IN NATIVE DISTRICTS.

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P.-No. |.

the 100 rural sections according to the original scheme, but in the case of the town and suburban sections, the effect of our proposal would be to allot a much larger proportion than one-tenth of the land actually sold^fo tho Natives. How far, now that the Crown has taken these reserves into its hands, any alteration in them would be sanctioned, is a question ; but we would suggest a memorial being addressed to the Governor, with a view to limit the number of town and suburban reserves to one-tenth of the land actually sold, so as to throw open the remainder for present choice." In compliance with a proposition to that effect subsequently made by the Eesident Agent of the Company of behalf of the land purchasers, the Governor consented to a reduction of the number of the Native reserves proportionate to that proposed in respect of the whole settlement. This led to the surrender of 47 of the town reserves, but the reduction was not extended to the suburban sections, the following is a list of those relinquished :—Nos. 20, 21, 46,47, 191, 194, 253. 256,303,382, 387, 529, 551, 561, 575, 608, 625, 626, 650, 706, 718, 722, 768, 777, 778, 784, 797, 798, 828, 831, 855. 858, 860, 897, 926, 939, 941, 943, 945, 951, 953, 954, 956, 1051, 1084, 1088, 1091. With reference to the large reserves in the Wairau alluded to in the foregoing extracts, as having released the Company from selecting the 100 rural sections according to the original scheme unfortunately for the interest of the Trust Estate, these reserves, which consisted of two large blocks containing an approximate area in the aggregate of 117,248 acres set apart on the first sale of the district by the Natives in March, 1847, were subsequently included in the second sale to the Government in 1853, without any precaution being taken to set apart a sufficiency of land in satisfaction of the quantity the Trust was entitled to under the original scheme as rural land. The following is a list of the original suburban sections selected as Native reserves in the Moutere and Motueka districts, under the New Zealand Company's scheme : — Moutere.—Nos. 45, 69, 71, 73, 75, 84, 85, 137, 138, 144, 145, 147, 148, 151, 201, 202, 205, 206, 213. Motueka.—Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 16, 20, 21, 22, 28, 29, 33, 34, 35, 36, 47, 48, 73, 74, 79, 80, 82, 92, 93, 111, 113, 117, 118, 122, 123, 124, 126, 127, 129, 132, 136, 137, 138, 139,140, 141, 142, 143, 144, 145, 146,147, 157, 159, 160,161, 168, 169, 183, 186, 187, 192, 199, 206, 207, 208, 221, 222, 223, 234, 236, 240, 241, 242, 253, 256, 260, 262, 263, 264. In 1814, at the time of Mr. Commissioner Spain's inquiry into the New Zealand Company's claims to land, in the Nelson settlement, Mr. G. Clarke, the Sub-Protector of Aborigines, recommended the exchange of a number of the sections selected as Native reserves in Motueka in lieu of an equal number of suburban sections in the same district, which were found to be in the occupation of the Natives. This recommendation was subsequently acted on, and eight Native reserve sections, viz., Nos. 7, 8, 10, 11,16, 28, 252, and 256, were exchanged for suburban sections, Nos. 162, 163, 164, 182, 188, 212, 219, and 220. The whole of these sections had been previously awarded to the Natives by Mr. Commissioner Spain, together with eight other sections, sixteen in all, in fulfilment of the arrangement made between Captain Wakefield and the Natives, shortly after the arrival of the preliminary expedition at Nelson, to the effect that they should retain a considerable portion of the Big Wood, at Motueka, then in cultivation by them. The following sections were awarded to the Natives of Motueka by Mr. Spain : —Nos. 157, 159, 160, 161, *162, *163, *164, *182, *183, *187, *188, *212, *219, *220, 241, and 242. Besides the exchange alluded to above, the Board of Management found it necessary to make further alterations, in consequence of the Natives having located themselves on many of the purchased sections in the district. To obviate any difficulties that might eventually ensue from these encroachments, the Board surrendered Native reserve sections, Nos. 20, 29, 35, 36, 73, and 74, for the sections encroached on, viz,, Nos. 181, 184, 210, 211, 218, and 243. Upon five of these sections considerable cultivations had been made, and it would have been next to an impossibility for the European owners to have wrested possession of the land so encroached upon by the Natives, from the numerous occupants. Irrespective, however, of the advantage gained for the Natives in carrying out this arrangement, it was also of great benefit to the Trust Estate, inasmuch as the land taken in exchange by tho Board was of superior quality to the land given up, and being contiguous to the great bulk of the Native estate in the Wood at Motueka, it was, moreover, of much greater value than detached sections at a distance from what was then the inhabited portion of the district. In addition to the Company's tenths, certain other lands were excepted for the Natives in the awards to the Company, in conformity with certain resolutions agreed to at a conference held in Wellington in January, 1844, between the local Government and the Company's Principal Agent to the effect, "that the pahs, burial places, and grounds actually in cultivation by the Natives, situated within any of the lands appropriated to the New Zealand Company should be retained for the use of the Natives, the terms ' pahs' and ' cultivations' to be understood to mean as follows:—' That the ' pah' should be considered to be the ground that is fenced around the Natives houses, including the ground in cultivation or occupation around the adjoining houses without the fence; and that the

Note. —The sections marked with an asterisk are those for which an equal number of Native sections had to be given in exchange. 6