Captian Porter, Gisborne, to the Under-Secretary, Native Department.

I have the honor to furnish the following report of my land-purchase transactions for the year ended the 31st May, 1876:—

By reference to the schedule attached hereto, it will be seen that a total area of 324,011 acres is under offer and negotiation: 142,622 acres is shown in course of completion and prices fixed, and 181,389 acres under offer, but for which negotiations have been deferred, pending the investigation of the several titles by the Native Lands Court, and for which prices have not yet been arranged. The Waitahaia and Aorangi Wai Blocks, representing a total of 59,252 acres have passed the Court during the last month, and were in each case adjudged to the hapus and persons with whom I had dealt in my preliminary negotiations. The deeds of conveyance for these blocks have been signed, and with the exception of a few signatures required from grantees at a distance, are now complete. The authority for survey of the other blocks has been issued by Mr. Baker, Deputy Inspector of Surveys, and at the next sittings of the Lands Court I trust to be able to report a very large area of land passing through on Government account.

In my negotiations for the past year, I have found it necessary to depart in one or two instances from the generally existing systems of land purchase throughout the island, and I take the liberty of pointing out their disadvantages. The first is the payment of advance, or earnest money, on lands before the title to them has been adjudged by the Native Lands Court. I found that in almost every case there were two parties, claimants and counter-claimants, and the onus of deciding the right of one or other of these fell to the Purchase Officer, a responsibility that he should not incur at the risk of wrongfully paying away Government money, which, apart from other reasons, determined me to ask the Government to allow of my, discontinuing payments of this nature within my district, and which request was willingly approved by you.

The next subject is that of surveys. I have instituted the system of throwing the onus of this upon the Natives, by arranging with them the price per acre, less the cost of survey. I have found this a very good precaution, as, knowing they have to pay, the Natives are careful not to cause delays, or to lead over wrong boundaries, as is often the case in surveys of Native lands to which the title is disputed, and further, the Government incur no risk of loss.

The obtaining of signatures, in accordance with the provisions of the Native Lands Act, within my district, entails a great deal of unnecessary expense to Government, and delay in completion of transactions. I particularly refer to the necessity of having an interpreter authorized by the Act, and the presence of a Resident Magistrate. I find this is a most unpleasant feature of my duty, as, however anxious to complete deeds of purchase, I am wholly dependent upon these officers, as in several instances I missed favourable opportunities owing to the inability to obtain one or other of them. I have seriously considered the disadvantages Government work under in comparison with the private speculator: Government under the present system are compelled to employ two officers to carry out their purchases, namely, Purchase Officer and interpreter, whereas the private speculator page 390has only to employ the interpreter, who invariably acts as negotiator also. This is obviously prejudicial to Government interests, and gives an unfair advantage to private dealers; and it would be only right that Purchase Officers, where qualified, should be allowed to act as interpreter in conjunction with the Resident Magistrate, as required by the Act.

In concluding, I may remark that, with the exception of these few remediable difficulties in connection with the service, I have much pleasure in reporting that all my dealings with the Natives have been most satisfactory, and have not met with any obstruction or opposition; on the contrary, I have received valuable assistance from the leading chiefs of the tribe, who unanimously express themselves satisfied at the workiug of the policy.