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absentees located upon it. Do you remember a sum of money being sent over by Sir Donald McLean to the people at Nelson on account of their claims, and did you receive any of it ?—Yes. I received some of the money ; but it was not for the land here :it was for the land at Waiongona. I received a small share. 464. The Commissioners : This is a wrord we have to say before we leave the Waitara. It is because the Governor was told that there were many things wrong about these confiscated lands, and that the promises which had been made to the Maoris bad not been kept, that wre were sent here to inquire into these matters. We have now been at Hawera and Oeo, and we are going soon to Patea, and to other places besides this. All the Maoris that have anything to say, or any complaint to make, have had an opportunity of bringing it before us. We shall report what they say to the Governor, and our word to the Governor will be to fulfil all the old promises and make them clear, so that he mav do on this side of the Waingongoro the same as has been done on tbe other side all the way down to Waitotara : that the lands of the Maoris should be distinguished from the lands of the Europeans; that Crown grants should be given to each tribe; and, when you wish your lands to be individualized, that then he should give you Crown grants for them. This is the work that has been going on slowly ever since the war was ended. It is the work which is now going on at Waimate, and the road is being made in order that the same work may be carried on. And, notwithstanding the breath of Te Whiti, the road is being made, and will be made. What has the breath of Te Whiti done for tho Maoris? Has it not put them in prison? Are they not away at Dunedin and Hokitika in the prisons of the Government ? And their wives are widows and their children are orphans, living on anybody who will give them bread. This is the fruit of the great w rord of Te Whiti. Let Te Whiti speak his word ; let those who are foolish follow him. But observe this: The Governor has not asked the leave of Te Whiti to put the surveyors on to the Waimate Plains, nor to make the roads there, and he will go on doing that work of separating the land of the white man and of the Maori, and executing surveys and making roads, without asking Te Whiti. This word is spoken for the encouragement of the Maoris who are friendly to the Europeans. The promises that were made by the Government long ago will be kept. The work may be slow, but it will be brought to its proper end. And mark this word: The Maoris cannot be in two places at once. By-and-by it will come to this: that, if they mean to be with Te Whiti, they will have to be with Te Whiti; but, if they come to their own land and settle on it, and disregard what Te Whiti says, then it will be well with them. We will hear bis complaints, if he has any to make. But if he makes none to us, then we shall tell the Governor that Te Whiti has spent so much of his breath in prophesying about those things that do not come true, that he has nothing at all to say to tbe Governor. 465. Teira : The Maoris and the Europeans are like iron and clay which are put into a furnace together : tho clay will be burnt off the iron. The Maoris and the Europeans will not unite, for the Maoris are the clay, and they will be burnt off.

At Cabltle, Wednesday, 24th Maech, 1880. 466. Hone Mete said: I wish the Commission to explain its functions to me, so that I may know whether it will be worth my while to stay here and give evidence. 467. The Commissioners: If you have any statement to make relating to land between Waitotara and Paraninihi, we will hear you. 468. Hone Mete : If the business of the Commissioners is only to inquire into promises made by previous Governments, then I will not address you ; but if their inquiries have reference to other confiscated land, I shall have something to say. 469. The Commissioners : If what you have to say is about land on this side of the Waitotara, we are ready to hear you. 470. Hone Mete : I wish to speak about land this side of Waitotara, but not quite up to Patea. I wish to refer to some land inland from Waitotara which was taken by Tapa te Waero. I applied to Sir Donald McLean several times about this land, but I never received any answer from him. When the Compensation Court sat at Wanganui, my mother, Bora Mete Paetahi, received 16 acres ; but we, her children, did not receive a single acre. This land was confiscated. We were on the side of the Government, under the Queen of England. Some of our relatives were with the Hauhaus, fighting against the Queen. None of us children received any land for our good behaviour. An ancestor of my mother's was living on the land. Now I and my brother ask that we may have 400 acres given to us. We sent a petition to the Parliament, which perhaps you have heard of. Bora Mete Paetahi's name, and those of her children, were attached to it. 471. The Commissioners: We cannot entertain altogether new claims, or interfere with awards that were made by the Compensation Court: nor can we entertain any new claim on the part of the people who appeared before the Compensation Court and got their awards, as did Mete Kingi Paetahi. We cannot alter or review awards made by the Compensation Court. 472. Hone Mete : I ask that some land may be returned to us from what was confiscated. The whole of our land, of us who supported the Queen, has been taken for the wrong-doings of those who were in rebellion. The wrong-doings of those people have all been visited upon those who remained loyal and quiet. 473. The Commissioners : It is not clear whether the land you refer to is land on this side of the Waitotara, and, if so, whether your claims were not brought before the Compensation Court at that time. 474. Hone Mete: The claim was brought before the Court, and my mother received 16 acres. My mother and I repeatedly saw Sir Donald McLean, and told him that the 16 acres were not sufficient, and asked him for more. He said that he would consider the matter, but he never did more than that. That is why I have repeated my demand ; because he said he would consider the matter. 475. The Commissioners: This is what Sir Donald McLean said at that time: " Claims have been advanced by Wanganui and other Natives to large portions of this block, but the grounds on which 5—G. 2.

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