interviews with the natives, I shall at present only briefly refer to a few of the more important incidents of the great native gathering at Takapu, on the banks of the Manawatu River. The meeting was attended by six tribes, numbering in the aggregate some seven hundred men. For the first time I succeeded in bringing all the tribes engaged in the dispute face to face, and had thus an opportunity of ascertaining whether there was any other solution of the difficulty than that of sale—whether they would agree to arbitration—to a division of the land—or to refer the dispute to the Native Land Court. The very announcement of these modes of surmounting the matter elicited an all but a unanimous refusal to entertain any one of them, and an emphatic declaration that the only possible solution was a cession of the whole of the disputed territory to the Crown, and that if I did not then and there accept their offer, an appeal to arms would be the only remaining alternative.

It was only after the discussion had lasted a fortnight—after they had intimated that they had all spoken—had nothing more to say, that I announced my acceptance of their offer upon the block. But, before doing so, I called upon the principal chiefs of the six tribes, viz.:—Wanganui, Ngatiapa, Rangitane, Ngatiua, Ngatiranuka, Mononpoko, and Ngatitukawa, publicly to state whether all of their people consented to the sale. Five of the tribes at once said, “All have consented—we are unanimous.” The Ngatiranguka, through their chief Tahana, expressed their regret that a small section of their people was opposed to the sale, but at the same time strenuously insisted upon my accepting the disposition and expressed their belief that the opposition would not be persisted in against the wish and decision of such an overwhelming majority of the tribe. My acceptance of their offer was no sooner announced than many of the principal opponents expressed their gratification, and signed the memorandum of agreement.

And now for the expenditure of purchase. Every effort has since been made by certain parties to induce the natives to withdraw from their engagements—in short, to foment strife and discord—to perpetuate and render incurable this long-festering sore. I venture to affirm that the final deed of sale will receive the signatures of all whose consent can be deemed in the slightest degree necessary to render the purchase of the Rangitikei-Manawatu block as complete and valid a purchase as has ever been effected from the natives. Considering that the six tribes have all either a direct or indirect interest in the land, and that probably between one and two thousand signatures will have to be obtained, it is scarcely possible that the deed will be completed before two months. There are two or three important questions still to be settled, viz., to what tribes the purchase money is to be paid—what proportion each tribe is to receive, and the appointment by the several tribes of chiefs to distribute the money. From information I have received, I have every reason to believe that these points will be, if indeed they have not already been, amicably arranged without their being referred to me. While the natives themselves have stipulated that no reserves shall be made in the deed of sale, for the simple reason, to quote their own words, that “Reserves would be a constant cause of strife between the races,” because the whole of the land from the Rangitiki River to the Manawatu River is agricultural ground, there is no part of it clear. Still, it is understood that, after the purchase is completed, reserves will be given them, their extent and precise locality being left entirely to my decision. You may be assured that they shall be ample, and that the natives will not be asked to give up any of their existing settlements. I need not say that you are mainly indebted to Mr. Walter Buller (whose services it will be my duty on a future occasion to bring under your special consideration) for the successful issue of these long, difficult and delicate negotiations.

The purchase money may to some appear excessive, but remember it is to be divided amongst six tribes, and that it is not merely payment for a block of land, but that it must be regarded as the price paid for the prevention of inter-tribal war, in which, had it broken out, all the tribes in this Province must, sooner or later, have become involved.

By the addition of this block to previous purchases you have now in the Manawatu District a valuable estate of some 500,000 acres. This estate (if you include expenses of surveys, &c.) will, before a single acre has been brought into the market, have cost you at least sixty thousand pounds. I must also remind you that the £25,000 required for the present purchase, will have to be borrowed, and must speedily be repaid—these the district, to render it available for settlement, will require costly public works, and that your principal territorial revenue must in future be derived from it.

The question these facts inevitably suggest is whether the Province is justified in disposing of—whether it can afford, without involving itself in financial difficulties, to sell its Manawatu lands at one-half or one-fourth of their real marketable value. There is no doubt that, under the existing regulations, you have power to sell all your lands by public auction, at any price you may fix—for instance, three townships in the Awahou and Upper Manawatu blocks will shortly be proclaimed. The lands within them have been laid off in town allotments, varying from a quarter to an acre—in suburban sections varying from 5 to 40 acres, and in rural sections of from 40 to 640 acres—these will be put up to auction at such price as may be deemed expedient, and if not then sold will remain open for selection at the upset price. By the simple process of proclaiming townships, you need not sell a single acre at 10s.; you can raise the price of all your land. But as there are many objections to the auction system, I wish you, if you are of opinion that any alteration in the price is desirable, to fix the price at which land shall be sold on the West Coast, without compelling intending purchasers to go to auction.

The success which has attended the small farm settlements in the Wairarapa will, I feel assured, induce you to afford every possible encouragement to the establishment of similar ones at Manawatu; but you will, at the same time, I trust, studiously guard against inflicting on such settlements the evils of an absentee proprietary, and especially against handing over the public estate to mere speculators. The proposals of the Small Farm Association, which has already assumed gigantic dimensions, and which will, if its scheme in its present form be agreed to, undoubtedly absorb the whole of the Rangitikei block, will require your careful consideration.

What strikes me as a serious objection to the plan is, that, apparently, it is not intended to insist upon actual occupation—that there is nothing in the regulations drawn up by the Committee to prevent the whole of the lands being bought merely for speculative purposes; nothing to ensure the location of a single settler on the so-called “Small Farm Reserve.” Now, as the fourth clause of the Amended Land Regulations clearly implies “speedy occupation and settlement,” it appears open to grave doubt whether the plan of the Association can legally be carried out. Anxious as I am to promote the views of those who are really desirous of locating themselves upon land, I would suggest that the most available block in the Manawatu district, say of 20,000 or 30,000 acres, should be set aside and sold at a fixed price—even at a price considerably below its market value—on the sole condition that the purchaser should take possession of his land within a certain time, and reside upon it for a definite period before he could claim a Crown Grant. This condition exists in the military settlements, is easily enforced, and is working beneficially, and, as far as I can gather the views of many of the promoters of the Association, would be hailed as a boon by all who intend to settle upon their land.

In all probability a proposal to locate a large population in the Manawatu will be submitted to you by Bishop Monrad, late Prime Minister