3

G.—2

here to see you and you can see me. But it is like a wagon s if you put three or four tons on to a wagon, one horse cannot draw it. lam here alone, there are not a number of us. 24. Did the Government, after the confiscation which followed the last war, make any promises to you and your people as to what land you would have in the way of reserves, as they did to Hone Pihama?-—Do not ask me, but ask my parent—l mean Mr. Parris. 25. Should not the child know what the parent did for it ?—lf the child were the parent's own immediate child, perhapshe would know ; but others not so closely connected might not know. Manama Patukopa, of Kaupukunui examined. 26. The Commissioners.] You have been a sailor ?—Yes ; I served in the British Navy, and visited China and India. 27. Have you anything to say about the land ?—I want to get a piece for myself. 28. Where are you living ? —Near Kaupukunui. 29. Have you got a house and garden ? —Yes. 30. Is it in the bush?—No ;itis on the seaward side of the road. 31. You lived at Otago with your wife ? —Yes. 82. Did you have sheep there ? —No ; I was farming. 33. And you are farming here, too ? —Yes. 34. You want to have your land secured to you ? —Yes. 35. How much do you claim ?—I lost everything during the war—horses 'and cattle, and all my property, to the value of £3,000. I then went to Otago. 36. When you came back you returned to the land of your tribe ?—Yes. 87. You are living on tbe land ?—Yes. 88. And you claim part of that land? —Yes. 39. Can you show how much land is yours ?—Yea ; I can point out the boundaries of my land. 40. Would you be satisfied if you got a Crown grant for that ?—Yes; I lost all I possessed at Waitotara. I lost my land, my horses, and my cattle. 41. Who took them ? —The Government. 42. Did the Government take the house, and the cows, and the horses ? —Yes. 43. During the war ? —No, I did not fight. 44. When the fighting was going on ? —Yes ; I ran away to Otago. 45. Was it the soldiers that took them ? —Yes. 46. And burnt your house down ?—Yes. ' 47. You have received no compensation ? —No. 48. You came back and settled on this land under Manaia?—Yes; Manaia wrote to Otago and asked me to come back again. 49. And now you want a Crown grant for the land, aud you can show where the boundaries are? •—Yes. 50. Does Manaia say that the boundaries are all right ?—Yes. 51. He is quite satisfied. ? —Yes. There was a Proclamation saying that the land would not be taken from those Natives who did not fight against the Queen. 52. When you were fighting in China and India, you were fighting in the Queen's ships, were you not? —Yes; I was in the Navy. 53. And you were fighting for the English people ? —Yes ; I have got three medals. 54. When did you leave this country ? —When I was a little boy. 55. Where did you go to first ?—I went to Sydney first, and came back to Hokianga, and I then went to England and saw London. 56. The Commissioners understand that you were away during the time of the war, and did not take any part in the insurrection. If that is the case, you are clearly entitled to have a piece of land to live upon, and our word will be that you shall have a piece of land to live upon ; the size and the locality we shall have to consider by-and-by. 57. Matiu of Opunake said : I have been a loyal subject all along. I have never been in rebellion against the Government. After the war was over, the Native Compensation Court sat at Taranaki. After the Court had sat it was given out that there wore 200 acres allotted to me, and 200 acres to my aunt, Kongorongokapao; Apakura, my uncle, was to have 200 acres. These lands ought to be in my hands, but I do not know where they are. 58. Is Eongokapao alive ? —Yes, and so is her elder brother ; but her younger brother, my father, is dead. He was killed in the Maori wars years ago, and lam the only son. I had 50 acres of land at Kaupukunui allotted to me by the Court, but I do not know to this day where it is. 59. Mr. Parris, late Civil Commissioner, made the following explanation: The Compensation Court heard the claims of friendly Natives to land in the whole district. After they had proved their claims certain awards were made, which, as soon as the Government took possession of the district, w rere to have been allocated. The awards referred to by Matiu are in a district which the Government have never taken possession of, and consequently they never had an opportunity to allocate them, and were not able to survey the land. 60. The Commissioners.] What district was that?—The whole of the Taranaki District, from Stoney liiver downwards. 61. We shall have to inquire into all the cases where these awards were made by the Court. But whatever awards were made by the Court will certainly be carried out, and by-and-by, when we ascertain the exact nature of the awards, we shall see that they are carried out. Have you got your award for the land? —Major Brown has it. 62. Matiu asked if he might have the piece of land of about three-quarters of an acre upon which his house was built at Opunake ? 68. The Commissioners said they were going to Opunake, and would inquire into the matter. 64. Pehira, son of Nopera Taikomaho, of Otumatea, said: I reside at Oeo. I am a stranger to you all, so far as Sir William Pox and Sir Dillon Bell are concerned; and I belonged to the Hauhaus. In appearing before the Court to-day I have a statement to make with regard to a piece of land between