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No. 1.
[Translation.]
To the Honourable Members of both Houses, at present in Assembly.
[ko te tohutoro i roto i te reo Māori]
This is a petition from us to you.
We labour under a serious grievance in connection with our lands, but, as we consider it is our duty in the first place to address ourselves to the Government in the matter, we send the following letter to two of their Ministers.
To Mr. Bryce, Native Minister, and Mr. Rolleston, Minister for Lands, Wellington.
Friends! Salutations!
We have to state to you the fact that we are sorely pained at the manner in which the Government have used our lands, and caused their depreciation.
We have two grievances; one is with reference to the Government Proclamation over what is called the thermal-spring lands.
Now, the Government have drawn that Proclamation over lands situated at about forty miles from those springs. We did agree to the Act, suggested by Mr. Fenton, for the purpose of protecting the hot springs, geysers, and medicinal waters, but that only embraced an area, as it was surveyed, of 3,000 acres.
We were not aware that that law would so grievously affect us, and create an injustice in regard to our tracts of land, our forests, our mountains, and plains.
We have heard from surveyors that the boundary of the proclaimed district comprises an extent of country somewhere about 600,000 acres or more. Now, this is a very unjust proceeding on the part of the Government, and contrary to that which was intended by the Parliament. The Parliament would protect us, but you, the Government, would impose upon us.
Our second grievance is this: We have just heard that the Government have made a fresh boundary affecting our lands, with a view of confining the sale of land to themselves, and that we are not to sell or lease to private Europeans.
We have heard that a letter was written by Major Jackson to Mr. Bryce, Native Minister, requesting that he should be informed of the amount of moneys paid as advances upon those lands, viz., Opohutu, Okoheriki, Te Rarua, Patetere No. 2, Te Tatua, and Te Rawhiti; also that he should be informed of the names of the persons who received those moneys, and of the Government officer who advanced them. Now, Mr. Bryce replied that he would not give the information, because all those persons who owned the land knew about those moneys. That is why we now submit our grievances to the Government, because we never knew who received those moneys, what lands were advanced upon, and who the Government officer was who made the advances.
Now, arrangements were concluded for the sale of some of those lands to Europeans. The price for forest land differed from the price for flat land—the forest land was fixed at 6s. per acre, and the flat land at 7s. per acre: all this was prior to the Government Proclamation. We received a portion of the purchase-money, and the survey was paid for by the European.
What we say now is this: If the Government will agree to the prices fixed upon in the said sale, then we will agree to sell to them, as we are anxious to pay back the money which the European advanced to us; but if the Government reduces the price to a mere nothing, then we shall conclude that it is indeed a work of injustice on the part of the Government.
Enough. Do you both make this matter clear to us; if not, then we will send a petition to the Parliament, which will be for our member to present and for the Parliament to investigate into, as to a means for affording us relief from the oppressive acts of the Government.
That is all. We will ever pray.
From Rutene te Umanga, and 204 others.
Ki nga Mema o te Paramete o te Whare o runga me te Whare o raro e noho huihui mai nei.
He Pitihana Inoi tenei na matou kia koutou.
He mate nui to matou mo a matou whenua i mahia kinotia e te Kawanatanga, na ka whakaaro matou me rapu atu ano ki te Kawanatanga katahi matou ka tuku i te pukapuka nei ki nga Minita tokorua, ara, koia tenei.
Ki a te Paraihe Minita mo te taha Maori raua ko te Roretana Minita mo te taha whenua kei Poneke.
E Hoa ma tena korua, He kupu atu ta matou kia korua otira kite Kawanatanga kanui to matou mamae monga mahi ate Kawanatanga e raru nei o matou whenua. E rua o matou mate ko te panui a te Kawanatanga mo nga whenua e kiia ana he whenua Ngaawha kua kumea rawatia e te Kawanatanga tana rohe ki nga whenua tawhiti e 40 pea maero te mataratanga atu i aua Ngaawha. I whakaae ano matou ki te Tikanga a te Penetana kia tohungia nga Ngaawha me nga Puia me nga Waiariki. Na, kua oti marire taua wahi te ruuri ka tae ano pea ki te 3,000 eka kahore matou i mohio ka waiho taua tikanga hei kohuru i a matou hei whakamate i o matou whenua Papatupu tae noa ki o matou Ngaherehere me nga Maunga me nga Pakihi. Kua rongo matou ki nga kai wea, ko nga whenua e pau ana ki roto ki taua rohe Potae e tae ana kite 600,000 eka nuku atu ranei. Na ka whakaaro matou he mahi he rawa tenei na te Kawanatanga. No te mea ki ta matou mahara kihai i penei te whakaaro o te Paramete ko ta te Paramete he tiaki ia matou ko ta koutou ko ta te Kawanatanga he kohuru ia matou.
Ko to matou mate tuarua ko tenei katahi nei matou ka rongo kua mahia e te Kawanatanga tetehi rohe potae ano mo a motou whenua i runga i te ture hoko. He mea ano kia hokona atu kite Kawanatanga kia kaua e hokona e riihitia ranei e matou ki te pakeha, kua rongo matou ki tetehi pukapuka i tuhia atu e Meiha Hakihana, kia te Paraaihe Minita. He tono kia whakaaturia mai e ia nga moni tamana a te Kawanatanga i runga i aua whenua ara, ko Opohutu ko Okoheriki ko te Rarua ko Patetere no. 2. ko te Tatua ko te Rawhiti. He tono hoki kia whakaaturia mai nga ingoa o nga tangata ia ratou aua moni me te ingoa o te apiha Kawanatanga nana i tuku. Na whakahokia mai ana e te Paraihe kite kupu nei. Kahore ia e whakaatu mai, te take e mohio katoa ana aua tangata nona aua whenua ki aua moni. Koia matou i whakaatu i to matou mate kite Kawanatanga. Kahore hoki matou i mohio na wai ranei aua moni i tango na wai ranei. Kahore matou e mohio ko ewhearanei nga whenua i tamanatia ko ewhea ranei. Kahore matou i mohio ko wai ranei te Apiha o te Kawanatanga nana tenei mahi ko wai ranei. Ko etehi o aua whenua kua rite te hoko ki te Pakeha. He utu ano to te Ngaherere e ono hereni mote eka mote Pakihi e whitu hereni mo te eka. Ko taua hoko no mua atu i te Here a te Kawanatanga kua riro mai ia matou tetehi wahi ote moni kua utua hoki e te Pakeha te ruuritanga o te whenua. Na ko ta matou kupu tenei inaianei mehemea ka whakaae te Kawanatanga ki taua utu i runga i taua hoko katahi matou ka whakaae. He mea kia whakaho kia e matou nga moni a nga Pakeha i riro nei ia matou, a mehemea ka whakahokia e te Kawanatanga te utu kite kore noa iho katahi matou ka mohio he tino mahi kohuru tenei heoi ma korua ano e ata whakaatu mai kia matou. A ki te kahore e marama i a korua ka tukua atu e matou tetehi Pitihana ki te Paramete ma to matou Mema Maori ano e hapai ake a ma te Paramete e kimi tetehi ora mo matou i runga i tenei whakahaere kohuru a te Kawanatanga. Ka mutu na o hoa.
Na, kihai i marama mai i te Kawanatanga, koia matou i tuku atu ai i to matou Pitihana ki te Paramete o te Koroni he mea kia kimihia mai e koutou kia whakaritea mai hoki tetehi tikanga e ora ai matou.
A, ka inoi tonu matou.
Rutene te Umanga, me etahi e 204.