.IBRARY 
 
 THE UNIVERSFfY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 LOS ANGELES
 
 HISTORY OF NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 VOL. II.
 
 HISTOKY 
 
 OF 
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 BY 
 
 G. W. RUSDEN. 
 
 IN THREE VOLUMES. 
 VOLUME II. 
 
 Bonbon : 
 
 CHAPMAN AND HALL, LIMITED. 
 MELBOURNE AND SYDNEY: GEORGE ROBEUTSON. 
 1883. 
 
 [The Right of Translation and Reproduction is reserved.]
 
 fSungsiJ : 
 
 CLAY AND TAYLOR, PRINTERS.
 
 7? fib 
 
 CONTENTS OF VOLUME II. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 COLONIAL OFFICE REQUIRES INFORMATION ... 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 GOVERNOR BROWNE'S DEPARTURE 
 
 STATE OF THE MAORIS ... 
 
 THE WELD MINISTRY 
 
 NATIVF. LAND COURT ... 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SIR GEORGE BOWEN 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1 
 
 148 
 
 COLONEL WHITMORE 
 
 423 
 
 44G 
 
 520 
 
 11 5354 5
 
 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 COLONIAL OFFICE REQUIRES INFORMATION. 
 
 MATERIALS for forming an opinion of the gravity of the 
 situation were gradually supplied to the English Government. 
 The Duke of Newcastle, until July, 1860, seemed unconscious. 
 Parliament slumbered. Not since April, 1854, had New Zealand 
 papers been presented. In July, 1860, they were again laid on 
 the table. The Duke wrote that he could not " hold out any 
 hope that it would be possible to increase permanently the 
 present military force ; " sent out four silver-headed sticks " to 
 be given by the Governor to chiefs," l and started on a tour with 
 the Prince of Wales to the United States, leaving Sir G. Corne- 
 wall Lewis and Mr. Chichester Fortescue to sign documents 
 until his return. The former of the two brought a judgment 
 to bear which the Duke had wanted. He saw danger. Mr- 
 Richmond's celebrated but (as he called it) able and interesting 
 memorandum shocked him as it had shocked Sir W. Denison. 
 Her Majesty's Government had very carefully considered the 
 case, and were not prepared to meet Mr. Richmond's wishes. 
 " A policy which requires the continual presence of a large force 
 carries, in most cases, its condemnation on its face." 
 
 Mr. Richmond did not even hint at the propriety of investing 
 the Home Government with larger powers for dealing with the 
 
 1 Colonel Browne gave one forthwith to Hori Kingi Anaua of Wanganui 
 (Despatch ; 21et August, 1860). 
 
 VOL. II. B
 
 2 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 native question, nor at sharing the expenses of war. Sir G. 
 C. Lewis alluded " to these circumstances, not of course as 
 relieving the Home Government from the duty of supporting 
 the colony against a pressing danger, but because they must 
 materially affect the disposition of the British Government and 
 people to undertake that indefinite expenditure of blood and 
 treasure to which Mr. Richmond invites them." On the 27th 
 August, Mr. Fortescue referred to the complimentary addresses 
 from provincial bodies to the Governor, and to Bishop Selwyn's 
 protest against the address from Hawke's Bay, and while seeing 
 no reason to question the justice of the proceedings towards Te 
 Rangitake, asked for information upon the important question 
 now brought forward, " namely, of an alleged right, distinct from 
 one of property, existing in the chief of the tribe to assent to 
 or forbid the sale of any land belonging to members of the 
 tribe, in cases where all the owners are willing to sell, and how 
 far such a right has been or ought to be recognized by the 
 Crown." The reader has already been informed that the right 
 of Te Rangitake and his followers did not depend only on his 
 " mana," but included, besides the common tribal heritage and 
 occupation of d9iniciles, special occupation, by tribal arrange- 
 ment, of separate portions of the Waitara block. Many facts, 
 however, were not officially reported to England for several years, 
 and the legal significance of occupation by tribal arrangement 
 was not laid down by the Courts until 1869, in the Rangitikei- 
 Manawati case ; but it is possible that if Governor Browne had 
 made it known the Government in England would have forbidden 
 the prosecution of the war. Some occupation was known to 
 Mr. Richmond, but he denounced it as an encroachment on the 
 proper owners. Mr. Fortescue declared that it was the desire 
 of the Government to observe faithfully the letter and the spirit 
 of the Waitangi treaty, and asked for full information whether 
 apart from the treaty there were reasons in favour of recog- 
 nizing Te Rangitake's alleged rights, and whether, as appeared 
 " to be the truth, they do not justify the claims of Te Rangitake 
 upon the present occasion." 
 
 In reply to this query, Colonel Browne sent (4th December, 
 1860) a despatch compiled for him by Mr. F. D. Bell on 
 seignorial right. With its enclosures it occupied nearly a
 
 MR. C. W. RICHMOND'S OPINION. 3 
 
 hundred pages of a Parliamentary blue-book. It very erro- 
 neously declared that in the course he was pursuing, the Governor 
 was adhering to the policy of Hobson, Fitzroy, and Grey. 
 Fitzroy had distinctly recognized those Ngatiawa rights which 
 Browne was denying to Te Rangitake; and Fitzroy was reviled 
 for so doing by the very men who now applauded Colonel 
 Browne for using force to compel land sales. He made many 
 false deductions. Mr. Richmond supplied a characteristic 
 minute, which was appended to the despatch, as the opinion of 
 the Ministers. As to Maori land it contended " it would be 
 foolish to seek precedents for the regulation of dealings with 
 Europeans in the usages of a period when there were no 
 Europeans in the country." The inquiry must be whether the 
 right of veto had been recognized or asserted since the settle- 
 ment. " If not, no such right can be supposed to exist." Yet 
 by the treaty of Waitangi, in 1840, the Queen "confirms and 
 guarantees to the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand, and to the 
 respective families and individuals thereof, the full, exclusive, 
 and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates, forests, 
 fisheries, and other properties which they may individually or 
 collectively possess, so long as it is their wish and desire to 
 retain the same in their possession." In their own generation 
 the Ministry were indeed wise to refuse to look back so far. 
 But whatever they might refuse to do, the Secretary of State 
 should have remembered, or ascertained, that Mr. Spain had 
 recorded the fact that Rauparaha had power to forbid a sale of 
 land near Otaki. 1 Mr. Richmond concluded with his usual 
 formula. To have admitted Te Rangitake's claim would have 
 been " the dereliction of a plain duty, and an act of weakness 
 unattended by any advantage beyond the postponement of a 
 difficulty, which must soon have recurred in an aggravated 
 form." With singular contortion of reasoning power, he declared 
 that recognition of Rangitake's claims would have been " unjust 
 to the native proprietors," and that "it would have been an 
 abandonment of the principles laid down and acted upon by 
 successive Governors for the settlement of the Ngatiawa claims 
 in Taranaki." If the Secretary of State had referred to Captain 
 Fitzroy's despatches in 1844, he would have found that an 
 1 P. P. 1846. Vol. xxx. p. 102. 
 
 B 2
 
 4 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 entirely contrary course was then adopted ; that justice was done 
 and peace was maintained. There was a settler who made an 
 earnest appeal to the Governor before the troops were marched 
 into the field. He asked for a complete public and impartial 
 investigation of the title. " Over the whole block rides the 
 tribal or public interest . . . were the whole tribe consenting 
 the title would of course be clear . . . but Teira, so far from 
 having the whole tribe, has only an inconsiderable fraction in 
 his favour, while against him is arrayed the great majority 
 with the principal chief at their head." We learn from Mr. 
 Svvainson l that it was " not until nearly a year after the war 
 commenced that it was publicly known that such an appeal had 
 been addressed to the Governor." Such were the arts by which 
 the Ministerial position was maintained. 
 
 War was meanwhile proceeding at Taranaki. On the 6th 
 July the Governor wrote that though his injunction against 
 attacking Te Rangi take's bush pah had reference to the probable 
 effect of combining the Maoris against British authority, he was 
 " well convinced that any attempt to destroy the pah (which 
 was almost inaccessible) would prove abortive." Meanwhile, a 
 band of the Waikatos went as volunteers to join their country- 
 men. A pah, Puketakauere, was built within a mile of the 
 English camp at Waitara. There was a skirmish on the 23rd 
 June. Colonel Gold having employed Mr. Whiteley the 
 missionary to spy the state of the pah (as a guest on the 
 previous Sunday), authorized Major Nelson with 348 men of all 
 ranks to attack it on the 27th June. Browne reported : " After 
 a severe and gallant conflict he was obliged to retire with a 
 loss of 30 killed and 34 wounded. . . . This reverse is likely 
 to have a prejudicial effect upon our relations with the Maori 
 race generally, and it is not easy to foretell the consequences." 
 The Governor sent more troops almost denuding Auckland 
 and wrote to England for reinforcements. He warned Colonel 
 Gold to deal effectively with the enemy, " as the Maoris invari- 
 ably construe even escape into victory." Colonel Gold's strength 
 at the time was composed of 1188 of regular forces, and 573 
 
 1 'New Zealand and the War ' (p. 97), by William Swainson, formerly 
 Attorney-General for New Zealand. Londou : 1802.
 
 PUKETAKAUEKE. 5 
 
 militia and volunteers; but he found them insufficient. There 
 must be immediate reinforcements. Every available soldier 
 throughout Australia was required. Heavy guns were indis- 
 pensable, the artillery in hand being quite ineffective against 
 the Maori fortifications. Puketakauere was indeed a notable dis- 
 couragement to those who believed, with Busby, in 1837, that a 
 hundred soldiers would be more than a match for the combined 
 forces of all New Zealand. The pah was on a ridge between 
 two fern-covered gullies. Major Nelson's forces were in three 
 divisions, one of which was to cut off the retreat of the Maoris 
 towards the Waitara river. The artillery opened fire from 
 the north-west about 400 yards from the pah, but no breach 
 was made which justified an assault. Suddenly, from the fern, 
 unseen Maoris poured a fire on the main body of the troops. 
 Major Nelson ordered an advance towards a ditch and bank, 
 from whence, in extended order, the natives were firing. The 
 advance was made "in a most continued and gallant manner 
 until the men reached a deep ravine with an entrenchment 
 behind which they found it impossible to pass, it being defended 
 by two if not more large bodies of Maoris, who were almost 
 entirely concealed behind it, and another entrenchment in rear, 
 as well as the very high fern. Here a desperate and destructive 
 fire was opened upon us and gallantly returned. Our skir- 
 mishers being far fewer in number and exposed in a much 
 greater degree than the enemy, I deemed it desirable to direct 
 them to join the main body ; and our ammunition being nearly 
 expended I withdrew the whole of the men and returned to 
 camp in regular orcler." A civilian wrote : l "So much pressed 
 were the British at last, that it was only by a timely discharge 
 of canister shot that a retreat was effected. ... So hasty was 
 the retreat that many of the dead and wounded were left on the 
 field, and quantities of ammunition were shot out of the carts 
 into the fern to facilitate the flight." 
 
 The troops returned to their camp an hour before noon. The 
 Maoris were believed to have been far more numerous than the 
 English. It was said that those who were deployed in rear of the 
 troops were Ngatiawa, brought by Te Rangitake to aid the men 
 
 1 ' History of Taranaki,' p 208. B. Wells. New Zealand : 1878.
 
 6 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 of Waikato in the pah. The latter also sallied forth, and from 
 the fern and rifle-pits poured their fire upon the soldiers. After 
 an interval of a day the Maoris went forward and buried the 
 English dead within a mile of the English camp, and the 
 soldiery began to entertain more respect for their foes than was 
 felt by the settlers who lusted for the land. Two days before 
 the attack on Puketakauere, the Maori king died. One of his 
 last acts was to write to his old friend Sir William Martin, and 
 beg him to be kind to the Maoris. Colonel Browne, as if uncon- 
 scious that his own views had become of no significance, reported 
 that he knew not the intention of the king party, but if they would 
 abandon their movement, he was prepared to meet their wishes. 
 The son of Potatau, called at the time Matutaera, but 
 who subsequently took the name Tawhiao, was chosen king. 
 Colonel Browne had in April written to Bishop Selwyn, Sir 
 William Martin, and Mr. Swainson, asking their opinions as to 
 the measures to be proposed to the Maori chiefs at the meeting 
 he had convened. They sent him a joint paper on the points 
 on which they agreed, with separate papers on other points. 
 One passage in the Bishop's paper declaring that "rights 
 of ownership of land whether in one or many joint pro- 
 prietors were not alienable without the consent of the tribe" 
 must have been wormwood to Colonel Browne. One of the 
 joint recommendations was that there should be a council of 
 advice, appointed by and responsible only to the Crown, in 
 native affairs. When the meeting of tribes, convened by the 
 Governor, took place, he told the chiefs that the treaty of 
 Waitangi would be inviolately maintained by himself and all his 
 successors ; but in order to rouse the suspicions of the powerful 
 Ngapuhi and others, he affirmed that the king natives desired 
 to " assume authority " over other New Zealand tribes, and con- 
 templated " the forcible subjection of those tribes who refuse to 
 recognize their authority." Nevertheless much of the address 
 was kindly. The Governor desired to obtain the views of the 
 tribes as to the king movement and to govern wisely. His 
 speech was long. But having sent reinforcements to Taranaki 
 and received satisfactory assurances from the chiefs at Kohi- 
 maraina, he wrote on the 14th July to Colonel Gold : "You will
 
 KOHIMARAMA MEETING. 7 
 
 now have upwards of 2000 men of all ranks and a large force of 
 artillery under your command, and you will, I trust, be able to 
 strike a vigorous and effective blow on the rebel forces, either 
 on the north or south of New Plymouth." 
 
 The ill-success of the campaign had meanwhile induced 
 Major-General Pratt, Commander of the Forces in Australia, to 
 take the field, and Colonel Browne (27th July) wrote to him 
 that the Maoris were brave and formidable, and " boasted with 
 some truth that since our first arrival in the colony the British 
 troops have gained no decided advantage over them, though our 
 arms have always been immeasurably superior, and our numbers 
 often in excess of theirs. . . . Finally, I beg the favour of 
 your protection and kindness to the friendly natives, more par- 
 ticularly for the chiefs Mahau, Aperahama, Ihaia (the murderer), 
 and Teira, and their men . . . faithful allies. ... It is, how- 
 ever, quite true that all Maoris will communicate intelligence to 
 the enemy; so far from considering such conduct shameful, 
 they look upon it as right and chivalrous." . . . Mr. Parris 
 possessed his confidence and that of the Government, and he 
 begged the General to consult him. 
 
 The great meeting at Kohimarama (on the Melanesian mission 
 grounds) commenced on the 10th July, 1860. Two hundred and 
 fifty chiefs had been invited from all quarters. About half that 
 number attended. The Governor read his address in English. 
 McLean read a translation in Maori. There was deep attention. 
 The chiefs were then presented to his Excellency by McLean ; 
 the Governor departed ; the chiefs returned to the conference. 
 The districts most fully represented were the Bay of Islands, 
 Kaipara, Auckland, the Bay of Plenty, Wairarapa, and the west 
 coast from Wellington to Wanganui. There were some members 
 of the Ngatiawa tribe, but the Thames, Waikato, Taupo, Upper 
 Wanganui, and Taranaki tribes were barely represented. For 
 a few days the orators generally advocated loyalty and peace. 
 The haste with which the Governor had made war was animad- 
 verted on by all except the Ngapuhi. It was resolved to send 
 written replies to the Governor's speech. They may be seen in 
 the Parliamentary blue-books. Many of them expressed regret 
 that the Maoris did not see Colonel Browne as they used to see
 
 8 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 his predecessor. Some did not allude to the Taranaki war. 
 The Ngapuhi addresses, two in number, breathed thorough 
 loyalty to the Queen, and hostility to the Maori king move- 
 ment and Te Rangitake. The Ngatiawa were less devoted. 
 England had failed in duty in many respects. Land Commis- 
 sioners believed three witnesses, but would not listen to a host 
 who contradicted them. Maoris were not permitted to lease 
 land to Pakehas ; which was unjust. The Governor ought not 
 to have sent abroad for soldiers to attack Te Rangitake, who 
 only sought help from the Waikatos in New Zealand. The two 
 first Governors had done no good ; Governor Grey did much 
 good ; of the fourth Governor they did not know the thoughts 
 except that he was in haste to fight Te Rangitake, which was 
 alarming. The majority of the tribes expressed staunch loyalty, 
 and some at the same time urged that peace should be made 
 with Te Rangitake. 
 
 In the second week of the conference, the Governor sent 
 several messages. One (16th July) was accompanied by "rules 
 for the proper administration of justice," which he said had 
 been carefully prepared by the friend of the Maoris, the late 
 Chief Justice. Another (18th July) asked the opinion of the 
 chiefs as to " the difficulties and complications of the ownership 
 of land," and promised co-operation " in any system they might 
 recommend, provided it would really attain the desired end." 
 A third (19th July) declared that McLean was instructed to 
 explain the Taranaki events to the chiefs, in accordance with 
 their wish. The administration of justice, and land questions, 
 were discussed, but relegated to deliberation by the tribes at 
 their homes. McLean spoke for four hours, detailing the Govern- 
 ment view of Te Rangitake's claim, to an intent auditory. Still 
 the chiefs seemed to hope that peace would be made. In the 
 third week the Governor sent a message suggesting juries de 
 medietate linguce, and asked for the views of the chiefs. Some 
 received the suggestion favourably, but no resolution was arrived 
 at. The Governor and his wife dined with the chiefs in the 
 hall at Kohimarama in the third week, and gained popularity 
 by doing so. After an adjournment of a few days, the chiefs, on 
 reassembling, prayed that the native conference might be held 
 periodically. Some said that if it had been thought of sooner,
 
 MCLEAN'S EQUIVOCAL DEFENCE. 9 
 
 there would have been no Maori king, no Taranaki war. 
 Again they discussed the latter question, and finally decided 
 that Hohepa Tamaihengia should visit Te Rangitake and explain 
 the feelings of the conference. On the 10th August, resolutions 
 were formally carried disapproving the Maori king movement, 
 justifying the Governor, condemning Te Rangitake and his 
 allies; highly praising the idea of holding the conference (or 
 Runanga), and complimenting Mr. McLean. Three chiefs 
 recorded their protest against the condemnation of Te Rangitake. 
 On the llth August, the Governor closed the conference with a 
 complimentary speech, promising to convene them in the follow- 
 ing year. He did not tell them of the urgency with which he 
 had pressed upon General Pratt that military success must be 
 at once obtained. Mr. Smith, Assistant Native Secretary, 
 reported that the experiment had been so far successful, and 
 might be made effective, under judicious management, for 
 removing most of the difficulties attending native affairs. He 
 called special attention to the conspicuous abilities of Tamihana 
 Te Rauparaha and another Otaki chieftain, as well as to the 
 important declarations of Waka Nene and Wiremu Nera, that 
 they were ready to prove by deeds their loyalty to the Queen. 
 Mr. Smith thought such announcements would have a good 
 effect throughout the island. 
 
 To complete the papers to be presented to the General 
 Assembly, the Governor on the 20th July had asked Mr. McLean 
 whether the sellers of the Waitara block were justified in selling 
 to the Government, and whether Rangitake had any right to 
 interfere. McLean answered the first question affirmatively, 
 and the second in the negative. When this statement was 
 made public, Archdeacon Had field wrote in a newspaper that 
 Mr. McLean had himself informed the Archdeacon that he 
 (McLean) had not investigated Te Rangitake's title, and that 
 a chief, Matene Te Whiwhi, averred that McLean expressed his 
 regret that the Governor had been so hasty as to eject Te Rangi- 
 take by force without further investigation. McLean's defence 
 was equivocal. He had initiated the investigation, though it 
 was completed by an officer of the department, under McLean's 
 instructions. He had told the Bishop of Wellington that he 
 was " impressed with the belief that Te Rangitake's claim was
 
 10 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 unfounded." " It is quite possible that I may have said that I 
 had not personally instituted an inquiry on the spot immedi- 
 ately previous to the breaking out of hostilities." " I may have 
 said that the cession by Te Teira would not be sufficient alone, 
 unless he were joined, as he has been, by other influential 
 claimants." It was the chief Matene who complained of the 
 hastiness of the Government, and McLean had only admitted 
 that such was the general opinion among the natives, which 
 McLean combated in his conversation. His state of health had 
 "made it impossible" for McLean to make personal inquiry as 
 to Teira's title. On the 30th July, the Governor opened the 
 General Assembly at Auckland. He arraigned Te Rangitake 
 for forbidding a sale of land " to which he neither asserted nor 
 possessed any title ; " a daring untruth which his more astute 
 advisers must have propounded with misgiving, and which must 
 have been heard with astonishment. The speech alluded to the 
 conference at Kohimarama, from which the Governor expected 
 good results. The two Houses cordially echoed the speech, and 
 the Taranaki war formed the subject of protracted debates. On 
 the 30th August, by eleven votes against three, the Governor's 
 proceedings were approved by the Council; but one of the 
 dissentients was Mr. Swainson. On the 16th August, the repre- 
 sentatives resolved, after various proposed amendments, and 
 nights' and days' debates : " That in the opinion of this House, 
 the interference of Te Rangitake at Waitara, and his resort to 
 force to prevent the survey of land there, rendered the measures 
 adopted by his Excellency the Governor indispensable for the 
 due maintenance of Her Majesty's sovereignty, and that the 
 welfare of both races of Her Majesty's subjects peremptorily 
 requires a vigorous prosecution of the war to a successful 
 termination." 
 
 Little did Colonel Browne and his advisers expect that 
 in three short years the Government of New Zealand would 
 be forced to confess that Bishop Selwyn and the Archdeacon 
 were wise, and that the claim of Te Rangitake was righteous. 
 But Governor Browne, in reporting the resolution of the 1 6th 
 August, did, scant justice to the representatives. He stated 
 that some leaders of the Opposition were absent from the 
 division, being unwilling to commit themselves definitely against
 
 DEBATES IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 11 
 
 the war, but he did not state that there had been divisions in 
 which the Government majority was less than on the final vote. 
 The Opposition waited to see what the Ministry would do. Mr. 
 Richmond, on the 3rd August, moved for leave to bring in a 
 '* Native Offenders Bill," and in doing so treated of the Tarauaki 
 war. He would, in future, move for a Committee to report 
 upon the expediency of a change in the existing mode of extin- 
 guishing the native title, and would afterwards make proposals 
 for the civil government of the natives. His own arguments 
 and those of Mr. Forsaith, Dr. Featherston, and others who 
 opposed or supported him, have been quoted already, so far as 
 it is necessary to cite them. The eloquent appeal of Dr. 
 Featherston on behalf of the Maori people, unrepresented in 
 the House, provoked applause, but did not persuade the repre- 
 sentatives to mete out the justice demanded. Yet Dr. Feather- 
 ston, believing the war to be unjust and unholy, saw that 
 retreat was dangerous, while success was shocking. Mr. Carleton 
 moved for a Committee of Inquiry into the causes which led to 
 the war. He was one of those who opposed the Native Offenders 
 Bill. He laughed at Mr. Richmond's idea that the District 
 Commissioner was himself a Court capable of determining the 
 Waitara dispute : " a Court that was at once judge, jury, and 
 plaintiff." ..." A District Commissioner (to borrow Mr. Rich- 
 mond's words) to have power to declare a native claim ' a bag of 
 wind ! ' He (Mr. Carleton) knew more of classics than of law, 
 and remembered what happened to those who were entrusted by 
 ^Eolus with the bags of wind. They let the wind out and 
 raised a storm that wrecked them. We too were in a storm, 
 and had yet to weather it." Mr. Carleton, in moving (August, 
 1860) for a Committee of Inquiry, declared that " the Govern- 
 ment case had completely broken down." Te Rangitake's 
 eloquent and forcible letter completely cut away the plea that 
 he had no right to the Waitara land. The Government 
 professed a willingness for inquiry, but they and their supporters 
 thwarted it. Amendments were moved, and finally inquiry was 
 forbidden. Amongst Mr. Carleton's supporters were Mr. Fitz- 
 herbert, Mr. Forsaith, Dr. Featherston, Mr. Bell, and Mr. Fox. 
 The amendment (carried by Mr. Sewell) was that Archdeacon 
 Hadfield and Donald McLean should be examined at the bar
 
 12 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 of the House. Their opinions differed as to Te Rangitake's 
 rights. The Governor triumphantly reported that the justice of 
 his measures was asserted in the last division by 19 votes 
 against 4 ; but it was impossible to gather from his despatch 
 that in preliminary debates the majority was narrower, and that 
 some members confessed with what reluctance they sanctioned 
 an unjust war which, when entered upon, they felt it dangerous 
 to the reputation of the Government to abandon. Of the dis- 
 cussions, at the close of which the New Zealand members 
 virtually followed the Governor in submitting to the Ministry, 
 it is just to furnish a short narrative. 
 
 Mr. Forsaith sadly admitted that no retreat could be made, 
 but affirmed that the Ministry had " completely failed in dis- 
 proving the assertion that in advising the course that led to 
 the war they had been over-hasty and inconsiderate." Mr. 
 Fitzherbert "contended for justice to the Maoris." He depre- 
 cated the "offensive and hostile expressions used by the Native 
 Minister" (Mr. C. W. Richmond). There had not been sufficient 
 investigation before the purchase was concluded. Mr. William- 
 son (Superintendent of the Auckland Province), while declaring 
 his intention to oppose Mr. Carleton's motion, "could not acquit 
 the honourable gentlemen at the head of affairs of having 
 imprudently and too hastily advised the steps which led to active 
 hostilities." ..." He thought they ought not to have given the 
 advice which it appears they did." Yet Mr. Williamson, while 
 of opinion that the purchase from Teira was valid, hoped that 
 the war would not be prosecuted to the bitter end, but that by 
 the aid of friendly chiefs it might be brought to a close. Mr. J. 
 C. Richmond denied that the war was " for a plot of land," but 
 admitted that the " case of Ihaia was not a nice one for the 
 Governor to take up, for Ihaia's hands were deep in blood." 
 But the war must be prosecuted, and he charged the Commander 
 of the Forces with "signal and unprecedented incapability." 
 Mr. Fitzgerald, objecting to the appointment of a Select Com- 
 mittee, moved that evidence be taken at the bar of the House. 
 " He thought the Ministry had exercised every necessary " pre- 
 caution before advising his Excellency." Mr. Fox, who had 
 pro forrnd seconded Mr. Carleton's motion, supported Mr. Fitz- 
 gerald's amendment. He arraigned Governor Fitzroy's vacillating
 
 DEBATES IN ASSEMBLY. 13 
 
 policy, and charged Governor Grey with feebleness and an 
 injurious desire to govern the Maoris by means of "personal 
 influence." Governor Browne had "taken too little pains to 
 ingratiate himself with the natives." He had given way to 
 " pressure from without." When he remembered that the Native 
 Minister was member for Taranaki, and the petition from the 
 Taranaki Provincial Council urging the Governor to obtain land 
 by coercion, on the ground that the natives were too weak to 
 resist, he thought such sentiments "unworthy of a British 
 community only worthy those whom his Excellency's advisers 
 had styled ' hoary cannibals living in a state of beastly com- 
 munism.' . . . All compulsion was contrary to the treaty of 
 Waitangi. . . . The dispute should have been disposed of by 
 other means before an appeal was made to arms. ... If the 
 purchase was completed why were not the title-deeds laid on 
 the table ? " . . . Mr. C. W. Richmond interjected that " the 
 purchase-deed was not usually made out till after the money 
 had been paid. In this case it had been thought prudent to 
 make it out sooner . . . because in the state of disorder it was 
 quite possible that some of the claimants might have been 
 killed." Then, said Mr. Fox, "the deed was executed before 
 the purchase was completed." " No," replied Mr. Richmond ; 
 " it had been completed since the beginning of the war." But, 
 retorted Fox, " the honourable member has told us that one of 
 the boundaries was not yet drawn. . . . The interruptions made 
 the case worse. " . . . " With an incomplete purchase, hurriedly 
 effected, and without any foresight of the consequences, the 
 colony had been plunged into war. He felt bound as a member 
 of the House, as a man/ and as a citizen, to vote for an inquiry." 
 Dr. Monro taunted Mr. Fox for his new-born zeal for the treaty 
 of Waitangi. Did he, when a servant of the New Zealand 
 Company, abandon his employers because they termed the 
 treaty a "device to amuse naked savages" ? Dr. Monro wished 
 to see " the subjugation of the rebels accomplished in the first 
 instance." They could think afterwards of schemes for dealing 
 with native questions. Mr. Brown advocated inquiry. 
 
 Mr. Sewell (who had ceased to be a Minister in 1859) thought 
 a general inquiry useless, but as Archdeacon Hadfield's name 
 had been made use of, considered that he and Mr. McLean might
 
 14 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 be examined. Mr. J. C. Richmond violently assailed Te Rangi- 
 take. In coupling the name of Parris with that of Ihaia, Te 
 Rangitake proved that, as he recklessly murdered character, he 
 would " not scruple at anything to attain his ends." As to Mr. 
 Fox's attack on the petition of the Taranaki Council, though 
 Mr. J. C. Richmond had no hand in framing it, he was " willing 
 to adopt its opinions." . . . The " petition has no humbug about 
 it ; it plainly states all the wishes of the petitioners." As for the 
 treaty of Waitangi, " it was at an end as far as these tribes were 
 concerned by their act," when they marched in armed parties at 
 Taranaki, in defiance of the Governor's proclamation, when the 
 natives were quarrelling. Mr. Daldy, a member of Mr. Fox's 
 brief administration in 1856, advocated inquiry. Mr. C. W. 
 Richmond declared that the Ministry assumed a neutral position 
 as to the motion for inquiry, but asked the House in " common 
 justice " to consider the position of the Governor in guiding " the 
 great machine of representative government." The line taken 
 by some members raised in his " mind some serious reflections 
 as to the fitness of Parliamentary Government for a country in 
 the position of New Zealand." Mr. Dillon Bell deprecated 
 animadversions upon the Governor ; Mr. Brandon supported the 
 motion for inquiry ; and Colonel Haultain regretted the attack 
 which had been made by Mr. J. C. Richmond on the Commander 
 of the Forces, who had received special instructions (not to attack 
 Te Rangitake on his own ground). Mr. Sewell, when the result 
 of the debate seemed doubtful, (as a friend of his recent 
 colleagues) moved that Archdeacon Hadfield and Mr. Donald 
 McLean be heard at the bar of the House. Mr. Forsaith 
 traversed the allegation that the Government had been forced 
 into the war. They had taken a position that forced it. He 
 thought a Committee of Inquiry should be chosen by ballot. It 
 was pitiable to watch the impotent attempts of the Native 
 Minister to extricate himself from the dilemma he was placed 
 in by Mr. Fox as to the purchase-deed. Mr. King (one of the 
 Provincial Council at Taranaki which petitioned the Assembly to 
 permit Maoris to sell, whether they formed "a majority or only 
 a large minority of claimants," and asked the Government to 
 compel "an equitable division of the Maori common land,") 
 stepped forward to take his share of responsibility for the
 
 DEBATES IN ASSEMBLY. 15 
 
 petition. Mr. Clark, confessing his ignorance of Maori language 
 and usages, looked upon the "war, however we may grieve 
 over it, as one of necessity." Mr. Fitzgerald's amendment 
 wad lost by 15 votes against 18. Mr. Carleton's motion 
 was lost by 14 votes against 19. Mr. Sewell's amendment 
 was carried by 18 votes against 12. The Archdeacon, ex- 
 amined by Mr. Fitzherbert, was cross-examined by Mr. C. W. 
 Richmond and others. Mr. McLean, examined by Messrs C. W. 
 and J. C. Richmond, was cross-examined by Mr. Fox. Their 
 opinions have been sufficiently set forth in these pages. 
 Afterwards Mr. Stafford carried, by 19 votes against 4, the 
 resolution already quoted, which supported "the measures 
 adopted by his Excellency" at Taranaki. The division was 
 taken on a proposition made by Mr. Carleton to omit the words 
 declaring those measures indispensable, and to retain those 
 which asserted that " a vigorous prosecution of the war " was 
 required. 
 
 Mr. Dillon Bell's speech showed how grinding was the pres- 
 sure of events upon men's minds. He voted for Mr. Stafford's 
 motion, but "thought it extremely probable we should find 
 some of those now in arms against us could show a good title to 
 some of Teira's block." He had thought so before, and the 
 evidence of the Archdeacon and Mr. McLean confirmed the 
 opinion. Yet Mr. Bell (not ignorant of the Maori character) 
 would decline to hear their claims unless " they choose to come 
 in as peaceful citizens." Had he been entitled to advise the 
 Governor in March, 1859, he would have warned him that he 
 was " getting into an almost insuperable difficulty " at Waitara ; 
 but he was indignant with Te Rangitake for " rejecting with 
 contumacious insolence " the Governor's offer of a safe-conduct. 
 Though the resolution ought to have stated that the steps taken 
 were justifiable, not " indispensable," Mr. Bell would vote for it. 
 He had many friends amongst the Maoris, but it was true mercy 
 to teach them to submit to law by a war which he viewed " with 
 most real grief." 
 
 Dr. Featherston inveighed, not against the Governor, but 
 against the Ministry " who had so wantonly, so recklessly pro- 
 voked " war. If with 3000 soldiers the position at Taranaki was 
 barely tenable, how many would be required if the tribes in
 
 16 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 general should rise against injustice ? "I cannot help saying, 
 that unless some unlooked-for success be shortly achieved, the 
 question which this House will have to consider will be (if 
 indeed it is not its duty at once to decide it), whether you are 
 prepared to sacrifice the whole colony, or to sacrifice those who 
 have plunged us into this wretched, this miserable war." 
 
 Mr. C. W. Richmond denied that he had brought pressure to 
 bear upon the Governor. He thought only "two or three 
 Europeans in Taranaki knew " beforehand that Teira intended 
 to offer the Waitara block to the Governor, and his own " pre- 
 sence was accidental." Forgetting his urgent note to Mr. 
 Parris, 1 or drawing a distinction between letters to him and to 
 ordinary persons, Mr. Richmond declared : " After the offer was 
 made and accepted, I never corresponded with any New 'Ply- 
 mouth settlers upon the subject. . . . Could the Governor 
 recede from the engagement he had made ? His Excellency 
 thought not, and we agreed with him. And I now declare, in 
 view of all the calamities we are witnessing, that I should under 
 the like circumstances give the same advice again. . . . We 
 believed, and I still believe, that the force at command was, if 
 properly handled, quite sufficient to overawe, or, if need were, 
 to strike a decided blow at Te Rangitake, which would have 
 terminated the war." 
 
 Mr. Fox hoped that the Native Minister would be able to 
 show that " he and some of his constituents were not the 
 authors of the war." 2 " It was the general desire of the hon- 
 ourable member and his constituents at Taranaki, to which he 
 pointed as the key to this war." 
 
 Mr. Weld, who had become a member of the Government in 
 July, recurred to the argument that a Maori ought not to be 
 allowed to prefer "a claim with arms in his hands." He 
 defended Mr. C. W. Richmond against Mr. Fox's imputations. 
 
 1 Quoted previously, vol. i. p. 623. 
 
 2 The difficulty of analyzing the contemporary statements about New 
 Zealand affairs is shown in the fact that though Mr. Fox so vigorously 
 inculpated the Ministry in 1860, he used very different language in 1876. 
 Addressing the Royal Colonial Institute (23rd May) in London, he said : 
 " I am bold to affirm that the colonists were not in any case responsible 
 for the wars (in New Zealand)." 'Proceedings, Royal Colonial Institute, 
 1875-6.'
 
 THE GOVERNOR'S DESPATCHES. 17 
 
 Mr. Fitzherbert defended Te Rangitake, and averred that 
 the marked contrast between the conduct of the Government at 
 Taranaki and elsewhere showed " sinister influence exerted 
 when it was hoped to be likely to favour the constituents and 
 immediate dependents of the Native Minister." Subsequent 
 speakers declined to relieve the Ministry of the burden which 
 was sought to be placed upon the Governor. Mr. Carter said : 
 " The Ministry entered on this war on their own responsibility, 
 and unprepared for it." Mr. Stafford, confident of a majority, 
 did not repudiate the imputation. "The time had come (he 
 said), if ever, when in mercy to the natives the law must be 
 upheld ; this was the influence by which his Excellency and his 
 advisers had been actuated." By the passing of Stafford's reso- 
 lution war to the knife was declared ; and it has been necessary 
 to describe fully the proceedings which sanctioned it. Colonel 
 Browne accounted for the small number of members who voted, 
 by saying that perhaps some Opposition leaders did not wish " to 
 commit themselves too definitely against the war;" that some 
 Government supporters " did not take the trouble to attend ; " 
 and some members "recognized the justice of the war, but 
 objected to a portion of the words of the resolution." Thus it 
 came to pass that less than a majority of the House committed 
 it to war ; l and that the votes of representatives from the 
 Middle Island overbore those of members from the north. A 
 double curse followed. The dwellers in the north suffered 
 for the crimes of the southern members. Unconscious of the 
 common tenure of Maori land, or incapable of comprehending it, 
 Colonel Browne reiterated his assertion that Te Rangitake had 
 no claim on the Waitara block " that the title of the vendors 
 had been carefully investigated and proved good," and that 
 " other claimants cited by Archdeacon Hadfield had been stimu- 
 lated to put forward groundless claims by the agitation carried 
 on by Europeans." His advisers were at his side 2 when, he 
 
 1 The extracts in the text were transmitted with his despatches by the 
 Governor. They were contained ; a a newspaper, favourable to Mr. Rich- 
 mond ; the ' New Zealander.' 
 
 2 As Colonel Browne's friorHls have denied that he was so weak as to 
 have been influenced by others to abandon his previous determination 
 about coercing Maoris to soil luud, it may be well to show that one of the 
 ablest men in New Zealand thought at the time that he was so influenced. 
 
 VOL. II. c
 
 18 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 added, that Te Rangitake' s letters to Archdeacon Hadfield " set 
 forth no definite claim," and that the Archdeacon would " better 
 
 Tn 1858, in opposing Mr. Richmond's views on the Native Territorial Rights 
 Bill, Colonel Browne cited the late Chief Justice Martin as one " whose 
 experience and intimate acquaintance with the Maoris cause him to be 
 recognized as an undisputed authority in everything relating to them" 
 (P. P. 1860, vol. xlvii. p. 18). In September, 1859, before he was com- 
 pletely enmeshed, Colonel Browne wrote : " The Europeans covet these 
 lands, and are determined to enter in and possess them Rede si possint, si 
 mm quocunque modo" (ibid. p. 78). In the same paper he sighed for a 
 council of advice (on Maori matters) containing Bishop Selwyn and Mr. 
 Martin. In December, 1860, he aspersed Hadfield, and disputed with the 
 late Chief Justice as to the true construction of the treaty of Wa4tangi, 
 and of Maori terms and usages. Only a mental paroxysm could account 
 for such a conversion, except on the supposition that outside influences 
 had overborne the Governor. Archdeacon Henry Williams wrote thus 
 privately to England : " Another Maori war, wantonly brought on by the 
 Governor in the forcing of a disputed claim of land. ... I stand aloof, not 
 being yet brought into collision. . . . Where war will terminate no one 
 can surmise. . . . Hadfield, tainted with the familiar term of traitor given 
 to any one who may differ from them. . . The language used by the 
 Europeans towards the natives is extremely vile, and I am prepared to 
 expect sad work." Again (July, 1860) the same keen observer wrote : 
 "The country is involved in war through the folly of our self-willed 
 Ministers, men of no experience in native matters. . . The Bishop and 
 the missionaries are most fearfully abused as traitors and busy-bodies. . . 
 Hadfield is in sad disgrace with the Government, having ventured to 
 protest against this war. The Governor is a good man, but exceedingly 
 weak, unable to resist his Ministers. The war is very popular, in the 
 hopes of smashing the people altogether." Time has accustomed the 
 colonists to hear of, if not acknowledge, the injustice of the war. In 1881, 
 Mr. Swanson (member for Newton) said in Parliament: "It was nothing 
 but an attempt to rob Te Rangitake of his land ; one of the most unjust 
 things overdone; and it was proved to be unjust, and the land had to 
 be given back to him. Why, the very ' Gazettes ' were falsified. The Maori 
 was on one side, and the English on the other, and there were falsehoods 
 on the face of it. The English said, 'The land is Teira's, but I will 
 not allow it to be sold.' What was on the Maori side ? The land was 
 Teira's, but it is no more his property than the property of the rest of 
 
 us, and I will not allow it to be sold which made all the difference. 
 
 ... A great majority of the representatives from Auckland were for 
 peace, and were even in favour of having the matter talked over with Te 
 Rangitake, but they were hounded down as traitors, and I say it is unjust 
 and untrue to say that the northern people got up that war. ... If it had 
 not been for the southern men we never should have spent either blood 
 or money over it. That is how it was, and every northern man knows 
 it." 'New Zealand,' Hansard, 5th September, 1881.
 
 NATIVE OFFENDERS BILL. 19 
 
 have fulfilled the duty of a loyal subject of the Queen if he had 
 communicated them to me as the writer desired, instead of 
 reserving them for use when he could appear in the character of 
 an accuser." But those eloquent letters produced no generous 
 feeling towards their writer, though their non- production was 
 made a ground of complaint against, the Archdeacon. Neither 
 had Colonel Browne heeded the earnest letter which Te Rangi- 
 take wrote to him before the rape of the Waitara. Recently he 
 had described Hadfield as " more thoroughly acquainted with the 
 Maoris than any European in the country," and had urged that 
 a council on advice on native affairs, which contained Bishop 
 Selwyn and Sir W. Martin, would be so strong that calumny 
 could not injure it. In reporting the debate he was so swayed 
 by Mr. Richmond that half of his despatch (which, " to secure 
 accuracy," was " shown to his advisers ") was an indictment of 
 the Archdeacon. Mr. Richmond, denying that the Governor had 
 been influenced by him, rejoiced in the advice he had given, and 
 boasted that if the thing were again to be done he would gladly 
 give the word for war. 
 
 The Governor and his advisers relied upon their Kohimarama 
 conference. They intended to hold another in 1861, and to 
 obtain its deliberate opinion whether such conferences should be 
 permanent institutions. The questions of " tribal title, ultimate 
 individualization of native title, and the constitution of tribunals 
 to determine Maori disputes amongst themselves about terri- 
 torial rights," were, as Mr. Richmond informed the House, to 
 be referred to the conference of 1861. But other members 
 were less sanguine than he in expecting that by such means the 
 king movement could be extinguished. He introduced a Native 
 Offenders Bill, giving enormous powers to the Governor in pro- 
 claiming districts within which it should be unlawful to hold 
 communication with the Maoris. There was excitement in 
 Waikato while the Assembly discussed the Bill. Though the 
 second reading was passed, the measure was afterwards shelved. 
 
 Bishop Selwyn, Hadfield, Maunsell, and others protested 
 against the power of outlawing districts. It seemed to them 
 that the Bill enabled the Governor to determine what was law, 
 to decide who had offended, to ban any combination of natives, 
 and to construe into an unlawful purpose any proceeding of the 
 
 C 2
 
 20 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 natives not specially described in the Bill. They asked that no 
 British subject should be subject to penalty or disability " with- 
 out being brought to answer by due process of law." Stafford 
 angrily accused the Bishop of lending his name to inflame 
 passions and retard peace. The correspondence, perhaps, 
 strengthened the Opposition in strangling Mr. Richmond's Bill. 
 
 A Bill to create a Council to assist in managing native 
 affairs was reserved by the Governor for the Royal pleasure. 
 The Council was to be appointed by the Crown. But its func- 
 tions were to advise on all matters on which the Government 
 might consult it, to assist in drafting laws, and to " act in special 
 cases in an administrative capacity at the instance of the 
 Governor in Council." Mr. Fox moved resolutions expressing 
 regret that the Imperial Government had brought in a Bill 
 removing native affairs from control of the New Zealand Legis- 
 lature, and a Joint Committee of both Houses recommended 
 that there should be a Council of advice on native affairs, 
 appointed by the Crown, and consulted on all occasions by the 
 local government, which should nevertheless exercise discretion 
 as to accepting the advice of the Council. The Bill framed on 
 this recommendation was amended at a Free Conference between 
 the Houses ; and on the motion of Mr. Sewell it was resolved to 
 defer passing the Bill until the precise views of the Governor 
 were ascertained, the House being desirous that the ordinary 
 control of native affairs should be placed under responsible 
 Ministers, " subject to the provisions of the Bill, and to the proper 
 constitutional action of the Supreme Head of the Executive." 
 
 Thus challenged, the Governor accepted the resolution, with 
 the proviso that the " constitutional action " should " have the 
 same interpretation as regarded native affairs as in reference to 
 other Imperial subjects." 
 
 The Bill introduced in the Imperial Parliament came to an 
 untimely end. Mr. Fitzgerald, the rhapsodist of Godley, and 
 editor of a Canterbury newspaper, at once assailed the Bill as 
 curtailing colonial privileges. It contained every vice, and was 
 called for by no necessity. It would make matters worse 
 instead of better during the war. He denied that there had 
 ever been a disposition to starve the native department, or to 
 exhibit any narrow jealousy of the natives.
 
 NATIVE COUNCIL BILL. 21 
 
 Mr. Fortescue, in August, 1860, told the Governor that the 
 Bill had been withdrawn. Influential colonists opposed it as an 
 invasion of their privileges, and other persons were hostile 
 because they feared that English interference might imply cor- 
 relative responsibility in war. Mr. Fortescue added that the 
 Ministry considered it " their duty not merely to maintain the 
 nominal authority of the Governor in native affairs, but as far 
 as they properly can (under the New Zealand Constitution Act) 
 to furnish him with the means of effectively exercising that 
 authority." Mr. Fortescue had (perhaps unconsciously) truth- 
 fully denned the authority which remained with the Governor. 
 That gentleman himself incidentally described his wavering and 
 weaponless condition. His local Native Council Bill suffered 
 so much change in the House that it was only at his earnest 
 entreaty that Donald McLean consented to sit in the Council 
 if the Bill should receive the Royal assent in England. Mr. 
 F. Dillon Bell was to be Secretary, and Lieutenant Nugent, 
 58th Regiment, was to be member of the Council. To the 
 Governor's " great regret " Sir W. Martin declined a seat on 
 the Council proposed to be constituted. In sending the mangled 
 Bill to England the Governor admitted that the relations be- 
 tween himself and his responsible advisers were unsatisfactory. 
 " I believe," he said, " there has been little or no difference of 
 opinion between myself and Mr. Richmond ; but the responsi- 
 bility has rested on me, while, with the exception of 7000 a- 
 year (the appropriation of which I cannot alter without the 
 consent of my advisers), the power of the purse, which is all but 
 absolute, has been altogether in the hands of Ministers. This 
 has been an unequal and unsatisfactory division." His conver- 
 sion to Mr. Richmond's ideas, which he had once so sternly con- 
 demned, was too sincere to allow him to perceive whither he 
 was being led. He lost no opportunity of praising his tempter. 
 He sent copies of Richmond's speeches, with high commenda- 
 tions, to England. The Ministry was in danger during the 
 session, but it was on the burning question of provincial 
 finances. In committee on resolutions (moved by Mr. Rich- 
 mond on native policy) the disposal of proceeds of land sales 
 was involved. Forthwith a more vigorous sense possessed the 
 members than when justice to Maoris was in question. Mr.
 
 22 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Fox protested against " any tampering with the compact of 
 1856." The Ministerial phalanx lost a few members. The 
 division was 17 against 17. The chairman voted against the 
 Government. On another occasion they were in danger : and 
 even on the war they had advised, their position was insecure. 
 
 It was during the session of 1860 that the House of Repre- 
 sentatives appointed a Select Committee to inquire into the 
 circumstances under which Mr. Fenton's mission in 1857 was 
 undertaken, " to introduce institutions of civil government " in 
 the Waikato district. So far as their labours elicited facts 
 occurring in 1857 and 1858, and distributed doubtful blame 
 between the Native Secretary, Mr. C. W. Richmond and others, 
 it has been convenient to state the results in preceding pages. 
 But they sat often and long. They gave an Arawa chief, Wiremu 
 Maihe Rangikaheke (a clever debater, of eager manner, and 
 with an European cast of countenance)^ a message inviting the 
 attendance of Te Waharoa the king-maker. McLean, who had 
 in 1857 jealously rebuffed that chief when on a visit to Auck- 
 land, disapproved of the invitation, and induced Rangikaheke 
 to disregard the Committee. Before doing so, he told Sewell, 
 the chairman of the Committee, that he did not approve of 
 summoning Waharoa ; but, on being examined, he declared that 
 when he intercepted Rangikaheke he was not aware that the 
 chief was the bearer of a letter from the Committee. He pro- 
 fessed to be anxious for Te Waharoa's presence, and undertook 
 to procure it, if possible, by other messengers. He failed. But 
 the king-maker wrote thus (24th January, 1861) in reply to 
 the chairman's invitation. The deeds done at Taranaki repelled 
 him ; and perhaps he remembered the stealthy capture of 
 Rauparaha. " Salutations to you, the chairman of the Governor's 
 Runanga. I have received your letter which was written 
 in October, inviting me to Auckland. Here is a waiata 
 (song) : 
 
 ' Continue to strive in vain ; 
 By you I will not be rent in sunder : 
 Like the tree of the forest 
 I will maintain a bold front. 
 Twas I that loosed yon from tliia belt, 
 And now behold the boundary which divides us : 
 I am the centre of Ilaukawa.'
 
 WAHAEOA'S LETTER TO SEWELL. 23 
 
 Friend, what is the use of our talking after the evil has taken 
 place ? Had you, indeed, written when the evil was small, it 
 would have been well, and I would have gone ; but now that 
 the evil has grown to the height, what is the good ? Behold 
 the kindling of a fire. When it is small it can be put out ; but 
 when it has spread it cannot be extinguished. So, when the 
 tide is low the creek can be crossed, but not when the tide has 
 swollen to the full. So with the night ; by day men travel, but 
 they go not about by night. Witness the words of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ (John ii. 9, 10). You ask me to make my thoughts 
 known. Hearken; if any chief goes before the Governor, and 
 supports the ' mana ' of the Maori, and our right to hold our 
 laud, such are my thoughts. These are the causes of the 
 setting up of the king. If you see a chief whose words seem 
 hard when he visits the Governor, or is present at Pakeha or 
 Maori inquiries he is my friend. Or if you see a chief who 
 declares that his own 'mana' is over his own piece of land, 
 know that such is my thought. I have heard that Rangikaheke 
 and Waata Kukutai have been before the Pakeha Runanga, and 
 told their opinions. Lo ! that is it ; hearken to them. It was 
 one of those thoughts that set up the Maori king. I cannot, 
 however, tell you all the causes. They are many. Let the 
 portion I communicate be small. One thing I will tell you : the 
 Governor's words are as wool, but within, at his heart, he is a 
 ravening wolf. From your slave, W. T. TE WAHAROA." 
 
 Knowing well how the Governor's mild professions were out- 
 raged by the forcible seizure of the tribal lands ; and perhaps (in 
 the undoubting conviction of a mind to which tribal tenure had 
 been familiar from youth), incapable of believing that any one 
 could be ignorant that the rape of the Waitara was lawless and 
 wrong, Waharoa used plain language. It alarmed the Governor's 
 advisers. They began to find that brave language in the House 
 would not carry on the war. By appealing to excited passions, 
 and perverting the case so as to make it seem that the honour 
 of the Queen was pledged to do dishonourable deeds, they had 
 secured majorities, in which members from the undistracted 
 Middle Island were prominent. But majorities without means 
 were worthless. British blood and British treasure were de- 
 manded. General Pratt, in August, 1860, reported that the
 
 24 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 military position was difficult. The Maoris crept up in small 
 parties, inflicted damage, and escaped with impunity. " With 
 the assistance of my advisers/' the Governor wrote, "I have 
 been able to comply with all General Pratt's demands, and to 
 assure him that this Government will spare nothing to enable 
 him to carry on the war vigorously, and bring it to a successful 
 conclusion." At the same time, he wrote : " I sent Mr. McLean 
 to aid in reassuring the friendly natives, who appear to have lost 
 confidence in us." General Pratt was urged to remove the 
 women and children from the settlement; and, when relieved 
 from impediments, to inflict severe punishment on the enemy, 
 who always " construed escape into victory," and who generally 
 escaped. Friendly natives, including Ihaia, were to be paid. 
 
 Thus instructed, the General returned to Taranaki, where 
 Major Nelson had obtained sixty-eight pounders, with which he 
 could, from the Waitara camp, breach the Puketakauere pah j 
 and avenge his repulse. In a few days General Pratt reported 
 that the Maoris at the south suddenly retired from their en- 
 trenchments, and abandoned the Puketakauere pah. Neither Mr. 
 McLean nor the friendly natives could explain these movements. 
 The General was anxious to fight, but could find no enemy. 
 Yet the settlers were all crowded in a space of thirty acres at 
 Taranaki ; and McLean reported that only two persons, the Rev. 
 Mr. Brown and a Maori disciple, could go as far south as Omata 
 without being shot. In September the General advanced upon 
 empty pahs ; but when approaching the forest the troops were 
 fired upon from an ambuscade. Colonel Browne lamented (18th 
 September) that no serious impression had been made, and 
 urged the General to harass the enemy by guerilla attacks in 
 their planting season, then beginning. The difficulty would be 
 great; but unless the war could be put an end to at once it 
 might be continued indefinitely. 
 
 It was much easier to give such advice than to act upon it. 
 Gliding through the forest which enclosed the open country near 
 the sea, the Maori had the advantage of the encumbered soldier. 
 Silence was golden in such a case, and the mute Maori heard with 
 pleasure the rattle of the Pakeha accoutrements, or the angry 
 exclamation of the soldier as he struggled through the tangled 
 thicket. The General was not content to receive such advice
 
 GENERAL PRATT AT TARANAKI. 25 
 
 silently. He described the situation which he had found on the 
 3rd August. Settlers were driven in, cattle seized, property and 
 houses destroyed. An attack on the town was threatened. The 
 troops were divided. Outposts threatened by the enemy could 
 not be abandoned ; and their garrisons reduced the number of 
 men available for general action. The enemy passing through 
 the forest could at any time unite his forces. The inhabitants 
 would not be deported as the General wished. He had only 
 prevailed on 112 women and 282 children to go, and he could 
 not resort to actual force. He had hoped to make an example 
 at Puketakauere, by cutting off the retreat of the rebels before 
 taking the pah, and regretted its evacuation. He found it 
 impossible to prevent the retreat of the Maoris from any place 
 they did not wish to defend. During a few weeks he had 
 destroyed between twenty and thirty undefended pahs, large 
 numbers of " whare," or habitations, and much provisions. The 
 plan proposed to him by Colonel Browne, of harassing the 
 Maoris by constant attacks, was impracticable. He did not 
 dread an increase of the numbers of the Maoris. If they would 
 defend an accessible position, or accept battle in the open country, 
 he was satisfied that he could obtain good results. Colonel 
 Browne did not press his views on the General, but wished the 
 Secretary of State to observe that, when he flung down the gage 
 of battle in March, he had every reason to suppose that the 
 available force (more numerous than the Maoris) was more than 
 sufficient to put down opposition. He was beset with reports 
 that Auckland would be attacked. A chief at the Thames was 
 said to have planned an expedition against it. Friendly natives 
 warned him, and Tamati Ngapora told him (27th September, 
 1860) that the out-numbered Maoris laughed at the idea of 
 being beaten by the soldiers, who fought bravely in Pakeha 
 fashion, marching so close together that one bullet would kill 
 two of them, and suffering at the hands of a few enemies in 
 consequence. Colonel Browne complained of " insufficient funds, 
 circumscribed powers, and inadequate assistance." " Reinforce- 
 ments from England were anxiously looked for." 
 
 A terrible alarm came upon Auckland in October. Eriata, a 
 Maori, was found dead at Patamahoe, about thirty miles from 
 Auckland. The natives thought he had been shot by an
 
 26 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Englishman. A meeting was called, and it was ascertained 
 (the Governor wrote) that at a given signal all the Europeans 
 present were to be murdered. Archdeacon Maunsell was in 
 the neighbourhood, and McLean went to the meeting. After 
 the Archdeacon had spoken, McLean was able to allay the 
 excitement. Ihaka was conspicuous for his friendliness. He 
 was the chief of the dead man's tribe. But another meeting 
 was held a few days later. A war-party of 100 Maoris went 
 thither. Ihaka with two followers met them, in a peculiar 
 attitude, interpreted to mean " Here we are, what do you want 
 with us ? We are prepared." A war dance ensued ; fierce 
 speeches were made ; the production of the supposed murderer 
 was demanded, then an examination, and, in case of proven guilt, 
 the surrender of the culprit to the Maoris. Ihaka and Mohi 
 replied that the previous inquiry was sufficient. Mohi, at the 
 end of his oration, broke a stick, throwing one piece on the 
 ground, in token that the matter had been concluded. " Let 
 there be no evil" (he said) was old Potatau's advice. Tamati 
 Ngapora (uncle of the king) pacified the war-party, and invited 
 them to a feast, which ended the proceedings. 
 
 A few days afterwards two Europeans assaulted Ihaka, as he 
 was labouring for peace, and the chief assured the Governor that 
 if his blood had been shed his followers could not have been 
 restrained. Two days later Browne held conference with Tamati 
 Ngapora and Takerei, who had become an adviser of the Maori 
 king. The former alleged that a Maori, who had fought at 
 Taranaki, had been sought for by the police at Auckland. His 
 arrest would have been a sufficient cause of war. (Parenthetically, 
 the Governor told the Secretary of State, "the man was not 
 arrested because I feared reprisals on our out settlers, and a 
 magistrate who declared his intention to arrest him was for- 
 tunately unable to put it into force.") After four hours the 
 conference broke up with little result. 
 
 Two days later (31st October) came tidings that the king- 
 maker was on his way to the scene of the supposed murder 
 with 400 men. Alarm ran like wildfire through Auckland. 
 Europeans at Otahuhu, nine miles from Auckland, hurriedly at 
 night implored protection. Browne instructed Colonel Kenny 
 to call out the militia, and do what he could. Later, at
 
 BISHOP SELWYN'S EXERTIONS. 27 
 
 midnight, Ihaka visited Browne, to say that the king-maker had 
 informed him and Tamati Ngapora that no aggression of which 
 they might disapprove should be committed. Browne counter- 
 manded the order for sending soldiers to Otahuhu. But all was 
 not over. The Maori-king natives mustered at Ngaruawahia. 
 The resolute Rewi, the Ngatimaniapoto chief, was, fortunately, 
 absent at Taranaki. From Ngaruawahia more than 300 warriors 
 went down the Waikato river in their war-canoes, under the 
 young king Matutaera and Te Waharoa the king-maker. At 
 Paetai they had a war-dance. A letter from Ihaka, to say that 
 the death of Eriata had been duly considered, did not restrain 
 .the young men of the party. They disregarded Matutaera, who 
 returned homewards with his mother. The king-maker re- 
 mained with them to prevent mischief, but could not induce 
 them to abandon their journey. At Tuakau, about thirty-five 
 miles from Auckland, Bishop Selwyn and Archdeacon Maunsell 
 met them. Though his advice was reviled by Mr. Richmond 
 and his colleagues, the Bishop was ever daring to do good and 
 to make peace. Long conference took place. Some wild spirits 
 brooked no delay, and with two canoes pursued their journey. 
 The Archdeacon told the king-maker, who sent a letter after 
 them in haste : " Come back, and come back in peace." 
 Whakapaukai obeyed the missive ; and Mr. Gorst remarks that 
 the Europeans owed their salvation on this occasion to Te 
 Waharoa, the Waikato rebel. It was known afterwards, that by 
 journeying on foot, the Bishop had carried a message to friendly 
 chiefs, who undertook to bar the war-party from passing through 
 their territory. When the Bishop died, the settler, at whose 
 house the Bishop arrived soon after sunrise, dripping from the 
 fording of a creek, told the story. Pirimona was the name of a 
 gallant Maori who shared the Bishop's troubles. The Bishop 
 himself recorded the fact that the brother of the Maori supposed 
 to have been murdered, when convinced that the supposition 
 was untrue, mounted guard at the house of a settler to defend 
 him from attack. 1 
 
 In reporting the alarms caused by the death of Eriata, the 
 Governor called attention to the fact that peace and life depended 
 
 1 'Life of Bishop Selwyn,' by Rev. H.W. Tucker. (London, 1877.) Vol. 
 ii. p. 169.
 
 28 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 on the exertions of a few chiefs, of whom only one received 
 a stipend of 50 a year. " This brings prominently to light 
 what I have so often stated, that it is only by means of employ- 
 ing the chiefs, giving them Crown grants, and attaching them 
 to the Government, that we can hope to keep the country 
 tranquil. The means placed at Sir George Grey's disposal 
 enabled him to do this without difficulty, and I perceive that he 
 is following the same plan at the Cape of Good Hope." The 
 Duke of Newcastle (Jan. 1861) entirely concurred with the 
 Governor that " the government of the natives should be carried 
 on through the chiefs, and that it would be a wise policy to 
 secure to the British Government their services by grants of 
 land or money, or of such other advantages as are calculated to 
 retain their attachment." The contradictions in human nature 
 were never more exemplified than by such an interchange of 
 sentiment between a Governor fresh from the pillage of Rangi- 
 take, and a Secretary of State who sanctioned the robbery, and 
 thus caused a war which cost thousands of lives and millions of 
 treasure. Sir William Martin prepared a thoughtful pamphlet 
 on the Taranaki question. Maori land tenure, the facts con- 
 nected with and the dispute about the Waitara block, the 
 proceedings of the Government and their probable consequences, 
 were handled with judicial gravity and humane earnestness. 
 The injustice of the Native Offenders Bill was touched upon, 
 and the writer declared that simple justice only was needed in 
 dealing with the Maoris. 1 Those who are curious as to details 
 
 1 Nets were spread widely to create offences under the Richmond-cum- 
 Whitaker Native Offenders Bill. Any district might be proclaimed under 
 it. Any visitor, any purchaser or seller within it, any holder of "any 
 communication or correspondence whatever, directly or indirectly," with a 
 Maori in it, &c. &c., or any person aiding or abetting any person in such 
 offences, \vas to be deemed guilty. Tribes might be proclaimed under the 
 measure. A first offence entailed a fine of 100 at the discretion of two 
 Justices like the coveters at Taranaki. A second offence entailed hard 
 labour with imprisonment ; a third constituted felony, and drew down penal 
 servitude for not less than three years. No investigation as to the causes 
 of proclamation was provided for. Letters from Sir William Mar! in, 
 written to procure peace, might have subjected him to the discipline of a 
 gaol under the control of the Attorney-General. But it was only on general 
 grounds that Sir William Martin argued against the atrocious provisions 
 of the measure.
 
 SIR "W. MARTIN ON THE TARANAKI QUESTION. 29 
 
 may read the pamphlet in the New Zealand blue-books of 1861. 
 The Governor's advisers determined to reply to it. " Notes by 
 the Governor on Sir William Martin's pamphlet " were officially 
 promulgated. The public knew that Richmond and his colleagues 
 prepared them, and from a revised edition the Governor's name 
 was withdrawn. As the ' Notes ' contained critical disquisitions on 
 the Maori language, Colonel Browne must have been glad to be 
 relieved from the imputation of authorship. There were higher 
 grounds on which the Ministry sinned grievously in thus abusing 
 his name, for the ' Notes ' teemed with daring assumptions capable 
 of disproof. Mr. Richmond's eagerness in the cause removed all 
 doubt as to the moving spirit in the ' Notes,' for he wrote a 
 separate ' Memorandum,' in which whole sentences were word by 
 word the same as in the 'Notes.' His education, costly as it 
 was to the State, was rapidly proceeding. In August, 1860, he 
 told the House of Representatives : " I know nothing about 
 ' mana,' and I don't care to know anything." In December he 
 crossed swords with Sir W. Martin about the true meaning of 
 the " tino rangatiratanga " guaranteed by the treaty of Waitangi. 
 " Rangatiratanga " must be held to mean " ownership," and not 
 full " chiefship," as Sir W. Martin had contended. 1 The special 
 spleen nursed against Te Rangitake by Mr. Richmond found 
 vent in a sentence which called him "an essential savage 
 varnished over with the thinnest coating of Scripture phrases." 
 
 The Native Offenders Bill, which had been undefended in the 
 ' Notes,' was lauded by its author in the ' Memorandum,' but 
 Sir W. Martin's strictures upon it were unrefuted. Mr. Rich- 
 mond averred that its " penalties were more for Europeans than 
 for natives." He was compelled to admit that Sir W. Martin's 
 pamphlet was " the fullest, the calmest, and most able exposition 
 of the views " of friends of the Maoris ; but, warming with con- 
 troversy, he concluded that the late Chief Justice " had allowed 
 the blind spirit of controversy to master a naturally impartial 
 mind." Some natural sparks resulted from the conflict of truth 
 with error. The Governor and his prompters had asserted that 
 Teira's claim to the land he professed to sell had been "care- 
 fully investigated," and found good. The ' Notes' of the Governor 
 and the 'Revised Copy' were constrained to confess to a very 
 
 1 The best Maori scholars of course agreed with Sir William Martin.
 
 30 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 different condition of affairs. "The title of the sellers (Teira, 
 &c.) to part of the block is certain. The Government contends 
 that their title to the whole is probable." 
 
 Sir William Martin rent this sophistry to shreds by declaring 
 that military force was not placed in the hands of a Governor to\ 
 enable him to seize by force that to which as a land -buyer he 
 had not acquired a title. " It is not lawful for the Executive 
 Government to use force in a purely civil question without the 
 authority of a competent judicial tribunal. In this case no such 
 authority has been obtained ; no such tribunal has been resorted 
 to. If there was no existing tribunal, the duty of the Govern- 
 ment was to establish one. ... To acquire the Waitara land 
 immediately was not a necessity. To do justice to the Queen's 
 subjects was a necessity." 
 
 The ' Notes ' and ' Revised Copy ' dolefully complained that 
 it was " one of the most serious embarrassments against which 
 the Government have to contend, that publications such as those 
 which the Bishop of New Zealand, the Bishop of Wellington, 
 Archdeacon Hadfield, and now Sir William Martin, have put 
 forth, lead the natives to believe that the Governor has initiated 
 a new course of policy which will end in wresting their lands 
 from them, and subverting the rights they possess under the 
 treaty of Waitangi." Mr. Richmond's ' Revised Notes ' 1 added 
 that such publications were embarrassing, " even when circulated 
 by persons whom it may not be worth while to notice. Sanc- 
 tioned by the high authority of Sir W. Martin they really 
 become a public danger." It was not the deed but the shame 
 of exposure which confounded Mr. Richmond. (When one of 
 the Governor's despatches declared, 29th March, 1859) Should 
 the purchase be completed, " it will probably lead to the acquisi- 
 tion of all the land south of the Waitara river, which is essentially 
 necessary for the consolidation of the province as well as for the 
 settlers " Mr. Richmond might well fear that unless Sir William 
 Martin could be silenced, the wrong-doing of the Ministry would 
 be made clear; and he fought with desperate wildness. He 
 had written with regard to the pahs on the block at Waitara 
 
 1 ' Revised Copy. Notes on Sir William Martin's pamphlet, entitled 'The 
 Taranaki Question.' Published for the New Zealand Government. Auck- 
 land : January, 1861.
 
 MR. RICHMOND'S MEMORANDUM. 31 
 
 that Te Rangitake had been joined by natives who had " en- 
 croached with their cultivations upon the proper owners." (At 
 a later date he wrote : " Everybody knew there were pahs. . . . 
 Bell and I wrote an explanation showing that Te Rangitake's 
 small pah was put up by consent of the selling party.") Never- 
 theless the case put by Sir William Martin compelled him to urge 
 in the ' Revised Notes : ' "As regards the cultivations of Te Rangi- 
 take himself, neither he nor any of his people had cultivations on 
 the block. No pah was burnt by the soldiers." Yet, in 1863, an 
 English officer, Lieutenant Bates, 65th Regiment, found a witness 
 to the burning of the pah in the person of Mr. Carrington, who was 
 for twenty-two years surveyor at Taranaki ; and another officer, 
 Bulkeley, and a private, Houltham, both of the 65th Regiment, 
 testified hi writing that they were present at the destruction of 
 the pahs in March, 1860. It would be tedious to trace all the 
 tortuous windings of Mr. Richmond. How he dreaded the 
 practised lance of the judicial knight was shown when the 
 ' Revised Notes ' were published by the Government. The 
 Governor immediately promulgated a notice which, while " recog- 
 nizing the right of free discussion," declared that there were 
 occasions when its exercise was dangerous, and he felt it his 
 duty to state that " such an occasion now exists in this colony." 
 A copy of the notice was sent to Sir W. Martin. His '.Remarks ' 
 on the ' Notes ' and on Mr. Richmond's ' Memorandum ' were 
 privately printed ; but, in deference to the Governor's wish, Sir 
 W. Martin wrote that he "abstained for the present from giving 
 publicity within the colony to the following pages." In the 
 ' Remarks ' he refuted the assertion that Te Rangitake had broken 
 faith with the Government by settling on the south bank of the 
 Waitara. How little the statement, if true, would have assisted 
 the contention of the Government, Sir W. Martin proved by 
 pointing out that Teira, who was among those who re-migrated 
 in 1848 under Te Rangitake, was recognized by the Government 
 as having purchaseable claims where all rights were denied to 
 his leader. With bitter truth Sir W. Martin pointed out that 
 Governor Browne himself in 1855 described Fitzroy's recognition 
 at Taranaki of all absentee Ngatiawas, as a "just decision." 
 
 Richmond denied that in law or in fact the law had anything 
 to do with Maori territorial rights. They stood on treaty of
 
 32 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 which the Crown was " the sole interpreter," and the Governor 
 was "justified in enforcing his jurisdiction in the only practical 
 mode, viz. by military occupation." 
 
 Sir W. Martin cuttingly answered : " I have argued that the 
 people of Waitara, being subjects of the Crown, have not been 
 dealt with as subjects of the Crown. Mr. Richmond answers by 
 saying they are not subjects of the Crown ; they have had all 
 they are entitled to." Martin quoted the Waitangi treaty 
 which guaranteed to them " all the rights and privileges of 
 British subjects," and said those rights "must mean at any rate 
 the opposite of despotism." Mr. Richmond had overlooked the 
 fact that if the treaty were, as his argument implied, " a treaty 
 in the ordinary sense, then the right of interpreting and enforcing 
 it must belong not to one party but to both equally ; that the 
 natives are at liberty to resort to force in support of their view 
 as much as the Governor in support of his ; and that they cannot 
 be charged with rebellion if they do so. However little the 
 theoretical value of Mr. Richmond's doctrine may be, it is a 
 significant and remarkable fact that such a doctrine has been 
 put forth. It is remarkable as bearing on the position which I 
 have maintained, that the natives at the Waitara, being British 
 subjects, have not been treated as British subjects." What was 
 it that Mr. Richmond " called by the name of the Crown " in the 
 Waitara land-purchase ? " The Governor judging in this par- 
 ticular case is simply and in fact Mr. Parris. . . . The majesty 
 of the Royal word and the largeness of the national undertaking 
 issue in the decision of an Assistant Land Purchase Com- 
 missioner." It must be conceded that in their own generation 
 the Government were wise in endeavouring, by an ad misericor- 
 diam appeal, to silence the eloquence which they had no power 
 to control, and against which they were unable to contend. 
 
 The Duke of Newcastle dared not to rebuke the wisdom by 
 which he refused to be guided. In March, 1861, he told the 
 Governor : " It is an advantage to me to be in the possession of 
 the views of so eminent a person as Sir W. Martin, accompanied 
 by your own comments and criticisms, and those of your Ministers 
 where you or they feel compelled to differ with him." But 
 the advantage on which he congratulated himself bore no fruit. 
 Sir W. Martin could prove that all Governors had solemnly
 
 THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. 33 
 
 pledged themselves to obey the treaty of Waitangi ; that Fitzroy 
 had in the Queen's name recognized in all their integrity the 
 admitted rights of Te Rangitake at Waitara ; that as a chief, as 
 a member of the tribe, and as an occupier, those rights were 
 irrefragably concentred in him ; but the proofs were lost on the 
 barren intelligence of the Secretary of State, who equalled the 
 Governor in folly. He approved of the "proclamation issued 
 (by the Governor) for the purpose of inducing loyal subjects to 
 refrain from publishing opinions which may tend to impugn the 
 justice and legality of the course pursued by Her Majesty's 
 Government during the present juncture of affairs in New 
 Zealand." Yet a lurking homage was paid to Sir W. Martin. 
 With regard to the letter in which Sir W. Martin consented to 
 withhold his ' Remarks ' from publicity in the colony, the Duke 
 wrote (27th May, 1861) : "Although I should much regret that 
 anything should be published by so high an authority as Sir W. 
 Martin, which might tend still further to disturb the minds 
 of the New Zealanders, I feel satisfied that he has only been 
 influenced in the matter by a sincere desire to take that course 
 which would prove for the ultimate benefit of the colony." 
 
 When Colonel Browne notified to England Martin's consent 
 to withhold the publication of his ' Remarks,' he deplored the 
 effect of such arguments as Martin's. Disaffection was spread- 
 ing ; there was a " sad prospect before us of that struggle of 
 races which it has been the constant and earnest aim of every 
 Government in New Zealand to avert. (He did not wish to 
 accuse Sir W. Martin.) I and my advisers have ever endeavoured 
 to do justice to his motives." With wonderful folly he referred 
 to the protests of Selwyn and Martin against Earl Grey's 
 iniquitous Instructions (of 184-6) as a similar error; although 
 in 1859 he had extolled Sir W. Martin as holding "the 
 enviable distinction of being universally respected by all parties 
 and both races," and be ing the man whose character and wisdom 
 would silence calumny if his advice were accepted on Maori 
 affairs. Nor did the Governor's mental contortions end here. 
 He informed the Duke of Newcastle (January, 1861), that Mr. 
 C. O. Davis, the Interpreter, who resigned office when he found 
 it untenable under the growing interference of the Governor's 
 advisers, had published " at Maori expense " portions of Sir W. 
 
 VOL. II. D
 
 34 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Martin's pamphlet; that "those most competent to form an 
 opinion consider the publication likely to do an incalculable 
 amount of mischief; (and) under these circumstances I have 
 issued the public notification (restraining the exercise of 'the 
 right of free discussion')." Soon afterwards (March, 1861) he 
 wrote : "I have always t wished to communicate with Waharoa 
 (the king-maker), but owing to the conduct of Mr. C. 0. Davis, 
 as described by himself to Mr. Clarke, I have never been able to 
 do so." Yet when Waharoa sought in 1857 to lay the Maori 
 grievances before the Governor he was not allowed to see him ; 
 and not till then did that chief call upon the Maoris to elect 
 their king ; and even in 1860, Donald McLean, then high in the 
 Governor's confidence, intrigued to prevent Waharoa from 
 appearing before the Select Committee on Waikato affairs. 
 
 Colonel Browne's first martial success was to comfort 
 him soon after he had piteously entreated the Secretary of 
 State to send more men from England. In October, 1860, 
 General Pratt marched beyond Tataraimaka; and, after sap 
 and steady firing with howitzers and mortars, took three 
 pahs near the Kaihihi river, with casualties of only five 
 wounded, amongst whom was Captain Pasley, R.E., serving on 
 the staff and acting as engineer in the trenches. 1 The losses 
 of the enemy were unknown. The advance of a large body 
 of Waikatos to aid Te Rangitake was reported. A friendly 
 native went to the camp of the latter. A Waikato chief asked 
 if he had come for safety or as a spy. He replied that he 
 had come of his own accord. He heard warlike and confident 
 speeches, and returned with news that the plan of the Waikatos 
 was to occupy different positions round the settlement and on 
 the north of the Waitara river. On the 1st November, two 
 Waikato chiefs wrote boastfully to Mr. Parris : " Friend, I have 
 heard your word. Come to fight me that is very good. Come 
 inland that we may. meet. Fish fight at sea. Come inland, and 
 let us stand on our feet. Make haste, make haste; do not 
 prolong it. That is all I have to say to you make haste. 
 From Wetini Taiporutu. From Porokoru. From the chiefs of 
 
 ' l Captain (now General Charles) Pasley had held a civil appointment 
 in Victoria, but, when danger invited, placed himself at the disposal -of 
 the Commander of the Forces.
 
 MAHOETAHI. 35 
 
 Ngatihaua and Waikato." On the 5th November, the General 
 was apprised that a body of Waikatos were to be at Mahoetahi 
 (eight miles from Taranaki on the Devon Road to Waitara) 
 early on the 6th. Communication by signals from Waitara to 
 Taranaki enabled the General to arrange that troops should start 
 from both places so as to arrive simultaneously at Mahoetahi. 
 He led 683 troops from Taranaki at 4 a.m., and at 8 a.m. found 
 the Waikatos in possession of the pah, then in a dilapidated state. 
 From their post, as well as from the fern and a swamp, the 
 Waikatos fired. Guns were brought into position, bayonets were 
 fixed, and the pah was stormed " the enemy still retaining for 
 a short time hold of a portion of the pah, and keeping up a most 
 galling fire from the fern and swamp." Colonel Mould arrived 
 with a column of 300 men from Waitara, in the rear of the 
 Maoris, at this juncture, and threw rounds of spherical case from 
 a howitzer, to dislodge the Maoris from the swamp, to which 
 when almost surrounded they resorted. "The enemy finding 
 himself thus hemmed in, and under a most murderous cross-fire, 
 after an action that lasted two hours, turned and fled with much 
 loss." Shot and shell burst over and amongst the fugitives. The 
 retreat was rapid and the rout complete. The General thought 
 the Maori loss from 80 to 100. " I never saw," he wrote, " a 
 more powerful or gigantic set of men than these tribes, whilst 
 their power of concealment was most marvellous ; indeed, when 
 close upon them, we only knew of their whereabouts by the 
 smoke from their guns." Of the English four were killed, and 
 15 wounded. The General reported that 27 Maoris were 
 found dead. They were buried by the English; the friendly 
 natives rendering no assistance. The boastful Wetini was 
 among the slain, and the General thought Porokoru was 
 killed also, but he lived to fight in after years at Waikato. 
 Wetini was honourably buried at Taranaki. The number of the 
 Waikatos engaged was unknown, but it was supposed to be 
 about a sixth of that of the English. Very few were unwounded. 
 Wetini' s brother carried off a bayonet sticking in his body, and 
 preserved it as a trophy. For two miles the road was stained 
 with blood, and dead bodies were found by the pursuers. The 
 General loudly commended the troops, and the Governor 
 declared that such a timely success was matter for sincere 
 
 D 2
 
 36 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 congratulation. A Taranaki newspaper was jubilant. The 
 day was a red-letter day in the annals of the province. "A 
 shell had a most beautiful effect. The natives rose out of the 
 swamp like birds, and were shot down and bayoneted, as they 
 would not surrender." Great was the grief of the Waikato and 
 the Ngatihaua. The king-maker had vainly endeavoured to 
 dissuade his kinsman, Wetini, from the expedition. When a 
 letter from Te Rangitake asked what was the use of sending 
 him " a disembodied flag," and why no men went to support 
 him, the dashing Wetini could abstain no longer but rushed to 
 the fray. The king-maker prophetically said to him at last, 
 almost in anger, " Then go and stop there." For months the 
 " tangi," or wailing for the dead, was repeated at Tamahere by 
 the Ngatihaua. Rewi, the Ngatimaniapoto chief, was accused of 
 failure to support the popular chief. He declared that Wetini 
 would not listen to advice ; that he had sent messenger after 
 messenger to keep Wetini back from the snare ; that his last 
 messenger was killed in the trap at Mahoetahi, and that no 
 more could have been done. But the Ngatihaua refused to be 
 comforted. They urged the king-maker to vengeance. 
 
 Reprisals at Auckland were apprehended, and additional troops 
 were collected there ; but it was to Waitara that the Maori 
 war-parties were sent. Colonel Browne was not ignorant of the 
 feeling which was spreading among the tribes. Two months 
 after the battle of Mahoetahi he found that sympathy with the 
 Waitara chief was extending in the province of Wellington. In 
 an intercepted letter was found a boast that of the Ngatiruanui, 
 Taranaki, Ngatiawa, and Waikato only 63 had fallen (of whom 
 36 died at Mahoetahi), while 1500 Pakehas had been killed, 
 showing that bulletins of all countries are untrustworthy. At 
 Hawke's Bay there was in November, 1860, a great Runanga 
 or assembly of the Ngatikahungunu ; and a chief, Renata, 
 made an oration of which the Governor sent a translation 
 to England. The burden of the complaint was that the 
 Governor plunged into war, and would not let the law decide 
 whether Te Rangitake or Teira was wrong. " I indeed," said 
 Renata, " will not be as the lick-platter Assembly of the 
 Governor; my words are proper and plain, forasmuch as that 
 Runanga has done wrong." He declared that the murder of
 
 M&TARIKORIKO. 37 
 
 Katatore was of the darkest kind, and that the Governor, who 
 was friendly to Ihaia, was become his accomplice. He denounced 
 the statement that Ihaia was a chief of importance. He was of 
 low rank at Waitara. Te Rangitake alone was their great man, 
 and known by all tribes. Governor Browne contemned Renata's 
 speech as " evidently the result of European advice." Renata 
 in a published letter (February, 1861) justified his position, and 
 replied to arguments of the Superintendent of Hawke's Bay. 
 
 In the end of December, General Pratt marched to attack the 
 Waikato posted near Kairau at Matarikoriko. He had about 
 1000 men, two 24-pounder howitzers, one 12-pounder, and 
 two mortars. He proceeded at half-past six in the morning to 
 throw up an entrenched camp about 900 yards from the pah. 
 Unmolested till nine o'clock, at that hour the troops were fired 
 upon from a line of Maori rifle-pits, running along a deep ravine 
 between the pah and the camp, and extending over 600 yards. 
 From rifle-pits and high fern heavy firing continued till six in 
 the evening, and was returned by the English. No firing took 
 place on the following day (30th December), and when the 
 General was about to resume operations on the 31st the Maoris 
 had evacuated the pah. A Maori letter was found there in 
 which a Waikato chief urged the combatants, Rewi and others, 
 to spare the women and children. The English casualties were 
 three men killed and 22 wounded. As usual the loss of 
 the Maoris was unknown. The General considered it must 
 have been great to induce the abandonment of so strong a 
 position situate in a dense forest. Pleased with this success 
 over " the vaunting Waikatos," as he called them in his despatch, 
 General Pratt pushed forward redoubts in the face of an 
 innocuous fire from rifle-pits. A letter from one of his allies 
 had been found (in the pah captured on the 31st December), 
 warning the Waikato of the intended attack, and the General 
 thought of trying the writer by martial law, but the Governor 
 dissuaded him. He could not afford to make enemies, and it 
 was well known that a species of Maori honour caused men to 
 warn an enemy of an intended attack. Some of the Taranaki 
 militia and volunteers failed to attend parade when called on to 
 accompany the troops, and the General wrote, that to command 
 success he must have 5000 men exclusive of garrisons, and be
 
 38 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 empowered to invade the Waikato country before moving south- 
 wards to Taranaki. He had no great confidence in the militia, 
 and wished the senior officer of the regular troops to take com- 
 mand in all cases of mixed service. The Governor could not 
 agree to under-rate the local forces, but offered to give brevet 
 rank in the militia to officers of the army when required. With 
 fire and sword at their doors and their throats, the Taranaki 
 settlers were resolved to keep the terms of their honour precise. 
 Meantime the gallantry of his foes worked upon the General's 
 consciousness. They made vain diversions at the south of 
 Taranaki. At the north, pushing forward in front of Huirangi, 
 which had been Te Rangitake's head-quarters in November, the 
 English found their Redoubt No. 3 daringly assaulted on the 
 23rd January. At half-past three a.m. a storming party crept 
 up through the fern, and in the darkness made a lodgment in 
 the ditch of the redoubt. They had a support in rear, and skir- 
 mishers were around. Colonel Leslie of the 40th Regiment thus 
 described the attack : " The plan appeared to be to keep down 
 the fire of our men on the parapets by their support and 
 skirmishers, while the storming party scaled the left face of the 
 redoubt. The force under my command was under arms 
 previous to the attack, and quickly replied to the fire of the 
 enemy, who in the most determined and desperate manner 
 rushed up the sides of the parapet, and in some instances seized 
 hold of the men's bayonets, while others crept round to the rear 
 of the redoubt, and fired through the gabions which had been 
 placed to fill up the entrances to the work, and one of the Royal 
 Engineers was in this manner killed while coming out of his 
 tent. A perfect storm of bullets was poured on us from all 
 sides for a considerable time, and I called for assistance from 
 Colonel Wyatt, 65th Regiment, commanding No. 1 Redoubt (at 
 Kairau), for the purpose of dislodging the enemy from our 
 ditch, as I had no hand-grenades." Two companies of the 
 65th and one of the 12th arrived. Charged by the new arrivals 
 in gallant manner, the Maoris retired under heavy fire from the 
 parapets and from the guns of the Royal and Naval Artillery. 
 Thirty-four were found dead, and six wounded were left behind. 
 Of the English, twelve were wounded and four killed. The 
 bodies of the chiefs were taken to Taranaki for interment.
 
 GOVEKNOR CONFERS WITH WAIKATO CHIEFS. 39 
 
 Many were so mangled by the grenades that they could not be 
 identified. General Pratt wrote : " I trust that the severe losses 
 this manly and high-spirited people are continually receiving 
 will teach them how unavailing are their efforts against Her 
 Majesty's supremacy, and will lead soon to a termination of this 
 unhappy internecine war." 
 
 The wild spirits of youthful Ngatihaua, Ngatiraukawa, and 
 other tribes had inspired respect in their foes ; but their wiser 
 elders desired an honourable peace. Tamati Ngapora and 
 Patara were vainly discussing its terms with the Assistant 
 Native Secretary on the day on which the English bayonets were 
 grasped by the Maori storming party. Soon afterwards (2nd 
 February, 1861) Tamati Ngapora and Aihipene, with other 
 chiefs of the north, conferred at Government House with the 
 Governor, the Attorney-General (Whitaker), the Native Secre 
 tary (McLean), the Assistant Native Secretary (Smith), and the 
 Land Claims Commissioner, Mr. Dillon Bell. The burly and 
 good-humoured Aihipene presented the terms proposed. If 
 they were accepted, the chief, Mokena, would be sent at once to 
 bring back the Waikato from the seat of war. " 1st. The piece 
 of land at Waitara, let it be left aside or set apart, to be after- 
 wards arranged or settled by a Court or Whakawhakanga. 2nd. 
 Do not hold to, or bear in remembrance, the causes of evil, 
 whether as regards men, the land, or killing, or property ; let 
 these be all unloosened, all forgiven." Browne said such terms 
 were inadmissible. Aihipene said they were the Maori idea. 
 Would the Governor state what he wished ? English law must 
 be recognized in future; compensation must be given for the 
 waste of Taranaki; punishment inflicted for the murders at 
 Omata in 1860. Aihipene replied that these must be questions 
 for settlement, but he would not presume to anticipate the 
 mode. The proper course was to make peace first, and settle 
 differences afterwards. This the Governor would not agree to, 
 and the chiefs said they had nothing else to offer. The 
 Governor said the chiefs must understand that he did not 
 confuse the murders at Omata with the conduct of Te Rangi- 
 take or of the Waikato. Aihipene said the Waikato must be 
 consulted about Te Rangitake and the Ngatiawa. Colonel 
 Browne asked if the chiefs could bind the Waikato or Ngatiawa.
 
 40 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 They had no authority, and he pointed out that it was absurd 
 to ask him to cease from war when they could not bind their 
 tribes. Tamati Ngapora spoke. The work was that of the 
 Governor and Te Rangitake, though others suffered. Let them 
 put an end to it. The Governor was anxious for peace, but 
 asked what was the use of a short rest, after which war might 
 again break out? Tamati Ngapora put the Governor's stick 
 on the table, struck the end, and said, " Where will the vibration 
 stop ? Not at the first six inches, not till it reached the other 
 end." (Meaning that it was inevitable that other tribes would 
 sympathize with Te Rangitake.) The Governor rejoiced that 
 the vibration had crossed the ocean to England. The chiefs 
 remained silent. The Governor said he was going to consult 
 the Ngapuhi, and would gladly consider terms of peace on his 
 return from the north. Old Patuone (Waka Nene's brother) 
 said the insurrection was like an abscess, and could not be 
 healed till the core was taken out. As to the Omata murders, 
 Paratene ti Kopara was the actual murderer; and as he had 
 been killed since, according to Maori usage atonement was 
 already made. McLean said others were accused. Taraia (a 
 Thames chief) asked who were the Governor's friends whom 
 he desired to consult ? Tamati Ngapora represented Waikato, 
 Patuone the Ngapuhi, Ngatitoa was represented by Hohepa 
 Tamaihengia, the Thames people by himself. Why not make 
 terms at once ? The chiefs approved, and Aihipene said if the 
 Governor agreed that there should be peace, the word would go 
 forth and the insurrection would not spread. The Governor 
 said that the paper which had just been read would give no 
 security for peace. War must be continued till more reasonable 
 proposals reached him. He was answered by Ihaka (Waikato), 
 that points of difference could not be arranged while blood was 
 flowing. He retorted, let Waikato return from Taranaki, and 
 the blood of Waikato would cease to flow. While he was in 
 the north, " let the chiefs work again at their own thoughts and 
 those which he had indicated." 
 
 Colonel Browne told the Duke of Newcastle that it was with 
 great regret he was obliged to refuse such an appeal as that 
 made by the Waikato chief, Tamati Ngapora, " whose desire for 
 peace was undoubted." He visited the Bay of Islands and
 
 WAHAROA CONFERS WITH A MAGISTRATE. 41 
 
 Mongonui, accompanied by Patuone, Ihaka, and Taraia. The 
 Ngapuhi and Rarawa tribes received him loyally. On his 
 return to Auckland he received a letter from the resident 
 magistrate at the Bay of Plenty, narrating an interview, at 
 Tauranga, with the king-maker, who justified the Maoris. 
 Maoris sold their land blindfold for nominal sums ; it was then 
 cut up and sold for full value. " Have we not a better right 
 to this advanced price than the Pakeha ? " A Pakeha had told 
 him that the Queen would claim all the waste lands as demesne 
 lands of the Crown, and confine the Maoris to their cultivations. 
 " This statement was confirmed by a Roman Catholic priest. I 
 reasoned with myself : ' This land was given to my ancestors by 
 Providence. We have retained it from generation to generation. 
 Surely because it is unoccupied now, it is no reason why it 
 should always remain so. I hope the day will yet come when 
 our descendants will not have more than they really require. 
 If I have been correctly informed, even a few years ago there 
 were in England large tracts of unoccupied lands. No other 
 nation on that account attempted to seize them. Why then 
 should they attempt to claim our unoccupied lands ? ' ' Thence 
 arose opposition to land-sales. The Pakehas would not 
 assist in creating a native council and native magistrates to 
 settle Maori disputes. He visited Auckland, but was not 
 allowed to see the Governor on the subject. " I determined to 
 take at my own risk what my Pakeha friends denied me ? " 
 (Mr. Fenton afterwards did mischief : he widened the breach by 
 setting up assessors without reference to the wishes of the tribes. 
 But the king-maker did not approve of the Waikato war- 
 party.) " I did all in my power to dissuade Wetini from going 
 to Taranaki. Our contention was great. He cursed me, went 
 to Taranaki, and has fallen." The magistrate could obtain no 
 hint from the king-maker as to future movements. "All his 
 conversation related to the past." With this narrative the 
 Governor sent to England the king-maker's letter (declining 
 to attend a Committee as a witness) which has already been 
 quoted. 
 
 At Taranaki it was reported that Mr. King, who had so 
 recently in the Assembly at Auckland justified the position 
 of the Government and the demands of the settlers, fell a
 
 42 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 victim in February. The rebels, it was said, had murdered him. 
 The volunteers who sallied forth were too late to save him, but 
 they saw his murderers at a distance. General Pratt pushed 
 the war into the forest in February, only to find that the enemy 
 retired to another line of defence. From rifle-pits and fern, 
 when least expected, the advancing troops were fired at. After 
 one of these skirmishes, in which two English were killed and 
 ten wounded, General Pratt found the Maori position formidable, 
 and that mortars were indispensable. On the 6th March the 
 Governor transmitted to England a statement by McLean, that 
 "The great mass of the native population of the Northern 
 Island may be considered to be in a state of disaffection." 
 They were unabashed by reverses, and confident that they could 
 restrain the growth of the English settlements. They even 
 hoped for assistance from the French. Their skill in selecting 
 their points of attack and defence in their ferns and forests 
 counterbalanced, in their opinion, the English larger resources 
 and better equipment. The threats, curses, and opprobrious 
 epithets used by Europeans, confirmed (McLean said) the worst 
 suspicions of the natives. The evil genius of the time had 
 ceased to hold office as Native Minister. 1 Mr. Richmond had 
 given place (November, 1860) to Mr. Weld, who concurred with 
 McLean's remarks the ominous conclusion of which (5th Feb- 
 ruary, 1861) was "that the English settlements in New Zealand 
 are at present in a more dangerous and precarious state than 
 they have been at any period since the foundation of the colony." 
 To such a pass had Colonel Browne, under advice, reduced the 
 colony in the short space of one year. When this statement 
 reached the Duke of Newcastle (13th May, 1861), he briefly 
 acknowledged it ; and immediately appointed Sir George Grey 
 to relieve Governor Browne. Meantime, the loyalty still left 
 among the Maoris was encouraged. Old Waka Nene wrote to 
 the Queen that his love continued firm, and Colonel Browne 
 transmitted the letter with a hope than an answer and a present 
 might be sent to the " excellent chief." On the 26th June, Her 
 Majesty " most graciously " acknowledged the letter, and sent 
 a silver cup to be presented to Waka Nene " as a mark of her 
 
 1 He still held office as Treasurer, and as Commissioner of Customs.
 
 TE AREI. 43 
 
 friendship," and in recognition of his valuable services. But 
 after the futile conference between the chiefs and the Governor 
 on the 2nd February, warfare continued at Taranaki. Ever 
 planning ambuscades in the abundant fern, and ever forced to 
 retire, the Maoris refused to afford the General the comfort of 
 a general action in which rifles, howitzers, and shells were to be 
 opposed to muskets and fowling-pieces. The Maori forces were 
 entrenched at Te Arei close to the historic Pukerangiora, where 
 the Waikato had, nearly thirty years previously, warred against 
 the Ngatiawa, whom in 1860 they befriended. From block house 
 to block-house the General advanced from Kairau to Huirangi, 
 and thence towards Te Arei. With help of friendly natives 
 he constructed 1200 yards of sap and three redoubts in a fort- 
 night. At night on more than one occasion, in spite of sentinels, 
 the Maoris removed the sap-roller, until an explosion blew 
 one of them to atoms. The General was astounded at hear- 
 ing that the money he paid to friendly natives for cutting 
 materials for his gabions and sap-rollers was shared by them with 
 the enemy, who assisted in the work partly to obtain money, 
 but partly because in this way, and by carrying off the sap-rollers 
 at night, the wily Rewi and his friends scrutinized the English 
 devices. As the sap was pushed through the forest it was 
 found that, to countervail inferiority of weapons, the Maoris 
 skilfully availed themselves of every vantage-ground. Their 
 rifle-pits curved in front of Te Arei, from the Waitara river 
 to a thick forest on the right of the advancing troops. " They 
 had also dug trenches around their pah, and the whole ridge of 
 hills in front of the advancing force had tiers of pits, one over 
 the other, from which the enemy fired as from so many little 
 batteries. It was most annoying to the British to be able to 
 see nothing of the rebels but their smoke and fire, and yet to 
 be so near them as to hear their taunts." l The troops con- 
 structed another redoubt, and the sap was, on the 10th March, 
 pushed close to Te Arei, when Te Waharoa, the king-maker, 
 stepped into the arena. While Sir William Martin was pleading 
 with Governor Browne for justice, he and Bishop Selwyn 
 laboured to induce Te Waharoa to divert his countrymen from 
 
 1 ' History of Taranaki.' B. Wells. 1878: New Zealand.
 
 44 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 war. The sap was close to the pah (in which Hapurona was the 
 ostensible commander), when, on the llth March, Te Waharoa 
 wrote thence to the General : 
 
 " Salutation to you, O chief of this war ! Hear what I have 
 to say. Let there be a truce for three days, Monday, Tuesday, 
 and Wednesday, that I may consider the state of affairs here 
 concerning those with whom you have been fighting, namely, 
 the men from Waikato and those under Te Rangitake. . . . 
 If you consent, issue orders to your soldiers that they may 
 leave off the sap during these three days. If you object to my 
 proposal, write to me that I may know. . . . After the three 
 days you and your opponents can recommence righting. This 
 is all. Friend, you may put faith in what I say. What I say 
 will be put in force by my tribe. From Wl TAMIHANA TE 
 WAHAROA." 
 
 The General granted truce for the two days remaining when 
 he received the letter, desiring the Maoris to cease fortifying. 
 On Thursday morning active operations would be resumed. 
 From Pukerangiora the king-maker retorted (12th March) : "I 
 see you do not put faith in what I say. Listen to me ; I will 
 not deceive you ; a promise like this of mine is not of the earth, 
 but comes from above. It is not right that I should break faith 
 with you. ... I am rather inclined to think that you deceived 
 me : your soldiers have come down to-day into your rifle-pits 
 and fired at us. On that account I am led to suppose that you 
 are deceiving me, and that you have no control over your 
 people. . . ." The General explained that the firing was by 
 mistake, because the white flag, where hoisted on the palisading, 
 was unseen from the foremost (No. 8) Redoubt. He complained 
 also that the Maoris (always in want of ammunition) had been 
 " collecting our bullets ; what have you to say about that ? " 
 On the 13th, the Native Commissioner (Mr. G. D. Hay) met the 
 king-maker, who proposed that the Waikato should go home, 
 that Te Rangitake should go to undisputed land, the English 
 withdraw to Waitaki, and the Waitara block be undisturbed till 
 some final decision could be arrived at by law. There was no 
 appreciable difference between these terms and those rejected 
 by the Governor at Auckland. Mr. Hay said they were 
 inadmissible. " Then," said the king-maker, " let the troops 
 remain, while you and I go to Auckland ; I by land, you by sea.
 
 WAHAROA AT WAITARA. 45 
 
 Meet me at Tuakau." He was told that he had better go in the 
 ship himself. " Shall I go and be treated like Rauparaha ? " he 
 replied. The General vainly offered a " guarantee for his personal 
 safety." Mr. Hay went to the General at No. 7 Redoubt. On 
 his return the chief said : " You are harsh and difficult to deal 
 with. Hear my third offer. Let us remain here in peace. 
 Entreat the Governor to come down here." Other chiefs sup- 
 ported him, and Rangitake was said to acquiesce in the first of 
 the proposals. The General would only consent that the Maoris 
 should retire, and that the English should occupy Pukerangiora, 
 while the king-maker went in a war-steamer to Auckland with 
 Mr. Hay. Again two shots were fired at the Maoris, and again 
 they were told they were fired by mistake. The king- maker 
 said he was tired of writing to Mr. Hay. " I will write to the 
 Governor and to my Bishap, that they may be aware of my 
 arrival here, and how much I tried to treat with the General." 
 Another day's truce was granted. Mr. Hay urged the General's 
 terms. The king-maker said that neither the General nor Mr. 
 Hay seemed inclined to treat on the terms he proposed, and 
 wrote letters to the Governor, to Sir William Martin, and to the 
 Bishop, requesting the General to forward them, and desiring 
 that there might be peace until the Governor should reply. The 
 General promised to forward the letters, and said that meantime 
 active operations would be recommenced. The Governor was 
 inclined to go to Taranaki, but on consulting his Executive 
 Council it was decided otherwise. Mr. Richmond was still 
 Treasurer, and the Ministry feared that Colonel Browne's nature 
 was too full of the milk of human kindness for their purposes. 
 They sent McLean. They still averred that if Te Rangitake 
 would prove his individual claim to any portion of the Waitara 
 block it would be returned to him. But as they resisted Bishop 
 Selwyn's importunity that the case should be submitted to a 
 law-court, their averment was idle. They feared that no judicial 
 tribunal would refuse to recognize those tribal rights which they 
 were conspiring to destroy. 
 
 An important change in the ownership of the Waitara block had 
 meantime been effected by the king-maker's visit. In general 
 tribal meetings, as amongst ancient Germans, resolutions of great 
 moment could be passed in emergencies. In conference between
 
 46 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the Ngatiawa and Waikato, Te Waharoa had spoken of the 
 cause of quarrel being Eangitake's. The chief of Waitara said, 
 '' No, it is yours." " Look at a man," said the king-maker ; " his 
 head is head; his hands, hands; and his legs, legs. You are 
 the head ; Waikato is only the legs." " No ; you are the head." 
 " No ; you." " Very well," retorted Te Rangitake, " I am the 
 head ; Waitara is mine ; the quarrel is mine. There ! I give 
 Waitara to you." On further question he said he disclaimed 
 further voice in disposal of the land. The Ngatiawa fighting 
 general Hapurona, Epiha and Rewi as leaders of the Waikato 
 and Ngatimaniapoto allies, publicly assented, and the king- 
 maker, accepting the gift, declared his award. " Waikato ! back 
 to Waikato. Ngatiawa ! away to Mataitawa. Ngatiruanui ! 
 return to your homes. Let the soldiers return to Taranaki. As 
 for the Waitara, leave it for the law to protect." Thus em- 
 powered by the Maoris, the king-maker had proposed his terms 
 to Mr. Hay, and had made earnest request that there might be 
 no more fighting. The General meanwhile knew nothing of the 
 tribal resolution. On the Friday the Maori white flag still flew 
 under the king-maker's order. The English recommenced to 
 dig in the sap, and were unmolested. The Maori pah was fired 
 at, and the king-maker then said to the fighting chiefs : " Now 
 do as you list." The war-flag was hoisted, and for three days 
 firing was kept up ; the king-maker himself abstaining from 
 fighting. The Maoris alleged that only one of them was 
 wounded during this period ; but the English believed that 
 their mortars did much execution in the rifle-pits. The English 
 lost a lieutenant of artillery. He was in the act of laying a 
 cohorn mortar at the head of the sap when, from a precipice, a 
 Maori marksman fired, and a bullet glancing from McNaughten's 
 hand, entered his heart. On Monday McLean arrived, and 
 wrote that he had been sent by the Governor, and would see Te 
 Waharoa as soon as a flag of trace was hoisted. The firing was 
 continued nevertheless, two Englishmen being killed, and four 
 wounded. On Tuesday Maori flags of trace were hoisted, and 
 the king-maker appointed Te Waionaha as the place of meeting, 
 whither McLean went, accompanied by English and Maori 
 friends. A hundred of the enemy welcomed him cordially. 
 The proposals made to General Pratt were renewed. McLean
 
 McLEAN CONFERS WITH WAHAROA. 47 
 
 (ignorant as the General of the tribal meeting) spoke at great 
 length. He offered safe-conduct to Te Waharoa if he would, 
 with others, return to Auckland to draw up a full statement of 
 all differences. The king-maker said the proposal was fair, but 
 that his followers could not forget that Pomare and Rauparaha 
 had been foully seized. They would not object to meet near 
 Auckland, however. Epiha, the Waikato chief, asked for in- 
 formation as to reference to the Secretary of State, and McLean 
 expatiated on the European mode of arbitration. The confer- 
 ence arrived at no determination. Mr. McLean * wished for 
 further interviews. The king-maker "neither objected nor 
 assented. He would sit still for a month or two to afford the 
 Governor an opportunity of making peace. If it was not used, 
 he would be prepared for further action." What the king- 
 maker's thoughts were can only be guessed. He asked McLean 
 to be friendly to the Ngatiawa, and at his request the Maori 
 chief who had accompanied McLean from Auckland visited the 
 Maori encampment, where discussion continued in the night. 
 At half-past six on Wednesday morning, with all the Waikato 
 warriors, the king-maker left Waitara, firing shots, as was the cus - 
 torn, over the graves of their dead ; and McLean regretted that 
 he had " no further interview with this intelligent chief." On 
 Thursday the 21st he met 300 Ngatiawa, and conversed with Te 
 Rangitake and Hapurona. It was decided that hostilities should 
 cease ; that McLean should ask the Governor to visit Taranaki ; 
 that the Maoris should keep the white flag flying on their forti- 
 fications, and have access to their cultivations, peach-groves, and 
 graves. Te Rangitake expressed a hope that the Governor 
 would not be hard upon the Taranaki and Ngatiruanui tribes. 
 McLean heartily aided by General Pratt thought peace could 
 now be honourably made. 
 
