Disinclinaiion to sell large Blocks.

In support of my position I would remind His Excellency that since the period when his determination to discontinue the purchase of small pieces of land was made known to the Natives not a single one has been added to the demesne lands of the Crown, and that the only instance of a large block having been offered for sale—viz., that by Kaihau, has revived old and bygone animosities between two tribes.

The Natives are not only not willing, but cannot by any means be induced to part with their paternal possessions, which in general are the best lands, both for soil and situation, the country contains; and I hesitate not to say that the overplus lands at present in the hands of the Natives, of really a valuable and desirable character, can only be acquired by a gradual process of small purchases.