G.—6

Session 11. 1918. NEW ZEALAND.

NATIVE LAND CLAIMS ADJUSTMENT ACT, 1913. REPORT ON No. 293 OF 1911, OF REWI WHAKAHORO, AND No. 271 OF 1913, OF HORORIRI MEIHA AND THIRTEEN OTHERS, AFFECTING THE WHATAROA NATIVE RESERVE.

I'resented to both Houses of the General Assembly in pursuance of Section 2 of the Native Land Claims Adjustment Act, 1918.

Native Land Court (Chief Judge's Office), Wellington, 11th January, 1918. Whataroa Native Reserve. Pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of the Native Land Claims Adjustment Act, 1913, I have the honour to transmit herewith the report of R. Noble Jones, Esq., Judge of the Native Land Court, on petitions No. 293/11, of Rewi Whakahoro, and No. 271/13, of Hororiri Meiha and thirteen others, affecting the Whataroa Native Reserve, being reference No. 10 in the First Schedule to the said Act. Jackson Palmer, The Hon. Native Minister, Wellington. Chief Judge.

In the Native Land Court of New Zealand, Tairawhiti District.—ln the matter of the Native Land Claims Adjustment Act, 1913, section 2, and of a reference by the Chief Judge thereunder of petitions affecting the Whataroa Block. This matter came on for hearing at Wairoa on the 20th May, 1914, and subsequent dates, before Robert Noble Jones, Judge, who begs to report as follows : — 1. The Natives claim in this matter that there was promised to the relatives of certain friendly Natives who were treacherously killed by Te Waru about December, 1868, a portion of land whereon the murders took place, and which the Natives allege is the Whataroa Block. 2. The bulk of the elder Natives are dead, but remnants are very consistent that some such arrangement took place. They have no documentary evidence to support their statements, and the matter has stood over in the hope of finding something on the records which would either substantiate or disprove their allegations. 3. So far as the records have been placed at the Court's disposal there is nothing upon them to show that any promise was made, and those in charge of the Native records profess to have no knowledge of any such promise. At the same time it must be apparent that the records are not very complete, since the papers show that on a claim made by another Native that a piece of land was promised him, the authorities strenuously denied any such promise till a copy of the promise in writing was actually produced. 4. It is not therefore safe to assume anything from the absence of documentary evidence on the records. The Native side will be best understood by condensing statements given on their behalf, first premising that the persons who were killed were —(I) Karaitiana Rotoatara, (2) Karauria te Awarangi, (3) Rewiti Pakerango, (4) Ahita Karari; and that these persons had no title of their own to the land referred to. 5. Kerei te Otutu, a very old Native, said, " The claim to the block arose through a. request made by the chiefs Ihaka Whaanga, Paora te Apatu, Tamihana lluata, Hapimana Tunupaura, myself, Mere Karaka, and others, that that piece of land (Whataroa) be given as compensation for the wrong done to Karaitiana and his younger brothers by the Hauhaus,