&—£

f." v^HAjSTGAHUI.]

99

.38.. What improvements have you got on the 98 acres? —There is a cow-shed arid house lor the workers to live in. . 39, How did you get your money to buy the cows when you started milking?—l started to wpfk very young, and as I earned money I saved portion, and the time 1 went on to this land I was grown up. I had then saved a good deal. ~ . 40..And did you buy the cows out of that?— Yes, I bought some cows with the money I had : ," : arid "then I would sell'them and buy more. 41. Have you ever owed any money on your cattle at all? —No. ,'" ■' Mr. Welsh! No questions. EmwATA PuMiPB sworn and examined. (No. 44.)' 1. Mr. Bell.] You live at Waitara, and sometimes near Hawera?-—Yes. 2. You have land at Waitara and also here? —Yes. ..... 3. How many acres have you at Waitara? —I have 24 acres of freehold. ' ' 4. Is that scrip land? —Yes, and there are three owners. ,5.. And you have 340 acres at Mangamiemie? —Yes, that is in the Pukepapa Block. 6. How many owners are there in that? —I do not remember. • Mr. Zackariah: There are twenty-four. That is tribal land, and there is no occupation license. .7. Mr. Bell.] I think out of the 340 acres a piece was set apart for some of the owners? —Yes. Mr. Zachariah: There are 265 acres, two occupation licenses—eleven owners in one piece containing 147 acres, and four owners in 117 acres. ;."'■ 8. Mr. Bell.] You used to live with the remainder of the owners on the part of the land which was not under occupation license?— Yes. ... -9. Whit w.as the land like?—lt is good land, and is being used for dairying. 10. In what condition was it when you started was an old settlement of my elders. Itwas in its natural state when my elders first went to live there, and they improved it. 11. Did you go on with the improving?— Yes, and when we started milking it was quite improved, and is absolutely improved now. 12. When did you start milking?—ln 1890 they were milking. 13. How long did you go on milking?— Until Mr. Fisher came and divided it and took the land away and leased it. Of course, there was no land for the cattle to run on then. It was leased in 1906. 14. Did you have any discussion with Mr. Fisher about it?— Yes. When he told me he was going to take the portion we had and lease it to the Europeans I said that he had no right t6- ; take that portion that we had improved. Mr. Fisher said there were some of us absent, and, I said there were only three that were not present. He said that as for' myself I had land at Hawera. ■ -'15. Well, did he lease it? —Yes, he leased my 57 acres to Mr. P. Cole, who has some land adjoining, which I estimated at about 100 acres. 16. Has he had that land some time? —Yes. .ijA-7-.- Mr. Fisher did not lease all the land?— No. ■■-■ '18, Was it the worst part of the land he leased?—No, he leased the portion with our Maori house on, and we had an orchard containing apples and pears and other trees. :.■ .19: Had you got a fence on that part that was taken? —The kainga was fenced and also the orchard —the whole of the land was fenced for that matter. 20. Did you get any compensation for your kainga or orchard or fences? —When I asked Mr. Fisher about the kainga and orchard of the old man Tipene Warihi, Mr. Fisher said if it was valued it would come to about £40. .:, '21. What value did you put upon the improvements?—l would say £100. 22. Is that for all the improvements or for the house and orchard?— Just for the house and orchard. ' . 23. Do you know whether any compensation was paid?—l have never heard of it. ■■■•,■ 24. What did you do after this land was leased?—l went'on to my freehold—the 24 acres. 25. Had you been farming this 24 acres before?— Yes, I had a homestead there. I had two kaingas at this time, because I had'put up a kainga at Hawera in" 1901. 26. What did you do with those 24 acres when you went to live there?—l ploughed it, and sowed- some oats, and cropped it. • . 27. Now, I think three of you did own 80 acres near Hawera?—Yes. ,•• 28. And the other two owners are dead, and you succeeded to them?— Yes, my mother and aunt. ■ 29. Of the 80 acres, 10 acres are leased to the pakeha?—Yes, the Public Trustee leased it. 30. As to the remaining 70 acres, what are you doing?—l have improved it, and am dairying on it. This year I had thirty-seven cows. 31. What have you dona-with the 24 acres which you mentioned before?— That I have leased to a European, with the exception of an acre, on which there is a house, and I retain that for myself. My reason for leasing it is that I live so far away from it that I thought it best to lease it, so that the improvement would be kept up. ; 32. You cannot work the 70 acres and the 24 acres conveniently at the same time? No, they are too far apart. . 33. What factory..do you send your milk to?—Ararata, near Makino. 34. "Have you got your milk returns?— Yes. [Produced and put in, Exhibit F.] .35. Before you supplied the Ararata you used to supply the Normanby factory?—lt is the same factory, although it was then called the Normanby. [Returns put in, Exhibit G 1