P. RATTENBI RY,

89

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168. Mr. Masse//.} In regard to the value of the land, do you know thai the present company has practically paid £85,000 for 46,000 acres? Yes, [ heard so! I saw it in the papers last night". That was the first I heard of it. 169. Do you think that is the approximate value? —1 think il is a big price, bul we have different opinions. 170. You know all the Natives who are interested in the Mokau Block you know a lot of them personally? —Yes, all the Mokau and a lot of Te Kuiti Natives. 171. Have most of them got other lands left besides the lands recently sold?— I think 30. 172. 1 think you said that your wile's father had nol sinned the lease and that there were others in the same position? — Te Oro Watihi is an uncle of my wife's, and she succeeded to the share of an elder brother of Te Oro. 17-S. Did those Native owners consider they were entitled, not having signed the lease and not consented to the sail , that they were entitled to have their shares cut out?— Yes. 171. That is the position they take up?— Yes. 175. And naturally consider it a hardship when they never consented to the sale to be left landless ? —Yes, certai illy. 170. linn, Sir J. Carroll, j They had other lands? -I tliinK most of them had got other lands. 177. Mr. Massey.] You know the country well, do you not ? -Yes. I7S. You know where the railway-station is intended to be placed on the new railway-line thai is being constructed from the Stratford to Ongarue?- No. 179. Do you know the nearest point on the line to the block? — 1 do not. ISO. You are not in a position to say what The distance is approximately?—No; it is veryhard to guess a thine like that. Tβ Oro Watiiii sworn and examined. (No. 13.) 1. The Chairman.] Where do you live?—At Tongaporutu. 2. Have you any knowledge of the paper which has lieen circulated in regard to the MokauMohakatino Block?— Yes, 1 have seen it. 3. You have been summoned by Mr. Massey to appear before the Committee, and do you wish to make a statement or subject yourself to examination by Mr. Massey?—l will make a statement. The first statement I have to make is in regard to Pcpene going to look into the trouble in connection with this Mokau-Mohakatino Block. I. What date was that? 1 do not know. When they came to Wellington the only result that was reached by them was sale, and I received ;i wire at Tongaporutu from Wellington sent by Takerei Kingi Wetere, of Waitara, to the effect that the best tiling would be to sell, and I replied that I am not willing to sell. 5. What transpired after that? —Then Ngia Aterea opposed the sale and he was represented by Tuiti Maodonald, and they asked us. the Maori owners of the land, what were our wishes and what position we took up, and we, the owners, replied that it was much better for us to hold our land than to sell it. Tuiti said "Yes, it certainly would be much better that you should hold on to your land and not sell it." Tuiti's companions were Hardy, a European from Te Kuiti, and Tuhata (Mr. Damon), a member of the Te Atiawa Tribe. Tuiti then said, "All you people, the owners of this land, should eign a document to the effect that you intend to hold the land, and we signed to the effect that we would hold the land. Having signed the document to the effect that we intended to hold the land in our possession, we then signed another document to the effect that we were prepared to hand over for sale 800 acres of land to pay off the liabilities upon the Mokau-Mohakatino Block, the costs of the action, liabilities on the land, and payment for the agents, Tuiti and others. We signed that document also, and those were the two separate occasions on which we signed. 6. Mr. Massey.~\ Are you a large owner, or were you a large owner, in the block? —Yes. 7. Can you give us any idea of the area of your interest in proportion to the whole of the block?—l cannot say. I can give you the boundary. 8. Are you interested in the whole of the four blocks, or only one of them?—l know nothing about blocks or subdivisions, but I can say that I and others own the land from the coast up to Mangapohue and as far as Panirau. That is where my interest ceases. 9 Where did it start? —From the coast. 10. What distance is there from the coast up to Panirau?—l could not say how many miles it may be. 11. Well, you are quite clear that you were one of the largest owners? —1 am absolutely correct in what I say —my ancestors are buried there. 12. Do you think you are the largest owner in the block?—l am. 13. You have not consented to the ? ale? -I have not. 14. And you have not received the money?—No, none. 15 Was there any sum of money offered to vou?—No. 1G Were you never informed as to the amount of money you were entitled to receive if you agreed to the sale? —No one, either European or any other nationality, ever approached me and said, "There is so-much money for you," mentioning any particular sum, "if you agree to 16 *]7 The Chairman ] Were you present at the meeting at the Maori kainga at Mokau at which Mr. Hardy was present?— Yes. 'l called that meeting for the purpose of signing the document to 18. Mr. Masfti/.] Were there many other owners opposed to the sale in the same way as yourself? — All the coast people were opposed to the sale.

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