 The Governor having arrived upon the scene went to the 
 General's camp, accompanied by the Attorney-General, by Mr. 
 Weld the Native Minister, by Waka Nene, Tamati Ngapora, and 
 others. For three days discussions were held. On the 30th 
 March several chiefs visited Te Rangitake's pah, three miles 
 from the English advanced posts. Throughout these days Te 
 Rangitake's men had brought presents of vegetables and fruit 
 to the English soldiers. On the 2nd April the chief sent word
 
 48 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 that he was content with the terms suggested. If the Governor 
 would first visit him, he would then visit the General's head- 
 quarters. This was thought humiliating, and the Governor 
 declined to pay the first visit. He went to the camp of the 65th 
 Regiment, within a mile of Rangitake's temporary encampment, 
 and was visited by Hapurona and others. On the 3rd the 
 Governor proposed written terms. By the first he virtually 
 abandoned the v/hole contention under which he had waged 
 war with Sir W. Martin in words, and the Maoris with arms. 
 He admitted that further examination of the title at Waitara 
 was needed. 1. The investigation of the title to and the 
 survey of the land at Waitara to be continued and completed 
 without interruption. 2. Every man to be permitted to state 
 his claims without interference, and my decision, or the decision 
 of such persons as I shall appoint, to be conclusive. 3. All the 
 land in possession of Her Majesty's forces belonging to those 
 who have borne arms against Her Majesty, to be disposed of by 
 me as I think fit. 4. All arms belonging to the Government to 
 be returned. 5. All plunder taken from settlers to be restored. 
 6. The Ngatiawa who have borne arms against the Government 
 must submit to the Queen, and not resort to force for the redress 
 of grievances, real or imaginary. The Governor announced that 
 he would divide the land, which he meant to dispose amongst 
 its former owners, reserving sites of block-houses and redoubts, 
 and right of making roads. He had not used force, he said, to 
 acquire land, but vindicate the law. Mr. Weld, in a pamphlet 
 published in 1869, urged that Te Rangitake was thus put in a 
 position to receive back " any portion of the Waitara block to 
 which he could prove a claim ; " but it will be observed that 
 from first to last the New Zealand Government refused to 
 recognize any rights of chieftainship in Rangitake, and that the 
 claim Mr. Weld was willing to recognize was the individual 
 usufructuary right. Of the well-known paramount tribal right 
 the Government took no heed. Hapurona visited the English 
 camp, but Te Rangitake distrustfully sent word that he had had 
 " ominous dreams," and stayed away. Hapurona required time 
 to consider the terms. After a few days, during which Rangi- 
 take wrote to the Governor but did not visit him, Hapurona 
 acceded to the terms; and Browne, on the 7th April, gave
 
 THE GOVERNOR MAKES TEIIMS. 49 
 
 Rangitake a short time to consider, adding, " If not settled in 
 these days I have nothing more to say to you." Rangitake 
 retired from the scene with Rewi, the Ngatimaniapoto chief, and 
 wrote to the Governor on the 8th April, telling him not to be 
 grieved at his going to Waikato. He was going to hear the 
 words of the tribes who had suffered for him. " Yes, I have con- 
 sented to the peace. I sent my daughter to see you, but she did 
 not see you. 1 That settles the arrangement of the cessation of 
 firing between the soldiers and the Maoris. Let the arrange- 
 ment of what has to be said regarding Waitara be done there. 
 No more. At Mangere we shall see each other." 
 
 To such an impotent conclusion had Mr. Richmond's war 
 been brought. The Governor told the Secretary of State that 
 " although no investigation has taken place it is certain that 
 little or none of the land occupied by the troops which I propose 
 to dispose of belongs to Te Rangitake." When he returned to 
 Auckland he heard that the claims of the Waitara chief had 
 been surrendered to the king-maker. He also found the 
 authority of Sir W. Martin quoted to the effect that the quarrel 
 " had been a land quarrel." To disprove such an assertion, he 
 ordered that Mr. Bell (if he would accept the office) with three 
 chiefs, one selected by Ngatiawa chiefs, should divide the land 
 held by the troops, and that grants should be issued to each 
 separate Maori owner " before any purchase is made on behalf of 
 Her Majesty." By this means, he said, he hoped " to break up 
 the influence of the land-league which was the real strength of 
 the insurrection." He was apparently unable to perceive that 
 his secret hope confessed the truth of Sir William Martin's 
 assertion. The spirit of a soldier was at work in his mind, 
 aiding the temptations of his advisers. He conspired for future 
 violence while he breathed peace in public. He reported the 
 terms of submission at Waitara to the Secretary of State on the 
 7th April. On the 13th he demanded 5000 soldiers "besides 
 
 1 Mr. Weld said in the House afterwards: " Rangitake sent his daughter 
 to make peace. As, however, no acceptance of the terms of submission 
 proposed by the Governor was proffered, and as the reception of Rangitake's 
 daughter would, according to native custom, have concluded peace, leaving 
 terms to be considered afterwards, it was impossible to receive her. Un- 
 gallant therefore as it may appear, she was necessarily allowed to return iu 
 dudgeon." 
 
 VOL. II. K
 
 50 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 all garrisons " in order " to make a successful attack upon the 
 Waikato tribes and their allies in their own country. ..." On 
 the 1st May he wrote, with strange forgetfulness of his previous 
 despatch : " Should we be unhappily forced to resume active 
 operations the consequences will fall heavily and deservedly on 
 the tribes who have rebelled against Her Majesty with the 
 avowed object of declaring themselves independent of a rule 
 which has never been exerted except for their good." (On the 
 12th April) he had required entire submission of the Taranaki 
 and Ngatiruanui, restoration of plunder, or compensation, free 
 passage, and protection for all persons. The murderers would 
 be prosecuted when captured. Mr. McLean reported on the 1st 
 May that the Taranaki natives, by a deputy, had agreed to the 
 terms, but the Ngatiruanui had kept aloof and must be further 
 chastised. 
 
 Sir William Martin now made an attempt to prevent the ills 
 he foreboded if the Government should act violently against the 
 king movement, which in its inception they had favoured when 
 they sent Mr. Fenton to Waikato, and corresponded with Tamati 
 Ngapora. On the 3rd May he sent a minute to the Assistant 
 Native Secretary. A display of, or resort to, force would rouse 
 determined resistance. He argued that the so-called king 
 movement was one which the "Government should rather 
 welcome as a god-send than attempt to crush as an enemy." 
 Through it institutions adapted to Maori needs might be 
 established. The king-maker had lately exemplified what the 
 movement meant. He stuck in the ground two sticks. " One," 
 he said, "is the Maori king; the other the Governor." He 
 placed a third stick resting on them horizontally. " This," he 
 said, " is the law of God and the Queen." Then he traced on 
 the ground a circle enclosing the two sticks. "That circle is 
 the Queen, the fence to protect all." 
 
 Sir William Martin agreed with the Select Committee that to 
 meet the movement with force was unwise, and that the Govern- 
 ment ought to strive to guide it. The Assistant Native Secretary 
 was not wise enough to support Sir William Martin, and the 
 Governor and his Ministers were now too deep in blood to go 
 back. One hundred and seventy chiefs of Napier sent a petition 
 to the Queen to deny that the Maoris were fighting against he?
 
 THE GOVERNOR CONSULTS THE JUDGES. 51 
 
 authority. " Mother, do not listen to the false reports which 
 perhaps are sent to you. They are false. Know then, that the 
 quarrel relates to the land only. We think it desirable that you 
 should appoint a Judge for this quarrel, that it may be put an 
 end to." Mr. Weld l disparaged the petition, and the Governor 
 forwarded it without comment. The Duke of Newcastle merely 
 directed that the chiefs should be informed that the memorial 
 had been laid before the Queen. On the 4th March the Governor 
 issued a notice, renewing his assurance that he did not wish to 
 deprive Maoris of their lands, and that he would maintain the 
 treaty of Waitangi. On the 1st May, 1861, he told the Secretary 
 of State that he was anxious to disabuse the natives of the 
 erroneous idea suggested by Sir W. Martin and others " that the 
 present is a land quarrel." It was only in September, 1859, 
 that he had argued that if such a man as Sir W. Martin were on 
 a council of advice in Maori affairs things would go well. Yet 
 Colonel Browne seems to have had qualms of conscience. On 
 the 6th May he asked the advice of the Judges of the Supreme 
 Court as to the establishment of a Court to dispose of questions 
 relating to land over which Maori title was unextinguished 
 Could the Supreme Court undertake the duty ? If not, how 
 could an efficient Court be constituted ? The Judges did not 
 keep him in suspense. On the 9th May they replied that the 
 Supreme Court was not well adapted generally for such a 
 purpose, though sufficient to deal with incidental cases. A 
 Court might be constituted by formation of a land jury, selected 
 by lot or otherwise from members of various tribes in previously 
 defined districts, nominated by such tribes as competent to act 
 in such capacity, to be presided over by a European (not being 
 an agent for the Crown for the purchase of land) conversant 
 with the Maori language, and assisted if necessary by a native 
 assessor with merely ministerial duties. Every word of the 
 recommendation was a censure on the course adopted by the 
 Governor at Waitara. In every aspect Mr. Parris' commission 
 and proceedings were flagrantly opposite to the views of the 
 
 1 Amongst the signatures was that of Karaitiana Takamoana, who after- 
 wards was elected to represent the Maori eastern electoral district in the 
 New Zealand Parliament. Other names also showed that Mr. Weld erred 
 in undervaluing the petition. 
 
 E 2
 
 52 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 three Judges. It will be seen that the Ministry carefully pre- 
 vented inquiry, by such a court as that suggested, at the Waitara. 
 The Maoris watched the Governor's proceedings with attention. 
 On the 10th January the War Department informed the Colonial 
 Office that General Cameron had been appointed as general 
 officer at New Zealand, in room of General Pratt, who left New 
 Zealand in April to assume command in Australia. Field 
 operations would have soon been entered upon if Governor 
 Browne had remained in office. In a military despatch 
 (3rd May, 1861) he wrote that he had conversed with 
 Tamati Ngapora, and found him altogether peaceable. Never- 
 theless he must extract terms from the Waikato tribes. He 
 would allow them reasonable time to deliberate, and "if the 
 answers are not satisfactory I shall send them specific terms, 
 and if they are not accepted shall leave the General to adopt 
 such measures as he may think proper." As a pupil of Whitaker 
 and Richmond, the Governor had made much progress since the 
 days when he wrote that the Europeans coveted to seize, rightly 
 or wrongly, the heritage of the Maoris, and when he contradicted 
 the assertion of Richmond that the Maoris needed no protection 
 against the designs of colonial ministries and parliaments. He 
 sent a lengthy despatch (7th May, 1861), which was not pre- 
 sented to the Assembly with others of the period, and which 
 bears internal evidence that it was prompted if not written 
 under control. It was grounded upon correspondence between 
 Bishop Selwyn and Mr. Stafford. When, with regard to the 
 Native Offenders Bill, the Bishop and clergy protested in 
 August, I860, against subjecting Maoris to penalties or dis- 
 abilities, " without being brought to answer by due process of 
 law," Mr. Stafford replied that the Government recognized " to 
 the fullest extent all lawful rights of the chief and tribe which 
 have been recognized by former Governments or have ever been 
 understood to exist." The Bishop at once entreated that the 
 Ngatiawa tribal rights at the Waitara might be made the 
 "subject of a judicial inquiry." Stafford equivocated. Rebellion 
 must be punished. Te Rangitake and those "confederated with 
 him to resist the extension of European settlement in Taranaki, 
 cannot be permitted to dispossess the Government by force of 
 arms of land to which the native settlers have apparently shown
 
 BISHOP SELWYN AND MK. STAFFORD. 53 
 
 a complete title." Stafford perhaps thought such a reply capable 
 of deceiving a Secretary of State, but was not so foolish as to 
 believe that Teira had shown a complete title to the homesteads 
 and cultivated grounds of his tribesmen. In 1861 the Bishop 
 resumed the discussion. Peace having been attained a judicial 
 inquiry might be held. Mr. Stafford (3rd May) replied that the 
 Government hoped to establish a Native Land Title Tribunal, 
 but that with respect to the Waitara the Governor had " already 
 made arrangements . . . and there was every reason to believe 
 that they will be successful if only they are not interfered with." 
 He denied the right of the clergy or Bishop to "interfere between 
 Her Majesty's Government and her native subjects." The Bishop 
 replied (5th May) that he and his brethren claimed the privilege, 
 allowed by law to every man, of " laying petitions before the 
 Crown and the Legislature." When others express opinions and 
 support a " policy which we believe to be unjust, we should be 
 guilty of betraying the native race, who resigned their independ- 
 ence upon our advice, if we did not claim for them all the rights 
 and privileges of British subjects, as guaranteed to them by the 
 treaty of Waitangi." The Bishop regretted that as the Govern- 
 ment deemed it "unwise and dangerous to delay the settlement" 
 of the Waitara question until a Title Tribunal could be created, 
 the Government had not foreseen such difficulties before war 
 was declared at Taranaki " upon an unproved assumption." 
 Mr. Stafford retorted (20th May) with some warmth. He did 
 not believe that war was thus made. " I advised the Governor 
 on the matter in question, and ... I will continue to give that 
 advice which it is my duty to afford." He repeated the vain 
 assertion that the Governor and his advisers intended to uphold 
 and obey the treaty of Waitangi. When the Governor sent the 
 correspondence to England he was so fatuous as to urge that 
 the Bishop seemed to " ignore the guarantees in the treaty of 
 Waitangi, which have been frequently repeated publicly and 
 privately, and more particularly in my speech to the natives 
 assembled at the last conference." His advisers had degraded 
 him to their own level. They wilfully violated the treaty in 
 act, while they paid lip-homage to it with their mouths. Which 
 of them prompted the subtle equivocations of the Governor's 
 despatch of 7th May cannot be told. They seem like echoes of
 
 54 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Whitaker, but may have been the result of consultation by 
 many. The Governor was made to say that it would be " unjust 
 as well as extremely unwise either to defer the final settlement 
 of any proprietary claims which may exist upon the block sold 
 by Teira and his friends, or to submit them after what has 
 occurred to any investigation except that of the officers of the 
 Crown, and it would be acting still more unjustly to Teira and 
 all the natives who have remained loyal to the Queen during 
 the insurrection, if I allowed the questions again raised by the 
 Bishop as to their right to sell their own land, 1 and as to the 
 authority and jurisdiction of the Crown, to be now made the 
 subject of an ex post facto inquiry." Te Rangitake or any other 
 Maori might put forward proprietary claims to special portions 
 of the block ; but any right to veto ; any Maori tribal right 
 (though guaranteed by treaty) it was " impossible " to entertain. 
 Though the Governor thus lent himself to Mr. Richmond's 
 eagerness to " accelerate the extinction of the native title," 2 he 
 declared that there was no reason to apprehend injustice. He 
 was carefully considering with a view to constitute a Commission 
 " to divide the land occupied by the troops among the former 
 owners, in accordance with the terms of peace." These lands 
 adjoined the Waitara block, and " no question of ownership 
 raised in one case " would fail to " come out in the other." He 
 was satisfied there would be no " serious difficulty in ascertaining 
 the rightful owners." He was consulting the Judges as to 
 forming an impartial tribunal for native titles generally ; " but I 
 cannot permit the special question, out of which an insurrection 
 has unhappily occurred, to be raised once more at the Waitara. 
 The Bishop desires that these very questions shall still be 
 submitted to a judicial inquiry : which really means than Te 
 Rangitake, who has not accepted the terms of peace, shall be 
 permitted to set them aside and place once more before the 
 Ngatiawa tribes, under European advice, the temptation to 
 
 1 Till one sees such words recorded it is difficult to believe either that 
 the Governor could have remained in such utter ignorance of tribal rights, 
 or that the Ministry who were not ignorant of them could dare to instigate 
 the writing of such a despatch. They must have felt that a fair inquiry 
 would prove the injustice done, arid they desired to conceal it, if uot from 
 the Governor, from the public. 
 
 2 Speech of Mr. Richmond, 18th May, 1858.
 
 THE GOVERNOR'S DESPATCHES. 55 
 
 renew vague and unsubstantial claims which have already 
 caused the sacrifice of so many lives. ... I can hardly con- 
 ceive an act of greater cruelty and weakness than that of 
 throwing away all that has been gained by substituting for the 
 peaceful determination of those proprietary rights a 'judicial 
 inquiry' into pretensions which were disposed of by Governor 
 Fitzroy in 1844, have been resisted since by every Government, 
 and have at length been abandoned by the insurgents them- 
 selves." On this audacious statement it will suffice to remark 
 that the natives were satisfied with Fitzroy's award, that the 
 Taranaki settlers had always conspired against it with more or 
 less success, that neither Te Rangitake nor his friends had 
 abandoned their claims under it, and that it was not until 
 Colonel Browne conspired with the Taranaki settlers and his 
 advisers to defeat Fitzroy's award that insurrection occurred, 
 when troops were sent to dispossess Te Rangitake. But the 
 Ministry had persuaded Colonel Browne that no question 
 touching Te Rangitake's desolated home, if there were one, 
 could fail to arise elsewhere, and the Secretary of State was so 
 informed by the Queen's representative. The "guarantees in 
 the treaty of Waitangi," which the Governor told the Secretary 
 of State (25th May, 1861) he had "frequently repeated publicly 
 and privately,"* were, as regarded Waitara, deliberately violated. 
 A Board, appointed by himself, had unanimously informed him 
 that there was no such thing as individual right to land, inde- 
 pendent of the tribal right. All tribal rights were guaranteed 
 by the treaty. All that was asked by Te Rangitake's friends 
 was that the tribal and other claims at the Waitara should be 
 remitted to " a judicial inquiry." Yet, driven by his wily and 
 perverse advisers, Governor Browne declared that he could not 
 permit the special questions at the Waitara to be so remitted. 
 There were no individual rights, 1 and the Governor would 
 recognize none but individual rights, and he would submit no 
 question about the Waitara block to investigation by any one 
 but an " officer of the Crown." His advisers were wise in not 
 producing such a despatch when it was written. They did, 
 
 1 Donald McLean's evidence before the Board (in 1856) was: " I do not 
 think that any native has a clear individual title to land in the Northern 
 Island.''
 
 56 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 however, produce the pre-arrranged restrictions, which precluded 
 Judge Johnston from making the inquiry at the Waitara 
 a reality. 
 
 Judge Johnson was asked to become a Commissioner to 
 determine differences among native claimants, on the under- 
 standing that "any question as to the title of the Ngatiawa 
 tribe collectively would not be within his jurisdiction." Judge 
 Johnston's acceptance of the task of determining Maori titles, 
 "excluding all claims founded upon any general tribal right," 
 affords a clue to his opinion as to the significance of thus 
 debarring an inquirer from considering the essence of the 
 subject of inquiry. " If the necessity of the appointment 
 involved the necessity for my expressing, even by implication, 
 or indeed of coming to a definite opinion as to the policy of 
 your Excellency respecting the war, or the propriety of the 
 terms of peace, or of the propriety of excluding claims founded 
 upon a right or a supposed right of the Ngatiawa tribe over the 
 lands in question, I should certainly deem it my duty respect- 
 fully to decline the office of Commissioner." J 
 
 Having thus effectually guarded against any compliance with 
 the treaty of Waitangi, the Ministry hoped to derive some 
 credit from the name of the Commissioner, who was empowered 
 for the sake of appearance to associate with himself Maori 
 " chiefs, not exceeding three," as assessors. Unless the assessors 
 could control themselves under torture, their countenances 
 must have fed fat the malevolence of their torturers when the 
 following clause in their commission was translated to them : 
 " Provided always that no claim, or pretended claim, of a general 
 tribal right, over the whole or any part of the said land on 
 behalf of the whole Ngatiawa tribe, shall be received, enter- 
 tained, or investigated under this Commission." The reader, 
 remembering that Judge Johnston was empowered to deal with 
 the land occupied by the troops outside of the block called 
 "Teira's," and that Colonel Browne, under advice, told the 
 Secretary of State (7th May, 1861, despatch 71, Native) : "The 
 lands in question join the block sold by Teira and his friends ; 
 there has been no question of ownership raised in the one case 
 that will not clearly come out in the other " will perceive the 
 1 N. Z. P. P. 1861 ; E. No. 1, B.
 
 FAIR INQUIRY FORBIDDEN. 57 
 
 degradation to which the Queen's representative was reduced by 
 Stafford, Whitaker, and Richmond. Te Rangitake's rights as 
 chieftain, and his own and the general tribal rights, were main- 
 tained by himself from 1839 until 1860. Bishop Selwyn, Sir W. 
 Martin, Hadfield, and others, distinctly raised the question of 
 those rights, and entreated that they might be judicially examined. 
 The Ministry barred Judge Johnston from entertaining them in 
 his inquiries outside of Teira's block, and insolently used the 
 pen of the Governor to say that no question of ownership had 
 been raised within that block which would not "clearly come 
 out " beyond it. It is the satisfaction of history to prove, when 
 fraud has been for a season successful, that the web it has woven 
 has left traces of the falsehood of the weavers. The reader, who 
 remembers Mr. Richmond's ' Memorandum,' which was sent to 
 Sir W. Denison, will not doubt that Judge Johnston's functions 
 were circumscribed because the Ministry knew their position to 
 be untenable. In 1860 Mr. Richmond said: "The issue has 
 been carefully chosen the particular question being as favour- 
 able a one of its class as could have been selected." In 1861 it 
 was found necessary, in order to screen "the particular question" 
 from the eye of the law, to exclude from an inquiry as to Maori 
 ownership that tribal title on which all Maori ownership depended. 
 The time was approaching when the Governor, so unworthily 
 imposed upon, was to show that though deluded he was not 
 intentionally dishonest. The path into which he was beguiled 
 he would frankly follow. He had been told that Te Rangitake 
 had no tribal rights and only wished to destroy the Queen's 
 supremacy, and that even if the chief had any rights the 
 Governor's duty was to despise them and make war for the 
 " mana " of the Queen, and he had done so. He determined to 
 prosecute it. On the day (25th May, 1861) on which he com- 
 plained to the Secretary of State that Bishop Selwyn appeared 
 " to ignore the guarantees in the treaty of Waitangi, frequently 
 repeated publicly and privately" by the Governor, Colonel 
 Browne committed his views to paper. He would first establish 
 the Queen's supremacy. Afterwards he would find out the 
 Maori views at a native conference, and be guided by them as 
 far as possible. Civilization was unattainable until their " com- 
 munal title" could be destroyed. He would give salaries to
 
 58 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 native chiefs, who should be organs of communication with 
 the Government; divide native territory into districts, with a 
 European officer in each ; establish schools ; pass an Act enabling 
 the Crown to issue grants in commutation of native tenure ; 
 and " make bush roads through the heart of the native districts." 
 He would establish a tribunal, to decide land disputes, suggested 
 by the Judges. In addition to the terms offered at Taranaki, 
 conditions were held out to the Waikato ; after discussion, and 
 modifications made by the Governor in Council on remonstrance 
 by Mr. McLean. A manifesto to the Waikato tribes was issued. 
 It charged the Maoris with violating the treaty of Waitangi by 
 setting up a king. It required unconditional submission to the 
 Queen, restitution of all plunder, and compensation for all losses. 
 Mr. Smith, the Assistant Native Secretary, explai ned it for three 
 hours to Tamati Ngapora, in order that the chieftain, the uncle 
 of the king, might expound it to a Runanga about to be 
 held at Ngaruawahia. Though Ngapora undertook to submit 
 the manifesto to the chiefs it was plain that he had no hope 
 of a favourable reception for it. Even as it stood it had been 
 modified in deference to McLean's objections. This was on the 
 25th May. On the 29th the Governor received a letter from a 
 Wairarapa chief (Wellington province), stating that some of the 
 chiefs, loyal at Kohimarama, were departing from their word and 
 joining the king movement. 
 
 On the 1st June the Government heard that Te Rangitake 
 was making an armed progress in Waikato, at the head of more 
 than 400 men, on his way to Ngaruawahia, where great prepara- 
 tions were made for his reception. The chiefs, it was said, had 
 resolved " rather to die as chiefs than live as slaves to the 
 Europeans." On the 4th June the Governor opened the first 
 session of the third Parliament of New Zealand. He narrated 
 briefly the steps he had taken, and alluded to recent discoveries 
 of gold in the colony. Both Houses echoed his speech. Ominous 
 reports were made in July that the natives were collecting 
 gunpowder. Browne wrote : " I am informed that Maori 
 women purchase powder in Auckland or its neighbourhood, and 
 carry it away on their backs concealed in blankets." McLean 
 believed that American whaling vessels largely supplied it on 
 the coast. Though the Ministry tided over the address, notice
 
 WELLINGTON MEMBERS SEE THE GOVERNOR. 59 
 
 was given of a motion for inquiry into the state of the colony. 
 Stafford and his colleagues met it by proposing resolutions 
 binding the House to the Governor's manifesto to the Waikato. 
 With an amendment, carried by a friendly member who con- 
 sidered the war an Imperial one, the House adopted the resolu- 
 tions (19th June). Mr. Weld, in the debate, alluding to the 
 king-maker, said : "I would not speak without an amount of 
 respect for the man. In his own mind he may be right, and 
 looking from his point of view there is nothing to be said 
 against the position he takes, but if we are to be carried away 
 by any maudlin sentiment about which the world now raves, we 
 really entail the ruin of that race itself, no less than the partial 
 ruin of this colony for many years." But all colonists were not 
 blind followers of the Ministry, and many who desired war did 
 not wish to enter upon it without more men from England. A 
 deputation of representatives of the province of Wellington in 
 the Assembly (Mr. Fox, Dr. Featherston, Mr. Fitzherbert, and 
 three others) waited upon the Governor to warn him that dis- 
 trust was spreading, that the Maoris were becoming convinced 
 that he was determined to attack them separately in detail, and 
 that many who had held aloof from the Taranaki dispute as a 
 personal matter between Te Rangitake and the Governor would 
 now, if war were undertaken (as they heard was probable) 
 against the Waikatos, feel compelled to make common cause 
 with their countrymen ; and that the forces in New Zealand 
 were inadequate to protect the colonists against a general 
 insurrection. Governor Browne might be unwise, but he was 
 bold. He thought it likely that the invasion of the Waikato 
 country would cause a general rising, but he would carry out his 
 resolution, and " insist upon the terms he had proposed to the 
 Waikatos." 
 
 Settlers must suffer, but must, as at Taranaki, build and 
 defend block-houses. War was not made with rose-water. 
 Auckland from its position was most exposed, but Colonel 
 Browne did not believe that for some time there " had been 
 imminent danger even there." Having pleaded in vain for 
 Wellington, Wanganui, and Wairarapa, the members foreboded 
 from the Governor's demeanour the destruction of the fruits of 
 20 years of colonization. They presented a report of their
 
 60 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 interview on the 20th June. It does not appear that the 
 Ministry objected to the strange procedure. The paper appears 
 as " laid on the table by Mr. Fox, and ordered to be printed." 
 The recognized leader of the Opposition gave notice of a motion 
 of want of confidence, and the Governor understood that if there 
 should be a change of Ministry, the new men would not hold 
 themselves bound by the manifesto to the Waikato tribes. He 
 thereupon communicated with the House (25th June) independ- 
 ently of his advisers. He reminded it of its resolutions of the 
 19th June ; " 1. That the establishment within these islands of a 
 sovereign authority, independent of the British Crown, is incom- 
 patible with the security of the colonists, the civilization of the 
 natives, and the welfare of both races. 2. That if, unhappily, 
 negotiations should fail, this House, relying on the best practi- 
 cable provision being made for the protection of life and property, 
 is of opinion that it is the duty of the colony to second the 
 measures taken by the Imperial Government for the assertion 
 of Her Majesty's sovereignty, and securing a lasting peace." 
 Colonel Browne wanted a more clear definition of the colonial 
 assistance thus offered. His advisers enabled him to tell the 
 Secretary of State that they agreed with the course he took. 
 Some members objected that the Governor could not constitu- 
 tionally address the House except under advice ; but an address 
 was unanimously adopted, pledging the House to "assent to 
 organization and maintenance of militia to defend the several 
 settlements, and to approve of the acceptance by the Colonial 
 Government of advances from the commissariat chest for de- 
 fraying the requisite expenditure on the conditions prescribed 
 by the Secretary of State (January, 1861), viz. "that all such 
 advances will be repaid from colonial funds, so far as the 
 Imperial Government shall require repayment." These con- 
 ditions had been imposed in consequence of the loose manner 
 in which Colonel Browne had left the question of repayments 
 " for future adjustment between the mother country and the 
 colony," when he was inveigled into the Taranaki war. The 
 Assistant Commissary-General had pointed out that advances 
 for militia purposes, such as the Governor required, were at 
 variance with War Office regulations ; and after lengthy cor- 
 respondence the Governor obtained the money, but postponed
 
 THE GOVERNOR AND THE ASSEMBLY.' 61 
 
 the question of repayment Mr. Richmond "respectfully sub- 
 mitting that the colony was entitled to the ultimate refund of 
 its advances, and that his Excellency should, on behalf of the 
 colony, claim such refund." Now, when a larger war was being 
 prepared, in dire need of money, but undismayed by danger, and 
 thirsting for control of Maori lands and people, the pledge 
 (qualified in their address " to the extent of the limited resources 
 of the colony ") required by the Secretary of State was given 
 by the representatives, who, in their turn, reminded the Governor 
 that it would be more costly to provide a militia than to obtain 
 more soldiers. The Governor could not refrain from calling the 
 attention of the Secretary of State to the able and manly speech 
 of Mr. C. W. Richmond, the Treasurer, which placed " the whole 
 subject in its true light." At the very time when this matter 
 was considered in the House, General Cameron was representing 
 that the militia force was inadequately available. Its members 
 could only be called out for service within limited districts. He 
 knew of no other country with such narrow limitations as a circle 
 of 15 miles radius. He had wished to inspect the force. Ob- 
 taining no satisfaction, after repeated requests, and finding that 
 the policy of the Ministry was to make a quarrel and leave the 
 soldiery to fight it out, he urged, on the 1st July, that he must 
 fully inform the authorities in England. " It was his duty to 
 direct their attention to the fact that at this critical juncture, 
 when every settlement in this island is threatened with attack, 
 the militia has not been called out at any of them except at 
 Taranaki, where, according to Major Herbert's report, not more 
 than 100 militiamen can be considered fit for duty." He had 
 commenced preparations for attacking the Waikato when in- 
 structed to do so. Such an expedition should not be undertaken 
 with much less than 3000 men, and he wished to know, whether, 
 in case of hostilities, garrison duties could be performed by 
 militia, as barely 2500 troops were available for field service. 
 Mr. Stafford furnished in reply a vague memorandum of a kind 
 with which he had for many weeks set aside the Governor's 
 importunity. 1 It was lengthy, and evaded a reply to the 
 General's requests. 
 
 1 Governor Browne. " From the 22nd March, I have constantly urged 
 the subject verbally" (July, 1861). P. P. 1862; vol. xxxvii. p. 66.
 
 62 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 The Governor, in the midst of these troubles, wrote a strange 
 despatch in July, 1861. Maoris believed that the Queen was 
 not unfriendly to them, and hoped that Browne's proceedings 
 might be disapproved of. Their loyalty to the throne had 
 survived, despite their wrongs at Waitara. The pernicious 
 suggestion that there was any variance between his and the 
 Queen's intentions did (in Colonel Browne's opinion) infinite 
 mischief. Even Sir William Martin had said that " a temporary 
 estrangement from the Colonial Government would be followed 
 by a strong and abiding attachment to the Government of 
 England." To crush these hopes Browne requested that a 
 Royal Proclamation of the Queen's will might be sent by the 
 earliest opportunity, in order to undeceive the Maoris. With 
 strange blindness, while averring to the Maoris that the Taranaki 
 quarrel did not relate to land, he suggested that it should be 
 announced, in Her Majesty's name, that confiscation of land 
 should be held in terrorem against all who might take up arms 
 against the Queen. However just his intentions might be, his 
 acts ministered to covetousness at Taranaki, and the Maori 
 mind was well aware of their tendency. The situation was 
 deemed so critical that both Houses sat in secret Committee, 
 and resolved (5th July) that more troops were necessary that 
 there was no doubt that a large majority of the natives in the 
 North Island were adherents of the native king, and that 
 authentic information established the fact that in the event 
 of offensive operations against the Waikatos, they would act on 
 the defensive, while attacks would be made in force elsewhere 
 by their allies. Troops must be obtained. Effectually to put 
 down the rebellion would be the course most humane, most 
 beneficial to the Maoris, and the cheapest for the Imperial 
 Government. 1 On the following day the Governor procured 
 the concurrence of his Executive Council with these views, 
 General Cameron, who was a member, limiting his assent to the 
 propounded military necessity. The Governor also wrote a 
 long despatch (6th July), requiring force enough to "subdue 
 the Maoris once and for all." 2 With it he transmitted the 
 
 1 These secret resolutions were printed by order of the House of Com- 
 mons. P. P. 1862 ; vol. xxxvii. p. 76. 
 
 2 In acknowledging (to the new Governor, Sir G. Grey) a despatch from
 
 MAORI REPLY TO GOVERNOR'S MANIFESTO. 63 
 
 reply of the king-maker, Te Waharoa, to the Governor's mani- 
 festo to Waikato. 
 
 The Maori Runanga replied briefly. The chiefs deprecated 
 (7th June) strife. Let the Governor " be slow to wrath, swift 
 to hear. . . . This is our intention. We are not going to rise 
 up to right. . . . Let our warfare be of the lips alone. If such 
 be the course it will be a long path ; our days will be many 
 while engaged in such warfare. Let it not be converted into a 
 battle fought with hands. That is a bad road a short one : 
 our days will not be many while engaged with the edge of the 
 sword. . . . Let us not be committed to the short path ; let us 
 take the circuitous one ; though circuitous its windings are 
 upon firm land. There were proverbs Not by the straight 
 path, or meagre fare for the traveller. Let us take the wind- 
 ing course, or abundance, the portion of the stayer at home. It 
 is for you to interpret these proverbs. There are more to come." 
 The king-maker wrote separately. Commencing with dark 
 hints and rhythmic strains, he said : " My song refers to those 
 who are double-hearted, whose lips are given to this side and 
 their heart to the other side." Why was there invidious dis- 
 tinction between the races ? "I thought that the currents of 
 every river flowed into the mouth of ' Te Parata ' (the un- 
 fathomable profound of ocean), where no distinction is made, 
 nor is it said ' You are salt water, and that is fresh water 
 remain you away from a preference for the salt water only.' 
 In like manner, as the currents from the various islands flow 
 into the mouth of Te Parata, so also all the kingdoms of the 
 different nations rest upon God, as the waters rest upon the 
 mouth of Te Parata. When this work is arrived at we are 
 rebuked. Now, when I worship God I am not rebuked. This 
 great name of God which is spoken of to me, why is this free 
 to me, while of the name of king I am told, ' It is sacred, 
 mention it not ' ? Let the Pakeha look to Deuteronomy, chap, 
 xvii. verse 15. Was not the Queen English, Nicholas Russian, 
 
 Colonel Browue, enclosing an opinion from Sir W. Martin at this period 
 the Duke of Newcastle deprecated "allowing a sanguinary war to spring 
 up," and hoped "with Sir W. Martin, that just and effective government 
 by giving the natives what they are blindly feeling after, would eventually 
 throw the king movement into the shade" (22nd September, 1861).
 
 64 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Buonaparte French, Pomare Tahitian, each from his own people ? " 
 With unhappy logic he asked : " How was it that the Americans 
 were permitted to separate themselves ? Why are they not 
 brought under the protecting shadow of the Queen ? for that 
 people are of the same race as the English. Whereas I, of this 
 island, am of a different race, not nearly connected. ' My only 
 bond with you is in Christ'" (Ephes. ii. 13). If all countries 
 were united the standing aloof by the Maori might be blameable ; 
 but they were not. "Friends, do not be offended. Let me 
 make known my thoughts on the great matter which has 
 furnished a cause of dispute." The treaty of Waitangi did not 
 justify the anger of the Pakeha. One chief could deal with his 
 own, but not with the things of another chief. The great boon 
 of Christianity was accepted gladly by Maoris. " I say, O friends, 
 that the things of God are for us all. God did not make night 
 and day for you only. No ; summer and winter are for all ; the 
 rain and the wind, food and life, are for us all. Were these 
 things indeed made for you only ? I had supposed they were 
 for all. If some were dogs and others were men it might be 
 right to be angry with the dogs, and wrong to be angry with 
 the men. My friends, do you grudge us a king, as if it were a 
 name greater than that of God ? If it were so that God forbade 
 us, then we would give it up ; but He forbids not, and while 
 only our fellow-men are angry we will not relinquish it." He 
 denounced the haste with which Colonel Browne plunged into 
 war at Taranaki. He gave no warning. He had not said to 
 the Maoris, " Friends, I intend to fight at Taranaki. . . ." The 
 wrong-doer, who became unjustly angry, was the Pakeha. Te 
 Rangitake, who was wronged, had done no evil. Why was not 
 the case submitted to judgment ? Why was the evidence of 
 one man taken, when the Governor might have called the 
 neighbours together to learn the truth ? " Friends, wherein 
 is our friend the Governor right, whom you believe in ? Te 
 Rangitake, the man of calm thought, is misjudged by you ; and 
 the Governor who hasted to anger is supported and praised. 
 Hence are my thoughts perplexed, for James said, ' Be slow to 
 wrath, swift to hear.' As it is, the precept in Proverbs, chap. xvi. 
 verse 32, has not been carried out." Had Te Waharoa been 
 angry there would have been some excuse, but the wise Pakeha
 
 WAHAROA'S REPLY. 65 
 
 should not become passionate like a child. Te Rangitake having 
 been invited by Te Whero Whero to return to Waitara, it was 
 just that the Waikato should sympathize with the assaulted 
 chief when he called to Waikato for help. Allies connected by 
 blood-relationships, appealed to, and averse by Potatau's desire 
 from land-selling the Waikatos were bound to aid Te Rangi- 
 take. As to the charge of murdering; look at the death of 
 Katatore. " He was waylaid and died by Ihaia. That was a 
 foul murder. You looked on and made friends with Ihaia. 
 That which we regard as a murder you set at nought; and 
 you call that a murder which we deny to be one." The 
 Governor had not warned his own unarmed people to remove 
 out of the way when he declared war. He should have done 
 so. " Had he even said to the Ngatiruanui, Friends, do not 
 kill the settlers, it would to some extent have been a little 
 clearer. Enough on the subject of the murders." Restitution 
 of property was demanded by the Governor. But Rangitake's 
 " pah was burnt with fire ; the place of worship was burnt ; and 
 a box containing Testaments, all was consumed ; goods, clothes, 
 all were consumed. The cattle were eaten by the soldiers ; 
 and the horses, 100 in number, were sold by auction by the 
 soldiers. It was this that disquieted the heart of Te Rangitake 
 - his church being burnt with fire. Had the Governor given 
 word not to burn his church, and to leave his goods and animals 
 alone, he would have thought also to spare the property of the 
 Pakeha. This was the cause. . . . The Governor first com- 
 menced the road, and Te Rangitake merely followed upon it." 
 . . . From your loving friend Wi Tamihana Te Waharoa." 
 
 With the decision of the runangathe king-maker sent a letter 
 to the Governor, explaining that he had set up Potatau, in 1857, 
 to put an end to land feuds, " to put down troubles, to hold the 
 land of the slave, and to judge the offences of the chiefs. I do 
 not desire to cast the Queen from this island, but from my own 
 land. I am the person to overlook it. Enough." He called 
 to mind that he was converted to Christianity at the Rotorua 
 war in 1836, and had ever afterwards laboured with the mis- 
 sionaries for peace, and to stay the river of blood which war 
 made to flow in the land. But the Governor was unconvinced. 
 He told the Secretary of State that he must have more troops 
 
 VOL. II. F
 
 66 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 to subdue the Maoris at once, or the Northern part of the 
 colony must be abandoned to " Maori law, of which the aptest 
 symbol is the tomahawk." 
 
 The Governor's language perhaps caused the immediate 
 downfall of the Stafford Ministry. On the same day (3rd 
 July) that the House agreed to the repayment of Imperial 
 advances for militia purposes, Mr. Fox moved a direct vote of 
 want of confidence in the Ministry. After more than one 
 adjournment the motion was carried by 24 votes against 23. 
 It was remarked that Otago and Wellington furnished much 
 strength to the majority. It was not, however, by reason of 
 their policy on native affairs alone that the Ministry had fallen. 
 On provincial questions there had always been discontent. The 
 new Ministry contained many well-known names. Mr. Fox was 
 Attorney-General and Colonial Secretary; Dr. Featherston, 
 Mr. Reader Wood, and Mr. Mantell became the Governor's 
 advisers. The part taken by Mr. Fox and Dr. Featherston 
 in discussing the Taranaki war, obtained for the new Ministers 
 the name of the peace-at-any- price Ministry." They took 
 office on the 12th July. Their predecessors were resolved 
 that the treatment of Maori interests should undergo no 
 change. It was moved that the Governor's " memorandum 
 on native affairs be translated into Maori, and sent to the 
 principal chiefs in the island." The Fox Ministry would have 
 contended in vain against the motion, and it was universally 
 accepted. Thus the men who had opposed injustice at Taranaki 
 were chained to the car of the new war which the Governor had 
 determined upon at Waikato ; and the opportunity for a change 
 of colonial policy was lost. Governor Browne, with pardonable 
 exultation, told the Secretary of State that his views in reference 
 to war ..." and to the future management of the native race," 
 had " been accepted and approved by all parties in the House." 
 Mr. Richmond meanwhile was not content with the negative 
 triumph deducible from the Governor's proceedings. He aimed at 
 actual control. On the 1st August, before the Fox Ministry were 
 fairly settled in their places, he moved a direct vote of want of 
 confidence. On a division he obtained 25 votes against 26. 
 Mr. Fox strengthened his Ministry on the 2nd August by the 
 accession of Mr. Sewell and Mr. Crosbie Ward. Although
 
 Fox MINISTRY. 67 
 
 Sewell had been Richmond's colleague in the Stafford Ministry 
 Richmond was still unsatisfied. On the 8th August he furnished 
 what the Governor called (in a despatch dated the 9th August) 
 a " valuable memorandum " on the king movement. The pur- 
 port of it was to deny that any terms could be found for peaceful 
 dealings with th3 Maori king's followers. But resolute as he 
 was to support a warlike course he was equally determined to 
 deny that he was responsible for the Waitara quarrel. Dr. 
 Featherston had moved in June for certain correspondence 
 between Bishop Selwyn and Mr. Parris. In debate he alluded 
 to the sinister influence exercised by Mr. Richmond over the 
 Executive in relation to the Waitara. A petition from Mr. 
 Abraham, a barrister, confirmed his suspicions. Mr. Abraham 
 had claims at Waitara recognized by the New Zealand Company, 
 but the company resigned their charter in the year of 1 is arrival 
 in the colony. He looked to the Crown for satisfaction of his 
 claims. Mr. Richmond, as Provincial Attorney at Taranaki, 
 advised, in 1854, that such claims as those of Mr. Abraham 
 should be deemed " unavailable and extinguished " unless 
 exchanged for Government scrip; but the regulations framed 
 upon this advice were disallowed by the Government on 
 memorial from various claimants. The Land Orders and Scrip 
 Act of 1856 commuted claims at Taranaki by obliging claimants 
 to accept (in lieu of 50 acre lots) one acre of town land, or 12 of 
 suburban, or 50 acres of rural land. An amending Act (in 1858) 
 made further changes, and was proclaimed in 1859, having been 
 reserved for the Royal assent. While the Bill which thus 
 became law was in progress, Mr. Carrington, as agent for claim- 
 ants at the Waitara block under the New Zealand Company's 
 original (alleged) purchase from the natives, threatened) to 
 memorialize the Colonial and Imperial Governments against the 
 provisions of the Bill, and at an interview with Mr. Richmond 
 was induced to withdraw his opposition by promise of increased 
 compensation; viz. 37^ acres of suburban, or 75 acres of rural 
 land, instead of the quantities proposed by the Bill of 1856- 
 Mr. Richmond obtained Mr. Carrington 's written consent to 
 these terms. Mr. Abraham averred that Mr. Richmond under- 
 took that the Government would make efforts to acouire the 
 Waitara land, but Mr. Carrington's recollection (in 1861) was 
 
 F 2
 
 68 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 that Mr. Richmond had said at the interview in 1858 : " You 
 cannot expect the province to go to the expense of obtaining the 
 Waitara land, and then hand it over to you and your friends." 
 Richmond was then Native Minister, and the attempt to obtain 
 the block by purchase from Teira commenced in 1859. Coupling 
 these facts with his recollection of the petition of the Taranaki 
 Provincial Council in 1858, and Mr. Parris's letter alluding to 
 Mr. Turfcon's " peremptory plan for acquiring the Waitara dis- 
 trict," Dr. Featherston declared that his suspicions were justified. 
 Mr. Weld moved for a Committee to report on the charge thus 
 made in debate. At first he placed on the Committee four of 
 his own friends, and three of Dr. Featherston's, but subsequently 
 the Speaker and the Chairman of Committees were added on 
 his own motion, and a tenth -member was 'added on the motion 
 of a supporter of the Fox Ministry. In the inquiry Mr. Rich- 
 mond denied that he had brought undue pressure to bear on 
 the Governor, or had advised specially the purchase of the 
 Waitara block. Dr. Featherston cited as his justification, Major 
 Nugent's despatch in 1855 (with Te Rangitake's complaint 
 against Mr. Turton) ; Governor Browne's statement in 1855, 
 that the feud had been aggravated by the injudicious zeal of 
 Mr. Turton, who had " revived the old suspicion that the 
 Europeans would not rest till they had slain and taken posses- 
 sion ; " with various other facts already told. Mr. Richmond 
 cross-examined witnesses, and Mr. Parris vainly strove to explain 
 away his written allusion to Mr. Turton's " peremptory plan." 
 Mr. Turton wrote a long letter to exculpate himself, and denied 
 that the Waitara block was " coveted " by the settlers, because 
 " no man could covet his own property," and they had properly 
 bought it from the New Zealand Company. To prove his con- 
 sistency he quoted from his diary in 1855 a statement that 
 " the full justice of the case would require that Rangitake's 
 people should be at once removed away beyond the original sur- 
 veyor's line at Titirangi." Mr. Parris, the inculpator of this 
 would-be remover of hundreds of Maoris, was called upon in 
 1860 by the Governor to state whether he had told the Bishop, 
 in 1838, that "he was sorely beset to enter into a conspiracy to 
 deprive Rangitake of his much-coveted land at Waitara " Dr. 
 Featherston having stated at a public meeting at Wellington
 
 SELECT COMMITTEE RICHMOND'S INFLUENCE. 69 
 
 that he had seen a letter from Mr. Parris to the Bishop to that 
 effect. Parris had no copy of his letter, and the Bishop declined 
 to produce it without the writer's permission. It appeared that 
 the letter was no private one, but written at the request of 
 about twenty natives who desired to have a minister established 
 among them. The charge against Mr. Turton was only inci- 
 dental, but couched in plain words, that he desired " to 
 exterminate the natives from the Waitara in accordance with 
 his peremptory plan for the acquirement of that delightful 
 and much -coveted district." The letter was produced with 
 Parris's consent, together with correspondence between Rich- 
 mond and Parris in 1859 and 1860 about the Waitara block. 
 In 1859 Mr. Richmond wrote : " I concur with you in thinking 
 that there is no occasion, under the Native Reserves Act, to 
 obtain the consent of every native who signs a deed whereby a 
 reserve is made. . . . The Governor is very anxious about the 
 completion of the purchase from Teira. I am sure you will 
 press the matter as fast as appears prudent. . . . The Governor 
 feels he is pledged to effect the purchase." The Committee 
 examined Mr. Richmond, Mr. Parris, Mr. Carrington, Dr. 
 Featherston, Mr. McLean, and Mr. Weld (their chairman). 
 
 Mr. Richmond denied having' brought undue pressure to bear 
 on the Governor. The Governor wrote a letter to relieve him 
 from the charge. Mr. Richmond cited a ministerial memoran- 
 dum signed by himself in May, 1860, asserting that the pro- 
 ceedings at Taranaki " were not at any stage urged upon the 
 Governor, or so much as suggested to him by his responsible 
 Ministers." He denounced the revelation of " secret thoughts 
 and feelings expressed by Mr. Parris in confidence under the 
 seal of privacy to his spiritual teacher," and averred that " the 
 true meaning of Mr. Parris's passionate and involved expres- 
 sions had been utterly perverted." In examination Mr. Parris 
 said he was blamed by the settlers at Taranaki for having 
 warned Te Rangitake of the ambush prepared for him at the 
 pah evacuated by Ihaia, and admitted that his letter to the 
 Bishop was not private, though he did not suppose the Bishop 
 had a right to show it to any one. The Chairman of Committees 
 asked for leave to acquaint the Bishop with the charge made by 
 Mr. Richmond of improperly disclosing the contents of Parris's
 
 70 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 letter, but did not obtain it. Parris in reply to Dr. Featherston 
 said that in discussions with Te Rangitake the latter generally 
 used the expression : " I will not consent to divide the land, 
 because my father's dying words and instructions were to hold 
 it." Parris quoted these words in a letter to Mr. Richmond on 
 the 16th February, 1860. This date is significant, when it is 
 remembered that Parris was replying to Mr. Richmond's official 
 letter of 25th January, ordering him to survey the disputed 
 block, and if resistance should be offered, to call in the aid of 
 the military ; that on the 17th March fire was opened upon Te 
 Rangitake's pah, and that Richmond, in a memorandum addressed 
 to Colonel Browne on the 20th March, used these ominous 
 words : " The occasion has been carefully chosen the particu- 
 lar question being as favourable a one of its class as could have 
 been selected." 
 
 It may seem strange that this pregnant sentence escaped Dr. 
 Featherston's notice if already published in New Zealand. In 
 March, 1861, it was printed by order of the House of Commons ; 
 having been sent by Colonel Browne to Sir W. Denison when 
 applying for troops with which to crush Te Rangitake, and hav- 
 ing been transmitted to England by Sir W. Denison. If it had 
 been presented to Mr. Weld's Committee it would probably have 
 failed to influence them. Exposure of Mr. Richmond did not 
 seem calculated to do good in times so excited. Mr. Weld pro- 
 posed : " That there is no ground whatever for any imputation 
 that undue pressure has been brought to bear in the Executive 
 by Mr. C. W. Richmond on the Waitara question, and that this 
 Committee considers his vindication complete." An amendment 
 to insert the words " without imputing blame to Dr. Feather- 
 ston " after the word " Committee " was carried by 6 votes to 
 4, and was protested against by the minority as beyond the 
 scope of the Committee. The report of the Committee was 
 adopted by the House, but cannot be respected as historically 
 true. Men's minds are so strangely warped by the turmoil of 
 action, that not only his friends but even Mr. Richmond himself 
 may have conscientiously believed in his defence. 
 
 While the Governor prepared for war, the Maoris were not 
 idle. The king-maker visited the Eastern tribes to learn their 
 powers and encourage their devotion. The English sent the
 
 SIR G. GREY RE-APPOINTED GOVERNOR. 71 
 
 Rev. Mr. Wilson to persuade him to meet the Governor, and it 
 seemed he was about to do so, when Porokoru (whom General 
 Pratt thought he had killed at Mahoetahi) declared, with others, 
 that, if the project were carried out, the king-maker would be killed 
 by the Maoris on his return. It was useless for him to protest that 
 his counsels could not be changed. He yielded to the will of 
 the tribe. English troops were pushed forward to the border of 
 the debateable land, and the spark which would kindle the 
 elements of war might hourly be expected. Yet one more hope 
 remained for peace. The Governor had written in February, 
 1861, that he had found the Ngapuhi " less well affected than 
 when he last visited them." His despatch was received on the 
 20th May, and on the 25th the Duke of Newcastle relieved 
 Colonel Browne from his office. With studied courtesy and 
 acknowledgment of past services he hoped that the Governor 
 would not feel it as a slight if the English Government at so 
 critical a time of spreading disaffection, availed itself of the 
 " remarkable authority attaching to the name and character " of 
 Sir George Grey, and re-appointed him in New Zealand. 
 Future employment was opened to Colonel Browne; and he 
 obtained it at Tasmania. Men breathed freely in New Zealand. 
 All had dreaded the war into which Colonel Browne was anxious 
 to plunge at Waikato with the force at his disposal. Those 
 who did not wish to spare the Maoris wanted more troops and 
 ammunition before recommencing the strife. The Secret Com- 
 mittee of both Houses had asked for them, and the Governor 
 seconded the request. They, indeed, would have waited for 
 them. The soldier Governor did not shrink from provoking 
 battle with the force at hand. His and General Cameron's 
 various applications for men were afterwards compendiously 
 answered by the Duke of Newcastle in a despatch to Sir George 
 Grey, declaring that "the Imperial Government had done 
 enough by sending' out 6000 men, and that the colony can and 
 ought to do the rest."
 
 72 
 
 CHAPTER XT. 
 GOVERNOR BROWNE'S DEPARTURE. 
 
 GOVERNOR BROWNE gracefully accepted the despatch recall- 
 ing him. He promised his successor loyal assistance, and de- 
 clared that the appointment of Sir George Grey, "who has so 
 much personal influence with the Maoris, and is so deservedly be- 
 loved by them, affords the best hope of a peaceful solution of the 
 present difficulty." He communicated the tidings by letter to 
 Waka Nene. He received complimentary addresses from friendly 
 Maoris and from public bodies. The Taranaki settlers thanked 
 him almost unanimously for his proceedings in that province, 
 though they were still cooped up in their fortified town. 
 Amongst the Maori addresses was one from Tamati Ngapora, 
 the uncle of the Maori king, known in after years as Manuhiri 
 (or the guest). Ngapora declared that his heart was " relieved 
 because the threats against Waikato had not been fulfilled." 
 
 Sir George Grey arrived in Auckland on the 26th September, 
 1861, and his predecessor conferred with him before sailing 
 away on the 2nd October. On the 3rd, Grey assumed office. 
 His chief adviser was Fox, his bitter opponent during his pre- 
 vious term of office in New Zealand. His consultations with 
 his Ministers were long and anxious. His relations with the 
 men who formed it were changed since he had wielded the 
 Governor's powers in a Crown colony. The Constitution Act 
 of 1852 had in a mangled manner been brought into operation, 
 and, contrary to British constitutional usage, the local respon- 
 sible Ministers could assume office without resorting to their 
 constituents for approval. Sir G. Grey had kept the office of 
 Land Purchase Commissioner distinct from that of Native 
 Secretary. Governor Browne by merging them had bred 
 suspicions in the Maori mind, and the Ministry informed his
 
 WAR LIABILITIES. 73 
 
 successor that they lay at the root of existing troubles. The 
 Government was looked upon as a gigantic land-broker. In May, 
 1861, McLean had resigned the Native Secretaryship, but the 
 effect of the past combination was not effaced. The loss from 
 the Taranaki war, so lightly entered upon and so fruitless, was 
 thus furnished to Sir G. Grey : The British extraordinary 
 expenditure had been 500,000; colonial expenditure on 
 military objects, 193,000 ; cost of removing and aiding women 
 and children, 29,000; losses of settlers, 150,000; total, 
 872,000. Colonel Browne had sent troops to the front to 
 enter upon a war at Waikato; and Mr. Carter, a member of 
 the House, had openly stated that on the outbreak of war 
 the probable cost of removing and maintaining for one year 
 women and children exiled from threatened positions of the 
 Auckland, Wellington, and Hawke's Bay provinces, together 
 with the destruction of property there, would be 1,312,000. 
 General Cameron reported the expense of maintaining the 
 6000 troops in New Zealand to be 4-37,715 for the year 1861 ; 
 the increase on account of wax being 337,715. To enter on 
 a Waikato war would raise the military expenditure to nearly 
 a million sterling in the year. The ordinary revenue of the 
 colony was only 282,000 a year. The colonial war-liability 
 already amounted to 350,000, and was increasing at the rate 
 of 80,000 per annum. Sir George Grey in conveying this 
 information urged as a reason for avoiding war, if possible, 
 that not only on Europeans, but on Maoris, miseries would be 
 entailed. He was already endeavouring to devise a policy with 
 his Ministers. On the 2nd November he warned the English 
 Government of the peculiar condition of the Waikato district. 
 Throughout the Taranaki war, while the Waikato warriors 
 were in the field afar, all Europeans, civil, military, or private 
 persons in the district were unmolested. A Mr. Armitage 
 resided in it, leasing land from a chief (contrary to the colonial 
 law), warning pedestrians not to cross it, exacting a fine of one 
 shilling for trespass, and notifying that he would personally levy 
 it from Maori and European alike. Maori chiefs in other places 
 administered for themselves a rough imitation of English law, 
 levying distress in the immediate vicinity of the so-called Maori 
 king. The king-maker had founded a school, and was seen
 
 74 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 on the 17th October engaged with his son in ploughing the 
 school land, from the produce of which the children were to be 
 supported. Mr. Gorst, a Fellow of St. John's, Cambridge, who 
 had been previously in the district, had been recentty sent 
 by the Colonial Government to inspect certain schools there. 
 Well might it occur to Sir George Grey that it would be better 
 to endeavour to establish law and order by peaceful means than 
 to carry slaughter into such a district. 
 
 Mr. Gorst in his book, ' The Maori King,' has given a remark- 
 able picture of what he saw, and draws the sad conclusion that 
 the quarrel with the Maoris might by prudence have been 
 avoided. His narrative well deserves perusal. He knew the 
 king-maker, heard him state his intentions before his peace- 
 making journey to Taranaki, and observed that they were 
 punctually fulfilled in spite of misrepresentations by Europeans. 
 After the arrival of Sir G. Grey, when Mr. Gorst was appointed 
 Commissioner and magistrate at Waikato, he endured the con- 
 dolences of the king-maker for becoming so mean a thing as an 
 officer of the Government. On one subject Sir George Grey 
 took the responsibility of " delaying the execution " of the Duke 
 of Newcastle's commands ; viz. to tell the Otaki natives that 
 their professions of loyalty to the Queen would have "made a 
 more favourable impression (in England) if they had not been 
 accompanied by the disloyal ceremony of hoisting the so-called 
 Maori king's flag, in which the greater part of the natives of 
 Otaki appear to have taken part." Sir G. Grey thought it 
 needful to make " a fair inquiry as to whether the natives of 
 Otaki," who signed the petition to the Queen, "had been in 
 any way concerned in hoisting the Maori king's flag." He 
 thought them loyally disposed. "If I were," he said, "to 
 communicate the answer I am directed to give them I should 
 rouse a feeling of hopeless desperation in the minds of large 
 numbers of natives who are still well-disposed." 1 
 
 On the 2nd November Sir George Grey gave an outline of 
 the policy he hoped to pursue. Not to renew military opera- 
 tions, but to introduce institutions suited to the circumstances 
 of the Maoris, formed the principal features. To secure as 
 many friends as possible, and thus reduce the number of pro- 
 
 1 Despatch; 10th October, 1861.
 
 SIR G. GREY'S NEW POLICY. 75 
 
 bable enemies in case of war, was another object. Already he 
 had drawn up a scheme with which, in the main, his responsible 
 advisers concurred. The northern island was to be divided 
 into about 20 districts, and subdivided into hundreds. Native 
 magistrates and police-officers were to be paid. The runanga 
 of each district was to be composed of the Civil Commissioner 
 and twelve persons. The runangas of the hundreds were l.o 
 select representatives for the district runanga, and the Governor 
 would generally appoint them, giving preference to those ac- 
 quainted with the English language. The district runangas were 
 to be charged with many functions of legislative character ; viz. 
 suppression of nuisances and preventing drunkenness. Hospi- 
 tals, gaols, and schools were to be under them ; and they were 
 to provide for the adjustment of land disputes, tribal or indi- 
 vidual. When boundaries were settled native owners might dis- 
 pose of land, not exceeding one farm in each case, to a European 
 purchaser approved by the Government, on the recommendation 
 of the runanga. The Ministry drew up a careful commentary 
 on each proposal, but in the main concurred. Fines and fees 
 and a house or land-tax were to provide ways and means. 
 
 On the 4th of November the Governor, rapid as of old, was 
 ready to start for the Bay of Islands to proffer his new institu- 
 tions to the Ngapuhi, to whose great chief, Waka Nene, he had 
 already presented a silver cup forwarded by the Queen in com- 
 pliance with Colonel Browne's application for some mark of 
 favour. The General, the Commodore, and the Prime Minister 
 accompanied him. The reception of the Governor and of his 
 new policy was enthusiastic. Many questions were asked about 
 the salaries to be received by the native functionaries, and it 
 was carried by acclamation that the scheme was excellent. 
 With the Ngapuhi tribe, still swayed by Waka Nene, and ever 
 faithful to the Qeeen under the Waitangi treaty, it was not 
 difficult to maintain friendly relations. To them Sir George 
 Grey was still their old friend, conversant with their traditions 
 and commanding their affections. It was otherwise at Waikato. 
 Te W T hero Whero, his especial friend, had passed away; and 
 the advisers of the king were poisoned against Europeans. 
 The greed of the Taranaki settlers, which had culminated in 
 the Waitara land quarrel, had aroused suspicions which even
 
 76 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Sir George Grey's reputation could not lull. On that reputa- 
 tion also was the stain which made Te Waharoa say when in- 
 vited to a conference at Auckland : " Shall I go and be treated 
 like Rauparaha ? " While from various quarters came loving 
 congratulations upon his return to Maoria, from Waikato no 
 sign of friendship was shown. The chieftains held aloof, and 
 watched. When propositions were made for a deputation from 
 Waikato to the Governor, in compliance with an invitation from 
 Tamati Ngapora, a chief rose and said that he had been warned 
 by a letter from Auckland that Sir George Grey was luring 
 them to a trap : that at the Cape of Good Hope he had invited 
 Kaffir chiefs to a conference and had made them prisoners. It 
 would be better for Sir George Grey to visit Waikato. The 
 joint efforts of Bishop Selwyn and Tamati Ngapora were thus 
 frustrated. Mr. Fox, who afterwards wrote a book called ' The 
 War in. New Zealand,' declares that when Tamati Ngapora re- 
 turned from his visit to the king's people, he was reticent and 
 formal, and it was " evident that his visit to Waikato had done 
 him no good." His interview with the Governor was protracted 
 and nugatory. The king-maker wrote a letter in November. 
 In a Maori vessel, forbidden by the runanga to carry spirits, had 
 been found three kegs of spirits, put on board by a Frenchman. 
 The runanga seized the spirits, and the king-maker reported and 
 justified the fact. The spirits were retained untouched. Sir 
 George Grey sent Mr. Gorst to explain that such misdeeds would 
 be prevented under his new institutions. The king- maker's 
 tribe assembled at Arikirua to discuss the matter, and thought 
 that laws made by the runanga, confirmed by the king, and ap- 
 proved by the Governor, ought to be obeyed. But they could not 
 give up their king or his flag. A second meeting at Tamahere 
 was less docile, though the king-maker admirably expounded 
 the Governor's plans. Mr. Gorst went to Ngaruwahia, where 
 the king's counsellors discussed but postponed the subject till 
 the 12th December, when a great meeting was to be held at 
 Taupiri, and Sir George Grey's presence was expected. In 
 these events the Governor saw further proof of the need of law. 
 On the 30th November he wrote that he did not deem it 
 right to carry out his predecessor's determination to compel 
 obedience to the manifesto of the 21st May, 1861. Such terms
 
 GOVERNOR BROWNE'S MANIFESTO ABANDONED. 77 
 
 could not be enforced. The attempt to enforce them would 
 supply a bond of union against British authority. There was 
 no such paramount authority among the Maoris as to enable a 
 chief to ensure obedience to conditions. The terms offered by 
 Governor Browne at Waitara in April, 1861, had been accepted 
 by certain chiefs; but when a Commissioner had gone thither 
 to carry them out, the chief who had formerly agreed to them 
 could not assist. It rested, he said, with the people. The 
 collective title could not be dealt with except by the tribe. 
 The Commissioner, amid threats of violence, was obliged to 
 
 * O 
 
 leave. Moreover, Governor Browne's Waikato terms were inap- 
 plicable to the district, and it was better to withdraw from than 
 to enforce them. Sir George Grey also thought it unwise to 
 call together a conference like that at Kohimarama in 1860, 
 which Governor Browne and his advisers had made it a cardinal 
 point to repeat in 1861. Many chiefs had formerly held aloof. Its 
 decisions would not be binding. It was better for the Governor 
 to propose institutions and to trust to their being adopted in 
 detail by various tribes. He could not prophesy that war could 
 thus be avoided, but no other course was equally promising. 
 The difficulty was to induce confidence in the Government, and 
 as yet it had not been secured. His Ministry had promptly 
 supplied him with a memorandum on the subject of ministerial 
 advice upon native affairs. Governor Browne's plan of receiving 
 advice and reserving his discretion in adopting it had worked 
 badly. To obtain responsible government it had been yielded to, 
 but was not liked, by the Assembly. The Native Department, 
 unsupported by the representatives, was incapable of good. 
 
 Sir George Grey, who had in former days been censured for 
 imputed opposition to representative government, met his 
 Ministers in their desire to do away with the double govern- 
 ment, which had been so unprosperous in the hands of Colonel 
 Browne. He resolved to consult them on native affairs as on 
 other subjects. He had transmitted their memorandum on the 
 9th October, and on the 30th November be asked the assent of 
 the Secretary of State to his proposal to treat all affairs alike. 
 If serious differences should arise between himself and his 
 Ministers, he could in all cases resort to other advisers, and 
 appeal to the General Assembly. If local government could be
 
 78 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 introduced into native districts, few serious questions were likely 
 to arise between the Maoris and the Legislature. It was also 
 advisable to show confidence in the General Assembly. The 
 responsibility thrown upon it would be a protection against rash 
 dealings, which might involve it in war. Aid would not be 
 expected from England to enforce injustice. 
 
 To commend his proposals to the English Government, Sir 
 George Grey sent a memorandum, showing that if his native 
 institutions should succeed, they would entail a special cost of 
 about 50,000 a year, and would abolish an expenditure of 
 629,000, of which 129,000 fell upon the colony. His Ministers 
 undertook to recommend the plan to the General Assembly, and 
 to stake their own position upon it. They drew up a paper to 
 be circulated among the Maoris. It embodied the Governor's 
 proposals, pointed out the blessings of schools, and of resident 
 physicians, and declared that the heart of the Queen would be 
 glad when she heard that the two races were living like brothers 
 in a prosperous land. 
 
 The strange medley of affairs arising from the old hospitality 
 of the Maoris, in spite of the confusion into which they had been 
 plunged by the Waitara war, was exemplified in December, 1861. 
 Mr. Crawford, a Wellington functionary, wished to examine the 
 geological formation of the Wanganui district. He went thither, 
 and with three Europeans ascended the river in a canoe. Six 
 Maoris formed the crew. Their chief was Topia Turoa, who 
 will be heard of hereafter as a daring defier of Sir G. Grey, and 
 an ally in the field, in after days, against Te Kooti. Mr. Crawford 
 passed Pipiriki, but near Tangarakau was told that he could not 
 be allowed to proceed. The land there had been handed to the 
 Maori king, and as the English were at war with him, his 
 permission would be necessary. The result was the return of 
 the party to Wanganui, under the care of the king's friend 
 Turoa. 1 Sir George Grey commended (8th December) to the 
 Secretary of State a mission to Waikato, which Mr. Gorst was 
 about to undertake, and the Duke of Newcastle in reply, saw 
 " no difficulty, if the Maoris desire it, in requiring the assent of 
 one of their chiefs, whether Matutaera or any other person, to 
 the laws passed by the runanga. Such an assent is no more 
 1 Crawford's ' Recollections,' Ac. 1880.
 
 SIR G. GREY IN WAIKATO. 79 
 
 inconsistent with the sovereignty of Her Majesty than the assent 
 of the Superintendent of a province to laws passed by the 
 Provincial Council." The humours at the Colonial Office were 
 hardly reconcilable. In 1860, the Duke sanctioned an act of 
 rapine in order to crush the pretensions of Maori chiefs. In 
 1862, he was willing to recognize their power of veto. In 
 December, the Governor made an expedition to the Lower 
 Waikato. The Maoris sent a war-canoe to convey him and 
 his suite to Kohanga. A triumphal arch, decorated with the 
 Queen's name, was passed on the way to the settlement through 
 lines of Maoris. The school children sang ' God save the Queen.' 
 Preliminary interviews with chiefs were held for two or three 
 days. On the 16th, more than 700 natives assembled to hear 
 the Governor at Taupiri ; 250 of them were said to be followers 
 of the king. His speech was gravely listened to by all. He 
 made it practical by the appointment of Waatu Kukutai as head 
 magistrate of the Taupiri Hundred with a salary. The meeting 
 broke up at two o'clock, to reassemble at three, by request of 
 the Maoris. There was much converse between the Governor 
 and Tipene and Herewini, spokesmen of the king-party. On 
 the 17th there was another meeting. Five tribes were there. 
 Above the Governor's seat was an " exquisitely tattooed " image, 
 clothed with a mat of finest texture. A "stone axe of great 
 antiquity hung by its hand." The Governor spoke. Each 
 Maori approved. The principal chief said, pointing to the 
 figure : " Governor Grey, that is our ancestor. We, all these 
 five tribes, take our origin from him. He is our ' mana ' ; he is 
 our ancestor. We give him to you ; we give you also his mat, 
 and his battle-axe. We cannot give you more." The Governor 
 answered : " I accept, and will keep your ancestor with me." 
 The new institutions were accepted in the Lower Waikato, and 
 glowing accounts were published at Auckland. On the 18th, 
 two large canoes, manned by forty chosen young men, took the 
 Governor and his suite to Maungatawhiri, whence he returned 
 by land to Auckland. 
 
 But Sir George Grey was not misled as to the views of the 
 Upper Waikato, or king-party. Writing on the 7th January, 
 he told the Secretary of State that they "showed an entire 
 distrust and want of confidence in the Government." He
 
 80 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 had met, had questioned, and been questioned by prominent 
 champions, and this was his verdict. Mr. Gorst details much of 
 the colloquy. The Maori advocates wanted to extract from Sir 
 G. Grey whether he was opposed to the king ; Colonel Browne 
 having declared it a duty to do away with him. Sir George 
 wanted to know how far they wished to force their king upon 
 other tribes. They first answered evasively, that they knew of 
 no tribes which rejected him, but added, they would not attack 
 them if there were any such. Tipene admitted also, that where 
 the king's niana did not extend, land sales would not be pre- 
 vented. If a man had pledged his land to the king, and altered 
 his mind, " he will not be allowed to sell his land ; but we shall 
 not assail and kill him; we shall not do as you Pakehas do." 
 Of the property of which Colonel Browne had demanded restitu- 
 tion, Tipene said : " My name for that is ' spoils,' lawfully taken 
 in war." When the Governor asked about the land of the 
 Europeans on which the Maoris had gone, Tipene replied : " Is 
 there no Maori land at Waitara in possession of the Pakeha ? " 
 The Tataraimaka land and the Waitara land he spoke of in one 
 category. The English held Waitara, the Maoris had a right to 
 hold the land from which they had driven the settlers. The 
 status quo post l/ellum seemed to him to satisfy the ends of peace ; 
 but he said it was well, when the Governor said the titles 
 at Waitara would be investigated. As to Tataraimaka, the 
 Governor shook his head. He had been ashamed of the deeds 
 of the Ngatiruanui when he heard of them. Killing women 
 and children was unworthy of Maoris. He had not inquired 
 into the matter ; but if he were, like Tipene, a friend, he would 
 advise them to restore what they could, and make compensation. 
 Tipene figuratively urged that the same terms of peace should 
 extend to all who were allies in war, and asked if the Governor's 
 questions were ended. " Gov. Yes. Tipene. Then I will ask 
 a question. Are you opposed to my king ? Gov. I do not 
 care about him; but I think it is a thing that will lead to 
 trouble. It will be stopped by such means as I have adopted, 
 and will die out. Tipene. If the king is brought to nought by 
 your plans, well and good. You say, What is the king to you ? 
 We say, It is a thing of importance to us, and we say so because 
 we have seen the good of it. Quarrels of Maoris amongst them-
 
 MR. Fox IN WAIKATO. 81 
 
 selves have diminished. ... So I ask you, Are you altogether 
 opposed to my king ? that you may say whether you are so or 
 not. Gov. If you ask me as a friend, I tell you I think it a 
 very bad thing." Tipene was unable to extract more from Sir 
 G. Grey, though specially sent to do so by his friends at 
 Ngaruawahia. They wished to know whether the Governor 
 intended to use his army to coerce them, as his predecessor had 
 threatened. Tipene concluded by saying : " Proceed cautiously 
 in working out your plans. The only thing that remains dark 
 is the king. Your own plan is to unite us all." 
 
 Each side had misgivings. Those of the Maoris were 
 strengthened by the formation of a road towards Waikato. The 
 Auckland province had in former years commenced to cut a road 
 through the Hunua forest to the Waikato river. It was almost 
 impassable in winter, and the work was not carried to the 
 proposed terminus. Two miles were untouched. Mr. Gorst 
 declared that the Colonial Government stopped the work during 
 the Taranaki war, in order to avoid giving offence to the 
 Waikato tribes. Sir G. Grey announced his intention to resume 
 it, and the soldiers, then idly quartered about Auckland, were 
 employed in the work of cutting and metalling a military road. 
 Mr. Gorst, an eye-witness, avers that this determination increased 
 the respect which the Maoris entertained for the Governor, but 
 convinced them that he, like his predecessor, though with more 
 wisdom, contemplated war. 
 
 Mr. Fox had been with the Governor at Taupiri, and pro- 
 ceeded thence, with Mr. Gorst, in a canoe up the Waikato river 
 towards Ngaruawahia. The Governor empowered him to offer 
 to settle the Waitara dispute by means of a mixed commission, 
 of one European and two Maoris chosen by the Governor, and 
 the same number of like persons chosen by Te Rangitake and 
 his friends. Before Mr. Fox reached Ngaruawahia, the chiefs 
 had left it. Mr. Gorst is of opinion that they did so because 
 the tidings of the military road to the Waikato river convinced 
 them that negotiation was useless. As Mr. Fox could not see 
 the king-maker at Ngaruawahia, he rode through the forest to 
 Hangatiki, where the king was supposed to be visiting the chiefs 
 of Ngatimaniapoto, of whom the redoubtable Rewi was leader. 
 He was honourably received on Saturday, and Rewi appointed 
 
 VOL. II. O
 
 82 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Monday for conference. The royal guard-house was close to Mr. 
 Fox's lodging, and its commander (who had visited Europe in an 
 Austrian frigate, the ' Novara ') spoke English, French, German, 
 and Italian by turns to the visitors, and spoke Maori to his 
 soldiers. On Sunday he carried prayer-books in a bag, and 
 distributed them to the men. Te Rangitake was a guest of 
 Rewi. Mr. Fox met him, and, according to Mr. Gorst, Te 
 Rangitake coolly denied his identity. Mr. Fox's diary is silent 
 on the point. On Monday the great meeting-house was crowded 
 with listeners. Rewi, Te Rangitake, Reihana, and other Ngati- 
 maniapoto chiefs, were present. None of the king-maker's people, 
 the Ngatihaua, were there. The king did not attend. Mr. 
 Fox explained the new institutions, and proposed the settlement 
 of the Waitara dispute by arbitration. An inferior chief, Aporo, 
 replied. He asked whether Governor Browne had not been 
 wrong, and Te Rangitake right, at Taranaki. Mr. Fox solilo- 
 quized in English : " Why, that is exactly what I always said in 
 the Assembly." A Maori understood and translated the remark 
 to the assembly. The orator asked : " How then can a trial take 
 place unless the guilty Colonel Browne be present ? " Finally, 
 it was said that the matters were too important to be rashly 
 decided. Waikato would take time to consider. Mr. Fox was 
 not permitted to see the king, but he informed the king-maker 
 by letter of the proposed arbitration. The answer (dated 21st 
 January) followed him to Auckland. It expressed regret that 
 the writer had not seen Mr. Fox, but thought a meeting would 
 have been of little use. Governor Grey's persistence in station- 
 ing soldiers at Te la excited "suspicion, and the king-maker 
 would not, under such circumstances, consent to an investigation 
 at Waitara. 
 
 Before returning to Auckland, Mr. Fox went to Rewi's settle- 
 ment at Kihikihi, where many chiefs had assembled to visit the 
 king. That personage quitted Kihikihi as Mr. Fox entered 
 it. By this time word had been brought that the soldiers were 
 already at work on the military road to Maungatawhiri. Tribes 
 were gathering at Rangiriri, eager to attack the troops. The 
 king had sent a message ordering them to be patient, and, 
 when he arrived at Rangiriri himself moderate counsels pre- 
 vailed. As the road was on the Queen's land, it was held that
 
 DELAY IN ISSUING CROWN GRANTS TO MAORIS. 83 
 
 Maoris could not justly interfere with it. If it should be 
 extended to Maori territory, then there would be the requisite 
 " til-key or ground for war, and all Waikato would rise. They 
 made comparisons between the Governor and his predecessor. 
 The latter blundered blindly, and all could see his purpose. 
 Governor Grey made silent preparations, and only struck when 
 he was ready. His promptitude was conspicuous. Two days 
 after leaving Kohanga he wrote to General Cameron about the 
 road to Waikato, and within a week more than 2000 soldiers 
 were at work, with an advanced post at Pokeno, not far from 
 the Waikato river. At Kihikihi, Rewi, meanwhile, was enter- 
 taining and arguing with Mr. Fox in what Mr. Gorst called 
 a clever and unsparing manner. At an entertainment, Te Rangi- 
 take and Mr. Fox ate from the same basket, and discussed the 
 Waitara dispute the chief declaring that the troops ought to 
 be removed from the place, so that the question might be left 
 to the law. After dinner Te Heu Heu inveighed against the 
 Pakehas in an oration which offended all who were inclined to 
 accept the new institutions. Some Taupo chiefs on the follow- 
 ing day asked for a separate interview, and expressed their 
 contentment with the Governor's propositions. Mr. Fox had 
 often desired a "face to face" interview with the Maori leaders. 
 As regarded the king-maker and the king he had been foiled. 
 With Rewi and Te Rangitake he had made no progress. 
 
 Sir George Grey knew the expediency of seeming to be bent 
 on justice. The old disputes about Crown grants to natives 
 furnished an occasion to him. The law officers had contended 
 that after the coming into operation of the New Constitution 
 (1852) there was a legal obstruction to fulfilment of promises 
 to the natives. Sir George Grey had urged, in 1851, that power 
 should be vested in the Governor to grant lands to Maoris. It 
 had not been so vested. He now urged that, if needful, the 
 Constitution Act should be amended. He sent voluminous 
 papers on the subject, amongst which was this characteristic 
 minute by himself : " My advice to Ministers would be to have 
 all these Crown grants issued without delay. I do not doubt 
 that they would be valid, but if any doubts were hereafter 
 raised as to their validity, then I would have an Act passed 
 confirming and making good these grants. I think it of the 
 
 G 2
 
 84 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 utmost importance that they should be issued at once." He 
 urged in two despatches that Parliament should be asked to 
 apply an immediate remedy for so dangerous an evil ; and his 
 Ministers who saw his despatches did not dissent, though they 
 preferred local legislation. The Duke of Newcastle replied 
 that he learned with extreme regret " that for no better reason 
 than a supposed legal difficulty, which, if it exist at all, ought 
 in common fairness to have been removed long ago, a large 
 number of natives have failed to obtain the fulfilment of explicit 
 promises by which they had been induced to surrender their 
 lands to the Colonial Government." He would not shrink from 
 asking Parliament for redress, but as it appeared that the 
 Colonial Government were willing, on the Governor's advice, to 
 grant it, he thought it better to rely upon their dealings than 
 to submit to Parliament a measure indicating a suspicion that 
 the colonial authorities were indisposed " to deal honestly with 
 their Maori creditors." 
 
 Mr. Gorst, in February, was busy as a magistrate at Otawhao 
 in the Upper Waikato district ; and at Taupiri the new institu- 
 tions were accepted to the extent of electing the village 
 runangas, though the district runanga was not called into 
 existence. At Te Kohekohe another runanga was formed and 
 Wiremu Te Wheoro was made head magistrate. Intelligent, 
 loyal, and respected even by the king's adherents, he was 
 unable to overcome the reluctance of his tribe to oppose the 
 national party. A hot-headed Ngatimaniapoto chief, Patene, 
 marched to Otawhao to expel Mr. Gorst from the mission 
 station. The king's runanga had passed an abstract resolution 
 to forbid Queen's magistrates in the king's territory, but they 
 had not appointed Patene to enforce it. He arrived with thirty 
 armed men. The children of the mission school perched them- 
 selves upon a fence to watch. Europeans, including ladies, 
 stood by. Patene read an address signed by more than 2000 
 partisans of the king, and ordered Mr. Gorst to leave. Mr. Gorst 
 refused. Mr. Morgan, the missionary, was not told to go. 
 Finding Mr. Gorst obstinate, and not knowing how far the 
 king would abet his proceedings, Patene drew off his army. 
 The king's council not only did not abet him, but wrote to 
 Rewi enjoining him to keep better order and prevent violence.
 
 THE MAORI KING'S COUNCIL. 85 
 
 They passed a law, however, forbidding, under heavy penalties, 
 any resort to Mr. Gorst's Court, and it was so loyally obeyed, 
 that, during six months, only one native suitor appeared there, 
 and he was fined for doing so. Patene, indignant because the 
 king's advisers had not abetted him in the expulsion of Mr. 
 Gorst, declared that he would not permit others to maltreat 
 him. The conflict between native and European jurisdictions 
 resulted, as might have been expected, in favour of the former. 
 Hona, a chief of a small "hapu," or section of the Waikato 
 tribe, had been an unpaid assessor under Mr. Fenton. Subse- 
 quently he attached himself to the king. His tribe had a 
 dispute with a neighbouring tribe about an eel-weir. His more 
 powerful antagonists secured their blood-relations, the Ngati- 
 maniapoto, as judges, and won their cause. Hona renounced 
 his allegiance, and sought and obtained the protection of the 
 Government. He received a salary. When, to eke out the 
 native revenue, the king's runanga ordered a poll-tax of 1 
 yearly on all Europeans living in native territory, and it was 
 about to be levied on a trader under Hona's protection, Hona 
 threatened to resist, but when an armed party appeared to levy 
 it under a chief who said he would take either the money or 
 its value in goods from the trader, Hona recommended payment. 
 In later time, when war broke out, Hona went over to the king. 
 But submission to the king was not undeviating. The village 
 runangas made laws for themselves, and their administration 
 depended much on the character of the principal chief and the 
 respect shown to him. The king-maker was a conspicuous 
 example. Mr. Gorst never heard a complaint of injustice from 
 any European residing amongst the Ngatihaua. But the 
 counsel of the wise was not accepted everywhere. When the 
 king's runanga, at the king-maker's suggestion, passed an 
 ordinance displeasing to Rewi, he would not obey it, and the 
 king's council sorrowfully admitted that it could not enforce 
 its decrees. It was suspicion of Europeans that furnished the 
 bond of union, and but for the injustice at Waitara, the king 
 movement would perhaps have died of inanition. For his king, 
 as the Maori champion against the Pakeha, Rewi was ever 
 ready to run risk. The king-maker, who sought to provide 
 a paternal government and shrunk from war, lost influence as
 
 86 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Rewi gained it, when the hot spirits of the tribes thirsted to 
 be led against the common foe. Fines, fees, and donations 
 scantily supplied the king's exchequer. A strange instance 
 of the medley of affairs was shown in carrying the mails. The 
 king would not allow the Queen's subjects to carry it through 
 his territory ; but two of his followers bore it, and were paid by 
 the Colonial Government. The king, in church, said Amen to 
 the prayer for the Queen, and when, during the Taranaki war, 
 it was proposed to pray for the king instead of the Queen (the 
 Waikato being in the field), it was resolved not to alter the 
 Prayer-book ; in spite of the murmurers who objected to a prayer 
 that she might vanquish her enemies. 
 
 On both sides there were provokers of violence. Sir George 
 Grey more than once reported that the Maoris bitterly resented 
 the insults cast upon them. " In the attacks thus made in some 
 newspapers upon the natives, and upon all acts of fairness 
 performed towards them, consists at present the greatest diffi- 
 culty in this country." The Duke of Newcastle could only 
 suggest counter-statements by the Governor, and " reminding 
 the editors of the dangerous consequences of their language." 
 Power to suspend an offending organ was in such case absolutely 
 necessary to prove to the Maori the justice of the Queen, and 
 to the printer the power of the Government. But the Duke 
 of Newcastle was neither wise enough to forecast the future, 
 nor resolute enough to meet a danger if he could have foreseen 
 it. Part of Sir George Grey's policy was the acquisition of 
 friends amongst the tribes. On the 25th January, 1862, Mr. 
 T, H. Smith, Commissioner for the Rotorua district, reported 
 the acceptance by the Arawa tribes of the new institutions. In 
 after years their warlike devotion attested the value of their 
 adhesion. The resident magistrate at Taupo adopted the new 
 system in March. For a time it seemed that its acceptance 
 was about to destroy confidence in the king movement. Mr. 
 Armstrong, the resident magistrate at Lower Waikato, reported 
 the palpable decay of the king's influence, and the probability 
 of a complete organization of the district. 
 
 At Hawke's Bay and at Wellington the Governor in person 
 received loyal assurances from the Maoris. At the former place 
 a real or supposed plot was made known to him. A battle-axe,
 
 CONTROL OF NATIVE AFFAIRS. DESPATCHES. 87 
 
 sent round to chiefs by the Ngatiraukawa tribe during the 
 Taranaki war, as a symbol, on appeal to which they were to 
 rise and destroy the Europeans, was handed to the Governor 
 as a public proof of renunciation of all hostility. Soon after- 
 wards, at Otaki, symbols of similar import were given up to 
 him. Till then he had not known that Rewi's hostility had 
 taken so matured a form. Its public exposure and abandon- 
 ment by the recipients of the symbols was deemed a proof 
 that Grey's return had rallied the loyalty of his old acquaint- 
 ances. He had no sooner reported these things, and the gratifying 
 progress made by the troops under General Cameron in forming 
 the military road to the Waikato river, than he was warned 
 of a new difficulty. The Duke of Newcastle was dissatisfied. 
 He wanted to know why the colony was not heavily taxed 
 to meet its requirements. He was willing to sanction the 
 surrender of native affairs to the General Assembly. All 
 militia and volunteer expenses must, however, be locally borne. 
 The contribution of 5 per man for cost of troops must be 
 continued, and a large Imperial force was not to be main- 
 tained in the colony. The Duke would sanction Sir G. 
 Grey's new scheme for governing New Zealand with limitations. 
 The Colonial Government must furnish not less than 26,000 
 towards it. The Imperial Government would not supply more 
 than the amount due from the colonists as military contribution 
 calculated at the rate of 5 a head for every soldier employed. 
 The arrangement was to expire in December, 1864, and was 
 to be subject to any general measure which the Home Govern- 
 ment might adopt with regard to maintaining Imperial troops 
 in the colonies. Sir George Grey replied that the General 
 Assembly was about to meet in July (1862), when the Duke's 
 objections would be brought before it, and suggested that affairs 
 might be favourably influenced if his proposals should be 
 approved at an early date, it being unlikely that the Maoris 
 would abandon their confederacy while a possibility existed 
 that the proposals might at any moment be countermanded 
 from England. Meantime the language used in the newspapers 
 irritated and was complained of by friendly natives. The 
 Governor told General Cameron that it had great effect in 
 strengthening the suspicions of the king's followers that the
 
 88 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 English were bent on their extermination. Sir George Grey 
 himself made peace, in June, between two tribes friendly to 
 the English, which were fighting about a piece of land at the 
 north of Auckland. The foes were entrenched about 200 yards 
 apart. He persuaded them to strike their colours simultaneously. 
 Each leader was to choose two persons, Maori or European. 
 The four chosen were to name a fifth, Maori or European. If 
 they could not agree to do so, the Governor was to name him. 
 The decision of a majority of the five was to be final. Each 
 pah was to be allowed to fall to ruin, so that neither side might 
 boast of destroying the pah of the other. The arbitration was 
 to be held at Auckland. Sir George Grey was within the 
 entrenchments of Tirirau, one of the disputants, when his " flag 
 was hauled down," and his "assembled chiefs and followers 
 went down upon their knees, and, in the form prescribed in the 
 native Church of England Prayer-book, went through a service 
 of thanksgiving for the mercy of God in protecting them from 
 the perils of war, and in restoring the blessings of peace to 
 them, their whole demeanour evincing the most devout thank- 
 fulness." 
 
 A dispute about digging for gold was auspiciously put an 
 end to by Sir George Grey in the same month. Numbers of 
 Europeans were crowding to search for gold on lands the pro- 
 perty of Maoris at Coromandel, and threatening to seize the 
 land by force. The Maori king was called upon to take charge 
 of it. Collisions were expected. The Governor travelled 
 rapidly from the south of the island, and persuaded the chiefs 
 to receive an annual payment for the right to search within 
 defined boundaries. The war-party of the Maori king was 
 foiled, and retired from Hauraki whither it had marched. The 
 Governor found fault with Tawhiao for alarming the country by 
 his movements, and the king's runanga published his letter 
 with a reply, saying that no harm had been done, and there 
 could therefore be nothing to punish. 
 
 Before the General Assembly met, the military road was 
 completed to Pokeno, and cordial thanks were given to the 
 General and the soldiers for their skill and alacrity. It would 
 be an imputation on Grey's intelligence to suppose that he was 
 unconscious that the work had aroused the just suspicions of
 
 Fox MINISTRY RESIGN. 89 
 
 the Maoris. To the Assembly which he convened at Wellington 
 in July, 1862, the Governor commended the consideration of 
 the new institutions for Maori government, and the better 
 organization of militia and volunteer forces. He said : " I have 
 hitherto had no occasion, and hope that I shall have none here- 
 after, to employ the military forces in any active field operations." 
 The first cloud which threatened his relations to the General 
 now darkened the horizon. General Cameron, without warning 
 to the Colonial Government, had reported that the annual 
 training of the militia was neglected. The discontinuance had 
 occurred under Governor Browne, in 1861, and was attributed 
 by Mr. Fox and his colleagues to the impossibility of enforcing 
 the training without driving away the population to the gold- 
 fields of Australia, and those recently discovered in the Middle 
 Island. They hoped to legislate on the subject. Appreciating 
 their difficulties, and shrinking from the risk of a war of races, 
 the Governor wrote that he was endeavouring to persuade the 
 local government to create a permanent armed police force of 
 Europeans and Maoris, who would ultimately take a principal 
 part of the colonial military duty ; a plan of which in due time 
 the Secretary of State approved. 
 
 Mr. Fox brought before the House a resolution disclaiming 
 exclusive responsibility for controlling Maori affairs, and liability 
 for the principal cost of suppressing insurrections ; recognizing 
 the duty of cheerful co-operation, to the extent of the colonial 
 ability, with the Imperial Government; but declaring that 
 " (reserving to the Governor both the initiation and decision of 
 questions where Imperial interests are concerned), the ordinary 
 conduct of native affairs should be placed under the administra- 
 of responsible Ministers." The House was evenly divided. 
 Twenty-two supported, and the same number opposed, Mr. Fox. 
 The Speaker's vote kept the question open, and the dissatisfied 
 Ministry resigned. Mr. Stafford and Mr. Fitzgerald severally 
 declined to take office, and on the 5th August Mr. Domett 
 formed a Ministry, with Messrs. T. B. Gillies, Mautell, and Bell, 
 as colleagues in the House of Representatives; Mr. H. J. 
 Tancred and Mr. T. Russell being members of the Executive 
 Council without office. 1 The Domett Ministry was considered 
 
 1 The facility with which these and previous changes were made
 
 90 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 favourable to the doctrine that the Imperial Government, and 
 not the colony, should be responsible for native affairs. But at 
 this juncture the Governor received the sanction of the Home 
 Government to the placing of native affairs under the control 
 of the Assembly. The House considered the subject, and on 
 the 19th August agreed to the following resolutions by a 
 majority of nine : " That in the opinion of this House the 
 relations between his Excellency the Governor and his re- 
 sponsible advisers should rest upon the following basis : 1. That 
 Ministers should, in conformity with the Royal Instruction, 
 advise the Governor in native affairs (as well as in colonial 
 affairs) whenever his Excellency desires to obtain such advice, 
 and should also tender advice on all occasions of importance, 
 when they deem it their duty in the interests of the colony to 
 do so. 2. That Ministers should, at his Excellency's request, 
 undertake the administration of native affairs, reserving to his 
 Excellency the decision in all matters of native policy. 3. That 
 as the decision in all matters of native policy is with his 
 Excellency, the advice of Ministers shall not be held to bind 
 the colony to any liability, past or future, in connection with 
 native affairs, beyond the amount authorized, or to be authorized, 
 by the House of Representatives." (Similar resolutions were 
 subsequently moved in the Legislative Council, but, after 
 debate, were withdrawn.) 
 
 Sir George Grey reported that he had consented to act in the 
 spirit of these resolutions until further instructions might reach 
 him. He did so, because he was satisfied that, whatever the 
 theoretical relations might be, practically, while he was in New 
 Zealand, the result would be the same. He hoped that when 
 existing difficulties were brought to a close the Assembly would 
 assume responsibility for native affairs, at the desire of the 
 Secretary of State. The House having thus crystallized its 
 intentions, proved its carelessness about the men whose duty it 
 might be to obey them, by acquiescing in the remodelling of the 
 
 without any ratification by constituencies furnishes an expressive com- 
 mentary upon the indecent manner in which the Secretary of State launched 
 local government into existence in New Zealand, without legal or con- 
 stitutional sanction, and without the usual safeguard which attends 
 responsibility.
 
 NATIVE AFFAIRS : DOMETT MINISTRY. 9 1 
 
 Ministry. Mr. Gillies immediately vacated and Mr Sewell occu- 
 pied the post of Attorney- General. Mr. Mantell similarly gave 
 way to Mr. Crosbie Ward in the Post Office, but remained in 
 the Executive Council. Mr. Bell vacated the Treasury for the 
 returning Mr. Reader Wood : and the chief result was that Mr. 
 Domett succeeded Mr. Fox, and Mr. F. Dillon Bell held office 
 as Secretary for Native Affairs. The Fox Ministry was in office 
 without Mr. Fox. When Mr. Fox -retired, the Governor ex- 
 pressly recorded his high sense of the cordial and generous 
 support invariably afforded by his old accuser; and on the 
 remodelling of the Ministry by Mr. Domett, the Governor told 
 the Secretary of State that the " policy of the Government in 
 all its main features closely resembled that of the previous 
 Government." The House passed a measure for raising a loan 
 to meet past liabilities, and future exigencies in native affairs ; 
 and while it was yet in session, peremptory instructions from 
 the Imperial Treasury commanded the Deputy Commissary- 
 General to make no more payments by loan or otherwise for 
 any colonial need whatever. The working pay of military 
 parties on the road to Waikato was stopped. Taranaki militia 
 pay, and rations, as previously provided by the Imperial 
 Exchequer, were thenceforth to cease. Immediate re-imburse- 
 ment of past payments was temporarily waived by the Treasury, 
 and the waiver was to constitute " the aid to be afforded from 
 Imperial resources." Sir George Grey deplored the unexpected 
 suddenness of the decision, which was the more unfortunate as 
 the Assembly had just voted a sum to defray all advances from 
 the military chest, previously made for militia and similar charges. 
 The Legislative Council addressed the Queen. On the plea 
 that the colonists had not exercised real control they urged that 
 the expense of war ought to fall on the Home Government. 
 The government of the Maoris could not justly be handed over 
 to the colonists at such a crisis. After establishment of peace 
 they would be willing to undertake it. The address was lengthy. 
 The representatives sent similar remonstrances. They declared 
 also that the step taken by Sir George Grey of demitting Maori 
 control to the Assembly was taken without their concurrence, 
 and that the condition of the colony forbade them to close with 
 the Duke of Newcastle's offer of acceptance of such a policy.
 
 92 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 They, too, thought themselves justified in asserting that the 
 Imperial Government had originated the war. They took upon 
 themselves to criticize the conduct of it "by inefficient and 
 incompetent commanders," whom there was no local authority 
 to remove. They prayed for material aid, and would, as far as 
 their " means would allow," bear burdens. They would relieve 
 the English Government of the anxiety of Maori management, 
 " if the power is given and the help continued to us that will 
 make our efforts hopeful." They "respectfully declined" the 
 Duke of Newcastle's proposal, not as shrinking unworthily from 
 proper burdens, "but because we seem to discover in the 
 despatches an intention to withdraw from engagements to which 
 the British nation is honourably bound, and to transfer to the 
 colony liabilities and burdens which belong properly to the 
 Empire." It was fit that such equivocating words should be 
 addressed to the Minister who had disgraced the English name 
 in 1860, by approving the rape of the Waitara. It would have 
 been too galling for another man to defend so base a position. 
 The culprit himself could not express his meaning without 
 writing a despatch as long as an evening lecture. He approved 
 of Sir George Grey's conduct, and added : " I congratulate myself 
 on the circumstance that the Government of New Zealand is in 
 the hands of an officer whose personal character will secure him 
 a due influence in the affairs of the colony, independently of 
 the terms in which the General Assembly may recognize his 
 authority." He was able to refer to the constant jealousy and 
 encroachment by the Colonial Government upon the Governor's 
 powers relating to the native race, and, as far as he could with- 
 out condemning his own conduct in 1860, he strove to throw the 
 onus of causing the war upon the local Ministry. " I need hardly 
 inform the framers of these memorials that the slow progress of 
 land sales under the auspices of the Native Department, and 
 therefore under the control of the Imperial Government, was an 
 object of complaint to the settlers, and that these complaints 
 were particularly urgent in New Plymouth, and referred especi- 
 ally to the land in the neighbourhood of the Waitara. The 
 decision to complete, by force if necessary, the purchase of that 
 land was adopted at the advice not of the Native Department, 
 but of the Executive Council, and the proclamation of martial
 
 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE RECRIMINATES. 93 
 
 law was transmitted to the officer in command under the signa- 
 ture of the chief responsible Minister. It was under this 
 pressure, with this advice and through this agency, that 
 Governor Browne took the steps that led to the war steps 
 which, although I thought it my duty to sanction them, were in 
 a direction opposite to that which a purely Imperial policy 
 would have dictated. It is in this state of facts that the two 
 legislative bodies of New Zealand, without alleging that Colonel 
 Browne's acts were unwise, or that they were dictated by any 
 Imperial policy or instructions, without denying that they arose, 
 on the contrary, from a desire to promote colonial interests in a 
 way which the colonists themselves demanded, and by proceed- 
 ings which the responsible Ministers formally advised, do not 
 hesitate to repudiate all responsibility in the matter, and to 
 charge the Home Government with the authorship of their 
 sufferings." 
 
 In accusing the colonists justly, the Duke was convicting 
 himself. He, knowing that justice and good faith, towards the 
 treaty of Waitangi as well as to Imperial interests, were opposed 
 to the dealings at Waitara, had nevertheless sanctioned them. 
 The brave and true advice of Sir Robert Peel and Lord Stanley 
 of old time was discarded ; and now, when evil had resulted the 
 accomplices in crime vented diplomatic recriminations against 
 each other. The Duke animadverted on the reluctance of the 
 militia to serve beyond their own districts, and the desire of 
 the colonists to throw on the Imperial Exchequer the cost of 
 constructing roads. He declared that England would not, as 
 seemed to be desired, " recognize the obligation of supporting 
 the burden to which Great Britain is now subject until the 
 authority of the law is re-established." He pointed out that it 
 was notorious, and admitted by the representatives, that the 
 allegiance of the natives had never been more than nominal. 
 He urged that a New Zealand legislator (Mr. Fitzgerald) had 
 stated that he knew of " no race at any period of the world's 
 history which had made in so short a period so great a stride," 
 and he claimed some credit for the Imperial Trusteeship, which 
 before the year 1856 was real and effective in producing such a 
 result, though it was mainly brought about by ministers of 
 religion. He did not expect the colonists to exact more thorough
 
 94 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 allegiance from the Maoris than had hitherto been rendered, but 
 would recognize no indefinite obligation on the Imperial Govern- 
 ment to coerce the natives. In conclusion, he told the Governor 
 that the consent of the colonists was not needed to make effectual 
 the resignation by the Home Government of control. It was 
 complete by the act of the Home Government. If the Governor 
 should resume or retain control of the Native Department it 
 would not be in obedience to instructions, but " at request of his 
 responsible Ministers or under some pressing necessity occasioned 
 by their action or inaction, for the consequences of which there- 
 fore the Home Government would not be responsible." Of 
 course the Governor would exercise negative power if Imperial 
 rights should be invaded, or the faith of the Crown under the 
 Waitangi treaty were jeopardized, or injustice were attempted. 
 He might have to appeal from his advisers to the Assembly, or 
 from the Assembly to the constituencies, and he would, as to 
 employment of the Queen's forces, be responsible, with the officer 
 in command. The maintenance of those troops in New Zealand 
 entitled the Home Government to a potential voice in requiring 
 justice and liberality to the Maoris. The control of the army 
 would ensure attention to the words of a Governor who had been 
 selected as the fittest adviser and administrator for the colony. 
 The idle compliments with which the despatch concluded were 
 swept into insignificance by the whirlwind which occurred in 
 New Zealand. The Home Government had not been able to 
 comprehend the gravity of the situation. They had sent Sir 
 George Grey as the worthiest man for a particular office, and 
 they gave him a half-hearted support. He was to walk as the 
 Duke of Newcastle desired, although, as shown by his own 
 despatches, the Duke himself was incapable of walking in the 
 road which he knew to be right. 
 
 In the scheme proposed by the Governor soon after his arrival, 
 military men were specially asked for as Civil Commissioners. 
 Strong reasons were given, and some others ought to have been 
 patent to a functionary who perceived that many colonists lusted 
 lawlessly for the lands of the Maoris. But the Duke allowed 
 the request to slumber for more than three months in Downing 
 Street, before he replied : " I doubt whether under present 
 military regulations, an officer can be detached from his regi-
 
 WHITAKER WOULD SEIZE LANDS LAWLESSLY. 95 
 
 ment to serve as Commissioner in a native district ; but in case 
 this should prove practicable, Her Majesty's Government can 
 only assent on the understanding that the whole pay of the 
 officer shall be defrayed by the colony." Sir George Grey urged 
 that serious consequences might arise from inability to do what 
 he wished, and that the desired arrangement had been allowed 
 ever since he had been in the service of the Crown. " I assure 
 your Grace," he added, " that a most serious crisis is impending 
 here, and that I require all the aid and support, physical and 
 moral, that can be given me." Thus adjured, the Duke con- 
 sulted the War Office, and, fifteen months after Grey had made 
 his request, the Commander-in-Chief forwarded to General 
 Cameron a discretionary power to allow the employment of 
 officers. Such tardy compliance, at such a crisis, was of course 
 too late. Had the Lord Derby of 1845 been at Downing Street, 
 no such provocation of evil would have increased the Governor's 
 troubles. 
 
 The Duke is entitled to credit for promptitude on one 
 point. The New Zealand Ministry desired to carry roads through 
 lands over which the native title was not extinguished. In 
 November, 1862, the Attorney-General, Sewell, gave a formal 
 opinion that the Crown in spite of the Waitangi Treaty could, in 
 conformity with " the essential conditions of sovereignty," seize 
 upon Maori lands required for roads. He saw technical objec- 
 tions to grasping them under local enactment, because the powers 
 of the General Assembly did not enure until Maori lands had 
 been ceded to the Crown. He could find no express authority 
 for his advice, but referred generally to Books I. II. and ill. of 
 Vattel. Mr. F. D. Fenton, assistant law officer, knew some- 
 thing of Maori laws, and Maori temperaments. Without delay 
 (28th November) l he interposed. He could " not avoid the 
 conclusion that (Sewell's) opinion was erroneous in law." He 
 explained his reasons, and suggested that the matter, serious as 
 it might prove, should be reconsidered. Mr. Sewell retired on 
 the 1st January, 1863, without giving a further opinion. Mr. 
 Whitaker took office as Attorney- General without ministerial 
 responsibility. His opinion, as might have been expected, 
 agreed with that of Sewell. He who saw no objection to the 
 1 P. P. 1863 ; vol. xxxviii. p. 109.
 
 96 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 pillage of the principal chief, and the denial of tribal rights at 
 Waitara, was not the man to shrink from robbing unnamed 
 Maoris, whose lands would be seized in order to make a road 
 from Taranaki to Tataraimaka. " It may be objected," he said 
 (21st February), "that this would be contrary to the treaty 
 of Waitangi. To this I answer that a positive enactment of 
 the legislature would prevail over the terms of the treaty if 
 there were any conflict." But he urged that a right to make 
 roads, as essential to sovereignty, must be implied to have 
 been ceded to the Queen. That a man called a lawyer 
 could honestly think that the terms of a treaty could be can- 
 celled by one of the contracting parties without consultation of 
 the other can hardly be believed. On the contrary and credible 
 assumption, the student may learn the rough and dishonest 
 measures which Mr. Whitaker was ever ready to apply to the 
 Maoris. Sir George Grey, like Mr. Fenton, saw imminent dangers. 
 He told the Duke of Newcastle in December, 1862, when trans- 
 mitting Se well's opinion, that the natives would probably "resist 
 by force of arms." In forwarding Whitaker's he drew attention 
 to the subject as "most important" (24th February). The 
 Duke of Newcastle's susceptibility as to the honour of the 
 Crown was not so weak as to be overborne by the robber-logic of 
 Mr. Whitaker, or by the abstruse generalities of Sewell. He had 
 in March l dealt with the latter. He would " hesitate to admit 
 as a matter of strict law that Her Majesty had the power, with- 
 out any legislative sanction, of appropriating for any purpose the 
 acknowledged property of any of her subjects. But even if 
 it were true that the peculiar legal condition of New Zealand 
 authorized the application of this arbitrary principle, I am of 
 opinion that the question cannot be dealt with as one of strict 
 law." Policy as well as justice required that the expectations 
 which the Maoris had been allowed to form, as to the good faith 
 of the Crown and the treaty of Waitangi, should be loyally re- 
 spected by the Government. Regretting the want of roads to 
 accommodate the Taranaki community, he did not think their 
 advantage should be purchased by the re-imposition of the 
 burdens of a war on which, thus originating, " Her Majesty's 
 troops ought not to be employed. I need hardly add that I 
 1 P. P. 1863 ; vol. xxxviii. p. 145.
 
