Enclosure 1 in No. 20.
Chief Commissioner's Report upon Native Reserves.

Sir,—

I have the honor, in accordance with your Honor's request, to report upon the subject of the Native Reserves in this Province. I regret that the matter should have been so long delayed, and that the required information could not at once be placed at the disposal of the gentlemen appointed as Commissioners under the provisions of "The Native Reserves Act, 1856," but the state of the records in the Land Office relating to the Native Reserves is so defective that I have had great difficulty in ascertaining the actual state of the legal position of many of the reserves, and my report is therefore not so entirely satisfactory as I could desire.

In the first place the Commissioners request to be furnished with maps of all the reserves. This has hitherto been an insurmountable difficulty from the fact of the Survey Department being unable to overtake the amount of work required of it, but the strength of the department having been increased, I have every hope that maps of such of the reserves as have been surveyed and recorded will shortly be furnished.

The reserves appear to have been numbered with reference to the several purchasers from the Natives; thus those reserves which are made in the Northern District, the Native title to which was extinguished by Mr. W. Mantell in 1848-49, commence with the No. 9. The reserve so numbered, although recorded in the Otago Land Office, is in fact in the Canterbury Province, and appears to be the consecutive number of reserves made further to the north, a system which is carried on by the most northerly reserve in the Province of Otago being numbered 10, whilst the reserves in the Murihiku District, the purchase of which was effected by Mr. Mantell in 1853 and 1854, commence with No. 1.

I consider it will be more convenient to notice the reserves in the order of their number in preferance to their date of reservation, although the plan has some inconvenience.

Reserve No. 1 was made by Mr. Commissioner Mantell at the date of purchase of the Murihiku Block. It was surveyed by Mr. Kettle. It is situated on the east bank of the Mataura. Its contents are 287 acres, and it is partly open land and partly bush; the exact quantity of each has not been accurately ascertained, but it is presumed that about one-third of the land is covered with timber. There are but few Natives residing on the spot,—I believe but one family and its connections. The reserve is situated in the best place for a ferry over the Mataura on the present known route to the south. The soil is good and well adapted for cultivation, both upon the Native and European plans.

Reserve No. 2 was reserved at the same period as Reserve No. 1. It is situated at Omahui on the East Head of the entrance to the New River, and comprises 1,686 acres, about one-half of which is covered with bush. The soil is mostly good, and is well suited to Native cultivation. As in all the Native reserves at the South, it combines also the advantages of situation, being near to the mouth of the New River, which will ultimately become the main channel of communication with the interior country; and being on the coast, the Natives can easily supply themselves with fish. In the selection of all these reserves the Natives were consulted. They are therefore the best suited to meet the wants of the Natives, and combine the advantages of being situated in a position which will ultimately acquire commercial value. Of the number of inhabitants or the state of their cultivations, I have no means at hand of forming an estimate.

Reserve No. 3 is in the same position as to the period of its reservation as the previous reserves. It is situate at One, on the West Head of the New River within the lower harbour, and comprises 176 acres, partly bush and partly open land in about equal proportions. It is well suited for cultivation, and has a commercial value from its situation.

Reserve No. 4 is similar to the above, and is situate at Aparuna, East Head of Jacob's River, and contains 527 acres, about one-half of which is bush land; the soil is good and the place well adapted for cultivation. It has a high position value, as it abuts upon the village of Riverton, being doubtless part of the land which would have been set aside for the town had it not been preserved for the Natives.

Reserve No. 5, the same as the above, is situate at Oraka, Huritiu Point, Colak's Bay. It comprises 1,132 acres, mostly bush land, well suited for Native purposes. If the country were generally occupied it would have a position value.

Reserve No. 6 is in the same legal position as the foregoing reserves. It is situated at Kawhaka-putaputa, Wakapato Point, and comprises 977 acres, chiefly bush land. It is much of the nature of the other southern reserves, but no accurate information can be obtained at Dunedin relative to it.

Reserve No. 7 is in the same legal position as the foregoing. It is situate at Onetoto, and is a promontory projecting into the sea. It comprises 90 acres, and is entirely open land. This appears to be the last reserve made at the time of the Murihiku purchase.

There appears to be no reserve numbered 8.

