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A Compendium of Official Documents Relative to Native Affairs in the South Island. Volume Two.

Memorandum

page 150

Memorandum.

With reference to the above, Mr. H. T. Clarke writes, in a Memorandum, under date 6th April, 1868, on a letter addressed by Mr. I. N. Watt, to the Native Minister on this subject:—

"Mr. Watt's impression with regard to the £2000, retained out of the purchase money of Stewart's Island, is correct. The interest upon it was to be expended for educational purposes, for Natives resident in the Southland Province, as it was generally understood that the educational interests of the Natives in the Otago and Canterbury Provinces had been cared for when the Natives sold their land in those Provinces.

"Alexander Mackay.
"Native Commissioner."

On the 20th January, I left Dunedin for the Bluff, which I reached on the following afternoon, and wrote the same day to the Natives residing at Aparima, informing them of my arrival, and requesting them to despatch a messenger to the neighbouring settlement to request the whole of the Natives to meet me at Riverton.

As some little delay would occur before my letter could reach them, and finding that a vessel was leaving the Bluff by the first fair wind for Ruapuke, I resolved meanwhile to take the opportunity of visiting that Island, as it would give the Natives time to collect at Aparima.

On the 22nd January, I visited the settlement at Omani, but, as the majority of the Natives were absent, nothing of any importance transpired worth recording.

On the 24th January, the wind having moderated, I left the Bluff in the cutter "Pilot," in company with Mr. "Watt for Ruapuke, and reached there about noon, when I arranged with the Natives to meet them in the afternoon. In the meantime we proceeded to inspect the school building and master's residence in course of erection.

The site for both these buildings has been well chosen, and the land set apart for the purpose could hardly have been selected in a more suitable spot. It was expected, weather permitting, that both the buildings would be completed in about three weeks from that date. The master's house is the more advanced of the two, and required very little doing to it to make it fit for occupation. The bad weather and other delays had tended to deter the progress of the buildings. There was also great difficulty, in the first place, to prevail on the Natives to assist in carrying the materials to the spot, and it was only by the example and personal exertions of the Rev. Mr. Wohlers, and the idea that they would be recompensed for their trouble, that they were at last induced to undertake the task.

It is very desirable, now the school is in course of completion, that immediate steps should be taken to secure the Services of a master, so that the school may be opened with as little delay as possible. Mr. and Mrs. Wohlers have hitherto devoted their time to training the children, but as they are now advanced in years would prefer relinquishing the task to some younger person, though they would stilt continue to supervise the establishment, and I have no doubt that under their care, and with the assistance of a good master, the school would soon be in a thriving condition. It would, however, be as well, in choosing a master, to ascertain, if possible, that he was not swayed by any religious prejudices, or it might be the cause of dissension among the limited community in the Island.

I take this opportunity of pointing out that the efforts of Mr. and Mrs. Wohlers to pr[gap — reason: damaged]mote the civilization of the Native families in the vicinity of Foveaux Strait are worthy of the highest commendation. For many years past they have kept a school by their own unaided exertions at Ruapuke, for the education of the Natives, until they could afford no longer to do so, in consequence of the increased cost of the necessaries of life occasioned by the gold diggings in Otago.

It will be requisite that a supply of books should be furnished to the school, and it would he very desirable if a few common pieces of furniture could be procured for the master's house to remain as fixtures, such as a table, a cupboard, and dresser.

While on the subject, I would beg to point out the necessity that immediate action should be taken to make the third instalment of the Stewart's Island purchase money productive, either by way of investing it on mortgage, or by any other mode that would produce an immediate income. There appears to be very little doubt that if the terms of the Deed are strictly adhered to, and the amount invested in land, that there is every chance of its laying dormant for years, or at the best produce but a very limited amount.

The several Acts were explained for the benefit of the Natives, and they promised to hold meetings among themselves to concert measures to secure the return of a representative. A good deal of dissatisfaction was expressed by them, that the amount set apart out of the Stewart's Island purchase was lying idle, more especially as it had been withheld from them without their consent. They were given to understand that what was then done was for their ultimate benefit, but they failed to see any real advantage they had gained by the arrangement, whereas, of the money had been apportioned among them as they wished at the time, they would have the satisfaction to know, at any rate, what had become of it.

I explained to them that the Government were very anxious to find a safe investment for it, but many circumstances had occurred to prevent this intention being carried out.

