No. 3.
Mr Commissioner Kemp to the Chief Commissioner.

I have the honor to report for the information of His Excellency the Officer Administering the Government that the purchase of a block of land, estimated, to contain from twelve to eighteen hundred acres, in the Bay of Islands, was finally completed on the 2nd instant, and payment to the amount of One hundred pounds sterling (£100) made to the Native owners, in the presence of Pene Taui, one of the leading chiefs of this part of the island.

The particulars connected with this purchase are these:—Some time ago two or three of the leading chiefs of the Urikapana tribe visited Auckland, and offered this block to the Government, when they received from the Governor a promise that, so soon as an officer was appointed to the Bay of Islands, the purchase, if a desirable one, should be made. In compliance with His Excellency's promise, I entered upon an early investigation of the ownership of this land, and, after allowing time sufficient for any outstanding claimants to appear, with the assurance also of Tamati Waka and Pene Taui that the proper claimants had been consulted, I concluded the transaction, and the deed, which is herewith enclosed, with its translation, was duly signed, and the money equally distributed between the parties concerned. A rough sketch of the block is also enclosed for His Excellency's information. The land described in this deed is situate on the shores of the Bay of Islands; is for the most part hilly, but abounds with timber suitable for ship or boat building and for fuel, and is accessible by boats at high water. It is known as the Waitapu and Kaipatiki.

I believe this is the first purchase made by the Government direct from the Natives in this neighbourhood. The price paid is, perhaps, somewhat higher than is usually given by the Government; but, as a preliminary measure, and as an inducement for further and more extensive sales, the sum thus given will not, I think, be considered unreasonable.