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

No. 4. — The Hon. the Defence Minister, to the Hon. W. B. D. Mantell

No. 4.
The Hon. the Defence Minister, to the Hon. W. B. D. Mantell.

Native Secretary's Office, Wellington, March 31st, 1868.

Sir,—

I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this day in reply to Mr. Richmond's letters of the 16th May, 1867, and 26th February, 1868, in which you express your willingness to comply with Mr. Richmond's request that you should attend the sittings of the Native Land Court at Christchurch and Dunedin, if your presence is really necessary. I feel some difficulty, in Mr. Richmond's absence, in attempting any further explanation of his wishes than that already given in his letters referred to above; I gather, however, from the letters and papers on the subject, that the object was to obtain the advantage of your knowledge of the merits and transactions relating to the reserves in the Middle Island, in such a way as to prevent any decision being arrived at which would contravene the arrangements made by you as Commissioner, for want of proper evidence being supplied or elicited before the Court.

Mr. Richmond appears to have wished to leave it to your discretion to decide the extent and manner in which you would forward the work of the Court, and the precise position and capacity on which you would act, would in the event of your acceding to his request, be very much left to be determined by your own discretion, and by circumstances as they arose.

Mr. Mackay, the Native Commissioner of the district, has been furnished with copies of your reports and minutes, and will produce in Court the original deeds and plans of the reserves.

To what extent documents of the former character would be admitted in Court, I am not aware, but there can be no doubt that oral evidence on the subject of their contents would be required, and if given by yourself would be of special value.

It was also considered that from your acquaintance with the history of the various families of Natives at the time of the purchases, your presence would be of great assistance in eliciting by cross-examination, or calling of other witnesses any evidence of an unreliable character which might be adduced by any section of Native claimants.

Mr. Mackay will receive instructions to be guided by your directions wherever you wish it in bringing and calling for evidence before the Court.

In reference to the latter part of your letter in which you suggest that Mr. H. T. Kemp should attend the sitting of the Court as the Commissioner who conducted the purchase, I may observe that in the case of the Ngaitahu block, it is not the purchase as conducted by Mr. Kemp, but the arrangements as subsequently made by yourself, affecting the reserves, which will be the subject of investigation by the Court.

I have, &c.,
T. Haultain.

The Hon. W. B. D. Mantell.