T. PAH AT A.]

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which the land was to be eventually surveyed was to be returned to the Maori owners That wis the impression conveyed to the Maoris, and stipulated for by them—that when the land came to be surveyed by the Europeans or the Crown, ample land would be set aside for the support of themselves and children and their descendants, independently of their present kaingas foodworkings, and cultivations. Mr. Kemp then returned to Wellington, and after his departure Mr Mantell appeared on the scene to complete Mr. Kemp's work or negotiations, and that of the New Zealand Company. When Mr. Mantell arrived at Akaroa—l cannot for the moment remember the year, but as well as I can remember it would be between the years 1848 and 1849 or 1850—the chiefs ot Akaroa assembled, and also all the representative people of South Canterbury They all assembled at Akaroa on this occasion, and asked Mr. Mantell, " Have you brought Mr" Kemp's purchase-money with you? " And Mr. Mantell said " No." Mr. Mantell said to Matiaha Tiramorehu, No, lam here for the purpose of including within Mr. Kemp's purchase the lands which are contained outside the boundaries of that purchase." And the Maoris replied "Well we will not on any account agree to that." They turned round to Mr. Mantell arid said "You had better go back to Wellington : we will not agree to your proposal," because they recognized that the proposal in the deed Mr. Mantell brought to them differed from what they had agreed to with Mr. Kemp in the first place; and Mr. Mantell appreciated that it was so, that the Maoris were correct, and Mr. Mantell ascertained that there were a number of Maoris that had not signed the original deed. However, m spite of all the persistence of Mr. Mantell, the Maoris refused to be persuaded by him. Mr. Mantell eventually returned to Wellington to inform Lieut.-Governor Eyre that the Maoris refused to consent to his proposal. Now, Mr. Mantell himself personally told me this after I became a member of the House of Representatives, and during the lifetime of the late Mr Mantell. To show that the Government officers were guilty of deception and injustice to the Maoris I have given these particulars, and I state that the Maoris were under the impression when Mr. Mantell came down there that he had corns to bring them the purchase-money which Mr. Kemp had undertaken to pay; and when he did not do so they refused to consent' Well subsequently to the return of Mr. Mantell to Wellington, he again paid a visit down South He went back to Akaroa to interview the Maoris, who were still assembled there, and on the occasion of his return, the Maoris asked him, " Now, what additional payment do you propose to make us tin- the additional lands that you seek to include in the boundary of Mr. Kemp's original purchase? What extra purchase-money do you propose to pay us for that large extra area of land? " Mr Mantell's reply was, "The Government will pay you a large amount of money for that additional area of land, and I will myself ask Her Majesty's Ministers to do so, and it will not be long before you receive this large additional sum of purchase-money in payment for the balance of your land. He went on to repeat the undertaking that had been made by Mr. Kemp at the time of the original purchase, that when the land came to be surveyed ample reserves would be surveyed and cut out and returned to the Maori vendors, sufficient for their needs for all time ; and the Maoris, of course, knowing that Mr. Mantell was a representative officer of the Queen believed that what he said would be carried out without fail. That was the impression under which they were left. 1 wish it to be distinctly understood that the cultivations and other food-workings were not parted with by the Maoris at the time of the sale to Mr. Kemp. Those were specially exempted from the sale, as the deed states, and the Government is entirely unjustified in saying that the claim of the Ngaitahu Tribe for land has been made good through 'the fact that land has been set apart for landless Natives by the Crown. I wish to point out to the Committee that all that was contemplated and. all that was done under the legislation which provided land for landless Natives in the South Island was merely the providing of an area of 50 acres of land for each individual member of the Ngaitahu Tribe in the South Island who had no land at all. But the Maoris when accepting that 50 acres as landless Natives, specially stated that their acceptance of that 50 acres was not to be taken to interfere with or prejudice their claim, which is contained in the present petition. That position is perfectly clear; and, further than that, even in those areas of land which have been set apart for landless Natives in the South Island, they have not up to the present time been occupied by a single one of the people for whom they were" so set apart for the reason that they are still living upon the few acres which were owned as Native reserves prior to that time. For that reason I contend that the fact of land having been recently set apart by the Crown for landless Natives of the Ngaitahu Tribe has no bearing upon nor does it in any way affect the present claim of the Ngaitahu Tribe in general. The undertaking given at the time the sale was made was that the cultivations, kaingas, and food-workings were to be reserved out of the sale, and remain in the possession of the Maori vendors. I think the Committee must now be perfectly clear that I have every justification for urging the entire correctness of the view of this case which I have put before you. I shall presently put before you the documentary evidence that is contained in parliamentary papers. lam making this statement to-day as being myself one of the younger generation who was present at almost all the most important meetings" together with my elders, in the days of my youth. The only occasions upon which I was not present were the occasions of these meetings which I speak of as taking place at Akaroa in the year 1848--50. Now, in regard to the " tenths," the one acre out of every ten, and one block out of every ten blocks, to which I have already alluded : Under that heading the Maoris contend that Mr Wakefield agreed—that both Mr. Wakefield and Mr. Kemp—and Mr. Mantell agreed—to return to them one acre out of every ten acres of the land purchased, and one block out of every ten blocks when the land came to be surveyed into blocks. I shall be able to put in evidence as to the correctness of thac statement of mine by-and-by. This is the position in regard to all the lands which they sold to Government officers arid the New Zealand Company—to Mr. Kemp, and Mr. Mantell, who subsequently completed his purchase—that was the undertaking, that when the land came'to be surinto blocks for European ownership one block out of every ten of those blocks was to be returned to the Maori owners. That statement is contained in all the parliamentary papers having 4—l. 3b.