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Report on Petition of Karaipi te Puke and 2 Others, and from all the Hapu of Ngatikikopiri. Petitioners pray that inquiry be made into matters connected with certain reserves at Waiwiri, between Manawatu and Otaki, in the Province of Wellington. They assert that the land was not properly surveyed, and pray that the right amount of land be given to them. I am directed to report as follows : —That, in the absence of evidence, the Committee have no opinion to offer. John Brtce. 6th October, 1876. Chairman. [Translation.] Ko te Kupu a te Komiti mo runga i te Pukapuka-inoi a Karaipi te Puke me ona hoa c 2 me te Hapu Katoa o Ngatikikopiri. E inoi ana nga kai-inoi kia kimihia nga tikanga o etahi porowhita kei Waiwiri i waenganui o Manawatu o Otaki i te Porowini o Werengitanga. E ki ana ratou kahore i ruritia tikatia te whenua, a c inoi ana ratou kia hoatu ki a ratou te wahi tika o te w Thenua. Kua whakahaua ahau kia ki penei atu kite Whare: —He kore kororo whakatuturu i kore ai te Komiti c whai kupu. John Brtce, Oketopa 6, 1876. Tumuaki.

Report on Petition of Meha te Moananui and 140 Others. The petitioners complain that miners' rights and gold fields rents at Ohinemuri are kept back for goods supplied to them by the Government; that their lands are locked up by the Government; that the cattle of Europeans continually trespass on their lands; and that Mr. Mackay's men are surveying land without the consent of the owners thereof. I am directed to report as follows:—That the miners' rights referred to in the petition are retained by the Government to recoup the cost of goods supplied and money advanced by virtue of an agreement made between the Government and the Native owners. The Committee are of opinion that the petitioners have little cause of complaint, except in the matter of cattle trespassing on their land, which is due to the defective character of the Provincial Impounding Act. John Brtce, 16th October, 1876. Chairman. [Translation.] Ko te Kupu a te Komiti mo nga mea Maori mo runga i te Pukapuka-inoi a Meha te Moananui me ona hoa 140. E ki ana nga kai-inoi ko nga mama raiti me nga reti o nga whenua koura ki Ohinemuri c puritia ana mo nga taonga i tukua ki a ratou etc Kawanatanga; ko o ratou whenua c herea ana etc Kawanatanga; ko nga kau a nga pakeha c pokanoa tonu ana ki runga ki nga whenua o nga maori; a c ruri whenua ana nga tangata a te Make i te mea kahore nga tangata no ratou c whenua i whakaae. Kua whakahaua ahau kia ki penei atu kite Whare : —Ko nga mama raiti c whakahuatia ana i roto i te pukapuka-inoi c puritia ana c te Kawanatanga hei whakaea i nga taonga me nga moni i tukua i runga i te mana o tetahi pukapuka whakaaetanga a te Kawanatanga ratou ko nga Maori no ratou te whenua. E whakaaro ana te Komiti he iti rawa te take pouri a nga kai-inoi haunga ia te pokanoa a nga kau ki runga i o ratou whenua na te hapa o etahi tikanga o te Ture mo nga pauna o te Porowini o Akarana. John Brtce, Oketopa 16, 1876. Tumuaki.

Report on Petition of Meihana Taipu and 10 Others. This petition refers to certain land situated at Porirua, which has been Crown-granted to one Ellison in consideration of an old land purchase made in 1837. The petitioners state that they claim the land because they are not aware that their father, the owner thereof, ever consented to its sale, and they ask that the deed be laid on the table of the House. I am directed to report as follows: —That the subject-matter of this petition has been investigated on several occasions by Commissioners, European and Maori, appointed for the purpose, and on two previous occasions before Committees of the House of Representatives, which made very full inquiry into the matter, and in 1869 reported as follows: — '• A Crown grant for 388 acres (part of 2,000 acres which Rangihaeata sold to Ellison by deed dated Gth December, 1837) was signed by the Governor on the 20th June, 1863. An inquiry into the circumstances and validity of this and other purchases made by Ellison was begun by Mr. Commissioner Spain in 1843. That inquiry was continued by Mr. McLean in 1852, and a third and final inquiry was undertaken in 1862, by Major Edwards and Mr. George Swainson, Commissioner of Native Reserves in the Province of Wellington, with whom was associated Tamihana te Rauparaha; and it was in pursuance of the report of these three Commissioners that the Crown grant for 388 acres was issued by the Governor. The Committee examined Mr. Swainson and Tamihana te Rauparaha, and also Matene te Whiwhi (Rangihaeata's nephew) upon the various points connected with the sale and award to Ellison; they have found no reason whatever to question the propriety and fairness of the recommendation of the Commissioners in his favour, and which the Crown grant confirmed. The Committee direct me to report that, concurring with the tenor of the report above quoted, they cannot recommend the House to interfere in any way with the decision arrived at in the year 1862."