.jpg)
No. 11.
Petition of Te Whiwhi and other Natives at Otaki.
Ki te Runanga Nui o Niu Tireni.
I tae atu ano te pukapuka a Ngatiraukawa i te tau 1865 ki te Runanga o Poneke, kia whakatuwheratia te ture tutakinga o Ohau atu a puta atu ki Manawatu tae atu ki Rangitikei, kia tukua mai te Kooti Whakawa ki o matou whenua.
Ka puta te kupu a te Runanga kia kotahi tau, kia kore tonu e hohoro te mahi a te Petatone e oti pai, katahi ka tuwhera i te Runanga nga Kooti Whakawa ki o matou whenua.
Heoti ki ta matou mahara atu kua oti i a koutou i runga i ta koutou kupu i ki ai, kia kotahi tau e tatari ana ki ta te Petatone mahi, ka whakarite ai e te Runanga he Kooti Whakawa mo enei whenua tutaki, a kahore matou i mahara, me tuhi atu ano tetehi pukanuka i te tau 1866, katahi ano ka mohio me tuhituhi atu ano koia tenei ka tukua atu ki te Runanga kia whakaaetia mai taua kupu kia tuwhera aua whenua ki te Kooti Whakawa whenua Maori. He tono ta matou ki te Runanga, mahara mai to koutou whare ki ta matou tono. Ka mate matou i te ture kore.
[Translation.]
To the General Assembly of New Zealand.
In the year 1865 the Ngatiraukawa sent a petition to the Parliament in Session at Wellington, praying that the country lying between Ohau and Rangitikei, including Manawatu, might not be excluded from the operation of the Native Lands Act, but that the land Court might be allowed to operate in the case of our land claims.
The Assembly replied that, if after the expiration of one year Dr. Featherston's purchase was; not near completion, then the Assembly would cause the Lands Court to be open to receive our claims.
We thought all had been done in accordance with the terms contained in your reply to us: that one year should be allowed to elapse whilst Dr. Featherston was carrying on his negotiations; after which, the Assembly would empower the Native Lands Act to operate in the claims to the land excluded. We did not know it would be necessary to make another petition in the year 1866. We have only now become aware that it was necessary to have done so. We therefore now make this our petition to the General Assembly, and pray you to allow the Native Lands Court to have power to act in the case of our laud claims. We make this petition to the Assembly: let your Honourable House favourably consider our prayer. We suffer much from want of law.
[Here follow five signatures.]