D.—No. 11a

No. 1. Mr. J. G. Holdswoeth to His Honor the Deputy Superintendent, Wellington. Sic, — Crown Lands Oflice, Wellington, 6th August, 1870. I have the honor to forward for your information copy of a letter from the Chief Surveyor (Mr. Jackson), touching the Report laid on the table of the House of Assembly from the Inspector of Surveys (Mr. Heale), in which serious reflections are cast upon the Wellington Survey Department. The Mataikona case is an important one, and unless the decision of the Native Lands Court can be set aside, will entail a serious loss on the Province. The extract from Mr. Warden's report, and the statement made by a Native named Horatio Pipimoho, will give you full particulars. Out of the 1,500 acres included in the award of the Court, 500 acres have been sold some years since by the Government to Mr. J. Sutherland. The extent and money value of the services performed by the Survey Department for the Native Land Courts is very considerable; and although repeated efforts have been made to obtain payment of the same, as yet they have been unsuccessful. I trust that you will be able to adopt measures for removing the misapprehensions that have arisen by the circulation of Mr. Heale's report, and that the General Government may be induced to contribute towards the heavy expenses incurred for the benefit of the Natives. I have, &c, Jos. G. Holdswoeth, His Honor the Deputy Superintendent. Commissioner Crown Lands.

Enclosure 1 in No. 1. Mr. Henry Jackson to Mr. J. G. Holdsworth. Sir, — Survey Office, Wellington, 4th August, 1870. As the report of the Inspector of Surveys to the Hon. the Native Minister, dated October, 1869, and which has lately been laid before the Houses of Assembly, appears to cast a reflection upon the manner in which the duties of Deputy Inspector of Surveys for Native Lands are being performed in this Province, I do myself the honor to forward the following explanations, in order to remove misapprehensions that may arise from a perusal of the above-mentioned report. The Inspector of Surveys lays stress upon the importance of inserting every claim for Native land in a compilation map prior to the issue of title, and asserts that, consequent on the neglect of this process, the Provincial Surveyor of Wellington had certified to several claims as non-conflicting with Crown lands, when such was eventually found to be the ease. Now, out of 302 claims which have been passed through this office, I can only call to mind one case, that of Mataikona, in which an oversight was made. In this particular instance, the plan was urgently required to be sent away to the Native Land Court, then sitting in Greytown ; it was, therefore, somewhat hurried through this oflice. On examination the boundaries appeared to conform with the Crown boundaries, but it was afterwards detected that the Natives had given to a different stream the name of the stream claimed as the Crown boundary. On the receipt of a plan from the licensed surveyor by this office, the boundaries are carefully compared with those of adjoining lands, and any discrepancies have as yet been easily detected. As a proof of this assertion, I bring forward the fact that in one case only out of 302 an oversight was committed. I therefore submit that the process of examination was more carefully performed than could have been done had the claims been merely inserted for test upon a rude compilation, such as would have had to be executed for many parts of this Province hitherto not reached by triangulation or trustworthy surveys. Moreover the maps of some of the claims although apparently correct, so far as scale and protractor could test them, were undoubtedly of the rudest executions as surveys, and were found to be quite incapable of combination inter se, unless they abutted upon Provincial Government surveys. The process, therefore, of testing the overlap of boundaries upon a compilation could scarcely be satisfactory. But it would be necessary to compile special plans for the insertion of the Native lands, in order to comply with the wishes of the Inspector of Surveys. Claims are sent in which may never>pass the Native Lands Court, or they may be amended by order of the said Court; and claims for the same piece of land, or nearly so, are sent in by different claimants and surveyors. Now if all the various claims must bo shown upon a compilation, there must of necessity be the constant erasing from the plan when the final disposal of the claim is ordered by the Court. It is for this reason that I have consistently declined to insert a Native claim upon the Provincial Government compilations until the certificate of title had been issued. I concur, however, in the opinion of the Inspector of Surveys, that the plans of the Native surveys should be forthwith collated, but at the same time I must refute the charge (if intended) that the want of such a map has hitherto led to any confusion or difficulties. Ido not apprehend that the General Government consider that such an undertaking could be executed with the slender staff of draughtsmen at the disposal of the Provincial Government Survey Department; and I have more than once mentioned this fact to the Inspector of Surveys, and informed him there would be no difficulty in meeting his wishes so soon as the question of payment for these services was settled, and that in the meantime steps were taken for the insertion of those claims for which a certificate of title had been issued upon the Provincial Government compilations. I beg therefore to state that no carelessness or neglect ought to be alleged to the duties performed by this office for the Native Lands Court; that the Survey Department of Wellington has been put to considerable expense and inconvenience in furthering the objects of the Native Lands Acts ; and that

CORRESPONDENCE RELATIVE TO THE REPORT OF THE INSPECTOR OF SURVEYS.