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that meant into the Eohepotae Block, which has lately been through the Native Land Court and awarded to Ngatimaniapoto and other tribes (notwithstanding the protest and strenuous efforts of the King party to prevent it), thereby entirely doing away with the mana that Tawhiao (as King) was supposed to have over it, and substituting that of the pakeha law instead. To move northwards meant to move on to land that had been confiscated by Government, and over which law and order has now reigned for years, and which is to a great extent settled upon by Europeans, and the Only portions of which available for his occupation (unless he makes terms with the Government) are those that were awarded by the Compensation Court to Natives who were more or less friendly during the war and who are now willing to receive him as a sojourner amongst them. (It is true that he could have gone to Aotea and Kawhia, on the West Coast, t#-live, as some of his supporters, including some of his own family, have been included in the orders of the Court for those blocks; but that would have meant isolating himself altogether, and entirely removing himself from all that is going on and with what he and some of his people do not want to lose touch.) Add to this the fact that his power as King is practically gone, and his efforts and those of some of his people, formerly so powerful in stopping roads, railways, surveys, &c, are now nil, it is easy to understand that he should now see how futile must be any further persistence in isolation and opposition to the Colonial Government and the laws that it makes. That he has done so would appear from the meeting that the Hon. the Native Minister had with him in April last, when he appears to have agreed to accept the proposals made to him by the Minister, except taking the oath of allegiance. (I am not furnishing any report of that meeting, as I was not present at it, being engaged at the time at the Land Court at Otorohanga ; but full reports have appeared in the newspapers, and possibly an official report may be furnished by the Under-Secretary, Native Department, who was present. The Hon. the Native Minister also had a meeting with Ngatimaniapoto and other tribes at Otorohanga in April last. He was met by Wahanui, Taonui, Wetere te Berenga, Eewi Maniapoto, Hopa te Eangianini, Mr. John Ormsby, half-caste, and other chiefs and representative men of the tribes. The principal matters referred to by them were " The Native Land Administration Act, 1886," the law regarding rating of Native land, the Native policy of the present Government, and the purchase of Native land by the Crown. With regard to the first, it was asked that the necessity of electing committees from amongst the owners of each block of land, and for that committee to decide what shall be done with the land, as required by " The Native Land Administration Act, 1886," be done away with, and that, instead of it, the individualisation of titles take place as soon as possible, so that each person can do what he likes with his own. It was also asked that " The Native Land Court Act, 1886," may be so altered that Natives may more easily bring their claims before the Court, and at less expense ; also, that no person be allowed to sell his interest either to a private purchaser or to Government until it is known what the extent of his interest is. There was also a unanimously-expressed desire to have lawyers precluded from the Court. The Natives also asked that the telegraph be erected between Te Awamutu and Otorohanga, along the Main Trunk Bail way line, and that the latter place be connected with Te Awamutu by telephone; also, that some repairs be done to the Alexandra-Kawhia Eoad. The Hon. the Native Minister addressed the Natives at considerable length, and they were very pleased at what he said and at the way in which he disclosed to them what was the Government policy and intentions regarding Native lands, and the other matters that they had brought before him. Shortly after the Native Minister's" visit to Otorohanga the Ngatimauiapoto Natives andothers had a meeting with Mr. S. Percy Smith, Assistant Surveyor-General and Crown Lands Commissioner, relative to paying Government the araount due by them for the survey of the Eohepotae Block. It will perhaps be remembered by some that in 1883 the Government agreed with the Natives to survey the whole of the Eoh^ptae Block for a sum not exceeeding £1,600. At that time, however, the Eohepotae Block containfiijffnot only the portion that is now called Eohepotae, but also the Tauponuiatia Block. The latter, however, has since been cut out and adjudicated upon separately, and has been awarded to the Taupo Natives. It was therefore necessary for Mr. Smith and the Native owners of what is known as the Eohepotae Block to decide what portion of the £I,GOO the latter were"'entitled to pay. The total area of the original Eohepotae Block was 2,630,000 acres, the cost of survey of which was, according to agreement, £1,600. The portion since called Tauponuiatia, and awarded to Taupo Natives, contained 1,002,000 acres, which was charged with £607 15s. 4d., levying a balance of £992 4s. Bd. to be paid by Ngatimaniapoto and others as their portion of the tfost of survey of the balance of the area--namely, 1,636,000 acres, now called Eohepotae. The latter sum of £992 4s. Bd. having been agreed upon, it was therefore handed by the Natives to Mr. Smith, and he gave them a receipt in full, and the matter was closed. A section of Natives belonging to Ngatitu, a hapu of Wanganui, who came some years ago to this district from the localities of Foxton, Palmerston North, and Wanganui, and threw in their lot with Tawhiao, have returned during the past year (in February last). They were an industrious, well-behaved, and law-abiding people; and, as there was a considerable number of them, they were an important addition to the King party. Their chief is named Te Kerei, who has gained some notoriety as a prophet. He appears to have got tired of supporting or "playing second fiddle," so to speak, to Tawhiao and the King party (possibly through the mana and influence of the latter having decreased so much lately, and through his own, as a prophet, having increased) ; so he and his people decided to leave, and have returned to their different homes. Native 'Committees. —The two Native Committees that were elected in the Waikato District in accordance with "The Native Committees Act, 1883," have very much languished, audit is thought that they will collapse altogether. One reason, I think, for their not being a success was because the Committee districts were altogether too large, some of the members having to travel over fifty miles to attend a meeting of Committee. Another reason is that they are not properly supported by the Vino rangatiras, or principal chiefs, the reason, perhaps, being that the Committee appeared to usurp the power that principal chiefs think should rest only in them—viz., the power of saying what shall or shall not be done with regard to matters that concern the whole tribe. Another