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164. Hon. Mr. Bichardson.] I have to go back a little to explain what I want to get at. When signing the deed the witness stated that the total sum payable per share was not stated, neither was the 4s. 6d. per acre stated. Is that so ?—Yes. 165. Why were you willing to sign for your share without bringing into question the amount you were to get for it'?— Because I understood that the price had been fixed beforehand ; we had agreed upon the price beforehand. 166. Was the business transacted on the basis of the price having been previously divided ? —Yes. 167. Did Mr. Lundon inform you and the other Natives interested in this block why he would not go beyond 4s. 6d. an acre? —He did. 168. What reason did he give?—He told us that he had received a letter from the Government informing him that he was not to give more than 4s. 6d. an acre. 169. Was that letter shown to the Natives?—lt was not, because it was in English. 170. Hon. Mr Carroll.} Did you see the letter yourself ?—I saw the document being read out at the Temata, Mr. Hardiman's place. 171. Were there other Natives present at the time?— Yes ; Herewini and myself. 172. Did you hear this letter read, and the sum 4s. 6d. mentioned in it ? —What I heard was Mr. Lundon saying that 4s. 6d. per acre was to be paiS—that the Government need not give more. 173. That was the letter he received from the Government, in which the Government said they could not pay more than 4s. 6d. an acre?— Mr. Lundon said that this was the document he had received from the Government saying that he was only to give 4s. 6d. an acre. 174. You stated that you signed three documents at the time that you signed the deed at the post-office ?—Yes, I believe I did ; that is all I remember. 175. Did the signing of these documents occupy a long time ?—lt did not take long, because I can write readily. 176. Did you read these documents, either one or all of them, before signing?—No, I did not. 177. Did you regard the signing as the conclusion of an arrangement that had been previously agreed upon? —I considered the business in the post-office as simply confirming the previous arrangement for conveying the land. 178. Was any reason given to you why you should go singly to the post-office—why you and others should go singly and not together ?—We were not informed why we should go singly to the post-office to receive our money; no reasons were given. 179. What did Mr. Millar say to you when he handed you the cheque ? —Mr. Millar made no explanations; he said nothing. 180. Did he utter no words ? Did he put the cheque in your hand without saying any word at all?— Yes. 181. Mr. W. Kelly.] You state that there was a letter read, if I understand you, by Mr. Lundon, that the Government would only give 4s. 6d. an acre. Did you hear Mr. Lundon read that letter? —Mr. Lundon held up a document in his hand, and stated that the document contained these words —namely, that the Government would not give more than 4s. 6d. an acre. 182. Hon. Mr. Mitchelson.] He did not read it out?— No. 183. Mr. W. Kelly.] Did Mr. Lundon state it was a letter from the Government? —Yes. 184. Can you give the date of that meeting when that statement was made ?—I can, because it was on the first oscasion of my seeing Mr. Lundon. 185. What date was that?— The 17th November. 186. Mr Parata.] When you signed the deed in the post-office, who were the people who saw you sign it ?—Eobert Cochrane, Mr. Clarke, Flood, and Mr. Lundon. 187. Was the deed read over to you before you signed?—l believe Cochrane read it. He did not hold it up and read it. 188. Did he tell you what amount you were to receive for your quarter-share?—■Nβ. 189. Did he explain to you the document by which you appointed Mr. Lundon your agent —■ the document on which your signature appears? —I know nothing about that document having been explained to me. 190. Did you ever hear any of your own people talking over the matter, and saying that they had signed a document appointing Mr. Lundon as their agent ?—No. 191. Before or after the signing ?—No. 192. When did you first see that document ? —This is the first time I have seen it. This is the first time I have any knowledge of it. 193. How could your signature be got into that document ?—I can give no explanation about it, but it appears to be my signature ; I cannot say how it got there. 194. When you were talking about selling this land, did you know what was the total area, and the total sum you were to receive for it ? —-I did not know whether the Natives knew all the particulars about this block—the area, the price, and the lump sum. 195. Did you not add the matter up at 4s. an acre to see what the total would come to, or what each person's share would be? —'I saw none of my people going into figures on the subject. 196. Did you not hear any of your people say, " Oh, well, we will get so much out of this block ; we will get a total of so much out of this block " ? —No. 197. Did you not hear your people talk of dividing this money, and ascertaining how much it would amount to per head ? —No.

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