ZEALAND TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE.

99

A.—No. 1a

3. Your Grace will observe that they state that the Petitioners have been repeatedly assured that full justice shall be done them. That the land in dispute has not yet even been surveyed, except to define certain reserves for the sellers of it; and that they hope ultimately that a just and satisfactory settlement of the case will be made. 4. I should have desired that, if possible, these claims should, in the usual way, have been submitted to the decision of a legally constituted Court, empowered after hearing the parties in the case to have pronounced a judicial decision regarding it; and that the Natives should in this manner have been taught to submit all their disputes, however complex, to a judicial tribunal. 5. On the other hand, it is alleged that it would be impossible to give any decision in this case which would not be challenged by the disappointed party, and which would not give rise to such a feeling of bitterness as might involve the country in serious disturbances; and as the Local Government and the General Assembly are now responsible for the peace of the country, it would be difficult to interfere with their deliberately formed Alews on this subject. 6. My belief is that a strong and influential party in the Assembly and the country will carefully watch this case, which has obtained considerable notoriety ; and that it is extremely improbable that any injustice can be done to the Natives in the matter. The fact of then addressing the enclosed Petitions to the Crown shows that they fully understand their rights, and the constitutional manner of protecting them. I have, &c, His Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos. G. GREY.

Enclosure 1 in No. 44. Paeakaia te Pouepa to Governor Sir Geoege Geet, K.C.B. To Govebnoe Geet, — Otaki, 4th July, 1867. I forward my Petition to you. Please have it sent on to the Queen of England. Paeakaia te Pouepa.

Sub-Enclosure to Enclosure 1 in No. 44. Petition from Paeakaia te Pouepa to Her Majesty the Queen. To OUE LOVING PAEENT, THE GEEAT QUEEN OF ENGLAND, — This is the prayer of me, Parakaia te Pouepa, an Aboriginal Native of New Zealand, of the Ngatiraukawa Tribe, residing at Otaki, New Zealand. In the year 1862, we sent our letter to you, expressing our grief at the action taken by Governor Brown at Waitara, and requesting that a Governor might be sent out to investigate that wrong doing on the part of the Government. That letter, expressive of our grief, was written because of our sorrow in respect of the lands of the erring tribes of the Ngatiawa, at Taranaki. This Petition of ours is to pray you to take into your consideration the case of my tribe with reference to our land, which is being taken away from us by Dr. Featherston. Now we have borne in remembrance throughout all these years now past, how that your name was well received in New Zealand prior to the year 1840. By the Treaty of Waitangi, the sovereignty over this land was placed in your hands by the Maori Chiefs of New Zealand; it is therefore for you, the great Queen of England, at this time to show kindness to us your children, and to protect us in the possession of our lands. This, therefore, is the reason of my writing to you; my tribe have lands between the rivers Manawatu and Bangitikei. This land was taken by us, the Ngatiraukawa, by force of arms, during the year 1830 ; before your sovereignty had lighted down upon this land we were in possession of the aforesaid lands, and have continued so ever since. Listen, then, to the favors shown by us to your Governors, who came forth from your presence. In the year 1847 we allowed Bangitikei to be sold to Governor Grey. In the year 1858, Manawatu was sold to Governor Brown. In the year 1858 again, another block, Te Ahuaturanga, was sold to Governor Brown. Those were large blocks of land, fairly sold to your Governors. By these sales, we gratified the desires of Ngatiapa, Bangitane, and a portion of my own tribe to sell land. The block of land referred to in the present Petition is what remains, and which is being kept back from sale by my tribe and myself. Give heed: Thus far have we shown kindness to those tribes which were spared by ourselves from being slaughtered by Te Bauparaha, who had expressed it as his intention to destroy those tribes. Bangitikei, a large block of land, I, as an act of grace, gave back to Ngatiapa. Te Ahuaturanga, a large block of land, I, as an act of grace, gave back to the Bangitane. And now those tribes, together with the Government, come openly to take away our remaining piece ; our houses, and the cultivations whence my tribe get their living, are being taken away. In the year 1862, the Governor and the General Assembly established a Court to adjudicate upon Native Lands. Give heed: The lands of my tribe only were excluded from the operation of that Court.