 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE REFUSES TO DO so. 97 
 
 shall view with more than regret the adoption by your Govern- 
 ment of the course which appears to be indicated in the 
 enclosures to your despatch." 
 
 The receipt of Mr. Whitaker's opinion only caused the Duke 
 to say (May, 1863) that his despatch in March had explained his 
 views fully. It is a pleasure to extract from musty folios some- 
 thing creditable to the Duke of Newcastle ; but the pleasure is 
 alloyed by the reflection that if he had been as firm in 1859 
 and 1860, he might have prevented war. Perhaps apprehension 
 rather than wisdom had changed him. In June, 1861, he had 
 told Sir George Grey not to waver. " It would be better to 
 prolong the war with all its evils than to end it without pro- 
 ducing in the native mind such a conviction of our strength 
 as may render peace not temporary and precarious but well 
 grounded and lasting." In May, 1862, he could " hold out no 
 hopes of the continuance of a large body of troops in New Zea- 
 land ; " and his words became harder by degrees. In August, 
 1862, he was stirred by the War Office (on complaint by General 
 Cameron) to express surprise at the shortcomings of the 
 Colonial Government in maintaining militia. He grumbled at 
 the Governor for his reluctance to part with the soldiers sent 
 from New South Wales and Victoria. The apathy of the 
 colonists was inexcusable. " I must plainly tell you that unless 
 all cause of complaint is speedily removed, a large portion of the 
 troops now stationed in New Zealand will be recalled without 
 delay. It is my duty to call for an immediate report." Like 
 the offended servant in the comedy, the Duke when rated by 
 his colleagues vented his spleen on his subordinate. Sir George 
 Grey at once asked for copies of the letters which caused the 
 rebuko and that the Duke would support an officer serving 
 under him by insisting that in future all such documents should 
 be supplied. He had furnished reports, had reduced expendi- 
 ture, and could only regret that it was thought necessary to 
 censure himself and his Government so severely and so fre- 
 quently. Events, he hoped, would modify the opinions in 
 England. For himself he was sure that to make roads and 
 encourage peace was wiser than to force one race to take up 
 arms against the other. He still hoped Her Majesty's Govern 
 
 ment would see reason to approve of what he had done. 
 VOL. IL H
 
 98 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 The Assembly had conferred upon the Governor power to 
 deal with native reserves, and issue grants. The Civil List 
 grant for native purposes . had been raised from 7000 to 
 26,000. The grant of 5 for each soldier in the colony had 
 been secured by law ; and the yearly grant of 7000 for native 
 schools was retained. A Loan Act for half a million sterling had 
 been passed. A special colonial defence force had been author- 
 ized by enactment. The Militia Act of 1858 had been amended^ 
 and a penalty of 5 for failure of attendance had been enacted. 
 An amended Native Districts Regulation Act enabled the 
 Governor to cause seizure of spirits removed to certain districts, 
 and thus one complaint made by the king-maker was obviated. 
 The Native Circuit Courts Act of 1858 was amended. A 
 Native Lands Act had been passed, not exactly in the form 
 desired by the Governor, but accepted by him as the soundest 
 which the Assembly would pass. He had desired to introduce, 
 gradually, direct dealings in land between European and Maori, 
 to an extent not 'exceeding one farm for one European, such 
 transactions being dependent on personal occupation by the 
 European under penalties enforced by the Government. The 
 native runanga was to concur in the sale to make it valid. 
 
 Unfortunately the Fox Ministry shrunk from what they called 
 tLe stringency of these terms upon the European. The Domett 
 Ministry shared the objections of their predecessors, and the Bill 
 was introduced in a form which recognized the right of a Maori 
 to deal with his land after the native ownership had been 
 ascertained by Courts to be established for the purpose. The 
 resolutions of the House (19th August) as to the relations 
 between the Governor and his advisers having left the decision 
 in matters of native policy to the Governor, the Ministry felt 
 that it was unfair to proceed -with the Bill without his approval. 
 On the 24th August they said they would withdraw it if he 
 could not approve it, but were willing to introduce modifications 
 at his request. He replied (25 August), that understanding 
 from them that the principle of the measure was that natives 
 should be allowed to have as good a title to their lands as 
 Europeans, and to obtain the value by sale or letting, he agreed 
 to it. Again, in September, he was urged to allow it to be said 
 in the Council that the measure was acceptable to him, in order
 
 NATIVE LANDS ACT. 99 
 
 to ensure its passing. He answered : " I have always thought 
 and still think that the plan I proposed for the recognition of 
 the title of the natives to their lands, and for the gradual 
 occupation of the country, by European proprietors agreeable to 
 the natives of the district, was best adapted to the circumstances 
 of the country, and most likely to produce permanently bene- 
 ficial results. At the same time, as there appears no hope of my 
 succeeding in convincing a majority of the Assembly that my 
 views are the soundest and best, I think the recognition of the 
 title of the natives to their lands a matter of such importance, 
 that I will, as I have before stated, accept the Bill in the form 
 in which it passed the House of Representatives for transmission 
 to the Imperial Government ; and I think, upon the whole, it 
 can be so worked as to produce beneficial results at this crisis." 
 
 Mr. Sewell, the Attorney-General, objected so strongly to the 
 recognition of Maori title, that he remonstrated against the Bill 
 while it was before the Legislative Council of which he was a 
 member. The reply of his colleagues may be seen, by the 
 curious, in blue-books. The Native Minister, Mr. F. D. Bell, 
 drew up a commentary on the Bill and its progress, in which 
 he took credit for the moderation of the Governor's advisers, who 
 could command a majority of three to one in favour of their 
 original measure. Thus the Governor, while rebuked by the 
 Secretary of State for not doing more, was congratulated by his 
 advisers upon being allowed to do so much. It was a great advance 
 towards justice to provide a Court to "ascertain and declare 
 who according to native custom are the proprietors of any 
 native lands, and the estate or interest held by them therein." 
 
 By slow degrees the prayers of Sir William Martin, Bishop 
 Selwyn, and Te Waharoa, had prevailed in a measure. But the 
 nature of the Court was peculiar. " It shall be lawful for the 
 Governor from time to time by Commission or Order in Council 
 to constitute a Court or Courts for the purpose of ascertaining, 
 &c." Under such a provision, a wise Governor bent upon doing 
 good might do it. But an unwise one could commit any act of 
 folly or injustice. No enduring Court was created. An upright 
 Judge in one case might never be re-employed. A pliant tool 
 might calculate upon being re-hired. The Courts were to be 
 occasional, and the judiciary the mere creature of the Executive 
 
 11 2
 
 100 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 at pleasure. Under such an Act, Colonel Browne, when once 
 moved to conspire with the land-lusters of Taranaki, might have 
 concocted a Court which would have dealt with Te Rangitake 
 as Parris stirred by C. W. Richmond's private letters had dealt. 
 
 The lands south of Taranaki were still void of the settlers 
 driven from them by the Ngatiruanui and Taranaki tribes 
 during the war of 1860, and were ostensibly held by the natives 
 in right of reconquest, which was considered in itself a sufficient 
 reason for giving vitality to the Native Lands Act only by 
 authority of the Governor. Whether the Bill would have been 
 beneficial if no war had broken out in 1863, it is impossible to 
 say. In fact its provisions were not largely used. Nominally 
 trusted by all, the Governor was nevertheless suspected. The 
 nominee Legislative Council feared that he or his advisers 
 sought to impair their independence by creation of new mem- 
 bers. An address was sent to the Queen praying that their 
 number might be limited to three-fourths of that of the other 
 House. The Councillors had reason for their fears. Mr. Fox 
 had presented, and Sir G. Grey had transmitted, a memorandum 
 urging that power ought to be given to add to the number of 
 the Council before the next Session. In his opinion the 
 Governor ought to have power to increase the Council from 
 time to time by an additional number of ten members. The 
 Duke of Newcastle's reply was inconsequential (26th March, 
 1862) : " Having fully considered the recommendation and the 
 grounds upon which it is made, I think it best, while withdraw- 
 ing the limitation of the number of the Council, to refrain from 
 imposing any restriction when none has been imposed by the 
 Legislature. I shall therefore advise Her Majesty simply to 
 repeal by an additional Instruction the limit which is now 
 placed on the extension of the Legislative Council, and that 
 Instruction will be transmitted to you as soon as the necessary 
 forms will admit of its completion." On the pretence of reluct- 
 ance to impose restrictions the Duke was willing by the removal 
 of a restriction upon the Governor to subject a whole branch of 
 the Legislature to the caprice of the local Executive. 
 
 CHier difficulties existed at the time. The General reported 
 secretly to England what he ought, if he touched it at all, to 
 have brought before the New Zealand Government. The Maoris.
 
 FITZGERALD ON MAORI REPRESENTATION. 101 
 
 after the wrong done at Waitara, were slow to trust the local 
 government. The seizure of Rauparaha by Grey in old time 
 was now deservedly a stumbling-block in his way. The Assembly, 
 while resolving that the Governor must be responsible for native 
 affairs, would not legislate in the manner which seemed to him 
 fittest to inspire the natives with confidence about their lands. 
 The Duke of Newcastle, though he had in 1846 contested 
 Nottingham against the active opposition of his own father, 
 would give no blank charter to a Governor who was under his 
 authority. 
 
 Emboldened by success in arms, the proud Maori race had' 
 learned rashness; while greed and obstinacy prevented many 
 colonists from becoming just, generous, or wise. Confessedly 
 critical, the position presented hideous possibilities. While 
 admiring the noble qualities of the Maoris, Sir George Grey 
 knew the atrocious savagery of their modes of warfare, to which 
 they might recur in sudden raids on the settlers if a national 
 rising should be provoked. Torture, mutilation, and cannibalism 
 were the ancient demons of war ; and women and children were 
 their victims. It is just to those who supported Mr. Fitzgerald 
 to record the gallant attempt made by him to procure for the 
 Maori race some representation in the Legislature. He carried 
 a resolution recognizing the right of all Her Majesty's subjects, 
 of whatever race, to a full and equal enjoyment of civil and 
 political privileges. He moved that such recognition "neces- 
 sitated the personal aid of one or more native chiefs in the 
 administration of the government of the colony, the presence 
 of members of the Maori nobility in the Legislative Council, 
 and a fair representation in this House of a race which con- 
 stitutes one-third of the population of the colony." There were 
 seventeen Ayes and twenty Noes. Supporting Mr. Fitzgerald 
 were Mr. Atkinson, Mr. Dillon Bell, Mr. Brandon, Mr. Carter, 
 Mr. Fitzherbert, Mr. Fox, Mr. Gillies, Mr. G. Graham, Mr. 
 Mantell, Mr. Moorhouse, Mr. Renall, Mr. C. J. Taylor, Mr. 
 Waring Taylor, Mr. Watt, Mr. John Williamson, and Mr. Wood. 
 There were two Richmonds (not Mr. C. W. Richmond), and 
 Mr. Weld, among the victorious twenty, who thus rendered 
 impossible what seemed to them a wild experiment, but was 
 in a few years to be accepted as a plain necessity. It is more
 
 102 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 grateful to record the names of Mr. Fitzgerald's supporters than 
 those which were enrolled against him. 
 
 Suspicions at Waikato were meanwhile strengthened. It was 
 foreseen that a road to Waikato would enable the English to 
 throw troops into the district and endanger Ngaruawahia. Rewi 
 and the war faction began to predominate. The king-maker 
 vainly urged the runanga to accept the proposal of the Govern- 
 ment to investigate fairly the Waitara dispute. Rewi com- 
 manded a majority. When the military road to Te la on the 
 Waikato was completed, and the Queen's Redoubt at the 
 terminus made capable of holding 1000 men, Sir George Grey 
 caused a branch road to be made to the bank of the Maungata- 
 whiri, and timber was conveyed thither to form a landing-stage. 
 Dreading the construction of a bridge, the Maoris were scarcely 
 appeased by being told that the Governor did not mean to build 
 a bridge till the next year, when he hoped their opposition would 
 be withdrawn. Another proposed road excited them more 
 violently. Wiremu Nera and his people had agreed to make a 
 road from Raglan, on the west coast, near Whaingaroa harbour, 
 to Watawata on the Waipa river, not many miles above its 
 junction with the Waikato at Ngaruawahia. Troops landed at 
 Raglan could by such a road take the Maori capital in rear while 
 it was assailed in front by forces arriving by the military road to 
 Te la, and by steamers on the Waikato river. Maori claims to 
 land were put forward, and Maori eloquence was vainly used, to 
 deter Wiremu Nera from his project. 
 
 War meetings were held, and when a day was fixed for 
 cutting down trees upon the line an armed band went from 
 Rewi's settlement at Kihikihi to stop the work by force. They 
 received a stern message from the king-maker. Wiremu Nera 
 had been his father's comrade, and whoever assailed him must 
 fight the Ngatihaua and their chief. The road question must 
 be settled by Wiremu Nera's tribe and his own. The inter- 
 lopers retired. The king-maker appealed to Wiremu Nera to 
 desist from a scheme which would place Waikato at the Go- 
 vernor's mercy. The king's sister, Te Paea, who was said to 
 have more of Te Whero Whero's disposition than had descended 
 to her royal brother, with her own hands pulled up the stakes 
 with which the road had been marked out. Thus adjured, and
 
 MR. GORST AT TE AWAMUTU. 103 
 
 confronted by the opposition of nearly all Waikato, Wiremu Nera 
 agreed to begin his road-making at Raglan, on Queen's territory. 
 His men were satisfied with payment by the Government, and 
 the uproar ceased. Mr. Gorst meantime was troubled at Te 
 Awamutu. Bishop Selwyn and the Church Missionary Society 
 had 200 acres of land at Otawhao, close to the spot. They gave 
 it up to the Government. There were 800 other acres which 
 the Maoris had granted for an industrial school and hospital 
 during Sir George Grey's former government. They were less 
 trustful now, and said that the grant had lapsed by ten years' 
 neglect to use it. The war-party failed to induce the king to 
 take violent measures. It was decided not to drive Mr. Gorst 
 away ; but as his magisterial functions had been foiled by pre- 
 venting a resort to them, so now it was resolved to prevent the 
 erection of the school-buildings by forbidding sales of timber. 
 When in spite of the prohibition two trees were sold, Rewi's 
 friends wished to take them back, but the majority declined to 
 commit an act which might be called theft. More timber was 
 obtained, and the school prospered. The Government provided 
 a teacher of reading, writing, and arithmetic. The trades of 
 the carpenter, blacksmith, wheelwright, shoemaker, tailor, and 
 printer were taught. Agriculture and pastoral pursuits were 
 not neglected. Te Oriori, a leading chief, patronized the school. 
 The king-maker, and even Rewi, visited the institution so 
 strangely established in the heart of the king's territory. 
 
 The Maori councillors revolved the state of affairs while " the 
 English Committee" was making laws in 1862. On the 2nd 
 September, Waharoa issued a curt summons " from the whole 
 runanga" to the tribes, to assemble at Peria on the 21st 
 October. An account by a Maori declares that "the cause of 
 the runanga was to lay down laws for the good of this island." 
 Mr. Gorst says it was called to discuss the Waitara question. 
 Rewi has publicly stated that he and Te Rangitake consented 
 that there should be "a careful investigation" of the Waitara 
 dispute, but that at Peria the Maoris decided otherwise. The 
 meeting was full of dramatic incident. Bishop Selwyn attended. 1 
 
 1 In 1861 the Bishop was hooted by the settlers at Taranaki. As the 
 crowd followed him he turned round to speak. They began to turn away. 
 He called out : " It is more English-like to look me in the face and tell me
 
 104 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 The preliminary proceedings were closed on the 23rd October 
 with evening prayer. On the following day the king-maker, 
 who presided, announced the subjects to be discussed, and fixed 
 in the ground two sticks, one for the "Ayes," the other for 
 the "Noes." 1st. MaungatawhM (i. e. the Governor's dreaded 
 road, bridge, and steamer). 2nd. Whaingaroa (i. e. the road 
 from Raglan). 3rd. Native land disputes. After animated 
 speeches the chiefs voted by depositing small sticks by the mark 
 for the Noes. The decision was Waikato is closed. Discus- 
 sion on the land question was postponed. The Bishop asked 
 when Waitara and Tataraimaka would be touched upon. Te 
 Waharoa said his personal desires had been overruled, and 
 those subjects would not be dealt with. It was resolved that 
 disputes should be inquired into and judged by law. There 
 was a debate about debts and Pakehas. It was determined that 
 existing debts should be paid, and that resident Europeans 
 should not be molested. On the 26th, Te Waharoa preached a 
 sermon on the text : " Behold, how good and joyful a thing it is, 
 brethren, to dwell together in unity." He expatiated on the 
 glorious results of banding the Maoris together under one king, 
 as contrasted with the former ravages of inter-tribal wars. The 
 Maoris, gathered from far, from Tauranga and Napier on the 
 east, and Wanganui and Taranaki on the west, were warmed by 
 his eloquence. To counteract it, Bishop Selwyn preached in 
 the afternoon in Maori, inculcating from the same text a wider 
 unity than that enjoined by Waharoa. On the following day 
 the Bishop asked for audience on three subjects : Let there be 
 one law. Let Waitara be investigated. Let Tataraimaka be 
 re-occupied by its Pakeha proprietors. He was heard. In their 
 own figurative manner he pressed his views upon the chiefs. 
 Solemnly at the close he appealed to the king, to the king- 
 
 yonr grievances." Colloquy ensued, in which the Bishop's biographer de- 
 clares that he was good-humoured and triumphant. Amongst the hooting 
 mob were three Provincial Councillors. He went amongst the Ngatirtiamib 
 and was told by a Maori that he ought not to travel through their country. 
 He would be looked upon as a spy. He answered : " I am like wheat. 
 The Pakeha at Taranaki were the upper-stone grinding me there, and now 
 you grind me here." He paused till a deputation invited him to proceed, 
 and he marvelled at the kindness he experienced in the district so recently 
 ravaged by the soldiery and settlers.
 
 MAORI MEETING AT PERIA. 105 
 
 maker, and^to all the tribes, to consent to the good plans for 
 peace. Opposition speeches were made. Some votes were 
 given against the Bishop's proposals. Hauraki (Thames) Maoris 
 seated themselves in the middle, and were claimed by the 
 Bishop's friends. The Nestor of the Hauraki men replied : 
 " No, we are sitting in the centre : " pointing to the two sticks, 
 he added, " there is death here, and death there." An old man 
 went up to the Bishop, and thrice repeated : " Do you consent 
 that the king shall stand ? " "I consent to there being one 
 law, whether by the Queen, the Governor, or Matutaera; 
 whether carried out by a Pakeha or Maori runanga. I consent 
 to there being one law for us all. This is what I consent to." 
 This reply was deemed unsatisfactory. The old man pointed 
 out that the Bishop called their king only Matutaera, and gave 
 as his own verdict : " Let there be one law, but let the authority 
 be divided into two." 
 
 In the ensuing discussion the king-maker acknowledged a 
 change of opinion, caused by the deceitfulness of the Ministers, 
 the occupation of Te la, and the Governor's letter to Matutaera 
 (on the occasion of the march towards Coromandel) threatening 
 that the king would be punished by-and-by. The Bishop 
 repudiated all intention of deceit. Voters came forward for the 
 Bishop. Kihirini, an old chief of Middle Waikato, sat by the 
 Bishop, and said he would have voted for him but for the 
 occupation of Te la. The Ngatikahungunu tribe began to 
 speak, and their chief, a friend of the Bishop, advised him that 
 as he had opened the subject, the Maoris would get on better by 
 themselves. The Bishop (called Pihopa Herewini) left with the 
 conviction That the king's friends were more friendly than 
 before. That their tenacity for their king was unabated. That 
 the east coast tribes were most vigorous in opposition to the 
 Pakeha. That all acknowledged the necessity of one law. That 
 the difficulty was to reconcile unity of law with duality of 
 " mana." That it would not be impossible to bring about a 
 compromise, on the basis approved by the Secretary of State, 
 that Matutaera and his Council might make laws to be pre- 
 sented to the Governor for confirmation, like the laws of the New 
 Zealand provinces. That there was absolutely no trace of 
 hostility of race, and no unanimity even on the subject of
 
 106 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 division of races. But though the Bishop obtained no vote of 
 approval, he had won friends, and persuaded the king-maker to 
 make a final effort for peace. After the Peria meeting the 
 king-maker went to Kihikihi and formally asked Rewi and Te 
 Rangitake to agree to the investigation of the Waitara title 
 as proposed by the Governor. Rangitake refused, and the 
 Ngatimaniapoto supported him. The king-maker asked that 
 Tataraimaka should be restored to its European owners. The 
 Ngatimaniapoto refused even this. In sorrow the king-maker 
 retired. To quarrel with his countrymen could not promote the 
 Maori nationality, which he had at heart, and he saw no alter- 
 native but submission. The times were out of joint, and would 
 not be set right by him. Yet he ever rebuked the violent by 
 his example. Mr. Gorst reported in March, 1862, that when the 
 king's military guard, established by Rewi's influence, had to be 
 supplied in turn by the Ngatihaua, the king-maker took down 
 men and ploughs, broke up and planted land with potatoes, and 
 said that was the soldiering his tribe could do. 
 
 In November, General Cameron represented to Sir George 
 Grey the smallness of his force. It was diminishing in number 
 by reason of drafts of invalids. He had only 2681 effective men 
 to guard Auckland and the long line of communication with the 
 advanced posts. There were more than 700 soldiers at Taranaki, 
 352 at Wanganui, 274 at Wellington, 271 at Napier, 91 at 
 Otago. This representation was forwarded to England by Sir 
 George Grey on the 27th November, simultaneously with a 
 despatch in reply to the Secretary of State's censure, founded 
 upon General Cameron's complaints that the militia were not 
 duly trained. The Duke of Newcastle had said : " With such a 
 fact before me, I have a right to assume that there are more 
 soldiers in the colony than are required." Grey deprecated so 
 severe a reprimand, published before he had seen General 
 Cameron's complaint. By such a course a man's "character 
 might be irretrievably ruined, even before he has been accused." 
 In February, 1863, the Duke ineptly replied, that he wished to 
 blame not Grey but his advisers, and considered that he was 
 thereby strengthening Grey in dealing with his Ministers and 
 the Legislature. 
 
 In December, a chief traversed the country from Wanganui
 
 SIK G. GREY AT NGARUAWAHIA. 107 
 
 to Waikato and Auckland. Everywhere he canvassed the con- 
 dition of the country with the chiefs, and everywhere he found 
 a disposition to maintain the " mana " of the king. Grey sent 
 the chiefs diary to the Secretary of State ; and receiving informa- 
 tion of a scheme to massacre the English settlers if he should 
 send a steamer to the Waikato river, he resolved to act. Early 
 on the 1st January, 1863, he started for the Waikato. He met 
 Te Wheoro at Drury, arranged that a canoe should be ready at 
 daylight the next morning at Maungatawhiri, and with a crew 
 of 20 Maoris, some of whom were chiefs and the king's friends, 
 was wafted up the Waikato and landed at Paetai before mid- 
 night, being received with hearty welcome. At seven o'clock 
 in the morning 200 natives were assembled. Among them were 
 devoted partisans of the king; but all took off their hats, 
 saluted him as their father, and declared that if he had never 
 left the country the king would not have been heard of. They 
 prepared horses to escort him to Taupiri. Having arrived there 
 early in the day, he pushed on to Ngaruawahia unattended. 
 The king was at Hangatiki. Te Waharoa was at Peria. Te 
 Paea, the king's sister, and a few chiefs were at Ngaruawahia. 
 As the Governor walked about, gazing on the tomb of Te Whero 
 Whero, and the flagstaff of the king, he was recognized and 
 surrounded by the Maoris. They did not say Come, let us kill 
 him. They called him their father and protector, and many 
 wept tears of joy with the Maori facility which the custom of 
 " tangi " created. He thanked them and returned to Taupiri. 
 Messengers informed the king, Te Waharoa. and others, of the 
 presence of the Governor. The king was an unskilful horseman, 
 and at Rangiaohia sent a certificate, signed by a missionary and 
 a catechist, to the effect that he could travel no further. The 
 king-maker rapidly reached Ngaruawahia. Other chiefs attended : 
 but Rewi and his partisans were conspicuously absent. The 
 chiefs assembled at their capital were told that they could see 
 the Governor, if they wished, at Taupiri. They proceeded 
 thither, and seated on the ground awaited his appearance. The 
 king-maker rushed forward, seized his hand, welcomed him to 
 Waikato, and amid uncovered heads escorted him to the seat 
 prepared for him. " Welcome our old friend ! Welcome 
 the Governor ! Welcome our father, the friend of Potatau !
 
 108 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Welcome, parent of the people ! " Such were the cries with which 
 a race denounced as unmitigated savages greeted a Governor 
 who had put himself in their power. Taati of Rangiaohia and 
 the king-maker made orations. The latter said that the king 
 movement had been in the minds of the Maoris long before 
 form and shape were given to it. Under it good laws, approved 
 by the Governor, might be passed. He spoke of Governor 
 Browne as " ko te mea hohoro ki te riri " one who was hasty 
 to be angry. He asked, as Tipene had asked, whether Grey was 
 still opposed to the king. Grey replied that he continually 
 studied how to pull him down. " I shall not fight against him 
 with the sword, but I. shall dig round him till he falls of his 
 own accord." It was an unhappy speech, and was never for- 
 gotten. It confirmed the worst suspicions of those already 
 distrustful. The chiefs deprecated the introduction of a 
 steamer on the Waikato river. The Governor said they should 
 put one there for themselves ; but so useful a thing ought not 
 to be wanted ; and, failing other means, he must place one 
 there. He invited them to send a deputation to Auckland to 
 discuss all matters. As the evening closed in he became ill, and 
 the assembly was concluded with loud cheers for the Governor. 
 The king-maker returned to Ngaruawahia, where it was resolved 
 to invite the Governor to visit all the chiefs in the district. 
 He, meanwhile, hurried back to Auckland, postponing his tour 
 till a fitter time which never arrived. As his canoe passed 
 down by Paetai, Maoris galloped on the river-bank with letters 
 from the king-maker and others, urging him, if health would 
 permit, to visit all the people. He did not visit them, and thus 
 was lost almost the last opportunity of peace. 1 Unless, however, 
 
 1 In January, 1863, Grey, in writing about the want of naval assistance 
 in New Zealand, and the necessity for a steamer at the control of the Governor 
 said : " My own health has completely broken down from the fatigue and 
 exposure I was subjected to last winter, owing to its having been rendered 
 necessary for me to make overland journeys at an unfavourable season the 
 use of an efficient steamer not having been accorded to me. So thoroughly 
 is this the case, that I doubt if I shall ever again be able to undergo the 
 fatigues which are necessarily incident to my position here. It is impos- 
 sible, especially when in ill-health, to repress a sort of feeling of hopeless- 
 ness at being thus left in a position of great difficulty whilst powerful 
 steamers have been and are found for all the ordinary duties of visiting the 
 ports of Australia and Van Diernen's Land, where no difficulties exist or 
 have existed."
 
 BARRACKS AT KOHE-KOHE. 109 
 
 he was sincere and his threat to place a steamer on the 
 Waikato casts doubt upon his professions his journey must 
 have ended in disappointment. The king-maker and Taati, true 
 to their professions, wrote letters to the Ngatiruanui, urging 
 them to abandon the Tataraimaka block. But Rewi and other 
 chiefs wrote letters of an opposite character, promising (what 
 the king-maker denied) the help of the Waikato if war should 
 ensue from the retention of the Tataraimaka lands. 
 
 On the 3rd February, 1863, Mr. Parris wrote from Taranaki : 
 " I am of opinion that Tataraimaka ought to be taken possession 
 of without a renewal of hostilities if carefully managed, by 
 stationing not less than 100 troops there." The blunders of 1859 
 ought to have prevented the Ministry from putting any faith in 
 this statement, which was accompanied by another to the effect 
 that the Ngatiruanui tribe kept their district closed, not only 
 against Europeans but against natives serving the Queen. The 
 Governor himself could hardly be deceived, for on the 9th and 
 14-th February he forwarded to England hostile Maori letters 
 which were sent to him by friendly chiefs, to warn him of 
 danger. One, dated in December, 1862 (sent to Tauranga 
 from Taranaki), urged immediate war if the steamer should be 
 placed on the Waikato river. " Fire upon her at once. ... If 
 we see that the Governor takes forcible possession of Waireka 
 and Tataraimaka we will slay him at once." 1 
 
 In the end of February the Governor went to Taranaki. He 
 had no sooner gone thither than troubles arose about timber 
 carried on rafts from Maungatawhiri for construction of police- 
 barracks at Te Kohe-kohe where Te Wheoro loyally served the 
 Queen. The kyig's runanga debated a whole night, and 
 instructed Te Wheoro that Waikato would take back the timber 
 to the Queen's land. An armed band arrived to carry the threat 
 into execution. Te Wheoro was staunch, although Tamati 
 Ngapora and others urged him to give way. Argument lasted 
 for two days. Then the orators left the army to work. The 
 Kohe-kohe Maoris watched the timber. After waiting all day 
 for an opportunity, the army proceeded to throw the timber into 
 
 1 About this time H.M.S. ' Orpheus ' was wrecked at the Manukau, and 
 three Maoris were conspicuous for their daring gallantry in saving the lives 
 of the English.
 
 110 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the river. Twelve Maori women and eight men dragged it back 
 as quickly as it was thrown in. The sharp edges drew blood 
 from the excited strugglers, but no blows were struck. The 
 weary army abandoned its unwarlike work. Only six pieces of 
 wood had floated away, and they were afterwards recovered. 
 The Governor, at Taranaki, advised the stoppage of the pensions 
 of Tamati Ngapora and his abettors, increased the salaries of Te 
 Wheoro and others, and gave 5 a year to each of the gallant 
 Maori women, and a watch to each of the eight men. To 
 Tamati Ngapora he offered an inquiry, and stopped his pension 
 until a satisfactory explanation could be given." Ngapora was 
 not one of those who could be bought, and the attempt was one 
 of Fouche's blunders. The war-party of Ngaruawahia took 
 stronger measures. They sent more men under Wi Kumete to 
 remove the timber by force. Mr. Gorst met them at Rangiriri. 
 Wi Kumete showed him some spirits which he had captured 
 from a canoe importing them in defiance of the Maori law. 
 Undeterred by Mr. Gorst's remonstrances Wi Kumete went to 
 Te Kohe-kohe, threw the timber into the river, bound it in rafts, 
 and sent a message to the officer in command at the Queen's 
 Redoubt. If provided with safe-conduct the Maoris would land 
 the timber at Te la ; if not they would let the rafts drift on the 
 river. Kumete received permission to land the timber un- 
 molested ; kept spectators off with ropes and stakes, and a guard 
 of his own soldiers ; landed the timber ; returned triumphantly to 
 Te Kohe-kohe, and suggested that Mr. Gorst and all his sur- 
 roundings at Te Awamutu should be removed in like manner. 
 The Maoris had put up a post at Maungatawhiri on the Queen's 
 land, with a notice : " This is the Pakeha boundary. The water 
 belongs to the Maoris." Mr. Gorst had pulled up the post, but 
 Kumete re-erected it, and declared that Mr. Gorst's conduct 
 demanded his expulsion. 
 
 Mr. Fitzgerald, in a letter to Mr. Adderley, charged Sir George 
 Grey with wrongly striving to build a bullet-proof redoubt at 
 Kohe-kohe under the name of a court-house. Sir George Grey's 
 denial of the charge as untrue contained ample proof that it was 
 reasonable. The despatch (April, 1865) to Mr. Cardwell, 
 introduced his responsible advisers upon the scene. In May, 
 1862 (Fox, Premier), they recommended that a court-house
 
 OPPOSITION NEWSPAPERS. Ill 
 
 should be built. Tawhiao forbade it. In June, 1862, the same 
 advisers advised that " a barrack for the accommodation of a 
 native police force should be added to the court-house about to 
 be built." Sir George Grey thought that Te Wheoro the friend 
 of the English " ought to be allowed to protect himself from 
 violence in his own village, and that preparations should be made 
 to resist the rebellion which I feared was about to break out, 
 and I therefore acquiesced in the advice tendered to me." All 
 this might be true, and yet Mr. Fitzgerald's l charge might be 
 irrefutable. As it was perfectly well known to Sir George Grey 
 and his advisers that the erection of any stronghold within the 
 king's territory was tantamount to an act of war, the explana- 
 tion to the Secretary of State did not convey the whole truth. 
 When Kumete re-erected the boundary-mark pulled down by 
 Mr. Gorst he showed the significance attached by the Maoris to 
 the proceedings of the Government. The expulsion of Mr. 
 Gorst was undertaken by the pertinacious Rewi ; and though 
 the narrative somewhat overlaps the course of events at Taranaki, 
 it may be told in connection with the contest at Kohe-kohe. 
 
 In addition to the school at Te Awamutu there was an official 
 newspaper 2 devoted to countervail a Maori newspaper published 
 by the king party at Ngaruawahia. The latter bore the evil 
 name, ' The Hokioi,' a mythical invisible bird known only by its 
 scream; the omen of war or other scourge. Patara, cousin of 
 the king, was the editor. The Governor's paper was called 
 " The Pihoihoi Mokemoke," the solitary lark. 3 An article on 
 the evils of the king's government gave great offence by 
 alluding to a gross but unpunished crime. If Matutaera had 
 power to punish he was to blame for neglect. If he had not 
 power, but pretended to have it, he was guilty of false pretences. 
 
 1 Mr. Fitzgerald erred in attributing to Mr. Domett the advice to erect 
 a police station at Kohe-kohe, and Sir G. Grey took occasion in a separate 
 despatch (No. 60 ; 7th May, 1865) to correct the error which was undeni- 
 able though not important. 
 
 2 The ' Maori Gazette ' had existed previously, and had been discontinued 
 by Sir G. Grey, but was re-established by him when private enterprise 
 threatened to publish one. 
 
 3 Pihoihoi is rendered as the "ground lark" in Bishop Williams' ' Maori 
 Dictionary.' I know not why the title of the paper has been translated as 
 " the sparrow sitting on the house-top " in some narratives.
 
 112 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 One effect produced by the article was to cause suggestions 
 that the ' Pihoihoi ' should be destroyed and Mr. Gorst be driven 
 away. At a time when the Maori mind was seething with 
 apprehensions about the great river, Rewi sent eighty armed 
 Ngatimaniapoto under Aporo, the orator who had confronted 
 Mr. Fox, to destroy the Pakeha newspaper. He himself, with 
 Te Rangitake, held aloof, about 300 yards from the school- 
 buildings. Mr. Gorst was absent when the band arrived on the 
 24th March. Within the enclosure they had prayers, were 
 stirred by a speech from Aporo, and then broke open the build- 
 ing in spite of the resistance of Pineaha, the Maori native 
 teacher. Everything belonging to the printing-office was seized, 
 and placed on two drays brought for the purpose. Taati and 
 Te Oriori hearing of the outrage, hurried to the spot from Ran- 
 giaohia, and asked if Te Whero Whero's words, " Be kind to the 
 Pakeha," were forgotten. Matutaera's were the same. Hone 
 Ropeha replied that he would trample on the king's words. 
 Taati called for writing materials and took down the words. At 
 dusk Taati returned to Rangiaohia, telling the schoolboys to 
 inform him if further violence should be offered. The invaders 
 camped in the printing-house and on the road, and set a guard. 
 Mr. Gorst returned at eight o'clock in the evening. The late 
 fellow of St. John's was in a situation which might curdle the 
 blood of some men. Mrs. Gorst was at this remote dwelling, 
 already in the power of a man whom Mr. C. W. Richmond had 
 called " an essential savage, varnished over with the thinnest 
 coating of Scripture phrases," for Te Rangitake, whose pah had 
 been ravaged by the English, was on the spot with the fierce 
 Rewi. But Mr. Gorst was bold in his bearing. In the morning 
 chiefs arrived from Rangiaohia, and all day discussion lasted. 
 Rewi was blamed for his conduct. Mr. Gorst was sent for, and 
 Aporo told him to leave Awamutu. He declined. Rewi was 
 unyielding, and all that the Rangiaohia friends could procure 
 was a respite for Mr. Gorst until orders from Sir George Grey 
 might arrive. Taati and Te Oriori entered the house to ensure 
 the safety of Mr. Gorst and his family, while Rewi's guards 
 surrounded it. Then through the inteivention of a missionary, 
 it was agreed that Mr. Gorst should ask the Governor's per- 
 mission to leave Te Awamutu, Rewi surlily saying that if the
 
 MR. GORST AT AWAMUTU. 113 
 
 Governor allowed Mr. Gorst to remain he should die. Mr. Gorst 
 agreed in writing to ask for leave to go, and Rewi wrote to Sir 
 George Grey : " If you say that be is to stay he shall die. 
 Enough. Write speedily to remove him in three weeks." The 
 Maori schoolboys heightened the effect of the picture by asking 
 Te Oriori to give them guns with which they said they could 
 protect themselves against the Ngatimaniapoto. On the 26th 
 March, Mr. Gorst was officially instructed by Mr. F. Dillon Bell, 
 the Native Minister, to remove with his family and other Euro- 
 peans, if he should be of opinion that remaining at Te Awamutu 
 would be attended with any danger to life. Mr. Bell went to 
 Taranaki, and sent thence instructions of a similar nature from 
 the Governor. The king-maker arrived at Rangiaohia. His 
 tribe disapproved of Rewi's proceedings. He told Mr. Gorst, 
 nevertheless, that Rewi was obdurate, and the Europeans had 
 better leave. The king-maker personally approved of the 
 school, but Sir George Grey had said he would dig round the 
 king, and when the king-maker looked to see where the 
 digging was going on, he thought Mr. Gorst and the school were 
 some of the spades. Yet he would not abet violence. Rather 
 he warned Mr. Gorst about Rewi. Mr. Gorst said if the king 
 could not control Rewi, the Governor's words were true, and the 
 king had already fallen. " I think," he wrote, " the chiefs 
 winced a little at this, but Te Waharoa does not lose his temper 
 in argument. It was pitiable to see a man of so noble a 
 character with so base a part to play." Having obtained per- 
 mission to leave, if needful, Mr. Gorst endeavoured to maintain 
 himself in his post. The Governor renewed the Native Minis- 
 ter's instructions, but took no notice of Rewi's letter to himself. 
 Rewi was told that the Governor could not understand his 
 proceedings, but did not wish Mr. Gorst to fall by his blade. 
 He had no more to say. Rewi replied it was well that the 
 Governor had said Mr. Gorst should go. But he was unwilling 
 to abandon his post. He went to Ngaruawahia on the 13th 
 April. He wrote his narrative from the printing-office of the 
 'Hokioi,' the Maori newspaper. On the 14th there was a 
 meeting at which he remonstrated with the runanga. He was 
 told that the Governor's words about digging round the king, the 
 Kohe-kohe building plans, the pulling up of the boundary-post 
 
 VOL. II. 1
 
 114 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 at Te la, the court-house at Awamutu, and the articles of 
 the ' Pihoihoi,' were reasons why he should leave Waikato. He 
 retorted that nothing could justify expulsion from his own land, 
 and asked who would drive him away. " Who join in the deed ? " 
 he said. " All Waikato." " Who are all Waikato ? " Here- 
 wini pointed down the river, waved his wand round the horizon, 
 and said, " From Tongariro to the sea all have agreed." Mr. 
 Gorst denied that Matutaera or Waharoa had consented. On 
 the 15th, Matutaera wrote his decision as follows: "I said to 
 Rewi, O Rewi ! leave these days to me ; bring back all the 
 property ; let none be lost. I do not say that Mr. Gorst shall 
 stay. He must go." On the 17th, the printing-press was 
 returned, and Mr. Gorst was at Auckland a few days afterwards, 
 some of the scholars following him. The Rev. A. Purchas, 
 medical commissioner, superintended the despatch of the school 
 property, the premises being left in the care of two native 
 teachers, one of whom, Pineaha, had risked his life in resisting 
 the assault on the printing-office. The king-maker wrote a 
 sorrowful letter, regretting Mr. Gorst's expulsion without a cause 
 The king's sister, Te Paea, undertook to guard the premises 
 against intrusion, and Rewi promised to respect her pledge. As 
 to general policy Rewi was now in the ascendant ; and the king 
 and king-maker vainly deplored the rage for war which coursed 
 through the violent Ngatimaniapoto. An armed band of 200 
 of them marched to the Taranaki district on the 18th April. A 
 letter from Patara (editor of the ' Hokioi ') to Tamati Ngapora 
 (27th April), lamented the expulsion of Mr. Gorst and the con- 
 tempt of the Ngatimaniapoto for the king's authority. Rewi 
 even demanded that Te la should be given over to him to work 
 his will upon, but this the runanga had successfully opposed. 
 Strife was at the doors of all dwellers in the Northern Island. 
 
 Until the day on which Governor Browne's seizure of the 
 Waitara was approved by the Duke of Newcastle the Maori race 
 venerated the justice of the Queen. Not even Sir George Grey 
 could restore their confidence. His own seizure of Rauparaha 
 by night was never forgotten, and bred distrust in spite of his 
 general popularity. He went to Taranaki on the 4th March to 
 deal with the difficulties arising from the recent war. He had 
 waited until his military road to Waikato was completed,
 
 THE RAPE OF THE WAITABA PROVED. 115 
 
 because if there were war, Auckland without that road was 
 deemed indefensible. He professed to labour for peace while 
 preparing for war. He resumed without opposition the Omata 
 (12th March) and Tataraimaka (4th April) blocks at Taranaki. 
 He instituted inquiries about Waitara which should have pre- 
 ceded the occupation of Tataraimaka. 
 
 Lieutenant Bates, of the 65th Regiment, Native Interpreter 
 to the Forces, reported (10th April), on the authority of Mr. 
 Carrington, who had been surveyor in the province for twenty- 
 two years, that far from being under the control of Teira in 
 1859, the block had contained two pahs inhabited by two hun- 
 dred residents, and by thirty-five of Te Rangitake's followers ; 
 and that when the block was forcibly seized in 1860, the pahs 
 and cultivations had been destroyed by the Queen's forces and 
 their native allies. Mr. Dillon Bell, the Native Minister, de- 
 clared (llth April) that these amazing statements 1 were directly 
 contrary to what he had always believed, and that Mr. Parris still 
 thought them exaggerated. Sir George Grey (12th April) asked 
 Mr. Bell whether, even if there were a flaw in the title of Te 
 Rangitake's people, it was wise, or becoming, or a proper subject 
 on which to risk a war, by expelling from their homes a number 
 of Maoris who had occupied them for years in peace. Mr. Bell 
 consulted Teira, and the old murderer Ihaia, on the 16th April, 
 and they admitted that it was by tribal arrangement that Te 
 Rangitake had settled on the south bank of the Waitara after 
 the return from Waikanae. Teira, when challenged by Mr. 
 Bell for not mentioning the fact to Governor Browne, alleged 
 that when he offered the land in 1859, he did not intend to 
 include the pahs. He had the audacity to complain that the 
 balance of the purchase-money was unpaid. Mr. Bell replied 
 that the deed prepared made no reference to the reserve of the 
 pahs, and that it was Teira's duty to have spoken of them. 
 " Teira and Ihaia, after a few moments' silence, said : ' If we 
 could answer that, we would do so. As it is we are silent.' ' It 
 had come to this then. Mr. C. W. Richmond's and Mr. Bell's 
 assurances (with Donald McLean's culpable acquiescence) that 
 
 1 Mr. Bell assisted Mr. Richmond in his fruitless endeavour to confute 
 Sir W. Martin's arguments, and framed Colonel Browne's elaborate despatch 
 of 4th December, 1860, in justification of the seizure of the Waitara block. 
 
 I a
 
 116 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Teira's title had been investigated and found good, had deceived 
 Colonel Browne, plunged the -two races into a bitter war, and 
 were now confuted out of Teira's mouth at the first touch of the 
 unprejudiced Lieutenant Bates, and Bell himself became an 
 instrument in eliciting the truth against which he had formerly 
 contended. The Governor (19th April) wrote, that these admis- 
 sions made it more difficult than ever for the Government to insist 
 that the purchase of the block should be maintained at all risk, 
 and that a reserve of 200 acres for the Maoris should at once be 
 made round the old native villages. The Ministry consented. 
 As to the admissions, the facts appeared to have been over- 
 looked throughout the discussions on the Waitara purchase in 
 consequence of the raising of the larger question of alleged 
 seignorial and tribal rights. " It is difficult to conceive," they 
 added, " that if these facts had come out clearly at the time of 
 the sale, the practice universally followed, as far as Ministers 
 are aware, in all purchases of land in New Zealand from the 
 foundation of the colony, viz. that of reserving the pahs of resid- 
 ent natives, together with their cultivations and burial-places, 
 would not have been adhered to in this particular instance." 
 
 A heavier indictment could hardly have been framed against 
 the Government of 1860. The facts now called new were 
 urged by the king-maker in reply to the manifesto of the 
 Governor in May, 1861 ; and in 1860 Mr. C. W. Eichmond, 
 acknowledging that there were some of Rangitake's people on 
 the land, had called them encroachers. 
 
 Sir George Grey (22nd April) thanked his Ministers for their 
 acquiescence as to the reserves. He prepared a summary of the 
 existing condition of affairs, and recommended that the purchase 
 should be abandoned, and a notice at once issued in the follow- 
 ing terms : "The Governor directs it to be notified, that from 
 facts now come to light, and not before known to him, he does 
 not think that the purchase of the block of land at Waitara is 
 either a desirable one, or such as the Government should make ; 
 that his Excellency therefore abandons the intention of making 
 this purchase, and forfeits the deposit of 100 which the Govern- 
 ment has made on this land." He told his Ministers, in conclu- 
 sion : " That the country was in such a state that he felt by no 
 means confident that this act would quiet the minds of many of
 
 MINISTRY HESITATE AS TO WAITARA. 117 
 
 the Maoris. On the contrary, he thinks it may now be im- 
 possible to avoid some collision with them ; but he believes it 
 would at once win many over to the side of the Government ; 
 that it is a proper act, and that, if a contest must come, the 
 closest scrutiny either in England or in the colony would result 
 in an admission that every possible precaution had been taken 
 to prevent the horrors of war." Unhappily his contemplated 
 restitution of the Waitara had been deferred until he had given 
 offence at Tataraimaka. Nevertheless, if his Ministers had been 
 prompt, the restitution might have averted war if they and the 
 Governor honestly desired to avert it. But at this crisis they 
 consumed more than a week in drawing up objections to the 
 Governor's proposal. The facts appeared indisputable, having been 
 voluntarily communicated to the Native Minister by Teira him- 
 self. " Ministers conclude with his Excellency that the (Stafford) 
 Government was not aware of them." They would not, with the 
 facts before them, recommend a similar purchase; but they 
 reflected on the support given to Mr. C. W. Richmond in the 
 House, and they shrunk from doing justice. They feared to 
 damage Teira's position, and dreaded lest an act of right should 
 seem like concession to intimidation. The rod of the Assembly 
 was over them. They consented to renounce the pahs and 
 reserves around them, but shrunk from abandoning the remain- 
 der of the land. " Nevertheless, considering the great com- 
 plexity of the whole case, the difficulty of the Governor's posi- 
 tion, the critical state of the colony, and the aggravation of all 
 these evils which might be produced by the opposition of the 
 Ministry to any course which the Governor might feel com- 
 pelled to adopt," they would leave the decision with his Excel- 
 lency, and assist him in carrying it out. On the evening of the 
 30th April they handed their tardy reply to the Governor. He 
 answered on the 2nd May. The Ministry had said that the 
 Native Minister was of opinion that the proprietary right of the 
 sellers to the greater part of the block would be found valid. 
 Sir George Grey anxious (he said) to make no mistake, asked at 
 once for the evidence taken by Mr. Parris. The Native Minis- 
 ter replied that there was none except in the published letters 
 and reports. " I ask in vain for evidence," said the Governor, 
 " and none can be produced." On the 4th May, he again urged
 
 118 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the open abandonment of the block. Precious time was lost in 
 conferences. Mr. Bell went to consult with Teira and some of Te 
 Rangitake's friends on the 24th May, and while doing so heard, 
 by express message from the Governor, of murders committed 
 on that day by Maoris at the south of Taranaki, where the 
 Governor had already taken possession of the Tataraimaka block. 
 At a later date (April, 1864) there was found in a captured pah l 
 a letter from Te Rangitake to other chiefs, saying : " If what the 
 Governor says about Waitara is satisfactory there will be no 
 difficulty about Tataraimaka. The sufficiency of what the 
 Governor says must be this, the giving back of Waitara into 
 our hands, and then it will be right about Tataraimaka." The 
 letter was dated 1st February, 1863. How far the writer could 
 have influenced his countrymen may be a matter of conjecture. 
 It is not certain that if the Ministry had joined in the manly 
 giving up of the Waitara the reclamation of Tataraimaka could 
 have occurred without provoking war. It is certain that their 
 obstructions tended to make war unavoidable. One Ministry 
 directly brought about the war of I860. 2 Another indirectly 
 ensured that of 1863. Sir George Grey cannot be acquitted of a 
 blunder, for although the Ministry delayed the notification of the 
 abandonment of the Waitara block, it can scarcely be contended 
 that it was out of his power to postpone the resumption of the land 
 at Tataraimaka. To follow the negotiations is a melancholy task, 
 like that of tracing the body of a wounded friend by his blood. 
 On the 5th May (the day after the murders) the Governor 
 
 1 History of Taranaki,' p. 239. B. Wells. 1878. 
 
 2 Mr. Weld, sensitive as to imputations against his absent friend, 
 Governor Browne, wrote to a newspaper (18th May, 1863) denying strongly 
 that in the negotiations between Governor Browne and Hapurona, in 1861 
 (after the king-maker had withdrawn the Waikato forces from Taranaki)) 
 any promise was given that if the Maoris were withdrawn the soldiers 
 should bo withdrawn also from the Waitara. Mr. Weld averred that he 
 with Mr. Whitaker was present during the negotiations, and that the promise 
 was only that a claim put forward peacefully should be investigated. But 
 tin; investigation asked for by the Maoris, by Bishop S^lwyn, and Sir 
 William Martin, was a legal one, and an inquiry by Parris or a similar 
 functionary could not adequately satisfy their demand. The vigour with 
 which honourable men vindicated the proceedings at Waitara only furnished 
 proof that judgment is blinded when feelings are roused. The valus of 
 1'iirris as an investigator was shown by Lieutenant Bates' easy discoveries.
 
 WAITARA BLOCK ABANDONED. 119 
 
 received a warning written on 29th April by a gentleman well 
 versed in Maori customs. Ambuscades were being laid to the 
 south of Taranaki. The reclamation of Tataraimaka was 
 " whakama," or "Maori shame," while the English held Wai tara. 
 Something must be done to redeem the Maori honour. " We 
 of course know," the writer said, "that we are only taking 
 that which is our own ; but they argue that those places are 
 theirs by conquest, that they had a right to hold them, and that 
 they were determined to do so, so long as we hold Waitara." 
 This phrase must have run like iron through the blood of those 
 who had delayed the abandonment of the block. The Governor's 
 despatches tell his own remorse. Reporting the murders he 
 said (5th May) : " I fear that I cannot now prevent war by acting 
 in the manner I believe justice required in regard to the land at 
 the Waitara. I take great blame to myself for having spent so 
 long a time in trying to get my responsible advisers to agree in 
 some general plan of proceeding. 1 I think, seeing the urgency 
 of the case, I ought, perhaps, to have acted at once without, or 
 even against, their advice ; but I hoped from day to day to 
 receive their decision ; and I was anxious, in a question which 
 concerned the future of both races, to carry as much support 
 with me as possible ; indeed, I could not derive its full advantage 
 from what I proposed to do unless I did so." He had thought 
 the violent natives anxious to hurry into war while the English 
 were unprepared ; but had hoped for a few days' continuance 
 of peace. He had one hope left, " that the shocking nature of 
 the wholly unprovoked murders may strike with shame and 
 terror the better-disposed natives, and prevent them from con- 
 founding the troubles which must result from these murders with 
 the disputes which have arisen regarding the land at the Waitara." 
 
 1 Mr. Fox disingenuously concealed the delays caused by the Ministry. 
 Fresh from the post of Premier in New Zealand, he said in his book, ' The 
 War in New Zealand' (1866) : " By one of those unfortunate errors which 
 are apt to befall those who are too much given to diplomacy, Sir George 
 Grey, for some unexplained reason " (having decided to give up Waitara 
 and retake Tataraimaka) " reversed the process ; without even giving a hint 
 of his intention to surrender Waitara, he sent soldiers to occupy Tatarai- 
 maka." Yet Mr. Fox had before him (when lie wrote these words containing 
 something more than "an unfortunate error") the Parliamentary Papers, 
 English and Colonial, quoted in the text, and cited in 1864 by Mr. Gorst in 
 his book ' The Maori King,'
 
 120 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 On the evening of the 5th May, the Ministers earnestly con- 
 sulted with Sir George Grey. Then, too late, they agreed to 
 withdraw the troops from Waitara ; to hold a meeting of the 
 Ngatiawa at the place, and proclaim the abandonment of the 
 block, and an amnesty for all offences connected with it. On 
 the 6th, Sir George Grey had an interview with native chiefs 
 (amongst whom was Horiana the daughter of Te Rangitake), 
 and paved the way for their reconciliation with the friends of 
 Ihaia. On the 7th, Lieutenant Bates met other chiefs, includ- 
 ing Teira. He was told by Ihaia that the recent murders were 
 "the act of the whole island for Waitara." For seven long 
 hours Lieutenant Bates prolonged his conference, and reported 
 it to the Governor. On the 8th, the Governor in a brief minute 
 declared his "decided opinion that the Government should 
 forthwith announce in terms which the natives cannot misun- 
 derstand that from facts recently come to their knowledge, 
 they will not proceed further in the purchase of the land at the 
 Waitara that the Government does not claim that block of 
 land, or assert any right of property in it." Teira ought to be 
 liberally treated. " The Governor would earnestly press that no 
 time should be lost in taking positive steps in these matters." 
 
 The Ministry had learned the value of promptitude. They 
 replied on the 8th in a minute, concluding thus : " It is evident 
 from the despatch of the Duke of Newcastle, received yesterday, 
 that the Imperial Government still maintain the opinion that the 
 Waitara was ' a settlers' war.' It is in vain for Ministers any 
 longer (in the midst of difficulties which require instant action) 
 to contend against this view : it only remains for them to avoid 
 the possibility of any war being renewed on any grounds that 
 would admit of that assumption as to its character and origin, 
 which would be the case were war to be renewed at Waitara. 
 Independently* of this consideration, the imminent danger of a 
 general insurrection, if any fighting whatever takes place at 
 the Waitara ; the exposed position of the other settlements of 
 the North Island, to which Ministers must mainly look; and 
 the necessity of now employing a large body of troops to the 
 south of New Plymouth, make it absolutely necessary to with- 
 draw from any risk of a collision at the Waitara. This can only 
 be done (notwithstanding the risk mentioned by Lieutenant
 
 CONDUCT OF THE MINISTRY. 121 
 
 Bates of the land being placed under the Maori king's authority) 
 by the adoption of the Governor's proposal in his minute of 
 to-day, and Ministers therefore concur in that proposal." He 
 hardly gives at all who gives too late. Had they, on the 22nd 
 April, agreed to the immediate issue of the notice put before 
 them by the Governor all might have been well. It was almost 
 impossible that, in face of so dramatic and unforced an act, 
 the Maoris would have directed an outbreak without previous 
 and protracted discussions. In their cry of distress the Minis- 
 ters revealed the motives of their final concession. The need of 
 English forces to wage war, and the imminent danger to other 
 settlements, extorted from them what no appeal to their sense 
 of justice could procure. Their consent was hardly in his hands, 
 when on the same day Sir G. Grey met a number of chiefs, of 
 whom Ihaia was one. They had agreed to a re-union of the 
 tribe at Waitara. The Governor announced the abandonment 
 of all claim to the block. He renounced the purchase, as he 
 believed Governor Browne would have renounced it, had the 
 fact been before him, that to complete it more than 200 
 residents would have to be evicted. Nevertheless, in order to 
 keep faith with Teira, the money promised would be paid, 
 though not for the land. The land would revert to whatever 
 its former ownership had been. The chiefs declared his words 
 to be good. One wanted to know whether judgment in favour 
 of Te Rangitake was implied. The Governor said he gave 
 judgment for neither party. The invariable rule was not to 
 turn off any residents in buying land. " Let all who lived there 
 come back in peace if they choose." Ihaia said : " We will 
 receive the laws from your mouth. We fought for the Governor 
 when he told us to fight, and we yield when the Governor tells 
 us to yield." He and Mahau declared they would never join 
 the Maori king. The Governor said : " Come to me when any 
 danger threatens, and I will take care of you." The conference 
 turned upon the important question of a general rising, in case 
 the recent murders at Oakura should be punished. The 
 Governor said retribution would overtake the murderers, and if 
 the Waitara natives were disturbed they should see what 
 measures he would take for their safety. The chiefs said : " We 
 are now saved," and despatched a messenger with the Governor's
 
 122 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 words to Mataitawa, where the Maoris, interested in the 
 Tataraimaka block, were assembled. There were more discus- 
 sions between the Governor and his Ministers, and nocturnal 
 meetings with them and the General, before the troops were 
 withdrawn on the 13th May. On the llth May, by proclama- 
 tion, the claim of the Government to the Waitara block was 
 renounced, with the advice and consent of the Executive Council. 
 The resumption of Tataraimaka remains to be told. On the 
 12th March, forces under Colonel Warre, 57th Regiment, 
 occupied without opposition the Omata block, amidst indica- 
 tions of goodwill on the part of the Maoris. On the 4th 
 April, the Tataraimaka block was similarly occupied, and when 
 Sir George Grey left it, on the 6th April, natives formerly 
 hostile were arranging for sales of potatoes to the troops. Then 
 followed messages to and fro among the Maoris as thickly as 
 they were flying between the Governor and his Ministers at 
 the same time about the Waitara. Te Rangitake wrote to tell 
 Rewi of the seizure of the Tataraimaka lands. Rewi wrote to 
 the men at Taranaki : " Fight these people, but in fighting them, 
 fight in a civilized manner, and do not torture them." The 
 Native Minister reported that ambuscades had been made by 
 the Taranaki natives. Tamati Hone on the 28th April ordered 
 the natives in ambush to retire, and was obeyed. Friendly 
 chiefs reported that the Governor, the General, and principal 
 men were to be attacked. Traffic was nevertheless continued. 
 Meanwhile it became known that Rewi had told the Taranaki 
 men to fight. Mr. Gorst heard that Rewi alone was responsible 
 for the order. Sir George Grey at a. later date came to the 
 conclusion that three chiefs concerted the message, that one of 
 them lived near Rangiriri, and that as soon as the message was 
 despatched those defensive works were commenced at Rangiriri 
 which were to cost the English many lives. 1 Howsoever the 
 order had been given or supported it was plain that war was at 
 the door. The tardy renunciation of the block at Waitara had 
 made nugatory, for the existing emergency, an act which in 
 itself was laudable as a tribute to justice. No Englishman 
 except the much-reviled Fitzroy seemed to touch the Waitara 
 
 1 The statement in the text about his letter was made by Rewi in public 
 in the author's hearing.
 
 TATARAIMAKA. 123 
 
 question without crime or blunder. The lust and rapine which 
 gleamed from the covetous eyes of the Taranaki settlers were 
 reflected continually in malignant phrases already quoted in the 
 text from Provincial Councils, the Richmonds, Atkinsons, and 
 others. Donald McLean would not risk his position in a contest 
 with the Native Minister whom, after abandoning Sir William 
 Martin's counsels, Colonel Browne delighted to honour. Parris 
 bowed down before the same idol. Private letters from one 
 so active and powerful as C. W. Richmond, were irresistible. 
 Parris had exhausted his virtue in protesting against "the 
 peremptory plan" of Mr. Turton to rob Te Rangitake, and 
 became a ready tool in carrying out the more peremptory plan 
 of Mr. Richmond, declared to be " carefully chosen." Sir 
 George Grey instead of obtaining the consent of his Ministers 
 to the restoration of the Waitara block ; and, at the least, making 
 its restitution contemporaneous with the resumption of Tatarai- 
 maka, occupied the latter before investigating the facts connected 
 with the former. His Ministers were " amazed," on the llth 
 April, at the proof of the crime committed under Colonel Browne ; 
 and yet it was not until the 30th April that after much dis- 
 cussion they consented, with reservations, that justice might be 
 done if the Governor should choose to do it. To the Governor's 
 proposed proclamation (22nd April) they would by no means 
 consent. The Oakura murders and a despatch from England 
 converted them, and they did on the 8th May what they had 
 refused to do when it might have been useful. Mr. Fox's 
 insinuation that the delay in the abandonment of the Waitara 
 arose from " one of those unfortunate errors which are apt to 
 befall those who are too much given to diplomacy" and Mr. 
 Fox's silence about the protracted contention between the 
 Governor and his unwilling Ministers proved the contagiousness 
 of error in the matter. He had nothing to do with the case, 
 but he could not write about it except in a manner calculated 
 to deceive. 1 But the consequences of the blunders of 1J-63 
 require to be told. 
 
 1 He succeeded in part. In the ' Life of Bishop Selwyn ' (London : 1879) 
 the author says that Sir George Grey, " when he heard of the murder, snid : 
 "Now I must give up the Waitara." The accepted untruth has made it 
 necessary to record the dates in the text with minuteness.
 
 124 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 The reader will remember that Mr. Gorst's life was supposed 
 to be in danger at the hands of Rewi in April, and that the 
 Governor and his advisers had before them the erection of the 
 Maori boundary-post at Maungatawhiri, the casting of timber 
 into the river at Kohe-kohe, the expulsion of Mr. Gorst, the 
 resumption of Tataraimaka, and the abandonment of Waitara. 
 On the 4th May, a small party of men were escorting a military 
 prisoner to Taranaki for trial. Lieutenant Trajett and Assistant- 
 Surgeon Hope of the 57th, going to town on private business, 
 travelled with them, making the party eight in number. At 
 Oakura, between the Tataraimaka and Omata blocks they were 
 fired on from an ambush, and at the first volley all but one or 
 two were dead or mortally wounded. Then their heads were 
 brutally cut with tomahawks. When resuming the Tataraimaka 
 block the Governor had found, on consulting the General, that 
 it would cost nearly 20,000 a year to hold it against hostile 
 Maoris. As there were only twenty English owners of the 
 4000 acres composing it, he persuaded his Ministry to agree to 
 purchase their rights. Mr. Brown, the Superintendent of the 
 province, undertook (21st April) to propose, but not to support, 
 a Bill to authorize the purchase. Taranaki maintained its 
 impracticable character, and the Provincial Council rejected the 
 Bill. At a time of such imminent public danger Mr. Brown 
 argued that no coercion ought to be attempted " till it was shown 
 that the owners either refuse to sell by arbitration, or ask a 
 price for their land greater than it would be worth if it could be 
 occupied in security." In other words, the wrongs done by 
 Governor Browne, and imputed by Mr. Fox to the instigation 
 of Mr. C. W. Richmond and the Taranaki settlers, were to be 
 maintained, and the sufferings they entailed were to be redressed 
 by the General Government ; and the Provincial Council was to 
 withhold reasonable assistance. A petition to the Queen from 
 the inhabitants at Taranaki declaring the compensation voted 
 for them inadequate, was drawn up in March. Sir George Grey 
 transmitted it to England on the 16th May, with a minute 
 by his Ministers which showed that out of 200,000 voted 
 for the general good at Taranaki, 120,000 were apportioned 
 for compensation, 80,000 were retained for purposes of re- 
 instatement of the province, and the province was enabled by
 
 THE GOVERNOR AND THE MINISTRY. 125 
 
 local enactment, assented to by the Governor, to raise 50,000 
 by loan to meet claims for losses which the apportioned sum of 
 120,000 might be insufficient to meet. In a minute by the 
 Governor at Taranaki (March, 1863), consenting to the arrange- 
 ment of the loan, he said : " The great difficulty in my way is 
 that the language of some few of the settlers has been such, in 
 their efforts to force on a war, and in my opinion still continues 
 to be such, that I fear it may be thought if the Government 
 adopts the course I recommend that it will be believed by the 
 persons I have alluded to that we have conceded this point of 
 compensation in consequence of the system of intimidation 
 pursued towards myself and the Government, and that this 
 fancied success may lead to increased efforts to force me into a 
 war with the natives. Still I would do what is right, and meet 
 firmly the evil I anticipate." It will have been observed that in 
 consenting to Grey's policy about Waitara the Ministry referred 
 to a despatch from the Duke of Newcastle as the turning-point 
 which made it hopeless for them to contend any longer against 
 the view that the Taranaki war had been a settlers' war. In 
 the turmoil of events, while yet at Taranaki they found time to 
 deal with the subject of colonial responsibility, discussed at great 
 length by the Duke of Newcastle, as already related. " The 
 Imperial Government acknowledged no indefinite obligation" 
 to pacify the country, as seemed to be locally demanded. A 
 diminution of the Imperial forces was to be expected, and the 
 important step of placing the management of native affairs 
 under the control of the General Assembly was sanctioned. 
 The Treasurer, -Mr. Reader Wood, was with a colleague at 
 Auckland, and shrunk from paying over the large unpaid portion 
 of the 120,000. In view of the additional forces asked for, 
 and the probability of war, they thought they would not please 
 the Assembly, nor comply with the Loan Act, "nor with 
 financial prudence, if they were to assent to the distribution of 
 any portion of the fund at the present time, by way of com- 
 pensation to the Taranaki settlers." Though Mr. Domett and 
 Mr. Bell agreed with the Governor, they would not take the 
 responsibility of over-ruling their colleagues, and the sum in 
 question, 90,000, was not paid. It was agreed in June to pay 
 interest upon it to the distressed Taranaki settlers until the
 
 126 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Assembly could consider the subject. The Taranaki Provincial 
 Council had in the mean time passed their own Loan Act for the 
 sum of 50,000. 
 
 The Duke of Newcastle in a separate despatch expressed 
 confidence in the vigour, ability, and public spirit of Sir George 
 Grey, and explained that he had not meant in any past censures 
 to impair his power of usefulness. It was with the Colonial 
 Government and Legislature that he found fault. On the 
 14th May, with almost a certainty of a great war before them, 
 the Ministry drew up a paper on the conduct of the Native 
 Department. They referred to the resolutions of the represent- 
 atives in August, 1862, on administration of native affairs. They 
 declared that the most important business was the personal 
 communication between the natives and the Governor, that to 
 it the natives looked for guidance, and that while Sir George 
 Grey was in the country the system must continue. Responsi- 
 bility must thus be divided, the Governor being answerable to 
 the Crown, and the Ministers to the Assembly. The position 
 was admittedly anomalous, and practicable only where con- 
 fidence was mutual between Governor and Ministers. Sir 
 George Grey, on the 16th May, highly complimented his 
 Ministers, especially Mr. Bell, on their ability, zeal, and cordiality. 
 He reminded them, however, that when, in order to meet the 
 supposed wish of the General Assembly, he had handed over 
 responsibility for native affairs, the Assembly repudiated the 
 arrangement, which had not been made by their desire. Never- 
 theless the Native Department had remained under the control 
 of the Ministers ; and " he had consequently never been able to 
 'act in native matters with that vigour and promptitude which 
 he believed essential to successful administration." If such had 
 been the case under Mr. Bell, what might have been the result 
 with a Native Minister less able and less acquainted with native 
 affairs ? Feeling strongly " the great evils resulting to both 
 races from the present system, in which all power rests really in 
 the hands of his Ministers, whilst responsibility rests upon him- 
 self, and that there can consequently be no rapidity of decision 
 or vigour of action in native affairs in this most important 
 crisis of the history of the colony, the Governor begs Ministers 
 to accede to the advice of Her Majesty's Government by acting
 
 THE GOVERNOR AND THE MINISTRY. 127 
 
 on the principle that the administration of native affairs should 
 remain as it now is with them, and that the Governor will be 
 generally bound to give effect to the policy which they re- 
 commend for his adoption and for which they will be responsible." 
 The plan would " simply give Ministers who have now all the 
 real power the means of using that power vigorously and 
 promptly, whilst their rapidity of decision and action must 
 necessarily be quickened by the sense of the great responsibility 
 that will rest upon them." He would assist them to the best 
 of his power. The Ministers admitted the accuracy of the 
 Governor's reference to the resolutions of the House, and, 
 learning that in his opinion the system worked badly, expressed 
 their readiness to concur until the next session with any 
 agreement whatever to remedy the evils of the crisis. But they 
 considered themselves precluded by the resolutions from accept- 
 ing the position in which the Duke of Newcastle wished to 
 place them. If in peace the Assembly refused to take the 
 direction of affairs it could not be supposed they would do so 
 when war was imminent. Sir George Grey (20th May) did not 
 think the resolutions precluded the Ministry from assuming 
 responsibility. The Assembly would treat with generosity all 
 assuming responsibility at such a crisis. " Ministers must allow 
 some latitude of expression to the Governor at the present 
 moment when life, property, wives, children all that men hold 
 dear are in imminent peril over a large extent of country." 
 He had hoped that the Ministers would have suggested some 
 plea. As they had thrown the task upon him, and as he 
 believed not a moment was to be lost, he would urge that to 
 the administration of native affairs should be added the " control 
 of militia and volunteers, of the local forces of every kind, of the 
 funds voted for public purposes, of the Post Office ; in fact of 
 nearly every Government establishment in the country. At the 
 present instant, which he believes to be one of as great public 
 peril as he has ever known, the Governor thinks that whoever 
 is to govern the country should be armed with every power 
 which the State confers on those who rule it." In such a crisis 
 those powers should be increased. Men must rise equal to 
 emergencies. " The Ministry can in a moment assume these 
 powers; they virtually have them now. They are the con-
 
 128 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 stitutional depositories of them, and the Colonial Secretary 
 (Mr. Domett) is the person upon whom properly the chief 
 direction and responsibility should rest. If Ministers will not 
 assume what the Governor believes to be their duty, and 
 exercise these powers, and take that responsibility which goes 
 hand in hand with power, then the Governor thinks they should 
 under present circumstances relinquish them to him until the 
 Assembly meets. The Governor thinks that Ministers will 
 excuse him for pressing this advice upon them ; but his doing 
 so at this critical time is a necessity of the position of responsi- 
 bility in which the General Assembly and Ministers have, 
 against his will, placed him." The Ministers then at Taranaki 
 postponed till a more convenient season their reply to this 
 appeal. They had to consult their colleagues in Auckland. It 
 was impossible, Domett wrote, " to convey to his Excellency at 
 that moment any expression of the opinion of Ministers as a 
 body." But while avoiding what he called "the theoretical 
 question of responsibility," he submitted to his colleagues a long 
 minute (23rd May) on the crisis. It did not rise to the height 
 of the argument ; and contains so little pith that hardly a 
 passage can be quoted as significant. He recommended that a 
 proper proportion of militia should be called into active service 
 in the Northern Island. The Taranaki militia, 500 in number, 
 cost 36,500 a year; and while the Otago gold-fields courted 
 labourers, the militia pay (2s. 6d. per day with rations), could 
 not be reduced, but perhaps would require augmentation : but 
 the House of Representatives " had not voted one penny to meet 
 the expenses attending a state of war." Active operations by 
 the military were required to convince the Maoris that it was 
 their interest to be at peace, but everybody said ^that many 
 more troops than were in the colony would be required to secure 
 "chance of success." It would be a bad example to abandon 
 the Tataraimaka block, but if preservation of other settlements 
 required the sacrifice, a bad example could not be helped. In 
 such a manner did Mr. Domett rise to the emergency. Mr. 
 Bell thought the force in the country insufficient for offensive 
 operations, and the calling out of the militia useless. The 
 Governor replied on the following day. Ministers appeared to 
 think that the necessity to call out the militia and volunteers
 
 PLANS TO ATTACK THE MAORIS. 129 
 
 depended on whether aggressive movements were to be made 
 or a defensive position maintained. He could not concur in his 
 opinion as regarded Auckland. An aggressive movement would 
 probably create a general rising, and certain settlements ought 
 to be made secure before making any aggressive movement. 
 He submitted that it was needful, not to determine what should 
 be done for the defence of the colony in event of a general 
 rising, but forthwith to take such active measures as might 
 probably prevent such rising, and place the colony in a thorough 
 state of preparation, thus encouraging friends, disheartening 
 enemies, and placing Europeans in security. He was bound to 
 express this opinion, for he had asked for large reinforcements, 
 and would find it difficult to justify his having done so unless 
 the colony by corresponding efforts showed its sense of the 
 impending danger. 
 
 At a later date, in Auckland, after numerous conferences, the 
 Ministry addressed themselves to the question which the rejec- 
 tion by the Duke of Newcastle of the resolutions of the General 
 Assembly had created. In ordinary times there would be but 
 one course open, viz. to convene the Assembly. But imminent 
 war gave no time for debates. Ministers could not attend to 
 departmental duties and prepare measures for the Assembly in 
 such a crisis. Waiving the permanent settlement of the principle 
 of responsibility, Ministers would temporarily accept the follow- 
 ing position. The Governor had recently told the Executive 
 Council that the Taranaki question could not be settled while 
 Waikato was the centre of disaffection, and Auckland was 
 in danger of invasion ; that, by concert with the General, the 
 Governor's attempt to arrange affairs at Taranaki was tentative ; 
 and that, in case of interference by the Waikatos at Taranaki, 
 Auckland was not to be jeopardized, but the forces were to 
 return thither, and, after the Waikato tribes had been brought 
 to terms, affairs at Taranaki were to be put in order. The 
 Governor's plan was to make the southern bend of the Waikato 
 river a line of defence, with military posts on the north bank 
 and armed steamers on the water; to guard the line between 
 the bend of the river and the Hauraki Gulf with fortified posts, 
 and the Gulf by a steamer ; afterwards to throw forward military 
 posts and occupy Paetai and Ngaruawahia, where another 
 
 VOL. II. K
 
 130 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 steamer was to be stationed. Hostile natives residing within 
 the line of defence were to be banished, lands of hostile Waikatos 
 were to be confiscated, portions being given to military settlers, 
 and the remainder sold to defray the expenses of the war. 
 Militia and volunteers were everywhere to be called out, and 
 confiscation was to follow hostility at other settlements. 
 
 The minute (24th June, 1863) declared Ministers cordially 
 concur in these plans of his Excellency, and they are willing to 
 take upon themselves the responsibility for their adoption, on 
 the understanding that they will be carried out as a whole, the 
 colonial funds bearing all the expense of militia and volunteers. 
 They thought notice should at once be given, that lands of 
 natives taking arms against the Queen would be forfeited, and 
 they anticipated the approval of the Assembly of the whole 
 scheme. Sir George Grey pointed out that the Ministers had 
 left untouched the general question of responsibility, and the 
 relations of the Governor to his advisers. He forbore to press it 
 at such a time, thanked them for their hearty co-operation, and 
 hoped that the General Assembly would be called together as 
 early as the public good permitted, in order that he might be 
 legally invested with powers which he was temporarily forced 
 to assume under heavy responsibility. These documents were 
 laid before the Assembly on the 19th October, and, if translated 
 for the Maoris, must have shown them that, while profess- 
 ing peaceful desires, the Governor and his advisers were intent 
 upon war. 
 
 With the concurrence of his advisers, the Governor had applied 
 in May for reinforcements. A general rising was apprehended. 
 Though a battalion of the 18th Regiment was expected, 3000 
 more soldiers were needed, and, in accordance with opinions of 
 officers who had served in India, two regiments of Sikhs and one 
 European regiment were asked for from India. The Ministry 
 would propose that the colony should bear the cost of the whole 
 of the pay of the Sikhs. Meantime, the Maoris were not idle. 
 The curse of past delay weakened among them the effect of the 
 renunciation of the Waitara purchase. A chief declared : " When 
 Governor Grey heard his men were killed at Oakura, his heart 
 misgave him, and he said, ' Now I must give up Waitara.' " l 
 
 1 Such a conclusion was natural in the mind of uny one ignorant of the
 
 EUROPEANS EJECTED FROM WAIKATO. 131 
 
 Governor Grey meanwhile laboured to prevent friendly tribes 
 from falling from allegiance ; and Rewi and his friends stirred 
 them by letters to contrary conduct. In Waikato there was 
 confusion. All Europeans were compelled to leave. The Maori 
 newspaper, the ' Hokioi/ had been discontinued. Rewi wished to 
 make a descent upon Te la and the adjacent settlers. Te Paea 
 the king's sister, Patara, and other chiefs, were able to prevent 
 him. The king-maker and Te Oriori openly condemned him. 
 The Ngatihaua and central Waikato tribes advocated peace. 
 Some only, among the Lower Waikato tribes, joined Rewi in 
 demanding war. The Ngatihaua eventually assembled in arms 
 to enforce peace. On the west coast, between Taranaki and 
 Wanganui, it was rumoured that the Maoris were hostile to the 
 Government. Between Wanganui and Wellington they were 
 friendly. Renata, a chief at Hawke's Bay on the east coast, 
 said : " We can see clearly the error of our native tribes in 
 slaying the Pakehas at Tataraimaka ; but, at the same time, we 
 cannot lose sight of the error of the Governor in not making 
 known his decision about Waitara at the proper time. Waitara 
 was the source of evil. The root and source should have been 
 made clear before following up the branches (Tataraimaka)." 
 The tribes on the Thames and at Rotorua condemned the 
 murders and sympathized with the Governor. The Ngapuhi, 
 under old Waka Nene, were staunch as ever to their Queen. 
 The Civil Commissioner, Mr. Clarke, reported that during forty 
 
 correspondence between the Governor and his Ministers. Mr. Fitzgerald 
 in the end of 1864, in published letters, upbraided Sir G. Grey for having 
 taken no steps for eighteen months to redeem his promise to inquire into 
 the affairs of the Waitara purchase. Sir G. Grey replied that from " the 
 moment of my arrival in the colony I did my best ... to persuade the 
 natives . . . but no persuasion on my part or that of others could induce 
 them to agree to such an inquiry." But the inquiry on the spot, made by 
 Lieutenant Bates, might have been made in 1861 as easily as in 1863, and 
 a timely abandonment of a false position might have averted further trouble- 
 AH to the resumption of Tataraimaka, Sir George Gray said he would under 
 like circumstances " do it again," that Mr. Fitzgerald neither understood 
 Englishmen nor barbarous men ; and that to have done otherwise would 
 have encouraged barbarians to attempt the conquest of new homesteads 
 the capture of more booty (Despatch, April, 1865). Sir George Grey is 
 entitled to his explanation for what it is worth, but it entirely disregards 
 the important element of time. 
 
 K 2
 
 132 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 years' residence in New Zealand he had never known such 
 a burst of loyalty and good will from the Ngapuhi as was 
 manifested after the Taranaki murders. 
 
 At four o'clock on the morning of the 4th of June, the 
 Governor left Taranaki in H.M.S. ' Eclipse.' At nine o'clock on 
 the night of the 3rd, General Cameron had marched by land to 
 a concerted attack on the rebels at the Katikara river. The 
 ' Eclipse,' on her voyage, took part in the action. Protected by 
 the fire from the ' Eclipse,' and of Armstrong guns served by the 
 Royal Artillery, the men of the 57th, 65th, and 70th Regiments 
 (the land force being 771 in number) crossed the river gallantly 
 in spite of heavy fire from rifle-pits and redoubt. The General 
 witnessed the desperate resistance of the enemy, and the rush of 
 the soldiers as they entered the work and shot or bayoneted all 
 the Maoris left within. Twenty-eight were found dead in the 
 redoubt. The English loss was three killed and eight wounded. 
 The flight was precipitate, and the ' Eclipse' threw shells on the 
 fugitives as they ran. The General praised all the officers and 
 civilians engaged, and could not refrain from mentioning Major 
 Whitmore, his former Assistant Military Secretary, who had 
 settled in the colony, but, happening to arrive at Taranaki the 
 day before the action, insisted on accompanying the troops into 
 the field. 
 
 It was essential to ascertain how the Oakura massacre was 
 regarded by the Maori king. Mr. Rogan, an officer of the 
 Native Department, essayed the dangerous task of carrying a 
 letter. After repeated stoppages he reached Ngaruawahia, 
 where, though he did not see the king, he ascertained the 
 opinions of others. The king-maker boldly declared that the 
 Tataraimaka murders were wrong. Rewi said the deed was 
 not murder, but the re-establishment of a righteous war. It was 
 rumoured that there was vehement altercation between them. 
 It was said that Rewi wished to attack the villages near Auck- 
 land nay Auckland itself while the Governor and General 
 Cameron were at Taranaki. But Rewi has averred that his 
 advice was, that Sir George Grey should be met fairly if he 
 respected the boundary at Maungatawhiri, and that if he crossed 
 it he "should be met roughly." Mr. Gorst declares that the 
 king-maker went down the river to visit Waata Kukutai, the
 
 APORO IMPRISONED IN AUCKLAND. 133 
 
 Queen's magistrate, thinking the time had arrived for all who 
 loved peace to combine to ensure it. "The members of the 
 Government, however, in Auckland, did not like Te Waharoa. 
 Few Europeans knew him personally, and it was the fashion to 
 believe him insincere. No encouragement was on this occasion 
 held out to him, nor were any negotiations entered into. He 
 was left to struggle unaided against the flood of confusion which 
 the acts of Government had let loose." Such was the verdict o 
 an intelligent eye-witness, himself recently expelled by Rewi 
 from Te Awamutu, and consequently free from unreasonable 
 bias towards the Maoris. But amongst the colonists the rumours 
 of a contemplated attack upon Auckland were revived. At 
 Auckland there was such a sense of impending danger as is felt 
 in the lull which precedes the bursting of a storm. The plans 
 of the Governor and his advisers were not calculated to dispel 
 alarm. With them, indeed, was the choice of good or evil. 
 The Maori king was unpledged to violence, and Rewi was too 
 astute to commit himself to war without support. Moreover, 
 it was always the desire of a Maori to evade the responsibility 
 of a quarrel until his antagonist had put himself in the wrong 
 by some act which could be construed as a ta-ke, or just cause 
 of war. 
 
 Neri went to Auckland and talked to the Governor about the 
 Maori king. The Governor told him that if he remained an 
 hour in Auckland he should be put to gaol. Aporo, the ring- 
 leader of the attack on the printing-press, went to Auckland on 
 private business. He was arrested in the Native Office and 
 committed on a charge of felony. Mr. Gorst, his former victim, 
 tells the tale with shame. There was never, he says, any animus 
 furandi, yet the Auckland jury, enemies of his tribe, hating him 
 for his political opinions, found the undefended prisoner guilty, 
 and he was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for theft. Mr. 
 Gorst says : " It was expected, and I am sorry to say hoped, by 
 many that either the dismissal of Neri or the seizure of Aporo 
 would so enrage the Waikatos that they would attack us ; but 
 they remained steady to their original resolution that the Pakeha 
 should begin the war." He who was called savage did not allow 
 himself to be provoked by the lawless acts of him who was called 
 civilized. Many in Waikato had never approved the attack on
 
 134 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Te Awamutu, and they declined to seem to justify it by making 
 common cause with Aporo. But, prophetic in their thoughts, the 
 Maoris removed to a more distant resting-place the bones of 
 their ancestors, buried at Onehunga, near Auckland. Neverthe- 
 less, on the 16th June, the wise and well-informed Archdeacon 
 Maunsell, while sending Maori letters written in alarm, told the 
 Governor that he had received indisputable information that at 
 that date the Maori king and Te Waharoa were desirous of 
 peace. On the 9th July the Governor called on all Maoris 
 living in the Manukau district and thence to the Waikato 
 frontier to swear allegiance to the Queen and to surrender their 
 arms. Those obeying would be protected, those refusing were 
 warned to retire beyond Maungatawhiri under pain of ejection 
 if they did not comply with the Governor's orders. He justified 
 this step by saying it was impossible to leave a disaffected 
 population in rear of the General's forces. Mr. Gorst, Major 
 Speedy, Mr. Armitage, and Mr. Halse were among the persons 
 directed to seize fire-arms and to administer the oath of allegiance 
 in all the Maori villages from Auckland to the Queen's Redoubt 
 on the borders of the Waikato territory, where the Maori boundary 
 existed. On the way to Mangere Mr. Halse met Tamati Ngapora, 
 the king's councillor. After a friendly meal at a missionary's 
 house, the Governor's hostile notice was read to the chief. He 
 listened gravely and asked that it might be read a second time. 
 After a short silence he said to the missionary : " Is the day of 
 harvest close at hand ? " Yes. " Why were not the wrongs of 
 Waikato first discussed ? " Mr. Halse said he could not discuss 
 that question. Ngapora said : " If I have any influence there 
 will be no fighting. I have dear friends amongst the Pakeha 
 and amongst the Maoris. Why are they to be slain ? I will 
 not cease to urge that there be investigation." He crossed the 
 Manukau waters to his abode at Mangere. On the morning 
 Mr. Halse followed him and read the Governor's notice to the 
 Maoris assembled. One by one, after intervals of significant 
 silence, they intimated that they chose exile rather than sub- 
 mission to the Governor's demands. Ngapora reclined upon the 
 ground. When the views of all the others had been made 
 known he sat up and said : " Last night I made known the 
 notice without attempting to influence the decision of the
 
 NGAPORA EXPELLED FROM MANGERE. 135 
 
 people. You have now heard their words. I have nothing to 
 add to what I said last night. We are one tribe and cannot be 
 separated." He reclined again and there was general silence. 
 Almost without exception the Maoris abandoned their homes in 
 distrust. In the surprise which overwhelmed them they took 
 some thought for the places which they held in veneration. 
 When Mr. Halse, after distributing notices on his way, reached 
 Pukahi, the chief Mohi had just gone with Bishop Selwyn to 
 point out a burial-ground, and entrust it, with the native church, 
 to the Bishop's care. When Mohi returned, Mr. Halse announced 
 the object of his visit. " He asked for a copy of the notice. I 
 gave him one and he read it aloud to the people present. 
 Repeating the decision of his people to go to the Waikato he 
 went into his house, where Bishop Selwyn was seated." Another 
 chief, Ihaka, was ill, and the exiles paused at Kirikiri. Mr. Gorst 
 considered that the decree of banishment was harshly enforced, 
 and that much property was seized by the colonial forces and by 
 the settlers. Bishop Selwyn, as usual, was active in doing good 
 and restraining evil. At Kirikiri Mr. Gorst, in company with 
 Bell, saw Mohi and the ailing Ihaka. Mohi declared that he 
 had ever been opposed to Rewi's warlike projects, but that as the 
 Governor had passed the Rubicon (Maungatawhiri), he must join 
 his people and live or die with them. That night peremptory 
 instructions arrived from Auckland, under which Ihaka and the 
 infirm, with women and children, were seized. In some manner, 
 never explained, Mohi with the able-bodied joined his brethren 
 in arms. Sir George Grey informed the Assembly that he 
 believed Ihaka to be deeply involved in a scheme to attack 
 Auckland. 
 
 Tamati Ngapora's retirement was dramatic. He was con- 
 ducting the service at Mangere in his Maori church when word 
 was brought that left no doubt as to the danger of remaining 
 within the Governor's reach. Gravely and silently he put dowa 
 his book, and when he gained the outer air swiftly shook the 
 dust of Mangere from his feet and with his people flitted to 
 Waikato. He was too wary to remain within reach of the 
 captor of Rauparaha. His Maori book was found in the church 
 where he left it, and a thoughtful Pakeha secured it with the 
 hope that it might in happier days revert to its owner. The
 
 136 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 hope was gratified after many years. Mr. Armitage, who went 
 to Tuakau to serve the notices, was an old resident at Waikato." 
 One chief professed willingness to take the oath of allegiance, 
 but another by threats prevented Armitage from administering 
 it. Armitage wrote : " I have sent notices to several king 
 natives at the Onewhero and Takihakahi to leave that part of 
 the river, I have done so for my own personal safety in passing 
 to and fro between the la and Cameron." 
 
 On the loth July another notification, under the Governor's 
 hand, appeared at Auckland, after the General had entered upon 
 active war by crossing the recognized boundary. It imputed a 
 desire for war to the Maoris. It declared that " for the protection 
 of all " military posts will be established at Waikato. " I now 
 call on all well-disposed natives to aid the Lieutenant-General 
 to establish and maintain these posts and to preserve peace and 
 order. Those who remain peaceably at their own villages in 
 Waikato, or move into such districts as may be pointed out by 
 the Government, will be protected in their persons, property, 
 and land. Those who wage war against Her Majesty, or remain 
 in arms, threatening the lives of her peaceable subjects, must 
 take the consequences of their acts, and they must understand 
 that they will forfeit the right to the possession of their lands 
 guaranteed to them by the treaty of Waitangi, which lands will 
 be occupied by a population capable of protecting for the future 
 the quiet and unoffending from the violence with which they 
 are now so constantly threatened." Dated the llth July, and 
 carried in Maori language to various places, the notification 
 emanated from the Colonial Secretary's Office on the 15th. The 
 Governor's averments could not disguise the fact that he and 
 not the Maoris had committed acts of violence. The threat of 
 confiscation of land supplied the reason. The king-maker wrote 
 to ask the Governor why he had not followed the Maori example. 
 All the Europeans in Waikato had been sent away in safety 
 with all their property. " Why has the property of the Maoris 
 been plundered ? and why have Ihaka and the women and 
 children been taken prisoners ? " Before his letter was received 
 blood had been shed. 
 
 After the known decisions of the Maori king's council about 
 the Waikato district, the crossing of the Maungatawhiri and the
 
 CROSSING OF THE MAUNG ATA WHIRL 137 
 
 notification of the Governor were accepted as a declaration of war. 
 On the 12th July, General Cameron crossed the Maungatawhiri 
 with 380 men ; encamped at Koheroa, and commenced building 
 a redoubt to command the river and secure his communications. 
 The cutter of H.M.S. ' Harrier ' and other boats had been carried 
 overland to assist in descending the Maungatawhiri from the 
 termination of the new road. About 30 Maori canoes were 
 destroyed on the assumption that war had begun. The Bishop 
 and the good Archdeacon Maunsell volunteered to minister the 
 offices of religion to the army, and were permitted to do so. 
 They hoped to mitigate the horrors of war, and to extend their 
 ministrations to the Maoris. Mr. Meredith and his son, settlers 
 near Drury, were found dead, and no one doubted that the 
 Maoris had killed them on the 15th July. Gloom if not panic 
 overshadowed Auckland and the rural settlers. On the 16th, 
 Colonel Murray proceeded at daylight to arrest as many Maoris 
 as he could. He captured thirteen men, seven women, and eight 
 children near Drury, but the main body of the villagers escaped. 
 The conduct of the troops under heavy rain elicited the admiration 
 of the Colonel commanding. On the 17th the officer in com- 
 mand at Koheroa observed the Maoris collecting on hills in front. 
 Detachments of the 12th, 14th, and 70th, in all 500 men, at 
 once proceeded in skirmishing order to the attack. Firing on 
 both sides ensued, and from recently-constructed rifle-pits the 
 natives were driven in spite of great obstinacy, until finally they 
 escaped across the Maramarua river by swimming or in canoes. 
 General Cameron, who was in front, thought the Maoris engaged 
 to be 300. More than twenty were found dead. About twelve of 
 the 14th Regiment were wounded, half of them dangerously. 
 On the same day Captain Ring, marching with a convoy from 
 the Queen's Redoubt at Maungatawhiri to Drury, was fired upon. 
 Four soldiers were killed and ten wounded before the remnant 
 of the party could find shelter at the house of one Mr. Martyn, 
 till reinforcements arrived. Some of the enemy were seen to fall. 
 The simultaneous movements in front and rear of the General 
 were received as proof that a raid upon Auckland had been 
 maturely planned by the Maoris. They also showed that ambush 
 and sudden surprise were tactics relied upon. There was more 
 skirmishing on the 22nd. Captain Ring reported : " I lost one
 
 138 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 man killed, whose rifle and bayonet were taken possession of by 
 the natives, though not without serious loss to them. ... I 
 remained in the entrenched position till close on sunset, keeping 
 a steady fire on the enemy, who were endeavouring to obtain 
 the body and ammunition of the private who was killed." Rein- 
 forcements arrived, the Maoris drew off, and the body of their 
 dead comrade was recovered by the English. 
 
 Wisely had the Maori king's friends decided that no steamer 
 should ply on the waters of the Waikato. With equal wisdom 
 had Governor Grey determined otherwise. Captain J. C. Mayne, 
 of H.M.S. 'Eclipse,' took the 'Avon' steamer in tow at Onehunga, 
 on the 16th July, and after some days' detention at the Manukau 
 bar crossed the Waikato bar with the ' Avon ' on the 25th ; and 
 on the 27th, after various groundings, anchored her at the Bluff, 
 near the junction of the Waikato and Maungatawhiri. Every- 
 thing had thus been done which the Waikato tribes had opposed. 
 Maoris had been driven from their pillaged homes. The Waikato 
 frontier had been crossed. A war-steamer had been placed on 
 the river. Not to fight would have been an abject acceptance 
 of slavery, if not of reputation as cowards. The genius of the 
 Maori race was abhorrent of both conditions. Better death with 
 honour than peace with shame. It was reported and believed 
 that among the Maoris who fell at Koheroa were many who were 
 loyal to the Queen until her forces passed the Maungatawhiri. 
 They then said : " Injustice is being done, and we must cast in 
 our lot with our countrymen." Again, therefore, as at Taranaki, 
 an overt act of violence in the name of the Queen provoked 
 war, and Sir George Grey and his advisers deserve the credit or 
 the shame. 
 
 And now the long-suffering of the king-maker was exhausted. 
 He, too, yielded to the national feeling, and announced his 
 intentions to his old friend, Archdeacon Brown, on the 25th July : 
 
 " Salutations. Friend, hearken. The reasons were many that 
 induced me to consent to view the work between the Waikato 
 and the Governor. This is a word of mine to let you know my 
 views. I shall spare neither unarmed people nor property. Do 
 not suppose that the Waikatos are wrong and the Governor right. 
 No ; I consider that he is wrong. The faults that I have seen 
 are 1st, I said to him, Leave these years to me, do not go to
 
 WAHAROA DRIVEN TO WAR. 139 
 
 Tataraimaka; leave me to talk to the Ngatiruanui ; do not persist, 
 that tribe is still hostile. It was Governor Browne who taught 
 them. That hot-tempered Governor said that all the land over 
 which he had trod should be his, *. e. Waitara. The Taranakis 
 then said with regard to Tataraimaka, Very good ; and we also 
 will hold the land over which our feet have trod. Governor Grey, 
 however, did not agree to my proposal. 2nd, The Governor 
 persisting in Mr. Gorst staying as a magistrate in the midst of 
 the Maoris. I said to Mr. Gorst, Go back, the Maoris do not 
 want you. But the Governor still persisted in sending Mr. 
 Gorst. Now it appears that it was for the purpose of provoking 
 a war that he persisted. 3rd, The taking up of the post at 
 Maungatavvhiri. 4th, The unwarrantable conduct of the soldiers 
 in driving the Maoris off their own land at Pokeno. 5th, The 
 ' ma-te ' (defeat or) death of the Waikatos you have heard and 
 know. The law discriminates in cases of crime and does not 
 include the many. These are the wrongs that I have seen. 
 Father, listen. I have consented to attack the whole of the 
 town. If they prove the strongest well and good. If the Maoris 
 prove the strongest this is how it will be the unarmed people 
 will not be left. Enough, you hear what I say. 
 " From your son, 
 
 TAMIHANA TE WAHAROA." 
 
 The Governor transmitted this warning to the Duke of 
 Newcastle, who was " shocked and disappointed " by it. Had 
 he been sufficiently shocked at the crime of his own countrymen 
 at Waitara he would not have needed to blush for Te Waharoa. 
 Archdeacon Browne explained that the threat of sparing neither 
 unarmed people nor property was not to be taken literally, and 
 Te Waharoa's subsequent career justified the explanation. The 
 officer in command at Wanganui forwarded letters to show that 
 on the 17th July the Waikato had provided for simultaneous 
 attacks on Taranaki and Te Kahakaha, and that onslaughts on 
 Wellington and Napier had been ordered. Rumour was multi- 
 plied upon rumour. Under these dangers the inhabitants at 
 Auckland bestirred themselves to the Governor's satisfaction. 
 On the 1st August he reported that about 3000 were under 
 arms and in active service. 
 
 The Government promptly removed all doubt whether they 
 intended to respect the treaty of Waitangi. The ' Gazette ' of 
 the 5th August promulgated conditions on which land in the 
 Waikato country, never purchased under the provisions of the
 
 140 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 treaty, would be granted to volunteer militia, and military settle- 
 ments would be formed on confiscated land. The Attorney- 
 General, Whi taker, 1 who had been Richmond's partner in seizing 
 the small Waitara block, could now gloat with satisfaction on 
 the prospect of confiscating a whole territory with the help of 
 Sir George Grey ; and thus, in Mr. Richmond's phrase, acceler- 
 ating the extinction of the native title. The Governor justified 
 his conduct as necessary to convince other tribes that they 
 could not escape that punishment which their love of their 
 land would make them feel. It was reserved for a Secretary 
 of State, Mr. Card well, to recommend the far more just and 
 effective alternative of cession rather than confiscation. It 
 ought to have been clear to any honest man that joint tribal 
 rights could not be forfeited by the act of a few, or even of 
 many. But plunder was required. There were gathered in 
 the Middle Island thousands of gold-miners, a restless and 
 unsettled class. Many of them, the Ministers thought, "were 
 tired of the digger's life, and only required inducement of liberal 
 terms to settle in the Northern Island." Thus an eager band 
 of fighting men might be found. The Maori love of ancestral 
 homes and the earth-hunger of a Teutonic horde might be 
 fastened intensely on the same spot. The wild animal of the 
 forest and the European trained hound might quarrel over the 
 same bone. Vce victis ! Scrambling for the " damned earth, 
 the common whore of mankind, that puts odds among the 
 rout of nations," the Pakeha already outnumbered the Maori, 
 and the end was certain. Forty thousand men, presumably fit 
 to fight, had poured into Otago from England and Australia in 
 two years. From them what an army might be made ! The 
 Maori would vainly strive to put 1000 men into the field. To 
 people the Waikato district the Ministry proposed to raise in 
 Australia and Otago 5000 men fit for the work of settling upon 
 and holding the confiscated lands. After thus seizing upon 
 Waikato, a similar plan would be adopted at Taranaki. Their 
 advice was dated on the 31st July, and on the 3rd August the 
 
 1 Mr. Gillies, the first Attorney in the Domett Ministry, was succeeded 
 by Mr. Sewell after a few days. Sewell held office from August, 1863, to 
 the end of the year, und then Whituker, not in the Cabinet, became 
 Attorney-General.
 
 MR. WELD AT CHRISTCHURCH. 141 
 
 Governor promulgated regulations under which land in the 
 Waikato district would be granted to volunteer militia settlers. 
 In graduated scale, lands were granted according to rank ; a 
 private having 50 acres of farm, and one allotment of town land. 
 Each settlement was to comprise 100 town and 100 farm allot- 
 ments. There were stipulations for continuous service for three 
 years, after which ordinary militia service was to be exacted 
 from the new corps. Separate regulations invited military and 
 naval settlers, and settlers generally. Agents were to be sent 
 to Australia to enrol volunteers under agreement. Meanwhile 
 some colonists were not content to rely wholly on the Govern- 
 ment. On the publication of the Duke of Newcastle's despatch, 
 which caused so much discussion between the Governor and his 
 advisers, a public meeting was held at Christchurch in August, 
 1863, to consider the state of the Northern Island. Mr. Fitz- 
 gerald moved a resolution in favour of an immediate meeting of 
 the General Assembly. Mr. Weld, confessing the difficulty of 
 speaking after a man who had " earned by common consent the 
 title of the orator of New Zealand," moved an amendment. He 
 denounced Governor Fitzroy for having almost fraternized with 
 the red-handed murderers of the Wairau, and for incompetency 
 at Kororarika. He had no praise for Sir George Grey except 
 for the "establishment of native assessors." Under Colonel 
 Wynyard he declared that the " degradation of the Government 
 went still lower." Colonel Browne was the " first Governor who 
 ever took the stand which should have been taken from the 
 beginning." Loud cheers greeted this melancholy mistake, and 
 the speaker proceeded to denounce Te Rangitake in the popular 
 manner. "Led by a man like General Cameron," the troops, 
 volunteers, and militia, would " never be foiled." He advocated 
 confiscation of lands of insurgents. His amendments were ap- 
 proved, and it was resolved : "That regard being had to the failure 
 of the recent temporizing policy . . . the urgency of the present 
 crisis in the Northern Island will warrant the Government, 
 pending the meeting of the General Assembly as may be neces- 
 sary, to ensure a speedy and decisive termination of the native 
 war, and obtain material guarantees for the future maintenance 
 of order amongst the insurgent tribes." The material guaran- 
 tees were to be found in confiscation of land, but Mr. Weld
 
 142 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 disclaimed such sweeping seizures as would render the chiefs 
 utterly landless. Mr. E. J. Wakefield, who had left the colony 
 during Fitzroy's Government, was at the Christchurch meeting, 
 and as might have been expected urged the " absolute extinction 
 of the native rebellion." Not finding his views sufficiently 
 promulgated he printed a pampnlet which could scarcely receive 
 less attention than it deserved. 
 
 While the English were invading, and preparing for confisca- 
 tion of, the land of the Maoris, the latter were not idle. The 
 tocsin sent to the tribes was an ancient war-song; the same 
 with which the Waikato chiefs had urged the Taranaki natives 
 to action. 
 
 ."Red plume, red plume, 
 
 Plume of the kaka ! 
 
 Rehearse it a Kawhia. 
 
 Cartridge, one, three, four, Matamata I 
 
 Lay hold, and bring the strong 
 
 Eight-stranded cord 
 
 That cannot be unfastened. 
 
 Grasp firm your weapons 1 
 
 Strike ! Fire ! " 
 
 Transmitting it to England on the 31st August, the Governor 
 said there was proof that it had been widely circulated from 
 Wellington northwards throughout the tribes. With it a letter 
 urged them, now that " The law of God was completed and the 
 law of man to be done, to clear out their yard and the Waikatos 
 would clear out theirs (i. e. you clear off the Pakehas from your 
 part, and we will clear them from ours "). 
 
 At Waikanae and at Otaki, Dr. Featherston, Superintendent 
 of the province of Wellington, met the Maoris at their request. 
 He was notable for having opposed in the Assembly the grasping 
 policy of Mr. C. W. Richmond at Waitara, and could claim to 
 be heard as a well-wisher to the natives. He dissuaded them 
 from making common cause with Rewi, whom he accused of 
 instigating the Tataraimaka murders. They admitted having 
 received a letter from the Maori king urging them to take up 
 arms. They condemned the Tataraimaka murders, but would 
 not repudiate their king. If the militia were kept away from 
 their districts there would be no disturbance. But they looked 
 with suspicion on the Governor's movements as a prelude to
 
 WAR PREPARATIONS. 143 
 
 confiscation of lands. Let troops be kept away. They thanked 
 Dr. Featherston for his visit, and some of them supplied him 
 with reports of their speeches. Heremia said : " If the Governor 
 attacks our king, we shall be evil ; don't say this is a murder." 
 
 The Duke of Newcastle's response to the application for more 
 soldiers was anxiously looked for. Meanwhile the local forces 
 were industriously organized. In October Auckland was deemed 
 safe. Trees near the great military road were cut down. The 
 available local forces exceeded 3000. At Wellington and Waira- 
 rapa there were 777 militia and 419 volunteers. At Hawke's 
 Bay, under Major Whitmore, commander of the local forces in 
 the province, there were 600 militia, 71 rifle volunteers, 79 
 cavalry. At Taranaki the whole male population was armed : 
 605 militia, 214 volunteers. At Wanganui, of a total force of 
 552, 321 were rifle volunteers. The total in the Northern 
 Island consisted of 9629 armed militia and volunteers, including 
 375 men of the Colonial Defence Force. The flotilla consisted 
 of the ' Avon ' on the Waikato, the ' Pioneer ' in Manukau, and the 
 ' Sandfly ' on the Thames. Two smaller steamers were being 
 built in Sydney. Mr. Russell, the Minister for Colonial Defence, 
 was warmly commended by the Governor for his services. De- 
 sultory warfare continued in August and September. General 
 Cameron reported (15th August) that the Maoris were collecting 
 in considerable force at Mere-mere' on the right bank of the 
 Waikato river. Farm-houses were attacked between Auckland 
 and Maungatawhiri, where the Hunua forest afforded shelter 
 for the prowling Maoris. Waata Kukutai and Wiremu te 
 Wheoro were found most valuable allies to the General. On 
 the 25th August, 25 men of the 40th regiment were engaged 
 in cutting down trees on the Great South Road. Their 
 arms were piled by the road-side under charge of a sentry. 
 Suddenly Maoris dashed to the arms, seized them and com- 
 menced firing at the soldiers. A convoy was approaching under 
 Captain Cook of the 40th regiment, and its advance-guard 
 immediately engaged the marauders. As the main body arrived 
 and other help was sent from posts along the road, the Maoris, 
 after more than an hours' skirmishing, were lost in the woods. 
 Two soldiers had been shot before relief arrived ; only one was 
 wounded afterwards. The enemy secured the arms they had
 
 144 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 seized, but they left one of their number dead. On the 7th 
 September, the volunteers desecrated a native burial-ground at 
 Papakura. Bodies which had been buried long before the war 
 were exhumed for contumely, and graves were rifled in search 
 of green-stone relics. 1 On the 8th September, Maoris surrounded 
 the Razorback stockade in the Hunua forest, and skirmishing 
 ensued. On the 7th, they surprised a pah at Cameron Town, 
 and captured stores awaiting transport to Te la. Captain Swift 
 with 50 men started in pursuit, and General Cameron sent 150 
 under Colonel Murray to support him. After marching some 
 miles Captain Swift's party heard Maoris talking in the bush, 
 and prepared an ambuscade for them by extending on both sides 
 of the track. As the Maoris did not move, bayonets were fixed 
 and the soldiers advanced. At a turn in the track they were 
 met by a volley in which Captain Swift fell. Lieutenant Butler 
 asked the wounded officer if he should charge. He said, yes; 
 and in the charge Lieutenant Butler fell, wounded. Colour- 
 Sergeant McKenna took charge, and firing was kept up for an 
 hour. Three English were killed and five wounded before the 
 sergeant made good his retreat into the bush, where the men 
 lay concealed during the night. In the morning as they made 
 their way back they met Colonel Murray and his men. Captain 
 Swift had died in the evening. Sergeant McKenna's coolness 
 and courage were duly commended by the General. Mr. Armi- 
 tage, the resident magistrate, who had expelled Maoris from 
 their homes in July, was killed, with four others, on the 7th 
 September, while transporting supplies. On the 14th the 
 Pukekohe stockade was attacked. Aid was sent from other 
 posts, and the Maoris were driven off; but two English were 
 killed and five severely wounded. In all these cases the 
 numbers of the Maoris were unknown. At Pukekohe they left 
 six dead on the field. The Maori leaders were evidently adapt- 
 ing their warfare to the peculiar qualities of their countrymen, 
 and the nature of their weapons. To dart like a bat from the 
 
 1 "The act is a disgrace to our cause ... if it be not publicly censured 
 by the authorities the Government of New Zealand will be irretrievably 
 disgraced. If the natives had thus desecrated one of our burial-grounds I 
 The bodies were not even the bodies of enemies " (MS. by Swainson, the 
 first Attorney-General).
 
