I have the honor to report that after having settled the limits of the Rama Rama purchase, I proceeded to negotiate for the land in the district of Waiuku offered by the Ngatitipa, as directed in the Hon. the Colonial Secretary's B.C. 52/1265.

I found that this block was the joint property of the Ngatitipa, the Ngatitahinga, the Ngatitamaoho, and the Ngatitehinga tribes, or in other words that these four tribes had all claims on the land. The three former of whom unanimously agreed to dispose of it to the Crown, but the sale was opposed by Katipa, Chief of Ngatiteata as will be seen by the enclosed letter which I received from Te Katipa, which I beg to forward with a copy of the answer I returned to that Chief.

To have rejected the offer on this account would have given offence to the three first mentioned tribes, who are the acknowledged proprietors; I therefore thought it most prudent to bring about an amicable understanding between them and Te Katipa before I either decidedly accepted or rejected their offer, and having obtained the consent of the other tribes to allow Katipa to participate in the sale and receive a share of the payment, which I am given to understand is what he in reality wants. I employed a Chief named Karaka, who acts as a neutral negotiator and peace maker in all the Native differences in the Waikato river, to settle this difficulty before proceeding to mark the land or take further steps in the matter, and I feel confident that from these measures, his consent will be fully obtained in a few days.