I.—3a

10

164. To whom did you send it?—We sent it to Mr. Kapa. 165. How did you send it ? —lt was sent through the post-office. 166. Why did you send this petition ?—We sent it on account of our grief at ascertaining that so much of the money for our land had been lost. 167. Hon. Mr. Mitchelson.] Were you one of the owners of the Kaitaia Block ?—Yes. 168. Did you agree to sell your interest for £130 ]os. ?—Yes. 169. And to whom did you think you were selling the land for that money ?—I thought I was selling to the Government. 170. Did you agree at any time, before signing the deed of sale, to employ Mr. Lundon as your agent to sell the land?—No; I thought Mr. Lundon 1 understood from his own statement that he was employed by the Government; he informed me so. 171. In your petition you state that, when the money was paid over by Mr. Millar, and received into your hands, it was afterwards handed over to Mr Lundon ? The Chairman :I do not think that is a very proper question to put. You should ask him from whom he received that money, and how he received it. You had better put the question directly to him. 172. Hon. Mr. Mitchelson.] From whom did you receive the money—the £130 10s. ? —John Lundon. 173. Did you not receive it from Mr. Millar at the post-office ?—No. 174. Did Mr. Millar not pay you any money, or give you any cheque ?—Mr. Millar placed the money in my hand—put the cheques in my hand, but it was not there longer than a moment when Mr. Lundon took it out of my hand, before I had time to ascertain the amount of the cheques. 176. Then you received £130 10s. from Mr. Lundon in Mr. Flood's hotel?— When I got to the hotel, Mr. Lundon gave me cheques amounting to £130 10s. 177. And why did you allow Mr. Lundon to take the money out of your hand in the post-office, when the money was paid to you by Mr. Millar for your share in the land?—l was unable to protest against Mr. Lundon, because I considered that he was an officer of the Government and was only acting in the usual manner. 178. Did you know at the time Mr. Millar handed those cheques over to you that they were for a larger amount than you had agreed to sell the land for?—No, I did not. 179. Hon. Mr. Carroll.'] Had you known, would you have closed your fist ?—I would never have let go. 180. Hon. Mr. Mitchelson.] When you signed the deed in Mr. Millar's office, was the deed not translated to you by the interpreter ?—-The interpreter never told us about what the considerationmoney was to be. All that he told us was that it was a receipt for the money, and I was asked to sign. He only explained to me that it was a receipt for the money. 181. Without stating any amount ? —He never mentioned any amount. 182. Hon. Mr. Carroll.] Do you remember what the interpreter said when he explained the document ?—The proceedings in the post-office were very short. All that I remember the interpreter to say on that occasion was, "This is an acknowledgment of yours that you have received the money." 183. Did you sign more than one document for Mr. Millar?—Two. I signed two documents. [Deed produced.] 184. Doyou remember seeing that document?—l do not remember whether I saw this document [the deed] on that occasion. 185. Is not that the document you signed before Mr. Millar—is the signature pointed out not like yours? —I think this must be the document. 186. You say you signed two documents before Mr. Millar. Do you know the purport of the other document ? —I do not remember what was the purport of the other document I signed. 187. Do you not remember signing an agreement, interpreted by Mr. Cochrane, to the effect that Mr. Lundon had been appointed by you, as your agent, to sell the land for the Crown?— No. 188. And that money in excess of 4s. 6d. an acre, that you agreed to sell for, was to be retained by Mr. Lundon to cover his expenses?—l never heard of such an arrangement. 189. Mr. Lundon has handed in a deed of agreement bearing your signature [exhibit B shown to witness, see Eikihana's evidence] : is that your signature to the deed of agreement?— How can I tell what I signed until I know what the document says ? 190. The document says what you have just been told ?—The signature is exactly like mine, but I have no remembrance of ever signing this document, nor was it ever read over to me. [Document in Maori read to witness]. 191. Do you remember having that agreement interpreted to you ?—I do not remember anything at all about it; lam surprised. 192. The date of your signature is on the same day as the signature to the deed—both signed on the one day. You have already stated, in answer to Mr. Carroll, that you signed two documents. They are both signed on the one day. Did you sign the two documents at the same time ? —The documents I signed had stamps on them. They had the Queen's stamps on them. I never meant to admit that I signed a document of this kind on that occasion. 193. Hon. Mr. Carroll.] Were you by yourself when you signed your name ? Were there any other Native owners with you ? —I was by myself; we were all paid singly. 194. Had you a talk with Mr. Lundon or Cochrane, previous to your signing the deed, anywhere else ?—We had a conversation with Mr. Lundon about the purchase-money the day before I signed. 195. Were there other owners with him when you had a discussion about the terms, the day before you signed ? —There were other owners present on that occasion, because that was the day on which Mr. Lundon told us that the Government would pay us 4s. 6d. an acre. The price was fixed that day.