 REGIMENTS ENROLLED IN AUSTRALIA. 145 
 
 darkness on the unprepared, and disappear as suddenly, suited 
 them better than to gather hundreds to defend a fortified 
 position. The fighting was not confined to the Auckland dis- 
 trict. At Taranaki, in September and October, there were 
 numerous skirmishes. On the 2nd October the Maoris attacked 
 the Poutoko Redoubt, a few miles south of Taranaki. Colonel 
 Warre reported that they were in great strength, but were 
 driven back gallantly by the soldiers and volunteers, 300 in 
 number. Nine English were wounded. One action took place 
 of which the importance was hardly known at the time. Major 
 Lyon commanded at the Galloway Redoubt at the Wairoa river, 
 which runs into the Tamaki Strait, about 20 miles from Auck- 
 land, and was therefore in the General's rear. The Maoris 
 opened fire upon the stockade on the 15th September with 
 slight effect. An attack upon a Maori settlement was made on 
 the 17th. Across the stream at early dawn a detachment of 
 the 18th Regiment poured concentrated fire upon the whares. 
 They did not know that within them was a band of Maoris, who 
 had come to join the fighting ; and who, under the volleys 
 poured upon the huts, fell like sheep. The troops, unable to 
 cross the stream, withdrew, unconscious of what they had 
 done. Major Lyon, who made a circuit by a bridge, found the 
 settlement deserted. "The whares," he said, "were riddled 
 with shot, blood in profusion both inside and out. They were 
 unmistakably taken by surprise." In after years a Maori who 
 was present told how extensive was the slaughter unwittingly 
 inflicted by the 18th, who exercised themselves in firing at the 
 huts without knowing how they were occupied. As the wounded 
 and dead were carried away before Major Lyon reached the 
 spot, Otau, he also was ignorant of the severity of the blow 
 inflicted. 
 
 Mr. Fox, in his ' War in New Zealand,' censured the Governor 
 and the General for not promptly following up the Koheroa 
 success. From July to October no forward movement was 
 made. But men were being enrolled in Australia. Mr. Gorst 
 went to Sydney with Mr. Dillon Bell, the Native Minister, 
 to assist in raising the Waikato regiments ; and troops were 
 expected from India. It was not until October that the 
 Governor's measures received approval either from the Secretary 
 
 VOL. II. L
 
 146 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 of State or from the New Zealand Assembly. The request for 
 troops was complied with in England. Sikhs were not shipped, 
 but two European regiments were ordered from India. The 
 Duke of Newcastle was loth to acknowledge that he had sanc- 
 tioned an injustice at Waitara in 1860, and elaborately contended 
 that no wrong was intended or done to Te Rangitake by employ- 
 ment of the military to enforce the survey. Yet he admitted 
 that the new facts brought to light by Grey were strange, and 
 thought (as Dillon Bell had said) that if Colonel Browne and 
 his Ministers had known those facts they would not have made 
 the purchase, which in the Duke's opinion would then have 
 been unjustifiable. He did not blame Sir George Grey for the 
 delay in abandoning the purchase, though it would have been 
 better if its abandonment had been simultaneous with the reoccu- 
 pation of Tataraimaka. He thought the Governor right in not 
 shrinking from the abandonment of the block after the massacre 
 at Tataraimaka. He accepted the present revelations as con- 
 firming the doubts he expressed in November, 1860, as to the 
 propriety of forcibly setting aside Te Rangitake' s claims. He 
 did not recall the fact that in spite of his doubts he told Colonel 
 Browne, in the same despatch, that the chiefs disloyal conduct 
 had left no alternative but an appeal to arms. On the whole, 
 he seemed more ready to upbraid Governor Grey for doing right 
 than Governor Browne for doing wrong. Sir George Grey com- 
 municated the despatch to his advisers, who (it was alleged by 
 inadvertence) printed it, without consulting him, and gave 
 copies to members of the Assembly then in session (October, 
 1863). He sent to England a careful memorandum in support 
 of his views, citing numerous Maori letters. "I regret," he 
 added, "that several misunderstandings connected with the 
 whole of this subject have arisen from the difficulty of the 
 natives making themselves thoroughly understood by foreign 
 authorities, from the figurative nature of their language, from 
 the few persons who understand it well, and from the consequent 
 misinterpretations, omissions, or misprints, which from time to 
 time take place in even the most important documents. I am 
 well aware how great a difficulty and disadvantage your Grace 
 must labour under from this cause alone." l It was not likely 
 1 AB an instance he quoted a document, printed for tlie General Assembly
 
 GENEKAL ASSEMBLY. 147 
 
 that the enemies of Te Rangitake would be slow to avail them- 
 selves of the Duke's despatch, and in the course of the session 
 there was a passage of arms between them and the Governor. 
 The General Assembly met on the 19th October, 1863. The 
 Governor told them that from England and from the Australian 
 colonies prompt aid had been promised and given. The admir- 
 able manner in which the colonial forces had encountered danger 
 and hardship was duly commented on ; and the Assembly was 
 recommended to accept the responsibility for native affairs 
 placed upon it by Her Majesty's decision. This recommenda- 
 tion the Representatives ambiguously " received with an anxious 
 desire to settle the question on a satisfactory basis." 
 
 and sent to England, in which the natives were made to speak of their 
 desire " to retain possession of the law handed down to them from their 
 ancestors and father." On referring to the Maori original Sir George Grey 
 found that the word " land, 1 ' not " law," had been used. 
 
 I 2
 
 148 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 STATE OF THE MAORIS. 
 
 THE early history of New Zealand is a story of the relations 
 between the Maoris and the English. They form the current 
 which carried with it the hopes and the fears of the visitors, 
 the suspicions and resentment of the tribes. A faithful nar- 
 rative, in order to depict the fortunes of the colony, must 
 busy itself mainly with the administration of native affairs. 
 On the eve of the struggle provoked so often and so long by 
 the cupidity of a section of the English, and courted by the 
 wilder and more savage among the Maoris it is good to ascer- 
 tain the relative forces which could be brought into the field. 
 Though the Maoris were outnumbered by the invaders of their soil 
 they claim first notice. In 1858 they were estimated at 56,049, 
 of whom 31,667 were males and 24,303 were females. In the 
 North Island there were nearly 30,000 males and nearly 23,000 
 females. The total Maori population in the Middle Island was 
 2283, in Stewart's Island and Ruapuke 200, at the Chatham 
 Islands 510. In 1864 the number was known to be much 
 diminished. Dr. Thomson, the historian of 1859, had after 
 careful inquiry on the spot added his mournful testimony to 
 the rapid decrease of the Maoris. Inattention to the sick ; 
 infanticide ; sterility ; new habits ; new diseases ; intermarriage 
 with relations were the causes he assigned. All but the first 
 and second had fallen upon the race after their intercourse 
 with the Europeans. Four thousand were victims to the out- 
 break of measles in the North Island in 1854. The musket 
 was supposed to have destroyed 20,000 lives in tribal wars. 
 After contact with Europeans a practice of steeping decaying 
 grain, and making it apparently fit for food, was believed by 
 many persons to have been fatal to thousands. Dr. Thomson
 
 STATE OF THE MAORIS. 149 
 
 attributed the decay of the race principally to marriage of blood- 
 connections. Yet about a score of generations after colonizing 
 the islands with 1000 souls, the Maoris had multiplied to more 
 than 100,000, and it was after intrusion of foreigners that in 
 twenty years they declined from that number to less than 60,000. 
 Mr. Maning assigns a more potent cause for a decrease so sudden 
 as to outrun all possible rate attainable by reason of intermar- 
 riage of blood-connections. He observed that a second plague 
 followed the use of the musket, and swept away more victims 
 than the first. The ancient weapons were powerless against the 
 inmates of pahs built on precipitous hill-tops ; and in selecting 
 safe situations, the Maoris had chosen healthy ones. Day and 
 night free air coursed over habitations placed beyond reach of 
 exhalations from marshes. Troops of the dwellers therein de- 
 scended to their cultivation fields, with club or spear in one 
 hand, and an agricultural implement in the other. The women 
 followed. In the evening the women led the way home, and the 
 men kept that which was the post of danger in case of attack. 
 
 When the crops were growing the tribe or hapu would often 
 wander to some fortified elevation near a river or sea, and obtain 
 variety of food by fishing. Their growing crops were deemed 
 safe even from enemies. When the musket became the princi- 
 pal weapon a change came over the scene. To avoid the toil 
 and loss of time incurred in the long procession from hill-top 
 to field, and the carrying of fuel, provisions and water, the 
 Maoris, relying on their new weapon, transferred their " whares " 
 or abodes from the airy eminence to the damp fields below. 
 They built their oven-like houses in mere swamps, spongy even 
 in summer-time. With rushes rotting underneath them; in 
 low dens, heated like ovens at night and dripping with damp in 
 the day, drinking noxious exhalations in unventilated artificial 
 caves, they were cut off in thousands. They would take no 
 advice. They could not see the devouring enemy, and would 
 not believe Europeans who warned them. 
 
 " Twenty years ago, a hapu, in number just forty persons, 
 removed their ' kainga ' (village or head-quarters) from a dry 
 healthy position to the edge of a ' raupo ' (bulrush) swamp. I 
 happened to be at the place a short time after the removal, and 
 with me there was a medical gentleman who was travelling
 
 150 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 through the country. In creeping into one of the houses, the 
 chiefs, through the low door, I was obliged to put both my 
 hands to the ground ; they both sank into the swampy soil, 
 making holes which immediately filled with .water. The chief 
 and his family were lying on the ground on rushes, and a fire 
 was burning, which made the little den, not in the highest place 
 more than five feet high, feel like an oven. I called the 
 attention of my friend to the state of this place called a ' house.' 
 He merely said, ' Men cannot live here.' Eight years from that 
 day the whole hapu were extinct, but, as I remember, two 
 persons were shot for bewitching them and causing their 
 deaths." l The drinking of ardent spirits, the bane of European 
 countries, claimed its victims. The king-maker and his friends 
 endeavoured to bar the poison from their territories, but the 
 dissolute and debauched evaded the prohibition. Europeans 
 did not always assist Waharoa's efforts. Bishop Selwyn confessed 
 the shame with which he sometimes saw the demoralizing effect 
 of remitting the chivalrous chief to scenes and company likely 
 to lead to his ruin. It was not possible that an imaginative and 
 thoughtful race should see these things without despair. It 
 was natural that a daring race should say " Rather let us die in 
 battle for our country than pine away, the slaves of the Pakeha." 
 Proud also and boastful, admitted by speakers in the Assem- 
 bly to have been undefeated if not successful in the Taranaki 
 war they might in some cases be fooled by the idea that they 
 could drive the Pakeha into the sea, in spite of their having 
 only fowling-pieces or muskets to oppose to rifles, rockets, Arm- 
 strong guns, and powerful mortars, and of ammunition being 
 difficult to procure for the weapons they possessed. The super- 
 stition which doomed sorcerers to destruction because the 
 dwellers in a marsh had died, was prompted to some deed of 
 daring before the swarms of immigrating Englishmen might 
 make all daring vain. But the English were already swarming. 
 The early massacre at Wairau and the failure of the company's 
 schemes had arrested immigration in old time ; but it had been 
 resumed. It is difficult even for misgovernment to arrest the 
 material advancement of a young community. The resolution of 
 the individual Englishman, who, though he grumbles with or 
 1 'Old New Zealand.'
 
 STATE OF THE COLONISTS. 151 
 
 without cause, yet works to make himself a home, had con- 
 quered natural obstacles; and farms, agricultural and pastoral, 
 had been pushed by slow degrees farther and farther from the 
 several provincial capitals. Taranaki was an exception. In a 
 memorial (April, 1863) the settlers bitterly complained that after 
 1844 no more than 70,000 acres had been secured by purchase. 
 Even from these they had been driven; and the settlement 
 was, in the Assembly and elsewhere, spoken of as for the time 
 destroyed. But at the Middle Island the tide of immigration had 
 been such that in 1863 more English stood on Maori land than 
 there had ever been Maoris. On the 31st December, 1860, the 
 whites were estimated at 83,919 in the islands. In December, 1861, 
 they were deemed to be 99,021. In December, 1862, there were 
 125,812. In December, 1863, there were 164,048. And stiU the 
 yellow slave of commerce drew shoals of gold-seekers to Otago. 
 
 In June, 1861, after various minor discoveries, the first 
 redundant gold-field had been found by one Gabriel Read at 
 Tuapeka. The first escort from " Gabriel's Gulley," as the 
 thronging miners christened the place, took away 5056 ounces 
 of gold. Not only from the Northern Island and other parts 
 of New Zealand crowds rushed to the spot. The Australian 
 colonies caught the infection ; the restless element at the 
 populous gold-fields in Victoria cast itself loose from a soil to 
 which it had never intended to attach itself, and exhausted all 
 available means of procuring conveyance to Otago. For a short 
 time it seemed that the adventurers had been drawn thither by 
 a will-o'-the-wisp. They were too numerous for the known 
 gold-bearing situations. The weather was colder than any they 
 had encountered in Australia. A panic disturbed them and 
 they began to fly. The Superintendent of the province issued 
 a proclamation in September, 1861, warning intending miners 
 not to make matters worse by rash immigration. In midwinter 
 (July) there had been a retreat so rapid that only 7000 persons 
 were supposed to be left at the mines. More than 16,000 
 returned to Australia. At the end of that month two men 
 produced, in Dunedin, 1047 ounces of gold, and offered to 
 divulge the spot where they had found this treasure if the 
 Government would guarantee them a reward of 2000 if within 
 three months 16,000 ounces should be brought down by the
 
 152 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 escort. The bargain was made ; and the Dunstan Gold Fields 
 on the Clutha river were no sooner made known than the 
 vagrant crowd returned. Before the end of the year 70,000 
 ounces of gold were obtained from the neighbourhood of the 
 Clutha river. More fields were found at the valley of the 
 Cardrona, and in the gorges of the Arrow river. At the Shot- 
 over river some miners were found at work by a Maori, Haeroa, 
 and a half-caste, natives of the North Island. On the west 
 bank of the river was a point which the miners yearned to 
 examine ; but they shrunk from the foaming torrent between. 
 The Maoris plunged in and reached the coveted shore. A dog 
 which attempted to follow them was swept to a rocky point 
 below. One of them went to assist the dog, and observed gold 
 in the crevices of the rocks. Before nightfall the two swimmers 
 had scraped together 300 ounces of gold. The small province 
 of Southland, under influences which had magnified Otago, 
 increased its population from 1876 in 1861, to 8085 in 1864. 
 In the Middle Island, which thus opened its maw to receive 
 the coming thousands, there was no risk of Maori attacks. 
 Never in that island, except at the Wairau in 1843, had there 
 been collision between the two races ; and the Maori champions 
 then were Rauparaha and Rangihaeata, whose ordinary resid- 
 ences were in the North Island. The fertile plains of which 
 the New Zealand Company had endeavoured to rob them with 
 the policeman's staff was now the rich possession of a new pro- 
 vince Marlborough carved in 1859 out of the original pro- 
 vince of Nelson. The population of Marlborough had risen 
 from 2299 in 1861, to 5519 in 1864. At Nelson, after the loss 
 of Marlborough, the Europeans had increased from 9952 in 
 1861, to 11,910 in 1864. In Canterbury progress had been 
 steady. The population had risen from 8967 in 1858, to 32,276 
 in 1864. At Wellington in the same period it had advanced 
 from 11,753 to 14,987. Hawke's Bay in the same time had 
 grown from 1514 to 3770. About 4000 Europeans were cooped 
 up in Taranaki. Auckland, the capital, had steadily advanced. 
 Though not so populous as the gold-producing Otago, its num- 
 bers had increased from 24,420 in 1861, to 42,132 in 1864. 
 Everywhere except at Taranaki enclosures and agriculture had 
 rapidly increased. The total of acres enclosed was 409,763 in
 
 GIBBON WAKEFIELD'S DEATH. 153 
 
 1861, and in 1864 it was 1,072,383. Including sown grasses 
 the acres under crop had been 226,219 in 1861 ; they were 
 382,655 in 1864. But all this progress availed the war-party 
 nothing, so long as the Maori sat in his king's gate. Yet the 
 decay of the Maoris might have satisfied their enemies. There 
 were not 50,000 of them, while the Europeans were more than 
 three times as many. But nearly all the Maoris were in the 
 North Island, in which they formed nearly two-fifths of the 
 whole population. Many tribes were friendly, but it was not 
 known how many would join the standard of the Maori king. 
 That there would be, as in fact there were, large numbers of 
 the natives fighting on the side of the English might be hoped, 
 but could not be predicted with certainty. The causes which 
 had so rapidly created a numerical preponderance of Europeans 
 in the islands involved momentous financial considerations. 
 Armies must be paid for, and wages had risen. Any highly- 
 paid occupation absorbs labour to itself, and employers in 
 danger of being" deserted have to compete in price with tempta- 
 tions offered elsewhere. This maxim, true everywhere, is 
 strained to the extremest verge when the glittering bait of 
 gold, for mere grubbing, is the distracting magnet. The greed 
 of the gambler is associated with honourable toil, and the 
 measure of wages is unsettled by the quality of hope. The 
 man who of all men in New Zealand had the most subtle brain 
 for comprehending problems in political economy at this time 
 passed away. The mover of so many puppets in his prime, he 
 had become, like Swift, capable only of wondering at his former 
 achievements. Secluded in ill-health, Gibbon Wakefield, long 
 absent from the scenes of his activity, died at Wellington in 1862. 
 The Ministry, in a careful document, laid before Sir George 
 Grey at Taranaki, in May, 1863, had urged that the pay of the 
 militia there (2s. 6d. a day with rations) was not too high, 
 because "the ordinary wages of labour of the simplest kind, 
 such as working on roads, was 8s. a day at that time at 
 Nelson and Canterbury." Under such circumstances the cost 
 of an army was an apparition which might well disturb even 
 a bold financier. Already two Waikato regiments had been 
 raised in Australia. A third was in course of formation. 
 Before the meeting of the Assembly the Ministers drew up a
 
 154 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 voluminous description of their plans (5th October, 1863). 
 Roads were to be made. The road from Auckland to Taupo 
 was to pass through the heart of Waikato. About 1000 miles 
 of roadways were proposed. The war was to be the last. " No 
 opportunity of renewing it with any chance of success must be 
 left." Twenty thousand men would be required. Half of them 
 would be wanted "from Waikato Mouth and Raglan to Tau- 
 ranga and Thames." The rest were to be located in bands of 
 1000 or 2000 at Taranaki and elsewhere. Two thousand were 
 to go to Wanganui, where Dr. Featherston had been adjured 
 by the chiefs to let no soldiers appear. They were to be im- 
 ported to work on the roads, but to be armed with Enfield rifles. 
 They would cost the country about 1,500,000 if they worked 
 for nine months in the year on the roads. They would cost 
 somewhat less if paid as militia. The scheme, with sundry 
 accompaniments, would cost about 4,000,000. The money 
 ought not to be raised by immediate taxation. It must be 
 borrowed. Confiscated lands would be sufficient security. It 
 was an ancient Maori custom for a chief to gloat over con- 
 quest of lands. The Romans gave away territories beforehand. 
 
 That there was a treaty of Waitangi in existence was a parch- 
 ment bug-bear. The recollection of it had faded. It was not 
 wanted to interfere, like Banquo's ghost, with the feast. There 
 were, in the Waikato and Thames district, 2,292,000 acres; at 
 Taranaki, 500,000 acres, = 2,792,000 acres. Let them be seized. 
 Let the natives, if any be left at Waikato after the war, have 
 500,000 acres of their own lands. One hundred thousand acres 
 would suffice for the Taranaki Maoris. Military settlers would 
 have 500,000 at Waikato, and 200,000 at Taranaki. There 
 would remain 1,492,000 acres to be sold, and they would realize 
 more than 2,000,000. Increasing revenue would yield profits 
 in the long run, even without taking into account the influx of 
 prosperity attendant on expenditure of so many millions sterling. 
 They hoped for a guarantee from the Imperial Government for, 
 at least, 3,800,000 out of the 4,000,000. "It may be 
 objected that these plans are based solely on the idea of force ; 
 and it is true that physical power is the main element of the 
 conception." But the Ministry could only rear moral sway on a 
 basis of physical power. "The axe and the fire are wanted,"
 
 WHITAKER-FOX MINISTRY. 155 
 
 they said, " before the plough and the seed-corn." Mr. Domett 
 signed the paper on behalf of his colleagues. It was laid on the 
 table of the House. It must have intensified the hostility of 
 the Maoris. It may have been one of the early causes of a 
 general feeling which by degrees spread amongst Her Majesty's 
 regular forces, that the war was sought, not as a necessary act 
 of justice, but as a means of spoliation, and a stimulant of the 
 expenditure which enriches traders. Debt never had horrors 
 for the colonists. Under Mr. Stafford, in 1856 and 1860, the 
 Assembly had raised 650,000 ; under Mr. Domett, in 1862, 
 500,000 more. The Provincial Governments had raised for 
 various purposes no less than 2,454,239. Mr. Domett and his 
 colleagues hoped, in 1863, to drown the new debt by spoliation ; 
 for they valued the land of which they intended to rob the 
 Maoris at little less than the proposed loan. The Representatives 
 lost no time in devoting themselves to the amendment of the 
 Colonial Defence Force Act of 1862. They postponed their 
 acceptance of responsibility for native affairs. 
 
 Several fresh members were added to the Council. Among 
 them was Major G. S. Whitmore. When the Council met there 
 was no representative of the Government in it. Mr. Swainson, 
 the Attorney-General of former days, called attention to the fact 
 by moving (22nd October), " That this Council do not proceed to 
 any business of serious importance until there be a representative 
 of the Government in the Council, and that it do now adjourn." 
 Subsequently, a member informed the Council that in conse- 
 quence of pending changes in the Ministry, no representative of 
 the Government had been appointed in the Council, but that, as 
 soon as changes had been completed, no time would be lost in 
 making an appointment. Mr. Swainson was not silenced by 
 this promise. He gave notice of a motion, casting grave censure 
 on the Government for neglecting to secure the presence of one 
 of their number in the Council. On the 29th, the Council was 
 informed that the Ministry had resigned. Mr. Swainson with- 
 drew his motion; and on the 2nd November, Mr. Whitaker 
 announced that Mr. Fox had formed a Ministry, of which Mr. 
 Whitaker was Premier and Attorney-General, representing the 
 Government in the Council. An old colleague of Mr. C. W. 
 Richmond, and a traitor to the treaty of Waitangi, he had found
 
 156 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 convenient colleagues. Mr. Reader Wood as Treasurer, and Mr. 
 Thomas Russell as Minister of Defence, retained their offices in 
 the new Ministry, which was considered a war Ministry, and by 
 its conduct justified the belief. 
 
 An Act was passed to enable Provincial Legislatures to pass 
 laws authorizing the compulsory taking of land for works of a 
 public nature. This was a repetition of the scheme arrested in 
 1862 by the warning of Mr. Fenton, the reference to England, 
 and the exceptional prudence of the Duke of Newcastle. Mr. 
 Whitaker called no special attention to it. It was to remove 
 doubts which had been suggested. Mr. Card well saw the con- 
 templated injustice, and declined to advise allowance of the Bill 
 unless native lands were excepted from its operation. 1 A Bill 
 was passed by the Representatives to raise 3,000,000 sterling by 
 loan, . for the vigorous prosecution of the war. Mr. Fox took 
 charge of the Colonial Defence Bill introduced by Mr. Domett, 
 and on the 5th November carried the second reading of a 
 Suppression of Rebellion Bill by the large majority of 26 against 
 10. Amongst the minority was the name of a new adventurer 
 in New Zealand politics. Mr. Julius Vogel, having kept a small 
 shop at a rural township in Australia, had taken flight with the 
 migration to Otago. Having talent for intrigue, and sufficient 
 literary ability for the local press, he obtained a position in the 
 Provincial Government, and was elected to the Assembly for the 
 district of Dunedin and suburbs north. Those who saw him 
 enter the House would probably have repelled with scorn the 
 idea that he would afterwards become their leader. Mr. Weld 
 was not present at the commencement of the session, but took 
 an early opportunity to protest against the Suppression of 
 Rebellion Bill as " quite unnecessary and unconstitutional." It 
 was a singular spectacle. The admirer of Mr. C. W. Richmond, 
 the supporter of the rape of the Waitara, was compelled to 
 denounce the injustice and harshness of Mr. Fox, by whom that 
 rape had been opposed. Mr. Whitaker shone with baleful but 
 consistent lustre. In 1860, as in 1863, he was Minister, and 
 urged on each occasion the measures which were alternately 
 shrunk from by Mr. Fox and Mr. Weld. 
 
 After amendment by the Legislative Council, the Suppression 
 1 P. P. Despatch ; 26th May, 1864. Vol. xli. 1864.
 
 SUPPRESSION BILL. 157 
 
 of Rebellion Bill was passed. The same fate attended a Defence 
 Bill. The Defence Bill of the former year had elicited an 
 opinion from the law officers (Sir W. Atherton and Sir 
 Roundell Palmer) in England as to the powers of the Legislative 
 Council. They were "of opinion, that if in a Bill introduced 
 into the House of Representatives and passed through that 
 House, a certain tax or duty has been imposed upon a Crown 
 grant, or an instrument in the nature of a Crown grant, it is 
 competent to the Legislative Council, without any breach of the 
 privileges of the House of Representatives, to make the efficacy 
 for any given purpose of another class of instruments, intended 
 to affect native lands under the provision of the same Bill, 
 dependent upon their assuming the form of Crown grants, or of 
 those instruments in the nature of Crown grants, on which the 
 tax Or duty has been so imposed by the House of Representa- 
 tives." They said it was never supposed in England that the 
 privilege of the Commons as to originating taxation was at- 
 tended with such a consequence as that the Commons could, by 
 imposing a tax or duty on an instrument, exclude the other 
 House from the power of originating or amending Bills relating 
 to such instruments. But the suppositions known to jurists are 
 not those of clutchers at unconstitutional control ; and elsewhere 
 as well as in New Zealand, members of parliament have con- 
 tended, not for what custom or law could justify, but for all that 
 could by argument or intimidation be extorted. 
 
 The Suppression of Rebellion Bill might have seemed suffi- 
 cient violation of justice for one session. The Governor in 
 Council, with Whitaker and Fox, might issue orders for the 
 arrest of all "suspected" persons, and try them by court- 
 martial. Death or penal servitude gleamed ominously amid 
 the words of the Act. Nothing done under it was to be 
 questionable in the Supreme Court, and to prevent the law so 
 dear to Englishmen from being recurred to by a Maori, it was 
 to be sufficient for the Governor to declare that anything done 
 had been done in accordance with the Orders made under the 
 Act. The bulwark of the Habeas Corpus statute was destroyed 
 by a clause declaring that a writ under it should be satisfactorily 
 met by a return that the body sought was held under the local 
 Act. Indemnity was given for all unlawful things already done,
 
 158 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 The reader who gasps for freedom is doubtfully consoled only 
 by the clause which limited the duration of the disgraceful Act 
 to the end of the next session of the Assembly. But some- 
 thing more than the taking of life has been shown to be at the 
 bottom of Maori troubles. As at Taranaki, so at Waikato, Mr. 
 Whitaker's mind was bent upon acquiring land. The land for 
 which the settler lusted, the land to which the Maoris clung, 
 was to be acquired, not by troublesome bargains, but by confis- 
 cation. For this purpose " The New Zealand Settlements Bill, 
 1863," was introduced. Its preamble declared that, for preven- 
 tion of rebellion, and to maintain " law and order throughout the 
 colony," settlers must be procured " able to protect themselves 
 and preserve the peace of the country." To obtain land for 
 them the Governor in Council might declare any district in 
 which " any native tribe, or section of a tribe (after 1st January, 
 1863), or any considerable number thereof, had been engaged in 
 rebellion," a district within the provisions of the Act. Within such 
 district the Governor in Council might from time to time seize 
 upon lands for settlement. Compensation might be awarded to 
 owners, excepting such as had levied war after 1st January, 
 1863, or those who had comforted such warring owners, or 
 "counselled, advised, induced, enticed, persuaded, or conspired 
 with any person " to levy war, or who had been ' concerned in 
 any outrage against person or property," or who, after proclama- 
 tion in the Government Gazette, failed to surrender their arm?. 
 As suspected owners might be hanged under the Suppression of 
 Rebellion Act, the compensation provided by the Settlements 
 Act could be kept down to a low rate ; but the astute Whitaker 
 devised a mode of defeating the operation of the compensation 
 clause. It was provided that no claim shoiild be entertained 
 unless preferred in writing to the Colonial Secretary within six 
 months (if the claimant were residing in the colony) after pro- 
 clamation of his land by the Governor under the Act. Under 
 restrictions which all men knew to be destructive of the principle 
 of compensation, the proud Maori might obtain such compensation 
 as the robbers of his country might choose to award him through 
 new Compensation Courts. The Governor in Council was to 
 appoint the Judges of the Compensation Court, and in flagrant 
 violation of principles which had become part of the life of Eng-
 
 ON CONFISCATION. 159 
 
 land, it was enacted that he should also have power at any time 
 to remove any Judge. Thus an upright Judge could be got rid 
 of, if his decisions should thwart the wills of Whitaker and Fox. 
 
 The New Zealand Settlements Act was a fit complement to that 
 for suppression of rebellion. Robbery was to be sanctioned by law. 
 It devolved upon Mr. Whitaker to prepare an official defence of the 
 prostitution of the power of a Government for the purpose of pillage. 
 In a paper to be submitted to an English Secretary of State, he 
 said, that as, for the most part, Maoris possessed " little personal 
 property," the " permanent loss of their landed possessions " was 
 that which they would feel the most. Of love of country his 
 black-letter intelligence took no heed. Comment cannot heighten 
 the criminality of his advice. The following sentences gibbet 
 their writer : " It will be observed that the provisions of the Act 
 may be made to include lands belonging to persons who have not 
 justly forfeited their rights by rebellion. In order to carry out the 
 scheme this is absolutely necessary. . . . The New Zealand native 
 tenure of land is, for the most part, in fact with little or no excep- 
 tion, tribal; and if the principle were admitted that the loyalty 
 or neutrality of a few individuals would preserve the lands of the 
 tribe, the Act would, for the most part, be a dead letter, and 
 that in districts in which it is most required, and in which its 
 operation would be perfectly just." He who runs may read in 
 these words an absolute condemnation of that Act by which 
 Colonel Browne, abetted by Whitaker and others, attempted to 
 set aside in 1860, with a high hand, that tribal tenure of the. 
 existence of which Whitaker was aware, and which he was fain 
 to plead as an excuse for wholesale robbery in 1863. 
 
 Sir George Grey did not reprobate his adviser's immorality. 
 Professing his trust that he could infuse some spirit of equity 
 into the administration of the Acts, he recommended their 
 allowance. If the weak Duke of Newcastle had remained at 
 the helm they might have been simply allowed. But the good 
 Sir William Mar (in drew up a paper "on the proposal to take 
 native lauds under an Act of the Assembly," and sent it to Mr. 
 Fox, with a request that it might be transmitted to the Secretary 
 of State. Mr. Fox complied, and sent his own comments. He 
 was unshaken in his resolution to abandon the sentiments he 
 had professed in 1860. If the North Island was to be held by
 
 160 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the English, confiscation must take place. There was nothing 
 unjust or " unusual in the history of national conflicts " in it, 
 and it was "in conformity with the customs of the Maoris 
 themselves." ... To allow "natives, rebel or others, to retain 
 possession of immense tracts of land, that they neither use nor 
 allow others to use, and which maintains them in a state of 
 isolation from the European race and its progressive civilization," 
 was "most prejudicial to the natives," and contributed "to the 
 rapid decay and extinction of the race." Sir George Grey, for 
 reasons which he did not state, avoided comment on Mr. Fox's 
 paper. He equivocally justified the invasion of the Waikato 
 territory, which Sir W. Martin's paper seemed to condemn, but 
 hinted that Sir W. Martin's views " would probably agree with " 
 his own on the point. In recommending the Acts for allowance 
 by Her Majesty, he declared his own belief that generosity in 
 dealing with rebels had been more successful than severity in 
 the past. It is but just to Mr. Sewell to record that, in a letter 
 to Lord Lyttleton l (December, 1863), he animadverted severely 
 upon the Suppression of Rebellion and the Settlements Bills. 
 The first purported to make that law which is in itself a "violation 
 of all law." The second had all the vices of the worst ex post facto 
 legislation, and was a breach of Imperial and moral obligations. 
 
 An Assembly with an over- weening sense of its importance, 
 was likely to resent Sir George Grey's decision to renounce as 
 unjust the Waitara purchase which the Representatives had 
 condoned. It had endorsed Richmond's and Governor Browne's 
 repeated and positive assertions that Teira's title had been fully 
 proved and found good. On the 28th October a petition from 
 Teira and his friends was presented by Mr. Atkinson. It 
 expressed loyalty to the Queen, and a desire that the Waitara 
 block might be taken by the Pakehas. On the llth November, 
 Mr. Stafford moved for correspondence about the return of Te 
 Rangitake to Waitara in 1848. Mr. Weld, as an admirer of Mr. 
 C. W. Richmond, obtained on the 24th an order for other papers 
 relating to Waitara. On the 17th November, Mr. Fitzgerald 
 obtained leave to introduce a Bill to constitute a High Court of 
 Inquiry on the events at Waitara. On the 25th November, the 
 
 1 'The New Zealand Native Rebellion.' Letter to Lord Lyttleton. 
 Auckland : 1864. Printed for the Author.
 
 DEBATES ABOUT WAITARA. 161 
 
 storm, such as it was, broke on the Governor's head. A recent 
 success at Rangiriri under General Cameron diminished its force. 
 At a crisis where, if ever, united councils were needed, it was 
 more important with some members to adhere to an old injustice 
 than to give loyal support to the representative of the Queen. 
 On Mr. Weld's motion it was resolved : " That this House having 
 supported the measures taken by his Excellency the late 
 Governor of New Zealand to repress the armed interference of 
 Te Rangitake l at Waitara, because, as set forth in its resolution 
 of August 6th, 1860, in the opinion of this House such measures 
 were indispensable for the due maintenance of Her Majesty's 
 authority, considers that the renewed and definite recognition 
 by his Grace the Duke of Newcastle in his despatch of August 
 25th, 1863, of the justice of exerting military force against Te 
 Rangitake and his allies, has happily rendered it unnecessary 
 for this House to controvert or supplement statements made by 
 his Excellency Sir George Grey in his despatches on the Waitara 
 question." A second resolution declared that good faith required 
 that Teira should be protected, and investigation made of title 
 to the block. The Governor was requested on the 1st December 
 to transmit the resolutions to the Secretary of State. The 
 insolence of the first resolution did not provoke him to a rash 
 rejoinder, and the courtesy of Mr. Weld's speech was such as to 
 justify moderation in reply. On the 2nd December, Sir G. Grey 
 informed the House by message that his statements had been 
 " made advisedly, and after long consideration," and that he was 
 satisfied of their entire accuracy. He trusted, therefore, that the 
 House would inform him which of those statements it was prepared 
 to controvert, and the grounds on which it did so, in order that he 
 might have an opportunity of showing the accuracy of his state- 
 ments, when transmitting to England the resolutions of the House. 
 On the 3rd December, Mr. Fox moved for a Select Committee 
 to report on the Governor's message. Mr. Weld moved an 
 amendment in which a long citation from the Duke of New- 
 castle's despatch was adroitly put forward as sufficient answer 
 to the Governor. The debate was adjourned. On the 5th, Mr. 
 
 1 It is convenient to state once for all, that in tliis work the Maori name 
 of Te Knngitake is used; in the text; though the documents quoted often 
 call him Wiremu Kingi. 
 
 VOL. II. M
 
 162 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Weld was allowed to withdraw his amendment in favour of one 
 moved by Mr. Gillies, viz. : " That this House, in supporting the 
 measures of Governor Browne, did so on the ground that the 
 quarrel between the Governor and Te Rangitake was clearly 
 not as to title to land, but as to whether the course taken 
 by him was justifiable, and the resort to arms by him and his 
 allies in defence of that course compatible with the Queen's 
 sovereignty. That, on the other hand, it appears to this House 
 that the tenor of his Excellency's despatches on the Waitara 
 question leads to the inference that the quarrel was one as to 
 land and not as to jurisdiction and sovereignty. That this 
 House adheres to its former opinions, and controverts the 
 accuracy of the various statements by which it appears that his 
 Excellency has been led to take an opposite view, and especially 
 those statements which are referred to in the Duke of New- 
 castle's despatch of 25th August, 1863." In reply, the Governor 
 transmitted copies of the statements alluded to in the despatch, 
 and requested the House to be good enough to inform him 
 whether they were the statements alluded to by the House ; and 
 if not, which were the statements controverted by the House, 
 and on what grounds they controverted them. 
 
 The House read Mr. Fitzgerald's Waitara Inquiry Bill a 
 second time on the day on which the Governor's message was 
 received, and a third time on the following day. Mr. Fox, 
 before the passing of the Bill, laid on the table the Governor's 
 reply to the despatch of the Duke of Newcastle, which had 
 furnished so rankling a subject for debate. Appended to the 
 Governor's despatch was a memorandum, " which " (he had 
 said) " if your Grace thinks fit to read, will, I am sure, satisfy 
 you." It was irrefragable, both as to the wrong-headed con- 
 clusions of Colonel Browne's advisers, and the equally perverse 
 decisions of the Duke of Newcastle. 
 
 How prone the Representatives had been in 1860 as well as 
 in 1863 to make assertions incapable of proof was now shown 
 by Mr. Stafford's conduct. Unable to refute Sir George Grey 
 he was obliged to move, and the House passed without a division, 
 a resolution (llth December) : "That this House did not, by its 
 resolutions of the 25th November last, desire to express any 
 opinion as to the accuracy or otherwise of the three statements
 
 WAITARA INQUIRY BILL. '163 
 
 specified in the enclosure to the Governor's message, inasmuch as 
 those statements do not appear to affect the question of the justice 
 of exerting military force against Te Rangitake and his allies ; 
 but this House does controvert the statements on the part of 
 the natives as to the cause of the quarrel." The field of argument 
 which could not be maintained with the Governor was abandoned, 
 and the challenge to the natives was not likely to be accepted 
 when they were already engaged in the bloody arbitrament of war. 
 Mr. Dillon Bell assailed Sir George Grey in the House. He 
 denied that the fact of Te Rangitake' s residence on the Waitara 
 block could have been " not before known " to Sir George Grey. 
 Mr. Bell lamely pleaded that he in 1860 thought that Te 
 Rangitake's dwellings had been respected, and Donald McLean 
 made a similar untrustworthy averment. 1 Colonel Browne was 
 privately appealed to, and wrote to Mr. Stafford that he was 
 aware in 1860 that Te Rangitake had a residence on the block. 
 Such a confession was all that was required to convict him 
 of bad faith in signing the despatch (4th December, 1860), 
 which was framed to persuade the Secretary of State that Te 
 Rangitake's claim was only seignorial, and that he had put 
 forward none other. On the charge that the discovery of 
 Lieutenant Bates could have afforded him no information, Sir 
 
 1 Concernment with the Waitara seemed to deprive public men of 
 precaution in the floundering statements they made from time to time. 
 McLean, who was Chief Commissioner of Land Purchase, was asked at the 
 Bar (in August, 1860), " Has Te Rangitake ever made a claim of proprietary 
 right? " and replied, " He has never made such a claim to my knowledge." 
 Mr. Bell, who prepared Governor Browne's voluminous despatch on the 
 subject, included McLean's evidence in the despatch (4th December, 1860), 
 which asserted that Te Rangitake had " failed then and failed ever since 
 in establishing a proprietary right" on the block (which was purchased 
 without any reservation of dwellings, &c., though such reservations were 
 admitted by Bell himself to have been invariable previously). When Sir 
 W. Martin's pamphlet exposed the fact that there were two pahs on the 
 block, Dillon Bell assisted Mr. Richmond in drawing up 'Notes' in reply. 
 They admitted the existence of the pahs, but denied Te Rangitake's pro- 
 prietary or tribal title to his home, constructed (they said) by permission 
 of others. In April, 1863. Bell joined in a ministerial statement that it 
 was difficult to conceive that if the facts had come out clearly at the time 
 of the sale " the practice of reservation universally followed . . . would 
 not have been adhered to in this particular instance." In December, 1863, 
 Bell and McLean professed that in 1860 they believed the pahs had been 
 respected. 
 
 M 2
 
 164 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 George Grey informed the Secretary of State (19th December, 
 
 1863) that he had been hospitably entertained at the Waitara in 
 1850, but he did not know, and it would have been sad to think, 
 that such was the site bought by Colonel Browne to screen 
 whom, he added, " I ought therefore to mention that though I 
 am quite satisfied from authority I cannot doubt that, although 
 my predecessor's despatch (on which reliance seemed to be 
 placed in England) was really written by Mr. Bell, he was at 
 the time he wrote it entirely ignorant of the circumstances con- 
 nected with the Waitara purchase which have recently been 
 brought under your Grace's notice." In conveying (5th January, 
 
 1864) a full narrative of the transactions in Parliament, the 
 Governor added : " When I received the closing resolutions 
 from both Houses, and felt that the only answer I could return 
 was, that after the most careful consideration of the subject my 
 conviction was that the natives were in the main right in their 
 allegations regarding the Waitara purchase, I feared if this reply 
 was published at the present time, when a rebellion is raging, it 
 might have produced weighty consequences as regards the 
 native race, and might have very much embarrassed the Colonial 
 Ministry who did not at all agree upon this subject. I there- 
 fore thought I should act best by requesting my Ministers to 
 advise me as to the nature of the reply I should return, and in 
 accordance with their advice I assented to their simply making 
 a statement in each House to the effect that they had advised 
 me that in their opinion it was not necessary for me to reply to 
 the resolutions." A more lame and impotent conclusion was 
 probably never arrived at by a representative of the Queen under 
 advice. The subterfuges and misrepresentations of McLean and 
 Parris, the wily seductions of Whitaker and Richmond, the bold 
 contempt of truth in Governor Browne's prompted despatches, 
 were pointed out by the honest examination of Lieutenant 
 Bates, but exposure was arrested by the aversion of the General 
 Assembly to confess the wrong it had sanctioned in 1860. It 
 remained for a judicial inquiry in a later year (1866) to scatter 
 finally to the winds the flimsy pretext that the title of Teira 
 enabled him to sell to Colonel Browne the " carefully chosen " 
 seed-plot of war. By a singular retribution that inquiry was 
 instituted (while Mr. Stafford was Premier) with no intention to
 
 MR. C. W. RICHMOND A JUDGE. 165 
 
 analyze the rights of Te Rangitake, which were found irre- 
 fragable. Perverse to the last, the Ministry, by privately com- 
 pounding the matter before the Court, evaded the delivery of a 
 formal judgment ; but happily the facts became known under 
 the hands of the Judges in official reports to the Government. 
 As late as 1869 a further judicial inquiry (on the Rangitikei- 
 Manawatu case) proved that even if Te Rangitake had had no 
 tribal claims to the south of the Waitara previously, his occupa- 
 tion there by tribal arrangement constituted himself and his 
 companions " owners according to Maori usage and custom." 
 It may be admitted that until the scales of justice were applied, 
 Colonel Browne and his advisers could not know how grossly 
 the treaty of Waitangi was violated by his act at the Waitara. 
 But their ignorance confers no moral relief; for the prayer of 
 Te Waharoa, of Bishop Selwyn, of Sir W. Martin, and Arch- 
 deacon Hadfield, was that the law might be resorted to, and 
 their prayer was roughly refused. 
 
 One of Colonel Browne's advisers had in 1863 quitted the 
 political arena. Mr. C. W. Richmond had become a Judge of 
 the Supreme Court. But he was unable to keep aloof from the 
 Waitara question in which he had such bad eminence. In 
 October he asked his old colleague, Stafford, to make known to 
 one or both Houses his willingness to submit to any further 
 investigation. He wrote to Sir George Grey : " I have taken 
 this step in consequence of certain statements in your Excel- 
 lency's recently-published despatch announcing your determina- 
 tion to relinquish the position assumed by your Excellency's 
 predecessor in reference to the Waitara purchase." As to the 
 new evidence elicited, and doubts whether Governor Browne 
 knew the true facts of the case whether indeed they had been 
 concealed or kept back from him Mr. Richmond said : " I see 
 no reason to suppose that your Excellency's suspicions point 
 particularly to myself . . . nevertheless I find that it has appeared 
 to others as well as to myself that your Excellency's surmises 
 may be deemed to point at or include myself, as I then held the 
 position of Minister for Native Affairs." Therefore he courted 
 inquiry and volunteered explanation in the colony or to the 
 Imperial Government. He was not accused. By coming 
 forward at such a time he seemed to accuse himself. Prima est
 
 166 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 hose ultio, quod, sejudice, nemo nocens absolvitur. 1 The Governor 
 sent the letter to England, where its receipt was simply acknow- 
 ledged. To prove that Governor Browne, or Mr. C. W. Rich- 
 mond, or both, had been deceived, was of little use. The wrong 
 they had done was past recall, and no one accused them of other 
 than official wrong-doing. The historian must inculpate them 
 with mingled regret for the culprits and for their country- 
 men, and pity for their fellow-creatures whom they wronged. 
 Resolutions carried in the Legislative Council (4th December, 
 1863) were similar to the resolution of the Representatives, with 
 the exception that the Council thought it " happily unnecessary 
 further to discuss the Waitara question," and did not speak of 
 controverting the Governor's statements. When the Governor's 
 last despatch on the subject was laid before the Council, an 
 attempt was made by Mr. Swainson to express the regret of the 
 Council that a document which might have influenced their 
 decision was unknown to them when asked to vote on the 4th 
 December. Mr. Whitaker opposed Mr. Swainson, whose motion 
 was lost by 6 votes against 4. Mr. Gilfillan, who had supported 
 Mr. Swainson, was immediately permitted, however, to quash 
 the Waitara Inquiry Commission Bill, by shelving it in Com- 
 mittee for three months. Members may have seen an incon- 
 gruity in inquiring about the justice of the Waitara war of I860, 
 while the war of 1863, its direct result, was being prosecuted 
 with vigour. In the North Island nearly all males were enrolled. 
 On the 5th November, it was resolved that the provisions of the 
 Militia Act should be strictly carried out in the Middle Island, 
 till the whole male population between the ages of sixteen and 
 fifty-five, not exempted by law, were organized and drilled. 
 
 The ambiguous manner in which the Representatives had 
 received the invitation to manage native affairs was removed on 
 the 6th November. The change was brought about by military 
 success. The Governor having received sanction from England 
 (and in a qualified sense from the Assembly), and more than 
 2000 armed men having been raised in Australia under Colonel 
 Pitt for the Waikato regiments, the General advanced towards 
 the stronghold where the Maoris were assembled at Merc-mere'. 
 Skirmishing bodies were abroad, and on the 23rd an officer 
 
 1 Juvenal, lib. xiii.
 
 MKKK-MKKE. 167 
 
 commanding the English outposts at Mauku (near Manukau and 
 far in rear of General Cameron) was compelled by a large body 
 of natives to retire with loss of an officer and five men killed. 
 Reinforcements arrived, but the enemy escaped. Rewi and his 
 guerillas had the reputation of instigating the numerous raids 
 made at this period in the Hunua forest (between Auckland 
 and the Waikato river) through which the unclothed Maori 
 glided with an ease unattainable by encumbered soldiers. . On 
 the 29th October, General Cameron, Vith Commander Wiseman, 
 reconnoitred Mere-mere. Two 40-pounder Armstrong guns had 
 been previously landed at Whangamarino to command the land- 
 ing-place at Mere-mere. That stronghold was on a low ridge 
 which approached the Waikato river. Traversed rifle-pits 
 occupied the descent of the ridge to the river. Swamps almost 
 encircled the ridge, and the Whangamarino and Maramarua 
 rivers, or creeks, were available to the east for the possible 
 retreat always aimed at by Maoris in their plans of fortification- 
 The swamps were more water-laden than usual. The Maori 
 flag floated in a pah where the ridge was 130 feet high. Every 
 slope and projection from the ridge to the swamps was traversed 
 with rifle-pits. Growth of scrub-pine and scrub, from six to ten 
 feet high, was interspersed with the surrounding swamps. There 
 was a horse-track leading by a spur of the ridge towards 
 Rangiriri about twelve miles higher up on the right bank of the 
 Waikato river, but swamps and curving hollows with swampy 
 bottoms made all tracks sinuous. The General and Commodore 
 found no convenient place for the landing of troops. The 
 Maoris fired at the steamer, the ' Pioneer.' By immense 
 exertion they had dragged a gun from the west coast to the 
 Waikato. The resistance to be expected from the nature of the 
 defences led the General to proceed up the river as far as 
 Rangiriri in search of a point at which troops might be landed 
 to turn the enemy's position, while attention was occupied in 
 front by the steamer and gunboats. A point six miles above 
 Mere-mere was selected. Secretly, at half-past two o'clock on 
 the morning of the 31st August, the ' Pioneer ' and ' Avon/ with 
 four gunboats, transported a force nearly 700 strong to the place. 
 No opposition was made, and the troops took up what the 
 General called a commanding position about 400 yards from the
 
 168 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 bank of the river. He intended to take up an additional force 
 on the following night, aud a breastwork was constructed to 
 defend the camp, which was left under command of Colonel 
 Mould. What the General supposed the Maoris were doing 
 while he was sending hundreds of soldiers to the north of them, 
 his despatches do not tell. He does say that, while he was busy 
 with his preparations, the officer in command at Whangamarino 
 reported that the natives were escaping in canoes by the 
 Whangamarino and Maramarua rivers. He embarked at once 
 in the ' Pioneer,' and found that Mere-mere was abandoned. 
 
 Mr. Fox in his narrative bewails the catastrophe. " Our 
 troops appear to have been able to do nothing except look on 
 from a distance. ... It was a great disappointment to every- 
 body." Nevertheless, though the Maoris left only empty rifle- 
 pits behind them, they seemed to have admitted their inability 
 to cope with the troops, and Mr. Fox lost no time in moving 
 (6th November) a resolution pledging the Representatives to 
 accept the control of native affairs. It was far more absolute 
 and binding than the proposition which he failed to carry in the 
 previous year, and which led to his retirement. But he carried 
 the stronger resolution without division. The cause of the 
 change in the opinions of the House may be read in the terms 
 of the resolution. Imperial troops had won colonial affection. 
 Having considered the Duke of Newcastle's fixed determination 
 not to control native affairs, the House recognized with the 
 deepest gratitude the great interest always taken by the Queen 
 in " the welfare of all races of her subjects, and the thoroughly 
 efficient aid which Her Majesty's Imperial Government is now 
 affording for the suppression of the rebellion unhappily existing, 
 and the establishment of law and order in the colony. And, 
 relying on the cordial co-operation of the Imperial Government 
 for the future, cheerfully accepts the responsibility thus placed 
 upon the colonists, and at the same time records its firm deter- 
 mination to use its best endeavours to secure a sound and lasting 
 peace, to do justice impartially to both races of Her Majesty's 
 subjects, and to promote the civilization and welfare of all classes 
 of the inhabitants of these islands." The Council on the 9th 
 November adopted similar resolutions. It must be confessed 
 that the vain efforts which the House made soon afterwards to
 
 RANGIRIRI. 169 
 
 strangle the truth with regard to the seizure of land at Waitara 
 formed an unhappy commentary on these professions. The 
 address was promptly transaiitted to England and acknowledged 
 with great pleasure by the Secretary of State. The pledge to 
 accept responsibility was no sooner made than it was repented, 
 and by some sought to be evaded In many contemporary 
 writings and speeches it was spoken of as a " fatal acquiescence." 
 The session did not close without a notable triumph for the 
 war-party. The Maoris after evacuating Mere-mere occupied 
 Rangiriri, higher up the river than their former position. The 
 Waikare lake was there separated only by a narrow belt from 
 the river, and numerous swamps and ana-branches facilitated 
 the use of canoes. The Maoris had constructed their main line 
 of entrenchment " across the isthmus which divided the river 
 from the lake." The line had a double ditch and high parapet, 
 and was " strengthened in the centre by a square redoubt of 
 very formidable construction. Behind the left centre of the 
 main line, and at right angles to it, there was an entrenched line 
 of rifle-pits parallel to the Waikato river, and obstructing the 
 advance of troops from that direction." l The General recon- 
 noitred on the 18th, and resolved to land a force above the 
 position " with a view of turning and gaining possession of a 
 ridge 500 yards behind the main entrenchment, and thus 
 intercepting the retreat of the enemy." Three hundred of the 
 40th Regiment were embarked in the 'Pioneer' and 'Avon.' 
 They were to land at a selected point on a preconcerted signal. 
 The wind and currents delayed their movements. The number 
 of the Maoris was thought to be between 400 and 500. The 
 total British force was about 1300. The enemy's position was 
 shelled till nearly five o'clock. Armstrong 12- pounders on 
 land aided the fire from gunboats. The General was weary of 
 waiting for the preconcerted signal of the landing of the men of 
 the 40th Regiment sent to the rear by water, and he ordered an 
 assault, which was gallantly executed. The entrenchment was 
 scaled, the line of rifle-pits facing the Waikato was forced, and 
 the Maoris were driven to their centre redoubt, which they 
 "defended with desperate resolution," behind a parapet 21 
 feet high. At this time the General saw that the 40th had 
 1 General Cameron's despatch ; 24th November, 1863.
 
 370 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 occupied the ridge in the rear, and were pouring a heavy fire on 
 a body of the enemy who fled by the Waikare swamp. Two 
 assaults on the centre redoubt were made separately by 36 
 of the Royal Artillery, and by 90 seamen, armed in each case 
 with revolvers. Both were driven back with loss; and hand- 
 grenades were vainly thrown into the work to dislodge the 
 besieged. It was then growing dark, and satisfied with his 
 position, in which he said " the troops almost completely en- 
 veloped the enemy/' the General resolved to wait till daylight. 
 The force under the Commodore endeavoured to prevent an 
 escape to the Waikare lake. Shortly after daylight the Maoris 
 hoisted a flag of surrender. One hundred and eighty-three men 
 and two women became prisoners of war. The General was 
 unable to ascertain what had been the original force, or what 
 was the loss of the natives. " Their wounded must have been 
 removed in the night, as there were none among the prisoners." 
 Thirty-six dead Maoris were found and buried, and it was 
 believed that numbers were drowned or shot at the Waikare 
 swamp. The General's despatches gave a return of 39 English 
 killed, and 89 wounded. Amongst the dead was Captain 
 Mercer who led the Royal Artillery in their desperate assault 
 on the redoubt. When he fell in a position exposed to 
 the fire of Maoris and of English, Te Oriori risked his own 
 life in carrying him to a place of safety within the pah. It 
 had been supposed that the king and the king-maker were 
 in the camp ; but they were not among the prisoners. A native 
 afterwards said that the king-maker and others escaped between 
 the Waikare swamp and the river ',o the south of the redoubt, 
 in which case they must have passed almost through the English 
 lines. A letter from the king-maker on the 4th December, 
 asserted that 36 escaped by swimming across the Waikare 
 lake. Many, including women, were drowned. Among the 
 prisoners were many important chiefs. 
 
 Mr. Gundry, interpreter, in his report to the Native Minister, 
 mentioned a fact which found no place in the General's de- 
 spatches, but which marks the true nobility of English soldiery. 
 Far from thirsting for the blood of the gallant foes who had 
 rent their ranks so fearfully the evening before, they respected 
 the courage with which, under a storm of shot and shell, that
 
 TE WHEORO AT NGARUAWAHIA. 171 
 
 small band of men had defended their ramparts. The simple 
 narrative of the interpreter must make every Englishman proud 
 of his countrymen. " A Maori came forward with a white flag, 
 when the soldiers sprang in amongst them, and commenced 
 shaking hands with the Maoris. Soon after, the General came, 
 and ordered them to give up their arms and he would treat them 
 well as prisoners because of their brave conduct. ... Te Wheoro 
 accompanied the General from Mere-mere to Rangiriri, and was 
 very useful as a guide." On the morning of the surrender the 
 king-maker approached with a, large party of Maoris with a 
 flag of truce. The interpreter found the leader inclined to 
 surrender, but his followers unwilling. The king-maker sent 
 his " mere," a weapon of green-stone, but the General could not 
 tell whether it was in token of peace. General Cameron wrote : 
 " I hope the prisoners will be treated generously, for every one 
 must admire the gallant manner in which they defended their 
 position to the last." The captives proposed to make peace, but 
 the General told them the Governor only could arrange it. 
 They wrote to the king-maker to urge the tribes to make peace, 
 and abandon the " mana " of the island. One of the chiefs who 
 had escaped wrote to the Governor soliciting the release of the 
 prisoners. "Let it suffice for you the men who are dead. 
 Return to us those who live." He was told by Mr. Fox that 
 the Governor could make no terms till their arms were laid 
 down. The chiefs wrote again to the Governor. He answered 
 (6th December) : " Your letter has reached me. Sons, my words 
 to you are these. The General must go uninterrupted to 
 Ngaruawahia; the flag of the Queen must be hoisted there. 
 Then I will talk to you." 
 
 On the 3rd December, Wiremu te Wheoro went from the 
 General to Ngaruawahia. As he approached he was greeted 
 with firing on both sides of the road. He reached the house 
 of Matutaera, and the chiefs said, " Come and see your fallen 
 tribe and your broken canoe." In like figurative words he 
 addressed them and recommended peace. The king-maker 
 was sent for from Tamahere. There was a council. They said, 
 " If we give up the guns we shall perhaps be made prisoners." 
 The Ngatimaniapoto were about to cut down the flagstaff. 
 " Waikato would not allow them. The quarrel was great.
 
 172 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Both sides fired without aiming. Then Tamati Ngapora, Mohi 
 te Ahiatengu, Patara te Tuhi, and the king-maker, gave the 
 flagstaff to me, Wiremu te Wheoro, with these words : ' Wiremu, 
 we give over this flagstaff to you, with those buried here and 
 at Ngaruawahia, for you to give over to the General and to the 
 Governor. Especially let not the remains of the dead be ill- 
 treated by the soldiers.' " l 
 
 It cannot be asserted that this act of submission would, if 
 wisely received, have terminated wars in New Zealand. It is 
 plain that it was not wisely availed of by the Governor and his 
 advisers. At Rangiriri was found a proclamation by the Maori 
 king, dated 3rd October. It called for one-fifth of the tribes 
 of the island to assemble as warriors at Ngaruawahia. It 
 commanded them not to despoil the slain of their clothes ; but 
 "guns, powder, ballets, copper caps, cartouch-boxes, watches, 
 money, rings, hats, these take." Such spoil was to be " brought 
 to one heap," and marked with the name of the depositor and 
 the king's seal. The arms and ammunition would be given 
 back to the captor, the other property was to be " left alone till 
 the end, when his own will be restored to each man." How far 
 this summons had been obeyed no European could tell. The 
 General had crossed the Waikato frontier more than two months 
 before it was issued. 
 
 To the letter from the captive chiefs the king-maker replied 
 ambiguously on the 4th December. He was unable to fulfil 
 their word, to make peace. " We have not yet taken breath, 
 both on account of your (ma-te) misfortune, and on account 
 of the enemy constantly driving us from place to place. We 
 are quite out of breath. What we have done, since you left, 
 is to think over your word and continually retire ; as the steamer 
 moves this way we move also." The steamer ' Pioneer ' moved 
 with an important freight. The General, the Commodore, and 
 500 men were with her. The Governor detained the English 
 mail for twenty-four hours, to announce the occupation of 
 Ngaruawahia on the 8th December, and the establishment of 
 head-quarters at the rebel capital. The Maoris had evacuated 
 it, taking with them the bones of Potatau, their first king. In 
 
 1 The atrocities committed by the volunteers at Papakura had made 
 their murk.
 
 PAPARATA. 173 
 
 a few days the success of the Thames expeditionary force, 900 
 strong, was assured by establishing military posts from the firth 
 of the Thames to the river Waikato. Near Paparata Colonel 
 Carey built a redoubt on a hill, which, commanding a view of 
 the Queen's Redoubt at Te la, of the Waikare lake and of 
 the firth of the Thames, enabled him to establish a system of 
 telegraphs. An exploit of Captain Jackson, of the Forest 
 Rangers, at Paparata, attracted attention in December. Smoke 
 was observed on Sunday morning, and a stealthy advance was 
 made. The voice of a Maori leading the devotions was heard, 
 and the approach of the Rangers was unnoticed. At thirty 
 yards' distance a volley was poured upon the congregation, and 
 the assailants rushed up to finish their work with revolvers. 
 "The panic was intense. One man stood upright, without 
 making an effort to escape or defend himself, and was shot 
 down. Another was wounded in the shoulder by Smith ; the 
 native fired at him in return, but missed ; he then clubbed his 
 double-barrelled gun, and struck at Smith, who parried the 
 blow and closed with the native. Although the Maori was 
 wounded, he would have proved match enough in this hand- 
 to-hand struggle, but for Ensign Westrupp, who came to the 
 relief of his man, and shot the native in the head ; he fell, but 
 again rose to his legs, when another man blew his brains out. 
 This was the only instance of resistance, except a few shots 
 which did no harm. Four of the Maoris were left dead on the 
 field, and several wounded men were carried away, principally 
 by the women of the party. There was an order given not to 
 fire at any of the women." Such was the account in a news- 
 paper, which regretted that the fugitives were not followed and 
 punished more severely ; but " on the whole (thought) a highly 
 successful affair had occurred to enliven the monotony of the 
 war, and this time it is entirely by civilians." It transpired that 
 women had not been spared, and the commander admitted that 
 one woman was wounded. The Rev. R. Taylor in his ' New 
 Zealand, past, present, and future,' singled out Jackson's Sunday 
 performance as one which ought to make the colonists blush. 
 
 The readiness of the Maoris to discuss their plans showed 
 how utterly they had been defeated. They had intended to 
 operate, in guerilla bands, upon the rear of the General's forces.
 
 174 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 From the Thames to Manukau, and especially in the Humia 
 forest, they had hoped to harass their invaders. They had not 
 believed that supplies for a large invading force could be 
 depended upon, but were disappointed. The destruction of the 
 war-party at the Wairoa river, in September, had signally foiled 
 their schemes on the General's left rear, and when the redoubt 
 was constructed near Paparata, and the road through the Hunua 
 forest to Maungatawhiri was held by efficient detachments armed 
 with rifles, the inefficiently-armed Maoris were powerless for 
 offence. The Parliament unanimously thanked the General, the 
 Commodore, and Major-General Galloway, the commander of 
 the colonial forces. 1 
 
 A serious question had occasioned much debate in both 
 Houses. The remoteness of Auckland from many populous 
 parts of the Middle Island had always obstructed members 
 in attending the General Assembly, and was an obstacle to 
 communication with the General Government. It was resolved 
 in the Lower House that the seat of Government should be 
 transferred to a suitable locality in Cook's Straits, the selection 
 of the site being left to an impartial tribunal. After opposition 
 the motion was carried. On the 25th, in spite of vigorous 
 efforts by Mr. Stafford, it was resolved, by 24 votes against 17, 
 to ask the Governor to seek the aid of the Australian Govern- 
 ments in selecting impartial Commissioners to choose the site. 
 The Governor expressed his willingness to comply with the 
 address, but further debate was raised on the question of pro- 
 viding funds, which were nevertheless voted, on the 4th Decem- 
 ber, by 23 votes against 11. A similar motion was carried in 
 the Legislative Council by 11 votes against 8; Mr. Whitaker, 
 the Premier, being in the minority, although his colleague, Mr 
 Fox, had voted with the majority in the House of Representatives. 
 The early project of Gibbon Wakefield's friends was thus re- 
 sumed after many years, for it would hardly be doubted that 
 Wellington would be chosen as the most suitable position in the 
 Straits. To compel a removal from Auckland, the Representatives 
 
 1 Major-General Galloway, recently promoted from the command of the 
 70th Regiment, had, at Governor Grey's request, consented to remain for a 
 time in the colony to command the militia and volunteers (Despatch ; 10th 
 August, 1863).
 
 CRIMINAL CLASS AT OTAGO. 175 
 
 resolved that if proper accommodation should not have been 
 made at the seat of Government, it would be expedient that 
 the Assembly should hold its next sitting at Christ-church. 
 
 During the session a ' subject which had in former years 
 aroused the Legislature of the colony of Victoria was brought 
 before the Assembly. As in Victoria, so in New Zealand, the 
 gold-fields drew crowds of harpies from the criminal classes in 
 Tasmania, the last gathering-ground for English convicts in the 
 south-eastern group of Australian colonies. After discussion, 
 disallowance, and difference, the Victorian Convicts Prevention 
 Act found a home in the statute-book. In Otago the vultures 
 which prey upon their honester fellow-creatures hovered so 
 thickly that Major Richardson, the Superintendent, emitted a 
 piteous cry. Criminals of desperate character were setting in like 
 a tide, which, if not arrested, would " inevitably make the province 
 one vast penal settlement." In 1861 and 1862 the Provincial 
 Council passed ordinances to prevent influx of criminals. They 
 were severally disallowed by the Governor, the opinion of the 
 Judges being taken as to their repugnance to law and to the 
 Constitution. A similar Bill was passed by the House of Repre- 
 sentatives in 1863; was carried, by a majority of four on its 
 second reading, in the Council ; but was, on the motion of Mr. 
 Swainson, ordered to be " read a third time this day six months." 
 The Ministry urged that an Imperial Act should be passed, 
 either to meet the evil, or to empower the Assembly to do that 
 of which, in the opinion of the Judges, they were then incapable. 
 Mr. Cardwell replied that as the Government " did not advise 
 the disallowance of the Act passed to prevent the entrance into 
 Victoria of persons formerly sentenced to transportation in the 
 United Kingdom, but whose sentences had expired, so neither 
 would they now advise the disallowance of a similar Act if 
 passed by the New Zealand Legislature. They would, however, 
 see the passing of such an Act with regret, and they certainly 
 would not advise that Parliament should be invited to pass a 
 law for the express purpose of enabling a Colonial Legislature 
 to enact a provision so little in accordance with Imperial policy, 
 and which, in the opinion of their own Judges, is not called for 
 by any proved necessity." On the 14th December the session 
 closed. The Governor gave the Royal assent to the Suppression
 
 176 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 of Rebellion Act, the New Zealand Settlement Act, and a Loan 
 Act for three millions sterling. The members were dismissed 
 in triumph to their homes, with the Governor's thanks for their 
 liberality, and an assurance that the unusual powers granted to 
 the Executive in a time of great public danger should be used 
 so as to encroach as little as possible on the ordinary domain of 
 law. They had provided in their Loan Act for a reduction of 
 interest on so much of the loan as the Imperial Government 
 might guarantee, and Mr. Reader Wood, the Treasurer, sailed 
 in January to advocate the interests of the colony in England. 
 Among the Acts reserved for the Queen's pleasure was one " to 
 enable Provincial Legislatures to pass laws authorizing the com- 
 pulsory taking of land for works of a public nature." Mr. 
 Whitaker was determined to effect the object in which he had 
 previously been thwarted by the decision of the Secretary of 
 State. By the Constitution of New Zealand, as in Australia, 
 power was reserved to the Crown to disallow a Bill (although 
 assented to by the Governor) within two years after the receipt 
 of the Bill by the Secretary of State. Mr. Whitaker, at the 
 close of the session, protested against the exercise of this power 
 of disallowance with regard to the Rebellion and Settlement Act. 
 His main plea was that native land tenure " was with little or no 
 exception tribal," and if lands of a tribe could be preserved be- 
 cause loyal occupants were incapable of eviction, the Act would be 
 for the most part a dead letter. Already 3000 men had taken 
 military service with the hope of obtaining land, and it was in- 
 tended to enrol 20,000. Difficulties in the way of confiscation 
 would be intolerable. Such was Mr. Whitaker's argument in 
 1864. A more elastic construer of rights and powers can hardly 
 have held office as Her Majesty's Attorney-General amongst the 
 numerous dependencies of the Crown, nor one who, under the 
 guise of quiet simplicity, affected to be ignorant of guile until 
 concealment became no longer possible. The tribal rights he 
 had advised the ignorant Governor Browne to reject as baseless, 
 at Waitara, could scarcely be denied before the learned Governor 
 Grey. Their existence was therefore made a plea for a larger 
 measure of confiscation than any but special enactment could 
 permit, though it could not justify. Some of those who sup- 
 ported the ministerial measures had misgivings. Mr. Weld
 
 QUESTION OF CONFISCATION. 177 
 
 protested against them as unconstitutional and tyrannical. 
 Mr. J. C. L. Richardson, who became a Minister at a later 
 period, recorded the fact " that the doubtful supporters of the 
 Ministry of Mr. Fox gave a hesitating and timid adhesion to 
 the Bills," savouring, as they did, of the "darkest periods of 
 English legislation." 1 Sir George Grey told the Secretary of 
 State that, of the two modes of dealing with subjects after 
 rebellion, generosity would generally be found most successful ; 
 and that, in New Zealand, generosity has so far prospered thnt 
 former enemies, who might have inflicted serious injury in 1863, 
 had not only refrained from joining the rebels, but had volun- 
 teered to aid the English. But the same policy could not now 
 be relied upon. The belief of large numbers of Maoris that 
 a new principle was to be established in procuring land, and 
 dealing with the natives generally, had bred distrust in the 
 Government, and the successes at Taranaki in 1860 had em- 
 boldened the young men of the tribes which had acquired arms 
 and ammunition in great quantities. It was needful now to 
 inflict punishment by taking land. But, recognizing the wisdom 
 of a large generosity to the defeated, he would not carry the 
 system too far. Magnanimity was not a virtue which abounded 
 in New Zealand Ministries, and the want of it was to breed 
 endless confusion. Yet a warning was received in January. 
 In November, 1863, the Duke of Newcastle, while acquiescing 
 generally in the seizure of lands from rebels, deprecated such 
 wholesale confiscations as would lead the Maoris to believe that 
 land-grasping was the motive for war. Even friendly tribes 
 might thus be shaken in their allegiance, and wider and more 
 desperate struggles might ensue. Her Majesty's Government 
 would view with gravest apprehension a policy which might 
 intensify the spirit of disaffection. 
 
 Timely words were lost on the dull surface of Mr. Whitaker's 
 sensibility. He had little to say except that he had no appre- 
 hension that confiscation could not be confined within proper 
 limits, and that the General Assembly would disapprove undue 
 extension. The careful ' Observations on the proposal to take 
 native lands under an Act of the Assembly,' drawn up by Sir 
 
 1 Printed uddress to electors of Dunedin and suburbs nortb, by Mnjor 
 Richardson. 
 
 VOL. II. N
 
 178 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 William Martin in November, 1863, were sent by Sir George 
 Grey in January, 1864, to the Secretary of State with the 
 ' Memorandum ' by Mr. Fox, already mentioned as contending for 
 confiscation on the grounds of necessity, of justice, and the 
 interests of the Maoris, who were possessed of too much land for 
 their own good. It is noteworthy that Fox took up a different 
 position from that of Whitaker. Whether he hoped to be 
 believed may be doubted. He wrote : " The Government pro- 
 poses to confiscate (that is, to take without compensation) no 
 lands except those of which the owners have been engaged 
 in open rebellion, or actually aiding and abetting it by overt 
 acts." He denied the existence of that for which Whitaker 
 pleaded as absolutely essential. He concluded his paper with a 
 declaration that " Mere technical difficulties (if there be any, 
 such as govern feudal liability to forfeiture, or the necessity of 
 conferring political franchise, which is alleged to be a condition 
 precedent to the right to enforce submission to law), however 
 interesting as abstract questions for discussion, cannot be enter- 
 tained by a Government on which the responsibility rests of 
 saving to the British Crown a dependency in imminent peril, 
 and preventing for the future the renewal of a similar crisis." x 
 To Sir William Martin's remonstrance that the Government 
 ought to discriminate between the various sections of the 
 Waikato tribes the loyal and disloyal Mr. Fox replied not a 
 word. Sweeping confiscation was the long-coveted remedy for 
 the woes of colonists who deplored the recognition of Maori 
 rights by the Queen. They would undo by proclamation what 
 she had sanctioned by solemn treaty. Whitaker's reasoning, 
 that the rebellious could not be properly punished if the rights 
 of the loyal were respected, furnishes an explanation of the 
 silence of Fox. Sir William Martin's paper, written by him 
 with a " feeling of sorrow, if not of shame," remained unan- 
 swered by the Ministry, and received unworthy treatment at the 
 hands of Sir George Grey. He, who well knew that the cross- 
 ing of the Maungatawhiri was a declaration, and an act, of war, 
 
 1 As Mr. Fox had the effrontery, in 1879, to publish a letter in which he 
 declared that his influence was not exerted to bring about confiscation of 
 Maori lands, it is well that his advice in 1863 should be recorded in his 
 own words.
 
 SIR W. MARTIN'S APPEALS. 179 
 
 was not ashamed to urge that it was an act of self-protection. 
 He could not answer Sir W. Martin, and he was too prudent to 
 resort to the hollow immorality of Mr. Fox. He insidiously 
 said (with regard to the invasion of Waikato) : " I say this, 
 not in answer to Sir W. Martin's views, which would probably 
 agree with my own on this point, but because I fear that his 
 remarks might, as they stand, be misunderstood by persons at a 
 distance." He did his best to cause them to be misunderstood, 
 lest the injustice of confiscating the goods of loyal subjects 
 should be perceived in England, and the Waikato campaign 
 should be marred. One thing he had the grace to avoid. He 
 did not adopt the ethics of Whitaker and Fox; nor did he 
 comment upon them. Anise and cummin his advisers could 
 supply. The weightier matters of righteousness and mercy 
 were beyond their ken. The law they worshipped was not like 
 the ancient Themis, offspring of heaven and earth. It was 
 altogether of the earth, earthy, and was centred in a craving for 
 Maori land. The law to which Sir William Martin appealed, 
 whose " seat is in the bosom of God, whose voice the harmony 
 of the world, to which " l all things in heaven and earth do 
 homage, " the very least as feeling her care, and the greatest not 
 exempted from her power ; both angels and men and creatures 
 of what condition soever, though each in different sort and 
 manner, yet all with uniform consent, admiring her as the 
 mother of their peace and joy" such a law was unfitted 
 for the designs of the heirs of the rapacious crew whom Lord 
 Stanley had abashed, when, for the credit of the English name, 
 he conveyed to New Zealand the commands of the Queen. They 
 ruled, however, in New Zealand in 1864, and the majority of 
 the increasing population, ignorant (as Sir W. Martin admitted) 
 of Maori history and rights, and therefore comparatively guilt- 
 less, were hurried by their leaders into acts of crime. 2 The 
 
 1 Hooker. 
 
 a Contrast the excuses of Whitaker and Fox with the straightforward 
 common sense of Acting-Governor Shortland, when "taking payment in 
 land " was urged upon him. " I do not at all approve of the system of 
 taking payment in land from the natives for acts of aggression on British 
 subjects, being of opinion that it would tend to encourage a frequent 
 repetition of similar offences (against Maoris) and to render the lower class 
 of settlers more and more abusive towards the natives" (Despatch to Lord 
 Stanley, No. 53 ; 15th June, 1843). 
 
 N 2
 
 180 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Governor's disingenuousness did not improve his position, which 
 was, without doubt, difficult. Mr. Fox had been his ancient 
 enemy, and had gone to England to assail him in former years. 
 There was still some animosity. 
 
 The Ministry in various ways showed jealousy of the Governor's 
 ability and knowledge of Maori character. It was revealed in 
 characteristic and trivial ways, which made the course of affairs 
 a maze of pettiness, encumbering hundreds of pages in the New 
 Zealand blue-books. A few specimens are necessary to explain 
 the state of affairs. It will be remembered that the rebels had 
 been told that the Governor could only talk to them when the 
 Queen's flag had been hoisted at the rebel capital. When the 
 General reported the occupation of Ngaruawahia on the 8th 
 December, his Ministers urged Grey to go thither with them 
 and promulgate terms of peace. Those terms were discussed at 
 great length. Surrender of arms, oath of allegiance, confiscation 
 of all the land of rebels, followed by restitution to each man of 
 a limited portion, so that his family might not starve, prose- 
 cution of all murderers were the main points. The Ministry 
 insisted on going with the Governor. He thought it better to 
 go alone. They would not yield, and he did not go with them. 
 A notice, 16th December, was sent to the chiefs telling them 
 that their reluctance to give up arms lest they should be made 
 prisoners (as reported by Te Wheoro), was needless, for that 
 none of them should be molested, except actual murderers. No 
 act of war would be punished. If they wanted to know more of 
 the Governor's intentions, he would receive a deputation in 
 Auckland, treat it kindly, and allow it to return in peace. They 
 must decide quickly, for the General would not stay his advance. 
 Mr. Fox, in his account of the war, condemns the Governor for 
 inability to make up his mind about going to Ngaruawahia ; but 
 a memorandum furnished by Sir G. Grey to his Ministers on the 
 18th December, at their request, explains his proceedings in a 
 different manner. For a Governor, with the General and his 
 Ministers, to make overtures and fail, would injure his position 
 in the eyes of Europeans and of Maoris. The natives ought to 
 make overturesjto him. Either the Governor ought to be with 
 the General, making no overtures to the natives, but on the 
 spot if they should choose to make them to him ; or, if his
 
 MINISTRY DIFFER FROM THE GOVERNOR. 181 
 
 advisers preferred another course, they might be with the 
 General ready to receive overtures. On the 19th December, 
 Mr. Whitaker summed up a reply in the words : " Most of the 
 cogent reasons given by his Excellency against his going with 
 some of his Ministers appear to them equally cogent against 
 either party going without the other." Mr. Fox declares that it 
 was unfortunate that the Governor l did not go with his Ministry, 
 and that his refusal led to his being charged by the natives with 
 breach of faith and responsibility for further war. He even 
 says that the king-maker positively asserted, that if the 
 Governor had gone to Ngaruawahia peace would have been 
 made. But the king-maker's letter which Mr. Fox quotes 
 makes no such assertion. It declares, on the contrary, that if 
 the war had been allowed to stop at Rangiriri if the proposals 
 of the prisoners had been accepted by the English there would 
 have been peace. But neither the Governor nor his Ministry 
 agreed to the captives' suggestions, though the king-maker 
 wrote at the time that it was not proper for him to carry on 
 war while his imprisoned friends were proposing peace. 
 
 As early as in December, 1863, there was a feeling that the 
 Governor might be unwilling to confiscate lands so s wee ping ly 
 as his Ministers might demand. On the 17th, he showed them 
 a draft of a despatch to the Secretary of State, asking whether 
 it was wished that he should assent to any advice from his 
 responsible advisers ; or whether the English Government pro- 
 posed to issue any instructions. Pending the receipt of instruc- 
 tions he would act on his own judgment. Judging from the 
 tone of the press, some persons desired not that land should be 
 confiscated as an example and check upon rebellion, " but that 
 a magnificent and extensive territory might be thrown open 
 to any amount of prosperous colonization." Mr. Whitaker and 
 his colleagues demurred to the despatch, and reserved their 
 rights " as Ministers responsible to the General Assembly and 
 
 1 Mr. Fitzgerald urged that proper efforts were not made to arrange 
 terms when the General reached Ngaruawahia, and that the further advance 
 of the army compelled the Maoris " to fight with the courage of despair." 
 Sir G. Grey denounced this statement as " untrue " (Despatch 46 ; 7th April, 
 18G5) ; and arrayed many dates to controvert it ; but the bickerings 
 between Sir G. Grey and his advisers tend to confirm Mr. Fitxgerald's 
 opinion.
 
 182 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the colony." After exchange of minutes, in the course of which 
 Mr. Whitaker " feared that the conclusion was inevitable that 
 the views of the Governor and his Ministers differed essentially 
 as to the practice of responsible government," the document 
 was not sent to England, and Mr. Cardwell in due time furnished 
 the Governor with instructions on the subject matter of the 
 cancelled despatch. 
 
 The ceremony of handing the king's flagstaff to Te Wheoro 
 bore no fruit. The wrangling of the Ministry with the Governor 
 neutralized the tender of submission. 
 
 The advance of the Queen's troops made peace impossible. 
 It was ascertained afterwards that the Maoris on no occasion 
 had more than 2000 men in arms throughout the island. 
 They had never more than 600 men assembled at one place 
 during the war, and they were too wary to oppose them in the 
 open field to far larger numbers aided by superior weapons. 
 Rifle-pits and concealment were their defences. Thus they 
 might hope that their assailants might be brought within the 
 short range of their guns. Retreat from fortress to fortress was 
 their plan of operation as General Cameron marched forward. 
 To the General, meanwhile, looking round for strategic advan- 
 tages, and heedless of national rights, it occurred that it would 
 be wise to conquer the Tauranga district on the east coast. 
 The Maoris to the east of the harbour were comparatively 
 friendly. On the west the Ministry said they were decided 
 enemies. Some had been to the war ; some were preparing to 
 go. Their crops were ready to be gathered. The loss of them 
 would be a heavy blow. Writing on the 19th January, the 
 Ministry said it was already publicly known that the expedition 
 was contemplated, and to delay it would be considered a proof 
 of weakness. The Governor yielded with professed reluctance, 
 feeling that " under the present form of government " he ought 
 to comply with the demands of his advisers. Again, therefore, 
 an expedition was undertaken which could only be accepted as 
 a token that the Government raised quarrels in order to seize 
 upon lands. 
 
 It was believed that in 1863 as in 1860 the warlike youth of 
 Tauranga had swelled the ranks of men in arms against the 
 Queen. It was also true that the king-maker had much influ-
 
 ATTACK ORDERED AT TAURANGA. 183 
 
 ence over the Maoris between the east coast and the waters of 
 the Thames. Nevertheless, though the man who looked only 
 from a military standpoint might be excused for favouring such 
 a marauding expedition, the Civil Government, charged with 
 equal care of both races, in recommending the expedition, were 
 worse than pirates, for pirates have not [sworn to do right to 
 those whom they rob. The Civil Commissioner at Tauranga had 
 furnished a return of the warriors supposed to have gone to the 
 Waikato district to help the king. From the east side of 
 Tauranga, 30 out of an adult population of 212 ; from the west, 
 out of 542 no less than 260 were said to have gone. Over 
 them the king-maker's influence was great. Mr. Whitaker 
 drew up (19th January) short instructions for the Colonel 
 (Carey) in command. One sentence was : " The crops and 
 cattle and other property of the natives on the west side should 
 be taken possession of and the crops gathered in." Mr. T. H. 
 Smith, the Civil Commissioner, waited on Colonel Carey on the 
 22nd. Before doing so he had intimated to the Maoris in con- 
 formity with the exact words of a memorandum from Mr. Fox 
 (the Native Minister), " that the object of the expedition is to 
 act as a check on the movements of the Waikato sympathizers, 
 but that unless forced upon them, active hostilities are not con- 
 templated, and in any case will be only carried on against open 
 rebels." Shocked at the variance between these words and the 
 instructions given to Colonel Carey, Mr. Smith by words, and in 
 writing, entreated him to stay his hand till the Government 
 could be consulted. Ruthlessly to seize the property of the 
 innocent would rouse peaceful tribes to take arms against the 
 Queen. Colonel Carey waited while Mr. Smith's appeal was 
 sent to Mr. Fox. On the 25th, two letters from Auckland were 
 sent to Mr. Smith. The Governor wrote privately : " Colonel 
 Carey sent me a copy of your letter to him regarding the error I 
 had fallen into, in issuing such instructions as I did for treating 
 all the natives on the western side of the harbour of Tauranga 
 as enemies, seizing their crops, cattle, &c. I feel very much 
 obliged to you for the fearless and honourable way in which you 
 did your duty on this occasion, thereby preventing me from 
 being the cause of bringing much misery upon many innocent 
 people." The other letter, from Fox, was sevenfold more lengthy,
 
 184 fNEW ZEALAND. 
 
 and upbraided Mr. Smith for circulating the former instructions 
 amone the natives. If the Government had desired their circu- 
 
 o 
 
 lation Mr. Smith would have been told. " As you have acted 
 entirely without instruction, the responsibility must rest solely 
 with yourself." Mr. Smith's humane conduct appeared incon- 
 sistent with his verbal statements to Ministers in Auckland 
 about the hostility of the tribes, and he was ordered .to 
 explain it. Sir George Grey (25th January) took prompt 
 measures. He thanked Colonel Carey for staying his hand as 
 to ravages, and told him to undertake no aggressive movement. 
 If possible he was to intercept armed parties passing by the 
 Tauranga route to join the natives in arms in the interior. 
 Most civilians are as unfit to control military events as children 
 are to be trusted with gunpowder ; and when thwarted in mischief 
 will like children complain. Mr. Smith furnished a satisfactory 
 explanation, but Fox and Whitaker were discontented. They 
 roundly rated the just officer for interfering to save the property 
 of the innocent. At a later date (3rd February) in a memorandum 
 on responsible government they complained of the Governor's 
 " correspondence with their subordinate officer Mr. Smith." 
 
 On the course to be adopted with regard to the Maori 
 prisoners, Mr. Dillon Bell had, on the 1st December, 1863, 
 moved in the House that it was important that the policy of the 
 Government should be announced. The Ministry were unpre- 
 pared to make any statement and the motion lapsed, although 
 seconded by Mr. Weld in a few words in which he expressed 
 his opinion that though technically the prisoners were rebels, 
 morally they were not, and ought to be treated neither with 
 maudlin philanthropy nor with " vengeance and hostility." The 
 Ministry soon showed that they were incapable of generous 
 discrimination. Retained for some weeks on board of H.M.S. 
 ' Cura9oa,' the Rangiriri prisoners were after the 24th December 
 confined in the hulk ' Marion,' moored under -the guns of a 
 man-of-war in the Auckland harbour. Sir George Grey, on the 
 29th February, 1864, urged the Ministry to release on parole Te 
 Oriori, a chief who had on numerous occasions acted nobly 
 towards the English, and who was believed to have been 
 wounded at Rangiriri while placing Captain Mercer in a place 
 of safety. He had also been friendly to Mr. Gorst at Awamutu,
 
 QUESTION OF TRYING PRISONERS. 185 
 
 when that gentleman's life was in danger. Looking to the rank 
 and generosity of Te Oriori, Sir George Grey thought that his 
 release would produce an excellect effect upon the natives. 
 After many days Mr. Fox declared that the Ministry objected 
 to Te Orion's release. Mr. Fox was about to visit Kaipara, and 
 on his return " Ministers would be prepared to take the case o f 
 all the prisoners into consideration." It was not until the 7th 
 April that Fox could be brought to make any proposition ; and 
 then in reply "to his Excellency's request more than once 
 repeated " the ministerial junto said, they considered the trial of 
 the prisoners ought to take place, if at all, under the Suppression 
 of Rebellion Act of the recent session. But as that Act had not 
 received Royal allowance they feared to use it lest after trial the 
 disallowance of the Act should bring about serious complications. 1 
 " But as his Excellency has pressed so strongly (that the course 
 to be adopted should be considered), Ministers are prepared to 
 surrender their own views, and acquiesce in that of his Excel- 
 lency." Let the prisoners, therefore, be tried by a military 
 tribunal under the Act not yet allowed. Sir George Grey 
 replied that he was not pressing that " the prisoners should be 
 all brought to trial, but that some decision should be come to as 
 to their future disposition." Uncertainty was producing a bad 
 effect upon the natives generally, many of whom thought that 
 all the prisoners were to be put to death. Some might be tried, 
 and others released on conditions. Moreover, he wished the 
 trials to take place before the ordinary tribunals, and not before 
 Courts composed of military officers. Mr, Whitaker then (19th 
 April, 1864) took up the argument. Ministers were of opinion 
 that all the prisoners should be tried, " and that none should at 
 present be released," and that the most convenient mode would 
 be under the Suppression of Rebellion Act. Militia officers 
 might be mingled with military in the composition of the Court. 
 
 1 Mr. Fox's condition of mind was strange. He opposed the Waitara 
 war in 1860 as unjust. He advocated the advance into Waikato territory 
 in 1863, knowing that it would be accepted by the Maoris as a declaration 
 of war. He passed the Suppression of Rebellion Bill subsequently, and 
 then desired to try the prisoners of war who surrendered at Rangiriri under 
 an Act passed after General Cameron had carried war into their territory. 
 Not the injustice bnt "complications " in case of disallowance of his unjust 
 Bill alarmed him.
 
 186 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Sir George Grey pointed out that already the imprisonment 
 had lasted five months. Arms had been taken, houses and crops 
 destroyed. The prisoners had lost the means of life. Their 
 lands were deemed forfeit, and, though it was contemplated to 
 give back small portions, without implements or stock the resti- 
 tution would be of little worth. " In addition to these punish- 
 ments it is now proposed to bring all these prisoners, without 
 reference to degrees of guilt, or services, or conduct (prior to the 
 disturbances), to trial before military courts for high treason, and 
 then the trial being over to determine what their ultimate dis- 
 posal shall be, keeping them however in safe custody until peace 
 is established. The Governor much regrets that his Ministers 
 should have rejected his earnest solicitations in favour of the 
 chief Te Oriori. He believes that many lives would have been 
 saved by a compliance with his request. . . . The course pursued 
 in this matter has driven many natives to desperation, and has 
 filled others, who have as yet taken no part in the rebellion, 
 with distrust." No captive New Zealand chief generously 
 treated would break conditions on which he might obtain his 
 liberty. On the whole, believing that what his responsible 
 advisers proposed surpassed in severity any punishment which 
 Great Britain had inflicted in like cases, he would not take upon 
 himself the responsibility of giving effect to their advice. He 
 appealed to them to consider his position. In England the 
 Crown was not active in giving the absolute orders to suppress 
 riot or rebellion. Some functionary was held responsible. In 
 New Zealand, the Governor was compelled to issue orders to the 
 military and naval authorities. Ostensibly the orders were his, 
 really they were those of Ministers. Yet no doubt he would be 
 held responsible by the Home Government if any act of his 
 should "appear to the Government and people of England 
 unnecessarily severe or unjust, or to have a tendency to prolong, 
 without sufficient object, a civil war." If he remembered at 
 this juncture his acceptance of the resolutions of the House in 
 August, 1862, on the ground that practically while he was in 
 New Zealand the result would be the same, his reflections must 
 have been bitter. Mr. Whitaker replied that the objection to 
 release any prisoner on parole was insuperable ; that Te Oriori 
 had claims for consideration, but was infirm of purpose, and
 
 TREATMENT OF PRISONERS. 187 
 
 could not therefore be trusted ; and that Ministers had not such 
 an exalted opinion of the parole of a New Zealand chief as the 
 Governor had. With taunting truth the arrest and long im- 
 prisonment of Rauparaha by Sir George Grey, in 1846, was now 
 thrown in his teeth by the men who had used his influence in 
 obtaining troops and his administrative ability in the commence- 
 ment of the war, and would make him their slave when they 
 were presumptuous of success. As for the general question of 
 responsibility, there were differences between the English and 
 Colonial Government ; " but if his Excellency means that respon- 
 sibility for the acts of the Government in New Zealand rests 
 with him, and not with Ministers, they feel it to be their duty 
 respectfully to express their dissent from that view." 
 
 A dreary correspondence of this kind was protracted for months. 
 In vain Sir George Grey furnished a report from the interpreter 
 serving with the forces (28th April, 186-i) showing that Rewi 
 though anxious to make peace was deterred by the treatment of 
 the prisoners, and distinctly complained that they had been led 
 to believe that on giving up their arms they would be permitted 
 to live freely within the lines of the troops. This rumour Mr. 
 Whitaker said was not to be disregarded, but too much weight 
 should not be attached to it. Friendly chiefs piteously entreated, 
 but in vain, that the captives might be allowed to leave the hulk 
 and live on shore. Sir George Grey (29th April) said that he 
 feared the recent slaughter at Orakau, including women, might 
 with justice be traced to the unexplained detention of the 
 prisoners, especially of Te Oriori. He felt a serious responsi- 
 bility, and dreaded a recurrence of such events. " He has done 
 his utmost at all times to promote the views of his Ministers, 
 and wished to show that on a point where he felt so strongly, a 
 responsibility really rested on him, which gave him a strong 
 claim on their consideration, which he hopes they will yet 
 recognize." He might as well have appealed to the timbers of 
 the hulk in which the prisoners were immured. Mr. Whitaker, 
 professing a desire to be compliant, regretted the difference 
 which had arisen, but would not consent to release any one of 
 the prisoners. Mr. Fox asserted that they were very comfort- 
 able and in excellent health in the hulk ; but the principal 
 medical officer in the colony, and the sanitary officer for the
 
 188 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 troops, reported otherwise, and that the seeds of disease were 
 being sown in the captives by reason of the unfitness of their 
 prison. A special request was made to Mr. Fox in May for 
 straw mattresses, in order that these prisoners of war might not 
 be compelled to sleep upon hard boards. (In the same month 
 the surgeon in charge reported that Te Oriori and six others 
 should at once be removed to the shore, where with " exercise- 
 and other hygienic measures they will be allowed a fair chance 
 of renovating their shattered constitutions.") It was not until 
 nearly a month after this request was made to the hard-hearted 
 Minister that it became known to the Governor. Mr. Fox, 
 when reminded of this concealment, roundly told Sir George 
 Grey (June, 1864) that the Ministry only were responsible, and 
 that it was not customary to lay before the Governor reports on 
 " other prisoners in the various gaols of the colony." On the 
 4th June, the first winter month, the sanitary officer of the 
 troops reported that " None of the prisoners had anything to lie 
 upon save the deck of the ship." Such being the conduct of 
 his Ministers it was well that Sir George Grey referred the 
 question of principle to the Secretary of State. On the 6th 
 April he had narrated the facts up to that date. On the 7th 
 May he had asked that, if it were deemed necessary, he might 
 receive commands on the subject. He wrote to the Duke of 
 Newcastle, but that nobleman did not receive his letter. Early 
 in 1864 the Duke's health failed, and he retired. He was 
 succeeded in April by Mr. Card well. It would have been well 
 for humanity, and might have restored the feeble statesman, if 
 he had retired earlier, and left to the firmer grasp of Mr. Card- 
 well the reins which he had held to so little purpose. As it 
 was, he died in a few months. The evil effects of his sanction 
 of the Waitara rapine could neither die nor be forgotten. 
 
 Mr. Cardwell's decision as to the captives may be told here. 
 To Sir George Grey's first recapitulation of his difficulties he 
 replied (June, 1864) that he was led to conjecture that if the 
 Ministry had concurred in a definite and generous course, evils 
 and loss of life might have been avoided. " On this I think it 
 necessary to observe, that while I fully recognize the general 
 right and duty of the Colonial Government to deal with matters 
 of native policy, properly so called, I consider that while active
 
 MR. CARDWELL'S JUSTICE. 189 
 
 operations are being carried on under the conduct of Her 
 Majesty's officers, and in the main by Her Majesty's military 
 and naval forces, it is for the Governor personally as represent- 
 ative of the Imperial Government to decide upon the fate of 
 persons who are taken prisoners in the course of these military 
 operations. And although, before adopting any such decision, I 
 should wish you to obtain the advice, and if possible the con- 
 currence, of the Ministers, I do not consider that concurrence 
 indispensable. But, subject always to the positive law of the 
 colony, I hold you entitled to determine, and I look to you for 
 determining, whether such prisoners or any of them shall be 
 released on parole or otherwise, or whether they shall be kept 
 under such control as may legally be applied to them as 
 prisoners of war, or whether they shall be handed over to the 
 civil authorities to be dealt with as criminals. I shall therefore 
 be fully prepared to support you, in case you should have thought 
 it necessary, with or without the consent of your Ministers, 
 so to deal with these prisoners as, in your opinion, the public 
 interests may have required." At a later date (26th July) Mr. 
 Cardwell treated the subject at greater length. Adverting to Sir 
 George Grey's statement that the Governor would be held respon- 
 sible in England if needless severity were used, Mr. Cardwell 
 said : " You appear to me rightly to interpret your position in 
 the observations you have addressed to your Ministers." On 
 the 26th May, he had written : " I entirely anticipate that your 
 Ministers will be animated by a just sense of the exertions and 
 sacrifices which have already been made by the mother country, 
 and that on colonial grounds they will be as anxious as you can 
 be yourself to terminate the present hostilities. But it is my 
 duty to say to you plainly that, if unfortunately their opinion 
 should be different from your own as to the terms of peace, Her 
 Majesty's Government expect you to act upon your own judg- 
 ment, and to state to your Ministers explicitly that an army of 
 10.000 English troops has been placed at your disposal for 
 objects of great Imperial, and not for the attainment of any 
 mere local, object ; that your responsibility to the Crown is para- 
 mount, and that you will not continue the expenditure of blood 
 and treasure longer than is absolutely necessary for the establish- 
 ment of a just and enduring peace." Of these words he now
 
 190 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 reminded the Governor. As to the wisdom of releasing Te 
 Oriori, only presence on the spot could justify an opinion. Mr. 
 Cardwell gave none. " What I do feel it my duty to say to you 
 plainly is, that the aid of the mother country in men and money 
 is given to the colony on the understanding that the military 
 measures which have unhappily become necessary shall be 
 directed by you in concert with the distinguished General in 
 command. I shall be perfectly ready to support you in any 
 measures which, not breaking any positive law of the colony, 
 and after consulting with the General, you may have thought it 
 necessary to take." The Whitaker Ministry would not consent 
 to the publication of these despatches in the usual prompt manner. 
 They doubtless deplored the events which had placed in the 
 Colonial office so clear a judgment as that of Mr. Cardwell. On 
 the general policy to be pursued he was equally decided, and 
 a remarkable despatch (26th April, 1864) will demand special 
 consideration. 
 
 At the resumption of warlike operations, the state of the 
 tribes may be summarily stated thus : Dr. Featherston, Super- 
 intendent at Wellington, visited the west coast, and found Wi 
 Tako friendly to the English, although not severed from loyalty 
 to the Maori king. The capture of Rangiriri was commented 
 on with evident knowledge of the scene of operations. The 
 chiefs " were highly pleased at* the fraternizing of the soldiers 
 with the natives at Rangiriri, with the compliment paid them 
 by General Cameron, and the kind treatment (as they believed) 
 the prisoners were receiving." Dr. Featherston temporarily 
 adjusted a dispute about land between the Ngatiapa and the 
 Rangitane and Ngatiraukawa tribes. At the discussions the 
 natives showed " calmness and moderation." For a time, as far 
 north as Wanganui, the west coast was, in February, 1864, 
 deemed safe. In March, Colonel Warre, commanding at 
 Taranaki, captured without loss the rebel positions at Kaitake, 
 near Oakura, and at Au Au. " The beautiful practice of the 
 Armstrong guns set fire to a wha-rS " at the very hour fixed for 
 an advance, and availing themselves of the " fortunate accident," 
 under cover of the smoke assaulting parties entered the works, 
 from which the Maoris rapidly escaped, having wounded only 
 two soldiers by a sustained fire. In April, having employed
 
 HAU HAU SUPERSTITION. 191 
 
 flying columns to destroy the Maori crops and cultivations, 
 Colonel Warre reported that "every acre of cultivation was 
 cleared within twenty miles to the south of Taranaki." In the 
 same month, Captain Lloyd, 57th Regiment, with a reconnoitring 
 party of about 100 men, in the act of destroying a Maori plant- 
 ation, was surprised by an ambuscade at Te Ahuahu. He and 
 six others were killed in the retreat, and twelve were wounded. 
 Tne heads of Captain Lloyd and five others were cut off and 
 carried away. There was a rumour that this atrocity was pro- 
 voked by the taking of the head of a Maori by a European for 
 scientific purposes ; but on investigation the occurrence was not 
 proved. At the end of the month a large body of Maoris, after 
 dancing their war-dance, attacked a redoubt at Sentry Hill. 
 Captain Shortt, 57th Regiment, had ordered his men to sit 
 concealed till told to fire. When the Maoris approached they 
 were met by heavy volleys and shells from a cohorn. They fled, 
 leaving more than thirty dead and many wounded. Only one 
 soldier was wounded. Colonel Warre reported that the con- 
 fidence shaken by the death of Captain Lloyd was entirely 
 restored. " Our vengeance has been at least five-fold ; and to 
 show how we appreciated the desperate gallantry of the natives 
 I sent to offer to return them their dead, but they had not the 
 courage to send for them, and they were buried near the 
 redoubt." 
 
 It was noticed that in the advance of the Maoris they had 
 halted strangely, and the reason was afterwards discovered. 
 Sir William Martin's prediction had proved true. The faith of 
 the perfidious Pakeha was discarded. A new creed had been 
 coined to stir the tribes to battle and murder. The sword of 
 the Lord and of Gideon was in their hands to smite the Pakeha 
 and all unfaithful to the Maori king. The great day of deliver- 
 ance was to be in December, 1864. The followers of the new 
 religion were to be called Paimarire. It was called Hau Hau 
 from the use of that sound in its ritual. It was said that when 
 Captain Lloyd was slain, the infuriated Maoris had reverted to 
 their national atrocity of cannibalism ; and that the blood of 
 some of the victims was drunk in savage triumph. Then the 
 heads were buried. In a few days they were dug up, and a 
 mad or knavish Maori, Te Ua, declared that- the Angel Gcibriel
 
 192 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 had communicated to him a new religion, of which the officer's 
 
 head was to be a notable symbol. When false reports were 
 
 daily mingled with truth, when Maoris were maddened by the 
 
 burning of their homes, and were more willing to die than to 
 
 submit, the new faith was hailed as an excitement like the 
 
 dram of the drunkard. Emissaries were sent to distant tribes 
 
 to pave the way for it. Mr. Fox insisted that the king-maker 
 
 was a convert. Letters attributed to him were produced with 
 
 the concluding word Paimarire. Te Oriori, however, assured 
 
 Sir George Grey that some of them were not written by the 
 
 king-maker ; and in December, 1864, a Maori averred that he 
 
 was opposed to the Paimarire. The man, Te Ua, was not alone 
 
 in his crazy confidence. There were other mad prophets. One 
 
 of them, Hepaniah, officiated at the attack on the Sentry Hill 
 
 redoubt. He professed to be invulnerable. On a moonlight 
 
 night, with wild gestures, and singing a psalm, he walked to the 
 
 parapet of the redoubt and sat down. A serjeant and a few 
 
 men went out to capture him. The prophet threw a stone at 
 
 the serjeant, hitting him on the throat, and then ran away. 
 
