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No. 15.
Mr. Mantell to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary.
Sir,—
I do myself the honor of submitting to you for the information of His Excellency the Lieutenant-Governor the following report of the circumstances under which I have felt it necessary to discontinue my negotiations for the extinction of the Native claims in the Akaroa and Wairewa District of Banks Peninsula, of which I enclose an explanatory sketch.
Throughout the conferences which I have held with the Natives they have conducted themselves, as usual, in the most insolent and turbulent manner. Their demands, as shown in the accompanying tracing, extend to a block crossing the harbour, and containing at least 15,000 acres. This, they assert, was always excepted from previous purchases; but, after a careful review of such evidence as I have been able to procure, I have felt it my duty to deny their claims to any such block, the only exceptions from their former sales having been their residences and gardens.
| Reserves. | ||
| 1. At Akaroa, at Onuku, say | 350 acres. | |
| 2. " Wainui and Ohae, say | 1,200 " | |
| 3. At Wairewa, at the Kaika, say | 30 " | |
| 3. " in one or two blocks around their gardens | 300 " | |
| Making a total of, say | 1,880 " | |
| Payment. | ||
| A sum of £150. | ||
On the rejection of this proposal by the Natives two courses were open to me—to commence the survey of the reserves in defiance of threatened resistance, or to return, to Wellington and explain personally the state of the question. In the former case a collision would have taken place to no good purpose, as the survey must have been stopped; and Mr. Carrington, who was engaged on the eastern boundary of the Nanto-Bordelaise grant, would, on attempting to resume that duty, have assuredly been prevented by the Natives.
The principal instigators are, John Tikao, John Tapu, and Tamakeke. There are in all about fifteen head proprietors of the district. They are actuated partly by prejudice against the English, instilled and fomented by some foolish members of the French community, and partly by a confident hope that M. de Belligny will still return and make them some enormous payment. Another curious ground on which they base their extortionate demands is, that they must be compensated beforehand for the risk which they run of incurring the anger of the French by acknowledging the supremacy of the English Government.
I have, &.c.,
Walter Mantell.
The Hon. the Colonial Secretary.