Reserve No. 9 is situate on the north side of the Waitangi, and is therefore in the Province of Canterbury.

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Reserve No. 10 was reserved by Mr. Commissioner Mantell, 11th November, 1848-49, and was surveyed by Mr. Alfred Mills, Surveyor to the New Zealand Company. It is situate on the south bank of the Waitaki, about fourteen miles from the mouth of the river, and is called Te Punaomaru. It comprises 376 acres, and is open land. It appears to have been set aside for the family of a particular chief named Huru Huru. Its agricultural capabilities I have no means of ascertaining. It has a position value, being the place from which passengers are ferried across the Waitaki. It is destitute of bush, but a reserve was made by Mr. Mantell of bush on the west cliff of Waipanra Valley, but which was not surveyed. No description of its extent is given, nor can I, from the records of the office or from Mr. Thomson's reconnoissance map, ascertain its position. There is a stream called by Mr. Thomson the Koura, which with the prefix of the word wai (water) would indicate the spot, but there appears to be no bush there. This supposed reserve is referred to as 10. Another small reserve is said to have been promised by Mr. Mantell, at Hakatara-mea, Waitaki Gorge, about thirty miles inland of Te Puna Omaru, but I cannot, from the records of the office, ascertain its position. This reserve appears to have been recommended, by Mr. Mantell to be 150 acres for the special use of a Native and his family of the name of Te Warekorari, who appears to have been a resident on the spot. Mr. Mantell in a letter to the Hon. the Colonial Secretary of the 19th March, 1853, speaks of being about to visit the spot and send a sketch survey, but no further record can at present be found in this office. I have reason to believe that the reserve is on the north side of the River Waitangi, and is therefore in the Canterbury Province.

Reserve No. 11 was made at the time of the purchase of the northern portion of the Province in 1848-49. It is situate at Kakanui Bay, about fifteen miles north of Moeraki Bay. It comprises 75 acres, and is entirely open land. From a letter from Mr. Commissioner Mantell to the Colonial Secretary, of date 19th March, 1853, it would appear that this reserve was abandoned by the Natives, and Mr. Mantell recommended that an addition to the Moeraki Reserve should be made of 75 acres in lieu of the abandoned reserve, an arrangement which received the sanction of the Governor-in-Chief, as intimated in a communication from the Colonial Secretary to Mr. Mantell dated the 5th April, 1853. No further evidence of the transaction exists. The abandoned reserve does not appear to have been conveyed by the Natives, nor was any title to the land adjoining the Native Reserve at Moeraki given to the Natives. It will be the duty of the Commissioner for Native Reserves to consider within which class of reserve, as distinguished in the Native Reserve Act of 1856, this last-mentioned land comes, and whether the abandoned reserve can be considered legally abandoned.

Reserve No. 12 was made in 1848-49. It is situated at Moeraki, and was originally 500 acres in extent. An addition of 75 acres was sanctioned by His Excellency the Governor, as mentioned in report on Reserve No. 11. It is well wooded, and is a particularly valuable piece of land, both from the nature of its soil and position. In January, 1849, there were 87 Native inhabitants. Its present population or the extent of cultivation I have no official means of ascertaining.

Reserve 12b.—This is a reserve of 10 acres of timber in the Kuri bush, made by Mr. Commissioner Mantell in 1848.

Reserve No. 13 was made in 1848. It is situate at Waikouaiti. It originally comprised 1,800 acres, and was surveyed by Mr. Wills. Certain European cultivations were temporarily exempted from the reserve though situate in the centre of it. The land was afterwards given up to the Natives, the Governor disapproving of the exemption. Subsequently Mr. Kettle resurveyed the reserve, and extended its boundaries so as to include 2,393 acres 3 roods 24 perches, of which proceeding Mr. Mantell disapproved, and reported upon the subject to the Governor, whose decision was in favour of the extension, as intimated in the Colonial Secretary's letter of the 15th March, 1853. The reserve is well wooded and cultivated to a considerable extent, the soil is good, and the land from its position valuable. In 1848 there were 121 Native inhabitants. I have no official information as to their present number.

Reserve No. 14 was made in 1848. It is situate at Parakaunui Bay. It consists of two lots of land containing 270 and 28 acres respectively; the larger portion is chiefly wooded land, the soil is good and suited for cultivation. In 1848 there were 45 inhabitants.

