G.—s

14

As a necessary outcome of Mr. Young's system, his monthly statements of disbursements exhibited a large number of payments to Natives "on account." The circumstance seems to have aroused the notice of the department in Wellington; and in the month of October, 1879, Mr. Toung was sent for to Wellington, in order to explain in person certain matters in connection with his accounts as to which the department required information. Before leaving Wellington Mr. Toung was instructed to make no further payments as advances on land, and that every payment in future must be in final discharge of the Natives' interest in the land. On the 28th of November, 1879, a letter was addressed to him by direction of the Hon. the Native Minister, instructing him " that no further payments must be made to Natives on lands that have not been before the Native Land Court for investigation of title, and grantees duly appointed ; and that in making payments in future for lands under purchase the payment must be a final one and a discharge in full of' every claim the grantee may have on the land." The perfect ignorance displayed by Mr. Toung as to the amount due to storekeepers at the time of Mr. Gill's visit proves an equally perfect ignorance as to the Natives liable for the goods supplied, and the sum due by each. It will be readily perceived that, under such circumstances, Mr. Toung's attempt at a " final settlement" with any one of them must have been a ridiculous pretence, in which he cast aside, with equal unconcern, the rights of the Natives on the one hand, and his duty to the Government on the other. It did not appear to be within the scope of my inquiry to ascertain in what manner the primary duty of negotiating with the Natives for the purchase of their lands had been performed by Mr. Toung, and I did not, therefore, take any steps in that direction. I could not fail, however, in the course of my inquiries on other points, to become aware that that duty had been performed with as little regard for the principles which should have guided his action as was exhibited in the conduct of his business at its later stages. Mr. Toung's system of purchase seems to have been founded on the plan adopted by the lowest order of land speculators —that of taking advantage of the wants or the cupidity of the Natives in order to obtain a hold upon their lands. The frequency with which the names of the same men appear in the storekeepers' accounts as recipients of supplies, shows how readily their demands for food, clothing, and spirits were acceded to ; while the indifference with which, at the discretion of Mr. Toung or of his clerk, Mr. Warbrick, the liabilities of the Natives for such supplies were allocated to this block or to that, would seem to indicate that the question of the land to be purchased had not even been discussed; and it is obvious that, under such circumstances, no question of price can have been considered. The utterly random character of Mr, Toung's transactions was, no doubt, apparent to the Natives, who perceived also that, so long as their claims were undefined, their right to more money or further supplies was unassailable. The facility with which their demands at an earlier date had been acceded to encouraged them to renew them ; and Mr. Toung, being unable to show that they had already received all they were entitled to, yielded to their importunities the further payment or supplies which he had not the power, even if he had had the will, to refuse. As a natural result of this system, the more idle and dissolute among the Natives seem to look to the Government to supply them with anything they may require outside of their ordinary daily wants. The office-diary is filled with records of their demands for money and supplies; and during my stay in Tauranga and Maketu I was by many of them "dunned " for money for rum or for beer. I could not help remarking that the demand for money was unaccompanied by even the suggestion that it was due to the applicant for land. The fact of my being concerned in the examination of the Land Purchase accounts was evidently considered a sufficient reason for assuming that I had command of Government money, and was at liberty to give it away on application. On one occasion a man attending the office at my request, in order that I might ascertain from him what money he had received from Mr. Toung, refused to answer a single question without I first gave him a sum of money, which, after a pretended mental calculation, he fixed at £6. I, of course, declined to accede to his demand, and he thereupon left the office. I may say that in dealing with the Natives I very carefully abstained from any expression of opinion as to Mr. Toung's proceedings ; but I was frequently met with very angry denunciations of his character and conduct, and a feeling of distrust in regard to both himself and Mr. Warbrick appeared to be general. Having occasion to examine Hakaraia Tipene, Maihi Pohepohe, Te Huruhuru, and others, in reference to the payments made on, account of, and charged to, the Te Puke Block, I was most earnestly requested by the men named to listen to a statement which they desired to make in regard to the negotiation for the purchase and the payments made in respect of that block. I explained to the Natives referred to that I had no connection with the Land Purchase Department, and suggested that they should address themselves to the Hon. the Native Minister through Mr. Mitchell. They, however, pressed their desire to make their statements to me with so much earnestness, that I consented to take them down, and to lay them before the Government on my return to Wellington. I attach to this report the statement so made. It will be seen that the Natives referred to complain not only of the larger payments being unfairly distributed —a complaint which may naturally be looked for —but they complain that moneys have been paid for the Te Puke Block to Natives who had no interest whatever in that land. I pointed out to the claimants that, inasmuch as the Government had paid to the real owners of the block the full purchasemoney agreed upon, they had no reason to complain. I added that, if the Government had made payments to persons not entitled, those payments had not been made in diminution of the amount agreed to be paid to the actual owners, but in addition to that amount. I am not aware to what payments or to what persons the Natives referred, but I may remark that, in examining Hans Tapsell as to the several sums of money paid to him by Toung, he laughed derisively, as payment after payment was read out to him " on account of Te Puke ;" the fact being, that Hans Tapsell has no personal interest whatever in that block, his only claim—and that, as lam jnformed, a very slender one—being in right of his wife.