No. 222, Sess. II.—Petition of Retreat Tapsell.

Petitioner states that about the year 1864 the leading chief of the Arawa Tribe—namely, Tohi te Ururangi—fell in battle; that the Governor, in recognition of his services in the field, granted a pension of £20 to Ngatai, his only daughter; that in 1881 the said Ngatai received notice that the Government intended to reduce the pension by £10, leaving her only £10 per annum. In consequence of the above the said Ngatai Tapsell considers herself aggrieved, and asks for consideration and relief.

I am directed to report as follows:—

That the original pension granted in 1864 on account of the death, in war, of the father of the petitioner's wife was £26 per annum. For some reason not minuted this sum was reduced, in 1866, to £20, one half payable under "The Military Pensions Act, 1866," and the other half from the Native Civil List. So the payments continued till 1880, when the latter half was struck off under a misapprehension of the history of the pension.

The Committee considers that the pension should be restored to the amount of £20 per annum, as paid from 1866 to 1880, and that the arrears from 1880, calculated upon this basis, should be paid over to the petitioner's wife; and, further, that the Government should take into its consideration whether, under all the circumstances of the case, the full pension of £26 per annum, as originally granted, should not for the future be paid to the wife of the petitioner.

[Translation.]
No. 222, Sess. II.—Pukapuka-inoi a Retireti Tapihana.

E Ki ana te kai pitihana i te tau 1864 i hinga a Tohi te Ururangi he rangatira no te Arawa i runga i tetahi whawhai. A ko te Kawana i runga i tana whakaaro mo te mahi a Tohi Ururangi ka hoatu he penihana e £20 i te tau kia Ngatai tamahine a Ururangi a i te tau 1881 ka tae te pukapuka a te Kawana kia Ngatai ki te ki atu e whakahokia iho ana e te Kawanatanga tana penihana ki te £10 heoi te penihana mana i te tau £10 no runga i tenei ka whakaaro a Ngatai Tapihana kua mate ia e tono ana kia whakaarohia kia whakaputaina tetahi ora mona.

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Kua whakahaua ahau kia ki penei:—

Ko te penihana i hoatu i mua i te tau 1864 mo runga i te matenga o te matua o te wahine a te kai pitihana e £26 i te tau no runga i tetahi take kahore nei i tuhia ka whakahokia iho nga moni i te tau 1866 ki te £20 ko tetahi hawhe i utua i raro i te Ture Penihana 1866 ko tetahi hawhe na te Tari Maori i utu, ka penei te utu taea noatia te tau 1880 no reira ka wkakamutua tetahi hawhe i runga i te pohehe o te tikanga o te penihana.

Ko te Komiti e whakaaro ana me whakahoki te penihana ki te £20 i te tau pera me te utunga i te tau 1866 tae atu ki te tau 1880 ko nga moni i puritia i muri iho i te tau 1880 me utu atu ano i runga i tenei tikanga ki te wahine a te kai pitihana ko tetahi hoki me whakaaro e te Kawanatanga mehemea i raro i nga tikanga o tenei kehi e kore ranei e tika kia hoatu te penihana tawhito ara te 26 pauna i te tau i whakaritea i te tuatahi kia utua ki te wahine a te kai pitihana.