Did the inferior Natives claim Rights in the Houses, or Property in the Land?
- Not any, I believe.
They do not share in the Value of the Houses or Property the Chief sells?
- Not at all; only the Relations of the Chief.
Have you ever been present when a Bargain has been struck for Land?
- I have not.
Have you been yourself a Proprietor of Land?
- They offered me several Times to make me a Present of Land if I would stay with them; and they offered me to cut down One of the Trees, if I thought proper, to take it to England.
Are there any large continuous Tracts of Land which have been sold there, or are they only in small detached Parcels?
- In small detached Parcels, generally; that at the Kiri Kiri is, I understand, one of the largest; it was one of the largest when I was there ; but I have since heard there are very large Tracts sold lately.
In speaking of the Sales of Land, there are Two Sorts of Chiefs, the upper and inferior Chiefs?
- There are.
Can the inferior Chiefs sell the Land without the Consent of their Superiors?
- No; they are not capable of selling any Spot of Land without the Consent of the superior Chief, if there is any Claim upon it. Sometimes there are inferior Chiefs in Possession of Land under the Protection of the Superior, and they have been Chieftains at some former Time, but having been weakened in Battle have thrown themselves under the Protection of the principal Chief. They may possess Land independent of the principal Chief; I believe that is the Fact in some Instances.
You understood no Inferior possessed of Land can sell it without the Consent of the Head of his Tribe?
- I believe not.
What Number of European Traders, do you suppose, there are settled in New Zealand?
- They are much more numerous now than when I was there; when I was there there were at the Bay itself about Five.
By Traders, you mean those who sold Stores to Ships or Vessels of that Kind?
- Yes; that is the Nature of the Business carried on at that Time, except those who kept what are called the Grog Shops.
Including those, how many were there?
- I cannot say, for almost all the runaway Convicts did that when they could.
They are settled at the Bay of Islands?
- Whenever they could purchase Grog from the Vessels, they sold it to the Chiefs or anybody. Whenever one of them had a small Keg of Rum, he made it known to the others; so that every one there in his Turn was a Grog Shopkeeper.
You state that there were 400 or 500 European Sailors and Convicts?
- Yes.
Some of those are settled among the Tribes?
- Yes.
Are the others that live in their own Houses a great Number?
- Very few.
What Number of Proprietors of Land are there?
- All those are Proprietors of Land, I believe, to a greater or less Extent.
Are there any Englishmen settled there as the Proprietors of Land?
- Yes.