 The surprised men fired a volley. The prophet sat down and 
 
 resumed his psalm. After another volley he retreated. Having 
 
 thus confirmed the faith of his followers, if not his own, he led 
 
 them to assail Captain Shortt in the redoubt. In their advance 
 
 they relied on the incantations of the prophet, and a man, like 
 
 the hero of the night adventure, moved in front of the main 
 
 body. When grape and musketry poured deadly hail among 
 
 them, at first they stood calmly, and their strange leader again 
 
 sung and waved his arms. A rifle-bullet dispelled the charm, 
 
 and when nearly two score had fallen the Maoris fled. The 
 
 brother prophets declared that Hepaniah had offended the Angel 
 
 Gabriel, and one of them, Matene, went southwards to make 
 
 fresh converts, and attack the settlement at Wanganui, which 
 
 so recently was thought by Dr. Featherston to be safe. Matene 
 
 applied to the Wanganui natives for permission to pass down 
 
 the river. It was refused. The prophet was willing to wait 
 
 two months, but He mi Nape, Mete Kingi, and others, tired of 
 
 negotiations, challenged him to battle on the island of Moutoa, 
 
 in the river Wanganui. There was apprehension in the English 
 
 settlement, where the real force of the rebels was unknown. It
 
 BATTLE OF MOUTOA. 193 
 
 was supposed that some of the Waikato natives had joined them. 
 In the settlement there was a garrison of 300 soldiers. Matene 
 accepted the challenge sent to him. Neither army was to 
 surprise the other. The time appointed was daybreak on the 
 14th May. The island was about 300 yards long, 20 wide, and 
 about 15 high. At daybreak Hemi Napi was posted at the 
 place where the Hau Haus were to land. Mete Kingi followed 
 with the reserve. The advance party was in three bands : ten 
 men were commanded by Kereti, nine by Hemi and Riwai, 
 fifteen by Aperaniko and Haimona. The river was low, and 
 the friends of the English on the left bank could wade easily 
 to and from the island. From the right bank the Hau Hau 
 fanatics had to move in canoes, from which they were allowed 
 to land without opposition. They also formed advance com- 
 panies with a reserve in the rear. There were not 150 of them, 
 and many were boys. The Wanganui army was nearly 300 
 strong. When the Hau Haus had formed their battle-array 
 within twenty yards of their enemies, they commenced their 
 incantations, and continued them for two hours. Like Hepaniah 
 they thought themselves invulnerable, and believed that their 
 enemies would be' nerveless. A Hau Hau fired a shot. The 
 forces slowly advanced, and when within ten yards of each other 
 fired volleys with mutual effect. Kereti's fall dispirited his 
 friends. When Hemi and Riwai were also killed, the army fled 
 in terror, and some crossed to the river-bank. Haimona reach- 
 ing the end of the island, shouted, " I will go no further," rallied 
 a few less superstitious than the rest, poured a volley into his 
 pursuers, was joined by Mete Kingi with the reserve, and drove 
 the enemy with loss to the end of the island whence a few escaped 
 in a boat, the swimmers being shot in the river. Matene, 
 wounded thus, reached the bank, but was followed by a swimmer, 
 Te Moro, who tomahawked him on land. Forty were left dead 
 on Moutoa : many sank in the river. Among the friends of the 
 English twelve were killed, and thirty wounded. The Wanganui 
 settlers breathed freely, and in due time the Provincial Govern- 
 ment erected in the market-place a monument " to the memory 
 of those brave men who fell at Moutoa in defence of law and 
 order against fanaticism and barbarism." 
 
 Meantime, rumours of the intended attack had brought Dr. 
 VOL. n. o
 
 194 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Featherston with a band of the Colonial Defence Force, to 
 Wanganui. Landing there the day after the battle, he found 
 the settlers enthusiastic in praise of the heroism of their allies. 
 On the 17th, Hori Kingi and others proceeded up the river in 
 canoes. Dr. Featherston followed, lamenting that some settlers 
 grudged the supply of arms and ammunition to the friendly 
 chiefs. The voyage was prolonged by repeated (tangi) wailing 
 for the killed, in which the chiefs indulged. The victorious 
 natives were found at Ranana. They wanted ammunition and 
 guns. Hori Kingi wanted something else. He besought Dr. 
 Featherston to release the prisoners, or at least Te Raimona. 
 "We have fought for the Queen and to protect the Pakeha. 
 We have killed in battle many of our nearest relations and 
 friends. We have taken others prisoners. Have we not done 
 enough ? Must we surrender them to be sent to Auckland, or 
 Wellington to gaol ? But if they must be surrendered, what- 
 ever you say shall be done. Cannot Te Raimona be given up 
 to us ? He is nearly related to every chief of the river." Dr. 
 Featherston replied that he was bound to insist on the prisoners 
 being handed over to him. As the fleet of canoes, with 150 
 armed men, passed the place where Te Raimona lay, Hori Kingi 
 said : " Featherston, my heart is very dark about my children, 
 especially Te Raimona. This is the first time I have passed 
 this place without calling ; the hearts of all the chiefs and their 
 people are dark . . . many of our people prayed this morning 
 that they might be excused from joining in this expedition. 
 You have said they are the Queen's prisoners and must be 
 surrendered to her. We come to surrender them. But still 
 our hearts are sad. . . ." At this appeal the man overcame 
 the official in Dr. Featherston. " To understand and appreciate 
 its pathos (he wrote) every word must have been heard and the 
 speaker seen." He promised that if Hori Kingi and other chiefs 
 would write to the Governor he would support their prayer for 
 a pardon. The old chiefs eyes glistened with delight ; he sprang 
 up, hailed the five canoes in advance to stop, and gave them in 
 a few figurative words what appeared a mere hint of what Dr. 
 Featherston had said. "But this was quite sufficient; the 
 gloom which had hung over them instantly disappeared ; a cry 
 of joy burst from the whole of them, and off they started, plying
 
 Wi TAKO NGATATA. 195 
 
 their paddles with tenfold vigour, and there was no longer 
 silence, but the usual cries and songs resounded from every 
 canoe." 
 
 There were discussions with Pehi, a chief friendly to the 
 Maori king. He had dissuaded the prophet Matene and the 
 " mad dogs " who were with him, but -he was urgent against 
 the surrender of the prisoners. They were surrendered. In 
 Wanganui there was public grief when Hemi Napi and a brother 
 chief were buried. The garrison, the civilians, and many settlers 
 were in the funeral procession, and the general sympathy deeply 
 affected the Maoris. Dr. Featherston reported that " kingism 
 was doomed, and that there was never so little prospect of the 
 peace of the west coast being disturbed." Hori Kingi's elo- 
 quence was not spent in vain. Sir George Grey, with the con- 
 currence of his Ministry, handed over all the prisoners to the 
 friendly natives on parole. The light and darkness of Maori 
 life were never more strangely exemplified. At the pah where 
 Te Raimona was delivered to Dr. Featherston, Matene's men 
 had dug two large ovens in which to cook the foes, at whose 
 intercession the Hau Hau prisoners were now to be released. 
 Dr. Featherston's influence did much to ensure peace. Wi Tako 
 Ngatata, who had leaned to the Maori king, would not ally 
 himself to the " mad Hau Hau prophets." " My kind of kingism," 
 he said, " would never have ended thus. It was calculated to 
 bring forth good fruits only. I have nothing to be ashamed of 
 when I meet the tribes. I was faithful to kingism till it died> 
 and I had no hand in its death." In a clear and distinct voice, 
 on the 3rd June, 1864, he took the oath of allegiance, and his 
 subsequent exertions mainly contributed to suppress disaffection 
 in the southern parts of the island. 
 
 Captain Lloyd's head was supposed to have been lost in the 
 river at Moutoa. In June, the interpreter to the troops at 
 Wanganui (Mr. Broughton) heard that it was at Waitotara in 
 the hands of Te Ua. He went alone to ask for it, and saw 
 100 armed men led by Hapurona, Te Rangitake's fighting 
 chief. Te Ua gave to him a head which officers of the 57th 
 Regiment believed to be that of their late comrade. Mr. Fox, 
 meanwhile, was warmly welcomed at Kaipara by a tribe, which 
 
 in ancient times had suffered much at the hands of the Waikato, 
 
 o 2
 
 196 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 and some amongst whom gloated over the defeat of their former 
 foes. He encouraged their triumph. 
 
 Must not the prophecy of Sir William Martin have run like 
 iron into the hearts of any who were capable of remorse for 
 provoking the war ? Eighteen years had passed since he had 
 said that the confiscation and seizure of land proposed by Earl 
 Grey would, if adopted, make Maoris think the English a nation 
 of liars, and cause them to abandon the faith they had accepted, 
 and which the givers so unworthily departed from. The deed 
 done at Waitara had justified the fears, and the wild orgies of 
 the new sect convinced the most sceptical of the wisdom, of the 
 good man whom Colonel Browne, and Mr. Richmond, and at a 
 later date Fox and Whitaker, refused to regard. In 1864, the 
 Government forces took possession of various places in the 
 Waitara district. A strongly-fortified pah, Manutahi, was 
 abandoned after trifling resistance, and Te Arei at Pukerangiora, 
 which the General had approached by sap, in 1861, fell into 
 Colonel Warre's hands in October, without a struggle. He was 
 piloted by the friendly natives, and the enemy were few in 
 number. Neither Rewi, nor Te Rangitake, nor Hapurona were 
 there. Rewi and the men of Ngatimaniapoto had serious work 
 at their own homes. Colonel Warre scoured the country, de- 
 stroyed villages wherever he could find them, and having driven 
 men, women, and children from their homes to fastnesses or 
 wilds in the interior, formed a redoubt at Te Arei, with a strong 
 garrison. 
 
 The attitude of the Ngatikahungunu tribe, whose territory 
 extended on the east coast from Wellington to Napier, was an 
 object of concern to the Government. There were feuds be- 
 tween the tribes on the Wairoa river. Major Whitmore, Civil 
 Commissioner at Napier, urged them to be reconciled and 
 accept one law for all. As to the Maori king, he did not 
 complain of their sympathy with the idea of native union ; but 
 let them not add flames to war. In Waikato the English were 
 at war merely because Englishmen had been murdered. Let 
 not the east coast tribes interfere. The Maoris were at the 
 time troubled by cases of adultery, and wished Major Whitmore 
 to help them to a law of divorce, but he was unable to give 
 them comfort. At the meeting no less than 600 Maoris were
 
 PATERANGI. 197 
 
 guests. Major Whitmore reported that it was possible to keep 
 on good terms with the Ngatikahungunu, but that men had 
 gone to the war at Waikato from the Ngatiporou at the East 
 Cape and from the rugged Uriwera territory. The Bishop 
 of Waiapu (William Williams) reported much ferment in 
 February at Poverty Bay on the subject of land confiscations- 
 The natives wanted to see the Governor. Meanwhile, the 
 war at Waikato, and the intended devastation at Tauranga, 
 which was frustrated for a time by the Civil Commissioner's 
 prudence, occupied attention. Having occupied Ngaruawahia 
 without opposition in December, 1863, General Cameron, 
 after a few weeks, advanced along the Waipa river to Te 
 Rore. 
 
 The Maoris were entrenched at Paterangi, situate in a country 
 where, in what was called the great Waikato plain, low ridges 
 and mounds are surrounded or intersected by swamps and wind- 
 ing valleys with swampy hollows. High fern intermingling 
 with flax and low manukau scrub gave cover to scouting 
 parties. A few miles to the south-east were Te Awamutu, 
 whence Mr. Gorst had been expelled, Kihi Kihi (Rewi's chief 
 residence), and Rangiaohia, all situate in one of the richest parts 
 of the Waikato champaign. Thence large quantities of wheat 
 had been sent to Auckland in years gone by, ministering to the 
 wants of the colonists, and supplying the Maoris with means to 
 procure fire-arms. The Paterangi works of the Maoris were 
 unusually intricate. Line upon line of zigzag rifle-pits inter- 
 sected the slopes of fern-covered ridges. The General bom- 
 barded from a distance, but made no impression, and his Maori 
 allies advised him not to attempt to storm. The Bishop, writing 
 from the camp at Te Rore on the 4th February to a son, said 
 that the Maoris had " so strengthened their position by earth- 
 works that the General is obliged to proceed cautiously and 
 systematically. The popular idea of 'rushing' seems to have 
 been abandoned since Rangiriri." On the llth February, about 
 50 soldiers were fired at on their way to bathe in the Manga- 
 ]>iko river. Colonel Waddy sent reinforcements, and the Maoris 
 only escaped destruction in consequence of the uneven and fern- 
 covered nature of the ground. The General witnessed the 
 skirmish, and highly praised the officers engaged. Lieutenant-
 
 198 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Colonel Havelock reported that the action cost the Maoris 28 
 men killed, and two wounded prisoners. Of the English, six 
 were killed, and a few wounded. The hero of the assault upon 
 the Maoris engaged in religious service at Paparata was lauded 
 for his activity on this occasion, when those whom he attacked 
 were not principally women and children. As regarded the 
 inclusion of women in the horrors of war, the General, with the 
 aid of the Forest Rangers, was about to do a deed which 
 contributed to forfeit for Bishop Selwyn his place in Maori 
 affections. The Bishop hoped, by accompanying the troops, to 
 soften the rigours of war, and to administer consolation to the 
 wounded without regard to the side on which they had fought. 
 But the Waikato tribes would not believe that man to be their 
 friend who marched with their enemies. 1 He was fired at as he 
 rode from post to post, but as of yore at Kororarika he went 
 about the field of battle to succour the wounded. On one 
 occasion he was with an officer carrying a wounded enemy- to 
 the camp, and meeting two soldiers received their help. As he 
 carried the relieving soldier's rifle, he was reproached for having 
 acted in so warlike a manner. 
 
 Wiremu Nera strove to induce the tribes to make peace. He 
 found the king-maker at Maungatautari, willing to remain quiet 
 if not attacked. Others were more warlike. But at Paterangi 
 neither the Ngatimaniapoto, under Rewi, nor the Ngatiraukawa, 
 nor any others, would listen to persuasion. One chief stood up 
 and said, " Welcome, welcome, son. Peace shall not be made. 
 If we are to die we will die in Waikato." Unable to influence 
 his brethren, Wiremu Nera returned to the General and pro- 
 vided him with guides. One service rendered to the General 
 by the friendly Maoris was in deterring him from assaulting 
 the intricate lines of Paterangi. Within them the Maoris, 
 provided with potatoes for immediate wants, longed to be 
 attacked. Their chief depot for food was at Rangiaohia, and 
 
 1 Writing to a brother Bishop, Selwyn said in 1863: "I have now one 
 simple missionary idea before me, that of watching over the remnant that 
 is left. Our native work is a remnant in two senses, the remnant of a 
 decaying people and the remnant of a decaying faith. The works of 
 which you hear are not the works of heathens ; they are the works of 
 baptized men whose love has grown cold from causes common to all 
 churches of neophytes from Laodieea downwards."
 
 RANGIAOHIA. 199 
 
 thither the General proceeded at midnight on the 20th Feb- 
 ruary with a force of about 1100 men, to surprise the encamp- 
 ment, and annihilate the Maori commissariat. Colonel Waddy, 
 with about 600, remained at Te Rore in front of Paterangi. At 
 daybreak the General pushed on from Te Awamutu to Ran- 
 giaohia. " The few natives who were found in the place," he 
 said, " were quickly dispersed, and the greater part escaped, but 
 a few of them taking shelter in a wharS made a desperate 
 resistance until the Forest Rangers and a company of the 65th 
 Regiment surrounded the whare, which was set on fire, and the 
 defenders either killed or taken prisoners." This was the 
 official method of telling, or concealing, that women and children 
 were burned to death. For the credit of General Cameron it 
 may be hoped that when he thus wrote, four days after the 
 occurrence, he did not know the truth which was subsequently 
 notorious. 
 
 Of what avail was it to preach peace to the Maoris, and tell 
 them to be merciful, when a British force, commanded by a 
 General, and accompanied by a Bishop, burnt women and children 
 in a Maori house ? Was it to be wondered at that a great grief 
 came upon the Bishop when he heard that a plot was laid by the 
 enemy to take his life ? The successful General returned to Te 
 Awamutu with 21 women and children who were not burned 
 He had fluttered the Maoris effectually. Though their men of 
 war were at Paterangi and Maungatautari, their principal food 
 stores, such as they were, were at Rangiaohia. That food was 
 now destroyed, though the General did not think it worth his 
 while to mention the fact in reporting his exploits. The grief of 
 the Maoris at Paterangi was intense. They had expected the 
 General to fight according to Maori principles with the foe ready 
 to meet him. They had not dreamed that heavy guns and a 
 large body of troops would be turned aside against women and 
 children. Their rage at being outwitted by the flank-movement 
 which left them idle, and destroyed their food and plantations, 
 was exaggerated by the burning of their wives and children. 
 Gathering their ammunition together they evacuated Paterangi > 
 and were seen moving to Rangiaohia on the morning of the 22nd 
 February, at which time also Colonel Waddy and his forces found 
 Paterangi empty. The General marched against a band of
 
 200 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Maoris between Rangiaohia and Te Awamutu in the afternoon 
 of the 22nd, and thought that at least 30 of them were killed. 
 But for the fern it would seem strange that all were not 
 destroyed ; for only by concealment could a Maori hope to see 
 an enemy within the range which his fire-arms could cover, 
 while rifles laid the Maori low at long ranges. The main body 
 fled through a swamp towards Maungatautari, where a pah 
 was in course of construction. On the 21st eight, and on the 
 22nd twenty-one, English were included in the returns of 
 killed and wounded. The General's camp at Te Awamutu 
 was but a short distance from Rewi's Kihikihi settlement, 
 and both were near Orakau, soon to be rendered famous in 
 New Zealand story by deeds which extorted admiration from 
 enemies. 
 
 Two documents written at this period may be referred to 
 with advantage. Mr. Whitaker, on the 29th February, to 
 allay the Duke of Newcastle's apprehensions lest the Maoris 
 should be embittered by confiscation of land, stated in a 
 formal minute drawn up for transmission to Downing Street 
 that " though the proceedings of the Government were at first 
 naturally looked upon with some anxiety and distrust by the 
 natives, those feelings have much subsided generally, and in 
 some instances complete confidence has been established in the 
 intentions of the Government ; " and that " every means have 
 been taken to persuade the Maoris in general, that the property 
 of innocent persons and tribes will be strictly respected, and 
 that the measure of punishment will be apportioned to the 
 degree of guilt." 
 
 Sir George Grey transmitted the minute with an intimation 
 that it showed that the Ministry fully recognized the wisdom 
 and propriety of the Duke of Newcastle's views, and would 
 fulfil their duties prudently and justly. Yet, at that date, Sir 
 George Grey was vainly imploring for the release of Te Oriori ; 
 and Mr. Whitaker had officially urged, with regard to the 
 Settlements Act of 1863, that, if innocent native occupants 
 could not be evicted under it, the Act would be almost useless. 
 Mr. Whitaker's false minute was scarcely dry when Ahipene, a 
 loyal chief, wrote from Waiuku (1st March) to Mr. Fox, saying, 
 that he heard from trustworthy sources that the obduracy of
 
 AHIPENE DESPISED BY Fox. 201 
 
 Waikato was caused by distrust of the Government, and fear 
 that if the chiefs should submit they would be tried, transported, 
 and put to death. " This is the cause of their sadness, and in 
 persisting in their evil course unto death. The heart of our 
 sister Ngawai, when she heard these words, started with love to 
 her people, and a desire to hear your words and those of the 
 Governor, and to go to Waikato to suppress the evil, and cause 
 the fighting to cease. ... It is for you to decide. ... If 
 you think well, I and Waatu Kukutai would take our sister to 
 make peace with the chiefs, and cause their king to be sup- 
 pressed, their flag to be given up, and the instruments of war to 
 be surrendered." 
 
 Mr. Fox paid no attention to Ahipene's entreaty, but on the 
 9th March said that on his return from Kaipara Ministers would 
 think about the prisoners. He sent a draft proclamation which 
 might be issued after the taking of Maungatautari. It was 
 addressed to the hostile tribes, who " have been very obstinate, 
 and now their land, the land of Waikato, is gone." The 
 Government would give them " one more chance." Let every 
 man bring in his weapons and sign a declaration of submission. 
 " Then let him go to whatever place the Government shall tell 
 him to go to ; let him live there till it shall be pointed out to 
 him where shall be his permanent place to reside." But " mur- 
 derers shall not be forgiven." This announcement it was pro- 
 posed to make to the widowers and orphans of Rangiaohia. 
 Burial-places and homes, however venerated and beloved, were 
 to be abandoned to the invader, at whose dictate the exiles 
 were to be permitted to breathe. Subsequently (6th May, 
 1864) Mr. Fox vilipended Ahipene's appeal. The chief was 
 not "trustworthy or disinterested;" some of his "immediate 
 relatives " captured at Rangiriri were on board the hulk, and 
 his assertion as te the injurious effect of their confinement was 
 only made to procure their release, and was " not in the opinion 
 of Ministers of the smallest value whatever." It was time for 
 Mr. Cardwell to come to the rescue when Whitaker and 
 Fox, dressed in brief authority, were prepared to use Her 
 Majesty's name and wield Her Majesty's army in enforcing 
 such behests. But pervicacious as they were they could not 
 shake off all regard for public opinion. England could not be
 
 202 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 expected to thrust injustice upon the Maoris at the point of 
 the bayonet. 
 
 The vigilant Aborigines' Protection Society in London wrote 
 in January to Sir George Grey, urging that the war might be 
 concluded by negotiation, and expressing alarm at the whole- 
 sale land-confiscation proposed in some quarters. Such a policy 
 would add fuel to the flames, and drive the Maoris to the 
 madness of despair. The philanthropic names of Fowell 
 Buxton, Joseph Pease, Newman Hall, S. Gurney, M.P., William 
 Howitt, were attached in union with those of the Earl of 
 Chichester, Lord Ebury, Sir Walter Trevelyan, Sir Wilfrid 
 Lawson, General Perronet Thompson, Mr. F. W. Chesson, and 
 many more. Sir George Grey showed his reply to Mr. Fox. 
 Premising that some confiscation was needed as an example, he 
 added : " That these measures will be carried out in a spirit of 
 liberal generosity and of mercy I earnestly hope, and will do 
 my best to ensure, and in my efforts to this end I believe that I 
 shall be supported by a large majority in this colony." Mr. 
 Fox wrote : " The Colonial Secretary entirely concurs in his 
 Excellency's observations, and does not think it necessary to 
 offer any on the part of the Ministry." But the Ministry after 
 a month's reflection changed their minds. They drew up a 
 lengthy memorandum on the 5th May, and at Sir George Grey's 
 suggestion sent a copy to the Earl of Chichester. They justi- 
 fied sweeping confiscation as essential to enforce a moral lesson. 
 " The deliberate opinion of Ministers is, that to terminate the 
 present insurrection without confiscation of the lands of the 
 rebels, making of course ample provision for their future, would 
 be to surrender every advantage that has been gained, and 
 practically to announce that British rule over the Maori must 
 cease, and the Northern Island be abandoned as a safe place of 
 residence for Her Majesty's European subjects." l . . . Ministers 
 
 1 When first shown to Sir George Grey, the memorandum contained 
 a quotation from a work by the Rev. Mr. Taylor, in which the author 
 was quoted as blaming Governor Fitzroy for not having claimed the 
 district of Waiaru in 1843, as having been paid for with blood. Sir George 
 Grey informed Mr. Taylor (then in Auckland) that from his work an infer- 
 ence hud been drawn that the natives would not consider themselves 
 conquered unless their lands were confiscated. Mr. Taylor pointed out 
 that the condition of affairs in 1843 had no analogy to that of 1864.
 
 ABORIGINES' PROTECTION SOCIETY. 203 
 
 believe that nothing has been, or can be, more " pernicious to the 
 native race than the possession of large territories under tribal 
 title, which they neither use, know how to use, nor can be 
 induced to use." They animadverted upon the "pernicious 
 system of tribal right," but were prudently silent about the fact 
 that its maintenance had been guaranteed by the treaty of 
 Waitangi. To flourish their determination in the eyes of the 
 colonial public, the Ministry resolved to publish their memoran- 
 dum, and asked the Governor's permission to publish his letter 
 to Lord Chichester. Sir George Grey preferred that the pub- 
 lication of his letter should be determined upon by those to 
 whom it had been written. Mr. Fox considered that as Lord 
 Chichester' s letter had been published in the ' Times ' before its 
 receipt, the Governor was released from the ordinary rule, but 
 Sir George Grey declined to imitate an informality. 
 
 It is necessary to revert to the operations in the field, for his 
 " invaluable services," in which at " great personal risk and 
 convenience " the Secretary of State, hi acknowledging military 
 reports, rendered to Bishop Selwyn his "sincerest thanks." 
 The Department which had spurned the Bishop's counsel at 
 Waitara was proud of his countenance at Paterangi. The 
 General, meanwhile, hearing that the Maoris were gathering 
 together for a final struggle at Maungatautari under the guid- 
 ance of the king-maker, resolved to reduce their stronghold 
 there Ti Tiki o te Hingarangi. His own head-quarters were 
 at Pukerimu, where spurs from the Maungatautari range trend 
 to the left bank of the Waikato river, above the modern town 
 Cambridge. He could there obtain supplies by the waters of 
 the river. The Maoris had miscalculated the facilities with 
 which ample resources could provide the military commissariat 
 at points remote from Auckland. Their own scanty stores 
 had suffered in the ravages at Rangiaohia. After evacuating 
 
 Independent tribes had taken up arms under an impression that their lands 
 would be seized, and the knowledge of an intention to confiscate the entire 
 territory of the hostile tribes would prolong the war to the last extremity 
 in every corner of the island, whereas if honourable and liberal terms were 
 offered it was probable that so shrewd a race as the Maoris would lay 
 down their arms. With ill-concealed chagrin Mr. Fox, after numerous 
 minutes, withdrew Mr. Taylor's name from his letter to Lord Chichester.
 
 204 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Paterangi many of them appear to have been scattered in 
 various bands near the Puniu river. Most of the women and 
 children were removed southwards towards the upper waters of 
 the Waipa. Some ammunition was secreted in convenient 
 places, but the Maoris did not at once select a new place of 
 defence. Brigadier-General Carey was stationed with a large 
 force at Te Awamutu. A band of Maoris roving over their 
 desolated land were passing Orakau, about three miles from 
 Kihikihi (and as far from Te Awamutu), when one of them said : 
 " This is my father's land. Here will I fight." The chiefs 
 began to discuss the matter, but he was resolute, and his 
 impetuosity prevailed. There was no apparent strength in the 
 position. It was one of those low rolling mounds which 
 characterized the country. Northwards the land sloped down- 
 wards almost imperceptibly to a patch of forest. Westward it 
 was almost level with Orakau. From the south-west a ridge 
 curved round by the south to the south-east at a distance 
 varying from 250 to 350 yards, leaving a hollow between the 
 pah and the crest of the ridge at the south-east. Eastward 
 there was a gentle slope, and across a gully at a distance of 
 several hundred yards the land rose again to the level of 
 Orakau. Beyond the curving ridge was a swamp, at the other 
 side of which, at the south-east, rose a steep but not very high 
 mound which narrowed the swamp in that direction. South- 
 wards the ridge was steep, and about 40 feet high, where it 
 overlooked the narrow swamp which separated it from the 
 mound which was higher than the ridge. Almost at the 
 southern foot of the ridge there was a deep ditch with a steep 
 bank above it, which had been made in former times to keep 
 cattle from Maori cultivations. The ground was covered with 
 fern and occasional flax-plants. On the 30th March, General 
 Carey heard that the enemy were constructing rifle-pits at 
 Orakau. They had fired upon a party of the colonial forces 
 who stumbled by chance upon the spot. He made a recon- 
 naissance and resolved to surround the position before it could 
 be fortified. He sent 250 of the 40th Regiment by a circuitous 
 route to occupy the rear of the enemy. At three o'clock in the 
 morning, with about 700 men, composed of Artillery, Engi- 
 neers, 40th and 65th Regiments, and about 25 of the Forest
 
 ORAKAU. 205 
 
 Rangers, he marched past the Kihikihi Redoubt to Orakau, 
 taking 150 men from Kihikihi on the way. Captain Blewitt 
 was ordered to move from Rangiaohia to the east side of Orakau 
 with about 114 men, composed of the 65th Regiment and the 
 3rd Waikato Militia in about equal proportions. The three 
 forces were to converge upon Orakau simultaneously at daylight. 
 The combined forces were more than 1250. The Maoris have 
 been variously computed at from 300 to 400, 1 including women 
 and children. The Brigadier was in front of Orakau at 
 day-dawn. 
 
 The experience gained by Rewi at the Waitara in the con- 
 struction of gabions and sap-rollers was used at Orakau. From 
 the ridge at the south-west a heavy gun hurled its shot upon 
 the pah. Instantly, under his orders, long bundles of fern were 
 cut and bound with strips of green flax until an enormous mass 
 of yielding fern received the harmless cannon-balls and guarded 
 the earthworks. Then he turned to other tasks. Firing was 
 kept up throughout the day and night both upon the sap and 
 elsewhere. Thus did the beleaguered Maoris spend the night. 
 They had no water. Their food was a scanty store of raw 
 potatoes and a few gourds. Though taken by surprise, they 
 were already, according to Carey's narrative, posted behind 
 earthworks, with flank defences, deep ditches, posts and rails ; 
 and were sheltered from view by flax-bushes, peach-trees, and 
 high fern. The English advanced guard under Captain Ring 
 was fired upon, and rushed to the assault. Driven back, it was 
 re-enforced and renewed the assault with similar result. 
 Captain Ring fell, mortally wounded. Captain T. D. Baker, 
 18th Regiment, dismounted, called for volunteers, and led an 
 attack which was again unsuccessful. The Brigadier, knowing 
 that his subordinates were at their appointed posts on the right 
 and in rear of the enemy, determined to take the place by sap, 
 the artillery having failed to make an impression on the works. 
 Care was taken to prevent escape, and it was deemed certain 
 that the enemy thus surprised could have no store of food. In 
 the afternoon a large band of Maoris appeared in the Maunga- 
 tautari direction. They had come to relieve, but could only fire 
 
 1 General Cameron reported that "they had probably not less than 150 
 men killed " out of a garrison not exceeding 300." Despatch, 7th April, 1864.
 
 206 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 volleys and dance their war-dance to encourage their country- 
 men. The English lines were too strong for them, and shells 
 were thrown upon them. The Brigadier himself was re-enforced 
 by about 400 men in the course of the day and ensuing night. 
 The sap was carried on without intermission. Carey reported 
 that futile efforts to escape were made in the night by a few 
 Maoris who when fired upon retreated to their works. In the 
 morning they fired resolutely at the sappers, but the relentless 
 work went on unchecked by casualties. Thus another day and 
 another night were spent. 
 
 On the 2nd April, Lieutenant-Colonel Havelock arrived with 
 hand-grenades which were thrown " with great effect " amongst 
 the besieged. At noon an Armstrong gun was carried into the 
 sap. It made a breach, and silenced some of the Maori fire. 
 Women and children were in the pah, and the enemy were 
 called on to surrender with a promise that their lives should be 
 spared. They answered : " Ka whawhai tonu ake, ake, ake." 
 "We will fight to the bitter end, for ever and ever." The 
 interpreter urged them to send out the women and children. 
 They answered : " The women will fight too." But they 
 suffered severely in the rifle-pits which they had not had time 
 to construct carefully. The oblong rifle-pit of the Maori held 
 five or six men. At two of its angles it communicated with 
 other pits so that men could pass from pit to pit along the line. 
 Thus was formed a double line of pit.4 with intervals of solid 
 earth between each. The hastily-formed Orakau pits did not 
 in all cases afford such facilities, and the hand-grenades thrown 
 into them so rent the bodies of the Maoris that many were 
 unrecognizable. Weary with incessant work, decimated by the 
 riving grenades ; athirst, starved, and girt by a ring of fire, the 
 garrison would " not yield to kiss the ground beneath the feet " 
 of Whitaker and Fox. Though reluctant to see gallant blood 
 hopelessly shed, the Brigadier (with whose operations Cameron, 
 though present, did not interfere), when the sap was completed, 
 ordered an assault. Of a score of men who entered one breach, 
 half fell beneath a volley which the Maoris delivered before 
 they rushed to their inner works. A second assault at another 
 breach fared in like manner. The British officers were con- 
 sulting as to the next step to be taken, while the Maoris faced
 
 ORAKAU. 207 
 
 the fearful truth that their ammunition was almost spent. 
 Powder they had, but their bullets were few. And Rewi had 
 a store of them buried in the fern some miles away ! Famished 
 and athirst apparently without a loophole of escape no Maori 
 thought of yielding. In their distress they sang one of the 
 hymns taught them by the Christians. Perhaps the Christian 
 God would look down in pity. But still the Pakeha pressed on. 
 Then sterner, bloodier thoughts succeeded. The superstitious 
 savage confounded the Christian God with the deeds done by 
 those who profaned His name. The Maori noble would discard 
 the creed taught by the robbers of his land. They were a 
 nation of liars. While the Bishop and his friends invited the 
 Maori to look to heaven, the Pakehas had vilely stolen the land 
 from under his feet. The Bishop calling himself a man of 
 peace, marched with the soldiers. The Maoris would scorn him 
 and all his works. They would appeal to their own god of 
 fierce man. Tu-matauenga, with dreadful aspect; Tu-ka riri, 
 the angry ; Tu-ka nguha, the fiery ; Tu-ka taua, the war-lover ; 
 Tu whakaheke, the man-destroyer ; Tu-mata waita, eye-piercing ; 
 surely, by one of his attributes, the great Tu would aid his chil- 
 dren, or confound their enemies. They chanted a karakia, or 
 imprecation of old days, long disused in Maori land. Their 
 voices were heard by the wondering English, who were to 
 marvel still more at their daring. At the rear, where the 
 thunders of the great gun had been foiled by the flax -bound 
 fern, a double line of the investing troops had been thrown 
 back l under cover to enable the gun to open fire. Through 
 that opening, about four o'clock in the broad day, chanting their 
 appeal to the god of battles, and moving steadily as in scorn of 
 their foes, the Maoris marched towards the narrow neck of 
 swamp between the ridge and mound. Carey said they rushed. 
 Mr. Fox writes that an eye-witness told him, " They were in a 
 solid column, the women, the children, and the great chiefs in 
 the centre, and they marched out as cool and steady as if they 
 had been going to church." Rewi ordered that no shot should be 
 fired. The little ammunition left was needed for defence in the 
 desperate course through the swamp to be crossed on the way 
 to the Puniu river. Ere he left his blood-spattered fortification 
 1 Brigadier-General Carey's Official Report, 7th April, 1864. P. P.
 
 208 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 he must have cast a lingering look on the home of his ancestry. 
 On his right to the east stood Maungatautari about fifteen miles 
 away, like a sentinel guarding the land on one side of the great 
 Waikato plain ; Pirongia at similar distance westwards seemed 
 to hold like function by the Waipa. Close to him, on his left, 
 was his own abandoned settlement Kihikihi, where his fore- 
 fathers' burial-places were now ravaged by the Pakeha. Could 
 he but cross the Puniu he might find shelter in the friendly 
 forests of Rangitoto looming large in the south. But when all 
 looked to him for guidance, prompt action was required. Some 
 accounts state that, as if to deceive the troops and gain time for 
 the fugitives, a Maori, while his countrymen departed, sprung 
 with a white flag on the parapet and was riddled by bullets. 
 One chief, more successful, diverted the English for a few 
 moments. Wiremu Karamoa walked coolly towards the troops 
 and surrendered. 1 Suddenly the truth was known. " They are 
 escaping," was echoed amongst the English. Before the Maoris 
 reached the ridge in rear, on right and left the soldiers con- 
 verged upon them in the ferny hollow, and many fell under a 
 cross fire in which some soldiers shot their comrades, and it was 
 thought that the Maoris were returning the fire. But Rewi 
 husbanded his ammunition still. The devoted band gained the 
 ridge, thinned in number, but pressing forward like one man. 
 At the base of the outer side of the ridge were a few of the 
 40th Regiment keeping outer guard. As the Maoris leaped 
 over the old ditch which once protected their plantations a 
 bugler sounded a call. " May I not shoot him ? " said one man. 
 Rewi said No : but another Maori as he passed the ditch shot 
 the bugler dead. The swamp was reached. Many of the 
 fugitives gained the mound across the neck of swamp, and there 
 a body of cavalry which had ridden to intercept them, slew, with 
 the aid of the pursuing infantry, considerable numbers, some of 
 whom were women. Wading and plunging through the swamp, 
 and using in their hour of need their treasured ammunition, the 
 main body gained the Puniu river, and escaped after a pursuit 
 which the Brigadier described as lasting "nearly six miles." 
 He regretted that " in the pah and in the pursuit some three 
 or four women were killed unavoidably, (their dress and hair) 
 1 Report of Mr. R. C. Muinwaring to Mr. Fox. P. P. 1864.
 
 ORAKAU. 209 
 
 " rendering it impossible to distinguish one from the other at 
 any distance." He under-rated the number. Amongst the 
 wounded were found six, and many more were killed and 
 wounded. 1 A report by an interpreter declared " numbers are 
 wounded, and I regret to say a large quantity of women." More 
 than a hundred Maoris were found dead, and at the most distant 
 point of pursuit it was seen that the wounded were carried by 
 their friends, while fresh traces of blood in the morning showed 
 that the same occupation was followed during the night. The 
 English loss was 16 killed and 52 wounded. It was hoped that 
 the body of Rewi might be found. The General vainly offered 
 a reward of ten pounds for it. The bodies which were not 
 shattered were recognized by the friendly Maoris who accom- 
 panied the English. The fallen were supposed to have been 
 Uriwera, Taupo, and Waikato people. The troops buried their 
 enemies, some at the edge of Orakau, and others on the mound 
 at the south-east where the cavalry had crossed the fliers. The 
 conduct of the troops was highly extolled by the General, who 
 returned at once to Pukerimu. Of the Maoris Le said, " They had 
 probably not less than 150 men killed out of a garrison not 
 exceeding 300. " It is impossible not to admire the heroic 
 courage and devotion of the natives in defending themselves so 
 long against overwhelming numbers. Surrounded closely on all 
 sides, cut off from their supply of water, and deprived of all 
 hope of succour, they resolutely held their ground for more than 
 two days, and did not abandon their position until the sap had 
 reached the ditch of their last entrenchment." 
 
 It was soon ascertained that Rewi had escorted his people to 
 Hangatiki and was building a pah there. No man was permitted 
 to enter or leave the district without his permission. Thither 
 Brigadier-General Carey sent a Maori messenger to press the 
 terms of peace offered by the Governor and General. The 
 messenger was not allowed to see Rewi, but was told that the 
 
 1 An English soldier described to the author how an unarmed Maori for 
 some time protected the women and children fleeing with him. As his 
 pursuers approached he turned and knelt down to take deliberate aim. 
 Time after time, without firing a shot, he thus arrested the pursuit while 
 the women fled. At last he was himself shot, and it was found that his 
 gun was not loaded. Some of the women escaped by means of the self- 
 sacrifice of this unnamed Maori hero. 
 
 VOL. II. P
 
 210 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 terms could not be accepted, lest faith should he broken as it 
 had been broken with the prisoners taken at Kangiriri. The 
 offers to spare life at Orakau had been refused by Rewi for the 
 same reason. He would not by giving up his arms place himself 
 at the General's mercy, but he was willing to live in peace if 
 unmolested. Sir George Grey bitterly deplored that the obstinacy 
 of the Ministry in refusing to release any of the captives gave 
 strength to the life-despising despair of the Maoris. The grounds 
 of Rewi's distrust reached him a few days after Mr. Whitaker 
 rejected his solicitations for Te Oriori's release. The fall of 
 Orakau and the scattering of Rewi's force left the Maoris at 
 Maungatautiri between two large bodies of English troops. 
 They abandoned their pah. Ten thousand English troops had 
 pulled down the pride of Waikato. The war was over. A 
 generous policy towards the fallen might have touched the 
 hearts of a race of whose conduct, at Orakau, Mr. Fox himself 
 was constrained to say : " Does ancient or modern history, or 
 our own rough island story, record anything more heroic ? " 
 As on the west coast, where Major Butler left no Maori culti- 
 vation within 20 miles of Taranaki, so in Waikato and else- 
 where, where war was waged, crops were destroyed and property 
 taken without stint. Ruthless waste was admitted to be the only 
 way by which the subjugation of the natives could be effected. 
 Those who could not be conquered or captured might be starved. 
 Against the king-maker, Te Waharoa, the Ministry had a deep 
 grudge, and as he had influence near Tauranga it was determined 
 to prosecute the expedition which, in February, had been sus- 
 pended in opposition to the wish of the Ministry. But, though 
 suspended, it had excited the Maoris. Major Whitmore reported 
 in April that the younger and worse-disposed natives had gone 
 from Hawke's Bay to Tauranga. They were emulous of the 
 ghastly distinction won by their countrymen at Orakau. They 
 resented the blockade of the coast. Friendly chiefs were anxious 
 to raise forces to assist the English, and Major Whitmore asked 
 if he might raise a native contingent. If they objected to war 
 against Waikato they would fight elsewhere. Major Whitmore's 
 belief in their pugnacity was confirmed two days after the date 
 of his letter. The Maoris (Ngaiterangi and others) had advanced 
 to their frontier, and built near the boundary of the Church
 
 THE GATE PAH. 211 
 
 Missionary land a pah, at Pukehinahina, called afterwards the 
 " Gate Pah," because, being on a ridge, with a narrow swamp at 
 each side, it served as a passage from English to Maori land. 
 It was about three miles from the mission station at Tauranga. 
 There they waited to defend their territory. Fully expecting to 
 be attacked, they sent (28th March) a protocol to the Colonel in 
 command, announcing that unarmed persons, and even a soldier 
 who turned to the enemy the butt of his musket or hilt of his 
 sword, would be spared. On the 21st April, General Cameron 
 transferred his head-quarters to Tauranga. On the same day, 
 near Fort Maketu, Major Colville (43rd Regiment) reported an 
 ambuscade laid and an ensuing skirmish, in which the friendly 
 Arawa aided the troops. On the 26th, the General reconnoitred 
 the position from the sea. On the 27th, the enemy fired upon 
 the English fort. H.M.S. ' Falcon' and the 'Sandfly' arriving, 
 shelled their position, and followed the Maoris along the coast 
 for twelve miles. The commander of the native contingent, 
 Major G. D. Hay, pursued by land. On the 28th, the land force 
 being about 400, which was the estimated strength of the enemy, 
 there was an engagement at Matata, near the river Te Awaoteatua, 
 in which the English allies were successful. Major Hay reported 
 that the Arawa behaved very well. More than 50 of the enemy 
 were found dead, and it seemed that the Ngatiawa and their 
 allies were effectually broken. On the English side there were 
 few casualties. A captured chief was assured by Captain 
 McDonell that his life was in no danger; but the widow of a 
 chief slain in the English ranks openly walked up to the captive 
 and shot him dead. On the 27th, the General reconnoitred the 
 Gate Pah, and moved thither a large body of troops. On the 
 28th, he had assembled a force of about 1700 men in front of it. 
 He had one 110-pounder, two 40-pounders, and two 6-pounder 
 Armstrong guns; two howitzers, two mortars, and six cohorn 
 mortars. In the evening it was ascertained that the swamp on 
 the enemy's right might be passed safely, and while a feigned 
 attack was made in front, Colonel Greer, with about 700 of the 
 68th, succeeded in taking up a position behind the enemy to 
 prevent escape. About half a mile in their rear Colonel Greer, 
 in the dark, heard the Maoris talking in their redoubt. The 
 
 guns and mortars were put into position in the night. Soon 
 
 p 2
 
 212 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 after daybreak on the 29th, fire was opened in front. On a ridge 
 about 80 feet in height and 250 yards wide, abruptly falling on 
 each side at first, and then sloping on sandy pumice formation 
 on each flank to a narrow swamp in a gorge, was an oblong 
 palisaded redoubt, guarded by an entrenched line of rifle-pits 
 between the side-faces of the redoubt and the swamps. Within, 
 the rifle-pits were horizontally covered with sticks and fern, and 
 earth heaped above. Under the roof was space for loopholes. 
 The redoubt was about 70 yards wide by a depth of 30. About 
 100 yards in the rear, as if to invite the English to fire in the 
 wrong direction, was planted the Maori flagstaff. For about two 
 hours the stratagem was successful, but then a mingled torrent 
 of shot and shell hurtled amongst the Maori earth-holes. The 
 Maoris made no sign, except when one of them coolly shovelled 
 up earth to repair a partial breach. Trained soldiers marvelled 
 at the time, as all who have visited the spot have marvelled 
 since, at the daring of those dusky warriors. At noon it was 
 found that a gun could be moved across the swamp on the 
 enemy's left to high ground. Thence an Armstrong six-pounder 
 enfiladed the Maoris, and drove them from the left of their 
 position. The firing won the General's approval throughout 
 the day, and at four o'clock he ordered the assault, "a practicable 
 breach" having been made. This time, at least, the Maoris 
 were thought to be doomed. There was daylight to kill them 
 by, and Colonel Greer was in the rear to intercept fliers. One 
 hundred and fifty seamen and marines, and an equal number of 
 the 43rd, under their Colonel, Booth, formed the assaulting 
 party. A detachment of 170 men was extended as near as 
 possible to keep down the fire from the rifle-pits, and follow the 
 column into the work. Three hundred men formed the reserve, 
 under Captain Hamilton of H.M.S. ' Esk.' The winding ridge 
 (commanded only on one side by the Maoris after they had been 
 driven in from their left) protected the assailants. When the 
 bombardment ceased, and a rocket gave signal for the assault, 
 Colonel Greer moved his men close to the rear of the pah. The 
 breach was gained; Colonel Booth and Commander Hay led 
 the way. As they dashed into the inner trench hardly an enemy 
 was to be seen. In the earth-covered rifle-pits and passages, 
 which had sheltered the Maoris during that iron hail of ten
 
 THE GATE PAH. 213 
 
 hours' duration, they were still concealed from sight. But they 
 saw the English, and jets of smoke from right and left told 
 a deadly tale as gun after gun brought down the confused 
 assailants. The fort, which hardly had room for its defenders, 
 bore a thickening crowd, who poured into it merely to be shot. 
 The check sustained was seen from without. The reserve 
 plunged forward to support their comrades, but in vain. In 
 that imminent and deadly breach the officers of both services 
 threw away life like smoke-wreaths rather than quail. Captain 
 Hamilton " fell as he led in the reserve." Colonel Booth and 
 Commander Hay, R.N. had fallen. Captains Hamilton, Glover, 
 Mure, Utterton, and two Lieutenants, all of the 43rd, were shot 
 dead or wounded in that fray so that they died. Captain Glover 
 was seen on the ground. His brother, a Lieutenant in the same 
 regiment, was carrying him to a place of safety, and was shot. 
 Both died of their wounds. 1 The Maoris at such close quarters 
 seldom missed, and to miss then would have left them at the 
 mercy of the bayonet. In a few minutes scores of the English 
 were laid low. Stunned and panic-struck their comrades broke 
 and fled. As they went they took no advantage of the ground, 
 but were shot on the open surface of the ridge. No man could 
 account for the disaster. Some said that by mistake, in the din 
 and the rattle of musketry, the word " retreat " was heard and 
 acted upon. Some said that the main body of the Maoris had 
 rushed to the rear, had encountered the 68th, recoiled; and, 
 dashing back to the redoubt to sell dearly the lives they could 
 not save, were thought by the astonished soldiers to be a Maori 
 re-enforcement, sprung as by magic on the scene. The Maoris 
 must have known that escape was hopeless, and it does not 
 appear that they sought it before beating back the assault. 
 Panic knows no law but disorder. The General could report 
 but not explain. " Captain Hamilton was shot dead on the top 
 of the parapet while in the act of encouraging his men to 
 advance, and in a few minutes almost every officer of the 
 column was either killed or wounded. Up to this moment the 
 men, so nobly led by their officers, fought gallantly, and appeared 
 to have carried the position, when they sudddenly gave way and 
 
 1 They were brothers of Captain Glover who distinguished himself iu 
 Ashantee in 1874.
 
 214 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 fell back from the work to the nearest cover. This repulse I 
 am at a loss to explain otherwise than by attributing it to the 
 confusion created among the men by the intricate nature of the 
 interior of the defences, and the sudden fall of so many of their 
 officers." The Maoris leapt forward to the work of slaughter. 
 One of them exposed himself openly on the parapet and taunted 
 the fliers as he fired, inviting them to renew the assault. Two 
 of the 43rd were brained by tomahawks. The General, on 
 reaching the front, determined not to renew the assault until 
 morning, but threw up a line of entrenchment within a hundred 
 yards of the fatal fortress. 
 
 Colonel Greer's movements are clearly related by himself. 
 At daybreak he heard the besieged singing and dancing in their 
 pah. A little disturbance was created in his ranks by the success 
 of the Maori device in placing their flagstaff in rear of their 
 work. The casualty list showed three of his men wounded by 
 shells. Once or twice during the day he thought the Maoris 
 were disposed to break away to the rear, and, when the assault 
 began, he drew so close as to make escape impossible. " About 
 five o'clock, p.m., the Maoris made a determined rush from the 
 right rear of their pah, I met them with three companies, and 
 after a skirmish drove the main body back : about 20 got past 
 my right, but received a flank fire from Lieutenant Cox's party 
 (68th, 60 men), and Lieutenant Hotham's (30 men) Naval 
 Brigade, and 16 of the Maoris were seen to fall ; a number of 
 men pursued the remainder. By the time I had collected the 
 men again and posted them it was very dark. My force available 
 on the right was quite inadequate to cover the ground in such 
 a manner as to prevent the Maoris from escaping during the 
 night ; in fact I consider that on such a dark wet night as that 
 was, nothing but a close chain of sentries, strongly supported 
 round the whole rear and flanks, could have kept the Maoris in ; 
 and to do that a much stronger force than I had would have 
 been necessary. During the night the Maoris made their escape. 
 I think that, taking advantage of the darkness, they crept away 
 in small parties, for during the night every post either saw or 
 heard some of them escaping, and fired volleys at them. The 
 Maoris, careful not to expose themselves, never returned a shot 
 during the night, but there were occasional shots fired from the
 
 THE GATE PAH. 215 
 
 pah, no doubt to deceive us as to their having left it." How 
 they left no one knew at the camp of the General. After they 
 had poured their volleys upon the flying troops they made no 
 sign of abandoning their post. Those who knew the voice of the 
 chief Rawiri heard him calling to the soldiers to come on. In 
 the pitchy night which ensued, either by the right rear or by 
 stealing through the fern on their right flank, the garrison passed 
 silently away, leaving, as was rarely the case, wounded and dead 
 behind. Wounded prisoners told that some had been carried 
 away even on this occasion. The tale was strange ; but every- 
 thing about the Gate Pah was equally so. The network of 
 rifle-pits and underground passages, of which the English had 
 become masters, had cost them the lives of 10 officers and 25 
 non-commissioned officers and men, while 4 officers and 72 
 of other ranks were wounded. Yet "not more than 20 dead 
 and 6 wounded Maoris could be found in and about their 
 position," and of them but few had been hurt by Armstrong 
 guns or shell. It was said that no English regiment at Waterloo 
 had lost so many officers as the 43rd lost at the Gate Pah. The 
 General's official report that the assault began at four o'clock 
 and Colonel's Greer's statement that the Maoris made their 
 sally in the rear at five o'clock, refute the idea that the return 
 of the Maoris to their pah turned the tide of battle within it. 
 The storming party had been driven back 45 minutes before 
 the sally was made. It seems that having repelled the assault, 
 and perhaps presuming that the English, under Colonel Greer, 
 would be discouraged, the Maoris resorted to their usual tactics 
 of abandoning their stronghold after inflicting loss upon the 
 enemy, but that Colonel Greer's readiness compelled them to 
 escape by night. When Mr. Smith, the Civil Commissioner, 
 entered the pah in the morning, he believed the statement of a 
 wounded Maori that less than 200 men had defended the work, 
 " as it did not appear 'capable of holding more." The dead 
 English had neither been stripped nor mutilated. They had 
 been kindly treated. Among the Maori garrison was Henare 
 Taratoa, who had been educated under Bishop Selwyn at St. 
 John's College prior to 1853. He tended one of the English 
 wounded who, in his dying agonies, thirsted for a drop of water. 
 The Maoris had none. Taratoa threaded his way through the
 
 216 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 English sentries in the darkness, and returned with a calabash 
 of water to slake his enemy's thirst. By the side of each 
 wounded Englishman there was found in the morning some 
 small water-vessel, placed there by the Maoris before they 
 departed from their fort. In recognition of their chivalry the 
 few Ngaiterangi prisoners were afterwards released by Sir 
 George Grey. The dying Colonel Booth was carried out of the 
 pah in the morning. The General went to him ; but the gallant 
 soldier felt the repulse so deeply that he turned away his face, 
 saying : " General, I can't look at you. I tried to carry out 
 your orders but we failed." He died in the evening. 
 
 The English dead were buried in the mission burial-ground 
 at Tauranga on the 2nd May, amid feelings which have seldom 
 harrowed a British force, for many of the men burned with 
 shame for the repulse, and were stunned by grief for their 
 comrades. Within a separate enclosure, about 30 yards by 20, 
 in that cemetery, may be seen to this day an obelisk inscribed 
 on three sides. One inscription tells that Colonel Booth, 
 Captains Glover, Mure, Hamilton, and Utterton, and Lieutenant 
 Glover and Ensign Langlands fell at the Gate Pah. Another 
 tells that Serjeant-Major Vance and a bugler, James Black wall, 
 with eleven privates, are interred there. The third is in memory 
 of two corporals and four privates, who fell in a subsequent 
 action at Te Eanga. A separate tomb tells that Captain 
 J. F. C. Hamilton, of H.M.S. 'Esk,' "fell in the assault on the 
 Pukehinahina (Gate) Pah." In the same enclosure there are 
 other graves and memorials of those who at different times were 
 killed or died in the district. The enclosure, with the cemetery 
 of which it is a part, is on the site of what was once a strong 
 pah, on a low promontory, steeply scarped by the hands of 
 Maoris. Ditches 'and high embankments intersecting the 
 plateau show that the pah was once a formidable work. 
 
 Wars of old time with spears and clubs, and the wanton 
 sacrifice of life at the Gate Pah, arouse melancholy reflections 
 in the traveller who stands on the promontory and looks across 
 the peaceful waters of the bay to the pyramid of Mongonui, 
 standing like a lonely guard athwart the entrance to the harbour. 
 At Mongonui, within the memory of white men, one of the 
 savagest Maori slaughters had taken place. The murderous
 
 . TE RANGA. 217 
 
 native wars were practically extinguished by Christianity, and 
 the land might have had peace but for the pestilent injustice 
 enacted by Governor Browne and his advisers. The slaughter 
 at the Gate Pah would not have taken place if the Whitaker 
 Ministry had not wantonly promoted the Tauranga campaign. 
 If General Cameron had been content to occupy the front and 
 rear of the Gate Pah English blood need not have been shed 
 there. The Maoris must have surrendered, or ventured at dis- 
 advantage to pass the English lines. As usual, the Maori allies 
 had endeavoured to dissuade the General from the assault. Wi 
 Patene and others, friendly to the English, obtained permission 
 to bury the Maori dead. Mr. Smith, the Civil Commissioner, 
 with 18 natives, on Sunday (1st May) interred the bodies within 
 the mission boundary near the Gate Pah, Archdeacon Brown 
 reading a portion of the funeral service. A mound was raised 
 to mark the common grave. Except to prove what required no 
 further proof Maori valour, the defence of Pukehinahina was 
 idle. It could not check the English advance. Wi Patene and 
 other friendly chiefs proposed to communicate with the rebels 
 and urge submission. The General declined to authorize such 
 overtures. If the rebels desired to make any, they might com- 
 municate with him. Wi Patene admitted that the General's 
 reasons were satisfactory. 
 
 The Maoris did not retreat far. It was rumoured that they 
 were fortifying a position in the hills at the head of the Wairoa. 
 But the spirit of presumption was upon them, and Maori allies 
 warned the English of their movements. On the 21st June, 
 Colonel Greer heard that they were commencing to build a pah 
 at Te Ranga, a few miles from the scene of their recent struggle, 
 and he resolved to attack them before they could build palisades 
 or construct shell-defying burrows. He marched to the spot 
 with a force of 600 men, enfiladed them from a spur which 
 commanded their right, drove in their skirmishers, kept up a 
 sharp fire for two hours; and, when re-enforced by a gun and 220 
 more men, sounded the advance upon the position, which con- 
 sisted of a ditch four or five feet deep. The 43rd, 68th, and 1st 
 Waikato Regiments carried the rifle-pits with a dash, the Maoris 
 firing vigorously but as usual too high. For a few minutes they 
 fought desperately, then turned and fled, leaving 68 dead in the
 
 218 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 rifle-pits. The pursuit was keen. The 43rd avenged their loss 
 at the Gate Pah. One hundred and eight l Maoris were killed, 
 27 were wounded, and 10 were made prisoners. Henare Taratoa, 
 the humane hero of the Gate Pah, was amongst the killed. On 
 his body was found a written order of the day for war. It began 
 with prayer and ended with the words, " If thine enemy hunger, 
 feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink." The English loss was 
 10 killed and 40 wounded. The dead Maoris were thrown into 
 the rifle-pits dug by themselves the day before. The bayonet 
 was the death-dealing weapon in the pits. A corporal of the 
 68th transfixed a Maori, who at once coolly seized the corporal's 
 rifle with one hand and was endeavouring, tomahawk in hand, 
 to cut down his enemy with the other, when a serjeant saved 
 his comrade with a second bayonet. One Maori was brought in 
 calmly smoking his pipe. On throwing open his blanket for the 
 surgeon's inspection he showed four bullet-holes and five bayonet 
 wounds through his trunk and thighs. Mr. Meade, B-.N., saw 
 him recovered and walking some months afterwards. Rawiri, 
 who had invited the English to renew the assault at the Gate 
 Pah, and almost all the notable chiefs, were among the killed. 
 In his hurried account, written on the spot, Colonel Greer said : 
 " I must not conclude without remarking on the gallant stand 
 made by the Maoris at the rifle-pits. They stood the charge 
 without flinching, and did not retire until forced out at the point 
 of the bayonet." 2 
 
 Success so crushing touched, if it did not soften, the heart of 
 one at least of the Ministry. Mr. Fox wrote in after years that 
 the annihilation of the tribe was so complete, that when (in 
 July and August) the survivors submitted, " they were truly a 
 
 1 N. Z. P. P. 1864. E. No. 3, p. 81. 
 
 2 Sir George Grey wrote to the Secretary of State (1st July, 1864): 
 "Colonel Greer tells me that no thought of yielding possessed the natives 
 that they fought with desperation, and when at length compelled by the 
 bayonet to quit the trenches in which they left more than a tenth of their 
 number dead, it was strange to see them slowly climb up, and, disdaining 
 to run, walk away under a fire that mowed them down, some halting and 
 firing as they retired, others with heads bent down stoically and .proudly 
 receiving their inevitable fate. He adds in speaking of Rawiri their 
 leader, who was amongst the slain ' Poor Rawiri was a brave man, and 
 behaved like a chivalrous gentleman towards me.' "
 
 THE MINISTRY. 219 
 
 miserable remnant, on whom it was impossible to look without 
 feelings of the deepest commiseration and pity." On the 5th 
 August, Sir George Grey, with General Cameron and two of his 
 advisers, met all the natives. They had previously surrendered 
 their arms to Colonel Greer. They now surrendered their lands. 
 Sir George Grey promised to care for them as the Queen's sub- 
 jects, and to release all prisoners of their tribe, in consideration 
 of the chivalrous manner in which they had carried on the war. 
 The Maoris expressed their gratitude. They ceded all their 
 lands, and the Governor retained one-fourth as an atonement 
 for rebellion, returning the remainder in recognition of the 
 humanity of the tribes. The loss of Tauranga was the final blow 
 to the Waikato tribes. It had afforded their most available 
 seaport; and through it warlike contingents found their way 
 from the east coast to Waikato. Strategically the campaign was 
 effective ; but he who is free from prejudice or lust for the land 
 of the conquered may agree with the words, though not the 
 feelings, of Mr. Fox in his equivocal defence, which declared 
 that the "occupation of Tauranga was as fully justified as any 
 other movement of the war." 
 
 In the king-maker's mind no doubts existed longer. The 
 Maoris, unless united, had no prospect of success. They were 
 not united ; and some of the most powerful tribes were arrayed 
 against the patriot or rebel party. He was willing to bow to 
 the stroke of fate. Burial-places rifled for green-stone treasures 
 cattle destroyed or eaten maize and potato crops consumed 
 peach-groves cut down, or burnt; consequent starvation or 
 distress : these were fruits of the war which the more impetu- 
 ous Maoris had courted, and which, if they had not courted it, 
 Whitaker and his friends were determined to bring about, as 
 soon as they could command English blood and treasure with 
 which to wage it. They had denied that land was their object. 
 They had repelled the arguments of Sir William Martin, Arch- 
 deacon Hadfield, and others, who had shown that the Maoris 
 could look upon the conduct of the English as arising only from 
 lust for land ; and now that success had crowned the arms of 
 England, they proceeded to prove by their conduct that Sir 
 William Martin was right. 
 
 It is difficult to imagine how any number of men, conversant
 
 220 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 with the rules prevailing in English society, could conduct 
 themselves as Mr. Whitaker and his colleagues comported them- 
 selves towards the representative of the Crown with regard to 
 the Maori prisoners. When tidings came that the treatment of 
 the prisoners rankled in the minds of their countrymen, and 
 intensified the horrors of war at Orakau and elsewhere, Sir G. 
 Grey (4th May) asked his advisers to agree to the appointment 
 of a Board, to inquire whether the prisoners could be main- 
 tained on board the hulk in the winter, and the Ministers then 
 proposed to yield to his anxious desire that the Maoris generally 
 might know something of the probable fate of the prisoners. 
 They suggested that it should be announced that only loss of 
 personal liberty would be inflicted until peace might be made, 
 when allotments of land would be given ; and that two, not im- 
 portant chiefs, should be allowed to go on parole to explain their 
 position to the tribes. The Governor replied, that as after so 
 long deliberation the Ministry had determined upon such a 
 course, it would be well for them to carry it out. It would still 
 be competent for the Secretary of State to convey any com- 
 mands of Her Majesty varying the amount of punishment. 
 
 At this period the disasters at the Gate Pah were announced, 
 and the Governor was about to proceed to Tauranga (10th 
 May), when the Ministry asked him to sign blank passes for two 
 chiefs to be selected as emissaries, on parole, to announce to 
 their countrymen the intention of the Government with respect 
 to the prisoners. Sir George Grey trusted the Ministry would 
 excuse him from signing such papers for uninfluential chiefs. 
 " It was against the judgment of the Governor that these prisoners 
 and their friends were left so long without a guarantee of what 
 their punishment was to be. It is equally against his judgment, 
 that at the present moment, after our heavy losses at Tauranga, 
 such a communication as is proposed, carried by such messengers, 
 should be conveyed to the natives now in arms. In assenting to 
 the Executive Government carrying out by their own action the 
 course they have determined to adopt, the Governor thinks he 
 has done all that can be required of him." Mr. Fox signed 
 passes, and Sir George Grey enclosed them to Brigadier-General 
 Carey in Waikato ; but the mission was unproductive. The 
 appointment of the Board of Inquiry upon the hulk caused
 
 MR. CARDWELL ON SETTLEMENTS ACT. 22 L 
 
 much correspondence. The relations which the Ministry desired to 
 establish maybe gathered from one fact. On the 23rd June, in 
 reply to an interrogation, the Governor learned for the first time 
 from Mr. For that Te Oriori had been put upon parole. Mr. Fox 
 justified his reticence by arguing that the Ministry thought that 
 in telling the Governor nothing about the chief for whose release 
 he had vainly pleaded, the " Ministers in acting as they did 
 thought they were conforming to his Excellency's views." 
 
 At this juncture, when the slaughter at Te Ranga seemed to 
 place unlimited, power of rapine in the hands of the Ministry, 
 there sped across the sea a despatch which showed that English 
 honour was more safe in the hands of Mr. Cardwell than in 
 those of his predecessor. The Settlements Act which Mr. 
 Whitaker had pronounced essential to the well-being of the 
 colony furnished the text. Mr. Cardwell did not dispute the 
 right of the Colonial Government to extort from the insurgents 
 some aid in defraying the expenses of the war, but the expenses 
 had been borne mainly by England, which had therefore a right 
 to require that the cession or confiscation of territory should not 
 be carried further than was consistent with the permanent 
 pacification of the island and the honour of the English name. 
 As for the Settlements Act itself, the Duke of Newcastle pointed 
 out in 1863 the difficulties incident to forming military settle- 
 ments, and the reprehension with which the English Govern- 
 ment would view measures tending to intensify disaffection. 
 "I need scarcely observe " (Mr. Cardwell said) "that the Act 
 now forwarded, taken in combination with the scheme proposed 
 by your Government, exhibits a rapid expansion of the principles 
 in which the Duke of Newcastle acquiesced with so much 
 reserve. . . . Considering that the defence of the colony is at 
 present effected by an Imperial force, I should perhaps have 
 been justified in 'recommending the disallowance of an Act 
 couched in such sweeping terms, capable therefore of great 
 abuse, unless its practical operation were restrained by a strong 
 and resolute hand ; and calculated if abused to frustrate its own 
 objects, and to prolong instead of terminating war. But not 
 having received from you any expression of your disapproval, 
 and being most unwilling to weaken your hands in the moment 
 of your military success, Her Majesty's Government have
 
 222 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 decided that the Act shall for the present remain in operation. 
 They are led to this conclusion not merely by a desire to sustain 
 the authority of the local government, but also in no small 
 degree by observing that no confiscation can take effect without 
 your personal concurrence, and by the reliance which they so 
 justly place on your sagacity, firmness, and experience, and your 
 long-recognized regard as well for the interests of the colonists 
 as for the fair rights and expectation of the native race." Mr. 
 Cardwell was wise enough to foresee that not confiscation but 
 cession of land should be aimed at. It was desirable that the 
 proposed appropriation of land should take the form of a cession 
 imposed by the Governor and General Cameron upon the con- 
 quered tribes, and made by them as a condition on which Her 
 Majesty's clemency should be extended. If this should be found 
 impossible, the Governor might bring the Settlements Act into 
 operation subject to reservations. The Act must be limited in 
 duration by an amending measure. A duration of two years 
 from the original date of enactment would afford time for 
 inquiry as to extent, situation, and justice of the forfeiture, and 
 yet relieve the conquered from protracted suspense, while 
 assuring friendly natives that there was no desire to disregard 
 the ordinary principles of law. The aggregate extent of for- 
 feiture should be at once made known. A Commission not 
 removable with the Ministry should inquire what lands might 
 properly be forfeited. The Governor's concurrence in the for- 
 feiture was not to be a mere ministerial act, but to be withheld 
 unless he should be satisfied that the confiscation was just and 
 moderate. "In the absence of those legal safeguards which 
 furnish the ordinary protection of the vanquished, the Imperial 
 and Colonial Governments were bound to adjust their proceed- 
 ings to the laws of natural equity, and to the expectations which 
 the Maoris had been encouraged or allowed to form," so that it 
 might be plain to them that the Europeans were "just, as well 
 as severe." To confiscate for European use the most valuable 
 land, and drive the original owners to forest and morass, would 
 convert the Maoris into desperate banditti, emerging from their 
 fastnesses to destroy the peaceful fruits of industry. " I rely on 
 your wisdom and justice to avert a danger so serious in its 
 bearing on the interests of the European not less than of the
 
 MR. CARD WELL ON SETTLEMENTS ACT. 223 
 
 native race. Turning to that part of the law which authorizes 
 the dispossession of persons who have not been involved in the 
 recent rebellion, I have to observe that though Her Majesty's 
 Government admit with regret that the tribal nature of the 
 native tenure will sometimes render it unavoidable that inno- 
 cent persons should be deprived of their lands, they consider 
 that land should not be appropriated against the will of the 
 owners merely because it is in the same district with rebel 
 property, and may conveniently be used for purposes of settle- 
 ment, but only in cases where loyal and neutral natives are 
 unfortunate enough to be joint owners with persons concerned 
 in the rebellion, or because it is absolutely required for defence 
 or communication, or on some similar ground of necessity. But 
 every case of supposed necessity should be examined with the 
 greatest care, and admitted with the greatest caution and reserve. 
 ... I trust that in accepting any cession, or authorizing con- 
 firmation of any forfeiture of land, you will retain in your own 
 hands ample power of doing substantial justice to every class of 
 claimant for restitution or compensation." Finally, cessions 
 having been received, the Governor would do well to accompany 
 his justice and severity by announcing a general amnesty, 
 excepting only the murderers of unoffending settlers, or other 
 heinous criminals concerned in outrages to be specified in the 
 proclamation. Subject to these cautions and conditions Her 
 Majesty's Government would leave in the hands of Sir George 
 Grey the power entrusted to him by the Act. In the same 
 despatch the consent of the Imperial Government to guarantee a 
 large portion of the New Zealand loan was announced, and a hope 
 was expressed that by reason of General Cameron's operations, and 
 the Colonial Administration, peace might be procured, the troops 
 be withdrawn, and the blessings of order restored to the colony. 
 It has been needful to give an epitome of Mr. Cardwell's 
 instructions, because Mr. Fox, in his ' History of the War in New 
 Zealand,' denounced them as " directing things to be done which 
 were physically impossible, and others to be attempted which 
 were palpably absurd, and which, if attempted to be carried out, 
 could operate in no other way than to upset the plans of the 
 Colonial Government." It seems not to have occurred to Mr. 
 Whitaker and his colleagues that, if their designs were unjust or
 
 224 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 dishonouring to British fame, they deserved to be overthrown. 
 The " natural equity " to which Mr. Card well appealed dwelt 
 not wkhin their breasts. Mr. Cardwell's announcement that 
 he looked to the Governor, as representative of the Imperial 
 Government, to decide the fate of prisoners of war, arrived a few 
 weeks later, but the despatch of the 26th April made it clear 
 that on so vital a point the Secretary of State would speak with 
 no uncertain sound. 
 
 Sir George Grey gratefully accepted an offer made by the 
 Ministers to surrender the prisoners to his care, (on conditions, 
 one of which was the cost of maintenance,) and concerting his 
 plans with the General, ordered that the prisoners should be 
 taken charge of by the military authorities, undertaking that the 
 Imperial Government should refund all expenses legitimately 
 incurred by the imprisonment, and assume future responsibility. 
 But Mr. Fox (25th June, 1864) wrote : " While, therefore, they 
 yield to the pressure which his Excellency brings to bear upon 
 them, Ministers felt bound to state " that the release of the 
 prisoners as a body would be unwise. The Ministry could " only 
 conclude that his Excellency is determined to carry out his views 
 regardless of his responsible advisers." Further difficulties 
 arose. The Ministry took umbrage at the Governor's statement 
 that one Maori had been imprisoned under a misunderstanding, 
 and that inquiry would show that other innocent persons were 
 in the hulk ; but eventually (12th July) Sir George Grey having 
 proposed that the prisoners should be located at Kawau, an 
 island belonging to himself, Mr. Fox wrote : " All that Minis- 
 ters can say at present is that they enter very cordially into the 
 proposal, and will be prepared to give every assistance in their 
 power towards carrying it into execution." 
 
 To Kawau, an island about thirty miles from Auckland, the 
 prison-hulk was taken on the 2nd August. The Rev. Mr. Ash- 
 well, a missionary who had been expelled from Waikato by the 
 Maoris, was placed there. The natives were to be allowed to 
 cultivate the land, and their settlement was to be managed like 
 a Moravian mission-station. By order of Mr. Russell, the 
 Defence Minister, the military guard was withdrawn on the 2nd 
 August. A written promise not to go away without leave was 
 to be obtained from the prisoners. In the hurry of affairs Mr.
 
 ESCAPE OF PRISONERS FROM KAWAU. 225 
 
 White, of the Native Department, who had been Interpreter and 
 Superintendent of the captives in the hulk, omitted to obtain the 
 written promise. For some weeks all went well. On the 6th 
 September, Mr. Fox said : " Ministers are satisfied with the 
 arrangement lately made for the custody of the prisoners by 
 their removal to Kawau." He wrote thus in a document in 
 which the Ministry protested against Mr. CardwelPs ruling, that 
 the Governor should determine, subject to positive law, the fate 
 of prisoners of war. They denounced any attempts to withdraw 
 responsible government piecemeal. Sir George Grey transmitted 
 their protest to Mr. Cardwell, with a despatch shown to his 
 Ministers, in which he declined, while responsible for what was 
 done, " to act as their servant to carry out that which I know to 
 be illegal, and believe rightly or wrongly to be such as will 
 reflect discredit upon our name." The Ministry had not dealt 
 with this rejoinder when Auckland was electrified by the escape 
 of the prisoners in a body to the mainland, on the night of the 
 1 Oth September. H.M.S. ' Falcon ' arrived at Kawau the day 
 before they escaped. Some persons said that the ball-practice 
 in which her men were engaged was thought by the Maoris to 
 be the beginning of the end. Rumours were rife that if war 
 should be renewed in Waikato the prisoners were to be put on 
 board the hulk, and sunk at sea. The sword was over the 
 heads of all, while none knew who might be selected to be tried 
 for offences which their enemies might call murder. In the 
 raids made in the Auckland district, settlers had been killed in 
 the early part of the war, and for their deaths it was known that 
 vengeance would be exacted, notwithstanding the fact that at 
 Rangiaohia Maori women and children had been burned. In 
 refusing to let the prisoners know who was to be tried and who 
 merely detained till the close of the war, the Ministry had kept 
 the axe at the throats of all. The escape of such men consti- 
 tuted a danger to all Europeans. They were more than 200 in 
 number. They might determine to sell life dearly rather than 
 surrender. Nay, they might slaughter all they could find. 
 
 Sir George Grey was informed of the escape on the night of 
 the llth. On the 12th, with Mr. White, the Superintendent 
 at Kawau, he was at the scene of escape. The fugitives had 
 landed at Waikauri, left the boats on the shore, and marched to 
 
 VOL. II. Q
 
 226 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the ranges. They had spades, hatchets, and a few double- 
 barrelled guns. Sir George Grey sent Mr. White with Te 
 Oriori, two other natives, and a European, upon their path. On 
 the 14th they were found. They received their visitors politely. 
 Mr. White was seated in the centre of their encampment. 
 After silence for a quarter of an hour Tapihana bade them 
 welcome, but declared he would not go back. Te Oriori gave 
 the Governor's message. They had done wrong. The speaker 
 urged them to return. Other fugitives spoke. Tapihana, who 
 mingled eager action with rapid words, admitted that the escape 
 was a wrong; but fear was the cause of it. They concluded 
 they were in peril when the man-of-war sailed round the island 
 and fired. Such a thing had not happened before. They only 
 wanted to be free. They would molest no Pakeha. They 
 would resist force. Some appeared willing to return, but loth 
 to do so in opposition to their comrades. Te Oriori, whose in- 
 firmity of purpose the Ministry had dreaded, showed no vacilla- 
 tion. He returned with Mr. White, and the refugees remained 
 on the top of the hill Omaha. They received all visitors kindly. 
 They were supplied by neighbouring natives with food. When 
 they visited a shop they went in small armed parties. 
 
 The Ministry blamed the Governor. They were at the time 
 indignant at his declining to sanction the confiscation they had 
 proposed. Fox wrote (30th September) : "A course of action on 
 the part of his Excellency, which he has been pleased to term 
 ' generous ' towards the prisoners, has terminated in their escape, 
 and in a very serious complication of the difficulties of the 
 colony. In the mean time, while so much generosity is shown 
 towards the Maoris taken in arms, his Excellency's sympathy is 
 withheld from the unfortunate English colonists who have been 
 driven from their homes and reduced to ruin ; and the Colonial 
 Government is unable to provide for their reinstatement, or to 
 compensate them for their losses, because his Excellency declines 
 to confiscate the lands of those who have inflicted so much 
 misery upon them. His Excellency appeals to the judgment 
 of posterity : he cannot mean the posterity of those who are 
 thus left in destitution while a morbid and unaccountable 
 sympathy is extended towards rebels, who have shown the most 
 marked ingratitude." The minutes which passed between the
 
 SETTLERS PETITION FOR PROTECTION. 227 
 
 Governor and his advisers are wearisome to read. Matiu te 
 Aranui and other chiefs became patrons of the fugitives, and 
 enigmatically invited neighbouring tribes to send their thoughts. 
 Old Tirarau, the Ngapuhi chief, showed the one sent to himself, 
 and impounded others forwarded to his care, and handed them 
 to the Government. Sir George Grey urged him not to believe 
 false reports, nor waver in his confidence in the justice of the 
 English. Seventy-two of the European settlers at Matakana 
 earnestly petitioned the Government. They averred that the 
 prisoners were building a strong pah in their immediate neigh- 
 bourhood ; that armed natives from all quarters were joining 
 them, and Europeans were excluded from their fortifications. 
 Immediate protection was asked for. The petition was received 
 on the 8th October. 
 
 The state of New Zealand in 1864 was singular. The 
 colonists had no enemies at the north of Auckland. There 
 were nearly 20,000 soldiers and colonial forces under arms in 
 the colony. Two hundred prisoners fled to the north of Auck- 
 land, settled on the top of a hill surrounded by colonists and by 
 Maoris friendly to the English, and the Governor and Govern- 
 ment knew not how to deal with them. So prompt and expert 
 were they in field fortifications, so daring in battle when they 
 had chosen their ground, that great carnage of the whites was 
 expected from a declaration of war against the runaways. 
 
 The settlers' petition was sent to the Governor. He thought 
 the case one in which he was bound to receive advice. Mr. Fox 
 could see no " substantial difference between prisoners in custody 
 and prisoners who have been admitted to parole and broke it." 
 The matter was very complicated, and Ministers were " at a loss 
 what to recommend." As a preliminary step they asked if it 
 was " possible to capture the late prisoners by a military expedi- 
 tion, and if so, whether Her Majesty's naval and military force 
 would be available for the purpose." Sir George Grey recom- 
 mended that precautions should be taken "in a manner that 
 may draw no more attention to the Maoris at Omaha than is 
 absolutely necessary." He was meanwhile ascertaining their 
 intentions. It had been suggested to him to offer the runaways 
 a safe- conduct to Waikato. Would the Ministry consent ? On 
 the llth October they consented. The Governor said it was 
 
 Q 2
 
 228 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 doubtful whether the refugees would accept any terms, if they 
 could hope to create war in the north, but pointed out that 
 a pardon and promise of land at Waikato (their own country), 
 which Ministers might "intend to assign them," would be one 
 method of arranging with them. "The more thoroughly just 
 the offers to them are, the better position the Government will 
 occupy in these matters." Mr. Fox (12th October) was nettled 
 at this allusion to justice. "The Ministry were wholly at a 
 loss to understand it." The Governor's conduct had complicated 
 matters. His Ministers would not relieve him from responsi- 
 bility, nor " share it with him ; more particularly at this moment, 
 when their resignations have been nearly a fortnight in his 
 Excellency's hands." They would advise on any proposal made 
 by the Governor. " But if his Excellency wishes that land 
 should be given to the prisoners in Waikato, Ministers have only 
 to observe that the Government does not possess any land in 
 Waikato, nor even if they did would they consider it just to 
 use part of it for this purpose while their pledges to military 
 and other settlers remain unredeemed." Sir George Grey (12th 
 October) replied that he thought he had done nothing to com- 
 plicate matters, but he would carefully abstain from all action in 
 the matter for the future." ..." From his own responsibilities 
 he will neither shrink nor ask any one to share them ; but his 
 Ministers must bear theirs until they are in due course relieved 
 from office." He would afford them all the aid in his power. 
 " It is a time when all energies should be united in meeting a 
 common peril." The plan finally agreed upon would be aided 
 by Her Majesty's forces. On the 13th October the Ministry 
 declaimed against such an unintelligible system of responsible 
 government. The Governor had negotiated, had failed, and 
 then, too late, asked for advice. Under ordinary circumstances 
 such a course would lead to resignation of Ministers. " In the 
 present case the resignation of Ministers has been placed in his 
 Excellency's hands on that very ground among others, his 
 Excellency having expressed his determination to issue a proclam- 
 ation against their advice." These bickerings neither allayed the 
 fears of the settlers, nor removed the prisoners from their eyrie 
 at Omaha. On the 12th October, they wrote to the Governor 
 that they would not go back to Kawau, would do no mischief,
 
 BICKERINGS BETWEEN GOVERNOR AND MINISTRY. 229 
 
 but would resist force. He had heard privately that they were 
 inviting their friends to send small vessels to carry them away. 
 
 Captain Cooper went to the pah with a Maori friend. He 
 found the runaways determined. They would interfere with no 
 Pakeha unless soldiers were sent against them. In that case 
 they would plunder and kill settlers, women, and children. 
 Government, they said, " desired to take all the land from the 
 Maoris, and therefore it did not matter if they were all killed." 
 " Your Excellency " (wrote Captain Cooper; " will have to feed 
 them on the mountain, or starve them out of it. They appeared 
 to have a strong feeling against the Government." The Ministry 
 on the 15th October recommended, through Mr. Whitaker, that 
 terms should be offered. To do so was humiliating, but justifi- 
 able rather than war in the north of Auckland, " of which no man 
 can see the end or results." No time was to be lost, and the 
 terms recommended (18th October) were free passage to Waikato 
 or elsewhere, residence on land to be arranged for, with freedom 
 from molestation so long as they might not interfere in the 
 war and a title to such land at the end of war if they desired 
 one. If they would not accede to these terms, force ought to be 
 used to dislodge them from their menacing position. Mr. Fox, 
 on the same day, in order further to complicate affairs, asked 
 the Governor " what he conceives the present status of these 
 natives to be, and what their status will be should they volun- 
 tarily or by compulsion be again placed in the hands of his 
 Excellency, or of the Colonial Government ? " Till they knew 
 his Excellency's mind on these points it would be exceedingly 
 difficult for Ministers to offer practical suggestions for carrying 
 out the advice given by Mr. Whitaker. Sir George Grey begged 
 that the opinion of the Attorney-General might be taken. Mr. 
 Whitaker declared that " the natives referred to may be con- 
 demned as rebels in arms against the Queen's Government, 
 and that if again placed in the hands of the Governor or Colonial 
 Government they may be tried for their offences." Trans- 
 mitting this opinion, Fox said the Governor had misunderstood 
 his request. The Ministry had no doubt as to the legal status 
 of the prisoners. Mr. Fox wanted to know how the Governor 
 would deal with them under Mr. Cardwell's despatch of the 27th 
 Juno, 1864. Would he release them, confine them as prisoners
 
 230 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 of war, or hand them over to the civil authorities to be dealt 
 with as criminals ? Sir George Grey doubted whether, on recon- 
 sideration, Mr. Whitaker would adhere to his opinion as to the 
 status of the escaped natives. Many of them had previously taken 
 no " part in the rebellion, and are now probably unarmed. No 
 inquiry ever took place as to whether such persons ever com- 
 mitted any offence or were innocent. After several months' 
 confinement, they have run away. It may fairly be questioned 
 whether such men are rebels in arms against the Queen's 
 Government. Others of the prisoners the Governor has always 
 believed to be very desperate characters." He did not doubt 
 that on recapture any of them might be tried for their offences, 
 whatever they might be, and he would " throw no obstacle in the 
 way of the Colonial Government bringing them to a legal trial ; 
 indeed he had never done so." Mr. Fox retorted that he had 
 declined on the 19th April to try them under the Suppression 
 of Rebellion Act. The Governor replied that trial under that Act 
 would have been illegal and contrary to equity. Persons might 
 be brought to trial under it by court-martial " at the earliest 
 possible period." The Ministry had not proposed to use it until 
 the prisoners had been four months and a half in captivity. 
 This the Governor could not think just or equitable. If prompt 
 trial had taken place the most guilty would have been punished, 
 as an example, and leniency and generosity to others would have 
 done good. As prompt trial had not taken place the ordinary 
 courts of the country could be resorted to. Mr. Fox replied at 
 great length. Ministers had already declared it " inexpedient to 
 try the prisoners by the ordinary courts of law." He scouted 
 the distinction made by the Governor between " a trial " and " a 
 legal trial." As to trying the prisoners within a few days of 
 their capture, it was clearly impossible. Most of them were 
 captured at Rangiriri on the 21st November, and the Suppres- 
 sion of Rebellion Act was not passed till the 3rd December. 1 
 The Governor had "fallen into several errors both of law and 
 fact." The Governor retorted that when the General com- 
 
 1 Mr. Fox, though a lawyer, seems to have had no qualms as to the 
 propriety of trying prisoners under ex post facto laws ; of which class of 
 acts Justice Story declared that their injustice and iniquity constituted 
 an irresistible argument against the existence of the power to pass them.
 
 CONTINUED BICKERINGS. 231 
 
 mended war-prisoners to generous treatment, and Mr. Whitaker 
 proposed after long delay to try them under an Act which could 
 only be brought into operation by the Governor's signature, a 
 case had arisen of direct responsibility to England and the 
 General Assembly. Therefore he declined to accept Mr. Whit- 
 aker's advice, and then it was for the Attorney-General or his 
 colleagues to resign. " Had this course been taken many diffi- 
 culties would have been removed from the Governor's way. But 
 if Ministers did not think it necessary to take this course, then 
 the Governor thinks they became responsible for the course they 
 followed, and that all responsibility for it passed from him." 
 Mr. Fox (25th October) retorted that it was unfair to taunt 
 Ministers for not resigning in April. It did not seem that if 
 they had done so instead of talking about it, " any result would 
 have followed. Their resignations have now been in his 
 Excellency's hands twenty-five days, and he has neither accepted 
 them nor intimated his intention of doing so. They would 
 further remark that they do not understand that under respon- 
 sible government Ministers are bound to resign whenever the 
 Governor refuses to take their advice. . . . When Ministers 
 arrived at the conclusion that he had made up his mind to 
 abandon the principles he had enunciated in July, 1863, and 
 endeavour to patch up a peace which would be neither stable nor 
 permanent, they lost no time in placing their resignations in his 
 hands, where they regret to know they remain still unaccepted." 
 A new contention arose. Mr. Fox took umbrage at the 
 Governor's statement that natives suspected by the Native 
 Department of murder, and sent by the Ministry to Kawau, 
 could not be regarded as prisoners of war upon parole. It 
 seemed that Tarahawaiki knew that he was suspected of killing 
 the Merediths, and the Governor naturally thought that the 
 motives of the escaped prisoners must be different from those of 
 ordinary prisoners of war. No inquiry had been properly made 
 as to the implication of the prisoners in the crime of murder. 
 Mr. Fox denied positively that he or any Minister knew that 
 any of the prisoners had committed murder. They " instituted 
 the most searching inquiry whether there were any mur- 
 derers among the prisoners." Mr. Fox indicted the Governor 
 for making serious charges, out of flimsy materials, against his
 
 232 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Ministers. The Governor had indeed said : " If such an inquiry 
 has been made, it can be stated that such is the case, and 
 that the Governor is in error, and no one will be more ready or 
 willing than the Governor to admit that he is in error, and to 
 express his regret that such is the case." " Ministers," said Mr. 
 Fox, " must decline to accept as an excuse his Excellency's readi- 
 ness to be convinced of his error if he has made a mistake. . . : 
 One murderer only was discovered, and he was tried and con- 
 victed, and there is not in existence a particle of evidence against 
 any other prisoner which would ensure conviction, or committal, 
 or even justify a reasonable suspicion." Such being the case, 
 the reader may wonder why the prisoners were harshly treated. 
 But the admission was made to embarrass the Governor, not to 
 justify the Maoris. He replied by an array of quotations, which 
 in his opinion sanctioned his former statements. It is unneces- 
 sary to trace the matter further. It has been followed so far 
 merely to show the difficulties in which the representative of 
 the Crown was forced by the Duke of Newcastle's ignorant or 
 unwise abandonment of control in matters of Imperial concern. 
 The publication of the papers in New Zealand must have gone 
 far to remove any lingering respect which the Maoris entertained 
 for " the English Committee." In a few words it may be said 
 that the escaped Maoris remained at Omaha for many weeks. 
 They were invited to go to Waikato. After many weeks some 
 went. Some remained with friends in the northern tribes. Mr. 
 Fox insisted that the Governor had done harm, and that the 
 Ministry would have managed better. As it was, no ill conse- 
 quences ensued, 1 but it was not until April, 1865, that Sir 
 George Grey informed the Defence Minister, then at Taranaki, 
 that the prisoners were "returning to their homes." The 
 staunch Waka Nene never wavered in his loyalty. On the 1st 
 
 1 Captain Cooper, sent by Sir George Grey to invite the fugitives to 
 return to Kawau and remain there on parole till the end of the war, was so 
 indignant at the conduct of Mr. Fox in examining, in Captain Cooper's 
 absence, a Maori clerk who had gone with him as a guide to Omaha, that he 
 wrote a fiery letter, in which he denied that the Maoris were treacherous : 
 " Indeed, I should consider myself much safer in the hands of the worst 
 King-Maoris, even the Ngatiruanuis, than with such men as the Honourable 
 Mr. Fox, who would not hesitate to stab the character of any person 
 politically opposed to him, as he knows me to be, nnd as I believe he 
 considers every honest mau must be." N. Z. K P. 1865; E. No. 15.
 
 MR. MEADE'S JOURNEY TO TAUPO. 233 
 
 February, he wrote to the Queen, sending her three New Zea- 
 land mats, and a green-stone mere, the symbol of chieftainship. 
 Sir George Grey did not think it judicious to check the old 
 chiefs " affectionate loyalty by refusing to forward his present," 
 but the New Zealand Parliamentary Papers contain no re- 
 cognition by the Secretary of State of the irregular devotion 
 of the chief to whom the English had mainly owed their safety 
 in New Zealand long after the Queen assumed sovereignty 
 there. 
 
 Among many graphic descriptions of Maori life and manners, 
 Mr. Meade's journey to Taupo in company with chiefs, some of 
 whom, after escaping from Kawau, returned immediately took 
 the oath of allegiance, and were allowed by the Governor to 
 rejoin their families throws light on the state of New Zealand 
 in 1865. Returning to his family was not returning home for a 
 Maori chief. His family was in exile. His home had been 
 destroyed. Mr. Meade, R.N., carried letters from Sir George Grey 
 to the Great Lake, where friendly chiefs felt themselves deprived 
 of countenance from the Government for whose sake they had 
 incurred hatred at the hands of the followers of the Maori king 
 and of the Hau Hau fanatics. Sir George Grey recognized in 
 Mr. Meade the courage and intelligence which fitted him for the 
 dangerous post of emissary, in which he was accompanied by 
 Mr. Brenchley, and by an interpreter, Mr. Mair. The principal 
 chief of the party was Te Poihipi Tukeraingi, ever staunch to 
 the Waitangi treaty, which he had signed on behalf of his father, 
 and highly influential in the Taupo district, where Sir George 
 Grey wished to cultivate friendly feelings. No European had 
 visited it during the Waikato and Tauranga wars. At Maketu 
 the envoys saw the friendly Arawa, ensconced in a pah to protect 
 them from the Ngatiporou. The returned prisoners were enter- 
 tained by the " tangi " or wail. They stood silent in the midst 
 of their friends, men, women, and children, whose moaning and 
 tears denoted the grief felt during the captivity. In a quarter 
 of an hour the doleful ceremony was over, the returned exiles 
 pressed noses with their entertainers, and ordinary life was 
 resumed. At a runanga, on the 21st December, the loyalty 
 of the Arawas was fervently pronounced. Mr. Meade admired 
 the courtesy of. the speakers, and thought it might profit- 
 ably be imitated in the colonial parliaments. Bitter opposition
 
 234 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 to the cession of land by the tribe was shown. One old 
 man stretching forth his arms cried : " Oh that I could thus 
 embrace the land of my forefathers, and gathering it all within 
 my arms keep it whole and safe from the grasping Pakeha ! " 
 Even among the English allies the slackening of their hold on 
 their native soil created grief. With a cavalcade of 30 per- 
 sons and a few followers, Mr. Meade reached Rotorua on the 
 26th December, 1864, and learned that a Pai Marire priest had 
 arrived with five friends at Taupo, and converted many to his 
 faith. The settlement where the cavalcade was entertained 
 was protected by a double chain of rifle-pits, roofed almost level 
 with the ground, each roof being pierced with loopholes. Pass- 
 ing towards Lake Tarawera the travellers were entertained at 
 Wairoa by no less a personage than a native magistrate, the 
 dashing Te Kepa Rangihiwinui, 1 whose bearing and the comfort 
 and neatness of whose weatherboard house they admired. With 
 him and others, Te Poihipi and Mr. Mair had earnest consult- 
 ations. Revelling in the witcheries of the tepid air and natural 
 warm baths the English travellers did not attend all the debates. 
 Passing onwards, receiving attention due to friends of the 
 Governor, and occasionally saluted with politeness by the Maori 
 king's friends, the embassy reached Tapuaeharuru, the inland 
 home of Te Poihipi, at Lake Taupo, on the 6th January. On 
 the crest of a cliff a large pah was being built for protection 
 against the kingites or the Hau Haus, while on the other hand 
 on the farther shore were settlements and forts owning Te Heu 
 Heu as their lord, and he was hostile to the sway of the Pakeha 
 as his fathers were. Thence Mr. Grace, a Church missionary, 
 had to wander during the Waikato war. He was not ill-treated, 
 but when his congregation held a meeting to decide whether 
 he should be killed on account of murders by the English in 
 Waikato, he thought it prudent to remove temptation from 
 them. For months they kept sacred his house, his property, 
 his live stock. Then came Hau Hau emissaries. The tares 
 they sowed strangled the fruit of the seed sown by Mr. Grace- 
 Pai Marire worship was accepted, and Mr. Grace's property was 
 scattered amongst his late flock, who maintained nevertheless in 
 
 1 Te Kepa, or Kemp as he was called by the colonists, will retain his 
 Maori name Kuugihiwinui in these pages.
 
 MR. MEADE AT TAUPO. 235 
 
 discussion with his friends that distribution was necessary for 
 safety of the goods, which were to be restored to Mr. Grace on 
 his return. Mr. Grace himself joined Mr. Meade's party on the 
 9th January, bent on re-establishing his mission. He brought 
 ominous intelligence that an Auckland newspaper had averred 
 that Mr. Meade and Mr. Mair had been " sent to find out what 
 the kingites are doing," and that the dangerous belief that they 
 were spies was being circulated amongst the Maoris. 
 
 At Waihaha Mr. Meade saw a village nominally belonging to 
 a friendly tribe, but peopled in the main by refugees from the 
 Waikato territory, then laid waste by the troops. A white flag 
 was hoisted to promise friendly reception to the visitors, where 
 the fighting men were drawn up in fighting costume. The 
 Maori followers of Te Poihipi landed from their canoes with a 
 yell, and rushing forward till within 100 yards of their hosts, 
 halted and formed in double line. The Waikato, having crouched 
 in attitude of ambush, sprang to their feet, and in serried rank 
 performed their war-dance, in perfect time, brandishing weapons 
 and stamping as one man, and throwing themselves into every 
 posture indicative of slaughter of their foes. Te Poihipi's 
 followers took their time from him and went through the same 
 wild ceremony. Musketry salutes were exchanged ; and the two 
 parties joined together, and indulged in their national welcome. 
 When the ceremony was over Mr. Meade and his companions 
 joined the circle, and were entertained with shaking of hands. 
 Te Poihipi made an oration extolling the treaty of Waitangi, and 
 loyalty to the Queen. Mr. Meade was struck by the pleasing 
 countenance of a fine young chief. He was one of those who 
 ran the gauntlet at Orakau through the English lines. Escaping 
 thence he had joined the Arawas, and fought for the English 
 against the Ngatiporou. He had now rejoined the Waikato 
 exiles at Lake Taupo. Mr. Mair animadverted on his inconsist- 
 ency in fighting both for and against the English cause, and Mr. 
 Meade heard his reply : " Oh ! as to that, fighting is fighting, 
 and we young men don't care much whom it is against." Among 
 the exiles was a woman, Ahumai, whose husband was killed at 
 Orakau, and who herself received there three bayonet and gun- 
 shot wounds. Karamoa and Reihana, both captured at Orakau, 
 and connected with the Maori king's followers, were detached by
 
 236 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Te Poihipi to ask Te Heu Heu whether the Englishmen might 
 pass through the native territory between Taupo and the military 
 settlements on the Waikato. Mr. Meade had a letter from Sir 
 George Grey to Te Heu Heu, but was to exercise his own 
 discretion as to presenting it. Mr. Grace, on the 9th January, 
 returned from an unsuccessful attempt to reach his old abode at 
 Pukawa. Lowering looks encountered him, and a former teacher 
 ^n his school warned him that his life would be in danger at 
 Pukawa. A message was sent, inviting Mr. Grace without com- 
 panions to his old home ; and " the spies," as Mr. Meade and his 
 friends were deemed, were peremptorily forbidden to approach 
 Pukawa or wander on the shore of the lake which owned 
 allegiance to the Maori king. Te Heu Heu was absent, and the 
 travellers awaited his return, or some tidings from Karamoa and 
 Heihana. Te Heu Heu returned more inimical than ever, and 
 it was felt that to send Sir George Grey's letter to him would be 
 useless. The path of the travellers was thorny. They could 
 not descend the Waikato valley without Te Heu Heu's help. 
 They heard that followers of the king had arrived at Rotorua to 
 open the way for the Ngatiporou to send re-enforcements from 
 the east to the king. Rumour said that the king-maker was 
 coming to Rotorua with 400 or 500 retainers. Mr. Meade's 
 return to Tauranga in such a case was impossible, and the brave 
 Te Poihipi and Rangihiwinui would have been overwhelmed. 
 To try a third route to Napier was dangerous, for it led through 
 Maori settlements devoted to the king, and war-parties were 
 said to be in motion there. Te Poihipi objected to Mr. Meade's 
 risking his life on the road to Napier. Three Maori chiefs had 
 gone thitherwards for food for the party, and their failure to 
 return caused apprehensions for their safety. Meantime, the 
 Hau Hau fanatics gathered followers daily. Mr. Meade resolved 
 to find a guide, and, by journeys at night and concealment by 
 day, to dash through the hostile territory, and reach the military 
 settlements on the Waikato river. A Pakeha Maori, connected 
 by marriage with Rewi, was amongst Te Poihipi's friends at 
 Taupo. His wife found a Maori guide in the person of Hemipo. 
 Hemipo's father was an adherent to the Maori king, though the 
 son was loyal to the Queen. Te Poihipi vainly endeavoured to 
 dissuade Meade from taking such a guide on such an expedition
 
 MR. MEADE AT TATAROA. 237 
 
 On the 27th January, the two horsemen rode from Oruanui, 
 and to Mr. Meade's relief he found that Hemipo understood a 
 few English words. On the same morning, long before day- 
 break, one Ihaka, a native assessor, had ridden before them* 
 bearing a letter warning the* Hau Haus on the way that they 
 would not be allowed to pass by Oruanui if they intended to 
 proselytize Maoris or molest the English. Mr. Meade expected 
 to meet the returning Ihaka, whose person was sacred in the 
 character of herald, and to learn from him whether it was safe 
 to proceed. The day wore on, but no herald appeared. Hemipo 
 pointed out smoke rising from cooking fires, and said the Maoris 
 around them were kingites ; but the journey was continued 
 without molestation to Tataroa. There the salutation " Pai 
 Marire " told Mr. Meade that he was in the hornets' nest. But 
 Maori courtesy demanded that he should halt to receive hospi- 
 tality. Ihaka was seen standing with another Maori. Mr. 
 Meade pointed out a red flag flying in the village, and suggested 
 caution, but Hemipo said that as Ihaka was there, there would 
 be no danger. The travellers rone into the open space in midst 
 of the Maori dwellings, and came face to face, not with the usual 
 denizens of Tataroa, but with 150 armed men, whose lowering 
 countenances boded mischief. Hemipo gaily unsaddled his 
 horse, as if he had arrived among friends, but adroitly managed 
 to receive from Mr. Meade, and secrete under his coat, one of 
 Mr. Meade's revolvers. Warm language was heard among the 
 Hau Haus. One of them, flourishing a naval sword-bayonet, 
 approached Mr. Meade ; two others followed with guns. The 
 Englishman had his hand on his revolver in his pocket, to make 
 his life dear to the savages, when a powerful Maori, Aokatea 
 sprung forward and drove the intruders back to the crowd. A 
 ceremonial followed, preparatory to the judicial murder of the 
 traveller. Round the Pai Marire flagstaff fanatical worship was 
 carried on. Mr. Meade wondered at his privilege in seeing 
 mysteries he had thought hidden from white men, but learned 
 afterwards that, as he was doomed beforehand, there was no 
 objection to his initiation. He was, indeed, an essential element 
 in the rite. Te Aokatea, who had driven back Mr. Meade's 
 assailant, was high-priest, and wished the infuriating ceremonies 
 to be duly performed before touching the victim. Ihaka told
 
 238 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 afterwards that the Hau Haus anticipated Mr. Meade's journey, 
 which had been thought concealed ; that they had even threatened 
 the sacred person of the Maori herald, and that he had no 
 opportunity of returning to warn Mr. Meade of danger. There 
 was a crumb of comfort in the fact that one chief, Paora Taki, 
 had made an oration urging that Mr. Meade ought not to be 
 molested, because the Hau Hau ought not to offend the tribes 
 through whose territory they desired to pass in their own expedi- 
 tion. Paora Taki's speech was finished just as the arrival of the 
 Pakeha was announced. On the prophet's flagstaff floated high 
 the war-flag, a red pendant with white cross. Beneath, a black 
 and blue large flag, with a red border, bore on the black part 
 near the staff another white cross. Another red pendant with a 
 St. Andrew's cross hung lower still. Mr. Meade and Hemipo sat 
 apart under guard, and Ihaka was near them. Te Aokatea went 
 through the process which was believed to procure inspiration. 
 He yelled, he spoke sometimes in English, sometimes in what 
 was called French, or Hebrew he made obeisance to the staff, 
 to the east, west, north, and south, accompanying his genuflexions 
 with Pai Marire words. At a signal, the seated tribes and dele- 
 gates sprang up and marched round the staff, chanting responses 
 to the priest, and pointing their weapons to the sky. The 
 striking scenery around, the flags waving against the dark foliage 
 in the background, the varied dresses and weapons, the fervent 
 fanaticism gleaming from excited faces, the chorus of powerful 
 voices rising in excellent time in that far forest, vividly impressed 
 Mr. Meade, who noted the smallest particulars. The prophet's 
 flag having been duly honoured by the congregation, a runanga 
 was held to decide on the fate of the travellers. Immediate 
 execution of both was urged by some. Mr. Meade was deemed 
 a spy. Then Hemipo rose to address his countrymen in a cool 
 and careless way, playing with his riding-whip as though 
 addressing friends at home, in a manner which extorted Mr. 
 Meade's admiration. Moralists more punctilious than Escobar 
 would excuse Hemipo for his rhetorical artifices. Mr. Meade, 
 he said, had nothing to do with army or navy, was only visiting 
 the country for personal pleasure, and wanted to make a quick 
 passage overland so as to reach his ship at Auckland before she 
 sailed. His gentlemanly air showed as little insincerity as his
 
 MR. MEADE is SAVED. 239 
 
 demeanour implied fear. After speaking for Mr. Meade he 
 referred to himself and his father's friendly relations with some 
 of his auditors. Then Te Aokatea rose and savagely denounced 
 the Pakeha intruder. No knowledge of Maori language was 
 needed to enable Mr. Meade to distinguish friends from foes. 
 As the discussion raged and death seemed certain, he took 
 comfort from seeing that Hemipo was as ready to take lives with 
 the revolver as he had been to tell lies as an orator. While Mr. 
 Meade was reflecting thus, and the Maori executioner stood by 
 his side waiting to smite with the tomahawk, Ahumai, the widow 
 wounded at Orakau, whom the Englishman had seen at Waihaha 
 a fortnight before, rose up from the crowd, slowly walked across 
 the square, and sat by the captive's feet, as a token that he was 
 entitled to hospitality. Thenceforward the fanatics relented ; 
 and it was finally agreed to dismiss the prisoners, because it was 
 unwise to provoke the Arawa (through whose territory the Hau 
 Haus wished to march) by killing a guest of that tribe. At last 
 it was decided that the travellers should return whence they 
 came. As they saddled their horses a Maori whispered aside to 
 Hemipo. A reaction was taking place amongst the Hau Haus. 
 Mr. Meade had hardly time to reflect whether Hemipo was called 
 in order that the Englishman might be shot without risk to the 
 Maori, when Hemipo bid him mount, as some rascally kingites 
 wanted to kill him. To place several miles between the horse- 
 men and Tataroa was the work of a few minutes, and after 
 resting their horses in the shelter of the forest, the travellers 
 reached Oruanui at night, where Hemipo narrated the day's 
 incidents to eager listeners. Ihaka returned at a later hour, 
 with a letter asking free passage through the territory, and 
 stating in a postscript as a reason for granting the request, the 
 safe return accorded to Mr. Meade. It was granted. Mr. Meade 
 rode safely to Napier. The Hau Haus made converts as they 
 passed, and though they did not attack the villages of tribes 
 friendly to the English, their influence spread so fast that the 
 Government, unable to protect its allies, invited them to retire 
 to Rotorua, which they did with heavy hearts Nevertheless, 
 Mr Meade's journey was not deemed fruitless. When, on his 
 death, his journal was published, it was accompanied by a letter 
 from Sir George Grey, stating that very great benefits resulted
 
 .240 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 from the expedition to Lake Taupo, which Mr. Meade and Mr. 
 Brenchley so successfully carried out. Poihipi and Hemipo will 
 reappear in a stirring event in the story of New Zealand, which 
 followed on the fuller development of Hau Hau fanaticism than 
 that which Mr. Meade saw. Read by the lurid glare which 
 surrounds the murders of Volkner and Fulloon, the narrative of 
 Meade is terrible in its reality. 
 
 It is time to turn to Mr. Whitaker's policy on confiscation 
 which led to his resignation. Already Mr. Fox's justification of 
 it has been noticed, and his desire to promulgate the opinion of 
 the Ministry that nothing could be more pernicious than to allow 
 the Maoris to retain rights which the Queen had guaranteed. 
 While General Cameron was arranging at Ngaruawahia in 
 January, 1864, for the advance of the troops up the Waipa river, 
 and planning the Tauranga campaign, the Government decided 
 to promulgate a notice calling on all who had been in arms 
 against the Queen to take the oath of allegiance and surrender 
 their weapons. Those who had been with the enemy, but had 
 not fought, were to do likewise, but in doing so would not obtain 
 rest. " All the peace that is conceded to them at the present 
 time is this : That they will be allowed to remain unmolested, 
 and they will not hereafter be brought to trial unless they are 
 found to have taken part in murders, plunder, or other evil acts. 
 Let this, however, be borne in mind, the disposal of their lands 
 rests with the Governor." As part of the English system of 
 warfare was wholesale plunder and destruction of Maori home- 
 steads and cultivations, and as Maori burial-places were rifled 
 without remorse, it was hard for Maoris to understand the 
 principles on which it was to be decided whether their own acts 
 were evil. 
 
