No. 10.
Mr. Commissioner
Johnson to the Chief Commissioner.
Sir,—
With reference to your letter of the 28th November, enclosing reference concerning Native claims to the Crown lands at Omaha and Oruru, I beg to inform you that the Government merely extinguished the rights of the conquerors over Omalia, and that the origiual proprietors residing at Pakiri and in the Oruawharo maintain that the Ngatipaoa and Ngapuhi had a claim to the land they sold to Mr. Clarke to the North of Point Rodney—and I think it very questionable if they had—so that in this case I am not in a position to insist on their accepting a certain compensation for the land in question, but must wait until they choose to dispose of their ownership.
The case of Oruru I will attend to as soon as I have an opportunity of proceeding to the North, probably in February next.
I have, &c.,
John Grant Johnson, Land Commissioner.
H. T. Kemp, Esq., Native Secretary, Land Department.