Report on Petition of Hotereni Taipari and Another.

Petitioners allege that at the opening of the Thames Gold Fields they gave up an acre of land in the Township of Shortland, then the centre of the gold-mining district, to the Government as a site for Courthouses and other public buildings to be established there permanently. They further state that all the Courts have now been removed to another locality, and that they consider that the land given by them for a purpose which has ceased to be carried out should revert to them, and they ask accordingly for a return of the land.

I am directed to report as follows:—

That the land referred to by the petitioners was given for certain public purposes under a verbal arrangement between the Natives and Mr. Mackay, upon certain conditions, which conditions have partially fallen into abeyance. Under all the circumstances of the case, the Committee are of opinion that a fair solution of the difficulty would be to pay the Native owners the fair value of the land, exclusive of buildings and improvements, on condition of the Crown becoming legally entitled to the land with the tenements erected thereupon.

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[Translation.]
Ko te Kupu a te Komiti mo runga i te Pukapuka-inoi a Hotereni Taipari me tetahi atu.

E ki ana nga kai-inoi, i hoatu e ratou, i te whakatuwheratanga o te whenua koura i Hauraki, tetahi eka whenua i te taone o Hotereni, i waenganui pu o te Takiwa keri koura. Ko taua whenua i hoatu ki te Kawanatanga hei tunga mo te Whare-whakawa me etahi atu whare tuturu ki reira. E ki ana hoki ratou kua nukuhia nga Kooti ki tetahi atu wahi a e mea ana ratou ko te whenua i hoatu ra e ratou mo tetahi mea kua mutu nei tona tikanga me whakahoki ki a ratou a e tono ana ratou kia whakahokia te whenua ki a ratou.

Kua whakahaua ahau kia ki penei atu ki te Whare:—

Ko te whenua e whakahuatia ana e nga kai-inoi he mea hoatu mo etahi tikanga e tau ana ki te katoa i runga i tetahi korero a-ngutu a nga Maori ratou ko Te Make i runga i etahi whakariteritenga, ko aua whakariteritenga kua hapa inaianei. I runga i nga tikanga katoa o tenei mea e whakaaro ana te Komiti ko te mea marama kia utua ki nga Maori no ratou te whenua te utu tika mo te whenua, haunga ia mo nga whare me nga whakapaipaitanga i runga i te mea ka whakatuturutia rawatia ki te Kawanatanga te whenua me nga whare e tu ana i runga.