G.--2.

1095. There is a payment to Mr. Hamerton of £20 towards a banquet: had that anything to do with tho Waimate Plains ? —No ; it was a banquet at Waitara, given at the time of Eewi's meeting. It was the one at which Sir George Grey and Eewi spoke. It was done partly by private subscription, and partly on the guarantee of Mr. Sheehan, and that was the balance, which had to be paid by the Government. 1096. Then why is it charged against Waimate Plains ?—lt was returned by me as"" West Coast," but it is debited at tho Treasury to Waimate Plains. If I had been told to debit it to Waimate Plains I could not have done so. 1097. But by the system which they have at Wellington it seems they could convert the charge in this way ?—I received instructions afterwards to put all such vouchers to the Waimate Blains, and therefore they have been limited to that since.

At Haweba, Tuesday, 23ed Maech, 1880. Major Beown further examined. 1098. The Commissioners.] When we were going through the payments made on account of the Waimate Plains, we postponed the sums for the land on the southern side of the Waingongoro. We will now take these separately. Out of the total of £16,163 which appears in the return as takoha for all the land there, there is a sum of £4,105 for Moumahaki. Does that complete the payment of takoha for that block ?—No. I consider that some special consideration should be extended to Hare Tipanaue and his people, who first promoted the survey, and have consequently been left out by the tribe in the distribution of takoha; and also to the relatives of Wiremu Pohika Otnahuru on the Waimate Plains, who are interested in that block. I recommended that £150 should be paid to Hare Tipanaue and his people, and £150 to the others. 1099. Was that not subsequent to this account now before us being made out ?—Tes ; it was some months ago, but I have received no reply. These are the only two outstanding questions of any importance in that block requiring to be settled. 1100. The Okahutiria Block is quite settled, is it not ? —Tes. 1101. Were any reserves agreed to be made for the sellers in the Moumahaki Block ?—No ; except as regards an unsatisfied claim of the Tokakaikura tribe, to whom a reserve of 200 acres was granted some years ago. This reserve was made by Captain Blake in a section wbich the Native Eeserves Commissioner had at the same time dealt with, as being available for that purpose, to satisfy the claim of some persons who had a flax-mill. The papers had been mislaid for some years, aud when I dealt with the Moumahaki Block the tribe said, through their chief Terehu Mahutonga, that they would prefer having the site of their original pa of the same name, Tokakaikura, which was included in the confiscated land I was dealing with. It was a very inferior piece of land, as regards value, to the piece "which was originally intended for them; and, as they were kept out of it for some time, I think it only fair that they should bave the whole 300 acres included in that section, instead of only 200 acres. 1102. And has that been promised to them ?—I have an impression that the question was left to my discretion, and I told the Natives I would recommend that they should have the whole section. 1103. Does the Moumahaki Block include any of the land lying between the Patea and the Whenuakura Eivers ?—No ; no part of it. 1104. Then that land will have to be dealt with separately, will it not?—Tes. 1105. What extent do you estimate the Moumahaki Block to be ? —-About 40,000 acres. I found myself hampered by some indefinite memoranda to the effect that 1,200 acres on this side of the Waitotara, in the Moumahaki Block, belonged to the Natives. In order to protect the Government from any difficulty in this matter, I increased the size of the piece of land to 1,500 acres, and told the Natives that the Government would not take it. 1106. Then it will be in the nature of a reserve in the Moumahaki Block?—Yes. About a year or eighteen months afterwards, I found out that the Waitotara Eiver was the boundary of the confiscation only up to a point where a straight line going inland cuts off the 1,200 acres referred to ; thus these 1,200 acres were returned to the Natives, and, further up the river, the line cut off a few thousand acres as confiscated land. 1107. The two areas balanced each other, in fact ? —More than balanced each other. This came out at the hearing of the Eangitotau Block, on the east side of Waitotara, when Mr. Mackay showed in Court that a portion of that block was still confiscated land. 1108. In the payment as takoha of £4,105 for Moumahaki, and £7,513 for Waingongoro, are there any sums included which ought not to be charged to takoha for those particular blocks ? —No. 1109. With regard to the £120 paid to Takiora Dalton, and charged in those two blocks, not as takoha; has it not to be considered in the same way as the similar payment in respect to Waimate Plains ?—No; there was a sum of £100 paid to Takiora Dalton on the 30th of August, 1879 ; that was for her claims to land at Opuora. The other £20 was for services. 1110. During the time that you were negotiating for the takoha in these various blocks, did you make any recommendation to the Government with respect to the placing of a survey staff at your disposal ? —Tes ; and I should like to be allowed to put in copies of a telegram and a letter which I wrote on the subject, dated respectively the sth and 9th of January, 1877 : — [For letter see Appendix.] (Telegram.) " Hawera, sth January, 1877. " Blake has accepted offer conditional on success. Everything looks well. Waingongoro survey completed. About 70,000 acres confiscated land require survey and compensation between Patea and Waingongoro before crossing latter. Ten surveyors and men required. Could Constabulary be sent to furnish necessary labour before they are discharged, and charged to expenses of acquisition ? " Hon. Major Atkinson." " C. Bbown, CC." 1111. The object of that was to recommend that you should have a staff of ten surveyors placed immediately at your disposal, was it not? —Tes.

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