No. 173 of 1881.—Petition of Wiremu Patene and Aperahama Patene.

Petitioners say that in 1879 they petitioned concerning a house of theirs which a European named Lazure had burnt down in April, 1879, and that the loss sustained was £350. They pray for redress.

I am directed to report as follows:—

That the petition of 1879 was a letter to the then Native Minister (Mr. Sheehan), to which there seems to have been no written reply, though there was a verbal reply that Government would favourably consider a formal application to make good a portion of the loss. The Committee would recommend that Government should now consider the case, with a view to giving effect to such promise.