 The campaign in Waikato having been concluded by the 
 evacuation of Maungatautari in April, and various chiefs having 
 surrendered their arms, a proclamation was drawn up in which 
 the surrender of arms was ordered to be made by the 1st July, 
 after which date it would entitle the surrenderor to no benefits. 
 Sir George Grey signed a draft of the proclamation on the 30th 
 April, but dissented from the fixing of a date after which no 
 surrender should be beneficial; and his dissent caused the 
 proclamation to be held back after voluminous discussions. In
 
 CONTENTIONS OF GOVERNOR AND MINISTRY. 241 
 
 requesting (llth May) that it might be regarded as revoked, the 
 Governor, speaking of the ministerial theory that all Maoris 
 who had fought against the Queen's troops had forfeited all 
 their land, said that the question concerned the whole future 
 destiny of the Maori nation. The Governor might by a few 
 words, unwisely put forth, reduce generations to misery, and cut 
 off from their inheritance the offspring of many loyal English- 
 men. Mr. Whitaker replied : " In his zeal for the Maori the 
 Governor appears to forget the European colonists." The 
 Governor's doubts whether the Settlements Act was intended 
 to be an Act for general confiscation were needless ; and there 
 could be " no question that the Assembly is already committed 
 to give further effect to it if it were necessary." To the 
 Governor's request that the proclamation might be regarded as 
 revoked, Mr. Whitaker replied : " It requires no revocation, as it 
 never received his Excellency's signature." While thus disputing 
 about principles neither the Governor nor the Ministry ventured 
 upon details. The enormity of their demands made the latter 
 anxious to conceal them until they could bind the Governor to 
 accept them. 
 
 In the end of June the report of the two prisoners who had 
 been allowed to visit Rewi and the king-maker, led to the belief 
 that those chiefs desired that the Waikato war should be regarded 
 as at an end. " Welcome, my brothers ! welcome to Waikato ; 
 to the river only, to the mountains only. There are no men ; 
 the only men left are those in prison and yourselves. Come ; 
 but I do not know whether you have been sent by the Govern- 
 ment. If you have been sent in peace, give me the letter that 
 we may know that you have bee'n sent. My opinion is that you 
 have run away. Take away with you the war, and Waikato 
 river ; and Waikato land take with you too. Had you brought 
 a letter, we should have sent a letter; but as you are the 
 Governor's letter, you must also be my letter." Such was the 
 speech of Rewi. The king-maker and others spoke in similar 
 strain. Six hundred and forty Maoris agreed. There seemed 
 some prospect of peace if the Colonial Government would be wise. 
 In the end of June also, Mr. Card well's despatch, instructing the 
 Governor that his concurrence with proposed confiscation was to 
 be no perfunctory matter, was received. Mr. Fox's contemptuous 
 
 VOL. II. R
 
 242 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 opinion of the despatch has been noted. The Ministry thought 
 its publication might strengthen them, and asked that it might 
 be published. Their supporters, it was hoped, might be in- 
 dignant. The Governor did not object, and the despatch was 
 published on the 30th June. 
 
 The location of military settlers was a parallel line of con- 
 tention between the Ministry and the Governor. In April they 
 proposed to locate the 2nd Waikato Regiment, under Colonel 
 Haultain, in the Waikato district, on a line between Pirongia 
 and Maungatautari. Sir George Grey asked for precise in- 
 formation as to the posts to be occupied and the force to be 
 placed at each. The Ministers said they were to be on the line 
 of the Puniu river, which would include Te Awamutu (from 
 which Rewi had expelled Mr. Gorst) and Kihikihi, Rewi's 
 old abode. Each detachment should contain about 100 men. 
 The precise points must be chosen by the military authorities, 
 but the land must be eligible for settlement. The Governor 
 declared that as Commander-in-Chief he was entrusted with 
 the power which the Ministry wished him to cede to the 
 General. They explained that they did not wish to interfere 
 in questions as to the relative functions of the Governor and the 
 General. As to choosing sites for forts they felt it was not 
 their duty. Then it appeared that wider differences than the 
 position of military posts were involved. The Governor dis- 
 approved of the ministerial plan, and circuitously strove to 
 exhibit its effect. Before giving orders to locate the 2nd 
 Waikato Regiment at the Puniu river he wished to learn 
 where the other Waikato Regiments were to be located, and 
 over what total extent of country they were to be spread. 
 His Ministers were not prepared to gratify him. "The time 
 had not arrived (llth May) when it was possible definitely to 
 determine." On the 17th May, they submitted to him a draft 
 Order in Council, which he declined to sign because it defined, 
 under the Settlements Act, " a district not of one tribe, or of a 
 section of a tribe, but of many tribes, regarding some of whom 
 no evidence had been placed before the Governor to show him 
 that a considerable number of the members of such tribes have 
 been engaged in rebellion. He ought not therefore to say that 
 he is satisfied that they have been engaged in rebellion, and
 
 CONTENTION IN EXECUTIVE COUNCIL. 243 
 
 perhaps to do them an irreparable injury with his successors, 
 who would from his knowledge of the natives assume that he 
 well knew what he was doing." (The wording of the Settle- 
 ments Act enabled the Governor in Council to declare districts 
 under the Act whenever he " shall be satisfied that any tribe, 
 or section of a tribe, or any considerable number thereof, has, 
 since 1st January, 1863, been engaged in rebellion against Her 
 Majesty's authority.") "Upon the whole, the Governor would 
 prefer a district being in the first instance defined which would 
 embrace a considerable part of the territory of the Waikato 
 and Ngatimaniapoto tribes, who have been engaged in the re- 
 bellion." The Ministry, on the 30th May, "deferred to his 
 Excellency's preference," and prepared an Order in Council 
 defining the boundaries proposed, but urged that the location 
 of the military settlers should be disposed of as soon as possible, 
 as expenditure was being incurred which " the Colonial Govern- 
 ment would not have the means of meeting." 
 
 A singular episode occurred with regard to the Orders. On the 
 28th May, the Governor, Mr. Whitaker, the Attorney-General, 
 and Mr. Kussell, Minister of Colonial Defence, attended the 
 Executive Council to which they were submitted. That the 
 two Ministers were partners in a firm of solicitors may perhaps 
 in part explain their method of transacting business. A signa- 
 ture to a deed was in their eyes, perhaps, the be-all and end-all 
 which would trammel up all consequence. Orders were pro- 
 duced proclaiming a district including the valleys of the Waipa 
 and the Waikato from Paparata to Hangatiki, and another 
 district at Tauranga. The Governor signed them. Regula- 
 tions for the districts were submitted and discussed, but not 
 approved. The Governor and his Ministers had a serious mis- 
 understanding as to what took place. Mr. Whitaker denied 
 that the Regulations were submitted at all to the Council. 
 Only the formal approval of the Order was in his opinion 
 brought before the Council, and it was the Governor who intro- 
 duced discussion on Regulations. The Governor declared that, 
 after he had signed the Orders, Regulations were submitted 
 "upon which the whole question depended." One of them 
 (relating to location of natives who had been in arms) was : 
 "Every man will have allotted to him a certain quantity of 
 
 R 2
 
 244 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 land, which will vary in size, according to circumstances, from 
 5 to 1000 acres." The Governor argued that something de- 
 finite must be laid down about forfeiture. The natives ought 
 to have a distinct offer, which would preclude all misunder- 
 standing. The Ministers declined to make any statement on 
 the subject. From time to time they would advise regarding 
 other districts. They would not " say whether they would here- 
 after give, or not, more land to the natives who might take it 
 under these regulations." "I repeatedly pressed" (Sir George 
 Grey said) " the necessity of their at once telling me their inten- 
 tions regarding the confiscation of native lands, and the necessity 
 also of letting the natives know their true position in this 
 respect, and what was to be taken from them. They as re- 
 peatedly declined. I declined to approve the Regulations until 
 this was done, or to sanction the issue of the Orders in Council 
 proclaiming the districts unless accompanied by a plain declara- 
 tion to the natives of the proclaimed districts of what was 
 expected from them." When actors in a scene differ in their 
 evidence, the word of a bystander is usually accepted, especially 
 when it is his formal duty to record what occurs. The minute 
 made at the time by the Clerk of the Council was afterwards 
 produced. It stated : " The Prime Minister submitted for ap- 
 proval three Orders in Council defining and declaring three 
 districts under the New Zealand Settlements Act, 1863, two of 
 them being at Tauranga, and one in the Waikato country. 
 He also submitted for approval Regulations establishing the 
 districts, but at present to be applied only to the smallest 
 district at Tauranga. On which a long discussion ensued. 
 The Regulations were not approved of, and the Orders in 
 Council were ordered not to be issued." When the Council 
 met on the 16th June they disliked this record, and at their 
 request the Governor erased it; though as the Clerk of the 
 Council was sworn to take true notes of res gestce, it is difficult 
 to discover under what code of ethics the recommendation of 
 the Ministry or the erasure by the Governor could be justified. 1 
 The time occupied in the dispute put off any decision until 
 Mr. Card well's despatch of the 26th April, 1864, arrived, and 
 
 1 The Royal Instructions required that minutes shonld " be read over, 
 confirmed, or amendod," as the case might require.
 
 CONFISCATION DEMANDS OF MINISTRY. 245 
 
 laid down principles based upon justice and moderation which 
 Mr. Fox denounced as physically impossible, palpably absurd, 
 and likely "to upset the plans of the Colonial Government." 
 As, however, the Governor's voice was potential, the Ministry, 
 on the 25th June, in compliance with his wish, stated their 
 views upon confiscation. They desired a frontier line from 
 Raglan or Kawhia to Tauranga. All land belonging to rebels 
 north of that line, and that extending to the southern line 
 defined in the Orders (signed but withdrawn on the 28th May), 
 was to be confiscated; but it was proposed to give, in con- 
 venient localities, from 10 to 2000 acres to each former in- 
 habitant desiring to return. This was to be the extent of 
 confiscation in Waikato. It might be necessary to deal separ- 
 ately with the Ngatimaniapoto, whose land would not be 
 sufficiently touched by this proposal. At Taranaki there was 
 to be confiscation on both sides of the settlement. Sufficient 
 land was to be taken from the Ngatiawa, Taranaki, and Ngatiru- 
 anui tribes to establish military settlements and "afford a 
 substantial contribution to the expenses of suppressing the 
 rebellion." On the west coast land was to be taken from the 
 Waitotara river to a convenient distance, including Waimate. 
 Except in special cases, where the loyal and rebellious held 
 lands in common, lands of the loyal would not be interfered 
 with, and the Ministry anticipated no difficulty in making 
 satisfactory arrangements to compensate the loyal. As to the 
 east coast they had a difficulty in determining. " It would be 
 impracticable to take forcible possession of the land of some of 
 these tribes, and not desirable to attempt to place settlements 
 on the land of any of them." If possible, cession of land should 
 be brought about. Circumstances might modify these views, 
 or the conduct of the natives might call for more stringent 
 measures; "Ministers must therefore reserve to themselves 
 the right to alter or modify their present proposals." By the 
 term rebel natives they meant all persons whose lands might 
 be taken under the Settlements Act, who might "be found 
 not entitled to compensation." Sir George Grey explained that 
 his original plan (June, 1863) of confiscation was to take land 
 in Waikato proper, and not to go beyond Ngaruawahia. The 
 military settlements would thus have had continuous support
 
 246 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 from a base at Auckland, and the population would have spread 
 naturally as from a centre. It was not until April, 1864, that 
 he had learnt at Pukerimu that the Ministry proposed to 
 abandon this plan and locate the Waikato militia on a line 
 between Kawhia and Tauranga ; in a manner widely different 
 from that suggested by himself in 1863, and cordially concurred 
 with by the Ministry of the day. Mr. Whitaker wrote a 
 long paper to prove that the line suggested in 1863 "was of 
 a different description, and for a different purpose from that 
 which it was the object of the Government to establish across 
 the Waikato." It remained " to confiscate the lands, or some of 
 them, give away part on military tenure, and sell the remainder 
 to defray the expenses of the war." " From the time his Excel- 
 lency's present advisers 1 took office till the present time, they 
 have never proposed or contemplated any other line of frontier 
 than the one from Raglan or Kawhia to Tauranga." Whatever 
 they had contemplated, Sir George Grey was justified in assert- 
 ing that until Maungatautari was evacuated they had not pro- 
 posed such a line to him. They waited till 10,000 British troops 
 had struck down opposition before they made their demand. But 
 though he shrunk from confiscating at large to gratify Whitaker, 
 the Governor accepted the specific advice tendered to him as 
 to forming military settlements in spots far in advance of the 
 southern limit designed by himself. The map first shown to 
 the General was so vague that he asked for further information 
 as to the intended locations. A block of land about eight miles 
 wide, stretching eastward from Pirongia to the Waikato river 
 at Pukerimu, was marked out, but no sites for settlements were 
 shown. The General was not told how many men were to be 
 settled, or from which Waikato Regiment they were to be taken. 
 On the 6th June, the Ministry proposed that the 2nd Regiment 
 should furnish settlements at Kihikihi and Pirongia; the 1st 
 Regiment should afford men for a settlement at Tauranga, and 
 the 4th Regiment should be located on the Waikato river, 
 
 1 Yet in 1879 one of them, Mr. Fox, published a statement incompatible 
 with Whitaker's. " As the war was none of my making, so the confisca- 
 tion was not prepared by mo. Both were the work of Sir George Grey and 
 his Ministers, and not of me. My Maori friends will see that ... I had 
 nothing to do witli it" ('New Zealand Hansard,' ^2nd July, 1879).
 
 MR. Fox AND MR. GORST. 247 
 
 between Pukerimu and Kirikiroa. At each settlement 300 or 
 500 men were to be placed. The plan involved abandonment of 
 posts at the southern portion of the Waikato, but the Governor 
 relinquished his own project on the understanding that the force 
 maintained in front should not be greater than was required to 
 defend the line between the Waipa and the Waikato. The ease 
 with which the Ministers descanted upon military affairs was 
 shown in a memorandum at this period. They were of opinion 
 (27th June) that it was very desirable to send an expedition as 
 soon as practicable against the king-maker's settlements of Mata- 
 mata and Peria. They did not intend to occupy, but they would 
 destroy. " It is of the first importance," they added, " that an 
 effective blow should be struck at Taranaki and Wanganui as 
 soon as possible." Mr. Fox also warming with dignity when, 
 at Waikanae, Wi Tako declared allegiance to the Queen (3rd 
 June), enunciated terms for natives then in arms, which, though 
 contained in the draft proclamation signed by the Governor on 
 the 30th April, had been withheld as unjust, and were declared 
 by Mr. Whitaker to need no revocation. Called upon to explain, 
 Mr. Fox (incredible as it may appear) cited the cancelled draft as 
 his justification, on the ground that it was " only not issued for 
 reasons ab extcrno which appeared to the Colonial Secretary to 
 have no application to Wi Tako's case." Indiscriminate retorts 
 reduced the Ministry to absurdity, for though the words were 
 spoken to Wi Tako they referred by name to the Ngatiruanui and 
 Taranaki, as well as to the Ohau and Otaki natives, and therefore 
 the case was not the case of Wi Tako. The position of the Minis- 
 try was not less galling because they had brought it upon them- 
 selves. Mr. Cardwell's injunctions might have been less pointed if 
 they had not been demanded by the demeanour of the Ministry. 
 In May the Secretary of State announced that the Act for 
 compulsory taking of land for public purposes by Provincial 
 Legislatures could not be recommended for allowance by the 
 Crown unless amended so as to exclude native possessions from 
 its operation. This announcement reached New Zealand in 
 July, and with it arrived a separate despatch enclosing observa- 
 tions made in London by Mr. Gorst, who deprecated such 
 wholesale confiscation as would tend to render the Maoris 
 desperate and keep them permanently in arms. He wrote
 
 248 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 strongly in praise of the Ngatihaua and Waikato tribes, from 
 whom he had received many acts of kindness. He described 
 their great villages and hamlets as if still "dotted about the 
 country, surrounded by their patches of cultivated land. The 
 whole district is occupied and used ; it bears marks of having 
 been enriched and improved by the labour of its inhabitants. 
 Good fences have been erected ; Rangiaohia, for instance, is sur- 
 rounded by a fence many miles in circuit ; roads are made in 
 various directions; bridges have been thrown over impassable 
 swamps ; and a good many mill-dams have been constructed." 
 
 Mr. Gorst wrote in May; but the scene had been desolated 
 in a manner unknown to him. To destroy cultivation, orchards, 
 mills, and homesteads, had been the theory and practice of the 
 war. But though Mr. Gorst made no direct allusion to the 
 Ministry, Mr. Fox lost all patience at his interference. He 
 denounced him as inexperienced, and said his book on the Maori 
 king, though "rather clever, was by the free use of the sup- 
 pressio veri and the suggestio falsi " calculated to convey 
 untruthful impressions, and was " also very full of absolute 
 mis-statements." 1 He declared that the Ministry could have 
 had a staunch supporter of their policy in Mr. Gorst, if they 
 would have given to him a seat in the Legislative Council : to 
 which Mr. Gorst replied, that though when in Sydney in 1863 
 he told Mr. Dillon Bell that he would accept such a seat 
 untrammelled with office, and with freedom to express his own 
 views, he did not wait an answer from New Zealand, when none 
 arrived by return of post, but sailed for England. Having 
 seen with what pertinacity minutes and counter-minutes were 
 exchanged on the subject of escaped prisoners, the reader may 
 conceive the exaggerated length to which they were drawn out 
 on other matters. It would be a hopeless task to invite him to 
 wade through even a summary of the minutes which passed 
 between the Governor and his advisers on the subject of land 
 
 1 Mr. Fox in his own retort unwittingly made an absolute mis-statement. 
 He averred that tho song sent to Turanaki, in 1863, to stir up the natives 
 to commit the murders at Onlcura, " and which became the tocsin of the 
 rebellion, was composed for the occasion by a Middle Waikato man." 
 Unhappily for Mr. Fox the song had been printed in 1850 by Sir George 
 Groy in u collection of ancient New Zealand songs. Sir George Grey. 
 Despatch, 30th August, 1846.
 
 MINISTERIAL SCHEME OF CONFISCATION. 249 
 
 confiscation. It is a slough of despond. If a traveller could be 
 imagined in a marsh never deep enough to drown him, never 
 freshened by rain or stream, and without a shore, the task of the 
 historian of New Zealand at this epoch can be understood. The 
 mud of disagreement is stirred up at every step, and the wiles 
 of controversy wind like weeds around him to prevent progress. 
 If Mr. Cardwell's despatch had not arrived, and enabled the 
 Governor to cut the knot, it is certain that he and his Ministers 
 would have found it " too intrinse to unloose." The extent of 
 the confiscation proposed by Whitaker and Fox deserves to be 
 recorded. Though the latter had once opposed injustice to 
 Maoris, he was no sooner enlisted under Mr. Whitaker than he 
 supported the principles he had formerly resisted. In January, 
 1864, commenting on Sir William Martin's arguments, he 
 declared that it was injurious to the Maoris " to retain possession 
 of immense tracts of land, which they neither use nor allow 
 others to use : " and there was no act of rapine which would 
 not be sanctioned by such an axiom. Accordingly, when the 
 Ministry, flushed with the conquest of Waikato, submitted their 
 scheme of confiscation, in May, 1864, the district to be pro- 
 claimed under the Settlements Act, and thus rendered liable to 
 confiscation, was sweepingly described. 
 
 From the Tamaki Portage, near Auckland, across the Frith 
 of Thames, and round Cape Colville, thence by a line including 
 the fringe of the sea to Tauranga, " thence through that harbour 
 to Urumingi, thence to Arowhena, thence to Hangatiki, thence 
 to the mouth of the Awaroa river on the Kawhia harbour, 
 thence along the west coast to the Manukau harbour, and 
 thence to the Tamaki Portage." Such was the line. Every 
 man within it who had borne arms against the Queen was to 
 sign a declaration to submit to her law, and to give up his arms, 
 or satisfy Mr. Whitaker's subordinates that he had none. The 
 rape of Waitara, which Mr. Fox opposed, was a petty theft in 
 comparison to the larger deeds which would be done under the 
 Order in Council prepared by Mr. Whitaker for the Governor's 
 signature on the 17th May. The Order declared that the 
 Governor in Council was "satisfied that the native tribes, or 
 sections of tribes, or considerable numbers thereof in the dis- 
 trict," had (after 1st January, 1863) been engaged in rebellion.
 
 250 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 The line exempted the Ngatiwhatua and more northern tribes, 
 but subjected the Waikato, the Ngatimaniapoto, the Ngatirau- 
 kawa, the Ngatimaru, the Ngaiterangi, the Ngatipaoa, the 
 Ngatitai, the Ngatihaua, and various sub-tribes or hapus, who 
 had friends and blood-relations south of the line which ran from 
 Kawhia by Hangatiki to Tauranga. Eight millions of acres 
 would have been gathered within it. The Governor said he 
 was not satisfied in the manner required by the Act : he would 
 not mix innocent tribes with the guilty ; he would not proclaim 
 millions of acres as liable to penalties which in his opinion ought 
 to fall only on territories of single tribes, or sections of tribes. 
 Then followed the scene on the 28th May, concerning which 
 the testimony of the Clerk of the Council has been cited. As 
 the Ministers (by their admission) declined to define their 
 policy on confiscation, the Governor directed the Clerk to retain 
 the Orders already signed, and not to allow them to be issued 
 until the Governor had approved the Regulations. 
 
 Mr. Whitaker, a few months later, wrote : " It is possible that 
 his Excellency has not understood the subject himself, and that 
 the confusion of ideas which pervades his ' Memorandum ' is the 
 candid reflex of his mind. . . . The conclusions arrived at by 
 his Excellency as to the proposals of his Ministers being con- 
 trary to law and equity, contrary to his duty to the Imperial 
 Government, and not in accordance with the responsibilities 
 imposed by the presence and aid of the British forces, and the 
 expenditure of large sums of British money are entirely without 
 foundation ... a just, satisfactory, and permanent peace 
 has been indefinitely postponed by the vacillation and indecision 
 of his Excellency." Had Sir George Grey vacillated in deference 
 to Mr. Whitaker, he would perhaps have been falsely credited 
 with courage. It was certainly galling to intriguers to find 
 their hopes dashed after the coveted Orders had been signed. To 
 succeed in a trick and not to reap its reward is intolerable. The 
 Orders thus blighted in the bud were framed to obviate the 
 Governor's reluctance to confound the guilty with innocent 
 owners. One confiscated a separate block at Tauranga. Another 
 cone prised an irregular block running along the valleys of the 
 Waipa and Waikato rivers, from Maungatawhiri, and reaching 
 Hangatiki. No estimate was arrived at as to the quantity of
 
 THK MINISTRY AND BISHOP WILLIAMS. 251 
 
 land which would be required for settlement and sale. The 
 Ministry having failed in their project, and Mr. Cardwell's 
 celebrated despatch of the 26th April having arrived, it was 
 thought advisable to strengthen their position against the 
 Governor by putting forward an opinion given by the Bishop of 
 Waiapu (W. Williams), who, commenting on the suggestion of 
 the Aborigines' Protection Society, that peace should be obtained 
 by negotiation, expressed his conviction that only by some con- 
 fiscation could the Maoris be made to feel the evils of their 
 courses. This indeed was the deliberate statement of the 
 Governor himself. 
 
 The Bishop's letter (15th April) to Mr. Fox was used in such 
 a manner that he thought it necessary to write another declaring 
 that he only advocated "confiscation upon such principles as 
 will commend themselves to our Government at home and to 
 the Christian public." In the notice to natives to surrender 
 arms " and take the oath of allegiance, but that their lands are 
 in the hands of the Governor, there is nothing to assure and 
 encourage them that their case is not desperate. ... I beg to 
 submit that some definite terms should be laid down to the 
 natives, particularly in reference to the land which may be left 
 to them." Mr. Fox, who, in reply to Sir William Martin, thought 
 it injurious to leave natives in possession of unused land, auda- 
 ciously wrote to the Bishop (4th July) " The Ministry do not 
 believe that there is any material difference between your 
 opinion and theirs on the subject." Having made an assump- 
 tion so unwarrantable, Fox thought it advisable to send it to 
 England. " His Lordship's opinion is entitled to so much 
 weight, that perhaps his Excellency will excuse the suggestion, 
 that the correspondence should be forwarded to the Secretary of 
 State." On the 29th July, the Governor asked the Ministry to 
 inform the Bishop of the extent of confiscation they proposed, 
 and their construction of the term Rebel Natives, " in order that 
 his Lordship, who is now in town, may state whether, in express- 
 ing his opinion, he intended to advocate a confiscation of that 
 nature and extent." The Ministry gave no reply. On the 
 25th August, they were asked for one. Mr. Fox then declared 
 that they were of opinion that it would be inconvenient to 
 communicate "their plans to persons not members of the
 
 252 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Government," that the Bishop could have no special knowledge 
 or experience, and " Ministers would not attach much importance 
 to his opinion (probably formed entirely from a native point of 
 view) upon the details of the Government plans." In other 
 words, Mr. Fox would entrap the Bishop into what might be 
 used as an approval of plans the nature of which he would not 
 allow the Bishop to know. Sir George Grey sent all the corre- 
 spondence to England, where, with such an exposure of its 
 composition it could do no harm, and Mr. Cardwell merely 
 acknowledged its receipt. 
 
 Bearing in mind what had occurred on the subjects of the 
 escaped prisoners, and confiscation of lands, it is startling to 
 find that, on the 2nd August, 1864, in commenting on Mr. 
 Cardwell's despatches, laying down principles for the Governor's 
 guidance as to confiscation and negotiation for peace 1 the 
 Ministry told Sir George Grey : " Practically no difference of 
 opinion as yet exists between his Excellency and his advisers, 
 and they trust it may not arise." As, however, after publication 
 of the despatches, "a feeling had arisen in the colony" that Mr. 
 Cardwell intended to " subvert the existing arrangement as to 
 the administration of native affairs in some matters," the Ministry 
 protested " without delay against the introduction of a new form 
 of Government," partly administered by the Governor, and 
 partly by his advisers. 
 
 Let the reader pause for one moment to reflect upon the" 
 difference between the cession suggested by Mr. Cardwell and 
 the confiscation proposed by Whitaker and Fox. All tribal 
 rights were guaranteed to Maoris by the treaty of Waitangi. 
 One contracting party has no power to abrogate any provision 
 of a treaty. Cession as an act of a whole tribe might plausibly 
 be represented as permitted by the treaty. The confiscation 
 was a mere outrage upon treaty and law : for Whitaker con- 
 fessed that it would be worthless unless it could be stretched so 
 as to rob the innocent. Admitting that a Maori could be made 
 a rebel because he resisted attacks made upon him, and that his 
 
 1 26th May, 1864. Mr. Cardwell : "It is my duty to say to yon plainly, 
 that if, unfortunately (your Ministers') opinions should be different from 
 your own as to the terms of peace, Her Majesty's Government expect you 
 to act on your own judgment," &c.
 
 THEORIES OF CONFISCATION. 253 
 
 rights might be forfeited ; yet his share in land was tribal, and 
 to confiscate his rights left those of others unharmed. The 
 portion of the tribe which remained faithful to the Queen there- 
 fore gathered 1 into themselves both by treaty and law any 
 lapsed rights of their tribesmen. Te Wheoro and his friends, 
 who accompanied General Cameron in the Waikato campaign, 
 might be enriched by the death or disappearance of their con- 
 quered tribesmen, but the destroyed rights could not attach to 
 the Queen. No men knew this fact better than Whitaker and 
 Fox, and their persistence in urging confiscation was but a 
 continuance of the spirit which actuated the New Zealand 
 Company and Earl Grey in deriding the " so-called treaty " made 
 by the Queen. Sir George Grey (26th August) forwarded the 
 ministerial protest to Mr. Cardwell. He affirmed that the 
 publication of Mr. Cardwell's despatch of the 26th April had 
 "produced a very happy effect upon the native population." 
 To it he attributed in no small degree the surrender of the 
 Tauranga tribe. He pointed out that the discussions between 
 himself and his advisers, as already communicated to Mr. 
 Cardwell, showed that considerable difference had arisen between 
 himself and his advisers on questions of Imperial concern. He 
 
 1 Such seems the only result either in justice, or logically, of forfeiture of 
 a tribal right. The contention of Whitaker and Fox was of course outside 
 of the domain of logic, law, or justice. It was, I believe, reserved for the 
 sagacity of Sir Arthur Gordon to suggest a modus vivendi by which the 
 rapacious acts done before he became Governor in New Zealand might be 
 partially reconciled with justice viz. that on confiscation of rights of a 
 Maori, the confiscating authority should become seized of the confiscated 
 tribal rights of their victim without destroying those of his tribesmen. 
 Though such a position may be defended with subtlety, and is a large absti- 
 nence from the cynical rapine put in force by New Zealand Ministries, it is 
 manifest that the entry of the local government into tribal rights by an act 
 of force exercised by that government opens the door to iniquity which the 
 cupidity of the moving spirits in New Zealand has never restrained. The 
 three theories are sufficiently distinct. One holds that an honourable regard 
 for the treaty of Waitangi demands that every man's tribal rights shall be 
 respected absolutely. This cannot be the case if he be compelled against 
 his will to accept the Government as joint owner. TheWhitaker-Fox theory 
 was not only that the Maori must be robbed of his land in defiance of the 
 express words of the treaty, but thai it was of no use to rob the guilty unless 
 at the same time the innocent were robbed. Sir Arthur Gordon's contention 
 would limit the acquired rights of the confiscating Government to the 
 extent and to the quality of the rights of the assumed traitor.
 
 254 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 urged, on general and local grounds, that it was not salutary to 
 hand over to a Ministry, feebly responsible to the local legisla- 
 ture, uncontrolled power over the lives, actions, and honour of 
 British men and officers engaged in war in a country where the 
 race which elected to the legislature was more or less excited 
 against the other race which was altogether unrepresented, and 
 yet included the largest landed proprietors in the Northern 
 Island. He was confident that when Mr. Cardwell had deter- 
 mined on a policy, just to Great Britain and to Maoris and 
 colonists, he might rely on the good sense and good feeling 
 of a majority in New Zealand in support of it. 
 
 In the end of August a crisis was approaching. General 
 Cameron had been consulted on the demand of the Ministry for 
 a frontier line (partly maintained by the Queen's troops) from 
 Raglan or Kawhia to Tauranga. He saw great objections to 
 the plans for an expedition in winter against the tribes at 
 Matamata and Peria, and for what appeared like a winter cam- 
 paign at Taranaki. As the Ministry seemed to cling to their own 
 ideas of strategy, Sir George Grey told him (30th August) that 
 " If he had not determined not to act upon the advice Ministers 
 tendered him, that operations should be followed up at Tauranga 
 in the manner they proposed, the aspect of affairs in New 
 Zealand would have borne at this time a very disastrous 
 character." The king-maker's people were at Matamata and 
 Peria, and the Ministry thirsted with more than common thirst 
 for his destruction, although Mr. Mackay, the Civil Commissioner 
 of the Thames district, had reported on the 16th August : "It 
 does not appear to me that the natives intended to be otherwise 
 than friendly towards the Government unless some military 
 operations take place at Matamata or Peria, in which case if the 
 hostile natives were driven down into their country they would 
 assist them, and retreat to the wooded spurs of the Aroha ranges, 
 a position, from its inaccessible and rugged nature, they could 
 occupy and maintain with a very small force against highly 
 superior numbers." The Ministry sneered at Mr. Mackay as 
 having been duped ; but in September they had strained their 
 powers so far that they had given way. The Maori prisoners 
 had been transferred to the island of Kawau in August, and 
 Mr. Fox had recorded his protest against Mr. Cardwell's theory
 
 THE MINISTRY ON TERMS OF PEACE. 255 
 
 that, subject to law, the Governor was the arbiter of their fate. 
 The inability of the Ministry to deal justly or generously with 
 negotiations for peace, or with cession of lands, threw the 
 responsibility upon the Governor, and on the 7th September he 
 sent to his advisers a draft of a proclamation drawn in com- 
 pliance with Mr. Cardwell's instructions, in order to give the 
 natives an opportunity of submission before the resumption of 
 warlike operations. He offered free and absolute pardon to all 
 who might " come in on or before the 22nd October, take the 
 oath of allegiance, and make cession of such territory as may in 
 each instance be fixed by the Governor and Lieutenant-General." 
 The pardon would not be extended to persons engaged in certain 
 murders which were to be specified. The Ministers agreed to 
 the issue of the proclamation with provisoes. Arms were to be 
 given up, except where the Governor might deem their retention 
 necessary to defend their owners against rebels still in arms. 
 Mr. Whitaker required the Governor's assurance that the cessions 
 would be of the required extent, and that if not availed of by the 
 day fixed in the proclamation the terms should lapse, and 
 forfeiture should without further delay supersede the proposed 
 cession. The Governor would not give the assurance required. 
 The Ministry sought to acquire territory to defray war expenses, 
 or to be devoted to military settlements. He, on the other 
 hand, viewed the cession as a punishment inflicted to deter 
 others from rebellion, and proportionate in each case to the 
 guilt of the tribes involved. He could not take a man's land 
 more largely than justice would warrant merely because it 
 might be wished to plant settlements upon it. He recalled the 
 reasons which prevented the issue of a proclamation in May, 
 requiring the surrender of arms, and which were still cogent. 
 Mr. Whitaker declined (13th September) to acquiesce in the 
 proclamation. Rebels were from time to time sun-end ering in 
 considerable numbers, and the Government ought not to vacil- 
 late. The Governor misunderstood the ministerial view of 
 acquisition of territory. " Ministers explicitly declared that the 
 contemplated cession should include the objects (named by him), 
 not that they were the only ones sought." Their memoran- 
 dum was lengthy. The Governor replied to it at almost equal 
 length on the following day. He had not accepted advice from
 
 256 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Ministers on several occasions, because lie would not drive a nation 
 to despair. If the Ministry had intended to oppose conformity 
 with Mr. Card well's despatch, Sir George Grey thought they 
 ought not to have published it. For his part he concurred in 
 the justice of the instructions therein. He unhesitatingly 
 appealed " to his country and to posterity to judge between his 
 views and those of his responsible advisers, and to pronounce 
 whether when a man has come to a decision amidst so many 
 and great difficulties, his responsible advisers ought not to 
 refrain from clouding his judgment, and trying to force him to a 
 decision he does not approve, by using such language as their 
 memorandum contains. If upon reconsideration his responsible 
 advisers still refuse to acquiesce in the proclamation submitted 
 to them, as the Governor, for the reasons he has stated, con- 
 siders it to be his duty, sorry as he is to differ in opinion with 
 them, to adhere to his intention of issuing it ; he begs to be 
 informed what course they intend to pursue." 
 
 The escape of the prisoners from Kawau might delay the 
 issue until the effect of that escape on the Maoris might be 
 ascertained, but he wished for an* early reply. On the 20th 
 September, the mail from England brought information that 
 Mr. Reader Wood's negotiation for the New Zealand loan had 
 failed to procure more than a very small instalment, and even 
 that at a low minimum. Out of 1,000,000 offered, only 5000 
 were tendered for at 90, on the first day. On the 22nd 
 September, the Ministry wrote a portentously long minute, in 
 which they requested to be relieved from office " if his Excellency 
 adheres to his intention of issuing the objectionable proclama- 
 tion." Sir George Grey before deciding to accept their resign- 
 ations determined to acquaint himself with the financial 
 condition of the colony. They had averred that the demand 
 for land had not been vague. It was "not a quantity to be 
 measured by any man's opinions, but a given rule easily applied, 
 which would leave nothing to be determined by thoughts and 
 opinions, and in strict accordance with the instructions from 
 England and the views of the General Assembly." The Governor 
 asked what was the given rule so easily applied. They told him 
 with equal curtness that each military settler was entitled to a 
 certain number of acres, that a similar rule would apply to each
 
 VAGUE CONFISCATION DEMANDS. 257 
 
 immigrant from Great Britain, and that there would be no diffi- 
 culty in determining the moderate quantity required for sale. 
 He asked for an approximate estimate, and at last obtained from 
 them what for months he had besought in vain. On the 30th 
 September, they formulated their demands as to quantity, but 
 not situation, of land required by confiscation. In Auckland, 
 military settlers would require 360,000 acres ; emigrants from 
 England, 240,000 acres ; for sale would be required, 400,000. In 
 Taranaki, military settlers would need 180,000 acres ; emigrants 
 from England, 120,000 acres ; for sale would be required 300,000 
 acres. The total of 1,600,000 acres was less than had been 
 proposed hi the Assembly, but Ministers had " made the modifi- 
 cation for the purpose of avoiding any imputation even of 
 prolonging the war for the acquisition of territory." The sudden 
 readiness to give information was due to an interview between Mr. 
 Reader Wood (the Treasurer, who had returned from England), 
 and Sir George Grey, on the 29th September. Mr. Wood in a 
 letter from England (written in July), had complained of attacks 
 made in the ' Times ' newspaper upon the Colonial Government 
 and the colonists, " accusing them of closing all avenues to peace, 
 and of employing the British troops to fight not in a war of 
 defence, but in a war of aggrandisement, and for the purpose of 
 wresting land from the natives by force." Mr. Wood, arriving from 
 England in September, and discussing the subject, was told that 
 the opposition of the Ministry to the proclamation of pardon to 
 the natives was calculated to close the avenues of peace. Mr. 
 Wood suggested that the Ministry should retire. On the 30th 
 September, they tendered their resignations. They were, there- 
 fore, practically out of office when they consented to inform the 
 Governor, even approximately, how much land they wished to 
 confiscate. He thanked them, and asked if they would oblige 
 him by showing approximately the boundaries of the required 
 lands. They were unable to do so, " even approximately. . . . 
 It was not intended to take the land required in one block, but 
 in several, of which some would have been small ; and as to 
 others there is not sufficient information to determine even the 
 precise localities." No man of ordinary intelligence could have 
 supposed that such a seizure of land could fail to foster enmity 
 and suspicion among the Maori owners who were to be ejected, 
 VOL. n. s
 
 258 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 but who, even at the last moment, knew not which of them 
 were to be sufferers. Again appealed to, they sent a tracing in 
 which they designated 340,000 acres surrounding Taranaki, a 
 rectangular block of 564,000 acres extending from Waimate to 
 Waitotara, and an irregular block widening from Drury to the 
 south so as to include the valleys of the Waipa and Waikato 
 and reaching nearly to Hangatiki. But they furnished this 
 approximate description on the distinct understanding that 
 neither their successors nor the Assembly were to be prejudiced 
 by their act. The Governor was unwilling to seek new advisers 
 until he had obtained accurate information as to the financial 
 position of the colony. He asked for it on the day on which 
 his Ministers had formally resigned. They replied : " Ministers 
 do not understand that it is the duty of his Excellency or them- 
 selves to furnish information as to the financial position of the 
 colony to any person who may profess a willingness to accept 
 office; indeed they foresee probable evil consequences as the 
 result of such a circumstance to men not under responsibility." 
 They would, however, furnish the Governor with information. 
 Outstanding debts amounted to more than 1,400,000, .of which 
 half-a-million was due to the Imperial Government, and was to 
 be paid out of the proceeds of that portion of the loan for three 
 millions which the Imperial Government might guarantee. The 
 monthly expenditure exceeded the monthly income. The Govern- 
 ment had drawn nearly three-quarters of a million sterling 
 against debentures, for a million and a quarter, held in London 
 for sale or hypothecation. Nevertheless, the Ministry declared 
 (3rd and 6th October) that they saw "no financial difficulty 
 whatever if the plan of settlement and confiscation be carried 
 out as authorized by the General Assembly and sanctioned by 
 the Imperial Government, notwithstanding the failure of the im- 
 mediate negotiation of the loan." They added that in consequence 
 of that failure they would have advised an immediate reduction 
 of war expenditure had they remained in office. Mr. Cardwell's 
 despatch (26th April) on confiscation or cession, when shown to 
 Mr. Reader Wood in England, elicited his warm concurrence. 
 He recorded it in writing : " I take this opportunity of stating, 
 formally and officially, that which I have previously had the 
 honour of stating to Mr. Secretary Cardwell personally, that
 
 WHITAKER MINISTRY KESIGNS. 259 
 
 there is nothing in the instructions of April 26th to Sir George 
 Grey that does not represent the views of the Colonial Govern- 
 ment in practically carrying into effect the policy of confiscation 
 authorized by the Legislature in the New Zealand Settlements 
 Act. . . . On my own behalf, therefore, and that of my colleagues 
 I can give to Mr. Cardwell a full assurance that the Local 
 Government will certainly co-operate with Sir George Grey in 
 carrying out that just and temperate policy towards the native 
 race embodied in the New Zealand Settlements Act as limited 
 in its operation by his instructions of April 26th." Mr. Wood 
 was in no doubt as to Mr. Cardwell's meaning, for he wrote to 
 his colleagues (with regard to the requirement that " a measure 
 should be at once submitted to limit the duration of the Act to 
 a definite period," &c.), that he asked Mr. Cardwell whether he 
 wished the Parliament to be at once assembled ad hoc, and Mr. 
 Cardwell replied : " Two years are given during which the Crown 
 has the power of disallowing ; if within that time I find that the 
 Parliament will agree to carry out the Act in the manner I have 
 suggested, and to limit its duration to a definite period, the 
 power of disallowance will not be exercised ; if not, it will." 
 When reminded of this statement, Mr. Whitaker did not shrink 
 from retorting that the Ministry agreed with Mr. Wood's words, 
 and were ready to repeat them, but that " what Mr. Wood did 
 say had no reference whatever to cession but to confiscation ; " 
 although Mr. Cardwell's announcement of the intentions of Her 
 Majesty's Government declared : " It is in their opinion very 
 much to be desired that the proposed appropriation of land 
 should take the form of a cession imposed by yourself and 
 General Cameron upon the conquered tribes." 
 
 The reader who bears in mind Mr. Fox's denunciation of Mr. 
 Cardwell's despatch as utterly mischievous, must be anxious to 
 escape from the crooked windings in which it has been necessary 
 to follow the course of the Whitaker Ministry ; who soon after 
 this audacious statement quitted office. On the 8th October, 
 they informed the Governor that they thought that all war 
 expenditure from colonial sources should be stopped, and that 
 the General Assembly ought to be summoned at a date not later 
 than 15th November. Sir George Grey replied, that in view of 
 the financial position he had come to the conclusion that he 
 
 S 2
 
 260 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 could not form a new Ministry in time to meet emergencies, and 
 that the proper course would be to summon the Assembly. He 
 at once acquiesced with their advice. They had also urged him 
 to bring the Settlements Act into operation, but he understood 
 Mr. Cardwell's instructions and his conversation with the 
 Treasurer as implying that the Act ought not to be brought into 
 operation until there had been a failure to obtain cessions of 
 land in the manner proposed by the Governor's proclamation. 
 He would undertake that the natives making them should do 
 so as defeated rebels, and would conclude no arrangements 
 without considering the opinions of his advisers. He did not 
 ask the Ministry to acquiesce in his proclamation or be respon- 
 sible, but wished it to be inserted in the ' Gazette ' at the time 
 chosen by himself. Mr. Whitaker replied that the proclamation 
 should be inserted. On the 24th October, the Governor forwarded 
 it in terms similar to those in the draft rejected in September 
 by his advisers ; but extending the day of grace to the 10th 
 December instead of the 22nd October. At his request they 
 added a list of exemptions from pardon of all persons (unnamed) 
 engaged in the commission of murders which were found by 
 juries to have been committed ty some person or persons of the 
 native race. The catalogue included 29 cases. The proclama- 
 tion, signed on the 25th, was issued on the 26th October. None 
 of the Ministry countersigned it. The General and the Commo- 
 dore concurred with it, and regretted that it had been so long 
 delayed. The king- maker wrote to the Governor. He was 
 almost alone in Waikato. The war preparations had drawn the 
 tribes to Taranaki. " Extend to me," he said, " the days from 
 the 10th December even unto the end of February. My great 
 desire is to have to the end of April, but I presume you would 
 not grant my request, and therefore only ask to the end of 
 February." Let the chiefs assemble to consider the proclamation. 
 For himself, the suspension of hostilities he had agreed to at 
 Ngaruawahia, still continued. "I gave my word then. You 
 keep Waikato. I will not fight there. My word is the same 
 now. The words which I now leave for the assembling together 
 of Waikato are : 1. The land. 2. The murders. 3. The 
 guns and powder." The Ministry affected to believe that the 
 king-maker had become a Hau Hau, but the Civil Commissioner
 
 REMOVAL OF SEAT OF GOVERNMENT. 2G1 
 
 reported that in conversation with him the king-maker expressed 
 great contempt for the new superstition. Mr. Fox, nevertheless, 
 retorted that however remarkable a man Te Waharoa might be, 
 and undoubtedly was, Mr. Fox had a painful impression that his 
 sincerity and truthfulness were not to be relied upon. The 
 Ministry continued to advise the Governor on such subjects as 
 accommodation of immigrants, and location of troops in Waikato. 
 The removal of the seat of Government to Cook's Straits as 
 resolved on by the General Assembly had been an open question 
 with the Ministry. Odium was dreaded by a provincial states- 
 man if he should be candid enough to confess that any site was 
 eligible except one in his own province. The Governor was 
 personally entrusted with the negotiations under which Com- 
 missioners were appointed. Mr. Joseph Docker of New South 
 Wales; Sir Francis Murphy of Victoria; and Mr. Ronald C. 
 Gunn of Tasmania, after due examination, handed their report 
 on the 3rd October to the Superintendent at Nelson, who on 
 the 10th transmitted it to Auckland. They unanimously re- 
 commended Wellington as the best site. Their report was 
 received at Auckland by Mr. Fox on the 14th October. When 
 the Governor informed his advisers that he concurred with them 
 in thinking that the Assembly ought to be convened, they asked 
 him on the 10th October if he had received the report of the 
 Commissioners. He said he had not. On the llth, they 
 transmitted to him a proclamation calling the Assembly together 
 at Wellington. On the 12th, they requested him to give his 
 consent, before five o'clock on that day, to the proclamation. 
 On the 12th, he said he had been quite taken by surprise by 
 their sudden choice of Wellington. Auckland would be injured 
 by so unexpected a removal. Threatened as it was by a 
 financial crisis, and by renewal of war, it deserved consideration, 
 and he must take time to deliberate on a matter thus suddenly 
 and without previous consultation thrust upon him. The 
 escaped prisoners had been but a month on their hill-top at 
 Omaha, and it was not known whether they were planning war, 
 or would be supported by other tribes. The Ministry were 
 engaged in considering the supplication from Europeans at 
 Omaha for help in their peril. On the 13th, a petition signed 
 by more than 1500 inhabitants of Auckland deprecated the
 
 262 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 sudden removal of the General Assembly at so critical a 
 conjuncture. On the 17th, the Ministry were willing to allow 
 the Governor to fix the place of meeting, but as he declined to 
 do so, they advised on the 18th that it should meet at Auckland 
 on the 21st November. There was no circumstance, technical 
 or serious, on which the relations between the Governor and his 
 advisers were allowed to work without needless friction. Mr. 
 Fitzgerald declared that the colonists were living under a 
 " Memorandummiad." Ministers began to be weary of their 
 vain work. They complained of the " already enormous file of 
 despatches and minutes." " In the hands of the Governor is all 
 the power; he alone can move troops. He alone can con- 
 fiscate ; he alone has the fate of prisoners in his hands. 
 Ministers are really powerless." Yet though their views were 
 " diametrically opposed " to his, he would not accept their 
 resignations. The Whitaker Ministry had indeed been useless 
 for good, but men are more powerful for evil than for good. If 
 a generous and prompt policy had been adopted towards the 
 prisoners and the vanquished, the whole aspect of the colony 
 might have been changed. But the prisoners had been kept in 
 torturing suspense, their friends in arms were partners in 
 anxiety, and the Hau Hau fanatics had been aided in adding 
 fuel to the fires of disaffection. The coast between Wanganui 
 and Taranaki was the hot-bed of wild passions, and exiles from 
 Waikato had flocked thither to swell the rebel bands. Even 
 the tardy proclamation of pardon in September might have 
 arrested the troubling of the waters, but the Ministry had 
 withheld their consent. They would neither do good themselves 
 nor allow others to do it. To crown their disgust a despatch 
 (August) from Mr. Cardwell arrived in October. Commenting 
 on the differences between the Ministers and the Governor, it 
 declared that Mr. Reader Wood "was distinctly told that his 
 acceptance of my proposal for a guaranteed loan would be 
 regarded by Her Majesty's Government as an assurance on his 
 own part and that of his colleagues of their desire cordially to 
 co-operate with you in that just and temperate policy towards 
 the native race ; and his reply, which was laid before Parliament, 
 was perfectly satisfactory and complete in this respect." It told 
 the Governor that in using every legitimate means to give
 
 FORMATION OF NEW MINISTRY. 263 
 
 effect to the instructions of the 26th April, he might count 
 upon the cordial support of the English Government. On these 
 and other points the Ministry continued to compile minutes, of 
 which there seemed no end, until the 23rd November, the day 
 before which the Assembly was to meet. The Governor's last 
 memorandum briefly urged that he had endeavoured to act 
 constitutionally, and that he was " satisfied that larger experi- 
 ence in public affairs of the kind which have recently been 
 transacted in this colony, will lead his present advisers ulti- 
 mately to admit that such is the case, and to withdraw their 
 present opinions, and to regret that they have often expressed 
 themselves in language of such unusual strength." 
 
 In forming a new Ministry, it was absolutely necessary to 
 respect Mr. Cardwell's injunctions, and to contemplate a reduc- 
 tion of the Imperial forces in the colony. The small section 
 of the English public which concerned itself with the wrongs of 
 Maoris recoiled from savage extermination of a gallant race, 
 outnumbered by ten to one of those in arms. The naval and 
 military forces on the spot shared the feeling that they were 
 made the catspaw to drag from the fire the prizes coveted by 
 the colonists. 1 The taint of the original injustice at Waitara 
 manifestly clung to the acts of Whitaker and his colleagues. 
 The army and navy loyally fought against the Maoris, but they 
 accorded to them an admiration, if not a sympathy, which they 
 could not feel for some of their grasping countrymen. Mr. 
 Cardwell wrote (26th September) : " If the doctrines now 
 broadly propounded by your Ministers are to be admitted, New 
 Zealand must be regarded not only as owning no dependence 
 upon the mother country, and as having that inherent right 
 which independent countries exercise of conducting their own 
 affairs according to their own judgment, but as having this 
 
 1 The military always evinced a better feeling than was shown by those 
 whose battles they were fighting. Lieutenant-Colonel Carey, C.B., pub- 
 lished a ' Narrative of the Late War in New Zealand ' (London : Bentley, 
 1863). He said, p. 189 : " Many more would have returned to their alle- 
 giance but from fear of the colonists, who treated even the friendly tribes 
 with the greatest brutality. . . . The prisoners we took had to be most 
 carefully guarded, not so much to prevent escape, as to save them from the 
 un-English and unmanly attacks of the Europeans, who, when they could 
 do so with safety, treated them with the greatest indignities. Widely 
 different was the behaviour of the soldiers. .
 
 264 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 right coupled with the singular privilege of enjoying the 
 services of a Governor, a General, and an army furnished by this 
 country. On the other hand, the mother country would be 
 simply a tributary nation, affording at its own cost the means 
 of carrying into effect the policy of the Colonial Ministers, with- 
 out exercising any voice in the direction of that policy. It is 
 sufficient to state these conclusions. It is not necessary to 
 enter into any discussion of them." England had furnished an 
 army of the finest troops under an accomplished General, had 
 consented to guarantee a loan for the service of the colony, and 
 Mr. Cardwell looked for a spirit of reason, of good sense, and of 
 cordial co-operation, which he was confident would not be 
 appealed to in vain. The Governor's new advisers would be 
 compelled to include Mr. Cardwell as a factor in the forces 
 which would control New Zealand so long as Imperial troops 
 might be retained. On the 21st October, 1864, there had -been 
 a public meeting at Christchurch, at which Mr. Weld had 
 advocated a policy of self-reliance. Let the colony take all the 
 expense and all the control of the Maori question and war. 
 Let every soldier go. Let the General Assembly be convened 
 without delay. Sir George Grey found in such a speaker the 
 Minister he required. Oral agreement having been arrived at, 
 the terms were reduced to writing. Mr. Weld pronounced " the 
 system of double Government by Governor and Ministers" to 
 have " resulted in evil to both races." He recognized the right 
 of the Home Government to maintain the existing system while 
 the colony received aid from British troops. He accepted the 
 alternative, and would " recommend the General Assembly to 
 request the Home Government to withdraw the whole of its 
 land force from the colony, and to issue such instructions to the 
 Governor as may enable him to be guided entirely by the 
 recommendations of his constitutional advisers, excepting only 
 upon such matters as may directly concern Imperial interests, 
 and the prerogatives of the Crown." Pending the decision of 
 the Imperial Government he would ask the Assembly to 
 " undertake a reasonable liability for the services of the troops 
 actively engaged in the field at the special recommendation of 
 his Excellency's advisers, and for such troops only." A colonial 
 force would be kept on foot, a military post occupied about the
 
 MR. WELD'S MINISTERIAL PLANS. 265 
 
 centre of the coast-line of the Ngatiruanui country, and a road 
 would be made from Wanganui to the northern part of the 
 Taranaki province. Arrangements made with military settlers 
 were to be fulfilled by taking sufficient land out of the territory 
 held by military occupation. The seat of Government would 
 be at once moved to Wellington in accordance with the re- 
 commendation of the Commissioners. If there should be 
 material difference between the Governor and his advisers 
 during a recess, Mr. Weld would resign, and in such case he 
 thought that either the Assembly should be summoned or other 
 advisers chosen. The boldest part of Mr. Weld's scheme was 
 not that which seemed so at first sight. As he intended to 
 make use of Maori warriors on the side of the Government an 
 arm not largely resorted to in 1863 and there were tribes ready 
 to fight with or without .provocation, the dispensing with 
 English troops was not so daring a measure as it appeared 
 abroad. But in financial affairs the Government was -helpless. 
 The Whi taker Ministry were wise in their own generation when 
 they shrunk from exposing to a probable Minister the condition 
 of the New Zealand Treasury. Mr. Weld with undoubted 
 resolution addressed himself to the task, and by the weight of 
 his reputation made arrangements which tided over the difficulty, 
 until by taxation it could be fairly met. He ever professed 
 friendship for the Maori, although he could not be brought to 
 recognize the Ngatiawa tribal tenure at Taranaki ; and one of 
 his first acts was to ask the former magistrate of the Waikato 
 district, Frederick Dart Fenton, to become Chief Judge of a 
 Native Land Court to be established by law. The Court which 
 the Act of 1862 enabled the Governor to create from time to 
 time had proved almost a dead letter. What Maori could be 
 urged to appeal to it while Whitaker and Fox were advisers of 
 the Governor ? The first necessity was to pass a new law with- 
 out delay. Under it the Judges like those in England held 
 office "during good behaviour." They were no longer to be 
 the ephemeral creatures of a Governor or of his advisers. 
 They were to be assisted by native assessors (holding office 
 only "during pleasure"), whose concurrence was necessary 
 in any judgment. The salaries of the Judges were fixed by 
 the creating law. Thus was seen the first rift in the cloud
 
 266 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 of oppression with which Whitaker and Fox had enshrouded 
 the Maoris by their Confiscation (New Zealand Settlement), 
 and their Oppression (Suppression of Rebellion) Acts. Between 
 1860 and 1865 arms had expelled the gown from the solemn 
 atmosphere over which justice is wont to preside in dealing 
 with hereditary and treaty rights. With a convenient Governor 
 like Colonel Browne, and a lax Secretary of State like the 
 Duke of Newcastle, the whole of the North Island might 
 have been pilfered from its owners. Though the great majority 
 of a tribe might be loyal, there might be a few hostile to 
 the Government, and on that plea the whole territory might 
 be confiscated. Mr. Whitaker had contended that such a 
 power was the essence of his needs. It was known and ad- 
 mitted by Governor Browne that the great majority of the 
 tribe were on the side of Te Rangitake. The native rights 
 which the Government literally cast into the fire in 1860 were 
 now to be the subject of inquiry by law. Mr. Weld was wise 
 enough to know that unless the law so earnestly sought by Sir 
 William Martin could be applied to unloose the Gordian knot 
 of Maori tenure, nothing but the sword would remain. The 
 preparation of the necessary measure was a work of time.
 
 2G7 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 THE WELD MINISTRY. 
 
 MR. WELD'S propositions being committed to paper, Sir 
 George Grey wrote : " If a majority of the General Assembly 
 concurs in them, it will be the Governor's duty to aid to the 
 best of his ability in carrying them out." Mr. Sewell, Mr. 
 Fitzherbert, Mr. Richardson (in the Council), Major Atkinson, 
 and (in December) Mr. Mantell, accepted office on the terms 
 thus arranged. The Houses, summoned to meet for despatch 
 of business on the 21st November, had by successive pro- 
 clamation on the 19th and 22nd been prorogued to the 23rd 
 and 24th while the Governor sought for advisers. When on 
 the last-mentioned date they assumed office he thanked the 
 members for responding at an unusual season to a summons 
 rendered imperative by the state of the colony and the resigna- 
 tion of his advisers. Acting on his individual responsibility 
 he had offered terms of pardon to natives in arms against the 
 Queen. It was his intention to take prompt steps to restore 
 order in the Taranaki and Ngatiruanui districts. The speech 
 dwelt upon the principles embodied in Mr. Weld's memorandum 
 on acceptance of office. After an attempt, (defeated by 29 
 votes against 17, amongst the Representatives,) to postpone the 
 removal of the seat of government "until provision has been 
 first made for constituting the province of Auckland a separate 
 colony, to be ruled by a Governor appointed by Her Majesty and 
 a Legislature to be chosen by the inhabitants thereof," addresses 
 were carried in both Houses which were cordial in character, but 
 reserved for consideration the question of self-reliance in internal 
 defence and the assumption of colonial responsibility as pro- 
 posed by Mr. Weld. It is grateful to record the fact, that in
 
 268 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 office Mr. Weld condemned the Suppression of Rebellion Act as 
 vigorously as when he was a private member. " It was 
 unnecessary and unconstitutional, taken from a bad type of 
 barbarous ages. All that can be said in favour of this disgrace 
 to our statute-book is that it has been a dead letter." Mr. 
 Sewell as Attorney-General resumed the lead in the Legislative 
 Council, and moved resolutions accepting the propositions of 
 Mr. Weld. Mr. Whitaker moved an amendment to the effect 
 that temporarily New Zealand ought to be divided into two 
 colonies the southern administered on the principle of ministerial 
 responsibility ; the northern on a system enabling " the Imperial 
 Government to exercise such control over the management of 
 native affairs as will enable Her Majesty's Government to take 
 such measures as it may deem necessary to suppress the present 
 rebellion, and provide safeguards against rebellion for the future." 
 By 10 votes against 9 Mr. Whitaker's motion, so strangely 
 opposed to his acrimonious contentions with Sir George Grey, 
 was rejected ; and the Address accepting Mr. Weld's principles 
 was adopted by 16 votes against 2, on the 6th December. 
 
 In the House of Representatives Mr. Weld moved, on the 
 30th November, resolutions condemnatory of joint responsibility 
 of the Governor and his advisers in native affairs. Divided 
 Councils, vacillating policy, and needless expense were imputed 
 to it. "Recognizing the right of the Home Government to 
 insist upon the maintenance of this system of double govern- 
 ment so long as the colony is receiving the aid of British troops," 
 the House was invited to accept the alternative, to request 
 unconditionally the withdrawal of the whole of the land force, 
 and ask that the Governor should be guided entirely by his 
 " advisers in native as well as ordinary affairs, excepting upon 
 such matters as may directly concern Imperial interests and the 
 prerogatives of the Crown." It was thought that a precipitate 
 withdrawal of the troops was rash and dangerous. After 
 adjourned debates, and a failure by Mr. Graham to provide for 
 separation of New Zealand in the manner aimed at by Mr. 
 Whitaker in the Council, friendly resolutions were carried by 
 the Minister of Defence, Major Atkinson, without a division. 
 They expressed loyalty to the Crown, gratitude to the mother 
 country, and thanks to Her Majesty's forces. They trusted
 
 RESOLUTIONS IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 269 
 
 that Mr. Cardwell's instructions had been issued to meet a 
 temporary emergency, and would lapse when a normal state of 
 things could be restored. " Without disputing the claim of the 
 Imperial Government to exercise a reasonable control over policy 
 upon which the restoration of peace must necessarily depend 
 whilst the colony is receiving the aid of British troops," they 
 averred that divided councils had produced great evils and 
 expense : " That nevertheless the colony is resolved to make 
 every further possible effort to place itself in a position of self- 
 defence against internal aggression, with a view to aecept the 
 alternative indicated by the Home Government, namely, the 
 withdrawal of Her Majesty's land forces at the earliest possible 
 period consistent with the maintenance of Imperial interests 
 and the safety of the colony ; thereby enabling the Imperial 
 Government to issue such instructions to his Excellency the 
 Governor as may permit him to be guided entirely by his con- 
 stitutional advisers in native as well as in ordinary affairs, 
 excepting upon such matters as may directly concern Imperial 
 interests and the prerogatives of the Crown." Substantially 
 Major Atkinson's resolutions were the same as those adopted on 
 Mr. Sewell's motion in the Council. Both Houses had therefore 
 agreed upon a new starting-point, which was to furnish endless 
 disputes in after years. Almost all men of political note had 
 supported it, however, and from danger of internal interference 
 it seemed free. Mr. Dillon Bell, Mr. Domett, Dr. Featherston, 
 Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Fox, Mr. Mantell, Mr. Stafford, Mr. Fitz- 
 herbert, Mr. Weld, Mr. Cracroft Wilson, Mr. Crosbie Ward, Mr. 
 Swainson, Mr. Sewell, Major Whitmore, and (after rejection of 
 his attempt to bisect the colony) Mr. Whitaker, were sponsors of 
 the new scheme. The electoral roll of the colony at the time 
 was less than 30,000 ; or less than that of any suburban con- 
 stituency around London. The fate of the Maori race was to 
 depend on about the number of voters which sends two members 
 to Parliament from Edinburgh. 
 
 The session was short. An Act was passed enabling the 
 Governor in Council to raise the interest on the loan for 
 3,000,000 (1863) from 5 to 6 per cent. A Debenture Act 
 authorized the issue of short-dated debentures (three years) at 
 8 per cent, interest in anticipation of the loan for 3,000,000-
 
 270 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 A Customs Act, with the hope of increasing the revenue to the 
 extent of 190,000, raised the rate of duties on imports. A 
 Public Works Land Act authorized the taking of native lands 
 as well as those of Europeans on the giving of compensation. A 
 New Zealand Settlements Amendment Act, intended to comply 
 with Mr. Cardwell's requirements, was adopted. Minor Acts 
 and Private Acts need not be enumerated, although there were 
 several, dealing amongst other matters with railways at Canter- 
 bury. An Act to provide for a mail service by Panama was 
 passed. On the 13th December, the Assembly was prorogued 
 with the assurance that, before the expiry of the current financial 
 year, it should be convened at Wellington. On Mr. Fitzherbert's 
 motion the House had resolved that it was not expedient to 
 accept the offer of the Imperial Government to guarantee 
 1,000,000 of the loan for 3,000,000. The objections stated 
 were that priority of charge was required for the guaranteed 
 portion, and the territorial revenue was to be included in the 
 security. It was resolved that the accounts should be adjusted, 
 and "the true and just balance found due from the colony" 
 should be paid. But resolutions provide no funds. A loan 
 implies a lender, and confidence of capitalists is not engendered 
 by mere words. Confronted by the financial difficulty in their 
 studies the Ministers found it looming large. On the 3rd 
 January, they pathetically appealed for relaxation of the rule as 
 to contribution towards army expenses. " If from any cause the 
 withdrawal of Her Majesty's land forces should be delayed for 
 any lengthened period, and the terms now imposed by the 
 Imperial Government should be insisted on, the colony will be 
 wholly unable to bear the burthen, and financial ruin will be the 
 result." Because the House had thought it rash to withdraw 
 the troops suddenly Mr. Weld had slightly changed his front, 
 and looked for delay. He found the weight of delay intolerable. 
 Look where he would there was trouble. But the tender mercies 
 of Britain could be appealed to. New Zealand was a very young 
 colony, founded by "the Imperial Government, and may not 
 unreasonably look to it for help in time of need like the present." 
 It was true that peace existed, but measures then being taken 
 between Taranaki and Wanganui "would involve the colony in 
 heavy cost." Subject to their present appeal ad misericordiam,
 
 FINANCIAL NEGOTIATIONS. 271 
 
 the Ministry would give effect to the resolutions of the House, and 
 enter upon the question of accounts with the Imperial Govern- 
 ment. If the war expenditure of the colony had not been 
 brought about by the original sin of the Taranaki settlers, of Mr. 
 Stafford, Mr. C. W. Richmond, and others, it would indeed have 
 been entitled to commiseration. Mr. Fitzherbert, the Treasurer, 
 in his financial statement (December, 1864) had shown that of 
 the one million sterling sold or hypothecated the colony would 
 only receive 810,000. He was not sanguine enough to expect 
 more than 1,620,000 for the remaining 2,000,000 authorized 
 by the Loan Act. Anticipation and discount, the one ever more 
 exorbitant, the other ever more difficult, were the keys to the 
 windy treasury of the colony. It is not wonderful that the 
 lands of the Maoris were still eyed eagerly as the talisman of 
 redemption. The claims of the British Treasury could not be 
 dismissed, but might be discussed. Discussion would put off the 
 day of reckoning, and meantime the spirit of their countrymen 
 would shrink from abandonment of the colonists. The vitality 
 of the new Government depended on discussions in the parlour 
 of the Bank of New Zealand. An agreement was arrived at 
 on the 29th December. The Bank was empowered to issue 
 debentures for 750,000, 50,000 of which were to be offered 
 in New Zealand, 200,000 in Australia, and half a million was to 
 be offered in London. The interest was to be 8 per cent. The 
 Bank was to receive 7 instead of 5 per cent, on its overdrawn 
 account, and to have power to hypothecate the debentures in 
 case of failure of sale, the Government bearing the expense of 
 hypothecation. The Bank was to have a commission of per 
 cent, on negotiation. These terms appear more like the bar- 
 gain of a young spendthrift than the state paper of a nascent 
 nation ; but, such as they were, they form the warp of its life. 
 The Inspector of the Bank went to Australia, but capitalists 
 were obdurate. " The chief causes of failure were," he reported, 
 " the general ignorance which prevails as to New Zealand affairs, 
 and the impression that the colony is involving itself in debts, 
 the redemption of which will be problematical." One capitalist 
 in Melbourne offered to take 10,000 of the debentures at 10 
 per cent, discount, but to such an indignity the Inspector would 
 not submit. To receive 9000, pay 800 a year for three years,
 
 272 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 and then to pay 10,000, was more than needy New Zealand 
 could undertake. Some trifling sums were obtained at about 
 par, and a friendly bank in Melbourne lent for six months 
 40,000, at 10 per cent, per annum interest. Out of the 
 abundance of capital in London a small portion was attracted by 
 the hope of 8 per cent. Yet less than 200,000 were obtained 
 within a month of the submission of the debentures. The cost 
 of colonial defence was at the time nearly 450,000 a year. 
 Military settlers at Waikato and Tauranga cost, in pay and 
 rations, more than 156,000 a year; and with Taranaki, White 
 Cliffs, Opotiki, Waiapu, and contingent hospital expenses, 
 military settlers required nearly 300,000 a year. Notwith- 
 standing a favourable turn in the London money market New 
 Zealand stock was practically unsaleable in May, 1865. In 
 March the Ministers drew up a memorial, entreating assistance. 
 They admitted that good faith required payment of the debt 
 of the colony to England. They had transferred 400,000 
 (4 per cent, debentures) to the Imperial Government, and they 
 left it to that Government to hold them as securities, or to cover 
 them with a guarantee. They appealed to Sir George Grey to 
 testify that they had never proposed " to recoup war expenditure 
 by hasty and indiscriminate sale of confiscated land," and that 
 they had "co-operated with him in a just and temperate policy" 
 towards Maoris. They hoped that the English Government 
 would recognize the claims of the colony, " either by covering 
 the remainder of the three million loan by the Imperial 
 guarantee, or by making to the colony an annual grant in aid 
 of extraordinary expenditure for the next four or five years." 
 Sir George Grey supported their appeal for the guarantee, which 
 would cost the mother country nothing, aid the struggling colony 
 in its manful efforts, and might enable both races to live in 
 peace in future. Mr. Cardwell in July unequivocally declined. 
 Were he to ask Parliament to consent he would be reminded 
 that already the Imperial Treasury had disbursed two millions 
 for New Zealand, and that the resources of the colony, as 
 represented by Mr. Reader Wood in applying for the former 
 guarantee, were such as to refute the supposition that it could 
 require a vote in aid. 
 
 The effect of these negotiations was to harden the resolution
 
 CONFISCATION PROCLAMATION. 273 
 
 of Mr. Weld and his friends to dispense with British troops and 
 rely upon a small force trained for bush-fighting, and aided by 
 the pugnacious Maoris, who, ever prone to tribal wars, were 
 reckoned upon as available for a native militia. Mr. Weld, 
 however, alleged that he desired to avoid, if possible, the "setting 
 of tribe against tribe," and hoped that the union of the Pakeha 
 and the Maori in the battle-field would "strengthen the good 
 feeling between the races, besides being a great assistance to the 
 colony." l Within a week of the end of the session the Governor 
 issued a proclamation (17th December, 1864) to confiscate Maori 
 lands. He had staunchly contended against the schemes of 
 Whitaker and Fox, but he did not, when Mr. Weld was in office, 
 insist upon procuring land by cession rather than by seizure. 
 The land to be taken was " all the land in Waikato taken by the 
 Queen's forces," within specified lines from " Pokorokoro in the 
 Gulf of the Thames," by Maungakawa in the Waikato district, 
 Pukekura, Orakau, the Puniu river, the Pirongia mountain, 
 Whaingaroa harbour, the coast to the Waikato Heads, thence by 
 the river Waikato to the Maungatawhiri river, and northwards 
 circuitously to the point of commencement. In addition " all 
 lands northward of the above boundaries belonging to rebel 
 natives or tribes up to and as far as the waters of the Manukau 
 and the Waitamata " were declared confiscated. It was added : 
 "The land of those natives who have adhered to the Queen 
 shall be secured to them. ... To those who have rebelled but 
 who shall at once submit . . . portions of the land taken will be 
 given back for themselves and their families. The Governor 
 will make no further attack on those who remain quiet. Those 
 guilty of further violence he will punish as he has punished the 
 Waikato tribes." Between Wanganui and New Plymouth he 
 would " take such land belonging to rebels as he may think 
 fit;" would make roads where he chose; would assure to the 
 peaceful the "full benefit and enjoyment of their lands," but 
 would except from the amnesty those who had committed 
 murders. Mr. Weld's Ministry had stretched the Governor's 
 conscience from Ngaruawahia to Orakau. The great Waikato 
 plain between the waters of the Horotiu and the Waipa was 
 accorded to the demands of Weld, though refused to Whitaker. 
 1 'Notes on New Zealand Affairs.' F. A. Weld. London : 1869. 
 
 VOL. II. T
 
 274 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Kawhia was left, but from the Puniu river to the waters of 
 Waitemata the natives were exiled ; and in Taranaki the will 
 of the Pakeha was to declare whether any footing on a rock 
 should be left for the sole of the foot of a Maori. Mr. Cardwell's 
 wisdom was discarded in the new-born concord of the Governor 
 with his fresh advisers. Some qualms were felt even in the 
 Cabinet about the proclamation, for we find that before the 
 General went (January, 1864) to Wanganui, a new proclamation 
 disclaiming any " desire to take lands of the rebel natives as a 
 source of profit " was " unanimously approved " in the Executive 
 Council. It limited the area to be confiscated on the west coast, 
 and was to be entrusted to the Native Minister, who was to 
 accompany General Cameron on an expedition to Wanganui. 
 It was cancelled lest it should " embarrass his military opera- 
 tions." 1 It would have been strange if a Ministry containing 
 H. A. Atkinson, one of the Taranaki Maori-haters, had abstained 
 from war. The session had barely come to an end when a 
 Ministerial memorandum declared it necessary to act at Taranaki 
 and Wanganui ; to form military settlements and roads between 
 the two places, and as soon "as circumstances may permit to 
 occupy as a military settlement a block north of the mouth of 
 the Waitara river." 2 
 
 The General quickly showed that he had little confidence 
 in the moderation of the Governor's advisers. " If the extensive 
 scheme of confiscation, road-making, &c., contemplated by 
 Ministers (in which I do not know whether you concur or not) 
 is to be carried out, I think we ought to apply at once for 
 re-enforcements." The carrion-birds which, under the name of 
 contractors, batten upon the miseries of war, growing to redund- 
 ance like weeds upon a dunghill, had not failed to find a home 
 in New Zealand. It was natural that the regular army should 
 recoil from a service in which a quarrel had no sooner died out 
 in one quarter than it was revived in another. When the 
 Waikato chiefs withdrew from Taranaki, Governor Browne pro- 
 posed to make war on Waikato. When Waikato was desolate 
 Tauranga was pounced upon. When Tauranga was at rest 
 
 N. Z. P. P. 1879; A. 8. 
 
 2 The gradual encroachment deserves notice. In 1859 the Government 
 said they were willing to leave Kangitake unmolested on the north bank.
 
 GENERAL CAMERON AT WANGANUI. 275 
 
 war was to be transferred to the west coast at Waitotara. The 
 General went to Wanganui on the 20th January, and wrote on 
 the 21st : "The more I think about it the more I am convinced 
 that we have done wrong in bringing war into this hitherto 
 quiet settlement." A Major in the service had written to him 
 before he left Auckland : " One thing is very certain, and that 
 is that the men who sold the (Waitotara) block had no right to 
 do so, and it is the old Waitara dodge for getting up a war, and 
 the consequent military expenditure at Wanganui." On the 
 28th January, the General (in a private letter subsequently laid 
 before the Assembly) wrote : " I have made inquiries about the 
 purchase of the Waitotara block, and have reason to believe that 
 it was a more iniquitous job than that of the Waitara block. I 
 am not surprised that the natives have opposed our road-making. 
 The Government at home ought to be made acquainted with 
 the true history of the business." When the General was 
 requested to furnish the grounds of his objections he declined to 
 do so. In surveying the field of operations he found that the 
 Maoris were entrenched in a stronghold the Weraroa pah 
 within 20 miles of Wanganui. As early as the 28th January he 
 wrote : " I consider my force insufficient to attack so formidable 
 a work as the Weraroa pah." Posts, escorts, and protection of 
 Wanganui would diminish his strength, and "instead of 1100 
 men, my present available force, I should require 6000." A 
 short distance beyond Weraroa was the Waitotara river. The 
 General proposed to cross it, and proceeding northwards <to 
 establish a post at the Patea river ; but his plans seemed vague, 
 for he declared that if he should succeed he would " have but a 
 small force left for anything else." No advantage to the north 
 of the Waitotara river would compensate for losses near Wanganui 
 by irruption of rebels. In the bitterness of disgust he exclaimed : 
 " All the well-to-do settlers are, I believe, aware of the folly of 
 this cruise and deprecate the war, but the shopkeepers and 
 settlers greedy of land of course delight in its continuance." 
 He was early compelled to fight. Near Nukurnaru, close to the 
 Weraroa, the Maoris, under Hone Pihama, attacked his " picquets 
 so suddenly that they were forced back some distance before 
 re-enforcements could arrive." On the right they penetrated to 
 within 100 yards of the camp. The English loss was considerable, 
 
 T 2
 
 276 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 but it was thought that the Maoris had suffered more, although 
 only 11 killed and 2 wounded were found. The friendly natives 
 on the river, under Hori Kingi, Mete Kingi, and others, who had 
 fought at Moutoa, were attacked by the rebels, but beat them off 
 with loss of 25 killed and 4 captive chiefs. The victors had to 
 deplore the death of the chief, John Williams, the principal actor 
 in the capture of the murderers of the Gilfillans in 1847. The 
 country was difficult, the enemy numerous and daring. " I would, 
 therefore, recommend that your Excellency should apply by the 
 first opportunity for a re-enforcement of at least 2000 men, and for 
 a still larger re-enforcement if, in addition to the occupation of the 
 country between Wanganui and the Patea, the roa'd between 
 Taranaki and Wanganui is to be opened, and more land is to be 
 confiscated and occupied north of the Waitara, which I under- 
 stand is to be the plan of the Colonial Government approved by 
 your Excellency." It is disheartening to reflect that at this 
 very period there was in the British army, left (as far as official 
 neglect could cause such a catastrophe) to rust from misuse, one 
 of those rare geniuses for war and for rule of mankind which 
 fitfully appear upon the earth. Charles George Gordon, after 
 performing in China feats unsurpassed by Greek or Roman, 
 after winning battles and taking cities with troops a tithe in 
 number of his enemy and composed of the same material, when 
 his work was done modestly retired, unenriched by spoil, leaving 
 behind him a moral lesson which the Chinese ruler could admire 
 though not comprehend. 1 Soochow had fallen in 1863, and till 
 the Chinese Government apologized for the slaughter of surren- 
 dered enemies, and had guaranteed that where Gordon was 
 present at a capitulation nothing should be done without his 
 consent, his troops were idle for a time, during which he might 
 
 1 Prince Rung declared to tlie English Minister, Sir Frederick Bruce : 
 " We do not know what to do. He will not receive money from us, and 
 we have already given him every honour which it is in the power of the 
 Emperor to bestow ; but as these c;m be of little value in his eyes I have 
 brought you this letter, and ask you to give it to the Queen of England 
 that she may bestow on him some reward which may be more valuable in 
 his eyes." The Ministries of Lord Palmerstou and Earl Russell must 
 divide the shame of not seeing that to send so just, so bold, and so humane 
 a hero to New Zealand, would have been better than to leave him to rust. 
 In after years the Khedive of Egypt was wise enough to seek his services, 
 which were as striking in Central Africa as in China.
 
 HAU HAUS ON EAST COAST. 277 
 
 have been withdrawn for the direct service of his country. 
 When a guarantee had been given that no wrong should be 
 done to prisoners submitting to his arms, Gordon resumed 
 operations; but he left China in 1864, and might have been 
 entrusted with the command in New Zealand, where his 
 gallantry, wisdom, humanity, and piety would have made their 
 mark and honoured his country. He received brevet dis- 
 tinctions, and was in process of time remitted to a paltry staff 
 appointment at Gravesend. 
 
 General Cameron .strengthened his force by withdrawing 
 troops from Wellington, and from Taranaki, and crossed the 
 Waitotara on the 5th February. The Maoris retorted by killing 
 a settler and a- militia soldier who was "out contrary to orders, 
 plundering a Maori settlement." There was panic among the 
 settlers. The General sent 150 men to Wanganui, and asked 
 the Governor to repair thither to consult with him. The savage 
 Hau Hau fanaticism was not only rife at the west coast. The 
 prophets, finding the General bent upon war. made a diversion 
 at the cast. Two of them, with Hori Tupaea of the Ngaiterangi, 
 and Tiu Tamihana of the Ngatihaua, undertook to stir up the 
 tribes. Colonel Greer, still commanding in the district which 
 he had quelled at the battle of Te Ranga, was informed of the 
 invasion, and wrote to the Arawa chiefs. " This is my word to 
 you ; when they go into your country, catch them and fetch 
 them up to me." The invaders were on the Maketu river 
 expecting others to rally round their flag. The Arawa chiefs 
 pursued and captured the whole party of 50 on the 8th February. 
 The prisoners were, after a march of 38 miles, delivered to the 
 English. Hori Tupaea, who had been captured separately when 
 unarmed, expressed his regret to Colonel Greer, and offered to 
 take the oath of allegiance. He had been deceived. The 
 Colonel allowed him to remain on parole in the camp. The 
 Governor accepted the penitent's promise to assist in quelling 
 disturbance, to reside where the Governor might direct, and to 
 observe the terms accorded to the Tauranga natives in the 
 previous year. The blow given to the Pai Marire faith was 
 severe, but the hostile natives were enraged against the Arawa 
 chiefs, and tribal wars were anticipated. It was unhappily clear 
 that the Hau Hau tenets had been accepted in many tribes, and
 
 278 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 it was impossible to guess where or when some new atrocity 
 might be perpetrated to sicken the English of the land, and 
 drive them away in loathing. 
 
 Early in March the Governor was at Wanganui, having on 
 the 4th requested his advisers to furnish him with a full and 
 explicit statement of their objects, as he feared there was an 
 impression abroad that the war was prosecuted for the profit 
 and gratification of the colonists ; an imputation which the 
 Ministry denied in a formal document on the 20th March. At 
 Wanganui, the Governor found that the existence of the Weraroa 
 stronghold was damaging the reputation of the English. The 
 Hau Haus had made a triumphant song about it. They said 
 their prophet had waved his arms, and the General and his men 
 were fain to skim along the coast like seagulls. The native 
 allies asked permission to attack the pah. The General was 
 amused at their presumption in thinking the task easy. On 
 the 8th, he wrote to the Governor ; " I would strongly advise your 
 applying for a re-enforcement of at least 2000 men from England." 
 Without them the coast-line between the camp (at Patea) and 
 Taranaki could not be occupied. The Ministry would not con- 
 cur with this proposal, and the Governor agreed with them. 
 He believed that before long the natives would " submit in 
 nearly all parts of the island," and that the war might be 
 terminated before re-enforcements could arrive. And now 
 another horror cast its lurid glare upon the times. When 
 Captain Lloyd's head was carried away, in 1864, it was at 
 Pipiriki, about 80 miles up the Wanganui river, that it had 
 been placed on a pole, and there the frantic fanatics danced 
 round it in furious orgies, rushing up, biting it, and treating it 
 with brutish indignities. Again, in 1865, the baked head of an 
 English soldier was taken thither by fanatics led by Patara and 
 Kereopa. They were to stir up the tribes in the Bay of Plenty. 
 At the same time the prophet Te Ua did not counsel assaults 
 upon colonists. His written instructions were : " While on your 
 journey do not interfere with those whom you may meet. Do 
 not quarrel with the Pakeha. ... At Turanganui give Hirini 
 te Kani the flag and the man's head." On the way, 200 of the 
 Uriwera tribe were indoctrinated. The head was used as a 
 mystic symbol. Terror caused by it took possession of each as
 
 MURDER OF REV. C. S. VOLKNER. 279 
 
 it was shown to the file of Maoris ; and each sprang out of the 
 row in turn. Kereopa, the officiating priest, then said : " You 
 are now possessed of the Deity. Let the widows of those who 
 fell at Orakau approach and vent their anger on this head and 
 on the Pakeha prisoners." The maddest of them obeyed him. 
 
 On the 1st March, the Rev. Carl S. Volkner and the Rev. T. 
 Grace, missionaries, arrived in the Opotiki harbour. In February, 
 a lady living at Whakatane wrote to warn Mr. Volkner to stay 
 in Auckland, for mischief was on foot. It was not till the bar 
 was crossed and regress was impossible that the voyagers saw 
 assembled by the river-side a band of the Pai Marire. Patara 
 and Kereopa, after turning the hearts of disciples to ferocity at 
 Taupo, Uriwera, and Whakatane, had arrived at Opotiki. The 
 vessel was in their power as soon as she was anchored. The 
 missionaries were ordered on shore in the afternoon. The vessel 
 was rifled and her contents were placed in a store of which the 
 Maoris kept the key. A violent Hau Hau meeting was held at 
 the Roman Catholic Chapel. It was strange that as in China 
 the Tae-ping 'Great Peace) rebels professed to link with direct 
 revelations through their chiefs, some Christian tenets, so the 
 Pai Marire (Good Tranquillity) desperadoes, when throwing off 
 their allegiance to the Queen and disavowing the religion of 
 England, assumed a portion of the Roman Catholic cult. The 
 Scriptures were to be burnt, but the Virgin Mary was ever to be 
 present with the Hau Haus, who were to slay and devour their 
 foes. The Christian Sabbath was no longer to be respected as 
 in England. There was to be no marrying or giving in marriage, 
 for by promiscuous intercourse, under the rule of priests gifted 
 with supernatural powers, the Pai Marire would be as the sand 
 of the sea-shore for multitude. The first profession of these 
 tenets had disgusted the manly Wi Tako. The king-maker 
 was about to condemn them. On the 1st March, the Hau Haus 
 kept up their orgies in the Roman Catholic Chapel beyond the 
 mid hour of night. The captive missionaries and sailors heard 
 the horrid din. A Taranaki native guided them to an enclosure 
 in which to rest. The sailors joined heartily in reading the 
 evening psalm. In the morning the very air seemed full of 
 omen that some dreadful deed was to be done. Mr. Volkner 
 paid to a Maori widow a small legacy which it was his custom
 
 280 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 to disburse to her. She said nothing to warn him, but in half- 
 an-hour twenty armed men appeared, performed some cabalistic 
 rites, and called on Mr. Volkner to go with them. Mr. Grace 
 wished to join him, but was forced back, and locked up under 
 guard. His turn, he was told, would come next. Two hours 
 he was in agony about his friend. Heremita, who had led 
 away Mr. Volkner, returned and conversed with the guard. Mr. 
 Grace heard the words (in Maori) " hung on the willow tree." 
 They went to his heart. He told the sailors, who said : " All is 
 over." They were called out and marched between files of 
 Maoris past the open space near the church. They were robbed 
 and shut up in a house with their hands tied behind their backs. 
 Mr. Grace inquired about Mr. Volkner, but no word was vouch- 
 safed. The murderers shrunk from telling what they had done. 
 Yet they had taken possession and slain in open day. Before 
 Mr. Volkner's arrival his house had been broken open, his goods 
 sold, and war-dances were held in his church. When they 
 seized their victim they dragged him with a rope round his 
 neck, and hanged him on a willow tree. But the ruffian 
 Kereopa would not wait for gradual death. The body was 
 lowered, and Kereopa fired upon it. Again it was raised with 
 violent jerks. The Maori wife of a European told her husband 
 what she saw. The Roman Catholic chief Hiki remained in 
 his pah during the murder. The body was carried to the 
 Protestant chapel. Kereopa told Hiki to come and see. Hiki 
 saw. Kereopa said : " I have killed him, now you cut off his 
 head." Hiki did so, Kereopa then called on all the hapus, 
 men, women, and children, to come and taste Volkner's blood. 
 They did so. Kereopa then scooped out and swallowed the 
 eyes. Patara was absent making converts, and it was not sup- 
 posed that he would have joined in the atrocities, for although 
 he had assisted in plundering Volkner's house, he left a letter 
 warning Volkner not to return to Opotiki ; and after Volkner's 
 murder he disclaimed any participation in it, and called Kereopa 
 to account. Mr. Grace and his companions were led to the 
 house of a Mr. Hooper, who was ill. Six or seven natives, four 
 sailors, the sick man, and Mr. Grace were shut up in one room. 
 After an hour and a half they were unbound. Previously a 
 Maori had lifted a panikin to the mouth of each to let them
 
 REV. T. GRACE BEFORE THE HAU HAUS. 281 
 
 drink water. Mr. Grace asked why they were unbound. The 
 answer was : " A time to bind and a time to loose, a time to kill 
 and a time to make alive." Shut up in the suffocating at- 
 mosphere of the small room, the prisoners passed the day and 
 night. " As I lay awake," Mr. Grace wrote, " I could distinctly 
 hear the confusion, dancing and shouting going on in the Romish 
 chapel, and also in the church." He commended himself and 
 his companions to " the watchful care of our Heavenly Father." 
 In the morning (3rd March) he found a Prayer-book. The 
 wonderful Psalms of David touched him, as they have touched 
 the spirits of so many myriads of mankind, with a graciousness 
 not of this world. "Some of the Psalms for the day" (he 
 wrote) "appeared written for the occasion." In the comfort of 
 the resurrection and the hope of awaking in the Divine likeness, 
 the soul of the prisoner found strength. Patara had been sent 
 for to decide upon Mr. Grace's fate, at a meeting. Throughout 
 the 3rd and 4th of March there was suspense. On the night of 
 the 4th, Patara returned. Mr. Grace sent a message to him in 
 the morning. He passed the prison, shook hands with Mr. 
 Grace, and spoke a few words. An hour afterwards the 
 prisoners were summoned to a meeting in Mr. Volkner's church. 
 Three hundred natives were assembled. The Taranaki fanatics 
 seated themselves within the communion-rails. Europeans 
 were present also. Patara denounced soldiers, Ministers, and 
 Englishmen. For all Jews, Frenchmen, Scotchmen, Austrians, 
 and Germans, he had love. Natives brought charges against 
 the murdered Volkner. He had gone to Auckland as a spy, a 
 cross had been found in his house, therefore he must have been 
 a Romanist and deceiver, and he had returned to Opotiki after 
 being told to stay away. Mr. Grace defended his dead friend ; 
 and though Patara replied, he said nothing in justification of 
 the murder. Mr. Grace was attacked for going to Taupo 
 recently, and for sundry supposed faults. The land question 
 was the subject of a long harangue, to which he replied that 
 neither Volkner nor himself had any land. Ransom was pro- 
 posed by Mr. Grace, or exchange of prisoners. The Maoris 
 agreed to take Hori Tupaea in exchange, and the captain 
 undertook to carry the proposal to Tauranga. Mr. Levy, 
 brother of the captain, was to remain at Opotiki, and the
 
 282 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 captain was to continue to trade. On the 6th, Patara started 
 inland, ordering that Mr. Grace was to be kindly treated, and 
 permitting him to write to his wife. Mr. Grace assured him 
 that Hori Tupaea (who was released by Sir George Grey) was 
 already at liberty. On the 7th, Patara sent his letter as to the 
 exchange, but the captain (although as Jews he and his brother 
 were supposed to be favoured by the Hau Haus) was anxious to 
 break the stipulations of the trial and carry away his brother. 
 He cursed and swore at Mr. Grace, who argued against such a 
 course. Mr. Agassiz, a resident, recommended Mr. Grace to 
 pacify the captain by giving him a statement that the loss to 
 the ship was occasioned by the presence of the missionaries. 
 On the 9th, he gave it, but the captain refused to promise to 
 carry Patara's letter to Tauranga. The natives still detained 
 the captain's vessel. On the 13th, Eparaima, a native of 
 Turanga, who knew Mr. Grace when he resided there in 1853, 
 arrived with a message from a Pai Marire prophet, desiring Mr. 
 Grace's release. Eparaima wept much, and went inland to a 
 meeting to plead for his old acquaintance. On the 15th, 
 Eparaima started to obtain further help ; but it was ominous 
 that on that day the Pai Marire raised a new pole for their 
 worship, and a feast was to be held. Captain Levy's vessel was 
 detained by want of a breeze. But help was at hand where 
 least expected. The murder of Mr. Volkner, far from rousing 
 the natives generally to like atrocity, had shocked them. 
 
 An insolent letter was written by the fanatics from " Opotiki, 
 Place of Canaan," to " the office of the Government, Auckland." 
 It purported to be from the committee of the Ngatiawa, 
 Whakatohea, Uriwera, and Taranaki. " You crucify the 
 Maoris, and I also crucify the Pakehas. But now release 
 unto us Hori Tupaea and his companions, and we will then let 
 go Mr. Grace." The date of the letter was the 6th March. 
 From Whakatane, however, chiefs of the Ngatiawa, from 
 Turanga, from Maketu, from Rotorua, from Huria, letters were 
 sent to denounce the shedding of the innocent blood of the 
 missionary. The Arawa at Maketu denounced the Ngatiawa 
 because they had not actively prevented it, and threatened 
 them with war. 
 
 H.M.S. 'Eclipse,' under Commander Freman tie, reached Turanga
 
 ESCAPE OF MR. GRACE. 283 
 
 on the 13th. The sailor and Bishop Selwyn found Bishop W. 
 
 Williams amidst 300 Maoris, most of them armed. They had 
 
 assembled to decide what they should do about the Pai Marire, 
 
 some of whom were within a mile and a half of Bishop Williams' 
 
 station. Bishop Selwyn addressed the assembly with fervour, 
 
 but they could not be induced to take arms against the 
 
 murderers. They alleged that their doing so would endanger 
 
 Mr. Grace. They wrote to Hori Tupaea, urging him to go 
 
 forward to assist Mr. Grace. The Bishop and his friends strove 
 
 in vain to persuade the natives to dissociate the liberation of 
 
 Mr. Grace from a demand for the release of Tupaea. Two 
 
 Turanga natives went with the man-of-war to aid the object 
 
 of the letter. On the morning of the 16th the ' Eclipse ' was off 
 
 Opotiki. The Turanga natives were landed in a boat. Captain 
 
 Fremantle gallantly desired to go on shore to rescue the captive ; 
 
 but the Bishop urged that such a course " might endanger Mr. 
 
 Grace's life, as horsemen were seen scampering to and fro along 
 
 the beach, and it seemed impossible that Mr. Grace could now 
 
 escape unobserved." l Meantime the three masts of the ' Eclipse ' 
 
 had been spied by a Maori from Mr. Grace's place of detention. 
 
 Captain Levy and his brother got into a canoe and paddled 
 
 down the river, refusing to let Mr. Grace accompany them. 
 
 The landing of the Turanga natives had made a commotion. 
 
 Shouting, ringing of the bell of the Roman Catholic Chapel, 
 
 galloping of messengers to summon a meeting, distracted the 
 
 settlement. Mr. Grace begged some to stay with him, but they 
 
 said they would be killed if they did so. He was left alone for 
 
 an hour and a half, and "felt forsaken on every hand," but 
 
 found consolation in committing himself to the care of God. 
 
 Then the boat returned. The captain had been sent back from 
 
 the man-of-war to procure a friendly native, who, however, had 
 
 gone to the Maori meeting two miles away. The captain busied 
 
 himself with getting goods into the boat. A young man named 
 
 Montague told Mr. Grace he would be taken into the boat if he 
 
 would go quietly to the river-bank. He did so. None but an 
 
 old woman saw his escape. He lay in the bottom of the boat 
 
 till he was taken on board of the ' Eclipse,' after fifteen days' 
 
 companionship with horrors. But the two Turanga natives 
 
 1 Letter of Bishop Selwyn, 16th March, 1865.
 
 284 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 were detained because of his escape. Commander Fremantle 
 had towed Captain Levy's schooner out with boats, and no 
 European but the trader, Agassiz, ventured to remain at Opotiki. 
 It was fortunate that the bloodthirsty Kereopa was not the 
 ruling spirit. Patara, after fourteen hours' of anxious negotia- 
 tion, principally conducted by Bishop Selwyn, permitted the 
 Turanga natives to return to the man-of-war. 
 
 It was afterwards officially testified that the labours of Bishops 
 Selwyn and Williams had a salutary effect in repelling Maori 
 sympathy from the Hau Haus. Some who had previously sym- 
 pathized were roused to a sense of shame. Friends of the 
 English were kindled to activity. The Arawa were eager for 
 vengeance, and to prove their loyalty to the Queen. Bishop 
 Selwyn himself, fresh from the scene, thus addressed the third 
 Synod of his Church at Christchurch in 1865 : " The war, which 
 seemed to have come to an end, was renewed by the perversity 
 of a few misguided men. Mixed with the new element of the 
 confiscation of land it acquired a bitterness unknown before. The 
 missionary clergy were believed to be the agents of the Govern- 
 ment in a deep-laid plot for the subjugation of the native people. 
 Our congregations melted away; our advice was disregarded. 
 Exasperated by continued defeat, and loss of friends and relations, 
 many became reckless. The feeling grew among them that they 
 would abandon the religion of their enemies and set up one of 
 their own. An impostor from Taranaki placed himself at the 
 head of the movement. Pretended miracles, unknown tongues, 
 inspiration from heaven, messages of angels, were alleged as 
 usual in support of the imposture. The delusion spread and 
 reached the east coast. New tribes were to be startled and 
 overawed. A leader of inferior rank demanded of the people of 
 Opotiki the sacrifice of their own missionary. No other life 
 was touched of the many white men who fell into their hands. 
 It was a murder of fanaticism. ... Our first martyr died at 
 peace with his enemies, and prayers for his murderers." 
 
 Whether Te Ua was fanatical at the first, or merely in wild 
 despair, like many of his accomplices he sought to strike terror, 
 and was prepared if need be to die a bloody death, must be 
 matter for conjecture. The Maori was ever" superstitious. It 
 was on the mysterious influence of " tapu " that his primitive
 
 BISHOP SELWYN'S LAMENTATION. 285 
 
 polity was based. Though that polity had been well-nigh over- 
 thrown by Christianity, it had reasserted itself with hideous 
 additions when the belief was accepted that the missionaries 
 were leagued with the Government to rob and to subjugate the 
 Maoris. In 184-7, Sir William Martin had predicted such a 
 result. Mr. Maning had declared that the rise of strange 
 delusions, and belief in supernatural powers displayed in the 
 person of priest or chief, were incidents often repeated in Maori 
 life. The imputed unholy alliance between the missionaries 
 and the Government had engendered the new Maori chimsera. 1 
 
 Pouring out his sorrows to a friend in England the Bishop 
 said : " Oh ! how things have changed ! how much of the buoy- 
 ancy of hope has been sobered down by experience ! when 
 instead of a nation of believers welcoming me as their father, I 
 find here and there a few scattered sheep, the remnant of a 
 flock which has forsaken the shepherd. Think of my hanging 
 on to a grapnel off Mr. Volkner's mission-station, not daring to 
 land as Coley (Bishop Patteson) and I are accustomed to do at 
 some heathen island visited for the first time. At this place I 
 do not know how far it is right to go among my people, though 
 in former times peace or war made no difference in their willing- 
 ness to receive me. At present we are the special objects of 
 their suspicion and ill-will. The part which I took in the 
 Waikato campaign has destroyed my influence with many. You 
 will ask, Did I not foresee this ? and if so, Why did I go ? I 
 answer, that though 10,000 men were sent from England no 
 military chaplain arrived at head-quarters till the advance had 
 reached its furthest point in Waikato. Then jbhere were many 
 wounded Maoris brought in from time to time to whom it was my 
 duty to minister. Add to this that two of our mission-stations 
 (those of Mr. Ashwell and Mr. Morgan) had been occupied by a 
 native clergyman 2 and catechist, whom no threats could induce 
 to leave their posts after the English missionaries were advised 
 to retire. It was my duty to see they were not injured when 
 our troops advanced, and this made it necessary for me to be in 
 
 1 Am'of airoirvt'OuiH irvo6f fti >'Of alSoptvoto. 'Iliad,' vi. 182. 
 
 2 Rev. Heta Tarawhili. The reader will learn in what manner the 
 Colonial Government eudeavoured to make Tarawhiti suffer for his brave 
 devotion.
 
 286 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the front, and thereby to expose myself to the imputation of 
 having led the troops. This has thrown me back in native 
 estimation more, I fear, than my remaining years will enable 
 me to recover. . . . But what are my sorrows compared to those 
 of the Bishop of Waiapu (W. Williams), who had completed his 
 quarter of a century at Poverty Bay, and after constant effort 
 and anxiety had just begun to rest upon a settled system, with 
 a thriving college, seven native clergymen, a Diocesan Synod 
 meeting annually, in which the proceedings were conducted entire- 
 ly in the native language . . . ? In the midst of these sorrows 
 we have solid comfort in the sight of the stability of our native 
 clergymen, who have never swerved from their duty. . . . The 
 real cause of war in New Zealand has been the new Constitution, 
 and the cause of the greater bitterness of the strife has been the 
 new element of confiscation introduced by the colonists against 
 the will and express orders 3f the Home Government." (The 
 argument that a Maori would feel more than anything else the 
 punishment by confiscation might have) " some force if the 
 Maori had committed some real crime of which he was conscious, 
 but when he believes that the Englishman has only been waiting 
 his time to do what he has now done, and that the land was 
 doomed as much if the owners were innocent as if they were 
 guilty, then confiscation becomes in their eyes simple spoliation 
 and has none of the effect of punishment. Certainly nothing 
 could look more like a determination to provoke a quarrel than 
 the Waitara business. . . . The Hau Hau superstition is simply 
 an expression of an utter loss of faith in everything that is 
 English, clergy and all alike. . . . This is the result of seeking 
 first ' the other things ' except the ' one/ . . . O earth ! earth ! 
 earth ! such has been our cry. The Queen, law, religion, have 
 been thrust aside in the one thought of the acquisition of land." l 
 It has been seen that the liturgy of the Hau Haus was com- 
 pounded partly of elements supposed to be Roman Catholic, and 
 that Kereopa and his comrades enacted many of their orgies 
 in a Roman Catholic chapel at Opotiki before they murdered 
 
 1 Bishop Selwyn to Rev. E. Coleridge, 26th December, 1865 ; vide 'Life 
 of Selwyn. London : 1879. In 1881 the Bishop of Wellington (the Octavius 
 Hadfield of Otuki, in 1839) assured the author that it could still be said 
 with truth that uo native clergyman hud swerved from duty.
 
 ARCHDEACON HADFIELD AT OTAKI. 287 
 
 Volkner. They were ruffians and fanatics, but they could see 
 what, even if he saw it, did not repel the first Marquis of Ripon 
 from subjugation to a foreign yoke. They knew that a recog- 
 nition of the Pope of Rome was treachery not only to the Queen, 
 but to the very essence of English freedom. Obscured, betrayed, 
 at times wounded almost to death, yet ever again bursting from 
 its bonds, that English freedom of Church and State which 
 preceded and survived the House of Normandy, and was in 
 important particulars maintained by the greatest of English 
 monarchs (Edward I.), was repellent at all times of foreign 
 authority. For that reason the Hau Hau Maories courted the 
 religion of Rome as a means of breaking down the loyalty of 
 their countrymen to the Queen. There were some Roman 
 Catholic Maoris in the district where the Rev. O. Hadfield had 
 laboured from 1839 until 1865. When he was supposed to be 
 in personal danger of attack from the Hau Haus (after the murder 
 of Volkner), the Roman Catholic Maoris offered to protect him 
 if he would flee to them. Their " mana " would be his defence. 
 He answered that he was ready to lay his bones at Otaki, 
 whether after violent or natural death, but nothing would induce 
 him to move from his post ; and his gallant bearing endeared 
 him to all his neighbours so much that with the aid of the son of 
 Rauparaha the efforts of the Hau Haus utterly failed at Otaki. 1 
 
 The murder of Volkner revealed the savagery of which the 
 new superstition was capable. If the fanatics could not meet 
 European arms in the field, they could murder in the east and 
 in the west. By singling out a pastor like Mr. Volkner in 
 the midst of his flock, which dared not raise a voice in his 
 favour, they had shown not only that no compunction was 
 amongst them, but that the more eminent the victim the 
 more grateful was his slaughter to the wild faith under cover 
 of which they had sprung back at a bound to the savage and 
 sickening cannibalism which had been a religion amongst them 
 in the days of heathendom. 
 
 Where then was the centre of the new faith ? Where best 
 
 1 Bishop Selwyn, hearing of Hadfield's danger, wrote (7th June, 1865) : 
 " I am ready to join yon, if you think I can be of any assistance, but I do 
 not like to come without first communicating with you, as I am now 
 suspected and slandered by all the king natives."
 
 288 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 could it be sought and strangled ? Its cradle was in the west, 
 where the rape of the Waitara had led to desolation of Maori 
 homes, but it found aliment wherever the policy of the Taranaki 
 settlers was known. The gallant Wi Tako Ngatata went to the 
 east coast to prevent its spreading. The settlers at Poverty Bay 
 expressed in April, to him and his companion chiefs, their grate- 
 ful sense of services conferred during his stay. " Notwithstanding 
 that your own lives have been threatened, you have done your 
 utmost to strengthen the hands of those who have been exerting 
 themselves to save this district from those troubles which seemed 
 to be coming like a flood upon it, and under the Divine blessing 
 your efforts have been so far successful, that the influence of the 
 Hau Hau party has very considerably diminished since the time 
 of your arrival; and Patara and Kereopa have both left the 
 district with their followers, having been unable to stand their 
 ground against the opposition which has been brought to bear 
 against them and their pernicious doctrines. May God preserve 
 your own district from those troubles which you have shown 
 yourselves so solicitous to avert from this." 
 
 Ihaka Whanga at Nuhaka, and Kopu at Wairoa, local chief- 
 tains on the east coast, boldly met three hundred Hau Hans, and 
 at great discussions in April stemmed the tide of fanaticism. 
 At about the same time (June) Tamihana te Rauparaha foiled 
 the Hau Hau emissaries who visited Otaki to spread their 
 doctrines. At Sir George Grey's request Captain Luce of H.M.S. 
 ' Esk ' visited the chiefs on the east coast in April and May, 
 encouraging them to remain faithful to their religion and to 
 law and order. With Mr. Fulloon as interpreter, he attended 
 meetings which were apparently successful in instilling confid- 
 ence ; but he thought the Maoris were everywhere in a state of 
 unhealthy excitement. The Bishop of Waiapu had left in 
 displeasure, and his departure had shamed many Hau Hau con- 
 verts. The ineffable capacity of depravity in man came before 
 Captain Luce in a strange shape. A deserter from the 57th 
 Regiment had been a companion of the Pai Marire. 
 
