No. 119.—Petition of Rihitoto Mataia and 3 Others.

Petitioners pray that legislation may be enacted to enable them to obtain a rehearing in the matter of Ohinemuri No. 20 Block, they having been deprived of the same through alleged wrongful judgments of the Native Land Court Judges.

I have the honour to report that the Committee, having gone carefully into the matter, find that the judgments delivered by different Judges of the Native Land Court in connection with the lands in question are somewhat conflicting, they therefore recommend that the petition be referred to the Government for inquiry; and, in doing so, call attention to the judgments delivered by Judge Gudgeon in connection with an adjoining block, wherein the claimants' cases were exactly similar to the Ohinemuri No. 20 case.