extent of their claim in a rough way. A note of their claim was made in the Court minutes. The memorial was made to Wharepapa with their full consent. The consent was asked for three times in open Court, and given. The grant would issue in Wharepapa's name alone, and he alone would have the power of selling. Te Haurangi alone was the complainant, not Heta te Haara. In January last, at Kaihu, I witnessed the execution of the deed of sale by Wharepapa to the Government [produced]. Haurangi was at the Lands Court. Ido not know if he was present at the signing of the deeds. No protest of any kind was made when the deed was signed and the money paid. John Jeemtn Symonds. Heta te Haara: It was not my suggestion, at Mr. Tole's office, that we should go to Sir G. Grey ; it was Mr. Nelson's. Mr. Kemp gave me the £90. When I first went, Mr. Kemp said, " Take your money." I said, "Let it be for a future time." At my second going, I found Mr. Kemp alone. I said, " I had come to fetch my money." He said, " Very well." Mr. Kemp gave it to me. Mr. Preece was not present then. Mr. Vickers was there. He brought the money upstairs. I knew what the money was —the money brought by Preece from Haurangi at Kaihu. I understood that we should have no further claim upon the Government by Mr. Preece's letter of the 2nd February. I believe that the letter produced is an exact copy of it. There had been no new arrangement about this land since then. I expected to have got £600, as I was told there was 5775 acres in our piece. I have applied to Wharepapa for the money, but he said it was all gone from him; that it rested with Petu and others who had the money. I knew that the £90 was with Kemp. Mr. Preece had shown it to us at the Native Office on the first occasion when we declined it before. Mr. Preece said he would not take it as it was not his, and left it with Mr. Kemp. He did not tell us that we might get more afterwards. Mr. Preece and Mr. Nelson both returned to Kororareka in the same steamer with me. On board the steamer, Mr. Nelson said to me that he was afraid of letting Mr. Preece see him talking to me. He did not talk to us in Mr. Preece's presence v I was not at Kaihu when the money was paid. I was ill, or should have gone. Heta te Haaea. The statements of Peita te Haurangi, John Jermyn Symonds, James Stephenson Clendon, and Hita te Haara were taken by me, on seven sheets of paper, number 1 to 7, and severally declared by the above-named persons, by virtue of provisions of "Justices of Peace Act, 1876." E. C. Baestow, E.M.

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert