OE NATIVE RESERVES.

D.—No. 16.

13

land, said to be worth £7 or £8 per acre. The deed was signed by the above-named chiefs before I left Napier. 23. The chief Te Hohepa Binganohu and others were desirous that the Baukawa East Block, of 44.3S acres, should be reserved for their descendants. This is very fine land, said to be worth £5 an acre. A mortgage of £550 lies upon certain interests in it, but with good management that amount might soon be cleared off this fine estaie, and the mortgage of £1,200 on the Mangateretere East estate lessened. Hohepa Te Binganohu signed the Trust deed for Eaukawa East, and promised to obtain the signatures of other of the grantees. 24. At the request of Manama Tine and his relations, I drew out a deed for the Waikahu Block;--of 764 acres. This is very fine land and in part cultivated, lying near the Waitangi bridge. 25. For the Natives at and near Te Aute the Koparekore Block, of 1278 acres, and Te Tarere, of 236 acres, were put into Trust; I also had prepared a deed of the Boupoutahe block, of 241 acres, net, at the request of Benata and others. 26. It was very desirable that some land should be secured for Te Meihana Takihi and his relatives, as they had sold largely. I, therefore, arranged that Te Awa ate Atua Block, of 5070 acres, should be conveyed to trustees, Te Meihana executing the deed, and promising to obtain the signatures of hisrelatives. 27. For Karaitiana and several of his relatives, not holding interests in the Pakowhai estate, I arranged that the Ngatarawa No. 5 Block, of 5375 acres, should be set apart. Te Meihana Takihi aud Karaitiana signed the deed, which was left with Mr. Locke for completion. 28. Te Heketa and others owning property at the 40-mile Bush, desired that land in that locality should be made inalienable. I arranged that the Oringi Waiaruho Block, of 12,008 acres, should be conveyed to Trustees; the deed was signed by the principal owners before I left the locality. 29. The Papaaruhe Block, of 276 acres, is granted with a limitation to the effect that it shall not be alienated for more than 21 years without tho consent of his Excellency tho Governor. The owners desired to put it into Trust, in order that the rents might be equitably divided amongst them. I would respectfully request that his Excellency in Council be moved to give the required consent to the settlement in Trust. A deed was prepared and left with Mr. Locke for execution by the grantees. 30. Paora Bopiha and Wi Patene have for some time past been desirous of selling the Eparaima West Block, granted with a limitation similar to that last described. They offer as an equivalent that the Bakowhai Block, at Black Head, and other lands shall bo put in Trust for their children. The proposal appears to have been for some time favorably entertained by the Government, and the matter having been referred to me to act in, I have ventured to prepare and leave for execution, a Trust Deed for Pakowhai, in anticipation of your approval of their request, when they render inalienable a full equivalent for Eparima West. 31. Many other Natives desired to hand over their lands to the Trust, but in all the cases not shewn in Schedule C, there existed difficulties that prevented their wish being at once complied with. 32. The chief Harawira Tatere and others of the Cape Kidnapper Natives, desire to hand over the largo blocks of Kairaka and Te Apiti. Crown Grants have not yet been issued for these. When some temporary difficulties are cleared away, I shall recommend that a portion of the Waimarama Block shall bo made inalienable for them, but I am not at present sure that the wants of these people are such as would justify the reservation of all the above mentioned lands. 33. I am very desirous of securing some land for the Chief Tareha, but have not been able to find a granted estate that is sufficiently unencumbered for the purpose. 34. Of ungranted land there is, near Pa Whakairo, a good block called To Koau, of which, by Native report, Tareha appears to be the chief owner. I have drawn his attention to the propriety of handing this over to Trustees as a provision for him in the future, and he has promised to furnish me with a description of the boundaries. 35. I would respectfully recommend that in accordance with the provisions of the Native Eeserves Act, 1856, a competent person should be appointed to obtain the consent of the owners of the following Blocks, —Pohirau, for Te Heketa; Otukarara, for Paora Kaiwhata; Te Torohanga, for Noa Huki; Pukehou, for Paora Korokoro ; Tutake Opake and Te Koau, for Tareha; —to their becoming Native Eeserves in order to their being proclaimed as such under clause 17 of the Native Eeserves Act, 1856. As incidental to the subject of Native Eeserves, I may mention that during my sfay at Hawke's Bay, the much vexed negotiation of the purchase of the Horetaunga Block was brought to a close, the purchase money being taken by the Native owners, who receive from the purchasers a reserve (which will vest in trustees) of sixteen hundred acres, in the best part of the block. 36. Messrs. Cuff and Stedman, Conveyancers at Napier, were employed by me for that part of the work which more particularly demanded professional assistance. 37. The Natives treated me with great confidence, and appeared to bo well satisfied with the action taken by the Government in providing means for tho conservation of their land. Several of the Chiefs, who by their actions have proved themselves to be steadily loyal, spoke with bitterness when alluding to the manner in which claims have been made against their estates, and I am quite convinced that if action had not been taken by the Government to arrest the further alienation of the lands necessary to them, many loyal Natives in becoming landless, would have been driven into disaffection. 38. There are a number of small reserves —chiefly fishing stations and landing places—that have not yet occupied the attention of the Land Court, and which scarcely appear in the map of Hawke's Bay. I append a list of these —Schedule B.—and recommend that they should be brought under the notice of the Court with a view to being granted in such manner as shall secure the Native and the public right in their use respectively. 39. The Trust Deeds and papers connected therewith are in the hands of Mr. Locke, 8.M., who will obtain the signatures of the Natives who have yet to sign, and attend to the requisite stampingand registration. 40. In addition to the plans, 13 in number on the Trust Deeds, I made copies of 34 plans of Native--4