Maori Deeds of Old Private Land Purchases in New Zealand, From the Year 1815 to 1840, with Pre-Emptive and Other Claims

Preface

Preface.

1.	This volume of Deeds forms no part of the series already published, but is complete in itself, being a literal transcript of all the Old Land and Pre-emptive Claims which were heard and decided by the various Commissioners appointed for that purpose; together with a correct list of all other Claims forwarded to the Government, but which were afterwards allowed to lapse either through not being presented in Court, or which after due hearing were finally disallowed. A Schedule of these and all other Claims, with their final adjudication, will be found either in the Parliamentary Papers published in London in 1841-42, or in the Appendix to Journals for 1863, D.-No. 14. Mr. Commissioner Bell's Report of 8th July, 1862, giving an exhaustive account of the entire question, will be found at the end of this volume, page 625; together with a Return of Land Claims finally settled since the date of that Report.
2.	The letters "O.L.C." in the Index stand for "Old Land Claims" number, and "P.C." for "Pre-emptive. Claim" as given in the Appendix above named. The "Schedule No." refers to the number of the claim as inserted in the same document, and "O.C." stands for "Other Claims." Several of these numbers are wanting in the originals. See Appendix, page 96.
3.	The number of acres given chiefly represent what the purchaser claimed, or what the Commissioners allowed, without reference to "latitude and longitude," or the number of "square miles" so modestly demanded by some of the claimants. When surveyed the true area has been given; but where the boundaries are defined by mountains, hills, trees, flags, stones, stumps, huts, or even "holes in the ground," without any proper survey, it must have been rather difficult to compute the real acreage of the purchase. But the Commissioners settled all such questions according to the evidence given, and generally to the satisfaction of the claimants.
4.	There are very few Surveyors' Plans drawn on these Deeds, and those only of an insignificant character. But there are many pen-and-ink sketches attached, which, however, give no specific area or correct description of the blocks referred to, and therefore have not been copied.
5.	All the Deeds and Claims have been copied and printed verbatim et literatim, with all their errors complete, so as to be true copies of the original. The claimants, therefore, and not the compositors, are accountable for the numerous mistakes to be found in this volume.

H. Hanson Turton.

Wellington, 21st April, 1882.