On the following morning, 25th January, the wind being fair, the master of the cutter proposed going over to Stewart's Island to see his family. This being a good opportunity for me to visit the Island, we left about 9 a.m., but the wind being light we did not reach it until the next day, Sunday, landing on the Neck about 7 a.m. The bulk of the population reside here. After breakfast I walked all round the place, and visited most of the houses. The available land is very limited, the greater proportion consisting of swampy bush land, covered with a dense growth of timber and quite unsuited for cultivation. A great deal of the land, I am informed, will not carry more than one crop, so that little inducement is offered to undertake the clearing of heavy bush, where so little prospect is held out that au adequate return will be received for the labour required to bring the land into cultivation.

page 151

The population of the Neck number 64, and consist chiefly of half-castes. One family of three reside at Patterson's Inlet, fire families, numbering 17 persons, live at Port Adventure, and one family of five at Port William, making a total Native population on the Island of 89.

As the land at the Neck is vary limited, it will be necessary to select other land to provide a sufficient area to locate the whole of the half-castes who are entitled to have provision made for them on the Island. On enquiry I find that there are 81 who have been born at or near the Neck, and, from all I can learn, unprovided with land.

To give them land in the ratio proposed by Mr. Clarke, it would require 716 acres. I would therefore suggest that, as it is impossible to provide them at the Neck with the full quantity, Mr. Clarke's recommendation should be adopted, viz:—That each half-caste should get two acres at the Neck, and the remainder in some other locality; or, perhaps a more satisfactory plan, and one which would be fairer to those who have cultivations at the Neck, would be, that all the adult half-castes who reside at and cultivate land on the Neck, should receive their full quantity at or near the land in occupation by them, provided they could get it without prejudice to other interests.

From all I can learn, the Provincial Government of Southland have no intention of undertaking the survey of Stewart's Island at present. The boundaries of the Native reserves will therefore have to remain undefined for a while longer. The Government propose making a Trigonometrical survey in the first place, and, when that is done, it will be easy enough to have the position of the reserves fixed.

Mr. Pearson, the Waste Lands Commissioner, informed me that he intends visiting the Island during the early part of next month-for the purpose of deciding the various old land claims there. I, therefore, furnished him with a list of the names of the half-castes who are to get land on the Island. While speaking with him on the subject, he suggested that a small reserve, say five acres, should be made for the Natives on the West Coast of the Island, at a place called Otuparitutae, to serve as a boat landing during their mutton bird expeditions, as the place set apart by Mr. Clarke for that purpose did not appear adapted, or likely to be used by them. I also took the opportunity of pointing out to Mr. Pearson that the reserve at Horse Shoe Bay as indicated on the plan by Mr. Clarke was incorrect, as it ought to have been on the other side and well within the Bay instead of on the point as shown in the plan.

By Mr. Clarke's arrangement it is proposed that, after the whole of the half-castes are provided with land at the Neck, the remainder should be divided between two Natives named Ihaia Whaitiri, and Hoani Tunarere, but, as the land in this locality is very limited, it will be almost impossible to carry out this suggestion. As far as Whaitiri is concerned, he would prefer getting his share on the mainland, if possible.

I returned to the Bluff on the 27th January, left the same afternoon for Invercargill, and reached Riverton on the afternoon of the 28th January. On proceeding to the Pah, I found that a messenger had only been despatched the previous day, to fetch the Oraka and Kawakaputaputa Natives, who were expected to arrive the following day.

While thus waiting for the Natives who were coming from a distance, a preliminary meeting was held with those who were at hand to discuss various matters with them, and in the afternoon I waited on Mr. Austin, the Treasurer of the Local Committee of Education, for the purpose of effecting some arrangements for the admission of Native children to the District School, but am sorry to say that I met with no success in that quarter. There appears to be a feeling against the attendance of Native children at the Local School, owing to some disagreement having arisen on a former occasion through the Native children introducing an infectious complaint into the school.

On the 30th January, the Natives who were likely to attend the meeting having all assembled, I explained to them the objects of the various Acts, and recommended their holding a general meeting at Riverton, for the purpose of further discussing them. They all appeared anxious that schools should be established in the district, and on being informed of the arrangement just entered into with Mr. Cameron, master of the Local School at Riverton, by which he had engaged to devote a few hours each morning before school and the remainder of the time after it closed in the afternoon, to the instruction of their children, they seemed much pleased, and many of them promised to send their children to him.

They have a nice little building, at present used for a Church, that would answer very well for school purposes. The only difficulty in the way of this plan is the uncertainty of securing the regular attendance of the children.