 Captain Fremantle having returned in May with the ' Esk,' 
 had a skirmish at Opotiki before daylight, while unsuccessfully 
 attempting to surprise a party of natives believed to be impli- 
 cated in the murder of Volkner. At Awanui, Tiwai, a friend of
 
 WAHAROA SUBMITS. 289 
 
 Volkner, pointed out one of the murderers, a half-caste, to two 
 sailors disguised as Maoris, one of whom succeeded in grasping 
 him by the hand before suspicion was aroused. He shook off 
 his assailants and escaped amid shots from revolvers. Kereopa 
 was in the interior. Patara with armed men held colloquy with 
 Captain Fremantle on the 24th May. The chief " appeared 
 quite prepared against a coup-de-main, and confident in his 
 strength held a hunting-whip under his arm, but had evidently 
 a pistol in each pocket." He denied complicity in the murder, 
 and acquiesced in a proposal that he should return to Opotiki. 
 It was satisfactory to know that at Kawhia Rewi repelled the 
 idea that he or his tribe had sanctioned the murder. 
 
 Mr. George Graham being about to visit Waikato, in May, 
 volunteered to meet the king- maker and other chiefs, and per- 
 suade them to take the oath of allegiance. Sir George Grey 
 empowered him (9th May) to assure them of his friendliness, and 
 desire to treat them with generosity, to bring prominently before 
 them his letter of the 16th December, 1863, promising them 
 kind treatment after the fall of Rangiriri, and to explain the 
 proclamation of December, 1864, proffering pardon while con- 
 fiscating land. In May also the Native Land Purchase Depart- 
 ment was abolished, and it was notified that cessions of land 
 would be negotiated for under the Native Lands Act of 1862 
 (to which the Royal assent had been given on the recommend- 
 ation of the Duke of Newcastle in 1863), the operation of that 
 law " rendering the continuance of the Land Purchase Depart- 
 ment unnecessary." A proclamation issued in April denounced 
 murder, cannibalism, and other revolting acts of the Hau Haus as 
 repugnant to humanity, and called on all well-disposed natives 
 and Europeans to aid in repressing them. 
 
 Mr. Graham saw the king-maker face to face, and weary of 
 his country's woes the patriot, who had been baffled rather by 
 the crimes of others than by his own mistakes, agreed to take 
 the oath of allegiance at Tamahure before Brigadier-General 
 Carey. The latter rode thither from his camp at Te Awamutu 
 on the 27th May. Mr. Graham preceded the chiefs, bearing a 
 paper written by the king-maker in these terms, which he was 
 willing to sign under the British flag : " We consent that the 
 laws of the Queen be the laws for the king (Maori), to be a 
 
 VOL. II. U
 
 290 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 protection for us all, for ever and ever. This is the sign of my 
 making peace, my coming into the presence of my fighting friend 
 General Carey." When Waharoa arrived with his friends, he 
 dismounted and walked uncovered towards Carey, who shook 
 hands with him. The covenant was signed by the chiefs, and 
 by Carey and by Graham. Te Waharoa said little, but he 
 requested that the Governor would appoint a Commission to 
 inquire into his character, which had been maligned, and would 
 allow him to see again the face of his friend Tui Tamihana. 
 The Governor telegraphed the submission to the Secretary of 
 State, and wrote to Te Waharoa, who answered him from Mata- 
 mata. ..." All I think of is that peace is made. There is rest, 
 a breathing from the weariness and fatigue of working this 
 evil work of war. The weapons of war have been cast away." 
 Important no doubt was his submission, and the Hau Hau 
 brutalities had unwittingly tended to bring it about : but as 
 Te Waharoa had failed to restrain Rewi in 1863, so it was certain 
 that he could do nothing to check those whom Wi Tako had 
 called madmen when he spurned any further connection with 
 them. It seems fitting to couple the king-maker's submission 
 with the atrocities which conduced to it. 
 
 Sir George Grey was at Wanganui when Mr. Volkner's death 
 was reported. Friendly chiefs there had just guaranteed to the 
 principal chiefs at Pipiriki, full pardon from the Government 
 on submission. One of them, Topia Turoa, had come to Wan- 
 ganui on the 14th March, to consult about the guarantee. 
 That night the murder of Volkner was made known, with the 
 horrible addition of the orgies round the soldier's head at 
 Pipiriki, where Topia had been an accomplice in sanctioning the 
 expedition to Opotiki, although from his youth he had been 
 brought up in familiarity with Englishmen. The Governor saw 
 Topia, who said (loth March) he had no desire to be there, but 
 had come because he was sent for. He would not take the oath 
 of allegiance. The Governor declared that Topia was respon- 
 sible for the murder by having acted as a Hau Hau priest at 
 Pipiriki, but as he had come to Wanganui under arrangement 
 with Hori Kingi, Mete Kingi, and others he might depart. If 
 even now he would take the oath of allegiance the promises 
 mode by the chiefs should be respected. " To-day he may
 
 TOPIA TUROA DEFIES THE GOVERNOR. 291 
 
 return up the river. To-morrow a large reward will be offered 
 for his seizure ; and if caught, he shall be tried for murder." 
 Topia replied : "You say that I am implicated in the murders 
 of Mr. Hewitt and Mr. Volkner. It is correct. 1 I am impli- 
 cated in them, and also in the work of the Hau Hau." The 
 Governor asked Mete Kingi if the chiefs knew that Hewitt's 
 head had been at Pipiriki when they made peace there. Mete 
 Kingi, Hori Kingi, and others said No ; and Topia coolly said : 
 " The head had passed on when Hewitt was killed ; it was 
 another head." He added that he had made peace with Hori 
 Kingi, but not with the Europeans. " If you choose to arrest 
 me now, you can. I am willing to be arrested without offering 
 resistance. Do not think to frighten me into taking the oath of 
 allegiance by threats. I will not take it. ... I quite agree 
 with what you say about offering a reward for me to-morrow.' 
 The Governor said : " He had better go at once. I will have no 
 further intercourse with him. Topia left, and the friendly 
 chiefs endeavoured to procure his submission ; but he would do 
 nothing more till he had consulted his friends. In after years he 
 was to render signal service to the English. By the Governor's 
 direction a body of friendly Maoris with 200 military settlers 
 under Major Atkinson, the Minister of Colonial Defence, took 
 possession of Pipiriki on the Wanganui river on the 3rd April, 
 but did not capture Topia. 
 
 The relations of the Governor with the General were about to 
 be galling to both, and injurious to the service. In apprising 
 the General of Mr. Volkner's death, the Governor told him that 
 it was an ancient custom with Maoris to endeavour to draw off 
 an enemy's forces by committing some horrible murder far away. 
 The murder of Mr. Volkner was marked with all characteristics 
 of that custom. The General on the 14th March attacked a 
 body of Maoris near Patea, and drove them off with some 
 slaughter. One European killed and three wounded, formed 
 the English loss, while eighteen Maoris were found dead, and 
 many more were wounded. The Governor having remarked that 
 the submission of the natives generally might he looked for at 
 
 1 It was by implication only that Turoa could be accused of complicity 
 in Volkner's murder. It lias been seen that Kereopa's commission from 
 the prophet Te Ua forbade violence towards Europeans. 
 
 U 2
 
 292 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 an early date, the General in a friendly letter replied : " Their 
 submission never appeared so far off as at present." On the 17th 
 March, he asked whether in face of probable serious loss in the 
 attempt the immediate possession of the Waitotara block was of 
 such consequence that he was to attack the Weraroa pah, or 
 continue his advance to Taranaki. Sir George Grey said that 
 the question of possession of the Waitotara block had never 
 entered into his calculations. However important the capture 
 of Weraroa was to prevent wrong impressions on the Maori 
 mind, and dominate the adjacent country, in the face of the 
 General's opinion that he had not sufficient force for the task, 
 he could not request him to take it. There was some trouble 
 about obtaining advances from the commissariat chest to the 
 Wanganui militia, but the General gave the requisite orders, 
 grumbling at the same time at the occupation of Pipiriki. If 
 it was to be taken because Captain Lloyd's head had been 
 exhibited there, almost every rebel settlement would have 
 to be occupied in the island. "We have too many irons in 
 the fire." 
 
 In April the Governor sailed for Wellington and the east 
 coast to make inquiries about the murderers of Mr. Volkner. 
 On his way the Ministry advised with him not only on that 
 subject but about rumours, that war was being carried on for the 
 profit and gratification of the colonists, which they warmly 
 resented. On the 7th April, Sir George Grey in a memorandum 
 communicated to his advisers, sympathized with them, and 
 suggested that military aid accompanied by such remarks as 
 those of General Cameron was so undesirable, that it would be 
 better for the colony to see the military force reduced and rely 
 on its own resources. On the 8th, the Ministry concurred; 
 declaring that it could not be hoped that the zeal and energy 
 required for success in the field would be displayed by any 
 officer, however distinguished, in support of a course branded by 
 him with such severe reprobation. The Governor on this occa- 
 sion wrote his despatch suggesting the withdrawal of troops and 
 an Imperial guarantee for three millions, or a Parliamentary 
 grant for four or five years, which, as has been seen, Mr. Card well 
 declined to sanction. On the 4th March, without mentioning 
 the General's comments upon the Waitotara block, the Governor
 
 DISPUTES OF GOVERNOR AND GENERAL. 293 
 
 had recommended that inquiry should be instituted with regard 
 to the purchase, as disparaging rumours had reached him. The 
 Ministry were willing that Sir William Martin should be ap- 
 pointed a Commissioner for the purpose, but they wished to 
 know the name of the Governor's informant. When asked at a 
 later date for his reasons for believing that the purchase was an 
 iniquitous job, the General, whose relations with the Governor 
 were then unfriendly, replied that it was no part of his duty to 
 collect information on such a subject, and he declined to enter 
 into any correspondence with the Governor about it; but he 
 would acquaint Her Majesty's Government with the information 
 on which he had formed his opinions. It was true that the old 
 lust for the Waitara raged in the minds of many. The Defence 
 Minister, Major Atkinson, was one of the Taranaki conspirators 
 who forced upon the Government the robbery of Te Rangitake. 
 But specific proofs were not available for the General. It was 
 difficult for him to show how the passions of men prompted 
 their acts. When he furnished his reasons, they were resolved 
 into a conversation with a stranger. 
 
 Facts about the Waitotara block were laid before the New 
 Zealand Assembly in 1863. Dr. Featherston and others indig- 
 nantly repudiated the General's inferences. General Cameron 
 should have applied his intelligence to the quarrel between the 
 Maori and the colonist at an earlier date. If he could have 
 averted the crossing of the Maungatawhiri he might have had 
 no need to protest against the purchase at Waitotara. There 
 was open rupture between the Governor and General about a 
 private letter of the latter (30th March) concerning the Weraroa 
 pah. To have assailed the natives in a position so advantageous 
 to them would not have punished them. " I have no doubt they 
 would have been delighted if we had attacked their pah, and 
 that they have been as much disappointed at our not attacking 
 them as you and Mr. Mantell (Native Minister) have been. 
 What is it to Mr. Mantell * or to any other Colonial Minister how 
 
 1 The General was unhappy in singling out Mr. Mantell for reprobation. 
 His voice and pen were often used more eloquently than the General's in 
 demanding justice for the Maoris. The Governor WAS equally unhappy 
 about the same time. It was in April and May, 1865, that he was lamely 
 defending himself against Mr. Fitzgerald's criticisms on the seizure of the
 
 294 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 many British officers and soldiers we lose in any operation they 
 recommend, so long as the policy they advocate is carried out. 
 And I confess that this is a point which it appears to me has 
 never sufficiently entered into your calculations. ... I have a 
 grave responsibility in the matter, and having already lost a 
 great many valuable officers and men in attacking pahs I think I 
 may be excused if I am somewhat cautious in undertaking oper- 
 ations of that description without the most absolute necessity." 
 
 This imputation of carelessness of soldiers' lives had roused 
 Sir George Grey's wrath, when, on the 7th April, he recom- 
 mended his advisers to dispense with troops ; and when, on the 
 9th, General Cameron informed him that he had sent copies of 
 the correspondence to the Secretary for War, the Governor cast 
 the button from his foil, regretted that such imputations should 
 have been made against himself and the Ministry, still more that 
 they should have been sent to England unaccompanied by any 
 reply, and added : "You will, I am sure, feel that I cannot after 
 this continue a private correspondence which subjects me to 
 difficulties of this nature " (17th April). The familiar style of 
 friendly address between the Governor and General ceased with 
 this letter, which the latter merely acknowledged. The General 
 was in ill humour with his campaign. He followed the Governor 
 to Auckland to obtain definite instructions. On the 3rd May, he 
 grumbled at the publication by the Ministry of the Governor's 
 memorandum about rumours that the Waitotara purchase was 
 iniquitous. Though the Governor had not pointed out the 
 General as the author or abettor, the Ministers' personal attack 
 on the General showed that they " were fully aware of the person 
 to whom the memorandum was intended to refer." He would 
 forward copies to England to show how, while engaged in the 
 field, he was attacked behind his back. The Governor immedi- 
 ately furnished the incensed soldier with copies of his despatches 
 to Mr. Card well, a courtesy which, at a later date, the General 
 declined to reciprocate, illogically averring that it was unadvis- 
 able to comply with the Governor's request at the time, and that 
 there was nothing in the despatches of which the Governor was 
 
 Tataraimaka block, the building of a barrack within the territory of Tawhiuo, 
 and other preludes to the invasion of Waikato. Mr. Fitzgerald was to 
 become his Native Minister in August, 18G5.
 
 DISPUTES OF GOVERNOR AND GENRRAL. 295 
 
 ignorant. The Governor had already said that he wished to see 
 them, because Mr. Card well wrote that there was a discrepancy 
 between the General's despatches to the War Office and those of 
 the Governor to the Colonial Office. He informed the General 
 that Her Majesty's Government must determine whether the 
 General was justified in creating secretly wrong impressions, 
 " and in now shrinking from giving me an opportunity of giving 
 explanations regarding my proceedings (which I have been called 
 on to furnish), by refusing to acquaint me with the statements 
 you did not hesitate to make, but dare not produce" (10th June)- 
 The General replied that he cared not what construction his 
 Excellency might be pleased to put upon his actions. Each 
 blamed the other for unduly communicating, to third persons, 
 confidences which should have been kept sacred. 
 
 At this time a very crippling blow was aimed at the position 
 of the Colonial Government ; for although Mr. Weld professed a 
 self-reliant policy, he, like others, used Imperial troops. The 
 Commissary-General, Jones, suggested that the presence of the 
 Governor and two Ministers at Auckland made it convenient to 
 settle the long open question of supplies to the Colonial Govern- 
 ment as advances from the Imperial chest, which Mr. Jones 
 thought might fairly come to an end in a few weeks, except in 
 such special cases as might be, on precise application, approved 
 by the General. The power of the colony to repay the advances 
 seemed to Mr. Jones " very problematical." The General con- 
 currred with Mr. Jones, and (5th June) forwarded his letter to 
 the Governor, proposing to cancel all existing authorities (for 
 issues of pay and rations) on the 1st August. On the 9th June, 
 Sir George Grey seriously presented the aspect of affairs to the 
 General's consideration. " If you choose to cancel all the existing 
 authorities ... I cannot prevent you from taking such a course, 
 and the colonial officers shall be instructed to afford you any 
 information; but I think it my duty to state why I think it 
 would be disadvantageous to the colony as well as to the Imperial 
 Government that you should at the present time follow " such a 
 course. Negotiations in progress should be speedily closed ; the 
 regiments to be ordered to England, and the occupation and 
 maintenance of posts should be decided upon ; and the extent 
 to which the commissariat should assist in that maintenance
 
 296 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 should be determined. On the 21st June, the General intimated 
 that he would refer the commissariat question to the Secretary 
 for War. As to Weraroa, he had frequently explained Jiis opinions, 
 and the commanding Royal Engineer " fully concurred with me, 
 that a siege of the position is not advisable at this season of the 
 year." The Governor told the Secretary of State that he believed 
 no other commander in New Zealand had ever gone into winter 
 quarters, and that it was pernicious to leave rebels undisturbed 
 'for months close to Wanganui. 
 
 General Cameron remained at Auckland, writing despatches 
 to countervail the effect of those which Sir George Grey had 
 sent to England. The reputation of a Governor who had earned 
 distinction, might, he feared, overpower his representations, and 
 on one occasion he specially sent a steamer to Australia to 
 expedite the reading of a despatch in England. The cause of 
 so costly an experiment was the publication, for the use of the 
 Assembly, of the protest of the Ministry against the General's 
 imputation that they were careless of the lives of British soldiers. 1 
 Despatches from Mr. Cardwell and from the War Office contem- 
 plated the sending away of five regiments from New Zealand at 
 an early date. Mr. Cardwell wrote (26th April, 1865) : " The 
 Secretary of State for War will send no re-enforcements to General 
 Cameron, but will repeat the instructions already given for the 
 withdrawal of five regiments with as little delay as possible, 
 consistently with the safe execution of my instructions to you. 
 On your part you will confine your requirements for the assist- 
 ance of General Cameron within the limits which I have 
 prescribed." The Governor's position was oppressive. He was 
 
 1 He reported the cause to Sir George Grey, upbraiding him at the same 
 time for communicating the contents of private letters to the Ministers. The 
 Governor replied that the accusations were so serious that they could not 
 be slurred over. The letters containing them could hardly be called 
 merely private, nor had the General treated them as such, for he had him- 
 self sent copies of them to the Secretary for War, without giving the 
 Governor or his advisers an opportunity of commenting on them. The 
 Governor had warned his advisers that they ought not to treat the letters 
 ns official unless made public by the General. When they were informed 
 that the General had sent copies to England they published them without 
 informing the Governor of their intention, but under the circumstances he 
 thought them entitled to choose their mode of defence against the charges 
 made against them
 
 WELD MINISTRY OFFER TO RESIGN. 297 
 
 supposed to be responsible for the intention of campaigns, and 
 the rebel stronghold stood, idly scanned by British troops, far 
 outnumbering the garrison. Those troops, moreover, must soon 
 depart. The General Assembly was to meet in July. How 
 could the Governor meet it without shame ? The General would 
 shake the dust off his feet. He had tendered his resignation in 
 February, and in June he received permission to return to 
 England. He had power to delay his departure, but, looking at 
 the relations between himself and the Governor, saw no advantage 
 in remaining. This was, he said, the fault of the Governor and 
 his advisers. The native garrison was weakened, and in the 
 end of June there were divided counsels in Weraroa. Rangi- 
 hiwinui wrote to the Governor that a dispute between the 
 military and the militia had impeded the surrender of the pah. 
 The military authorities would settle no terms without consent 
 of the General, who was in Auckland. Several chiefs carried 
 the letter and gave explanations. Sir George Grey wrote to the 
 General. He withdrew himself from the question of removing 
 troops, in which the General left him no power, and begged the 
 latter to act on his own discretion. He enclosed a ministerial 
 minute urging the withdrawal of the troops, and complaining 
 that the General's inaction had marred the campaign. But he 
 did not content himself with writing. He determined to give the 
 General a lesson in the art of war before he quitted the colony. 
 The fiery Von Tempsky had, on the 24th June, tendered his 
 resignation, because the army was not permitted to help him at 
 Weraroa, in consequence of the interpretation put upon the 
 General's orders. The Wanganui Maori contingent was indignant 
 because restrained from attacking the pah. 
 
 At Wellington, on the 12th July, the Ministry formally 
 announced that, on the meeting of the Assembly, they would 
 resign. They had on the llth, with equal formality, declared 
 that they could not recommend an appropriation of 40 per 
 head for Imperial forces in the colony. General Cameron's 
 unfounded charges, and his inactivity, which marred the success 
 of even Colonel Warre's proceedings at Taranaki, prompted the 
 Ministry to abstain from recommending the appropriation for 
 the troops. They based their resignation on the General's 
 conduct. He influenced, if he did not guide, the Imperial
 
 298 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Government. He conveyed hostile criticisms and imputations, 
 and when called on for explanation or information refused to 
 give either. They gratefully acknowledged the constitutional 
 support and efforts of the Governor ; they did not doubt the 
 approval of the Assembly ; but such an irresponsible authority 
 as that arrogated by the General made their resignations impera- 
 tive. The Governor enclosed their minute to the Secretary of 
 State, and feared that great political embarrassments would arise. 
 Within a week Sir George Grey was in the field before the 
 Weraroa pah. Already it was suspected, if not known, to be 
 weakly garrisoned. The friendly chiefs had nearly procured a 
 capitulation. Three hundred and eighty Maori allies were 
 camped 2000 yards from it; 130 cavalry (called Bush Rangers), 
 with Major Von Tempsky, were encamped 800 yards from it, 
 and Major Rookes of the militia, under whom Von Tempsky 
 served, was in the Perikamo pah, about 400 yards from Weraroa. 
 Brigadier-General Waddy was with the Governor. Pehimana 
 and Aperahama, chiefs from the pah, awaited his arrival on the 
 17th July. They admitted that Weraroa pah was built on 
 English property, and were willing to put it in the hands of 
 Hori Kingi, the Wanganui chief friendly to the English. They 
 wished for time to remove the women and children. The 
 Governor granted it. He asked if Hori Kingi would take 
 possession. Hori Kingi had no confidence in Pai Marire fanatics, 
 and declined. The Governor said he would do so, and the chief 
 must accompany him. The rebel chiefs returned to Weraroa to 
 make preparations to receive the Governor. A white flag was 
 flying. The Governor, General Waddy, Major Gray, Captain 
 Bulkeley, Colonel Trevor, and Mr. Parris the interpreter, rode 
 towards it. They were met by Maoris, one of whom inquired 
 whether time to remove women and children would be given. 
 " Yes, that had been arranged." Were they to be punished for 
 their rebellion? The Governor said all would be pardoned 
 except murderers ; and those who returned to their allegiance 
 would be treated in all respects like the Queen's European 
 subjects. The natives said all was satisfactory. Aperahama 
 came out of the pah and requested the Governor and Hori 
 Kingi to enter it. Hori Kingi rode to Sir George Grey's side, 
 saying : " Oh Governor, do not let us go in. Ride up and touch
 
 THE WERAROA PAH. 299 
 
 the fence with your hand, and let that satisfy you. Do not let 
 us go in." Other natives begged him not to go in, saying that 
 the people in Weraroa were " fanatics, given up to old customs." 
 Nevertheless, the Governor, Hori Kingi, Hori Kerei, and Mr. 
 Parris, rode on. At 30 yards' distance from the pah, the 
 Hau Hau priest came out and told the natives not to allow the 
 cavalcade to approach nearer. Hori Kingi's keen eyes detected 
 that the guns were prepared in the pah. Chiefs of Weraroa, 
 friendly to the Governor, stood between him and the pah, and 
 begged him to desist. After a time he rode away. Pehimana 
 and Aperahama had not been treacherous, however. Failing to 
 prevail on the garrison to surrender the pah, the former immedi- 
 ately gave himself up. The latter surrendered on the following 
 morning. On the 18th, the garrison made further pretences of 
 surrender, vainly asking the Governor by letter to send away the 
 soldiers. 
 
 The Hau Haus did not rely only on diplomacy. Topia Turoa, 
 who bearded Sir George Grey in March, was on the war-track. 
 Captain Brassey, commanding at Pipiriki, was assailed. Friendly 
 natives warned the Governor, and no time was to be lost. On 
 the 19th July, Grey asked General Waddy if his instructions 
 from the General permitted him to invest Weraroa. That 
 officer replied that he could not do so without orders from 
 General Cameron. On the same day the Governor asked if 
 General Waddy would under the circumstances without delay 
 establish a post of 400 men near the camp of Major Von 
 Teinpsky, and thus furnish a moral support to the local forces 
 and friendly natives; sending also a detachment of artillery to 
 keep down the fire of the besieged while the local forces and 
 natives worked their way up to the assault. The brave Brigadier 
 consented, alleging as his excuse the time that might elapse if 
 he were to wait for the General's orders from Auckland. The 
 available force consisted of 473 men, viz. 25 Wanganui cavalry, 
 139 Forest and Bush Rangers, 109 native contingent, and 200 
 friendly Maoris. In round numbers, therefore, two-thirds of the 
 force were Maoris. Though perched on a high point from which 
 precipices or steep banks descended about 300 feet to the Wai- 
 totara river and the Koie where they joined their streams, 
 Weraroa could be commanded by still higher ground on the
 
 300 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 opposite or right bank of the Koie, where there was good cover 
 for riflemen. The pah was placed rearwards to the Koie and 
 Waitotara. Its front was strongly fortified, and palisaded rifle- 
 pits seemed to guarantee the darling object of Maori warriors, 
 the certainty of inflicting loss on their enemy before quitting, 
 if needful, their stronghold. The valleys of the Waitotara and 
 Koie were exposed to fire from the pah, and no danger was 
 apprehended in the rear. A pathway led across the Koie stream, 
 and on the Karaka ridge on the other side was a redoubt built by 
 the Maoris to cover retreat from Weraroa, and facilitate supplies 
 and re-enforcements across the Koie valley, about 500 yards wide. 
 Hori Kerei, to whose father the Karaka range had belonged, 
 explained on the ground the peculiarities of the surrounding 
 forest. At two o'clock in the morning on the 20th July the 
 plan of attack was fixed upon. The Maori allies and native 
 contingent officers unanimously agreed that it was sound. The 
 Karaka height was to be occupied by surprise, a circuitous route 
 to it being taken through dense forest ; and thus Weraroa was 
 to be rendered untenable. Early on the 20th, Colonel Trevor 
 arrived with 100 men of the 14th, and encamped on the 
 left front of the pah. At ten o'clock Captain Noblett brought 
 100 of the 18th, and pitched his tents near those of the 14th. 
 At half-past twelve the colonial and native forces were paraded ; 
 and then, by a road unseen from the pah, moved off for the 
 Karaka heights. The weather was cold and rainy. Major Von 
 Tempsky was ill, and Major Rookes took command of the 
 expedition to Karaka. The brave and intelligent Rangihiwinui 
 accompanied him. In front of the pah was Sir George Grey 
 with a few friendly natives, and the moral support of 200 
 British soldiers, aided by the empty tents which the defenders 
 of the pah believed to be occupied. Till daybreak on the 21st 
 the success of the Karaka expedition was unknown in front 
 of Weraroa. Then some dropping shots announced that Major 
 Rookes and Rangihiwinui had done their work. Cheers were 
 heard from the height, and confusion was in Weraroa. After 
 a march of six hours Major Rookes had gained his position. At 
 half-past four he surprised a native village and outpost, capturing 
 50 prisoners with their arms, and two kegs of ammunition. 
 They comprised a re-enforcement on the way to join the rebels
 
 CAPTURE OF WERAROA PAH. 301 
 
 in Weraroa. They incommoded him, and he was busy entrench- 
 ing his position ; he could not send them away without danger- 
 ously weakening his force. Captain Ross arrived with a letter 
 from him at ten o'clock on the 21st. Colonel Trevor allowed 
 some of the 14th Regiment to guard the prisoners in conjunction 
 with 50 Maoris whom Sir George Grey told Major Rookes to 
 send as escort. To increase the force in front of the pah, the 
 Governor earnestly requested the Colonel in command at Patea 
 to send 200 men immediately to place themselves under com- 
 mand of General Waddy, who was expected on the ground. 
 Captain Brassey was in danger at Pipiriki, and the Maori allies 
 were to help him after the capture of Weraroa. Sir George 
 Grey congratulated Major Rookes. ..." We shall make a sham 
 attack on Weraroa from this side to-morrow morning at day- 
 light, and seize a position ourselves. . . . P.S. I rely on your 
 having picked shots to give them no peace by day, and ambus- 
 cades well planted every night, so that nothing can get in or out 
 in safety/' 
 
 To Mr. Cardwell the Governor wrote that his strategic 
 arrangements were defective in one point of view. The force 
 in front was too small ; but " the critical position of Captain 
 Brassey and his small force at Pipiriki made it necessary to risk 
 a great deal, and I think that no risk greater than what ought 
 under such circumstances to have been run was incurred." Major 
 Nixon reported from Wanganui that trustworthy information had 
 arrived that 400 Hau Haus were preparing to attack Captain 
 Brassey. Maori allies wrote to the chiefs before Weraroa : 
 " Friends, the enemy have closed the way to Pipiriki by occupy- 
 ing Te Puha. They have drawn near to the Pakeha ; be quick 
 hither." Before Weraroa the friendly chiefs viewed with alarm 
 the smallness of the force. Blood was thicker than water, and 
 it was felt, though not expressed, that on an emergency Colonel 
 Trevor would convert a moral into a physical force. But the 
 number of the garrison was unknown. Rumours described 
 them variously, from 200 to 600 in number. To remove the 
 just apprehensions of the chiefs, Colonel Trevor ordered up 50 
 men from Nukumaru, and a like number from Waitotara. 
 Though the 200 men expected from Wanganui had not arrived, 
 and the 200 men at Patea had only just been asked for, the
 
 302 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 siege was to be carried on. Colonel Trevor was ready to make 
 his sham attack in the morning. Before sunset the best marks- 
 men in Major Rookes' force dropped rifle-shots into the pah, 
 using sights for a range of 600 yards. The rebels were seen 
 to be in confusion. The Karaka heights commanded their 
 position. They knew not how few were those permitted to 
 fight against them ; and their opponents knew not how few formed 
 the garrison. They fled down cliffs and precipices. The Maori 
 allies with Major Rookes perceived that Weraroa was evacuated. 
 At daylight it was entered and handed over to Colonel Trevor by 
 the few Maoris left within it. Far less time was spent in taking 
 than General Cameron had consumed in writing about it, and 
 not a man had been lost. The English knight to whom an 
 Irish garrison surrendered when they saw him bring from the 
 forest a charred log on wheels, which in the Plantagenet days 
 they mistook for a cannon, had been successfully imitated by 
 Sir George Grey, though if the garrison had been as numerous 
 as when General Cameron declined to attack the pah, the result 
 might have been different. The heavy guns ordered from 
 Waitotara were countermanded. The officer at Patea was 
 requested to keep back the 200 troops asked for on the day 
 before. At half-past two in the morning of the 22nd the 
 Governor wrote to Captain Brassey : " I have been in the 
 greatest concern at your position, but have felt the utmost 
 reliance on your courage and prudence, and on the bravery of 
 your men. In the mean time I have risked everything here, 
 to be able at the earliest moment to help you. . . . We go into 
 the pah at daylight, and at the same hour a large force starts 
 to rescue you. A messenger will take this to you who will 
 manage to get through the enemy. Hold out bravely ; within 
 a few hours after you get this you will have help." 
 
 The ' Gundagai ' steamer and canoes carried the relieving forces. 
 Amongst them were the chiefs Hori Kingi and Te Kepa Rangi- 
 hiwinui. After the expedition had started a letter was received 
 from Captain Brassey. It was dated 21st July, and announced that 
 he had been attacked on the 19th, but had beaten off the enemy. 
 Ensign Cleary and Sergeant Gourd only were wounded. There 
 were 20 or more casualties amongst the enemy. The Hau Haus 
 were guarding the way to Wanganui. Captain Brassey had
 
 MEETING OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 303 
 
 promised the Maori letter-carrier 15 for taking his letter safely 
 to Major Rookes. As some of the rebels could read English 
 the gallant captain added this postcript : " Sumus sine rebus belli 
 satis." " My cry, if I could make it heard, would be the M ! M ! ! " 
 On the 1st August relief reached him. Mete Kingi, Hori Kingi, 
 and others congratulated Captain Brassey in speeches which 
 were published, as was also Mete Kingi's narrative addressed 
 to the Governor. The thanks of the Governor for the conduct 
 of all officers and men engaged in the operations were given in 
 the warmest language. He was not doomed to win applause 
 from his own superiors. The War Office after long incubation 
 hatched new Orders framed to prevent a Governor from inter- 
 fering, successfully or otherwise, with conduct of a campaign. 1 
 
 The Ministry on reading Mr. Cardwell's despatch of 26th 
 April, gathering from it that " the discretionary powers re- 
 cently vested in the General had reverted to the Governor," and 
 being informed that the General's resignation had been accepted, 
 withdrew their own. The Governor told the Assembly that 
 their resolutions in favour of a withdrawal of the troops had been 
 forwarded, and that recent despatches led to an inference that 
 such a policy would be adopted. Pending the decision of the 
 Home Government he had determined to avail himself of the 
 services of the troops in establishing order between Taranaki 
 and Wanganui. " Contrary to my anticipation, however, con- 
 siderable delay took place, which involved consequences fraught 
 with disaster, and which led to fresh outbreaks in other parts of 
 
 1 Mr. Weld, in July, 1865, wrote a letter to Lord Alfred Churchill, thank- 
 ing him for advocacy in Parliament of the policy of the New Zealand 
 Government. It was sent to the 'Times.' It spoke of the intention of 
 the Ministry to resign, because " all is upset by the political action of 
 Lieutenant-General Sir D. Cameron. He has been writing secretly to the 
 Government, making accusations against the Government and the Ministry, 
 and will not give the particulars or the grounds of his attacks, so that for 
 months we have been condemned unheard. . . The Governor has been 
 very badly treated, and it will be of course impossible for him to remain in 
 office unless General Cameron is at once recalled. . . I can hardly believe 
 that 600, or at most 800, half-armed fanatics could battle for months, in 
 a comparatively open country, with upwards of 6000 well-armed Englishmen 
 unless the General was acting upon political motives." Though it was not 
 written for publication, it was not to be wondered at that Lord Churchill 
 published the letter.
 
 304 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the colony. I therefore ordered the colonial forces to advance 
 against the Weraroa pah a movement which has resulted in its 
 capture. The thanks of the colony are due to Major Rookes 
 commanding, and to the officers and men of Her Majesty's 
 European and native colonial forces engaged in this important 
 operation. I also recognize the readiness with which Brigadier- 
 General Waddy, C.B., Colonel Trevor, and the officers and men 
 under their command, afforded me all the assistance that was in 
 their power, though precluded by their orders from taking any 
 active part in the operation against the enemy's stronghold." l 
 To the zeal, energy, and ability of Colonel Warre commanding 
 the Imperial and colonial forces at Taranaki, and to the devoted 
 courage of the loyal natives, the Governor paid high tribute. 
 Confident in the capacity of the loyal residents he would issue 
 orders for the return of five regiments to England. He was 
 about to invite certain chiefs to Wellington, and to lay before 
 the Assembly a Bill enabling him to appoint a commission of 
 chiefs to advise upon the best means of obtaining parliamentary 
 representation of the Maoris. (It will be remembered that Mr. 
 Fitzgerald's proposition on the subject was only rejected by a 
 majority of three votes by the Assembly in 1862.) The manner 
 in which the credit of the colony was impaired by the provincial 
 loans in the English market, with some minor matters, was 
 submitted to the serious consideration of the Assembly. Ten 
 new members, nearly all from the Middle Island, had been 
 called to the Council. A Representative having made light of 
 the capture of the Weraroa, attributing it in some degree to 
 General Cameron's previous engagements in the neighbourhood, 
 Mr. J. C. Richmond, the Colonial Secretary, retorted that the 
 General had gone to Weraroa and had seen no way to take it. 
 " Sir George Grey had at once found its weak point, acted on the 
 discovery, and taken Weraroa without bloodshed. General 
 Cameron had come as one of England's promising Generals. 
 He would go back reduced to the reputation of being good 
 enough to lead a regiment which would go anywhere without 
 
 1 On seeing this paragraph General Cameron wrote from Auckland: "I 
 positively deny having given any orders to Brigadier-General Waddy, 
 Colonel Trevor, or any other officer which prevented them from taking any 
 active part"
 
 THE GENERAL GOES TO ENGLAND. 305 
 
 leading, whilst Sir George Grey would retrieve a reputation 
 that seemed waning at home, and add to his former character 
 that of a prompt and able General." Cordial addresses in reply 
 to the speech were carried in both Houses; by the represent- 
 atives without a division on the 1st, in the Council, by 20 votes 
 against 2, on the 3rd of August. Mr. Stafford assailed the 
 Government for making roads at the point of the bayonet. Mr. 
 Weld retorted that the House in agreeing to the Roads Bill was 
 pledged to enforce the making of them even at the bayonet's 
 point. He qualified the imperiousness of his tone by urging 
 that the representation of Maoris in Parliament should be 
 accorded. 
 
 The General was not tardy in the new campaign allotted to 
 him. His occupation in New Zealand was gone. He hastened 
 to England to stir the War Office against the audacity of a civil 
 officer in taking command in the field ; a dangerous innovation, 
 which required to be nipped in the bud. Sir George Grey 
 reported that Colonel Warre marching southwards from Taranaki 
 had met Colonel Weare marching northwards from Waingon- 
 goro, and trusted that these events would convince the Secretary 
 of State that he had rightly declined to ask for more troops 
 when importuned by the General, and that if Colonel Warre 
 had been permitted, as requested by Sir G. Grey, to advance 
 from Taranaki when the General marched from Wanganui, the 
 war would have been ended, and vast colonial and Imperial 
 expenditure saved. General Cameron in his last letter about 
 the campaign (26th July), warned the Governor that he would 
 address the Secretary for War on the subversion of discipline, 
 and consequent confusion and disorder, countenanced if not 
 encouraged by the Governor. In unhappy ignorance that 
 Weraroa had already fallen, he defended his indolence about 
 its capture. " All that was to be done was to make the neces- 
 sary preparations, so that no time might be lost as soon as the 
 weather admitted of the operation being undertaken. In a 
 despatch of the 7th instant, I informed the Secretary for War 
 that I intended to undertake the attack as soon as the weather 
 allowed." More than common chagrin must have possessed the 
 writer of such a despatch when in a few days he learned that 
 
 the task which he looked upon as more than could " be done " 
 VOL. 11. x
 
 306 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 had been achieved without loss. If there was in the War 
 Office a spark spretce injuries auctoritatis, he would set a torch 
 to it without delay. In his fury he would include the successful 
 soldier, Colonel Warre. " Privately or semi-officially " he asked 
 certain questions which Colonel Warre answered frankly. The 
 General rejoined (26th August) : " It was not without good 
 reason that I asked you the questions, and I fully expected to 
 find what you admit that you have been in the constant habit 
 of giving your opinions to the Governor and Colonial Minister 
 freely on military subjects of every kind without my knowledge. 
 I can hardly believe that your conduct will be approved by the 
 authorities at home." He left without giving Colonel Warre 
 opportunity to explain. That officer, in self-defence, informed 
 the Governor that he had exceeded his object when writing to 
 the General, who had arrived at a conclusion contrary to the 
 one intended to be conveyed. " The admissions in my letter to 
 Sir Duncan Cameron were confined to the expression of my 
 opinion privately on all subjects connected with the native 
 insurrection, and in replying -to questions verbally on subjects 
 that your Excellency or Ministers, while resident at Taranaki, 
 may have put to me. I appeal to your Excellency whether I 
 ever presumed to offer such opinions as ' advice,' or whether I 
 ever originated or suggested any military operations opposed to 
 the known wishes or views of the late Lieutenant-General Com- 
 manding." Sir George Grey sent the appeal to England, with 
 his own assurance that as far as he was concerned the state- 
 ment of Sir Duncan Cameron was wholly untrue, and he trusted 
 inquiry would be made. It was " but a perilous shot out of an 
 elder-gun that a poor and private displeasure could do" against 
 a General still highly commended and recently knighted in 
 England, and who as he chewed the cud of indignation on the 
 way to Australia, so far lost temper as to write an angry letter 
 to Sir George Grey and insert it in a Melbourne newspaper 
 before it could reach him to whom it was addressed. He 
 charged Sir George Grey with having told General Waddy at 
 Wanganui that had the latter arrived before Weraroa, the 
 Governor would have left the command in his hands. Sir 
 George Grey admitted the charge. " I knew him to be a good 
 and gallant soldier, anxious to do his duty ; and I believed if I
 
 LORD DE GREY AT THE WAR OFFICE. 307 
 
 only got him into the fray, he would have fought his way well 
 through it, whatever his orders were. The moment therefore I 
 saw him thoroughly engaged in the affair, I should either have 
 left the place, or have served on his staff, if he would have 
 allowed me to do so." The retort, by comparing Waddy to 
 Cameron, might be effective ; but risk to Imperial interests if 
 Governors should in other places involve the Queen's troops in 
 war without the sanction of their commanding officer was too 
 obvious to allow it to be hoped that in this instance success 
 would be honoured. Sir George Grey had done much, but 
 he had not conformed to military etiquette. 
 
 The judgment of the War Office under Earl de Grey in such 
 a case could hardly be doubted, even by those who could not 
 foretell the remarkable treaty of Washington in 1871, by which, 
 under the presidency of the same nobleman, it was determined 
 to scatter international rights and duties to the winds, and coin 
 new terms under which England should admit having done 
 wrong where no wrong was done, and pay a penalty so large that 
 its receivers were unable to apply it in terms of the bond. The 
 decision, or rather indecision, of the War Office, may be told in 
 few words. Lord de Grey thought that Sir Duncan Cameron 
 " had not assumed to himself any latitude inconsistent with the 
 high position he filled " in corresponding with the War Office 
 about the affairs of New Zealand. He admitted that Sir Dun- 
 can Cameron ought to have furnished the Governor with copies 
 of despatches "other than those relating to discipline and 
 military routine." Instead of reprimanding the General for 
 breach of propriety, of a distinct rule of the colonial service, 
 and of a Horse Guards' circular letter (dated February, 1859), he 
 said he would draw the General's attention to the Horse Guards' 
 letter with a view to its being conformed to .in future. Sii 
 Duncan Cameron was, it appeared, " not acquainted with the 
 contents of the Horse Guards' letter." Never was there a 
 grosser instance of a man being less wise than he seemed. 
 Sir Duncan Cameron had left, and was known to have left, New 
 Zealand nearly two months before this injunction was issued. 
 For the General to disobey orders was venial. But Lord de 
 Grey thought Sir George Grey inexcusable for showing to his 
 
 Ministers the private letters in which they were traduced. 
 
 x 2
 
 308 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Lord de Grey did not consider the fact that the calumniatory 
 letters had been transmitted to himself justified their being 
 shown to the Ministers, or published by them with their defence, 
 and yet he himself had laid some of them before Parliament 
 without giving Sir George Grey an opportunity of explanation. 
 Mr. Cardwell (25th September), in forwarding Lord de Grey's 
 inane despatch, partially modified its offensiveness to the 
 Governor by saying that it was to be regretted that General 
 Cameron had not observed the regulations. " One of the mis- 
 chievous consequences of this departure from the rules of the 
 service on his part, probably has been that you, not unnaturally, 
 have suspected that reports had been made unfavourable to 
 yourself and your Ministers to a greater extent than you will 
 find to have been the case." Mr. Cardwell, assuming that 
 General Cameron's version was correct, pointed out that when 
 the confiscation measures were objected to by the General, the 
 Governor ought to have referred the matter to England, with 
 the General's comments, so that the Secretary or Secretaries of 
 State might decide the matter. It was perhaps impossible to 
 do otherwise than assume the truth of General Cameron's state- 
 ment that the proclamation of 17th September, 1864, confis- 
 cated so much land as to render necessary an augmentation of 
 troops in New Zealand, and was therefore unwise. But by the 
 return mail Sir George Grey forwarded a minute written by the 
 General on the 16th December, 1864, upon a map showing the 
 confiscated lands. The minute declared to the New Zealand 
 Ministry what in the General's opinion " might fairly be con- 
 sidered as conquered territory." Of two lines, denoted by him, 
 the one selected in the proclamation of the 17th December was 
 that which included least land. How then, asked Sir George 
 Grey, could he suppose that the General objected to the pro- 
 clamation, and why was he left in ignorance that on the 7th 
 January, 1865, the General had written to the Secretary for 
 War to complain of the terms of the proclamation, which were 
 as much his own measures as the Governor's ? The reader need 
 not be wearied by further beating out of the question. The 
 Governor wrote despatch after despatch, which Mr. Cardwell 
 curtly acknowledged and referred to the War Office. Lord de 
 Grey received an explanation from General Cameron, but " did
 
 SIR G. GREY'S VAIN APPEALS. 309 
 
 not think it necessary to send a copy" to Mr. Cardwell, con- 
 sidering " that the time had arrived for putting an end to the 
 painful dispute." In vain did Sir George Grey appeal for 
 vindication of his character. Lord de Grey's stolidity was more 
 impregnable than the Weraroa pah. When the irate Governor 
 so far officially forgot himself as to state in terms that the 
 General's accusations were " malicious and unfounded," Cameron 
 was as safe behind the plumbean De Grey as the Hau Haus had 
 been from him behind the Weraroa palisade. 
 
 When the Marquis of Hartington (who had been Under- 
 secretary) became Secretary for War, on Lord de Grey's 
 translation to the India Board, it was hardly to be expected 
 that he would reverse the injustice of his late superior. Mr. 
 Cardwell announced that the new Secretary agreed with the 
 old one. 
 
 The skill and gallantry displayed by the colonial forces and 
 friendly natives at the capture of the Weraroa pah were hailed 
 with satisfaction by Mr. Cardwell. As to his personal share the 
 Governor was informed that his assumption of so large a share 
 in the direction of military operations, in presence of the regular 
 forces and of their officers, had given rise to questions on which 
 he would be subsequently addressed. 
 
 The proverb that " nothing succeeds like success," was falsi- 
 fied in Sir George Grey's case. What Lord Palmerston would 
 have done if he had lived, cannot be told. He died in October, 
 1865. His weaker successor, Earl Russell, either did not try, or 
 failed, to do justice. Sir George Grey was never thanked, 
 although that he had sinned against no defined rule was estab- 
 lished by the fact that new Army Regulations were found neces- 
 sary to prevent a recurrence of the catastrophe which Sir 
 Duncan Cameron had sustained. It was laid down that a 
 Governor, though Captain-General and Commander-in-Chief, 
 " is not therefore entitled to take the immediate direction of any 
 military operations." Sir George Grey told Mr. Cardwell that 
 he had expected to incur animosity by proving that success could 
 be obtained in the field without the sacrifices sometimes made 
 in New Zealand. He would bear the penalty cheerfully. He 
 knew he had done his duty, and that knowledge would sustain 
 him under any attacks, or under any censures or inconveniences
 
 310 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 to which Her Majesty's Government might from want of 
 information subject him. 1 
 
 Some changes were made in the Ministry during the session 
 of 1865. Mr. Mantell retired from the office of Native Minister 
 in July, and early in August Mr. J. E. Fitzgerald, " the orator 
 of New Zealand," accepted it. He was notable for his desire to 
 accord representation in Parliament to Maoris, and in a few 
 weeks the Governor formally promulgated his readiness to confer 
 with the Maori chiefs as to the manner in which that represent- 
 ation should be conferred. It may be recollected that within a 
 few months of Mr. Fitzgerald's acceptance of office, Sir George 
 Grey had described him as understanding neither Englishmen 
 nor barbarous men. 
 
 On the 2nd September, 1865, two important proclamations 
 were made. By one, " with the advice and consent of the 
 Executive Council of the colony," the Governor confiscated 
 large specified blocks of land belonging to the Ngatiawa and 
 Ngatiruanui tribes. The lust of the Taranaki settlers was 
 gratified at last. The garden of New Zealand was laid bare to 
 their ravages, from the White Cliffs to Waitotara. The Governor 
 in Council, " satisfied that certain native tribes or sections of 
 tribes . . . having landed properties . . . have been engaged 
 in rebellion . . . doth hereby set apart as eligible sites for 
 settlement for colonization (lands described), and doth declare 
 . . . that no land of any loyal inhabitant within the said districts, 
 whether held by native custom or Crown grant, will be taken 
 except so much as may be absolutely necessary for the security 
 of the country, compensation being given for all land so taken ; 
 and further, that all rebel inhabitants of the said districts who 
 come in within a reasonable time and make submission to the 
 Queen will receive a sufficient quantity of land within the said 
 district under grant from the Crown." The other proclamation 
 
 1 One passage in a despatch of llth December, 1865, was ill-adapted to 
 win favourable consideration for the Governor. " I assert confidently that 
 Sir Duncan Cameron in making such groeSjaccusations against me privately 
 to Lord de Grey, one of Her Majesty's principal Secretaries of State, and 
 liis Lordship in privately receiving them, are the wrong-doers, and not 
 myself in treating these accusations as publicly made, and in meeting them 
 as having been so made." The functionary who thus wrote of one Minister 
 to another courted the spurns of which he complained.
 
 PROCLAMATIONS OF SEPTEMBER, 1865. 311 
 
 was in the name of the Governor, and did not refer to advice of 
 the Ministry. He declared that " the war which commenced at 
 Oakura was at an end : " that sufficient punishment had been 
 indicted upon the tribes who had taken arms, their war-parties 
 had "been beaten, their strongholds captured, and so much 
 of their lands confiscated as was thought necessary to deter 
 them from again appealing to arms." None would be prosecuted 
 for past offences except those concerned in certain barbarous 
 murders which were enumerated as having occurred between 
 March, 1860, and July, 1865, when Mr. Fulloon was killed at 
 Whakatane. Eight occasions were specified, and some of them 
 were not solitary murders. Te Pehi was specially excepted 
 from pardon because " having taken the oath of allegiance . . . 
 he violated (it) . . . and treacherously attacked the Queen's 
 troops at Pipiriki. . . . Out of the lands which have been con- 
 fiscated at the Waikato, and at Taranaki, and Ngatiruanui, the 
 Governor will at once restore considerable quantities to those of 
 the natives who wish to settle down upon their lands, to hold 
 them upon Crown grants, and to live under the protection of 
 the law. For this purpose Commissioners will be sent forthwith 
 into the Waikato, and the country about Taranaki, and between 
 that place and Wanganui, who will put the natives who may 
 desire it upon lands at once, and will mark the boundaries of 
 the blocks which they are to occupy. Those who do not come 
 in at once to claim the benefit of this arrangement must expect 
 to be excluded. The Governor will take no more lands on 
 account of the present war. As regards the prisoners now in 
 custody, the Governor will hold them until it shall be seen 
 whether those who have been in arms return to peace. If they 
 do so the prisoners will be set at liberty. . . . The Governor 
 now calls upon all the chiefs and tribes to assist him in 
 putting a stop to all acts of violence for the future. . . . The 
 Governor is about to call a meeting of all the great chiefs to 
 consult with his Government as to the best means whereby the 
 Maori people may be represented in the General Assembly, so 
 that they may henceforth help to make the laws which they 
 are called upon to obey. . . . Her Majesty the Queen desires that 
 equal laws and equal rights and liberties may be enjoyed by all 
 her subjects in this island, and to that end the Governor in the
 
 312 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 name of the Queen publishes this proclamation." It is necessary 
 to note the distinct declarations that the Governor would respect 
 the possessions of the loyal ; would " at once restore " lands to 
 the Maoris ; and that Commissioners would " be sent forthwith " 
 to put the Maoris in possession and " to mark the boundaries." 
 It will be seen hereafter that these promises were left unfulfilled 
 by Ministry after Ministry, and that the turmoil at the Waimate 
 Plains caused by glaring violation of these promises extorted a 
 Royal Commission in 1880, composed of Fox and Dillon Bell, 
 who were constrained to admit that not only these but repeated 
 promises were broken, and even solemn awards of Courts in 
 favour of Maoris were never carried out. The murder of Mr. 
 Fulloon, specially alluded to in the Governor's proclamation of 
 peace, requires consideration in order that the condition of New 
 Zealand in 1865 may be understood. 
 
 On the capture of Weraroa regular war was deemed at an 
 end, and the savage murders by Hau Haus were not allowed to 
 prevent the proclamation of peace. They indeed, like missiles 
 hurled in the .darkness, smote the colonists and made them 
 shudder. Plotted in secrecy, they were executed with hasty 
 and cunning ferocity. On the 22nd July, emboldened by the 
 spread of their faith and their impunity after Volkner's death, 
 the Hau Haus murdered Mr. Fulloon at Whakatane, together 
 with the captain and all but two persons on board the cutter 
 ' Kate,' which took them thither. They burned the cutter. 
 Mr. Fulloon, a half-caste Maori interpreter, had been allowed by 
 the Defence Minister to call at Whakatane, at his own request, 
 for the purpose of checking the spread of disaffection. In 
 September, in disregard of the old Maori sense of honour, Kereti 
 Te Ahura, a Maori policeman, while engaged in carrying the 
 Governor's peace proclamation, was mortally wounded and robbed 
 near Weraroa by an ambushed party, but was rescued in time 
 to enable him to make a dying deposition identifying some of 
 his murderers. The Governor offered a reward of 1000 for 
 bringing any of the murderers to justice. Mr. Broughton, an 
 interpreter, in obeying Colonel Waddy's orders, was decoyed to 
 an interview on the west coast and murdered. These and other 
 atrocities Mr. Weld's Ministry saw partially punished by the 
 capture of Opotiki in September.
 
 THE ARAWA WAR AGAINST HAU HAUS. 313 
 
 The fall of the Weraroa pah permitted the withdrawal from the 
 west coast of an expeditionary force of 500 men, composed of 
 military settlers, of Bush Rangers, of the native contingent, and 
 Wanganui Yeomanry Cavalry. H.M.S. 'Brisk' aided the land- 
 ing of the forces in the east, in September, 1865. The native 
 contingent, spread in skirmishing order on reaching the shore, 
 drove the enemy before them, captured a pah, and occupied 
 Opotiki. Captain Hope, of the ' Brisk,' wrote : " They were the 
 admiration of all of us. We could see it all from the ship, and 
 it was beautiful." Special thanks were conveyed to Captain 
 Hope by the New Zealand Government. Major Brassey was in 
 command of the land expedition, and although a want of con- 
 cord with his subordinates militated against his success, the Pua 
 pah fell into his hands in September, and the enthusiasm of the 
 Whakatohea tribe for the Hau Haus waned sensibly. Some 
 of them voluntarily surrendered with their arms in October. 
 Kereopa was surprised and narrowly escaped capture in the 
 same month. A few prisoners were taken. The Arawa tribe, 
 meanwhile, displayed signal energy. In September, 1863, they 
 had incurred tribal animosity by preventing the Ngatiporou, 
 Ngatiawa, and others from passing through their territory on 
 the way to Waikato. In pursuing the murderers of Volkner 
 and in resisting enemies they neglected their cultivations, and 
 suffered in killed and wounded. When Fulloon was murdered, 
 Mr. Mair (Mr. Meade's companion at Lake Taupo) started from 
 Lake Tarawera with 200 Arawas, while 150 others proceeded 
 down the coast from Maketu. On the 16th August, the two 
 bands attacked different pahs without success, having no artillery. 
 They then effected a junction, and harassed the Hau Haus, but 
 were unable to attack the pahs, and waited for assistance from 
 the Opotiki colonial force. Being disappointed, they detached 
 an expedition which seized all the canoes at Whakatane, where 
 Fulloon had been murdered. Taking some canoes by the river, 
 and dragging some across a belt of land to a lake in the enemy's 
 rear, they stopped his supplies. The Hau Haus evacuated their 
 pahs on the 10th October, retreating in canoes to the Teko pah 
 on the Rangitaiki river. On the 17th October, the Arawas, still 
 accompanied by Mr. Mair, by Hemipo the guide of Mr. Meade, 
 and by his friend Poihipi Tukeraingi, invested Teko. On one
 
 314 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 side was the rapid river, on three other sides smooth declivities. 
 Three lines of palisading, with flanking angles, three rows of 
 rifle-pits and breastworks, contained a fort 90 yards long and 
 45 yards wide, within which each hut was fortified. A covered 
 way communicated with a landing-place on the river. Three 
 saps were commenced, and under shelter of undulating ground 
 had, in spite of heavy musketry fire, been carried so far that in 
 two days the Hau Haus asked for a truce to arrange terms of 
 capitulation. Firing was suspended for 24 hours, but the sap 
 was proceeded with. Hemipo, whose eloquence aided Mr. 
 Meade at Tataroa, now applied it to save his father Ngaperi in 
 Teko, whom he persuaded to come out of the garrison with 
 more than a score of friends. None of them being implicated 
 in murders, Mr. Mair allowed them to join the loyal Maoris. 
 When the sap was finished close to an angle, and the covered 
 way cut off, the Hau Haus were summoned to surrender. If the 
 place were taken by assault they were promised that no quarter 
 should be given. They laid down their arms. As they marched 
 out, the victorious Arawas leaped from their trenches with a 
 yell, and under the guidance of old Poihipi Tukeraingi danced 
 with fury the maddening war-dance of triumph while the cap- 
 tives stood dejected, and the ground around them shook with 
 the tramp of their conquerors. Amongst the captives were 
 nearly 30 suspected murderers, of whom Mair took possession 
 on behalf of the Government. The remainder were held by the 
 Arawa as prisoners of war. Mair handed his prisoners to the 
 force under Major Brassey, and a court-martial was held early in 
 November upon them. The evidence of two half-caste lads was 
 deemed sufficient to convict many of them of complicity in the 
 murder of Fulloon ; but when the sentences were submitted to 
 the Government it was found that the proceedings had been 
 irregular. The offenders were nevertheless indicted again with 
 others before a criminal court. Thirty-five were convicted of 
 murdering or of being accessories to the murders of Volkner and 
 Fulloon. Several were executed ; others were sentenced to hard 
 labour. Some were pardoned in after years. The men from 
 Wanganui after these exploits returned to the west coast l to assist 
 
 1 A more detailed account of the expedition may be found in ' Remin- 
 iscences of the War in New Zealand.' (T. W. Gudgeon.) London : 1879.
 
 ROPATA WAHAWAHA. 315 
 
 General Chute. The Governor reported (5th December, 1865) : 
 " Our native forces have arrested 17 natives out of the 23 who 
 are believed to have taken a part in the murder of Mr. Fulloon." 
 There were other friendly Maoris besides the Arawa on the 
 east, to whose doings it may be well to refer at this time. 
 Ropata Wahawaha the Ngatiporou chief and Mokena Kohere 
 distinguished themselves, though in so doing they opposed 
 men of their tribes. Although Patara rebuked his brother- 
 prophet, Kereopa, for the murder of Volkner, and declared that 
 his mission was merely religious, he was active in inculcating 
 Hau Hau doctrine. From Opotiki he went to Poverty Bay, 
 where he seems to have counteracted Kereopa sufficiently to save 
 some European lives, and thence he travelled through the Ran- 
 gowhakaata and Ngatiporou territories towards the East Cape, 
 making large numbers of proselytes. Ropata Wahawaha, 
 Mokena Kohere, and Henare Potae, resisted the infection, and 
 applied to Donald McLean for fire-arms to enable them to 
 defend themselves, and contend in the field against the fanatics. 
 McLean consented. As early as June, 1865, Ropata, with 
 inferior forces, encountered his misguided countrymen, and lost 
 some men, inflicting losses in return. By a brilliantly-executed 
 stratagem of a nature not unknown in ancient Maori warfare 
 he established his reputation. He placed an ambuscade in a 
 creek, and made his army feign a retreat so rapid as to look like 
 
 He complains of the mutinous spirit amongst the Maoris, but excepts from 
 censure Major Kepa, " probably the best iMaori officer in New Zealand," 
 and Lieutenant Wirihana. He tells a singular tale of daring shown by 
 Winiata. During the firing on the Pua pah, Winiata " suddenly rushed to 
 the pah, and regardless of the fire of both friend and foe placed his hand 
 on the palisading, shouting that the pah was his." That night the enemy 
 pulled down some of their palisading under pretence of surrendering, and 
 rushed out, firing a volley to disconcert the besiegers. In the morning, 
 when the " native contingent were sent forward to attack," the pah was 
 found abandoned to Winiata and his comrades. Another instance of 
 Maori character is given by Mr. Gudgeon. Amongst the Wanganui men 
 was a prophet Pitau, who, when the expedition started, prophesied : " You 
 will succeed in all things, Wanganui ! only one man will die, and he 
 will be Pitau." In the skirmishes Pitau risked his life as if desirous to 
 prove the truth of his prediction. On leaving Opotiki a boat was swamped 
 by the surf, and Pitau was drowned, while all his countrymen escaped by 
 swimming. Mr. Gudgeon thought that Pitau preferred death to loss of 
 " maim " as a prophet, and purposely sunk in the sea.
 
 316 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 flight. At the creek many of the fliers adroitly strengthened 
 the ambuscade, and several of the pursuers fell, while the 
 startled remainder fled in confusion. It was believed that 
 unless McLean had supplied the needed fire-arms Ropata and 
 his friends would have been murdered, or compelled to adhere 
 to the new tenets which the majority of the tribe had embraced. 
 At McLean's request, the Weld Government sent a force of 
 Europeans to co-operate ; and in August, 1865, several pahs were 
 taken, and many Hau Haus were slain. Learning from Henare 
 Potae that the foe had mustered in force at Pukepapa, near 
 Tokomaru, Ropata marched rapidly thither with 100 men, and 
 captured the pah. Some prisoners were taken, and were spared ; 
 but a local historian thus records the Maori rigour shown to 
 others : " Among the prisoners were 11 of the Aowera, Ropata's 
 own tribe, and he gave them a lesson in paternal rule that other 
 chiefs might follow with benefit to their tribes." Calling them 
 out, and saying that they were to die, he added, " ' I do not kill 
 you because you have fought against me, but because I told you 
 not to join the Hau Haus, and you disobeyed.' So saying, he shot 
 them one by one with his revolver. This affair well finished, 
 the two chiefs advanced upon another Hau Hau position." l This 
 was in August. At Pukeinaire, in September, the Hau Haus 
 were found to have fortified themselves on a hill. Two well- 
 constructed pahs were connected by a covered way. Five 
 hundred occupants were in them when Captains Biggs and 
 Fraser with Ropata approached the position in cold and stormy 
 weather. A sap was driven near the works, and a Maori, 
 Tapeka, threw a strong rope (with a bar attached) over the 
 palisading. A Hau Hau cut the rope. Another Maori, Watene, 
 again threw the rope, by means of which Ropata hoped to make 
 a breach by pulling down the palisading. A Hau Hau rushed 
 forward to cut the rope again, but the prompt Watene shot him, 
 and before the dangerous service could be performed by another, 
 a considerable width of palisading was torn down, and the cap- 
 ture of the pah seemed certain, the outworks at one point being 
 in the hands of the assailants. But two Europeans were killed 
 
 1 ' Reminiscences of the War in New Zealand,' by Lieutenant and 
 Quarter-muster T. W. Gudgeon, Colonial Forces, New Zealand. London : 
 1879.
 
 HUNGAHUNGATAROA. 3 J 7 
 
 and two wounded ; while five of Ropata's men were wounded, 
 and Fraser (become a Major) called off the forces. The weather 
 was bitterly cold. One man died from exhaustion on the road ; 
 and Ropata, who had entered the breach among the first, was so 
 numbed as to be unable to put a percussion-cap on his gun to 
 shoot an enemy who fired at him. Fraser reported that the 
 " rain came down in torrents." The Maori ardour " was 
 damped," and " our ammunition ran short, the baggage not hav- 
 ing come up as ordered, and I was obliged to withdraw my 
 force about 3 p.m." l The retirement from Pukemaire was not 
 caused by any consideration for the lives of the defenders. On 
 a previous occasion (2nd August), Major Fraser having captured 
 a pah close to Waiapu, by a design propounded by Mokena 
 Kohere, wrote : " The bayonet and rifle soon did their work, and 
 the pah was ours. The enemy asked for no mercy, and evi- 
 dently expected none. The killed in the pah amounted to 22. 
 We took seven women prisoners." On this occasion the Hau Hau 
 losses (in a few days) were reported as 87 killed, 33 wounded, 
 and 47 prisoners, of whom 42 were wounded. Ten Europeans 
 were wounded; of the Maori allies 15 were killed and 14 
 wounded. Besides Mokena Kohere, the chiefs Kopu and Ihaka 
 Whanga (who had received the thanks of the colonists by resisting 
 to their teeth the Hau Hau missionaries) took part in the action. 
 Fraser wrote : " The chief Mokena has given us every assistance 
 in his power, and has uniformly shown us great kindness." 
 
 Before the assault on Pukemaire could be renewed the enemy 
 retreated towards Hungahungataroa near Kawakawa. Puke- 
 maire was destroyed by the colonial forces. Biggs, with about 
 30 volunteers of his own corps and military settlers, and 100 
 Maoris under Ropata, followed the foe through the mountain 
 forest. Fraser, with 60 Europeans, and the same number of 
 Maoris under Mokena, journeyed by the coast, intending to effect 
 a junction with Biggs. Before he could reach the rebel haunt 
 he heard from a Maori woman that Biggs and Ropata had 
 invested it, and that the Ngatiporou Hau Haus would probably 
 
 1 Despatch, ' New Zealand Gazette,' 1865. Lieutenant Gudgeon does not 
 record Eraser's published reasons, but says that when success seemed 
 assured, " Major Fraser suddenly ordered the whole force to return to 
 Waiapu, and the chance was lost'' (p. 86).
 
 318 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 surrender if their lives were assured. Fraser sent an order on 
 the subject to Biggs. Meanwhile Ropata with the other branch 
 of the forces led the advance-guard, crossing and recrossing the 
 stream in a gorge which led to the rebel stronghold. On near- 
 ing it Ropata's band, composed chiefly of his own trusty blood 
 relations, found and shot an enemy in a plantation. Biggs and 
 Ropata then reconnoitred the position. Perched on a hill with 
 two precipitous sides the hunted Hau Haus seemed prepared to 
 sell life dearly. Firing was commenced in the usual manner. 
 It was determined that, while the main body occupied attention 
 in front, Ropata and Biggs with chosen followers should scale 
 the cliff in the rear. The unencumbered Maoris rapidly per- 
 formed their part, 1 while the Europeans in impeding costume 
 toiled behind, although Cornet Tuke led them gallantly. A 
 point was reached from which a plunging fire was poured upon 
 the besieged as they faced their foes in the front. A Hau Hau 
 in a tree was fired at by Ropata's order, and he shouted, " Do 
 not fire, lest you hit me." Ropata commanded him to come 
 down. He was recognized as the powerful Pita Tamaturi. 
 Biggs came up as Ropata seemed about to shoot him, and asked 
 who he was. Ropata answered, " The man who has brought all 
 this trouble on Ngatiporou, Pita Tamaturi, who brought the 
 Hau Hau religion amongst us." Biggs shot the man. The 
 place was no longer tenable, and in compliance with the 
 message from Fraser, received at this juncture, Biggs offered 
 safety to "all who were willing to give themselves and their 
 arms up. After about an hour's negotiating the Ngatiporou in 
 the pah consented to do so." 2 Ropata's influence persuaded 
 them. They strove to hoist a white flag in token of submission, 
 while their savage and desperate Taranaki comrades struggled 
 to prevent them. Ropata called on his misguided Ngatiporou 
 fellow-tribesmen to come out, hapu by hapu, and they came, 
 surrendering their arms. The Taranaki fanatics, unable to 
 
 1 "The Maoris, bootless and trouserless, went up the cliff with tolerable 
 ease, but the Pukehas, encumbered by civilization, laboured behind " 
 (Lieutenant Gudgeon's ' Keminiscences '). Fraser reported that the cliff was 
 most precipitous, and that " great credit was due to Cornet Tuke and the 
 men who followed him." 
 
 2 Despatch from Biggs, llth October, 1865. ' New Zealand Government 
 Gazette,' 1865, p. 346.
 
 BISHOP WILLIAMS REBUKES KEREOPA. 319 
 
 arrest the surrender, and apprehending that their own fate 
 would be less tolerable than that of Ropata's people, scorned to 
 associate longer with the recreants who had broken through 
 their palisading for purposes of surrender. Defiantly, though 
 few in number, they burst through their ramparts in another 
 direction, and dashed down the precipitous cliff, three of them 
 being shot in the act. Before they fled one old man among 
 them said : " If we remain here longer our bodies -will soon 
 be the ashes of this pah." 1 Two of Ropata's men were killed 
 in the siege, and 12 of the enemy. The captured Ngatiporou 
 whom Ropata spared were 500 in number, three-fifths of them 
 being women and children. Hungahungataroa was taken in 
 October, and practically Hau Hauism was extinguished among 
 the Ngatiporou. Ropata had established his reputation amongst 
 his people as a general, dreadful in war, but not intemperate in 
 peace. To the submissive he was forbearing, and they could 
 dwell in safety. Leaving the runagates in scarceness, the 
 colonial forces were diverted to Poverty Bay, whither Kereopa 
 had proceeded after the murder of Volkner. The brave Bishop 
 Williams was told by his Maori friends that they would seek 
 out and expel the murderer or hand him over to the Govern- 
 ment. He doubted their power to withstand unaided the 
 prevailing tendency to the new cult, and in spite of their 
 remonstrances accompanied them. They found Kereopa at a 
 village where he had already seduced the inhabitants by his 
 wiles, and where the Bishop's friends, before their pastor's eyes, 
 yielded to the example of their countrymen. After friendly 
 reception of them Kereopa offered his hand to the Bishop, who 
 refused to take it. Being asked the reason, the Bishop replied : 
 " Because I see blood dripping from your fingers." The 
 murderer shrunk back " like a guilty thing : " but the Bishop 
 
 1 Lieutenant Gudgeon (in his ' Reminiscences of the War in New 
 Zealand') says of this man: "He was right in his judgment, for Biggs 
 and Ropata fully intended to sacrifice them all ; but they, now fully alive 
 to the fact, dashed out of the pah as desperate men will do, and sliding 
 over the precipitous cliff, most of them escaped" (p. 88). The above 
 narrative is drawn from Mr. Gudgeon's book, corrected or amplified by 
 the various reports of the officers concerned. If this assertion of Gudgeon 
 be true, Biggs did not intend to comply with the order to extend clemency 
 which he acknowledged (in his despatch) that he had received.
 
 320 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 could not sway his own people, and returned sorrowfully home. 
 It was reported that Kereopa afterwards suggested the murder 
 of the Bishop, but the tribe would not allow such a crime to be 
 committed. An old chief, Wi Haronga (who had been a 
 catechist), with a faithful band mounted guard nightly to pro- 
 tect his pastor. When the Bishop, powerless to prevent the 
 moral contagion, left the district in displeasure, the same 
 Haronga guarded his property. 
 
 In November, 1865, there had been a large number of 
 Hau Haus, or presumed enemies, gathered at Waerengaahika, a 
 pah situated not far from the abandoned residence of the Bishop. 
 Donald McLean called upon them to surrender their arms, 
 threatening that in case of refusal the dreaded Ropata and 
 Biggs and Fraser would, appear upon the scene. The Hau Hau 
 chief Bararuhi Rukapo scorned the proffered terms. The 
 forces arrived, and there was intermittent firing on both sides. 
 On Sunday morning a large number of the rebels approached 
 the English trenches with flags of truce. A volley was poured 
 upon them. Some rushed back to their pah. Some fell to the 
 ground and feigned death. More than 60 were left dead on the 
 field. After a few days the pah was taken. In it were found 
 63 dead Maoris and more than 70 wounded. 1 There had been 
 screaming of women and children while the firing subdued the 
 pah. One hundred and sixty stand of arms were captured- 
 Whether needed for self-defence or war, such a loss was fatal to 
 the losers in such a bloody time. Other small parties in the 
 vicinity were attacked successfully, and many of the Hau Hau 
 chiefs were killed. Major Fraser made a seizure which was to 
 cost New Zealand dear. In the allied ranks was Te Kooti, who 
 always asserted and of whom it was admitted that he had 
 fought for the English at Waerengaahika. Fraser suspected 
 that he had held communication with rebels. In a postscript 
 to his despatch announcing the fall of Waerengaahika he 
 
 1 An eye-witness recorded a daring act of Renata Tupara. After a 
 skirmish in which some Hau Haus fell, three of Major Eraser's men, while 
 reconnoitring, saw the bodies of Renata Tnpara and two others on the 
 ground. Hearing a noise, after they passed the bodies, they looked round 
 and saw him running away with two guns. He had risked his life to 
 secure them, and feigned death as the Europeans passed. Although fired 
 at, he escaped into the pah.
 
 TE KOOTI SEIZED ON SUSPICION. 321 
 
 laconically said : l " I have made just now a prisoner of a native 
 called Kooti on suspicion of being a spy." It was known that 
 the captive had a relative among the enemy. He was not 
 committed for trial; but having been thus arrested without 
 warrant was shipped off to the Chatham Islands by Mr. 
 Stafford's Government, without writ or authority of any kind ; 
 and the wrong done to him was to be written a few years later 
 in terrible characters of blood. No one seriously believed that he 
 was guilty of treachery at Waerengaahika. Lieutenant Gudgeon 
 in his ' Reminiscences ' of the war, says : " There does not appear 
 to have been much truth in the charge, for the men whom he was 
 accused of communicating with were a hundred miles off, never- 
 theless he was shipped away without trial, and, as many persons 
 assert, without cause except that he was a troublesome, daring 
 man ... it is certain that all the after atrocities committed by 
 him were dictated by a revengeful spirit against those who 
 caused his deportation." The reported firing upon the flag of 
 truce called for inquiry from the Ministry of the by no means 
 scrupulous Mr. Stafford, who became Premier in October, 1865. 
 In a despatch from Waerengaahika (21st November), describing 
 the capture of the pah, Fraser had said that the rebels ap- 
 proached in a large body with a flag of truce. " We, however, 
 providentially did not pay any attention to their flag, as no flag 
 of truce should be respected carried by such a large body of 
 armed men, and I ordered them to be fired on before they could 
 come up with us." Whether the Maoris at the last moment, 
 seeing the force arrayed against them, desired to close with 
 Donald McLean's proposals, or whether they were practising the 
 deceit attributed to them by Fraser, there is not evidence to 
 show. But Fraser and his comrades, when called upon (2nd 
 December) to explain why he paid no attention to a flag of 
 truce, defended themselves by statements which could only find 
 credence on the supposition that his original report was untrue. 
 They asserted that they did pay attention to the flag, and that 
 the order to fire was not given until a small red cross in the 
 corner showed that it was not a flag of truce. 2 Biggs wrote, 
 
 1 N. Z. P. P. 1864 ; A. No. 6. 
 
 2 Lieutenant Gudgeon, in his book on the war, without assigning reasons, 
 gives a third version at variance with Fraser's earlier and later statements. 
 
 VOL. II. Y
 
 322 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 that " even supposing it to have been a flag of truce, which it 
 was not, after the treachery which the Hau Haus had been guilty 
 of in wearing our badges, I consider that, accompanied as it was 
 by such a large number of armed men, you would have been 
 very much to blame had you allowed the fanatics to come any 
 nearer our position without firing upon them." 
 
 The Government spared no trouble in reducing the east coast 
 to the peace of death. In January, 1866, Major Fraser 
 accompanied the chiefs Kopu, Ihaka Whanga, Karauria, 
 Ropata, Hotene, and Paura Paura, who led 520 men from the 
 Upper Wairoa to Waikaremoana. Biggs advised that the 
 force should march in two columns. Ropata contended that in 
 such a rough country the difficulty of making a simultaneous 
 attack with two forces marching by different roads made the 
 plan of Biggs unwise. Ropata's counsel prevailed. The advance- 
 guard encountered an ambuscade. Ropata scaled a hill and 
 stormed the enemy's line-pits on the right; Ihaka Whanga 
 though wounded in several places cheered his men in the gorge ; 
 Kopu attacked rifle-pits on the enemy's left, and the Hau Haus 
 were driven headlong, chased by a picked body fewer by far 
 than the fliers. Fraser drew " particular attention to the 
 bravery of Ihaka Whanga, and the skill with which Kopu and 
 Ropata outflanked, routed, and followed up the enemy." The 
 Hau Haus fled past Onepoto at the Waikaremoana lake, and 
 that stronghold fell into possession of the conquerors. A 
 council of war was held on the following day, at which the 
 chiefs decided to shoot four prisoners, three for " having come 
 from other places to fight the Government," a fourth for "having 
 previously fought against it at Tauranga." Major Fraser reported 
 the fact as if such a finding and immediate sentence called 
 for no comment. Lieutenant Gudgeon in his ' Reminiscences ' 
 avers, that one of the prisoners was a chief of high rank ; that 
 Fraser told Ropata " the chief ought to be shot " ; that Ropata 
 said, " Shoot him " : that Fraser did not act upon his own advice ; 
 and that, " some hours after, finding Tamaionarangi still alive, 
 
 Fraser mistook the character of the flags, and "called out to the men not to 
 fire upon flasks of truce. Luckily Biggs was present ; he knew they were 
 fighting flags, and before the mistake could lead to serious consequences, 
 ordered the men to fire."
 
 SERVICES OF THE ARAWA. 323 
 
 Ropata said : ' You all seem afraid to shoot this man, but I am 
 not ' ; so saying ... he shot him." Thus was war conducted in 
 the name of the Queen of England. No time was lost in 
 confiscating nearly half a million of acres at Opotiki. A word 
 must be said as to the reward which the Government gave to 
 some of their Maori allies. The Arawa had ever been staunch. 
 Had Mr. Weld remained in office their gallantry would perhaps 
 have been more suitably acknowledged. It is painful to find 
 Poihipi Tukeraingi and others petitioning for justice in 1866. 
 " We paid no heed to the fact that it was the time of putting 
 seed into the ground. We thought not of our wives and 
 children, but only that the Pakehas were to be our parents. . . . 
 We worked on till the work was ended. . . . Now we have given 
 up those wicked men into your hands ; not one escaped from us ; 
 neither did you give us any Pakehas to assist us. The only 
 thing you did was to supply one half of the food, I myself 
 finding the greater portion. Eighty days did we stand up to 
 fight. We did not make a backward movement. The Native 
 Minister came to Maketu. He expressed in words his recogni- 
 tion of our services, but it occurs to our minds that thanks 
 expressed in words only will not keep us alive. That Minister 
 then pleaded that the Government was poor, and told us of a 
 sum of 1500. We were much troubled because the amount 
 was so small, and we wept for our wives and children. . . . Look 
 also upon the fatigue we endured, and our having plunged into 
 the midst of death in scorn of consequences. Suppose it had 
 been Europeans instead of Maoris, would they have been satisfied 
 with this pay, 2 5s. per man for three months ? . . . Look 
 upon the money spent by us in this work as compared with the 
 army which you landed at Opotiki, to capture Kereopa and 
 Patara, and which did not accomplish its purpose. Look at the 
 cost of that army. Was it not 40,000 ? To us simple-minded 
 persons it appears that the Government is not poor, inasmuch as 
 it can afford to throw money away upon work which fails in 
 its objects." These allegations could not be contradicted. 
 Returns showed that in 1864, 1865, and 1866, the Arawa had 
 received about 3000 in rations, 250 as pensions to widows of 
 those who had fallen in battle, and 2600 in money ; the last 
 award being 1500, in May, 1866, against the insufficiency of 
 
 Y 2
 
 324 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 which they remonstrated. The Native Minister who re- 
 commended it was Colonel Russell. Mr. J. C. Richmond 
 informed the committee to whom the petition was referred that 
 the services of the tribe had been " emphatically acknowledged 
 by the two last Ministers," and that though Colonel Russell 
 gave no distinct promise, he "hinted" in May, 1866, at Maketu, 
 that if the tribe would subscribe for schools and roads the 
 Government might supplement their gifts by grants of like 
 amount. The committee recommended the adoption of this 
 suggestion, and their report was ordered to be printed for the 
 use of members of the House. The sympathy of Mr. Stafford's 
 Ministry went no farther, nor did any member suggest in either 
 House that the Arawa should be fed by further words. The 
 Legislators were busy at the time with a Customs Bill, Land 
 Bills, a Superintendents' Deputy Bill ; and, as confiscation had 
 not been sweeping enough, there were amendments required 
 in the Native Reserves Act, although the Native Minister was 
 told in April, 1866, that the session of 1865 had demonstrated 
 the enormous facility with which the Maori reserves could by 
 parliamentary manoeuvres be translated into English. The 
 process must be described. 
 
 The manner in which the General Government and the Otago- 
 Provincial Government conspired to defraud the Maoris of their 
 reserve at Prince's Street in Dunedin ; the aid afforded by Mr. 
 Stafford in procuring the Governor's signature, and the obstinacy 
 with which the crime was adhered to after exposure, are too 
 significant to be passed over. The early purchases in the 
 Middle Island (1844) from the natives by the Government, 
 through the agency of Captain Symonds ; Mr. Kemp's deed of 
 purchase of the Otago block ; and Mr. Mantell's subsequent 
 employment as Commissioner for acquiring lands in the Middle 
 Island, must be borne in mind. Between 1848 and 1856 Mr. 
 Mantell acquired about 30,000,000 acres for about 5,000 plus 
 certain promises, which were accepted by the Maoris on the 
 strength of his word, and which the colonists with a few noble 
 exceptions have deliberately and pertinaciously broken. In 
 1852 he urged that a small reserve should be made for the con- 
 venience of natives visiting Dunedin. Governor Grey consented, 
 and what Mr. Mantell called " the only suitable piece of land
 
 MAORI RESERVE AT DUNEDIN. 325 
 
 now vacant," was formally reserved by the Governor, 1 at the east 
 side of Prince's Street in Dunedin. It contained three acres. 
 Mr. Mantell was in London in 1856 before it was known that 
 special danger impended over the reserve, but not before his 
 indignation had been roused by the oft-repeated repudiation of 
 promises made by himself and other representatives of the 
 Government. Mr. Labouchere, the Secretary of State, refused to 
 see him on the subject. The correspondence which ensued was 
 lengthy. Mr. Labouchere rejected a suggestion to invite Mr. 
 Justice Martin's aid with regard to the questions raised by Mr. 
 Mantell ; who replied that by reference of them to the Governor, 
 who " not incorrectly denned his position as that of a cypher, 
 the Imperial Government practically repudiates the obligations 
 which I had thought it in honour bound to fulfil. I have now 
 only to hope that the General Assembly may take a more 
 enlightened and humane view of the subject." On the 18th 
 August, 1856, he told Mr. Labouchere : "As you have refused 
 to entertain the claims of the Ngaitahu natives to those benefits 
 which were promised to them on the cession of their lands to the 
 Crown, and it is therefore very doubtful whether those claims 
 will be satisfied, I cannot while such doubt exists continue to 
 hold office in the Department." He cast away the offices he held, 
 as he could " approve neither of the principles upon which the 
 acquisition of native lands " was " conducted, nor of the policy 
 of the Local Government toward the natives in either island." 
 The correspondence was referred to Governor Browne ; and 
 Donald McLean, then Native Secretary, furnished a commentary 
 which can only be accounted for on the plea that his position 
 rendered necessary a proficiency in those arts of Sir Pertinax 
 MacSycophant which did not commend themselves to Mr. 
 Mantell. The Governor had, in the opinion of McLean, done 
 much at " great personal inconvenience ; " " with the exception 
 of the education of the young, for which purpose there are no 
 funds at your Excellency's disposal, I do not perceive that any 
 neglect has been evinced towards the natives referred to by Mr. 
 
 1 Letter from Colonial Secretary Domett to Mr. Mantell, 6th June, 1853' 
 Most of the facts will be found in the ' Compendium of Official Documents 
 relative to Native Affairs in the South (or Middle) Island.' compiled by 
 Alexander Mackay, Native Commissioner. Wellington : 1873.
 
 326 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Mantell." After this reference to the position of Mr. Mantell, 
 whose voice will be heard again with regard to the native 
 reserve at Dunedin, the proceedings there may now be narrated. 
 After the ominous act of Governor Browne at Waitara, in 1859, 
 we find two of his advisers, Stafford and Richmond, at Dunedin, 
 arranging preliminaries with the Superintendent of Otago, Cap- 
 tain Cargill. The Governor was with them. The way had 
 been paved for them by a convenient report from a Commis- 
 sioner of Crown Lands, who suggested that the previous Governor 
 exceeded his powers in making the reserve. The Provincial 
 Government had already encroached on the reserve by forming 
 immigration barracks. But it was deemed convenient to re- 
 move to another site the attention of any natives who could 
 claim the use of their reserve when visiting Dunedin. Cargill 
 allowed accommodation to be made for them on land held in 
 trust as a site for public buildings. When sufficient time was 
 supposed to have elapsed a new Superintendent, Major J. L. C. 
 Richardson, took another step. The discovery of gold-fields gave 
 sudden value to commercial sites. Authority was obtained for 
 a Commissioner of Crown Lands, the convenient Cutten, to let 
 reserves, and in February, 1862, a portion of the coveted plot 
 was let in sixteen allotments for one year for an aggregate sum 
 of 2136 12s. 9d. The deposit money was placed by Cutten 
 " under a separate head from other Crown revenue, to await 
 instructions for its disposal." That such a sum should go 
 towards fulfilment of pledges made to Maoris was repellent 
 to Cutten as well as to the Otago Provincial Council. In 
 November, 1862, Cutten asked for leave to pay on demand of 
 the Town Board the cost of making a footpath (604 12s. Id.). 
 Precise as to the amount, he gave no hint that the reserve had 
 been even claimed on behalf of the natives. The authorities in 
 Wellington "suspecting" it to be "a native reserve," instructed 
 him to give further information and in the " mean time to refuse 
 payment of the rate." After a month he furnished a report, 
 admitting that Mr. Mantell had recommended the reserve, but 
 concealing the fact that the Governor had complied with the 
 recommendation, and urging that the rate should be paid. In 
 July, 1863, the Treasurer (in Domett's Ministry) authorized 
 the payment. The accumulating animal rents amounted to
 
 MAORI RESERVE AT DUNEDIN. 327 
 
 about 6000 in 1864, and under the administration of Whitaker 
 and Fox the Otago Provincial Government thought they could 
 depend upon support in an attempt to impeach the validity 
 of Sir G. Grey's reservation for the natives. Mr. Harris, 
 Superintendent of the province, plied Mr. F. Dillon Bell with 
 arguments which were conveyed to Mr. Fox. Mr. H. T. Clarke, 
 the resident magistrate at Invercargill, was authorized "to go 
 into the matter with the Provincial Government and Mr. 
 Cutten, and to report." He forthwith visited Dunedin and 
 waited upon Harris and Cutten, but " could not obtain any posi- 
 tive information on the subject." They had no desire for an 
 honest inquiry. " To draw from the provincial authorities the 
 point at issue," he wrote a letter, asking for their statement and 
 any documentary evidence in support of it, and " promised to 
 call for an answer in six weeks. I did so, but no answer was 
 ready, nor have I since received any reply." Mr. Clarke, for 
 whom one feels instinctive respect because conspirators shrunk 
 from him, examined the original (Kemp's) deed of 1848, and 
 found these words duly attested in English and Maori by English 
 officers (R. A. Oiliver, Commander H.M.S. 'Fly' being one) : 
 " Our places of residence and our cultivations are to be reserved 
 for us and our children after us, and it shall be for the Governor 
 hereafter to set apart some portion for us when the land is sur- 
 veyed by the surveyors." " This, I presume (he wrote to Mr. Fox 
 24th October, 1864), apart from any other power which the Gov- 
 ernor may possess, should set the question at rest." Mr. Clarke 
 was to learn the melancholy difference between what should 
 have been, and what was, the conduct of affairs in New Zealand. 
 The Whitaker-Fox Ministry left office in November, 1864, 
 and there was a prospect that Mr. Mantell, as Native Minister, 
 might stay the injustice on which the Otago authorities were 
 bent. He brought the subject under the notice of Sewell, the 
 Attorney-General. It appeared that it was not until Sir George 
 Grey had left the colony that doubts were suggested as to his 
 power to make the reserve. Mr. Weld, in March, 1865, thought 
 the matter ought to be dealt with, and the Otago Superin- 
 tendent (Harris), fearful lest justice should be done, intervened 
 with a plea that the reseive, if made at all, was made without 
 " the sanction of the local authorities at Dunedin." He averred
 
 328 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 that he was instituting a search " to discover some documentary 
 evidence" such as Mr. Clarke had asked for in 1864. It is 
 difficult to believe that he thought he was telling the truth 
 when he wrote that he was not " fortunate enough to see Mr. 
 Clarke" on his second visit, that he could discover no letter 
 from him in the office, and that he " concluded that Mr. Clarke 
 was satisfied that the objections verbally urged by (Harris) were 
 sufficient to deter the Government from taking further steps " 
 for (what Harris called) " alienation of the public reserve in 
 question." Major Richardson (Postmaster-General in Weld's 
 Ministry), was at Dunedin at the time. He was a representative 
 of the district, and Harris was warned by him that as the 
 " Government had arrived at the conclusion that no claim exists 
 on the part of the Provincial Government," it was evident " that 
 not a mail should be lost in making known " to Mr. Weld any 
 claim to be made. Thus stirred, and hearing with agony that 
 the Commissioner of Crown Lands, Cutten, had been ordered to 
 pay to the Sub-Treasurer of the General Government the rents 
 in hand (6031 18s. Sd.), Harris formulated his claim. Its 
 spurious nature may be gathered from the fact that he founded 
 it partly on intentions implied in letters written by officers of 
 the New Zealand Company in 1847 ; i.e. before the natives had 
 sold the Otago block to Mr. Kemp. The Provincial Council 
 supported him by a report which was equally irrelevant Some 
 of the original settlers would, they said, have insisted in 1848 
 on selecting the "very spot" if they had not trusted that it 
 would be used for " public purposes." l Mr. Richardson in June 
 did battle for his covetous constituents. He regretted (June, 
 1865) that Mr. Mantell had, in the memorandum put before 
 Sewell, recorded that in 1861 it had been urged that the reserves 
 at Port Chalmers and Dunedin were " too valuable for the natives." 
 Such grounds would be " evidently most unfair." He did not 
 know whether there was " any documentary evi< ience to show 
 that such a plea was ever seriously urged." Richardson only 
 desired " a fair hearing " for the province. Mr. Mantell drew 
 
 1 The pliant Cntten, in his report of 1858, burlesqued the settlers' claims. 
 He insinuated that they were anterior to those of the Maoris. The Governor 
 could not (he thought) reserve land for natives which had " been already 
 set apart '' by the Otago Association 1 1 !
 
 MAORI RESERVE AT DUNEDIN. 329 
 
 up a minute on the case. No unbiassed mind could fail to 
 agree with it. The absurdity of impugning the Governor's power 
 to make the reserve was brought into bold relief by proof that 
 at the date of the reserve both the Otago Association and the 
 New Zealand Company were defunct, and on the Crown had 
 devolved any control which might previously have been vested 
 in them. Mr. Mantell relieved Richardson's mind by admitting 
 that he knew of no documentary evidence of the plea that the 
 land was " too valuable for the natives." But Richardson had 
 urged it to Mantell in a conference, though Cutten " immedi- 
 ately protested against it. For me, my surprise at such an 
 argument from such a source deprived me for the moment of 
 the power of replying. While I willingly acquit my honourable 
 colleague of having the least desire now to advance such a plea, 
 I cannot believe with him that it is one which would find 
 no advocates in Dunedin, or indeed any other town in New 
 Zealand." The Attorney-General gave his opinion on the 29th 
 June. It was clear. The land had been duly reserved for the 
 natives, and there was no " ground upon which either the Pro- 
 vincial Government of Otago, or any municipal body " in Dunedin, 
 or any private individual, could impugn the reserve. The rights 
 of the New Zealand Company had devolved on the Crown by 
 surrender of their charter in 185.). "The right of the General 
 Assembly had not come into existence under the Constitution 
 Act" when the Governor, armed with all the "rights and powers 
 vested in the Crown or the company, amongst others the power 
 of setting apart reserves," exercised them in making the reserve 
 at Prince's Street. The company had done nothing to bind 
 even its own discretion as to the land when the charter was 
 surrendered ; the province of Otago was not even in existence 
 when the reserve was made, the validity of which " cannot now 
 be impugned " on behalf of the province, the dead Otago 
 Association, any " aggregate body of settlers, or any individual 
 purchaser." Mr. Se well "under-rated the rapacity of the men of 
 Otago. The land was indeed, in the eyes of Richardson and his 
 accomplices, " too valuable for the natives." Governor Browne's 
 verdict that, recte aut quolUtet modo, some colonists would seize 
 on Maori lands was to be glaringly exemplified. The Otago 
 Provincial Council requested that no Crown grant might be
 
 330 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 issued till they had " had an opportunity of appealing to the 
 House of Representatives." The Assembly met on the 26th July. 
 On the 1st August a Select Commitee was appointed. Mr. Rey- 
 nolds from Otago was chairman. Mr. Stafford was a member. 
 On the 25th August, 1865, they reported that "after careful 
 consideration " as to the equity of the case, they had " arrived 
 at the conclusion that the land was wrongfully set aside for 
 the use of the natives," and that a Crown grant ought to be 
 " issued in favour of the municipality of Dunedin." The report 
 was unanimously adopted in the committee, but a like disgrace 
 did not befall the House. Mr. Mantell moved that as the land 
 was claimed as a native reserve the claim should be decided 
 upon by the Supreme Court, and the Government should facili- 
 tate the trial. Such a dispute submitted to such an assembly 
 could find but one solution. Mr. Mantell was defeated by 29 
 votes against 17. With bitter irony Mr. Mantell (1866) wrote 
 that, though he was willing to believe the proceedings perfectly 
 parliamentary, it forewarned all who took an interest in Maori 
 rights that "the time might not be far distant when by pre- 
 cisely similar and equally parliamentary action there may remain 
 in the whole Middle Island, and in any part of the Northern 
 Island in which our perceptions of justice are not strengthened 
 by our fears, not one acre of Maori land or Maori reserve which 
 shall not have been appropriated to provincial uses." 
 
 Justice may halt, but it is grateful to reflect that she was not 
 without a witness to denounce at the time the flagrant contempt 
 for right which a majority of the House was so ready to display. 
 Mr. Weld deserves perhaps peculiar honour. He was warned 
 that if he would not sanction robbery, he would lose certain 
 supporters. The ignoble threat was despised. Those who made 
 it were more firm in falsehood than they had been in faith, and 
 Mr. Vogel was able as an ardent advocate of provincialism to 
 move a resolution about the appropriation of a Stamp Tax which 
 caused the deserted Weld to resign. By retributive justice upon 
 the deserters, the advocates of provincial privileges were in their 
 turn abandoned by Vogel. Mr. Weld retired, and Stafford 
 became Premier on the 16th October. The parliamentary session 
 ended a fortnight afterwards, and the way was clear for the 
 Dunedin intriguers. Stafford, who had supported them openly
 
 MAORI RESERVE AT DUNEDIN. 331 
 
 would not withhold secret aid. The pliant Commissioner of 
 Crown Lands applied on the 4th November for a grant of the 
 reserve to the Superintendent of Otago. He was careful not to 
 describe it. He said it was needed for " public utility." The 
 schedule containing it mentioned it as " a piece of land situate 
 in Prince's Street, Dunedin." The description of another grant, 
 applied for in the same schedule, specified the number of the 
 block and of each section thereof, with the purpose in view a 
 " public hospital." Mr. Stafford, who knew the ground well, and 
 had with Mr. Richmond examined it in 1859, affected not to 
 observe that the application related to the reserve reported on 
 by the Seiect Committee on which he had served. He suggested 
 (21st November) to the Superintendent of Otago, Thomas Dick, 
 that "the object of the trust" should be more particularly 
 specified. Dick, with equal affectation, requested that the land 
 should be granted " as a reserve for wharves and quays." But 
 the plot was to be effected by stratagem. It might be that Sir 
 George Grey would have qualms of conscience if proved to have 
 knowingly signed the grant against the issue of which Mantell, 
 Fitzgerald, Weld, Sewell, and Fitzherbert had openly protested. 
 It was made to appear that the grant was inadvertently signed 
 by the Governor on the llth January, I860. As the circum- 
 stances were investigated by the Native Affairs Committee in 
 1877 on the petition of Taiaroa, a Maori representative, two 
 witnesses Sir George Grey and Mr. Stafford are perhaps en- 
 titled to explain in their own words the part they took in issuing 
 the grant. Both attributed the culmination of the long conspiracy 
 to inadvertence. Sir George Grey said : " Discussions had taken 
 place between myself and law officers, and I had resolved that 
 I ought not to sign the grant until the matter had been further 
 discussed. A number of grants were presented ... I believed 
 that one of them . . . was the grant for this land, but I could 
 not positively identify it. (The vagueness of the schedule will 
 be remembered) ; and as the Colonial Secretary (Stafford), who 
 presented the grants to me, was perfectly satisfied that it was 
 not the grant for this reserve, I signed it. Subsequently it 
 turned out that the grant had been signed. It was done under 
 a mistake ... It was discovered the same day that the grant 
 had been signed improperly, and the Government tried to recover
 
 332 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 possession of the grant, but it was found that the grant had been 
 sent off that day in a vessel going to Otago, and in that way the 
 land passed . . . Mr. Stafford found out that the mistake arose 
 from the negligence of a clerk in the Crown Lands Office. . . . 
 Mr. Domett, then Commissioner of Crown Lands, whom I sent 
 for, told me how the error had occurred." Mr. Stafford testified : 
 " As far as I can recollect, I think it probable that neither the 
 Governor nor myself were aware when that particular grant was 
 signed. . . I think it is very probable that this grant may have 
 come up inadvertently with a number of others, and in the same 
 way may have been sent on by me to the Governor for his signa- 
 ture. I have used the word ' inadvertently ' because I have some 
 recollection I will not be quite positive l about it that I had 
 given a special instruction that that grant should not be sent on 
 for signature without my attention being called to the fact. . . . 
 I believe, although I will not be absolutely positive at this length 
 of time, that I gave (such) instructions. ... I have been 
 informed that Sir George Grey, who was then Governor, has 
 stated that he put some questions to me with regard to this 
 grant. I have no recollection (that he) ever put questions to me 
 about any grant whatever at any time. But if Sir George Grey 
 says he is perfectly certain he did put such questions to me, I am 
 not at this length of time prepared to say that he did not, but 
 I have certainly no recollection of (his) having at any time 
 questioned me as to a grant, and I think if such an occurrence 
 had taken place I should have recollected it. . . ." 
 
 The doctrine of probabilities coined by Mr. Stafford in 1877 
 needs not the wit of Pascal to expose it. The Governor had 
 written in 1867 that "his responsible advisers" advised him to 
 sign the Crown grant. Mr. Stafford might perhaps refuse to 
 accept the Governor's evidence. But his own words convict him. 
 If he had been honest, in the first instance, he would have 
 ordered, not that the " grant should not be sent on for signature 
 without (his) attention being called to the fact," but that it 
 should not be sent at all, or even be prepared. If he and his 
 colleagues had been honest, their first step after what they chose 
 
 1 Positive assertion on this* point would have somewhat jarred with the 
 recollection of Stafford's connivance in supporting the grant in the House 
 shortly before he presented it for signature.
 
 MAORI RESERVE AT DUNEDIN. 333 
 
 to call " inadvertence," would have been to assist the Governor 
 in the immediate revocation of the grant. The Governor himself 
 did not display the vigour shown by Sir W. Denison in Sydney 
 when his Minister declined to put the seal to a grant of which 
 the issue was demanded by law. Sir W. Denison said that if 
 his adviser would not affix the seal he (Sir W. Denison) would 
 do so ; and acted accordingly. It satisfied the New Zealand 
 authorities to commit a wrong, to attribute it to the blunder of 
 a clerk, 1 and to make no attempt to redress it. The conspirators 
 at Otago affected no concealment, and made no excuses. Their 
 next step was calculated to undeceive any one who professed to 
 have been misled before. On the 29th January, the Dunedin 
 town-clerk applied for "certain moneys in the hands of the 
 General Government on the account of the reserve lately known 
 as the Maori Reserve, Prince's Street, South Dunedin." There 
 was no unwillingness to define the land as the Maori reserve 
 after it had been purloined. Mr. Stafford did not protest that 
 the grant had been inadvertently made, but thought there was 
 " no power to transfer " the accrued rents, and would introduce a 
 Bill in the " next session for determining doubts as to the appro- 
 priation of the land and the funds arising out of it." A general 
 election was held in March, and Cargill, Macandrew, Dick, 
 Reynolds, and Richardson, were again returned, and Stafford 
 was loth to offend them. Richardson became his colleague 
 in August, 1866. The chief Taiaroa, hearing of the fraudulent 
 grant, wrote (5th August) to the Governor : " It was wrong to 
 
 1 As these pretences may appear incredible in England unless vouched 
 by a responsible Minister, it may be well to quote what Mr. J. C. Rich- 
 mond (a colleague of Stafford) wrote in October, 1867 : "The Government 
 proposed an amicable suit. . . The Provincial Council never acquiesced. . . 
 Mr. Stafford was advised that to bring the matter into Court a grant must 
 issue to one party or the other, and had intended to recommend a grant, 
 but in the mean time, inadvertently as regards his Excellency and the 
 Colonial Secretary, a grant which had been prepared on the authority of 
 the resolution of the House of Representatives was presented for signature 
 and issued." Mr. Richmond exempts others from the excuse he pleads for 
 Stafford. Moreover, though Stafford's offer to try the matter before the 
 Court was made nine mouths after he had issued the grant, Richmond's 
 memorandum implies that the offer preceded the grant. Shortly after 
 these transactions the Governor told the Secretary of State that the debates, 
 legislation, and Acts of the Assembly would be " admitted to be creditable 
 to their humanity." If so it was of low type.
 
 334 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 take away our land without cause." After long delay Mr. 
 Stafford (16th October) told the Superintendent of Otago that 
 the Government were "of opinion that the question of the 
 validity of the grant should be submitted to a proper judicial 
 tribunal." He proposed to bring the matter before the Supreme 
 Court by Writ of Intrusion. Mr. Dick replied : " I decline to 
 try the validity of the Crown giant by the course proposed, on 
 the ground that the Provincial Government cannot recognize any 
 Maori right or title to the reserve in question, which point, it 
 it was understood, had already been definitely decided by the 
 General Assembly." 
 
 In 1866 Stafford introduced a Bill "to declare the Superin- 
 tendent of Otago entitled to receive" the rents held by the 
 Government. The Lower House passed it without amendment. 
 In the Upper House it was " ordered to be read a second time 
 that day six months." The foiled conspirators renewed their 
 efforts in 1867. The Parliament had no sooner assembled in 
 July, than Harris, Reynolds, Vogel, and Macandrew (Superin- 
 tendent of Otago as well as a representative), with twelve other 
 legislators, in a formal document urged Stafford to pay immedi- 
 ately without aid of law the coveted rents. They made no 
 reference to the rejected Bill of 1866, but pleaded that great 
 injustice would be done to the Dunedin municipality if the 
 accrued rents which it had calculated upon should be retained 
 for the defrauded Maoris. The elastic Stafford consented " that 
 the payment requested should be made," and would " consider 
 in what manner this can be legally effected." It was found that, 
 as the reserve was vested in the Superintendent of the province, 
 he (Macandrew) "only, and not the Corporation of Dunedin, 
 could be recognized as the recipient of the rents." Stafford 
 was advised that, as proceedings were threatened in order to 
 obtain " a declaration of the invalidity and cancellation of the 
 Crown grant," he would not be justified in handing over the 
 accrued rents without an undertaking on behalf of the province, 
 that in the event of the grant being declared invalid in a court 
 or by the legislature, or in the event of the /right of other persons 
 to the rents being established, "the moneys paid over will be 
 refunded to the Colonial Treasurer." On receipt of such an 
 undertaking Stafford would part with the money. Macandrew,
 
 MAORI RESERVE AT DUNEDIX. 335 
 
 on the 25th July, refused to contract such an obligation ; and on 
 the 30th, Mr. F. Dillon Bell placed his services at the disposal 
 of the conspirators, and introduced a similar Bill to that of 1866. 
 Meanwhile the rightful owners were not silent. John Topi 
 Patuki, on his "own behalf, and that of the Ngaitahu and 
 Ngatiinamoe tribes," prayed the Governor (15th July, 1867) to 
 permit and enable them to ascertain before the Courts " whether 
 or not a remedy can be found for a great wrong and infringement 
 of our rights which we conceive to have been committed." They 
 had received no warning of an intention to take away the 
 reserve ; they believed the grant to the Superintendent " illegal 
 and void," the land having been reserved for the tribes, and 
 Patuki prayed for leave to institute proceedings by scire facias, 
 in the name of the Crown or otherwise, for obtaining the repeal 
 of the grant. His solicitor was informed on the 18th July that 
 the Governor would allow the "use of the name of the Crown" 
 in the proceedings, but expressed no opinion as to the validity 
 of the grant. It is almost needless to say that the upright 
 Mantell was consulted. On the 25th July, Mr. J. C. Richmond, 
 "understanding that he had consented to assist the natives," 
 informed him that a sum not exceeding 200 would be at their 
 disposal in prosecuting the suit. On being applied to, the 
 Attorney-General (Prendergast) returned the writ with the 
 endorsement (6th August), " upon the usual bond for 500, let 
 the writ issue." Mr. Mantell wrote (7th August) to Mr. J. C. 
 Richmond, that, as the Government held the accrued rents, 
 exceeding 6000, he had no hesitation in asking him to indicate 
 how the Attorney-General's demand was to be acceded to. On 
 the 19th August, Richmond informed Mantell that the "Govern- 
 ment having at or near the time of my promise (of pecuniary 
 aid), entered into an arrangement altogether inconsistent there- 
 with, have considered it proper to withdraw the guarantee in 
 question," admitting at the same time responsibility for costs 
 incurred to date. The " arrangement " proved to be Stafford's 
 obedience to pressure. He agreed to pay the accrued rents to 
 Macandrew without prejudice to any rights of the natives. The 
 motive of the arrangement was to ensure that no part of the 
 rents should be available for the Maoris. They were to be 
 defrauded of the income as they had been defrauded of the
 
 336 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 estate. On the day on which Richmond revoked his promise, 
 Mantell sent to the Governor a petition from Patuki to the 
 Queen. It referred to the honourable engagements entered into 
 by Her Majesty in the treaty of Waitangi, and prayed that any 
 Bill, deciding by legislation questions which ought to be tried 
 judicially, might be disallowed. When the Maoris parted with 
 their lands, they were not " accustomed to scrutinize narrowly 
 deeds" submitted to them for signature, but were "ready to 
 regard as equally sacred and binding" assurances made to them 
 in Her Majesty's name by one of her officers. The petition set 
 out the facts of the case, and the objections to the Bill then 
 before the New Zealand Parliament, wherein the Maoris were 
 unrepresented. Similar petitions were laid before both Houses 
 of the Assembly. Mr. Mantell was justly indignant. Misled by 
 Richmond's recanted promise he had incurred expenses. Patuki 
 had journeyed to the south, and had tendered the bond for 500 
 demanded by the Attorney-General. " Whether " (Mr. Mantell 
 bitterly said) " that unfortunate chief can withdraw this guarantee 
 with the facility which you appear to believe attends a similar 
 but far less justifiable act on the part of the Government, the 
 Attorney-General can inform you. ... In this dilemma the 
 Government proposes now to assume a position of absolute 
 passiveness, withholding from suitors of its own creation enough 
 of their own money to pay their expenses. ... Of the choice thus 
 made by the Government there is, I fear, but one opinion open 
 to any man who cares for the reputation of the colony and his 
 own honour." Richmond, 26th August, replied that Mantell' s 
 injurious remarks would require notice when " a more temperate 
 view " could be taken, and that the Bill before Parliament had 
 been amended so as to make it clear that it did not confirm the 
 Crown grant or prejudice suitors. Expenses authorized by Mr. 
 Mantell before Richmond revoked his promise would be paid. 
 The Bill brought in by Mr. F. Dillon Bell, on the 30th July, 
 " declared that the Superintendent of the province of Otago, and 
 his successors, are entitled to the said sum of 6031 18s. 9d." 
 