Of the whole of the before-mentioned reserves, sketch maps will be furnished immediately they can be obtained from the Survey Office.

Reserve No. 15.—There is no reserve bearing this number, but I propose, for the sake of convenience, to give that number to the reserve at the Otago Heads. This reserve was made at the date of the purchase of the Otago Block by the New Zealand Company. It is in two lots, comprising about 4,305 acres and 2,073 acres respectively; the former portion adjoins a reserve for General Government purposes, for lighthouses, pilot station, &c., and it is not quite clear what the extent of the latter reserve is, as there is no record of it in the Land or Survey Offices, excepting that in one of the maps of the Survey Office a reserve is roughly marked off at the point which comprises about 250 acres. I have observed that Mr. Mantell, in a letter to the Colonial Secretary of date 17th August, 1854, states that extent (250 acres) to be too great, and that the error had arisen from the Crown Grant to the New Zealand Company, in which the extent of the Crown Reserve is estimated at 250 acres, and in the said letter he refers to a map copied from certain Parliamentary Papers, but for the present I have no means of knowing what the nature of the map was. The above reserve, No. 15, is well wooded, and contains much fine agricultural land. It has a high position value, and it is to be regretted that from its great extent and its monopolizing the whole of the land available for the site of a town, Europeans of good character and industrious habits have been prevented from settling in this neighbourhood. Thus the Natives have been deprived of the many benefits which would have arisen to them both pecuniarily and morally, had the nature of the reserve permitted their close contact with a civilized community.

The Commissioners will find a detailed account of the Maori population living at the Otago Heads in a report laid before the Presbytery in the course of the past year.

Reserve No. 16.—I propose to give this number to the reserve at the Taieri, which at present bears no number. This reserve was made at the time of the purchase of the Otago Block by the New Zealand Company. It is situate on the north bank of the Taieri River, extending from its mouth to the 31 page 118junction of the Taieri and Waihola waters. It comprises about 2,300 acres. Timber is scarce in proportion to its extent, but there is more than sufficient to supply the wants of the present Native inhabitants. A portion of this reserve at the western extremity is remarkably valuable for a site of a village. A few Natives live there, but the land generally is not made use of, the Natives preferring to cultivate the side of hills, and in doing so they have destroyed much valuable timber.

I find casual mention of a reserve near the mouth of the Clutha River. It is not accurately laid down in any map, and no mention is made of it in the record map. I have no means of ascertaining its extent. Indeed I do not think that it has ever been fixed.

Besides the above reserve, which may be said to be the whole coming strictly within that description, a reserve was made at Port Chalmers of nearly an acre in extent. It consists of sections 403 and 404, and a portion of unsurveyed land. It is not shown on the record plan. This reserve was recommended by Mr. Mantell, and was sanctioned by the Governor in 1854 and 1855.

A quarter of an acre adjoining, viz section 401, was purchased by Mr. Mantell from Mr. R. Williams with the sanction of the Governor. The reserve was made under the pretence of its being required for the use of the Natives landing at Port Chalmers; but for that purpose it is entirely useless, as it has a steep frontage to the beach of considerable elevation. It has never been used by the Natives.

A reserve for a similar object was made at Dunedin. Its exact extent is not defined, but comprises all the land between the shore of the harbour and the east side of Princes Street, and abuts upon the land upon which the Manse has been built. This reserve was made upon the authority of the Governor; but it appears to me that His Excellency the Governor exceeded the powers vested in him in this latter case, the land in question having been already set apart as a public reserve under the Otago Terms of Purchase.

It will however be the especial duty of the Commissioners under the Native Reserves Act to ascertain the correct legal position of both these latter reserves. If reserves at all, they are lands over which the Native title has been extinguished. As reserves for the object contemplated, they are utterly useless.

In closing this Report, I cannot but regret that it should be so imperfect, and that it should have been so long delayed by my being under the necessity, in the intervals afforded from the discharge of my other duties, of reading over the whole correspondence of Mr. Commissioner Mantell with the Colonial Secretary during three years, and having had repeatedly to search the Land and Survey Office for maps, which will, I trust, be an excuse to your Honor for the delay.