No. 24.
T. H. Smith, Esq., to His Excellency Sir George Grey, Governor-in-Chief.

I have the honour to inform your Excellency that, at the request of the chiefs of the Ngatipikiao Tribe, I was present at a meeting held by them at Wharetata, on the Rotoiti Lake, on the 10th instant, for the purpose of determining the boundaries of a block of land they wish to offer to the page 16Government as a site and endowment for a hospital to be established in the vicinity of the Rotoiti Hot Springs.

The unfavourable state of the weather prevented my being present until the conclusion of the meeting, when many of the parties interested had left; but I have every reason to believe that they were unanimous in deciding upon the boundaries described in their letter to your Excellency, and very desirous to give up the land if it should prove a means of bringing Europeans to reside amongst them. As soon as the weather permitted, those who remained, a party of fifty or sixty, carried and accompanied me round the boundaries, by which means I am enabled to form a rough estimate of the extent of the block, which must contain upwards of four hundred acres at the lowest computation, and more than one half of this is available for agricultural purposes.

The proprietors of the land were anxious to be informed, first, whether they would be required immediately to cease occupying and cultivating certain portions contained within the boundaries of the land proposed to be given up; and, secondly, whether they would be allowed permanently to retain the use of the "ngawha" (natural ovens formed by the steam issuing out of the ground in the neighbourhood of the hot springs), more particularly at Ruahine, these being invaluable to them in the process of preparing the "tawa" berry. My answer to the first question was that I thought they might continue to occupy and cultivate until they received intimation to the contrary from those in whom the land was vested, but that the right of occupation, &c., was now transferred. With respect to the use of the ngawhas, I could not answer the question as to whether or not a permanent; reservation might be made, but gave my opinion that no restriction would be laid upon their use as long as they were required for the purpose before mentioned.

The sketch which accompanies the letter to your Excellency, signed by the Ngatipikiao chiefs, showing the boundaries of the block of land proposed to be given up, must not be relied upon for any great degree of accuracy, as it was drawn without the aid of even a compass; the bearings and distances were guessed, the former from the position of the sun, and the latter from personal knowledge and such information as could be obtained by me.