He said pā, cultivations and burial grounds had definitely never been sold to the company, although roads had since been cut through some of them. He found that the interpreters used by the company had also failed to explain the amount of land being negotiated or the reserve system in a way that was intelligible to the Māori. Spain recommended that the government pay all compensation that was due—possibly as much as £6000 in the North Island alone—and that the company be awarded a Crown grant only after it had repaid that amount to the government. In January 1844 FitzRoy visited Wellington and reopened negotiations with Wakefield on compensation, making clear that no Crown grants would be issued until compensation was paid. Wakefield agreed to pay £1500 to the Port Nicholson area Māori, although their chiefs, led by those of Te Aro pā, rejected that amount—which had been calculated by Clarke alone—as inadequate. The standoff continued for several days until the sum was accepted and distributed in shillings. In March Spain and Clarke tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a compensation deal with Te Rauparaha and Te Rangihaeata for land in the Hutt Valley. Although rebuffed, Spain and Clarke would not accept the Māoris' refusal, deciding that the Port Nicholson area had to be completely ceded and that compensation money would simply be banked for later use by Ngāti Toa. In a letter to Te Rauparaha Spain cited Emer de Vattel's work, "Law of Nations", to explain that a civilised nation had the right to occupy a country or continent occupied by "erratic" people who were not making productive use of the land, as such inhabitants could not be seen as having true, legal possession. By April 1844 most of the Māori titles in the Port Nicholson district were settled and the vital town site and most of the country area were secured for European occupation. Spain returned to Manawatu and Wanganui, but discovered chiefs now refused to sell regardless of the level of compensation, ignoring William Wakefield's attempt to distribute £1000 in gold and silver coins. Although the Land Claims Ordinance authorised Spain only to "respectfully recommend" the payment of compensation, he told chiefs: "Your refusal to accept the payment will not prevent the land going to the Europeans." He awarded the company almost all it had claimed and held the money for it to be later claimed by Māori in those areas. Spain's most problematic inquiry was the one he conducted over the company's claims in Taranaki where, since 1842, Te Āti Awa Māori had been returning home in increasing numbers, after lengthy periods of captivity by Waikato and Ngāti Maniapoto iwi.