Herbert S. Wardell, Esq., R.M., to the Native Secretary.

In obedience to His Excellency's request conveyed in your letter of the 3rd ultimo, I have made inquiry into the case of disputed boundary at Porirua, and have now the honour to report thereon.

On receiving the necessary preliminary information, which was very readily afforded by the Crown Lands Commissioner, I visited Porirua and had an interview with the parties concerned. I found a Mr. Stevens in possession of certain land which he contended he had purchased of the Crown, but which was claimed by Natives as part of the land reserved at the time of the sale of the district, and they produced a rough map of the reserves signed by Sir George Grey, a tracing of which (marked A) I enclose for your information. In explanation of this map, I enclose (B) a copy of the translation of the deed of sale, certified by Colonel McCleverty, on the map of the district in the Provincial Survey Office.

Having visited the land in dispute in company with Mr. Swainson, District Surveyor, I find that Mr. Stevens is undoubtedly occupying part of the land reserved by the Natives, and I have indicated the position of the land so occupied by him by an asterisk on the tracing (Enclosure A). This difficulty appears to have arisen partly from a mistake in the survey of the stream forming the boundary of the Native land, which made Section 25 (that purchased by Mr. Stevens) appear to contain more land than it really did, but chiefly from Mr. Park, the then Provincial Surveyor, having given Stevens for his western boundary "a line equalizing the stream," instead of the stream itself, in consequence of which Stevens has occupied land on the Natives' side of the stream.

Mr. Swainson's letter (Enclosure C), together with the tracing of the map from which Stevens's selection was made (Enclosure D), will put you in possession of the circumstances under which the survey was made for Mr. Stevens, and their result. On the tracing you will observe the correct position of the stream laid down, and the extent to which the line which Mr. Park gave as an equalizing one encroached on the Native land. As, however, the stream has always been the boundary of Section 25, and as Mr. Stevens's application for land is for "Section 25, about one hundred acres," and afterwards "for the remainder of Section 25," the land on the opposite (western) side of the stream has not been sold to him. Whether he is entitled to compensation for any mistake into which he may have been led by Mr. Park giving him a line as his boundary instead of the stream, it is not for me now to express an opinion, but I may state that he has cleared about thirty acres of land, and erected some rough buildings and about one hundred chains of bush fencing. All this is done on Native land.

The Natives have repeatedly complained to Stevens of his occupying their land, but he appears to have considered that he was not bound to pay any attention to their remonstrances unless it came through the Government, and it was only on their absolutely preventing him from doing more work on their land that he applied to the Crown Lands Commissioner on the subject. The Natives were very anxious that Mr. Stevens should immediately remove from their land: as to do so would be attended with much inconvenience to Mr. Stevens, I arranged with them, subject to His Excellency's approval, that they should receive the sum of £10 if they allow Mr. Stevens to remain in peaceful possession until the 31st December next. They profess to value Mr. Stevens's clearing, &c., very lightly, as they say it has all been done against their protest.