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An Epitome of Official Documents Relative to Native Affairs and Land Purchases in the North Island of New Zealand

[No. 21.]

page 344

No. 21.

Mr. E. W. Puckey to the Hon. the, Native Minister.

Piako.—Payment of Ngatipaoa claims. Native Office. Thames, 15th December, 1872.

Sir,

I have the, honor to inform you that on the 26th ultimo I went to Taupo, accompanied by W. H. Taipari and Mr. E. H. power, for the purpose of making the final payment to the Natiyes on account of the long outstanding land purchases at Piako and Waitoa. As there were a considerate number of claimants and, interested parties it was necessary to make special terms with a vessel to convey us thither and bring us back. I accordingly engaged the p.s. "Enterprise No. 2"—a steamer plying between this, and Auckland—at a cost of six pounds. We reached Taupo in the evening, and our errand having been explained and preparation made for commencing business first thing in they morning, we retired to a new house, which Haora, had built for the occasion. We then had a private meeting with the resident Natives, and went fully into the question of the claims, and everything having, been satisfactorily adjusted Haora, in the early morning, sent off a messenger to Whakatiwal to fetch Hoera to Whareponga, whose presence at the final extinction of their, claims to these lands, and especially the Waitoa Block, both he and I considered advisable. About, 9 o' clock the, morning we assembled in the Court house, and the proceedings commenced by W. H. Taipari reading the list of claimants and the pieces of land claimed by them. This was the more requisite as Tarapipipi had raised an objection to the claims of Te Poea te Otatu and Horata Potene, on the ground that all either had a right to was an eel-weir. Upon going into the question, however, in both cases the objection was withdrawn. There was no great difficulty experienced in dealing with any claim excepting as regards Motauhiahi—a piece of land contained within the Waitoa Block. When the amount arranged to be paid for this land was named, the claimants—Hone Te Koti, Wini Kerei Ropata to Arahai, Hota Poka, and Riki Poka—refused to sell unless they got £400. They offered to sell half of the land for £200, but—as I considered £200 already too high for a piece of land consisting of from one-third to one-half of deep swamp, and the total area of it being probably about 2,000 acres—after discussing the matter for nearly a day and a night, with Taipari's concurrence, I cut Motauhiahi out of the block. The only advance on this land was a sum of £15 paid to Weherua, a man since dead, and who did not appear to, have any claim to the land whatsoever.

The claim of Horata Potene was, by her desire, dealt with as though it was Tipa's, she claiming the land through him, and having no special or separate claim.

As it is possible some question may hereafter arise as to the claim of Irihia te Kauwae to Waitoa, and the manner in which it was disposed of, I may state that I have all along steadfastly refused to recognise any unsupported claim, and made it a point from the first to consult Haora Tipa with reference to claims brought forward to these lands. So with the claim of Rihia which has been all along ignored by Haora. It appears that this claim was derived from some remote Tapuna who formally owned or cultivated the land before it was taken by the Ngatipaoa, and the occupants driven off asutu; for the killing of Te Apa o te Rongi. I brought up this claim repeatedly, but Haora as steadfastly refused to recognize it, and also at the Taupo meetin g Rihia, who appeared conscientiously to believe in the fairness of his claim, brought it forward himself at my desire, but without being able to prove it to our satisfaction; indeed, had we dealt with it separately, it would have complicated matters as we should have had Haora against us. A few days after our return, however, Haorar Tipa came to theThames, and as I felt that the claim of; Rihia might, hereafter crop up at an inconvenient time, I suggested to Haora that a small payment had better be made to Rihia through him as principal seller of this land. This he agreed to, and Rihia accepted £10 in extinction of his claim, promising that he would not hereafter make any claim whatever. All kinds of fictitious claims have since our return from Taupo been trumped up, but referring the pseudo claimants to Tipa has completely shut them up, and in, order to test the validity of any claim which may hereafter be made it will be only necessary to refer such claimant to Tipa.

I found it necessary to give Tarapipipi £25, he haying some indirect claims on the Mohonui Block not previously dealt with; but this payment should be regarded more in the light of a politic stroke than as the satisfaction of a claim; also as he had some time ago made claim for a further payment on account: of the Piako Block, and as it was in his power to place—for a time at least—insuperable obstacles in the way of the settlement of these long-existing land claims, both on the Piako and Waitoa, I agreed to abandon the purchase of a block of land called Katihiha, on the opposite side of the Piako to Mohonui, on which an advance of £80 had been made to him; he foregoing any claim he might still have to the other blocks purchased. Adjoining this land and included within the same survey is a. piece called Whataiti. On this land an advance of £40 was made some years ago by Mr. Whitaker, then Superintendent, of Auckland, to Haora Tipa, This purchase we also agreed to forego, lessening by so doing some considerable additional payments for Waitoa, which' Haora was expecting I append to this report a schedule of the blocks of land purchased by the Government at Piako which together with the sketch plan herewith, will fafford considerable facilities for understanding what, from the very meagre information in the possession of the Government, has hitherto been a very complicated question.

Before having brought this report to a close, I should have stated that last week I visited Ohine muri and obtained Moananui's signature to the Waitoa deed, and that I also completed the purchase of the Waemaro Block, on which Hone te Kuti admitted an advance of £65 to have been made. I have also kept in hand a sum of £10 to be paid to Penetito for claims in the Piako. This closes all the purchases. A claim by Rota te Whituti for £35 I have ignored, as he appropriated that amount in the purchase of a portion of the Whitoa Block, which I had to abandon. This is shown on the plan.

I have, &c.,

E. W. Puckey.

The Hon. the Native Minister Wellington.
page 345

Enclosure.
Schedule of Blocks Purchased by the Government.Piako and Waitoa rivers.

Piako Block 1 19,500 acres.
Otamatai Block 2 950 "
Mohonui Block 3 2,580 "
Te Hina Block 4 500 "
Te Hotu Block 5 50 "
Aronga Block 6 322 "
Waemaro Block 7 600 "
Te Nge Block 8 1,070 "
Te Awaroa Block 9 600 "
Mangakahika Block 10 510 "
Hangawera Block 11 3,680 "
Waitoa Block 12 8,000 "
38,362 "