The Natives at the whole of the places I have visited appear to be in a healthy condition; the chief complaint they are afflicted with, appears to be one produced by their uncleanly habits.

Those who feed on the mutton birds generally suffer from an eruption about the arms and thighs, accompanied by an intolerable itching, which, however, soon disappears with the aid of cleanliness and abstinence from such poor diet. The eruption, a form of disease called eozema, is no doubt much aggravated, if not partly caused by the repeated application to the skin of the rancid fat in which the bird is potted. That irritating substance being unavoidably transferred from the hands—the natural substitute for knife and fork—to different parts of the body.

There is one marked improvement in their condition that I am able to report satisfactorily on, and that is, the general sobriety of the whole population. The intemperance they were addicted to in former times, and lamented over by former Officers of the Government as demoralizing and diminishing their race, has almost entirely disappeared, and I am happy to say that drunkenness amongst them at the present time is quite as rave as sobriety was in bygone years.

In many of the settlements, I found that they were very regular in attending religious worship, and anyone transgressing in any way is prohibited from attending, which appears to have a good moral effect.

I am sorry, however, to say that I cannot report any other improvement in their habits. They do not appear one whit more industrious or cleanly than heretofore. Their cultivations are on a very limited scale, the most surprising thing being how so many people are able to exist on such small plots page 152of land under the system of tillage followed by the Natives. At the most, I do not suppose they have more than a dozen acres under cultivation at any one of the settlements. There is very little question but that the Natives might be in more comfortable circumstances if they would only exert themselves. In every case the Reserves have been well chosen, both as regards locality and the character of the soil; but I am afraid it is hopeless to expect to wean them from their old habits of idleness, and so long as they can live on from day to day they appear to be perfectly contented. With respect to the promises originally held out to them at the cession of their land to the Government, I could not elicit any satisfactory intelligence. They did not seem altogether clear in what form these promises were to be carried out, whether in the shape of schools and other institutions for their benefit, or whether it was to be a final money payment for their land. That they were entitled to expect further recompense at some future time from the Government, appears to be the general impression among them.

I have seen Mr. Strode respecting the reserve at the Otago Heads being referred to the Native Land Court for sub-division, and he is of opinion that, perhaps, that would be the most satisfactory way of dealing with it.

Mr. M'Leod, a licensed surveyor under the Act, has been out at the Heads for some time past sub-dividing the land for the Natives, and they are all pretty much agreed as to their boundaries, with the exception of some members of the late Karetai's family. It will be requisite, however, to refer it to the Court before they can get Crown grants for it, as promised them by His Excellency Sir George Grey when here in February last, of which they have record.

With respect to the reserve at Port Chalmers, Mr. Strode is of opinion that it would not be advisable to offer it for sale at present, as in all probability it would realize little or nothing. It is more than probable, however, that it will be enhanced in value ere long when the Provincial Government complete the graving dock, which is to be constructed in the immediate vicinity of this land. It would, therefore, be unadvisable under present circumstances to offer it for sale as contemplated by your letter.

At present the Government have agreed to give a rental of £7 per annum for the use of it for a stockyard for landing imported cattle on.

The Natives are also desirous to have a small portion to erect a hostelry on, instead of having to live in the Public Houses.

In closing the foregoing narrative I considered the following conclusions regarding the aboriginal race may be fairly deduced from it:—That the Natives of the southern settlements are all favourably disposed, without any reservation, to "The Native Representation and the Native Lands Acts;" but to "The Native Schools Act," while admitting its principle, and in most cases ready to devote the necessary lands for school sites, as well as generally desirous of having their children educated, they object, in so far, as regards their having to contribute the necessary school fees, or, in fact, any portion of them, as they are too indigent to do so. Besides, in several cases, they had been led to expect; and with some reason, that the Government had the intention to, and would, provide for the future education of their children.

That in respect to their general condition, although in most instances better housed and clothed, enjoying also a better condition of health, as well as exhibiting a marked absence of the vice of intemperance than heretofore, their constitutional indolence and want of forethought, as particularly manifested in their scanty cultivations and unfenced postures, prevail as strongly as ever.

Looking, therefore, in the abstract to their improvident habits, also to the inadequate disproportion the female still bears to the male population, and which is apparently increasing in place of diminishing, their numbers in the aggregate continuing likewise stationary, any satisfactory progress amongst them is not to be expected, and it is not too much to infer, if the Malthusian theory is correct, that their gradual extinction as a people would be but a question of time.

I have, &c.,

Alexander Mackay,
Native Commissioner.