No. 13.
Mr. Commissioner Rogan to the Chief Commissioner.

With reference to your letter, dated 27th ulto., requesting me to proceed to Omaha to communicate with Te Kiri, and enquire into and report on land claimed by him within the Pakiri blocks, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, I have the honor to acquaint you that I proceeded to Pakiri, and Stated to Kiri the object of my visit, and he agreed to accompany me over the boundaries of the land claimed by him.

Accordingly, on the following day, 15th instant, we proceeded to the ground, and followed along the Native pathway, which leads from Whakatuwhenua, or Cape Rodney, to Omaha, and when we arrived at a place which is marked M on the acccompanying tracing, Te Kiri halted and pointed out a spade mark, which he stated was made by him in presence of a number of Natives and the Surveyor, previous to the survey of the Pakiri block, and that he called Mr. Churton's attention to this place at the time, and Mr. McDonnell, who was one of the survey party, substantiated generally what Kiri stated. The claim he prefers is bounded by the line colored pink, and follows the water line from Whakatuwhenua along the coast to the point where that line strikes the harbour, which is shown on the accompanying tracing, and contains about (668) six hundred and sixty-eight acres.

We proceeded to Omaha, and I said to Te Kiri that I considered he was in error, in the first instance, in not having a clear understanding as to the land he wished to have reserved.

He replied that his boundary was pointed out to the Surveyor long before the land was surveyed, and, When it was being subdivided, he stopped the survey at the same place where the mark was made, and warned the Surveyor that the pegs would be pulled up.

I then stated to Kiri, that, without entering into the question as to who was right, in order to get rid of the misunderstanding which existed as regards the whole question, I proposed at once, on my own account, that he should waive his claim over the whole of the land claimed by him, and that I should secure him, say, five acres (5) of land in the township, and that I should recommend the Government to give him some small sum in addition, more in consideration of labour expended in building houses, planting, fencing, and cultivating, than any claim he might have to the land, telling him at the same time that I was not authorized by the Government to do so, and was not at all certain that my proposal would be approved. He considered this over for some time, and when I pressed him for a reply, he said he would not accept from the Government land which belonged to himself, and a discussion ensued which arrived at a point beyond which I did not think it advisable to persevere, and told him that I should leave the whole matter as it stood before.

He was then told, that it was matter between him and the Government, and not the survey party, who should be looked upon in the same manner as the bill hooks with which the lines were cut. He then replied that the survey might be proceeded with, but he should pull up the pegs, and he considered this was a sufficient protest.

After some time, I proposed that he should accompany me to Auckland, in order to decide the question in some way with Government, to which he at once assented.

When the vessel was prepared to sail for Auckland, Kiri came to me and represented that he was in great trouble owing to his son being in the last stage of consumption, and that his friends objected to his leaving the settlement in consequence. I promised either to write to him from Auckland, or to call at Pakiri soon to bring the question to an issue.

On my arrival in town I mentioned to Mr. Churton what Kiri advanced, and he admits having witnessed the mark being made, but is quite clear that Kiri is under a misapprehension as regards the Reserve, as he never, during the period of survey, explained to him that he intended to reserve this place, and that no question whatever arose until long after the survey was made and the money paid over to the Natives, and as the Chief Commissioner who negotiated this purchase is of the same opinion, I am inclined to think that the large reserye which Kiri now claims was an after-thought of his, although he seems quite clear that he never alienated this portion of the block.