EDUCATIONAL RESERVES.
A.—No. a.
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offered to the church for the sum of £20 or £30, which now brings me to the block of land you wish to know about. Before the schoolhouse could be purchased, it became necessary to have some security for the land on which the building stood, before the money was paid. The New Zealand Company's Agent was applied to for the above object; he kindly gave the block of land, together with a piece of land that was out of Dr. England's section, he being agent also for Dr. England at the time. Upon the faith of this gift, the inhabitants collected a considerable amount in labour, timber, and cash, towards the building of the church, and the repairing of the school-house, and building the schoolroom. The rest of the cost was defrayed by the Bishop of New Zealand, out of the church funds of the Church of England, amounting to about two hundred pounds. After being some time in possession of the land, the church and school also being completed, a portion of the said block was sold to Mr. Price by the Honorable Mr. Dillon by mistake. When the school committee heard of the above purchase they requested the Rev. Mr. Butt, the then clergyman of this Province, to inform the Honorable Mr. Dillon of the mistake he had made, which of course created a great deal of confusion, and nothing further was done until the arrival of Sir George Grey in Nelson, when the subject was brought under His Excellency's notice, to which it was agreed that Price should retain the piece which had been sold by mistake to him, and that the church should select another block as near to the church property of equal size. The selection being left to me, I chose tho block you wish to know about in lieu of the portion sold. Mr. Brunner will remember that he was sent up expressly for the purpose by Mr. Dillon to measure off the present block, the which I assisted him in cutting the lines, chaining, and putting in the corner pegs. Thinking that the whole subject of the mistake then set right, tho inhabitants have since that time to my knowledge expended a considerable amount in clearing and fencing in the land for the benefit of the schoolmaster, who uses the paddock to the present day. I trust that the above will satisfy you that the block was given to the Church of England by the New Zealand Company, and the latter, that was taken in lieu of what was sold by mistake, was by the sanction of Sir George Grey. I have, &c, To the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Nelson. E. Baigent. Nelson: No. 9.'—On this section Mr. Leo keeps the school known as " Tho Bishop's School." There are forty-six boys on the books of the school at present. Mr. Lee is an excellent master, and the school is thriving. Religious teaching is given in accordance with the tenets of the Church of England, although all the boys do not belong to that persuasion. Collingwood: No. 30.—Nothing at present is done with it, the land being unenclosed. I believe this to have been land purchased out of church funds. Picton: No. 31. —Now occupied as the site of the parsonage. The same remark as to the acquisition of the land.
Monday, 3rd January, 1870. Mr. Alexander Mackay, being duly sworn, states: I am delegate of the Governor under " Tho Native Reserves Act, 1862." There is no Commissioner of Native Reserves. The following paper gives a brief history of the management of the Nelson Reserves, which includes that of the Motueka grant to the Bishop of New Zealand : — . The provision for the education of Natives, made by the grant to the Bishop at Motueka, appears to be very little appreciated by them. I have frequently requested them to send their children to the school, but they make so many excuses. Sometimes they have potatoes to plant, harvest to get in, and a variety of other frivolous excuses are given. They care, in fact, very little about it. There could not be a more zealous person than Mr. Ronaldson. He does all in his power to urge them to send their children, and holds a school in two different places, to give a chance to those who live at a distance to send the children. I think the soreness on the fact of the land being taken for this purpose has subsided. I have explained to them on every occasion that they are not entitled to this land, but only have a beneficial interest in it. They complain that they had been defrauded of the land by its being granted to the Bishop. The grant has generally been considered as given specially for the benefit of the Church of England Natives. The Wesleyans, Baptists, &o, have always taken that view of it. I do not know tho proportion between the whole number of Natives at Motueka and those belonging to the Church of England. I presume the reserves were set apart by the New Zealand Company for the benefit of the Natives residing on the shores of Tasman's Gulf (Blind BayX and Golden Bay (Massacre Bay). The Natives in these localities, of all denominations, have an equal right to a share of the benefit of them, in proportion to their respective numbers. I cannot say the exact proportion of the different denominations. I think the Wesleyans were the majority at that time. lam not positive on that point. The reserves given to the Bishop comprise a very large proportion of tho best land in the reserves. The actual quantity reserved was 5,000 acres (100 fifty-acre sections). The total grant to tho Bishop is 918 acres out of Native Reserves. The extent of good land is about 700 acres. I have not been over the whole of the property held by tho Bishop, but I should think 200 acres would be the extent of bad land. Mr. Greenwood, in speaking of barren hills, must have been alluding to the portion of the grant which comprises the Crown lands, not Wakarewa. I can speak particularly as to the fact that the whole of the Crown land included in the grant is bad. The complaint of the Natives of the grant being made is not confined to one denomination. They all join in this. Ido not see how giving the land back again would benefit them in particular, as the proceeds Avould belong to all the Natives in the settlement. I do not think the retention by the Collingwood Natives of their reserved lands deprives them of a right to a share in the proceeds of the Motueka lands. The Golden Bay Reserves were intended for the special use and occupation of the resident Natives, and similar reserves for occupation should have been made for the Motueka Natives. It has
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