I.—3a.

90

[te oro watihi.

19. Will you say how many there were?— Well, \ could not give you the number at the present moment, but all the people along the coast opposed the sale. 20. Did you receive notice to attend any meeting of the assembled owners at Te Kuiti? — T did not attend and I got no notice; but the persons who went to Te Kuiti went actually from my present c, and when they got to Te Kuiti the document which we, the owners of the land, had .signed signifying our intention of holding the land was altered and added to in such a way that the land was sold. 21. Did you give your consent to the alteration of the document? —I did not agree because that was a sale. 22. At the meeting at Mokau were any persona appointed to look after your interests and oppose the sale.' Yes. Tuiti and Ngaia Aterea and Hardy and Tuhata. Four persons who were owners of land were selected from among our own people to go to Te Kuiti with Mr. Hardy. 23. You are quite clear that those people were selected to oppose the sale of the land? —That was the object. 24. Did they oppose the sale of the land?- When they reached Te Kuiti and the Board or Court opened they tool; into their consulting-room Tuiti from Otaki and Ngaia Aterea from Mokau and Tuhata from Taranaki, and the fourth person present was Hardy, the pakeha. 25. Was he present? — This took place at Te Kuiti, and I heard from the people who came back from there. 26. Did those four stick to their original intention to oppose the sale?— They stuck to what they said that they had been sent there to represent Uβ and oppose the sale. 27. Did Mr. Hardy continue to oppose the sale?— Well, they discussed the matter when the Board opened, and when tiny came out the result was a sale. 28. Were any reasons given to you for tin , sale having taken place after the Natives had decided to oppose it and having instructed Mr. Hardy in that direction? —No, nothing —simply the fact of the sale. 29. Did you sign the lease in the first instance many years ago to Mr. Jones? —Yes, I signed the first lease. 30. What block was that ?— Mokau-Mohakatino ; but I do not know the number of the block. 31. Seeing that you did not consent to the sale, do you consider that you are entitled to have your area of land cut out and handed over to you? —That is my desire. Ido not know how many years Mr. Jones's lease lias been in existence. 1 signed the first lease, but not the second one. 32. Were any proxies by the owners of the block given to the Natives who were to represent the Mokau residents at Te Kuiti?— There were four of the owners who went together with Mr. Hardy to Te Kuiti. 1 signed a paper t" this effect that Te Tuiti was to voice my wish that I intended to hold the land. 33. Have you seen Mr. Hardy siiice the sale took place? —I have not. 34-. Have you hoard from him by letter or otherwise? —Neither by word or letter. 35. Xo explanation whatever?— Absolutely nothing done up to the present day. 36. Are there many of the Natives at Mokau or other owners of the block who consider that a hardship lias bees inflicted by the land being sold without their consent?— The position is this: that when those people came back from Te Kuiti there were none of the owners desirous to sell, and they came back with the money and put it in front of us and said. " There is the money and there is the price of your land : if you do not tflke it you will never see it again and your land will go." 37. That was when the representatives came back to Mokau ?—Some considerable time afterwards. When they came back the first news was. " All the land has been sold, Tuiti has abandoned the original idea of holding on to the land and it is now sold." 38. Were the Mokau Natives who did not go to the meeting at Te Kuiti satisfied when they heard that the land had been sold?— They were not satisfied. 39. Were they amjry? —Yes, they were angry about that. 40. Were there many of those people who were of the opinion that a hardship had been inflicted upon them?— All ou the proper owners of the land. 41. Were any reservations made for the use of the Natives who owned the land?— The reserve was made before —at the time the Court dealt with Mohakatino-Parininihi. That was in 1882. 42. 1 understand that on the block which was sold were native burying-grounds : were they reserved? — 1 have heard no statement in regard to that. There was no suggestion of any such arangernent being made at the time of the sale of which we were told. 43. You know of no reserves having been made?— There were two reserves made subsequent to the time of the original hearing. At the time of the leasing two portions were reserved out of the lease. 44. Are there not burying-grounds on the block that was sold 1— Yes. 45. Was that land sold with the other?—We have heard nothing whatever about that. There was no Court sitting, and we have not been told of any arrangement made about reservations or anything else. 46. lion Si?' J. Carroll.] You state that the Mokau people signed two documents, one was to hold the land and the other was pledging certain other lands as security to carry on the action in the Supreme Court?— Yes. 47. Was not that first document they signed an authority on their part to have the case taken up by a lawyer to contest the leases? —That is correct. Bell, the chief of the Wellington lawyers, was recommended by Tuiti Macdonald. 48. Mr. Bell had been interviewed by your representatives Hardy and Tuiti Macdonald? — Yes. 49. What word was taken back to them, that they should sign an agreement authorizing such action to be taken —that the great lawyer should take action on their behalf?— That is so. It was Tuiti and Hardy who brought that news to us.