answered. I replied that this Court had been specially arranged for at the request of the owners of the land, and that I should protest against any further delay, that I was then ready to listen to any complaints that might be urged by individual grantees on the many letters they had written the Native Minister at Wellington. Several Natives then stated that they had not received the whole of the money due to them on the sale of their share of the land to Government.
On the 24th the Natives held a meeting relative to a Committee proceeding to Auckland to watch the case of Epiha and Pakara charged with shooting McWilliams at Pukehange in 1879. This matter and the crying over the death of Wiremu Paaka allowed very little to be done. During the day I made enquiries into several claims in which only a portion of the money on the sale of the Natives' interest was said to have been paid at the time the Deed was signed. I stated that it would be well if every such case could be enquired into before the Court opened on the 1st June.
May 25th. Engaged all day on claims of underpaid grantees. Pressure was used during the day that I should at once pay over the balances claimed. It was stated that money was wanted for the entertaining of visitors. I declined to pay any money till the Court was fairly at work, and that then I would state what money was due to each grantee.
May 26th. The old chief, Tukukino, again came to me. He urged that the Court should not sit, or that his land, 20,000 acres, might not be adjudicated on, as he wanted to go to Auckland to see his children Epiha and Pakara, and was afraid that if he went the Court might take advantage of his absence and deal with his land. I promised to ask the Court not to deal with his claim to the 20,000 acre block for at least fourteen days.
I endeavoured to get the Natives to meet and talk over the question of reserves. They appeared to think that matter settled as, in some cases, they held written promises from Mr Mackay, and believed that each hapu would be allowed moo acres. Claims continued to come in fast from underpaid owners, the investigation of some taking up considerable time, payments being frequently denied, and owing to the manner in which receipts were taken difficult to prove.
In the evening I met a deputation of the Ngatikoi tribe. Their principal wants were that the promises made by Mr Mackay and Mr Puckey respecting reserves should be faithfully carried out, and that as they had not participated in the large money payments made by Mr Mackay, the revenue received from the Waihi block should be paid to them at once. I explained that I could not go outside the time when the deed of lease was signed, all payments made previously having been disposed of by the lease, that the revenue was received under that lease until the sum of £15,000 was collected, that from the date of the opening of the Gold Fields to the present time not one half of the £15,000 had been received, and that it was folly to assert now that they had any claim to the revenue till the whole of that amount had been collected, and further that, since the lease was agreed to, nearly the whole of their people had sold to the Government all the right they had to the land, and that their claims therefore to any Gold Fields revenue could not be entertained. As to the reserves, that the deed of sale of the land to the Crown made it clear that all those who signed the conveyance of their interest in the land to the Crown should participate in certain reserves to be hereafter made; that before the present Court closed, these reserves would be fixed, and every Native who had so signed the Deed would have his share.
May 27th. Among other Natives who came to have their position and rights explained to them was the old chief Tupeka to Whakamau, who stated that his case was different from that of any of the others, as he was not only the largest owner of the land but that it was through his assistance that the land was opened for goldmining purposes; that although he had signed the deed of sale, the money promised him had not been paid. On reference to the Orders of the Court he was found to be a grantee in six of the Gold Field blocks [Ohinemuri 2, 5, 7, 8 and 17, and Owharoa 2]. The acreage of his interest in these blocks, assuming that each grantee shared equally, would be 370½ acres and the value at 5/- an acre £92–12–6d. I explained to him that the money he had received was m times the value of his share, and showed him receipts for the sums he had received from Mr Mackay. He admitted the vouchers, but disputed having the money,
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