I.—3a.

[KEREOPA POTAKA.

68. Is it not a fact that in the year when you wrote this letter which is attached to the petition, you had just had a dispute with the Whanau-a-Iritekura Hapu, because they refused to permit a hui of yours to take place at the Waipiro Pa ?—Yes; it is true we did have a dispute, but there is no object in bringing that in, because I remained there and so did everybody else, and occupied the whare about which the dispute took place. 69. I am merely asking you about the dispute. That was when your letter was sent I —No, it was prior to that. I wrote that letter on the 20th October, and the hui did not take place until the 12th November. 70. Well, Hatara Matehee, one of the persons mentioned in your letter, is still living, and is present. Does he —Hatara —know the object of your letter which was written to Tuta?—l do not know. 71. Your father spoke about this land, before the Court: do you dispute what your father said ?—Some of it. 72. But you were instructed by your father? —Yes. I still have his books in my possession. 73. Have you them here?— No. 74. How old are you?— Thirty-nine years of age. 75. This case has been before the Court now for about twenty-five years?—(No answer). Hera Maubahu examined. (No. 2.) 1. Tuta Nihoniho.] Are you an owner in the Waipiro Block? —Yes. 2. You have heard what has been going on?— Yes. 3. As a descendant of Iritekura, what is your view of the case in connection with this petition of mine for a rehearing of this land? —I ask for only one thing: I want this land reheard. 4. Have you heard the history of this laud from your elders and ancestors?— Yes. 5. Have you heard that this ancestor Pakanui had no right to this land?—He had rights. 0. Will you explain, if you can do so, what your knowledge of the matter is?— These are the rights to the land : through Iritekura, and Pakanui and Tuwhakairiora, the two who did the fighting. 7. lion. Mr. Carroll.] Did Pakanui make a gift to Iritekura of the laud? —They were just the same as elder and younger brother. 8. Did Pakanui give the land to Iritekura? —I have nothing to say further than what 1 have already said. 9.. .Paratene Ngata.] Who was your father?—Paratene te Waka. 10. Of the Aitanga-a-Mate Hapu?—Of all hapus. 11. Was he not a descendant of Iritekura? —My mother came from the Iritekura side. My father was of Te Aitanga-a-Mate—that is the hapu name of the descendants of Pakanui. 12. You are older than Kereopa, are you not?-—I am forty years of age. 13. Then you were fifteen years old when the land was first heard?— Yes. Tuta Nihoniho examined. (No. 3.) Witness: 1 am speaking on behalf of those who are associated with me in this petition of mine. What we are asking is that a further hearing should be provided, so that the rights in this Waipiro Block may be inquired into, because a great number of new statements have been made during the various hearings, and there 'are a number more to be made now. The right to this land Waipiro originates through ■■my ancestor Pakanui. I do not oppose the right of Iritekura. I say that Iritekura had a right to that portion of the laud which was given to her by my ancestor Pakanui; but there is a boundary defining that land, which is the Waikawa Stream. The land, crops, and the cultivations and the people on the south side of the Waikawa Stream were given by Pakanui to Iritekura. My opponents, however, claim that the whole of this land—Waipiro ' Block—was included in the gift. That is what I deny. That is why 1 am seeking a further hearing, so that the matter may be looked into. I say there never was any person who gave the whole of his land away to somebody else and made no provision whatever for his own children and descendants. A great many false statements have been made before the Courts in refereuce to this land, and a great many true statements in regard to it were thrown out. All the people who gave false evidence have died. That is why I want a further hearing—to afford an opportunity to the people who will tell the truth to come' forward. What 1 and those with me say is that we want a rehearing to get at the rights of the case. I was awarded 11,000 acres of this land by the rehearing Court, but it was taken out of my hands by an Act that was passed here subsequently. 1. Hon. Mr. Carroll.'] At one hearing 11,000 acres were awarded to you by the Court: then on petition the Legislature passed an Act ordering a rehearing, and the result was that it deprived you entirely of the land? —Yes. Now I have support from the Whaiiau-a-Iritekura Hapu; and for all those reasons I ask that a further inquiry should be granted into this matter. It is a different thing making statements inside the Court and making them outside. If we get a further hearing we can bring in all the outside evidence that is collectible. That is all I have to say. 2 You heard the statement made by the first witness that the Waipiro Block included a por--1 tion called Te Matai, which belonged to other people than the Te Whanau-a-Iritekura?—That is quite right. That will be found in my evidence in the Court minutes—that this piece was cut out of Waipiro Block. It belonged to Tokomaru district on the south side of the Kahukuranui boundary. . 3. But any gift by Pakanui to Iritekura did not overstep the boundary of Kahukuranui, such as is described ?—No;" no gift of Pakanui crossed over that dividing boundary.

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