21

GK—2a.

By the Court: Had Ngatihaua desired to sell land they could have done so by themselves. Tana Te Waharoa, sworn : I am son of Tamihana. I was in the Court this morning. I heard what the witnesses said, but paid little attention. I know the Puahoe Block. I was not at the Court in 1868. I have a claim on Puahoe through ancestry, by Kauwhata, and conquest. [Mr. McDonald said, "If there is a claim by conquest, my claim must fall to the ground."] When Ngatikauwhata went south they left the land with Paiw-aka (alias Katea) Afterwards Taumatawiwi was fought, and Te Waharoa was the fence around all this land. All Ngatihaua appointed him the guard. Ido npt object to Ngatikauwhata by the conquest, but Ido object to Ngatiraukawa. Tapa and the other Ngatikauwhata have a claim on this land because of the manner in which it was left to Waharoa and Paiwaka. Examined by Major Mair : Who is Paiwaka? —Paiwaka died about the same time as Waharoa ; he belonged to Werokoukou. Has he left any children ? —-Nuimoa, alias Te Katea, was the son of Paiwaka. In what way did Ngatikauwhata leave Puahoe to Waharoa and Paiwaka ? —The word was, " Your land : take charge of it." He left it in a friendly way AVa3 not this land taken by Ngatimaru ? —No ; nor were the people driven off it. If it had been so we should all have been consumed. Did not that land belong to Ngatiraukawa?—Yes, formerly Who took it from Ngatiraukawa? —Ngatihaua and Ngatimaru did. Did it belong to them, therefore ? —Yes, they became the owners. How did Ngatimaru cease to be owners ? —Through the war between Ngatihaua and Ngatimaru, when Ngatihaua took it. By the Court: lam a half-caste Ngatihaua and Ngatikauwhata. The resident Ngatikauwhata did assist Ngatihaua to retake the land. Te Waharoa and the Ngatikauwhata did assist Ngatihaua to reconquer. Ngatikauwhata and Ngatihaua had intermarried then, and mixed up as one tribe at that time. Ido not know how many Ngatikauwhata tuturu (full-blood)were in that battle. I never heard of any only the half-castes were those I heard of. At the time of the fight there were no Ngatikauwhata proper living on this land. Afterwards some returned. I never heard that any Ngatikauwhata proper remained behind the migration; only half-castes remained. Some returned after Taumatawiwi (1830) and went to Pukekura, and some to Eangiaohia, and remained there until they died. Examined by Air. AlcDonald : Have you heard of Ngatihinepare ?—Yes. Are they half-castes ?—No. Were any of Ngatihinepare left behind?—Yes. Is Hinepare of Ngatikauwhata?—Yes. Have you heard of Ngatiwehiwehi?—Yes. Are these half-castes ? —Some of them. Is Ngatiwehiwehi of Kauwhata ?—Yes. I did not know the names of these hapus before you named them. Portions of these hapus are half-castes. Examined by the Court: I heard of those hapus before, but always knew them to be half-castes of Ngatikauwhata. Te Raihi (by Mr. McDonald), affirmed: lam a younger brother of Wi Tamihana. Taingakawa, alias Tana te Waharoa, is my son (nephew) I heard his statement. It is nearly all correct. One thing was wrong, viz., when he said that LNgatiraukawa had lived on Puahoe. Ngatiraukawa never lived on the land of Ngatikauwhata, lam Ngatihaua. The people who have now come from Kapiti (Tapa and Co.) have a just claim to Puahoe. Examined by Major Mair : AVhich is Kauwhata's piece in Puahoe ?—[Looking on map.] The whole of that land belonged to Ngatikauwhata. Did not Ngatiraukawa live on some of the adjoining land ?—I do not know that they did. Did not Ngatiraukawa once occupy Rangiaohia? —I am not aware of it. Did Ngatikauwhata alone occupy Puahoe ? —Te Whanake is the proper name of the land described in that map. Puahoe is outside. If a portion of Maungatautari is within that plan, then Ngatiraukawa did occupy that portion; if not, then they did not. Did Ngatikauwhata alone occupy Whanake ?—I do not know who did formerly In our time it has been occupied by Werokoukou, Ngatiruru, and Ngatikoura, and perhaps some of Ngatikauwhata. These hapus are of Ngatikauwhata, and Ngatihaua is related to them. lam a Ngatihaua and Ngatikoura. Ngatikoura are also Ngatihaua. By the Court: If Ngatikauwhata get anything through this Commission of inquiry I want to share with them. [Names of grantees read over ] At the present time it is not right that Puahoe should go to those persons. Some of these names are wrongly in, I do not know anything about the selection of these people. I was at the Court, but I took no interest in this land in 1868. lam not sure of the hapus of them all. If they all belong to Werokoukou and Ngatihaua they are right. We took no interest on behalf of those at Kapiti. Wo thought notices of the Court re Pukekura, also Puahoe, had reached them three, and, as they did not appear, I did not consider we had any more to do in the matter. It was not for us to protect the interests of absentees. I now hear for the first time the reasons for their absence, and appear on their behalf. At that Court the object of every one was to have his name in the grant. I could not get in myself, how- could I then get absent people in ? Warena recalled: Nothing elicited. The Court adjourned.

Thursday, 10th February, 1881. Hape te Pahere sworn :lam of Ngatihiuetu. lam also of Ngatikauwhata and Waikato, and live in AVaikato. My parents did not go with the migration to Kapiti. I know the Puahoe Block. My settlement is there. I have always lived there. I was not at the Court in 1868. I had gone to