 On the 6th August, on Mr. Bell's motion, his Bill was laid 
 aside, because "the Government had taken the matter up." 
 On the 7th, Stafford introduced a similar Bill, but said that it 
 had no other object than to enable the Treasurer to pay certain
 
 MAORI RESERVE AT DUNEDIN. 337 
 
 moneys to Macandrew, in trust for certain purposes. On the 
 23rd August, the Petitions Committee recommended (on Patuki's 
 petition) that a clause should be inserted in the Bill to the 
 effect that nothing contained in it should " prejudice the claim 
 and title of the petitioner and his tribe." On the same day 
 Stafford agreed to omit from his Bill the words, " it is hereby 
 declared that the Superintendent of the province of Otago and 
 his successors are entitled to the said sum of 6031 18s. 9d." 
 It was trusted that if Macandrew could lay hands on the money, 
 the Maoris would never recover it. The Bill was read a third 
 time on the 10th September, and sent on the 12th to the 
 Council, in which Mr. Mantell had a seat. There would seem 
 to be an atmosphere in an Upper House which renders it more 
 trustworthy when honour is involved than the more eager and 
 unscrupulous Chamber, chosen, not so much because the general 
 characters of its members command respect, as because at the 
 period of election they profess concurrence with the clamour of 
 the hour. Drawn from the same elements as the representatives, 
 but by a different process, the Council dealt differently with 
 Patuki's petition that the Bill might not be passed, but " that 
 the whole question be dealt with by a judicial tribunal." The 
 petition was referred to the Committee on Public Petitions. On 
 the day on which the Bill reached the Council the Committee 
 reported on the petition, that, " inasmuch as the question referred 
 to them . . . appears to be one which can only be equitably and 
 satisfactorily decided by the Supreme Court, in which it is shown 
 that an action relating to it is already pending, the prayer of the 
 petitioner be acceded to, and that no measure in any way affect- 
 ing the question should be entertained until such decision has 
 been given." The Council read the Bill a first time on the 
 12th September, but on the 17th, on the motion of Mr. 
 Menzies, adopted without a division the report of the Com- 
 mittee on Patuki's petition. The Bill lapsed. But while 
 the Houses were still in session, Stafford (24th September) 
 audaciously paid the accrued rents to Macandrew, who, to secure 
 them, consented on the 12th September to give the guarantee 
 which he had previously refused. So hurriedly was the misap- 
 propriation effected, that in the next session a Select Committee 
 of the Lower House reported that it was irregular, and that under 
 
 VOL. II. Z
 
 338 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 all the circumstances, " special reference being had to the loss 
 of the Bill which was introduced for the purpose of authorizing 
 the payment, the money ought not to have been paid." 
 
 The later arts practised by New Zealand public men in 
 consummating the fraud by which the Maoris were robbed of 
 their reserve at Dunedin, concern the time when the scire 
 facias writ was issued and argued, and an appeal to the Privy 
 Council was made. Maori members had then taken their seats 
 in the Assembly, and Taiaroa, who represented the southern 
 Maori district, exercised some influence, though be could not 
 altogether thwart the designs of Macandrew and his abettors. 
 Some minor portions of the conspiracy which Stafford's Govern- 
 ment aided in 1867 may be briefly alluded to. While appre- 
 hensive that the loss of the Bill of 1867 might prevent his 
 acquisition of the accrued rents, Macandrew trafficked with the 
 Government to induce the Maoris through their solicitor to 
 accept another piece of land instead of their own, and promised 
 to spend 1000 in enclosing and building on it a hostelry. 
 
 The Ministry kept back Patuki's petition (of 17th August) to 
 the Queen until October, when they had paid the rents to 
 Macandrew. Sir George Grey sent it on the 8th October, with 
 an explanation from Mr. J. C. Richmond, who said it had " been 
 held back in the hope that an arrangement of an equitable kind 
 might be effected by the two claimants the province and the 
 Ngaitahu tribe." Mr. Richmond said that the fraudulent grant 
 to the province was "inadvertently as regarded his Excellency 
 and the Colonial Secretary presented for signature and issued." 
 The Governor told the Secretary of State that his " responsible 
 advisers inadvertently advised" the signing, which he did "in 
 ignorance of what (he) was doing." 1 Another meanness was 
 perpetrated. A memorandum written by Mr. J. C. Richmond 
 on the 26th October, 1867, informs us that "his Excellency 
 stated that he thought the expenses of a suit for testing the 
 validity of the grant should be borne out of the accrued rents of 
 the reserve. That fund is no longer in the Treasury." But 
 
 1 The Governor added that he had "sincerely desired that the case 
 should have been compromised in a generous spirit towards the natives in 
 the Middle Island, who parted with large tracts of land to this Government 
 for an almost nominal consideration."
 
 MAORI RESERVE AT DUNEDIN. 339 
 
 the Ministers would not object to his Excellency's taking money 
 for the suit from "other rents of native reserves;" and the 
 Governor accordingly directed the payment of 400 to be ad- 
 vanced out of "moneys arising from native reserves" in which 
 the Ngaitahu tribe was interested. Thus the tribe were first 
 robbed of their reserve and mulcted of other property in their 
 effort to obtain justice. It was ordered in the Executive 
 Council that the moneys advanced should "be repaid with 
 interest thereon as shall be hereafter directed." 
 
 The reader may desire to know what was the response of the 
 Secretary of State to the petition of Patuki. The Duke of 
 Buckingham (21st December, 1867) informed Governor Bowen 
 that it had " been laid before the Queen, but I have been un- 
 able to advise Her Majesty to take any steps in relation to it. 
 I observe, however, that the Bill to which he refers, and which 
 appears to have been intended to legalize the provisional use by 
 the Otago Government of 6000, is alleged to have been with- 
 drawn." If the Duke had observed the larger questions at 
 stake he kept silence about them. As far as he was concerned 
 the Queen's honour and the guaranteed rights of the Maoris 
 were remitted to the mercy of Macandrew. How it would be 
 exercised may be inferred from the fact that on one occasion 
 Macandrew being arrested for private debt while Superintend- 
 ent of the province, used his power as such Superintendent to 
 issue a proclamation, and declared his own house a gaol in order 
 to defeat the law. The only safeguard to which the Maoris 
 could look was the dread by their conspiring enemies of ex- 
 posure by the keen and capable Mantell. But past experience 
 had bitterly shown how difficult it was to wring from public 
 men in New Zealand any justice to Maoris, or to extort respect 
 for the plighted word of the Queen. 
 
 In the year following that in which Mr. J. C. Richmond 
 wrote that the " Ministers would not object " to the Governor's 
 abstraction of Maori money to enable the surreptitious grant to 
 Macandrew to be tested, a Native Lands Court was held in the 
 Middle Island, and a glance at its proceedings is needful. It 
 sat at Canterbury during that portion of Mr. Stafford's adminis- 
 tration which followed the junction of Mr. Hall with his old 
 
 opponent. Mr. Hall asked Mr. Mantell to attend as a witness, 
 
 z 2
 
 340 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 and he did so. In delivering judgment on one (the Rapaki) 
 case submitted to them, the Court said it " could not fail to be 
 struck with the remarkable reservation (in the Ngaitahu deed) 
 by the vendors of all their 'pahs, residences, cultivations, and 
 burial-places, which were to be marked off by surveys, and 
 remain their own property.' This provision has not, according 
 to the evidence, been effectually and finally carried out to the 
 present day, nor has any release been sought for by the Crown. 
 . . . The Court feels very strongly that it would be greatly to 
 the honour and advantage of the Crown that the stipulations 
 and reservations of these deeds of purchase should without 
 further delay be perfectly observed and provided for." One 
 claim (Kaitorete) comprised a strip of land (between Lake 
 Ellesmere and the sea at Bank's Peninsula) of from 12,000 to 
 15,000 acres, and the power of the Government was brought 
 to bear against the claimants, Heremaia Mautai and his friends. 
 Mr. Rolleston, under the style of Crown Agent, acted for the 
 Government, and had subordinate aid. Mr. Hall was present to 
 assist if higher power should be needed. The Chief Judge 
 Fenton sat with a Maori assessor, Pukuatua, an Arawa chief. 
 On the 28th April, 1868, Mr. Hall intervened ; and after dis- 
 cussion between himself and counsel on both sides the case was 
 adjourned, "in order to see whether any arrangement could be 
 made in the matter," l between the Government and the natives. 
 No agreement was arrived at, and to coerce Mr. Cowlishaw the 
 Maori counsel, Mr. Hall signed an "order of reference" of a 
 singular character under the Native Lands Acts 1865 and 1867. 
 The 83rd section of the Act of 1865 enacted that with regard 
 to agreements past or future made between Maoris and officers 
 treating for cession of lands, the Governor might refer the agree- 
 ments to the Court for determination, but it excluded until the 
 31st December, 1866, any outstanding agreement, "unless the 
 Governor shall otherwise direct." The Act of 1867 prolonged 
 the exclusion until the 31st December, 1868. Many months 
 would elapse before that exclusion would cease to operate, and 
 the Governor was not present to " direct otherwise." But few 
 
 1 'Compendium of Official Documents relative to Native Affairs in 
 the South Island.' Alexander Mackay, Native Commissioner. Vol. ii. 
 Nolson: 1872.
 
 NGAITAHU DEED EEFERENCE ORDER. 341 
 
 New Zealand statesmen regarded the law when Maori interests 
 were at stake. Mr. Hall, on the night of the 28th April, signed 
 an order referring the agreement of 1848, and wrote that he did 
 so "by command." Mr. Cowlishaw objected that the Govern- 
 ment could not thus interfere when the case seemed unfavour- 
 able to them. Mr. Williams for the Crown resented such an 
 imputation, but confessed that "after hearing Mr. Mantell's 
 evidence and that of the natives, the Crown were willing to 
 admit that the reserves intended to be made under the incom- 
 plete Ngaitahu deed had never been carried out. . . . When 
 it was found that the natives had a claim to more land than was 
 reserved for them the Crown wished to refer it to the Court, 
 to say what quantity of land should be reserved in addition' 
 and declare that the Ngaitahu deed should be completed by 
 a release from the natives." The Judge over-ruled Mr. Cow- 
 lishaw's objection to the arbitrary stoppage of a case in course 
 of trial. Mr. Fenton admitted that the Governor's "powers 
 were of a very wonderful kind," but the power " to make a case 
 an order of reference was trifling as compared to that given by 
 other clauses of the Act." Cowlishaw urged that an ex post 
 facto use of the power could not have been intended by the 
 Legislature, and proposed to put it in evidence that the Gov- 
 ernor had " never authorized Mr. Hall to refer the matter to the 
 Court." Williams retorted that if Cowlishaw persisted "the 
 Crown would be driven to take an extreme course." Mr. Hall 
 added to his signature " a member of the Executive Council of 
 the Colony of New Zealand"; and the Judge said that the 
 Court was " bound to presume that the Order of Reference was 
 duly authorized by the Governor ; the Governor's signature was 
 not necessary, and it was presumed that Mr. Hall acted on his 
 authority until the contrary was shown." l Under this strange 
 ruling the order was admitted, maugre Mr. Cowlishaw's objec- 
 tion, and the Judge said he would " proceed with the case with 
 increased powers." After such preliminaries the result was 
 almost visible. Evidence was, however, taken, but the Order of 
 
 1 It appears from a speech made by Tniaroa in Parliament (21st July, 
 1881), that Hall evaded examination. "Cowlishaw rose in his legal apparel 
 and pranced about the Court, but he fulled to find the Honourable John Hall 
 because that honourable gentleman had got on his horse and gone to his own 
 place fifty miles off." The Governor, Sir G. Bowen, was far away,uncousulted.
 
 342 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Reference was the weapon on which Mr. Williams relied. To 
 Mr. Cowlishaw's disparagement of the vague conveyance (in 
 Kemp's deed of 1848) of lands to William Wakefield "there 
 was nothing to show what had been sold, or the terms upon 
 which the land was sold," Mr. Williams retorted that such an 
 argument would concede " to the present claimants ... a share 
 in the whole of the Ngaitahu block." Judgment was reserved ; 
 but "the wonderful powers" which the Judge had recognized 
 seemed to ensure its tenor. When it was delivered (on the 
 5th May) the Judge, at the entreaty of the Native Assessor, 
 " hoped that the (triumphant) Government would give fisheries 
 to the natives wherever available." Mr. Rolleston asked " the 
 Court to mention the extent of land to be awarded," but 
 Fenton shrunk from the task. There was an adjournment, 
 with a view to ascertain what reserves the Government would 
 consent to include in the new deed to be extorted under order 
 of the Court, and on resumption of the sitting Mr. Rolleston 
 consented to inclusion of "eel-weirs and fisheries" in the 
 reserve, but stipulated that they should "not interfere with 
 the general settlement of the country" of which the Govern- 
 ment would remain the judge. The elaborate judgment 
 demands notice. The case was declared to be " of vast im- 
 portance, immediately concerning the title of the Crown to 
 nearly the whole of this and other provinces, and raises points 
 of a difficult and conflicting character. And the Court feels 
 that it is scarcely a fit tribunal for the determination of such 
 important legal principles, and such great constitutional ques- 
 tions." The Judge could scarcely impugn the good faith of the 
 Queen in entering into the treaty of Waitangi, although he 
 remarked, "the conditions laid down by Vattel and other writers 
 on international law were not fulfilled in it. As, however, it 
 constituted the foundation on which the English sovereignty 
 was built up, ... it must be accepted as a valid treaty forming 
 part of the law." After such an exordium it might have been 
 expected that the judgment would be built upon the acknow- 
 ledged foundation. But such a course would have jarred upon 
 many minds in New Zealand. The Judge thought it " neces- 
 sary to inquire what is the interpretation put by the Crown " on 
 the treaty, and he raked from the charter, sent by Lord John
 
 NATIVE LANDS COURT. CHRISTCHURCH. 343 
 
 Russell to Hobson in 1840, a phrase that the Letters Patent 
 should not affect the Maori rights to lands now actually occu- 
 pied or enjoyed by such natives." This "idea," . . . that the 
 Governor might grant all lands except those " actually occupied 
 by natives," led to an Instruction (5th December, 1840) to 
 survey " all the lands " in the colony. But while quoting that 
 phrase the Judge did not notice another in the same Instruc- 
 tion : " It is our further will and pleasure . . . that you do 
 especially take care to protect (the native inhabitants) in their 
 persons and in the free enjoyment of their possessions." This 
 omission was much ; but it was not so glaring as the absence of 
 all allusion to the reiterated pledges of every Governor of New 
 Zealand to maintain for the Maoris, in the words of the treaty, 
 " full, exclusive, and undisturbed possession of their lands and 
 estates, forests and fisheries, and other properties which they 
 may collectively and individually possess, so long as it is their 
 wish and desire to retain the same in their possession." It 
 would have been better for the Judge to recall the noble rebuke 
 administered by Lord Stanley to the New Zealand Company in 
 1843, than to construct a shadowy idea under which the treaty 
 might be eluded. But his mind seems to have been clouded. 
 
 The reader will remember the wiles of Lord Ho wick in the 
 Select Committee of the House of Commons in 1844; how he 
 strove to give effect to them by his Instructions in 1846 ; how 
 Sir W. Martin and Bishop Selwyn resisted him ; how Governors 
 Fitzroy and Grey were constrained to reiterate their assurances 
 that the Queen would honourably maintain the treaty, and how 
 Earl Grey himself was compelled to convey the same assurance 
 in the name of his Sovereign. It ought to have been impossible 
 to cite the nefarious and recalled Instructions of 1846 as cogent, 
 and yet the Judge cited them as a distinct indication of the 
 " view taken by the Imperial Government," though he admitted 
 that it was " objected to by the natives, and was never carried 
 into practice, and in fact could not have been in a peaceful 
 manner." Earl Grey would have limited Maori rights to the 
 land " actually occupied or used by means of labour expended 
 thereon," and the millions of acres not so occupied or used 
 which the Crown had purchased from the natives, practically 
 refuted the " idea " to which Mr. Fenton catachrestically referred
 
 344 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 in 1868. Dismissing the treaty he nevertheless found that 
 between 1846 and 1851 a "change took place in the interpret- 
 ation put by the English authorities on the territorial rights of 
 the aborigines : " but he did not state that the pretensions of 
 Earl Grey were never entitled to be called the views " of Eng- 
 lish authorities " ; that they differed from Lord Stanley's decision ; 
 that they were never adopted, but on the contrary were crushed 
 in Parliament by the eloquence and influence of Mr. Gladstone, 1 
 and others; and that Mr. Labouchere in introducing a Bill 
 which abandoned those pretensions promised that the treaty 
 should be " scrupulously and largely interpreted," which assur- 
 ance he hoped would satisfy Mr. Gladstone that there was no 
 intention on the part of the Colonial Office to " take any course 
 upon the question of waste lands in New Zealand inconsistent 
 with the rights guaranteed to the natives under the treaty of 
 Waitangi." Mr. Fenton confessed that in the Constitution Act 
 of 1852, passed when Lord Derby was Prime Minister, "the 
 unoccupied territory in the hands of the aborigines" was 
 " regarded as their distinct and admitted property." 
 
 Such being the case it might have been thought impossible 
 to deny Heremaia Mautai's claim to compensation if he could 
 prove that he had received none. For the convenience of the 
 colonists it had been the custom to enter into possession and com- 
 pensate owners afterwards, ever since the days when Mr. Spain 
 permitted the proceeding rather than eject the settlers whom 
 Colonel Wakefield had improperly located at Te Aro, in Wel- 
 lington. The process was not a just one. It .ignored the tribal 
 rights guaranteed by the Queen. Yet, though not altogether 
 laudable, it was a clumsy attempt to compensate men who had 
 been robbed. But Mautai was not supported by a powerful 
 tribe. The celonists were numerous and powerful in 1868. 
 They had been few and feeble in 1841. When Mautai declared 
 that he had never consented to the sale, was no party to the 
 contract, and had received none of its fruits, he was asked to 
 name his " hapu." When he declined to say more than that he 
 belonged to " all Ngaitahu " (Ngaitahu katoa), the fact that 
 
 1 "As far as England is concerned there is not a more strictly and 
 rigorously binding treaty in existence than that of Waitangi." Mr. Glad- 
 stone's speech.
 
 NATIVE LANDS COURT. CHRISTCHURCH. 345 
 
 " some of his immediate family " had received money was held 
 sufficient to disarm his claims. "The Court cannot recognize 
 individual ownership of native land. . . . The contrary doctrine 
 was endeavoured to be set up by the Government in the cele- 
 brated Waitara case, but all aboriginal New Zealand protested 
 against it. ... We cannot allow Heremaia to set up a doctrine 
 because it now suits his interest, against which all his country- 
 men have so energetically protested. Qui sentit commodum 
 sentire debet et onus, is the maxim, and the Maori custom is 
 that the individual must (as regards native land) be bound by 
 his tribe in their external relations." 
 
 Mr. Fenton wronged Te Rangitake. That chief never claimed 
 that his rights barred those of others. He never denied that 
 Teira had tribal rights within the Waitara block. He admitted 
 them. " The land belongs to Teira and to all of us," was his 
 contention : and it harmonized with that of Heremaia at 
 Kaitorete. If any Ngaitahu could prove that he had not been 
 consulted, had had no opportunity of protesting, and had shared 
 in none of the results of the Ngaitahu purchase, he was fairly 
 entitled to be heard, and not to be stopped by Mr. Hall's 
 fabricated order of reference, and Mr. Fenton's adapted judg- 
 ment. It might have been deemed difficult to do away with 
 the admissions that the treaty of Waitangi and the Constitution 
 Act of 1852 recognized and guaranteed the rights of the Maoris 
 over all waste lands in New Zealand ; but legal sophistry can 
 weave webs in which elaborate details supersede principles. 
 Mr. Fenton descanted upon the rise and fall of the New Zealand 
 Company. Mr. Cowlishaw had impugned, on various grounds, 
 the validity of the Ngaitahu deed of 1848. Mr. Fenton retorted 
 that " the two laws on which Mr. Cowlishaw relied for avoiding 
 the deed " were repealed, and " the provision in the Constitution 
 Acts was not ^retrospective." He was wisely silent as to the 
 plain terms of the treaty. He was of opinion that the Ngaitahu 
 deed was sufficiently bad in itself to convey no rights to Colonel 
 Wakefield or his principals, the New Zealand Company, but 
 that " by the common law of the empire that deed did suffice 
 to extinguish the title of the tribe Ngaitahu in the lands 
 described," although made in presence of and attested by a com- 
 mander in the navy, who seemed to represent good faith on the
 
 346 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 part of the Crown. There was " abundant evidence of the exist- 
 ence of a parol agreement of the Ngaitahu tribe or a majority 
 of them to sell to Wakefield." The Crown adopted the contract ; 
 Mr. Mantell " partially reduced it to writing by making a memor- 
 andum of the receipt of 500 in part payment." ..." Now the 
 maxim is, Omnis ratihdbitio retrotrahitur et mandato priori 
 cequiparatur. Seemingly unconscious that every word he uttered 
 was a stab at the treaty of Waitangi and the honour of England, 
 the Judge discussed whether "the part performance (of the 
 parol agreement) had been sufficient to render powerless the 
 Statute of Frauds," which required all agreements relating to 
 lands to be in writing. He cited many English decisions, and 
 beat the New Zealand air, but did not approach the Kaitorete 
 case. " The Court (he concluded) is of opinion that though the 
 several payments made by Mr. Mantell would not of themselves 
 suffice to prevent the operation of the Statute of Frauds . . . 
 yet those payments combined with the receipt and the amended 
 plan, and the subsequent acts of ownership exercised by the 
 Crown (for a piece of land has been granted) would form suffi- 
 cient ground to cause a Court of Equity to compel a specific 
 performance, and it will be the duty of the Court under the 
 order of reference to ascertain all the terms of the contract, and 
 to make such orders as will secure the due fulfilment of them 
 by the Crown on one side, and the Ngaitahu tribe on the other." 
 He dismissed Heremaia's tribal claim as spurious, and touched 
 upon the proved fact that the tribe had exercised of old, and 
 after the Ngaitahu purchase, rights of fishery on the land, which 
 would be regarded in the decree for specific performance. He 
 gave judgment (he said) for the Crown, but it was a violent 
 figure of speech, for the Crown was dishonoured by disregard 
 of the treaty, and was even made a party to a quibble which 
 confiscated the Maori rights on the plea that the Maoris had 
 forfeited their treaty rights by joining in a transaction with the 
 Crown. There were legal maxims which Mr. Fenton did not 
 cite, but which were more cogent than that with which he 
 professed to set aside the Maori claims. Kemp, as Commissioner 
 for the Crown, made the Ngaitahu purchase. It was at his 
 solicitation that the Maoris signed the Ngaitahu deed. Volenti 
 non fit injuria. Even if the supreme authority of the treaty
 
 NATIVE LANDS COURT. OTAGO. 347 
 
 had not protected the Maori rights it could not be pleaded that 
 the Crown was wronged by the presumed sale, which was the 
 act of the Crown by its accredited officers. Nullits commodum 
 capere potest de injuria sua propria. If the act was wrong the 
 Crown could take no advantage of it. These were maxims not 
 only of English but of more ancient jurisprudence, and ought to 
 have made the Kaitorete judgment impossible. At the closing 
 of the Court at Canterbury, the Judge, nevertheless, expressed 
 his " recognition of the justice, which bordered on liberality, with 
 which the Crown had met the claims of the natives." Some 
 cases had been dismissed ; in some the Maoris were successful ; 
 in others it seems that the Crown avoided adverse judgment, 
 for they are recorded as "withdrawn, the grant having been 
 prepared in the claimant's name." 
 
 The Court proceeded to Otago, where Taiaroa and many 
 others appeared before it. When the case of the Maori reserve 
 in Dunedin was put before the Court, Macandrew pleaded to the 
 jurisdiction ; the convenient Cutten produced the Crown grant, 
 surreptitiously obtained ; the application of " Taiaroa and others 
 was dismissed, evidence having been given that the land had 
 been granted to the Superintendent of Otago ; " and the applicants 
 were instructed through an interpreter that " they would have to 
 go to the Supreme Court." The fraud practised at Dunedin 
 was nevertheless proved, aliunde, by a judgment delivered as to 
 a Maori reserve recommended by Mr. Mantell at Port Chalmers 
 simultaneously with that at Prince's Street, and granted in like 
 manner by the Governor to the Maoris. Mr. Mantell described 
 the reserve made in 1853. Counsel for the province opposed 
 the Maori claim on the ground of want of power in the Governor 
 to make the reserve and on many technical points; Cutten 
 declared that the land was "selected in Great Britain in 1847." 
 It appeared that on a portion of the reserve a Presbyterian 
 church had been built. The Court postponed a decision on that 
 point for further hearing, 1 but delivered an elaborate judgment 
 as to the remainder, to the effect that " no grounds whatever had 
 been shown to justify the Court in saying that the Governor was 
 
 1 After some days it was pleaded that the Church " had not had 
 sufficient time to get together the evidence required," and their case was 
 adjourned sine die
 
 348 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 not justified in doing what he has done." A Crown grant was 
 ordered to be issued to Taiaroa, Patuki, and others. Mr. Mackay, 
 the Native Commissioner (from whose careful compilation these 
 facts are drawn), lost no time in guarding against any tampering 
 with lands awarded by the Court to the Maoris. The grant of 
 the Prince's Street reserve to Macandrew had evinced the 
 immoral capacity of the province. Mackay at once transmitted 
 to Cutten a schedule of the lands awarded, with a request that 
 Cutten would " take the necessary steps to withhold from sale 
 the lands" described (29th May, 1868). Macandrew, indignant 
 at the awards, appealed to the Governor (17th July, 1868) against 
 the proceedings. His voluminous despatch was demolished (28th 
 July) by Mr. Domett, then Secretary for Crown Lands, in a 
 memorandum which referred to the treaty of Waitangi, the 
 Queen, her Instructions, and common sense. But Macandrew's 
 power over Mr. Stafford, the Premier, was not exhausted by the 
 procurement of the grant of the Maori reserve in 1866. Stafford 
 is to be found endeavouring to appease Macandrew by a telegram 
 in November, 1868, by suggesting that though advised that there 
 was no force in Macandrew's general arguments, if there were 
 specific objections to " any order or reserve " a re-hearing must 
 be applied for " immediately by telegraph " as time for application 
 would soon expire. An official letter shows that Stafford through- 
 out his tenure of office did not venture to displease Macandrew 
 by obeying the law. Stafford resigned on the 28th June, 1869, 
 and on the 1st October, 1869, Mr. Domett called upon Cutten to 
 explain why the grants to the natives, " detained from execution 
 on representations made " by Macandrew, should not be issued at 
 once. In 1870, Macandrew, still Superintendent and obstructive, 
 appealed against the awards, especially that of 1000 acres at 
 Tautuku, "capriciously" ordered "upon ex parte evidence." 
 Some of the land would, he said, have been sold in 1858 if the 
 province could have had it surveyed, and he affected to think 
 this assertion a bar to the award of 1868. The Chief Judge 
 briefly repelled the charge of deciding upon ex parte statements, 
 and averred that the awards ought in his judgment to be sup- 
 ported ; and no further trace of Macandrew's opposition is to be 
 found except with regard to the reserve at Dunedin, which was 
 remitted by Mr. Fenton to the Supreme Court.
 
 GENERAL CHUTE'S CAMPAIGN. 349 
 
 The manner in which Mr. Hall fabricated the " order of 
 reference," in order to defeat Heremaia Mautai, would not, 
 perhaps, have shocked the moral sense of the community if it 
 had not jeopardized the release of the Government from further 
 claims. Mr. Hall's equivocal act was not condemned, but it was 
 found necessary to pass an Act " to remove doubts as to the 
 sufficiency of a certain order of reference," . . . signed "as by com- 
 mand and on behalf of the Governor." It was enacted that it 
 should be deemed as " valid and effectual to all intents and pur- 
 poses as if the same had been made by and given under the hand 
 of the Governor. The Act offered at the same time a crumb to the 
 Maoris by providing that nothing in it or in the Orders of the 
 Native Land Court should extinguish Maori claims in respect of 
 promises of " schools, hospitals, and other advantages to induce 
 (the natives) to consent to the sale of the said Ngaitahu block." 
 Otherwise, the Act extinguished all native title in Ngaitahu 
 territory. 
 
 In December, 1865, Dr. Featherston unveiled a statue of 
 Grief, erected at Wanganui to commemorate the deeds of those 
 friendly natives who crushed at Moutoa in May, 1864, the 
 invaders of Wanganui. He had previously joined in receiving 
 the Wanganui men on their return from the east coast, and he 
 extolled the bravery of the dead and of the living when he 
 unveiled the monument. Having thus paved the way he strove 
 to induce the chiefs to aid General Chute in a campaign on the 
 west coast. Some who had been at Opotiki were discontented 
 at receiving no payment, and Mete Kingi was dissatisfied at 
 their treatment. Dr. Featherston addressed the tribes. Haimona, 
 one of the heroes at Moutoa, sprang to his feet and declared 
 that they would follow Featherston into the field. "Thus" (a 
 local print stated) " terminated one of the most important meet- 
 ings ever held in the colony. General Chute obtained a Maori 
 contingent of 286 men ; but to ensure their co-operation it was 
 requisite that Dr. Featherston should accompany the forces. He 
 joined them on the 2nd January, 1866, and on the 4th the 
 Okatuku pah was captured with trifling loss of besiegers and 
 besieged. The Maori contingent danced a triumphant war- 
 dance by moonlight. Pushing across a tributary of the Whenu- 
 akura river (the native allies under Major McDonell leading
 
 350 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 through dense forests, ravines, and precipices), General Chute, 
 with about 700 men, approached in rear the fortress Putahi, 
 situate on a wooded hill 500 feet high, abruptly rising and cleft 
 with deep gullies separating the descending spurs. Two hundred 
 Ngatiruanui were supposed to be in the pah. A correspondent 
 of the Wanganui ' Times ' wrote : " The General desired at first 
 to attack at once, but wisely yielded to native representation of 
 the necessity of deliberation. . . . Thereby the main defences 
 of Putahi were neutralized. ... At 3 a.m. on the 7th the 
 General's force ... in perfect silence and darkness ascended 
 the ridges. . . . The native contingent, under Major McDonell, 
 and Kemp (Rangihiwinui), a really useful lion that day, led the 
 way " to the plateau. By a rush from the wooded shelter, after 
 some firing, Putahi was stormed. A prisoner, after being allowed 
 to tell that the firing had been destructive to the rebels, was, in 
 cold blood, " freed from the cares of this life by one of his own 
 charitable countrymen." l Thus wrote the Wanganui reporter. 
 Colonel Weare, of the 50th Regiment, who was stationed at Patea, 
 in obedience to the General's orders placed two ambuscades, 
 intercepted some flying rebels, wounded one, and made another 
 prisoner of war. Colonel Weare 2 was with the ambuscade 
 which effected the capture. The Major-General loudly praised 
 the Forest Rangers under Von Tempsky, and the native 
 contingent. Putahi was burnt, and on the following day the 
 contingent destroyed their countrymen's crops, and returned 
 laden with potatoes, which they shared with the troops. On 
 the 9th, General Chute marched across the Whenuakura river to 
 Kakaramia, taking thither Colonel Weare's prisoner of war. On 
 the 10th, scouting parties went out. It was ascertained that the 
 enemy had taken shelter at Otapawa, accessible only by a way 
 shown by the native contingent. There the Ngatiruanui were 
 at bay. On the morning of the llth January, General Chute 
 left his camp before sunrise, having given orders that the Maori 
 prisoner of war should be shot, in cold blood and without trial. 
 These orders were executed by a party of the 50th Regiment, 
 
 1 ' A Campaign on the West Coast of New Zealand.' Wanganui, New 
 Zealand: 1866. 
 
 2 Colonel Weare's despatch (7th January, 1866) to the Deputy- Assistant 
 Adjutant-General.
 
 MAORI PRISONER OF WAR SHOT. 351 
 
 and the officer in command shed tears of shame as he obeyed 
 them. Chute, who deserves henceforward the shortest of 
 appellations, marched to Otapawa, where, under cover of six- 
 pounder guns served by the Royal Artillery, the gallantry of 
 the 57th and 14th Regiments carried the fort on the 13th 
 January. In storming it Colonel Hassard of the 57th fell, 
 mortally wounded. Twenty-nine Maoris were found dead ; and 
 of the English eleven were killed and twenty wounded. Again 
 Chute loudly praised all ranks. The country was scoured ; settle- 
 ments, crops, and houses were destroyed. On the loth January, 
 he wrote to Sir George Grey: "All the principal villages and 
 positions up to and within reach of this camp (Ketemari) having 
 been destroyed and the rebels scattered with heavy loss, I 
 propose, in pursuance of your Excellency's instructions, to con- 
 tinue my march immediately towards Mataitawa and New 
 Plymouth by the bush -track behind Mount Egmont." He 
 abstained from allusion to the murdered prisoner in his 
 despatches. The Wanganui record, 1 describing the capture of 
 Otapawa, said: "Three shots from the Armstrong had called 
 forth no reply ; . . . many a one, even to the General, thought that 
 the pah had been abandoned ... it lay as silent as a graveyard, 
 and as ominous. Colonel Butler on advancing further could see 
 that the silence was not caused through a want of occupants. 
 The rifle-pits behind the palisading were thickly lined with 
 black heads, and a bush at right angles with the pah swarmed 
 with the black vermin." Elsewhere the same record stated that 
 the garrison at Putahi included " a fair proportion of ferocious 
 Amazons." But the Wanganui scribe, like Chute, did not 
 mention the killing of the prisoner of war without trial. Before 
 the march was resumed there was some difficulty in persuading 
 the Wanganui men to go farther from their homes; but Dr. 
 Featherston was eloquent. Hori Kingi te Anaua, the principal 
 chief, by an urgent appeal converted the recalcitrants, and there 
 was a general chorus : " We will go ; we will go." Eighty were 
 chosen for the work. The native contingent, in advance, shot a 
 few rebels, but no resistance was encountered. Food was scarce. 
 Horses were killed and eaten on the way. On the 25th, the 
 General reached Mataitawa, whither the native contingent had 
 
 1 ' A Campaign on the West Coast,' &c.
 
 352 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 preceded him. On the 26th, with 100 of the 43rd Regiment 
 and an Armstrong gun, he went in a steamship to the mouths of 
 the Mokau and Awakino rivers, but saw nothing worth destroying, 
 and returned without landing the troops. On the 27th, he 
 marched into Taranaki. A triumphal arch was erected to do 
 him honour : and the Superintendent of the province, Mr. H. R. 
 Richmond, presented an address, lauding his sagacity and courage, 
 which had left "no security for rebellion." Nothing loth to accept 
 praise he answered : " It was a source of great satisfaction to find 
 that our efforts to restore the peace of these districts have met 
 your approval." He marched southwards past Oakura, and on 
 the 1st February destroyed the Waikoko pah, killing a few 
 Maoris and laying waste an " unusual extent " of cultivated 
 grounds. On the 2nd, Dr. Featherston prudently went before 
 the destroyer, who found on arriving at Te Namu that Featherston 
 had permitted many natives to take the oath of allegiance and 
 avert the destruction of their homes. Chute passed on to 
 Opunake, and there took measures which might, if that were 
 possible, have intensified the savage despair of the Hau Hau 
 fanatics. Te Ua, the founder of their superstition, was peace- 
 fully residing there. Mr. Parris, by express authority from 
 Colonel Haultain, the Defence Minister, had permitted him to 
 do so. Chute, in spite of Parris, surrounded Te Ua and his 
 followers and made them prisoners, on the ground that they had 
 formerly been in arms and had not taken the oath of allegiance. 
 Some were released, but Te Ua was sent to Sir George Grey, 
 who exercised clemency towards the captive. Chute seemed 
 confused with elation at having marched through the forest. 
 Men under his control marauded everywhere, robbing friend and 
 foe. Mr. Parris protested, and the Major-General ordered him 
 to go away to Taranaki. There he heard that a peaceful chief, 
 robbed by the army, had joined the rebels. Numbers of stolen 
 horses were sent to Taranaki to be sold by auction. Mr. Parris 
 wrote to the Native Minister : " The scene which took place at 
 the sale-yard was perfectly disgraceful. Nearly the whole of 
 Captain Corbett's company, who have been serving under him 
 as Bush Rangers for the last two months, were present, more or 
 less under the influence of liquor, fighting and quarrelling about 
 the ownership of particular horses, and abusing their Captain and
 
 GENERAL CHUTE'S CAMPAIGN. 353 
 
 Lieutenant for having taken away the best of the horses to them- 
 selves instead of sharing the proceeds of the whole among the 
 company as agreed upon. The natives for claiming their horses 
 were blackguarded and threatened with violence by the mob, on 
 hearing of which I sent for the horses claimed to be pointed out 
 to the auctioneer, but not to provoke violence. ... It is my 
 duty to inform the Government that the friendly natives are 
 beginning to be very much alarmed at the state of things, but I 
 do hope that something will be done to put a stop to the very 
 unfair interference with their rights." 
 
 Taranaki had ever a bad eminence, and its atmosphere tainted 
 even the military. Wiremu Kingi Matakatea, 1 distrusting the 
 General, retreated to his residence Nukuteapiapi. Soldiers were 
 sent thither. His property was seized or destroyed, and build- 
 ings were burned. Parris applied to Colonel Warre for a pass 
 to enable a chief to seek Matakatea, and " recommend him to 
 come in and refer his case to the Government." The army 
 under Chute not only would not allow the chief and his followers 
 to communicate peaceably with the refugee, but a Captain of the 
 43rd disgraced his uniform by ordering them to go before the 
 troops in the attack. They protested, but were told that for 
 disobedience they would be made prisoners. " They 2 were 
 thus," Mr. Parris complained, "arbitrarily compelled to go in 
 front of the troops without a gun in their hands wherewith to 
 defend themselves, to the attack of a near relative." The 
 brutality of these proceedings was denounced by a Taranaki 
 newspaper, which declared that it would have been better for 
 Taranaki if the march from Wanganui had ended in the town, 
 for the General had left more enemies in the district than he 
 had found. On the 6th, Chute destroyed Meri Meri, and on the 
 7th finished his course at Patea, welcomed by the band of the 
 18th Royal Irish with the air "See the conquering hero 
 comes." On the llth, he reached Wellington by ship, and 
 received congratulations on his "complete and triumphant 
 success." On the 12th, he described his campaign to the 
 Governor. He descanted on the difficulties surmounted. " There 
 were no less than 21 rivers and 90 gullies, the precipitous banks 
 
 1 Not to be confounded with Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake of Waitara. 
 N. Z. P. P. 1866 ; A. No. 8,^p. 9 
 
 VOL. II. A A
 
 354 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 of many of which presented formidable obstructions to our 
 advance, and required great labour to make them passable. . . . 
 To accomplish a distance of about 54 miles the force was eight days 
 actually on the move." He reported the capture of Te Ua who 
 was at his " Excellency's disposal." His own disposal of his 
 prisoner of war was not mentioned. " I believe that throughout 
 the country traversed by the field force during the last six 
 weeks there does not now remain one fortified position or 
 ordinary village in the occupation of the rebels, who have 
 suffered most severely in loss of life, habitations, cultivations, 
 horses, cattle, and other property." He enclosed a diary kept 
 by the commanding officer at Waingongoro in January, which 
 showed that all fruit-trees were destroyed. If the Romans in 
 Britain acted like Chute one sees that the words attributed to 
 Galgacus may have been the simple truth. Solitudinem faciunt, 
 pacem appellant. 
 
 Chute could not find words to express his gratitude for Dr. 
 Featherston's assistance in "sharing all dangers and privations," 
 and obtaining information which could not otherwise have been 
 gained. The native contingent was praised. Hori Kingi te 
 Anaua, Rangihiwinui, and Haimona, at all times merited his 
 " wannest approbation." Majors McDonell and Von Tempsky, 
 and Ensign McDonell were highly commended, and Chute 
 intended to report to England the " noble and gallant conduct 
 of the whole of the troops engaged." On the 13th February, 
 the Governor told the Secretary of State that -Chute had " dis- 
 played every quality of a great General." On the 15th February, 
 the Governor eulogized the General at a banquet. The ghost 
 of the murdered prisoner did not rise to mar the festivities, and 
 the General, we are told, " resumed his seat amidst continued 
 cheers which lasted several minutes." But though banished 
 from that scene the miserable victim must be remembered in 
 these pages. His death became known in England through 
 a letter written by his captor, Colonel Weare, to his brother, 
 a clergyman. " The General received me very coldly for taking 
 this man alive after his intimation of ' no prisoners.' However, 
 I told him I could not order my men to kill a man after he had 
 thrown down his arms and surrendered. . . . The prisoner was 
 taken to Kakaramea, and kept there till the llth, on which
 
 COLONEL WEARE'S LETTER. 355 
 
 morning the General left at 3 a.m. ; and at 8 a.m. under 
 instructions from the General, this prisoner was taken down to 
 a gully, tied hand and foot, and then cruelly shot to death by 
 some of the 50th. ... I have written to the General to know 
 
 if Captain x had due authority and orders for this act, as 
 
 otherwise we consider he has cast a stain on the name of the 
 regiment. . . . Since the leaving of Sir Duncan, the true senti- 
 ments of the Governor and his Government have come out towards 
 the Maoris in their urging General Chute on to all these atrocities 
 of killing and no prisoners." After denouncing wholesale con- 
 fiscation of land, and narrating cruelties said to have been 
 committed by the native allies, Colonel Weare hoped that " the 
 degrading and brutalizing manner in which this war is now con- 
 ducted may be known in England, and the troops no longer be 
 allowed to be demoralized by the colonists for their sole 
 selfishness." 
 
 Colonel Weare's hopes were gratified. Mr. Cardwell (April, 
 1866) confidentially urged Governor Grey "to secure the ob- 
 servance of all the humane usages of war," and told him that 
 the War Office would communicate with General Chute. Mr. 
 Cardwell could not suppose that the imputations upon General 
 Chute or the local government were incapable of complete reply, 
 but, on the other hand, was not warranted in considering that they 
 were made in bad faith, and regarded them " therefore as calling 
 for immediate and most serious inquiry." The Governor brought 
 the matter before his Executive Council in a minute denouncing 
 the statement that the Colonial Government desired no prisoners 
 as " a base and wicked calumny," demanding copies of Colonel 
 Weare's letters, and declining " to receive the communication 
 as a confidential one." He denounced vigorously to the Colonial 
 Office the practice, which had grown up under General Cameron, 
 of aspersions in private letters, and which had led to prolonged 
 war and misery. He repelled the thought that he or his Minis- 
 ters urged General Chute to commit atrocities. Had he been base 
 enough to entertain it, the noble nature of many of the officers 
 and men of Her Majesty's forces would have taught him better 
 than to dare so to constrain them. He who tracks the public 
 
 1 Though I know the name left blank in the published despatch, there is 
 no object in making known the name of the unwilling executioner. 
 
 A A 2
 
 356 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 men of New Zealand must confess that Sir George Grey, if 
 correct with regard to the army, " protested too much " for the 
 civilians. The soldiers always felt repugnance in waging war 
 brought about by the greed and for the profit of the settlers. 
 They served the Queen loyally, but with shame for the cause 
 of war. The Ministry scarcely deserved the defence made for 
 them. Soon after Colonel Weare's prisoner was shot, Sir George 
 Grey wrote (2nd February, 1866) an elaborate apology for them in 
 contravention of Sir William Martin's views which they opposed. 
 The Governor, forgetful of the suppression laws, and of his recent 
 contests with the rapacity of Whitaker and Fox, and with the 
 Assembly, argued that as a rule public men in the colony had 
 been temperate in times of excitement, and that the Assembly 
 had " shown a scrupulous care for the rights both present and 
 prospective of the native race. ... I feel sure that upon the 
 whole the debates, the legislation, and the Acts of the General 
 Assembly will hereafter be admitted to be creditable to their 
 humanity, and to the nation to which they belong, and I have 
 no reason to think that Sir William Martin would not agree 
 with me in the opinion which I have thus expressed." 
 
 Another despatch proves that the shooting of the prisoner 
 was not altogether unknown at the time, and that the Ministry 
 at least were culpable in not instituting a rigid inquiry before 
 the task was imposed upon them. 
 
 Sir George Grey wrote (13th June, 1866) that on seeing 
 " a statement in a local newspaper that the troops under General 
 Chute had shot a prisoner who was said to have been known 
 to be the murderer of a soldier, I immediately called the atten- 
 tion of the Minister of Colonial Defence (Colonel Haultain) to 
 the subject. He informed me that I might make my mind 
 quite easy regarding it, because he had been informed that it 
 had been intended to execute this prisoner, but the Superintendent 
 of the province of Wellington (Dr. Featherston), who was present 
 with the General, hearing what it was intended to do, spoke to 
 the General on the subject, who immediately sent orders that 
 the man's life should be spared. Since I have received your 
 confidential despatch I have again spoken on this matter with 
 the Minister for Colonial Defence, who tells me that he sub- 
 sequently heard that the General's orders arrived too late, not
 
 THE MAORI PRISONER OF WAR. 857 
 
 reaching the place until the man was executed. This is all I 
 know on the subject. My ignorance regarding it is undoubtedly 
 to be attributed to the fact of the War Department receiving 
 communications from their officers even of a confidential nature 
 reflecting on myself without such communications having been 
 made known to me, and to the system very naturally adopted 
 by the military authorities in this country of making most 
 meagre reports to myself of their proceedings, and refusing or 
 neglecting to furnish me with copies of their reports to the 
 Secretary of State for War." 
 
 If Colonel Haultain deceived Sir George Grey,, or was himself 
 deceived in the first instance, no excuse can be found for his not 
 prosecuting an inquiry as soon as the death of the prisoner was 
 known. The grief of the officer who obeyed Chute's orders was 
 no secret within or beyond the camp. Sir George Grey's failure 
 to institute a searching inquiry as to the truth of the newspaper 
 report somewhat mars his later remonstrances. The Minister 
 who declared that he " subsequently heard " that the reprieving 
 order arrived too late, would at once have reported the fact to 
 the Governor, and compelled investigation, if he had not been an 
 accomplice before the fact or ready to condone it. As for the 
 General himself, there is no published allegation of his own that 
 he desired to stay the execution, and as he left the camp shortly 
 before the prisoner was shot, there is an air of improbability 
 about the plea made for him. Colonel Weare, when called upon 
 by General Chute to explain, expressed regret for some of his 
 statements which he called camp rumours, not intended for 
 publication. He disbelieved the rumours against the native 
 allies to which he had given currency. As to the supposed 
 order about prisoners, he was courageous enough to repeat : " I 
 certainly myself understood that th& Major-General did not wish 
 prisoners." He regretted having written his letters, and hoped 
 the General " would consider them withdrawn." By permission 
 of the General he made the same request to the Governor. He 
 regretted "having in a moment of great excitement given 
 expression in a family letter to thoughts which had come 
 hurriedly into his mind, and which he would not on more calm 
 deliberation have felt himself justified in making or entertaining." 
 The Governor promised that as regarded Colonel Weare he
 
 358 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 would request that no further steps might be taken. At this 
 date the charges were unpublished. But Sir George Grey's 
 repulsion of them brought upon him the wrath of the new 
 Colonial Secretary. The Earl of Carnarvon received the despatch 
 addressed to Mr. Cardwell, and determined to flesh his bureau- 
 cratic sword upon the memorandum-writing proconsul. Admitting 
 that the charges against the Governor were completely disposed 
 of, he condemned the tone of the despatches disposing of them. 
 Alleging that the Colonial Office had complied with the custom 
 of requiring complaints against a Governor to be sent through 
 himself, the Earl did not see how justice could have been more 
 effectually secured. He professed sympathy with a Governor 
 who thought himself "left without due protection from cruel 
 and unfounded imputations ; " admitted Sir George Grey's high 
 character and public services ; and told him that his minute to 
 his Executive Council and despatch to Downing Street were so 
 improper that the right course would be to withdraw them. 
 " In this hope I now refrain from considering what would be the 
 duty of Her Majesty's Government should you unfortunately 
 come to a different conclusion." The Governor did not accept 
 the suggestion. His minute was the only recorded defence 
 against charges standing against him in the Colonial Office. 
 He could not withdraw it. It defended his Ministers as well 
 as himself. He would not desert them. They had unani- 
 mously approved his minute and denounced the barbarities 
 imputed to them. As for the language he had used, he could 
 not detect any impropriety, but might be a wrong judge in his 
 own case, and was willing to withdraw or apologize for any 
 phrases improperly applied. He was willing to meet the com- 
 mon lot of men. Wantonly accused of having given effect to 
 a wicked hatred of one class of the Queen's subjects, and having 
 pressed the army of a great and merciful nation to commit 
 shocking crimes, he had striven earnestly to do his duty to the 
 Queen, to his office, to his reputation, to the Secretary of State, 
 to his advisers, and his fellow-subjects in New Zealand. " On a 
 point on which my future reputation rests, I ought to, and 
 must, decide for myself; and I believe that hereafter it will be 
 admitted (if not now) that the course I have taken was becoming 
 to my office, to the great powers with which the Queen and
 
 THE EARL OF CARNARVON AND SIR G. GREY. 359 
 
 nation had entrusted me, and to my own long services ; and I 
 still trust that your Lordship will concur in this view of the 
 subject." The Earl did not receive the Governor's defence. 
 He was sensitive where his own honour was concerned, and, 
 with Lord Cranborne and General Peel, quitted the Ministry 
 when Mr. Disraeli, with the adroitness of a clown, abandoned 
 the protestations of years, and changed front on the question of 
 Electoral Reform before an audience which appreciated the 
 grace and audacity of his acting. 
 
 The Duke of Buckingham, who received the seals of the 
 Colonial Office, unable to deal seriously with the Governor's 
 despatch, passed over the refusal to withdraw the minute and 
 despatch, and affected to perform his duty by observing with 
 satisfaction the Governor's readiness to withdraw expressions 
 which might be considered improper. Further appeal was made. 
 Weary of continually urging the removal of troops from New 
 Zealand, and of disputes between a Governor and a General, 
 Earl Carnarvon, on the 1st December, 1866, had instructed Sir 
 George Grey that he was not at liberty to exercise any control 
 over the movements or disposition of Her Majesty's troops. 
 There was an exception as to one regiment which might be 
 retained on certain conditions. In Parliament the Earl animad- 
 verted (15th July, 1867) on the Governor's conduct, who com- 
 plained to the Duke of Buckingham that the Earl had misled 
 the House and the country. The despatch subjecting the 
 Governor to the General had been printed in England, but the 
 Governor's answer to it had been withheld from Parliament. 1 
 In it he had declared that, feeling keenly the disgrace to which 
 the Secretary of State had subjected him, it would be his pride 
 nevertheless to serve the Queen " as carefully in disgrace as in 
 prosperity." At the same time he argued against the adoption 
 of a rule so injurious to the service. To call a man Governor-m- 
 Chief and to exempt from his control the senior officer of troops 
 in a colony seemed improper in the eyes of the Duke of Cam- 
 bridge, who declared in Parliament (loth July, 1867), that "no 
 more dangerous step could be taken ; and for this reason, that 
 the military authorities must and ought to be subordinate to the 
 
 1 In return to an Address of the House of Commons, its publication 
 was elicited in 1869.
 
 360 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 civil." But the Colonial Office had arrived at the conclusion 
 that the Governor was the obstacle to the withdrawal of troops ; 
 it was weary of disputes, and cut the knot which it could not 
 untie. The cause which had induced the threat to remove the 
 Governor was not set at rest during his term of office. 
 
 Sir George Bowen succeeded him in February, 1868. In that 
 year for the first time were published the letters written to the 
 Colonial Office by the Rev. Mr. Weare, attributing barbarities 
 to the desire of the Colonial Government to have no prisoners. 
 Accusations were contained which had never been made known 
 to the Governor by the Colonial Office. Though then in private 
 station, he promptly sailed to England to demand in person 
 the inquiry which he had vainly asked from the Earl of Car- 
 narvon in 1867, and which the Duke of Buckingham declined 
 to grant in 1868. Rightly or wrongly he had the sympathy of 
 the colonists. Arrayed against him were Earl Granville and the 
 traditions of the War Office. His Ministry had joined him in 
 his first protest against the charge of complicity with the killing 
 of the prisoner. In August, 1867, the Legislative Council ; in 
 September the House of Representatives; had earnestly and 
 unanimously addressed the Queen, defending Sir George Grey, 
 and praying that the irregular reception of secret charges might 
 be checked. Their Governor had been maligned. The indict- 
 ment had revealed the butchery of a prisoner without trial by 
 order of the General. The honour of England was stained. 
 The Duke of Cambridge, at all events, would be guided by a 
 sense of right and a soul of honour. The papers showed that 
 all the facts had not been laid before him. But Earl Granville 
 had no desire to permit the Commander-in-Chief to do justice. 
 Behind a formal veil of politeness he was as obdurate as his 
 predecessors. He would not re-open a question which, he 
 averred, had been decided by competent authority. It was in 
 vain that Sir George Grey, as the Queen's late representative in 
 New Zealand (1866), asked the nature of the decision spoken of, 
 and the authority by which it was pronounced. Those who 
 work in the dark do not drag their deeds to light. Earl 
 Granville cared little whether the Duke of Cambridge might 
 be unjustly charged with the iniquity complained of. It would 
 be forgotten amidst the pressure of new needs. All eyes in
 
 EARL GRANVILLE AND THE MAORI PRISONER. 361 
 
 England were intent on the Irish Church. Not because of the 
 alleged injustice of its grey existence, but because it was a 
 party question, the disestablishment of the Church filled the 
 political landscape. The ghost of a Maori could find no room 
 there. Earl Granville improved on the proverb. If it be wise 
 to let a sleeping dog lie, it must be wiser to avoid discussion 
 about a dead Maori, though done to death by an English 
 General. Discussion was objectionable, for though winked at, 
 a foul wrong could not be openly defended in the English 
 Parliament. The case must be strangled. It was unmannerly 
 to bring a slovenly unhandsome corpse betwixt the wind and 
 the Earl's nobility ; and he was a fit functionary to reprove Sir 
 George Grey as Hotspur was rated at Holmedon. After one 
 or two supercilious evasions, he declared that he saw no advan- 
 tage in prolonging the correspondence. It was, perhaps, thought 
 advisable to draw no invidious distinction between a Cameron 
 and a Chute. The first had been knighted, and it was decided 
 to give the same honour to the second. The most notable 
 feature in the conduct of the Secretaries of State was that 
 whereas when Sir George Grey captured Weraroa new instruc- 
 tions were framed to prevent similar feats, when inquiry was 
 demanded as to the doing to death of a prisoner in cold blood, 
 it was refused, although it was distinctly laid down in the 
 Queen's Regulations that, in all cases of court-martial con- 
 victions, sentence of death was to be suspended, until approved, 
 on Her Majesty's behalf, by the Governor. In the case reported 
 by Colonel Weare there was not even a court-martial. If Earl 
 Granville could have destroyed all evidence, his conduct might 
 have been expedient, if not wise, in his own generation. As it 
 was, he only linked himself with crime. 
 
 The Earl of Carnarvon succeeded in embittering the relations 
 of the Colonial Office to Sir George Grey. The Governor left 
 him, he said (Dec., 1866), "to leam from the newspapers affairs 
 described by the colonial press as brilliant successes," which, if 
 impugned in England as merciless attacks upon unoffending 
 persons, the despatches afforded no means of explaining. Sir 
 George Grey furnished an explanation. He was hurt by the 
 imputation ; " the more so, in my own case, because I can assure 
 you that your Lordship has written under an entire mistake, and
 
 362 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 that I have done nothing to merit the censure inflicted on me." 
 In July, 1867, the Earl, in the House of Lords, took occasion to 
 express his "full satisfaction at the explanation," and apologized, 
 not to the Governor, but to his advisers. " I admit my error in 
 this instance, and readily express my regret, because I think 
 now that the words in question were not unreasonably open to 
 complaint on the part of the Colonial Ministers." In November, 
 1867, Sir George Grey, referring to the Earl of Carnarvon's 
 speech, wrote (to the Duke of Buckingham, Secretary of State) 
 that if those who were at the head of the Colonial or War 
 Departments, misled by secret correspondence, required blind 
 acquiescence in breach of law and regulations, he owed no 
 obedience in such matters, but he owed a duty to the Queen 
 and empire, and it was right to withstand those who committed 
 violent acts, or supported others in them, with a will as strong 
 as their own, not caring what consequences might fall on 
 himself. The Colonial Office did not allow this protest to see 
 the light until 1869. 
 
 While General Chute was marching to Taranaki with a 
 detachment of the native contingent, the main body of that 
 force was left to shoot and to destroy in the Wanganui district. 
 Some of them were stationed at Pipiriki, from which a garrison 
 of the 57th Regiment had been withdrawn. Negotiations were 
 set on foot with the hostile Maoris on the river. Pehi Turoa 
 invited a discussion of terms of peace, and Mete Kingi, with 
 400 men, in 30 canoes gaily equipped, responded ' to the invita- 
 tion. The Hau Haus kept faith. After war-dances, speeches, 
 and feasting, it was resolved that perpetual peace should be 
 maintained on the Wanganui river, but that the men of the 
 coast and the men of the mountains should be free to fight, as 
 they listed, elsewhere. In other districts many chiefs declared 
 allegiance to the Queen. At Lake Taupo, where Mr. Meade was 
 so ill received in 1865, all war was at an end, and many leading 
 men volunteered to assist in maintaining order in 1866. 
 
 Sir George Grey wrote (February, 1866) warmly in praise of 
 the west coast campaign, and in compliance with request of 
 chiefs determined to visit the interior. His arrival at Napier 
 induced the Hau Haus to surrender their flags, and take the 
 oath of allegiance under the guidance of Te Hapuku and his
 
 SIR G. GREY SEES WAHAROA. 363 
 
 brother, who thenceforward discountenanced Hau Hauism. 
 Wairoa, Turanga, Waiapu, and Opotiki were tranquil. At 
 Maketu the gallant Arawa waited to receive and to accompany 
 the Governor. There also he received a message from Te Heu 
 Heu, who, with the chief next in rank to himself, was prepared 
 to submit. They were almost the only chiefs known to be in 
 arms against the Queen, and in the end of March they also sub- 
 mitted, and agreed to accompany the Governor in his progress. 
 At Tauranga there was trouble. The arrangement made by 
 Sir G. Grey in 1864, after the defeat at Te Ranga, was in 
 danger. Unsurrendered rebels protested against it. Those who 
 had agreed to it seemed discontented. A meeting was held, and 
 the Governor's eloquence prevailed. The chiefs thenceforward 
 assisted in carrying out the arrangements. At Hamilton, on 
 the Waikato river, he had an interview with Te Waharoa, on 
 the 1st May. Rewi, he learned, was at Hangatiki, deter- 
 mined never to look upon European face again. The Governor 
 persuaded Te Waharoa to visit Wellington at the next meeting 
 of the General Assembly to give information on Maori affairs. 
 The island was at peace. The Hau Hau fanaticism was not 
 abandoned by all ; but its founder, Te Ua, had renounced it as 
 a delusion under which he had fancied himself inspired. He 
 himself attended the service of the Church of England on board 
 of H.M.S. 'Eclipse,' while his former proselytes worshipped 
 around the Pai Marire staff in Maori villages. 
 
 Some of these tidings were acknowledged by Mr. Cardwell, 
 but in June, 1866, he was translated to the War Office, and the 
 Earl of Carnarvon ruled in Downing Street. It was not pro- 
 bable that Sir George Grey would receive sympathy. The fact 
 conformed to the probability. The several accessions of the 
 Duke of Buckingham and Earl Granville produced no change. 
 Secretaries of State were weary of Sir George Grey. They 
 suffered from what Mr. Fitzgerald had called the prevailing 
 " Memorandummiad " in New Zealand. 
 
 The dispute about retention of troops was destined to encum- 
 ber the path of many Colonial Ministries. The Weld Ministry 
 survived less than three months after the meeting of the 
 General Assembly in July, 1865, at Wellington, which had be- 
 come the new seat of government. Mr. Stafford was hostile, but
 
 364 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 would not risk a division on the Address. To convince the 
 Maoris of the good intentions of the Government, Mr. Fitz- 
 gerald, who, on the resignation of Mr. Man tell became Minister 
 for Native Affairs in August; 1865, with the Governor's sanc- 
 tion published a Maori newspaper. The peace proclamation of 
 September appeared in it. " We must," said Mr. Fitzgerald in 
 the House, " deal with the Maoris as our forefathers were dealt 
 with. We must occupy their finer and loftier characteristics as 
 well as crush what is base and sordid. We have heard how the 
 Christian nations went to fight the heathen, with the cross in 
 one hand and the sword in the other, and we must take that as 
 our guide ; the sword to suppress iniquity, the cross to lead to 
 noble aspirations. I have fancied that I have seen only; -the 
 sword flaming in the air, while the cross was trampled in the 
 dust." Mr. Weld and his colleagues intended to appoint two or 
 three Maori members of the Legislative Council, but the project 
 died with the fall of his Ministry. A word must be said as to 
 the Indemnity Bills passed in 1865 and 1866. Their nature 
 suggests that their framers were well aware of the lawless acts 
 which they were needed to condone. When the Bill of 1865, 
 " for indemnifying persons acting in the suppression of the native 
 insurrection," was sent to England, 1 Earl Carnarvon delayed 
 giving any advice upon it. Another Bill was passed in 1866 by 
 the Stafford Ministry, which was in power during General Chute's 
 devastating march. The Duke of Buckingham announced (15th 
 May, 1867), that the Bill of 1865 would be allowed, but that of 
 1866 would be disallowed for several reasons. " First, that it 
 was so worded as to indemnify not only civil and military 
 authorities and persons acting under them, or under the 
 authority of the Government, but all and every other person and 
 persons whosoever, who shall have done or ordered or directed 
 any matter or thing to be done, &c. Secondly, that owing to 
 the disjunctive form in which the 2nd and 3rd sections are 
 drawn, the destruction of the property of a person suspected to 
 be concerned in the insurrection would be covered by the in- 
 
 1 Mr. Stafford drew up a minute to accompany the Acts of 1865. Briefly 
 but significantly it mentioned that proceedings commenced and threatened 
 against persons, military and civil, necessitated the passing of the Indemnity 
 Act.
 
 INDEMNITY ACTS, 1865, 1866. 365 
 
 demnity given by the Act, even though such destruction may 
 have been wanton and reckless, and not inflicted or ordered in 
 or about the suppressing or quelling of the insurrection. Thus, 
 if a private individual acting under no authority has wantonly or 
 recklessly destroyed or ordered the destruction of the property 
 of those whom he may have chosen to suspect ... he would be 
 protected under the terms of this Act, though such destruction 
 in no way directly or indirectly tended to quell the insurrection, 
 and though the person whose property was destroyed should 
 have proved that he was in no way directly or indirectly con- 
 cerned in it. In my opinion the Act should have been limited 
 in its phraseology to an indemnity for acts ordered or approved 
 by some responsible military or civil authority; and I may 
 observe that in this respect the Act of 1866 is far wider in its 
 terms than the Act of 1865." If the Governor's advisers would 
 limit indemnity to acts done with the view and for the purpose 
 of quelling insurrection, or would pass a measure similar to that 
 of 1865, the Duke would advise that Her Majesty should not 
 exercise her power of disallowance. No graver charge can be 
 made against the public men of the colony than is to be found 
 in the terms of the Bill which they framed to give indemnity to 
 the deeds which they knew to have been done. There was 
 little prospect that the Maoris would seek redress in any colonial 
 court ; and the Ministry, unable to obtain the indemnity they 
 desired, accepted that which the Queen would allow. 1 
 
 There was a war of despatches meantime about the retention 
 of troops. Mr. Cardwell cogently, from the first, announced the 
 resolution of the Government as to their withdrawal, and cited 
 the resolutions of the General Assembly on the assumption of 
 office by Mr. Weld. The Colonial Government complained that 
 the inactivity of the General delayed the departure of the five 
 regiments for whose removal orders had been received. The 
 General imputed obstruction to the local government and the 
 Governor. To follow the dispute through all its ramifications 
 would fill volumes. There is no doubt that the General and the 
 Government obstructed one another as to the removal of the 
 troops. They disagreed as to the posts where troops ought to 
 be retained, and disagreement impeded obedience to orders from 
 1 Act No. 39 ; 10th October, 1867.
 
 366 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 England. In April, 1865, the Governor and his Ministers 
 astounded the General by urging the withdrawal of all Imperial 
 land forces. In May, the General suggested withdrawal of 
 regiments in a manner to which the Governor with concurrence 
 of his Ministers objected. The House of Representatives when 
 Mr. Stafford was Premier (28th October, 1865), resolved : " That 
 this House, without reference to the general policy of retaining 
 the Imperial troops in the colony, and without admitting any 
 pecuniary liability to the mother-country on that account, 
 desires to record its opinion that under the circumstances stated 
 by his Excellency in the printed papers laid before the House, 
 and especially having reference to the long inaction of the 
 Imperial troops in the immediate neighbourhood of the Weraroa 
 pah prior to its capture, his Excellency exercised a sound dis- 
 cretion in the course he adopted in protesting against the pro- 
 posed removal of a certain number of the troops in May last, on 
 the occasion when they were proposed to be removed by the 
 General." The history of the time may be read between the 
 lines of this resolution, moved by Mr. Stafford in the first 
 instance, but amended by Mr. Sewell (a late colleague of Mr. 
 Weld), who added the justificatory reference to -the inaction 
 before Weraroa. Swelling with independence, yet staggering 
 under financial distress ; resenting the imputation that they 
 craved military aid to enable them to confiscate Maori lands, and 
 yet loth to part with the soldiers ; shuddering at the atrocities 
 of the Hau Haus, and wondering that their countrymen in Eng- 
 land did not make it an Imperial duty to stamp them out, 
 instead of haggling over payment for each man, and keeping a 
 debtor and creditor account of all stores consumed, the colonists 
 of 1865 needed pity, and would have deserved sympathy if the 
 great crime at Waitara, the origin of their woes, had not been 
 their own act and deed, set in motion indeed by a Ministry, but 
 adopted by the General Assembly. 
 
 A matter which Lord de Grey rated as one of profit and loss 
 roused indignation. Major Heaphy of the Auckland Militia 
 was recommended as worthy of distinction. General Cameron 
 and Colonel Havelock had in 1864 been loud in his praise ; the 
 former hoping that the Victoria Cross might be awarded to him. 
 Not content with deciding that the Royal Warrant limited the
 
 EARL DE GREY AND MR. WELD. 367 
 
 distinction to officers of the regular forces, Earl de Grey, as 
 if studious to offend, added that the Queen's troops had no 
 chance of receiving that substantial reward in land or otherwise 
 which was open to servants of the Colonial Government. Mr. 
 Weld retorted that the devotion of a colonist was as honourable 
 as that of others, and that when debarred from distinction which 
 only his Queen could confer, his sense of pain was unnecessarily 
 embittered when terms were used which indirectly charged him 
 with sordid motives. Earl de Grey, hardly comprehending the 
 loyalty appealed to, was perhaps insensible to rebuke. In a few 
 years he showed the value of his own patriotism by subjecting 
 himself to a foreign yoke ; and those whom he had insulted 
 might rest contented in the belief that he had been incapable of 
 understanding the true honour of an Englishman. To do him 
 justice, it may be added that he was sufficiently acquainted with 
 good manners to apologize for the language which elicited Mr. 
 Weld's censure. 1 At a later date, January, 1867, a Royal 
 Warrant ordained that the Victoria Cross should be receivable 
 by colonists or others serving with the regular forces, and Major 
 Heaphy received his reward. The absence of rewards in shape 
 of land-grants to Imperial officers, on which Earl de Grey 
 remarked, was amusingly illustrated in 1866. The Colonial 
 Government proposed to confer a grant of land on Dr. Mouatt, 
 an Imperial officer, who had for some time controlled the local 
 medical staff. The principal commissariat officer thought that 
 he too ought to receive a grant,, but the Ministry could not 
 recognize his claim. Forthwith he wrote strong but secret com- 
 plaints to the War Office against the general management of 
 affairs by the Colonial Government. Mr. Stafford coupled this 
 secret zeal with the rejection of the application for a land-grant, 
 and Sir George Grey demanded that all such applications should 
 be made through the Governor of a colony, as had been the 
 custom in former time. The commissariat officer endeavoured 
 to shelter himself behind a plea that he had made no formal 
 
 1 Mr. Weld was ill at the time. The Under-Secretary, Gisborne, drafted 
 the minute. Mr. Weld was loth to appropriate as his own, another man's 
 production, and wished Mr. Gisborne to sign it, but yielded to the argument 
 that as the minute was to be sent to England it should bear a Minister's 
 name. At the present time it is permissible to record Mr. Weld's fine 
 feeling.
 
 368 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 application, but "joined in giving expression to a very general 
 opinion that if Dr. Mouatt received a reward, the head of the com- 
 missariat ought to be be similarly treated." The fact that when 
 the reward was not given secret charges were conveyed to England, 
 in the manner so often complained of, justifies a reference to the 
 circumstance, which in itself is unworthy of record. 
 
 The Aborigines' Protection Society urged Mr. Cardwell, in 
 May, 1865, to despatch Commissioners "to investigate all ques- 
 tions connected with native policy." From Hauraki (the Thames) 
 and from Horotiu (Waikato), Maori letters had reached the 
 Society urging cessation from war, and abstinence from confis- 
 cation. " Hearken ! All the Maoris are agreed on these two 
 points ; for the blood of the Europeans is shed in his money, but 
 as to the blood of the Maori it is shed on his own land." Mr. 
 Cardwell declined to intervene, but the letters were published in 
 the colony with his despatch to the Governor. The petitions 
 had been translated by Mr. C. O. Davis. Those who desired to 
 trample on the Maoris endeavoured to wreak their vengeance on 
 him. They caused him to be prosecuted in 1865 for publishing 
 a " seditious Maori pamphlet," and for libelling the loyal Arawa. 
 The trial lasted several days. Bishop Selwyn was called as a 
 witness to testify to the probable effect on the Maori mind of 
 the published libel. Maori witnesses were also examined. 
 Davis was acquitted. A similar subject cropped up in the 
 English press at the same time. Mr. Fox, who was writing a 
 book about the war, 1 challenged the Secretary of the Aborigines' 
 Protection Society to produce an address to the Maoris which the 
 Society had sent to the colony. Mr. F. W. Chesson published 
 it with a letter to the ' Times ' in which he said : " A politician 
 like Mr. Fox who after vehemently denouncing the Taranaki war 
 in opposition, became the fierce supporter of an equally iniquitous 
 war when he crept into office and who after filling a blue-book 
 with his miserable wranglings with the Governor and seeking to 
 initiate a general policy of confiscation which would have added 
 tenfold to the horrors of the struggle, was compelled to give way 
 to a better man, is not exactly the kind of person who can afford 
 to make charges, or to cast imputations upon even the Aborigines' 
 Protection Society." The address in question besought the 
 1 ' The War in New Zealand.' W. Fox. London : 1866.
 
 ABORIGINES' PROTECTION SOCIETY. 369 
 
 Maoris to be counselled by Sir William Martin, Bishop Selwyn, 
 Archdeacon Hadfield, and other real friends. To this, perhaps, 
 no objection would have been made if it had not been known 
 that in the teeth of their denunciations of its injustice, Governor 
 Browne and his Ministry, and the Duke of Newcastle, had 
 plunged into the Waitara war. But there were other passages 
 which found no favour. Various newspapers attacked the 
 address. A sentence in the ' Times ' will be sufficient to show 
 their tone. " It is a monstrous piece of extravagance to say not 
 only that these savages have an indefeasible title to all the soil 
 of New Zealand, but that they ought to be maintained in posses- 
 sion of it for ever, to the obstruction of all colonization. Such a 
 proposition needs no contradiction." The 'Times' was thoroughly 
 understood by its friends in New Zealand. The 'Wellington 
 Independent' declared (Nov. 1865) : "England benevolently 
 tells us through despatches, by the voice of Parliament, and in 
 the columns of the ' Times,' that we may exterminate the natives 
 as soon as we please." The Maoris were not forgotten in the 
 New Zealand Assembly. A Native Rights Bill was passed to 
 remove doubts as to their position as British subjects. The 
 Native Lands Act of 1862 will be remembered as having been 
 passed by the Domett Ministry in a different form from that 
 desired by Sir G. Grey. The proceedings of the Land Court, in 
 ascertaining titles, required confirmation by the Governor ; and 
 in 1862 the Duke of Newcastle, professing confidence in the 
 Governor, sanctioned the Act, which was only to corne into 
 operation in districts proclaimed by him. By the Native Rights 
 Act of 1865 the ancient custom and usage of the Maori people 
 with regard to title or interest in land was preserved, and the 
 Supreme Court was bound to refer questions of Maori title to be 
 tried in the Native Lands Court. One great work of the Session 
 was the creation of the Court over which Mr. Weld had asked 
 Mr. Fen ton to preside. The Native Lands Act 1865, amended 
 and consolidated the laws relating to lands where Maori pro- 
 prietary rights remained. There was to be a Chief Judge. 
 There was to be other Judges and Native Assessors. Like the 
 Act of 1862, it recognized the right of natives to sell direct to 
 Europeans, and thereby departed from the treaty of Waitangi. 
 The shattered Maori rights were to be readjusted, not completely 
 
 VOL. II. B b
 
 370 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 but partially. Certain powers of co-operation with the Native 
 Land Courts were reserved for the Governor, the juries were to 
 be composed of Maoris or Englishmen, and the Supreme Court 
 was bound to receive as authoritative the decision of the Land 
 Court. The Judges were to hold office during good behaviour 
 and not at pleasure of the Governor in Council. Mr. Mantell 
 must be mentioned as having taken an honourable part in the 
 preparation of this Act, which when he retired was ably con- 
 ducted through the House by Mr. Fitzgerald. To Mr. Weld 
 also is due the tribute that under his Ministry the Bill was 
 prepared by Mr. Fenton, whom Mr. Weld selected for the critical 
 post of Chief Judge. To the Native Lands Act Mr. Fenton (the 
 Chief Judge), the Pakeha Maori (Mr. Maning, who was appointed 
 Judge), and many others, ascribed an advance towards confidence 
 and contentment on the part of the Maori race as gratifying to 
 their friends as it was surprising to their enemies. It was the 
 fruit of much care. The Native Minister and the Attorney- 
 General (Sewell) had wisely taken counsel with Sir William 
 Martin before introducing it. That good man's efforts did not 
 cease with the passing of the Act. When, at the close of the 
 session, Mr. Russell became Native Minister under Mr. Stafford, 
 Sir W. Martin put forward his views in a manner which excited 
 the admiration but did not evoke the help of Mr. Cardwell. 
 War should be terminated on terms of cession, not seizure, of 
 lands. Until there were Maori Representatives no Bill affecting 
 Maoris should be brought forward before a draft had been 
 circulated in every district which had accepted English rule, and 
 time had been given for petitioning. No Act affecting Maori 
 land tenure should be brought into operation until the Royal 
 Assent had been obtained and notified in the colony. The 
 Public Works Lands Act, and Outlying Districts Act, should not 
 be brought into operation. The latter might be tyrannically 
 abused. When a supposed criminal had not been surrendered, 
 lands could be seized. " Could this appear to the natives any- 
 thing but a device for getting land ? " Under the former, land 
 could be taken for public purposes without compliance with the 
 equitable provisions which in England were a security against 
 wrong. Mr. Russell " regretted much to find his views opposed 
 to some of those of so good and able a man as Sir W. Martin " ;
 
 SIR W. MARTIN AND MR. CARDWELL. 371 
 
 Sir George Grey lauded the humanity of public men and the 
 forbearance of the General Assembly in dealing with Maori 
 rights ; Mr. Cardwell l declined to assume the responsibility of 
 desiring that all Acts affecting the natives should be reserved 
 for the Queen's pleasure, and Sir William Martin's paper remains 
 to excite wonder at the minds which could be opposed to his 
 reasoning. While Mr. Cardwell was in Downing Street there 
 might be hope of justice. In October, 1865, he had written 
 that native affairs were " not placed in the hands of the Local 
 Government in any other sense than that in which the affairs of 
 the settlers themselves are so placed, and that in cases touching 
 the honour or interests of the Crown, the adherence to treaties 
 entered into by Her Majesty, and other matters of an analogous 
 kind, the Royal power of disallowing Acts is no more abandoned 
 in the one case than the other." But who could guarantee Mr. 
 Cardwell's continuance in office ? He had succeeded a Newcastle, 
 and might give way to a Buckingham or a Granville. The New 
 Zealand Settlements Act was again dealt with. Amended in 
 1864, it still displeased Mr. Cardwell, who, though he abstained 
 from causing inconvenience by immediate disallowance, and 
 trusted to the Governor's discretion in administration, considered 
 the Act of 1864 unsatisfactory, and held the power of disallow- 
 ance in case of need. He desired that the compensation to be 
 given to dispossessed natives should depend on judicial decisions, 
 and be independent of the concurrence of political advisers 
 " reflecting the popular opinion of the moment." The renewal 
 of 1865 made the Act perpetual, but fixed the 3rd December 
 1867, as the time when the power of the Governor to proclaim 
 districts, and reserve for settlement lands forfeited for insurrec- 
 tion, should cease. A Native Commission Act (1865) was passed 
 
 1 Mr. Cardwell (26th April, 1866) read Sir \V. Martin's letter with 
 great interest, and doubted not that the "forethought exhibited" would 
 secure for it the consideration it " eminently deserved." But Her Majesty's 
 Government were " not of opinion that the Home Government could profit- 
 ably assume that responsibility, or require that delay to occur which would 
 be involved in Sir W. Martin's proposal that Acts affecting the natives 
 should be reserved for the signification of Her Majesty's pleasure." But 
 the Constitution Act of 1852 (15 and 16 Viet. cap. 72) distinctly preserved 
 a power for the Crown to guard the natives from wrong ; and the Queen 
 was pledged to the treaty of Waitangi. 
 
 B B 2
 
 372 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 as a preliminary step towards conferring on the Maori race all 
 rights and privileges of British subjects. Mr. Weld introduced 
 it. Alluding to the exploits of Mokena Kohere, he said : " No 
 words of his could express too strongly what they had owed to 
 the loyal natives." The Native Lands Act was hailed by Mr. 
 Cardwell with pleasure. The Outlying Districts Act, and the 
 amended Settlements Act, were not disallowed at once ; but 
 as they were capable of abuse, the power of disallowance was 
 held available. On the general tendency of the legislation on 
 Maori interests, Mr. Cardwell warmly congratulated the colony. 
 Early in the session (9th August), Mr. Graham presented a 
 petition from Waharoa, praying that a Commissioner might be 
 appointed to investigate the cause of the war. Mr. Brodie had 
 a notice on the paper condemning the receipt of communications 
 or petitions from natives in rebellion, and Mr. Graham's motion 
 for the reception of the petition was discussed. Mr. Brodie (9th 
 August) denounced its reception, and reprobated Mr. Graham's 
 communications with the rebel chief or rebel race. Mr. Weld 
 entreated the House not to repel the Maori when there was a 
 glimmering of brighter days. Though the language of the 
 petition might be irregular, surely it might be borne with. At 
 least, let the House, " before striking, listen." Mr. 'Fitzgerald 
 supported the reception of the petition. When it spoke of 
 Rangiriri as a murder, its language was poetical Mr. Stafford 
 thought it would be a grievous error to make the petitioner 
 think that Maoris had " nothing to expect from the sympathy or 
 justice " of the House. Mr. Brodie's motion was lost, on division, 
 by 16 votes against 2. On the following day the petition was 
 received. Waharoa's words were heard. " Mr. Fox and his 
 friends have written to Queen Victoria words damaging to my 
 reputation, hence my desire that the whole matter may be seen 
 into, so that it may be found who is right, and who it is that is 
 wrong. Let it be for the law to determine. I agree that some 
 Englishman be appointed as arbitrator that is to say, if he is 
 an Englishman of good principles, single-hearted, God-fearing, 
 and fearful of doing wrong. I consent to point out an arbitrator." 
 He would name Sir George Arney, the English Chief Justice. 
 He would abide by the arbitration of any one chosen by the 
 Queen. He recited his efforts for peace. " Did the law protect
 
 WAHAROA'S PETITION. 373 
 
 Te Rangitake and Waitara? Did a law protect us, our lands 
 and property, at that time ? Were the Europeans whom the 
 Governor sent to this island Europeans who drink spirits, 
 curse, speak evilly, who make light of those in authority, were 
 these a law ? Then did I say, Let me set up my king, for we 
 do not approve of the law. But now, O friends, the law of the 
 Queen is the law to protect my king and the whole people 
 also." . . . 
 
 Sixteen members voted against the reception of a letter called 
 a petition written by Te Waharoa, in April, before his submission. 
 In it he denounced the conduct of the war. " Look also, Maoris 
 have been burnt alive in their dwelling-houses." From a Maori 
 point of view, he argued that the war in Waikato had been 
 unjust. Twenty-seven members decided to receive this document 
 also, and among them were the influential names of Messrs. 
 Dillon Bell, Carleton, Domett, Fitzgerald, Fitzherbert, Graham, 
 Colonel Haultain, Monro, Sewell, Stafford, and Weld. But 
 though they had qualms of conscience with regard to the treat- 
 ment accorded to Te Waharoa, neither they nor any men in 
 power in New Zealand ever would consent to submit to arbitra- 
 ment of reason or law the questions he propounded. Never- 
 theless, something was gained in the cessation of violence. 
 Amongst other proofs of confidence, returns were laid before 
 the Assembly, showing that the number of grants from the 
 Crown to Maoris was rapidly increasing. More than a hundred 
 were in course of preparation at Canterbury alone. It was but 
 a beginning ; nevertheless, with cautious kindness on the part 
 of the Government, much might flow from it. 
 
 A complicated dispute about a block of land at Manawatu 
 was vainly thought settled to the satisfaction of the natives. 
 The Ngatiraukawa and Rangitane tribes on one side, the 
 Ngatiapa on the other, had almost been at war. Dr. Feather- 
 ston interposed, and battle was averted in 1865, but the dispute 
 was to be a cause of future dangers. On the 9th August, Mr. 
 Fitzgerald presented a petition from natives at Otaki. They 
 hailed a suggestion made to them by him, and asked that 
 Maoris might sit in the General Assembly. Subsequently the 
 same tribe petitioned that the Maoris might elect representatives 
 to sit on the Commission to be appointed under the Native
 
 374 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Commission Act. Mr. G. Graham vainly endeavoured to in- 
 corporate with a general Representation Bill special provision 
 for conferring the elective franchise on Maoris. Mr. Fitzgerald 
 had at the time a notice on the table to provide for special 
 Maori government in the northern districts, but the House was 
 satisfied with neither proposal. Mr. Vogel became the mouth- 
 piece of malcontents, and moved, on the 12th September, that 
 the House had no confidence in the Native Minister (who was 
 thus attracting the goodwill of Maoris), but the motion was 
 negatived without a division. After the retirement of the Weld 
 Ministry, in October, another proposal by Mr. Vogel was brought 
 forward. Each province was to preserve order, subdue its own 
 Maoris, and " enjoy the proceeds of the confiscated lands " it 
 might take from the natives. After discussion this premium 
 for robbery was withdrawn. 
 
 When (2nd September) the proclamation of peace was issued, 
 Mr. Colenso made (14th September) a motion condemning 
 omissions from the list of the unpardoned ; but in a fuller House 
 the resolution was rescinded on the motion of Mr. Weld. The 
 Prince's Street reserve at Dunedin was the occasion of his losing 
 friends. Mr. Mantell, it may be remembered, had denounced the 
 attempts made to break faith with the beneficiaries under the 
 reserve. Mr. Weld (on an Otago Native Reserves Bill) voted on 
 the side of justice. He was warned that he would lose supporters, 
 and he lost them. Yet the amendment which the majority re- 
 jected, and the Government supported, sought to refer the matter 
 to the Supreme Court. When Mr. Fitzgerald tried to introduce 
 a Bill to authorize suitable government in Maori provinces in the 
 Northern Island, the question was shelved for six months, and 
 the Government was evidently failing in strength. Mr. Fox 
 had resigned his seat in May, declaring that it was useless to 
 strive to do good while Sir George Grey was Governor. But 
 though freed from the opposition of Mr. Fox, the Ministry was 
 unsafe. Mr. Stafford was on the watch to overthrow it. Mr. 
 Vogel, in September, on a motion adverse to the financial policy, 
 had found a large following in objecting to fresh taxation until 
 a new Parliament could be convened. He said in a pamphlet, 
 that New Zealand " traded on its weakness in asking England 
 for help." The ' Wellington Independent ' called his statement
 
 RETIREMENT OF WELD MINISTRY. 375 
 
 "a slander worthy of its author." The propositions of the 
 Treasurer, Mr. Fitzherbert, involved an expenditure of more 
 than 1,500,000. Increase of customs duties and imposition 
 of stamp duties were asked for. It was proposed to repeal the 
 Surplus Revenue Act of 1858, under which sums were disbursed 
 to the provinces ; and to give aid, if at all, by annual votes. 
 Each province enjoyed by law the whole of its territorial revenue. 
 But to encroach on provincial privileges was dangerous, and 
 murmurs loud and deep abounded amongst the members. It 
 was resolved to fight to the last against the encroachment. 
 The strife culminated in October. The Surplus Revenue 
 Repeal Bill awaited a second reading. The Stamp Duties 
 Resolutions had, on the 27th September, been carried by a 
 bare majority in a house of 42 members. On the 10th October, 
 the Government referred them back to the Committee of Ways 
 and Means, but only succeeded in doing so by the aid of the 
 Speaker's casting vote, in a house of 40 members. Provincial 
 jealousy diminished the scanty adherents of Mr. Weld still more 
 on the llth October, when, on a motion by Mr. Vogel, "that 
 in the distribution of the provincial revenue the stamp duties 
 be placed on the same footing as the customs duties " (of which 
 three-eighths fell to the share of the provinces), the Treasurer 
 had only 16 supporters. Though the Speaker, on constitutional 
 grounds, gave his casting-vote against a resolution which, with- 
 out a recommendation from the Oiown, appropriated revenue 
 by anticipation, Mr. Weld accepted the result as a practical 
 defeat. He had declared that the question was vital, and the 
 division indicated an absence of "that hearty support which 
 would alone justify " Ministers in adhering to their responsibility 
 in the critical condition of affairs, and which would guarantee 
 success in their " policy of self-reliance and self-defence." To the 
 Governor he expressed their "deep sense of the cordial co-operation 
 always afforded them during their term of office." In the name 
 of the provinces, which he was afterwards to be the chief means 
 of destroying, Mr. Vogel extinguished Mr. Weld. But as yet he 
 was pulling chesnuts out of the fire for others. Mr. Stafford 
 carried off the spoils. Mr. Weld's friends vainly entreated him 
 to remain in office. Public meetings were held, and there was 
 general discontent at the prospect of a Stafford Administration
 
 376 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Some to whom he applied for assistance declined to serve with 
 him. Mr. Crosbie Ward, an old colleague of Mr. Domett (al- 
 though in controversy with Mr. Weld at the time), was proof 
 against all entreaties, and Mr. Stafford was fain to patch up a 
 Ministry in which he held three offices, while Messrs. Haultain, 
 Russell, and Paterson, held the remainder. The Representatives 
 deemed themselves entrapped into sanctioning an Administration 
 controlled by Mr. Stafford. 
 
 Mr. Weld, though in ill-health, addressed the electors at 
 Christchurch. The Town-hall was crowded to excess. It was 
 resolved that he was the most fit person to represent Christ- 
 church. He accepted the invitation, and wrote a farewell 
 address to his constituents at Cheviot. But in January his 
 medical advisers forbade a continuance in public life ; and 
 hoping that his " errors of judgment or temper might be for- 
 given," and fervently thanking his friends, to whom he con- 
 fidently left the trust of his political honour, and the triumph of 
 his principles, he passed from the parliamentary arena of New 
 Zealand. His self-reliant policy elicited compliments from the 
 London ' Times,' and from public men. Mr. Cardwell, in Decem- 
 ber, 1865, specially impressed upon Sir George Grey that the 
 Home Government having accepted that policy as embodied in 
 the New Zealand resolutions of December, 1864, intended to 
 adhere to it. When his despatch was published in New Zealand, 
 the 'Canterbury Press' (25th April, 1866) declared that the 
 deserted Mr. Weld was stronger than his treacherous sup- 
 porters ; " he is driven from office but carries his policy. Mr. 
 Stafford holds office but abandons his policy ; all that he op- 
 posed is carried ; all that he proposed is abandoned." Mr. 
 Fitzgerald also disappeared from New Zealand Cabinets. A 
 letter from him to Sir C. Adderley l may properly be cited : 
 " I venture to think that during the two months I held office 
 the colony has asserted some of the most important principles 
 which lay down fixed bases for the guidance of our future policy. 
 A Bill for enabling the Governor to appoint a Commission of 
 Natives and Europeans to inquire how the natives may best be 
 represented in the General Assembly, shows how widely the 
 feeling of the colony has changed since 1862, when, amid general 
 1 PubliHhed in the London 'Times,' 20th December, 1865.
 
 MR. FITZGERALD ON MAORI AFFAIRS. 377 
 
 laughter, I first proposed the adoption of this principle. A Bill 
 of still greater importance has declared that all Maoris are 
 British subjects, entitled to all the privileges and protection of 
 British law ; and as a great practical result it enables a Maori 
 to bring an action into the Supreme Court, in respect to native 
 lands. The monstrous doctrine that the Maoris were compelled 
 to obey the law, and could be tried and executed by our courts 
 for crime, while at the same time we refused them the assistance 
 of our courts to defend their property, is now, thank God, for 
 ever 1 expunged from the jurisprudence of this colony. We 
 have, then, constructed an elaborate machinery for trying cases 
 of native title to land by a Native Lands Court, and enabled 
 the Supreme Court to use this machinery by sending down 
 cases to it for trial." A Police Bill which authorized the taking 
 of lands from a tribe which might shelter a murderer would 
 provide necessary police funds. Summing up what had been 
 done, the writer added : " These are measures which I am very 
 glad to have had some share in during the short time I have 
 been in office, and which, if faithfully carried into action, will, I 
 believe, change the whole features of the Maori question." Men 
 who carried such measures had a right to exult in the change. 
 The student of history must remember that Sir William Martin, 
 who was consulted in their preparation, had cried vainly for 
 some such measures in the past, when no man in office would 
 regard wisdom. Mr. Fitzgerald did not retire from the political 
 arena. He stood for Christchurch, and vigorously assailed Mr. 
 Stafford's Ministry. It is impossible to refrain from quoting 
 sentences which bear upon the Waitara war. He had never 
 differed from Mr. Weld except on the Waitara question. He 
 had " distinctly one view, and I took distinctly the other. I 
 devoted myself with no ordinary amount of labour to master 
 that great question ; for I saw that it was the great question of 
 New Zealand. ... I read and studied every paper . . . and I 
 came to the conclusion . . . the more honest that it involved a 
 separation from those whose opinions I valued more than those 
 of any men in the colony . . . that the Waitara purchase was a 
 
 1 Mr. Fitzgerald can hardly be blamed for not foreseeing the violence 
 done and the justice denied to Maoris by the New Zealand Government in 
 1881-2.
 
 378 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 bad one ; and secondly, that even if it were a good purchase it 
 was one for which it was extremely unwise to plunge the colony 
 into war." l The meeting resolved unanimously to send " the 
 first orator of New Zealand " to the Assembly. Mr. Stafford's 
 course was troublous when he took office. Rumours were rife 
 that he had obtained a promise of a dissolution, whether supplies 
 were granted or not. Mr. Fitzgerald brought the question 
 before the House. Another of the Weld Ministry, Mr. J. C. 
 Richmond, put a similar question in the Council. Colonel 
 Russell replied, that "No proposal was ever made by Mr. 
 Stafford to his Excellency to dissolve the Parliament before 
 the supplies were asked for." Thereupon a statement from Mr. 
 JPharazyn was produced, declaring that after he had positively 
 refused to accept office, Mr. Stafford said, " he wished it to be 
 generally known, that under no circumstances could the House 
 turn him out, as in the event of a refusal to grant supplies, he 
 had the power of dissolving without this having been done, and 
 was determined to use it and appeal to the country. He did 
 not wish to use this as a threat, and it would be highly improper 
 to make the statement in the House, but he wished Mr. 
 Pharazyn to make his determination known, in order to pre- 
 vent factious opposition." The statement was entered in the 
 Journals, and communicated to the Governor, as materially affect- 
 ing . " the principles upon which the Government of the colony 
 is established." Indignation was fruitless. Unprepared for con- 
 sequences, a majority had weakly deserted Mr. Weld in haste,. 
 and was compelled to repent at leisure. The Governor signified 
 his acquiescence to the making of any explanation which his 
 advisers thought proper; but his advisers were content with 
 their seats. Mr. Sewell, in Committee, inserted in a Bill to 
 control public expenditure, a clause imposing penalties upon 
 any member of the Executive Council advising, or threatening 
 to advise, during a session, prorogation or dissolution of the 
 Assembly while supplies were unprovided, but on the following 
 day, when some of Mr. Sew ell's friends were absent, the 
 
 1 Mr. Fitzgerald said : (Had our Native Lands Acts been) " law during the 
 Waitara purchase, if Te Kangitake could have gone to the Supreme Court 
 to try his cnse, there would have been no need of war. We should have 
 tutve<l millions of money." (The meeting cheered him.) But the lives 1
 
 NORTH AND SOUTH. 379 
 
 noxious clause was struck out, and Mr. Stafford remained 
 master of the situation when the Assembly was prorogued on 
 the 30th October. 
 
 Separation of the islands into two colonies had been seriously 
 discussed. In September, Mr. Russell moved that existing 
 liabilities should be equitably adjusted, and Cook's Strait be 
 made a boundary between two separate colonies. Mr. Weld 
 opposed, and the motion was rejected by 31 votes against 17. 
 From Auckland a petition to the Queen signed by nearly all 
 the European settlers had prayed that a separate colony might 
 be created there. The Weld Ministry strenuously opposed this 
 project, and sent a counter-petition from Hawke's Bay where 
 the inhabitants unanimously differed from their Auckland 
 brethren. Sir George Grey had hinted that some arrangement 
 by which the Imperial Government could exercise control over 
 native affairs in the north until a reconciliation could be effected 
 between the two races seemed essential. His advisers did not 
 agree with him. The north was ill-pleased with the results of 
 the session of 1865. The Provincial Council protested against 
 the new Electoral Act which gave a majority to the south in the 
 House of Representatives. A similar majority existed in the 
 Council. Auckland prayed that it might *" no longer be subject 
 to southern legislation." The southern colonists were "practi- 
 cally not liable to military service," not exposed to danger, and 
 being " ignorant of native affairs," might afflict the north with 
 war. Mr. Whitaker, elected Superintendent of the province in 
 1866, sent a special petition to the Queen at a later date, but 
 Mr. Stafford was as hostile as his predecessor, and Mr. Card well 
 held out no hope to the Provincial Council. In a tone almost 
 complaining he said it was " no easy task to retrace the steps " 
 deliberately taken in establishing the existing Government. 
 An ineptitude, rare in his despatches, suggested that local 
 legislation might meet the emergency. Auckland was like a 
 lamb remitted to question with the wolf. The English lion was 
 weary of blunders some of which were his own. No folly is 
 more conspicuous than his who thinks that power over other 
 men's fortunes will willingly be resigned. Yet men continually 
 hug the belief that they can hoodwink crowds, and seduce them 
 into acts which would be like loosening the fastened fangs of a
 
 380 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 wild beast. The north was powerless. But the south was only 
 entering upon the heritage which numbers gave it. It com- 
 plained that it was dragged behind the car of Auckland 
 necessities. In an elaborate address to his Dunedin con- 
 stituents in 1866, Major Richardson (Mr. Weld's recent colleague) 
 declared : " The fact is that the south has been bound over 
 hand and foot to colonize Auckland." The expectant south had 
 not long to wait. 
 
 The Hokitika gold-fields had been discovered early in 1865. 
 The sceptre was passing into the hands of the gold-seeking 
 adventurers, who had flocked from Australia to the Middle 
 Island ; and already one of them was scenting his prey, although 
 Mr. Stafford had not included him amongst his colleagues in 
 1865. 1 There was a " Northern Association of New Zealand" 
 Committee in London which strove to strengthen the hands of 
 the Auckland secessionists ; but Mr. Cardwell gave them no heed 
 except by rebuking their vehemence. Mr. Stafford had not 
 allowed the session to close without laying down principles to 
 control the Auckland territory. As adopted finally they as- 
 serted that, subject to certain conditions, the confiscated lands 
 in the province should be transferred to the provincial administra- 
 tion for purposes of colonization. The General Government 
 retained control in settling the loyal natives, and those who 
 might " desire to accept the Queen's authority and take grants 
 from the Crown." The province was to be liable for all sums 
 expended for its advantage under the New Zealand Settlements 
 Act. After discharging such liabilities, the province was to pay 
 to the General Government, out of the proceeds of confiscated 
 lands, 2s. Qd. per acre, and was to provide all compensation 
 awarded to natives (by the Compensation Court) under the 
 
 1 Mr. Vogel, in December, 1865, proposed a characteristic plan for deal- 
 ing with " the magnificent land acquired from the natives " ; viz. to submit to 
 a lottery a million of acres, valued at 2 an acre. There were to be 6121 
 lots, varying from one of 100,000 acres to 4200 of 50 acres. The profits 
 of the raffle were to be expended on immigration, and 18,870 steerage 
 and 170 cabin passengers were expected. " Winners of land not using their 
 privileges" within a time to be stated were to forfeit them. Though the 
 plan reeked of an atmosphere to be found between Shoreditch and White- 
 chapel, the immigrants were to be moral, the " settlements model," and no 
 difficulties were anticipated with the Maoris.
 
 MR. STAFFORD'S TERMS WITH THE NORTH. 381 
 
 Settlements Act, or required to compensate Auckland settlers 
 for losses in the war. Further, the province was, after recouping 
 the sums spent by the General Government on military coloniz- 
 ation and Waikato immigration, to " engage to spend " the whole 
 of the receipts " from confiscated lands in colonizing and other- 
 wise for the general advantage of the confiscated districts." 
 Auckland did not accept these terms without negotiation. In 
 January, Mr. Whitaker extracted from Mr. Stafford a promise 
 to invite the General Assembly to raise 250,000 as a loan to 
 the province to enable it to undertake the cost of colonizing the 
 confiscated lands, and in February, 1866, the Provincial Council 
 on the recommendation of Mr. Whitaker concurred with the 
 proposed terms. Amidst the melancholy proofs of the folly as 
 well as wickedness of the act at Waitara, returns showed that in 
 1864- more than 130,000 acres were sold in Wellington, nearly 
 60,000 at Hawke's Bay, and a like number in Auckland, while 
 in the Taranaki province there had been no sale at all. The 
 Council had (25th October) in spite of ministerial opposition 
 remonstrated against the retention of the Imperial troops at the 
 rate of pay (40 per man) sought to be imposed. A colonial 
 force would be more effective, and Great Britain would be 
 relieved from a useless expenditure. Mr. Stafford was unwilling 
 to attach importance to the remonstrance. He assumed a virtue 
 in not having by new creations swamped the majority in the 
 Council. A Representative Bill had been passed, a new Parlia- 
 ment was to be assembled, and he submitted to the Governor 
 that all the arrangements which he found in operation on 
 accepting office ought to remain undisturbed. He declared that 
 the colony was as incapable of raising the force contemplated by 
 Mr. Weld as it was of paying the " 40 a-head demanded in 
 respect of the Imperial troops," and this ojainous declaration 
 was transmitted to England to intimate that the colonial 
 contribution would be made a matter of dispute. The work 
 of the troops was done. They had conquered Waikato, and 
 could be dispensed with. The ' Wellington Independent' (18th 
 November, 1865) did not hesitate to say : " Mr. Stafford's policy 
 is to back up the Governor in keeping the Imperial troops 
 as long as possible, and ultimately to refuse to pay for their 
 services." When Mr. Stafford took office the return of one
 
 382 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 regiment had been arranged, and four others were sent away, at 
 intervals, in 1866. Despatch after despatch from England com- 
 plained of the delay. Early in 1866 the current of thought in 
 New Zealand concerned itself chiefly with the correspondence 
 about the withdrawal of troops and financial affairs. War was 
 virtually at an end, but the cost of it was draining the resources 
 of the colony. The withdrawal of the troops would diminish 
 the private gains which accompany the supply of provisions and 
 stores of an army. The quarrel between the Governor and the 
 General was still furnishing occupation for talkers, and filling 
 reams of despatches. It is necessary to bear in mind that till 
 the new Parliament assembled in June, 1866, all minds were 
 intent mainly on these topics. In January, Mr. Stafford 
 elaborately described the state of the colony. The ordinary 
 revenue from all sources was 738,000. l The estimated ex- 
 penditure was 1,121,000 for the year. Resort was made to 
 the loan to supply deficiency of revenue. Native wars were 
 responsible for 3,396,000. The balance estimated to be due 
 to the Imperial Government was 503,000. The sums due for 
 advances from the commissariat chest were large, and there 
 was a dispute as to the amount. There were counter-claims 
 also for advances from the Colonial Treasury for Imperial 
 purposes. On the suggestion of the Treasury, Mr. Cardwell 
 advised that an officer should be appointed in the colony to 
 examine the accounts with the Commissary-General, Mr. Jones. 
 To the assumption that the 500,000 in colonial debentures 
 could be handed at par to the Imperial Treasury, Mr. Cardwell 
 would by no means agree. The debentures were in the market 
 " at a discount of nearly 20 per cent." Nothing seemed to be 
 touched in New Zealand which was not a fruitful source of 
 disagreement. When Mr. Cardwell, in November, 1865, received 
 the peace proclamation of September, and the financial state- 
 ment of Mr. Fitzherbert indicating that the capitation charge of 
 40 for each soldier would not be proposed to the Assembly, 
 it was at once ordered that the troops in the colony should be 
 reduced to three battalions of Infantry and one battery of 
 Artillery, and these were only to remain on request of the 
 Colonial Ministry and provision for the local capitation charge. 
 1 Only sums exceeding 1000 are included in these figures.
 
 GENERAL ELECTION IN 1866. 383 
 
 They were not to be employed in protecting land taken from 
 rebels, nor to be left in distant and isolated posts. When Mr. 
 Weld's resignation was announced, Sir George Grey was em- 
 phatically informed by Mr. Cardwell that no change of Ministry 
 would affect the decision of the Home Government. The 
 correspondence respecting the Weraroa pah and General 
 Cameron exacerbated the instructions on the removal of troops ; 
 and when in the end of 1866 the Earl of Carnarvon endeavoured 
 to intimidate the Governor, the confusion into which affairs had 
 been thrown could hardly have been more confounded. The 
 wrongs of Te Rangitake in 1860 had been bitterly avenged 
 upon the colonists, who had been plunged into the Waitara war 
 by the Stafford Ministry as light-heartedly as the French were 
 ushered into the Franco-German war in 1870 by Emile Ollivier. 
 Among the matters for which Mr. Weld's Government took 
 credit in the session of 1865, was the arrangement of terms for 
 conveyance of mails by Panama. A foolish jealousy has some- 
 times beset the Australian colonies on this subject. Instead 
 of determining that mails from Europe shall be brought by that 
 which is, on the whole, the most regular and economical con- 
 veyance, they have vexed themselves and the postal authorities 
 in England by struggling to obtain the sentimental " mana," or 
 importance of having the terminus fixed at their capitals. For 
 New Zealand there was some excuse, as her easterly position 
 made it probable that letters carried through America from 
 England -would arrive in less time" than those taken by Suez. 
 Mr. Weld incurred disfavour at Auckland by fixing the port of 
 call at Wellington, but he gained approval at Otago which was 
 brought closer to the coveted privilege. 
 
 Early in 1866 writs for election of a new House of Represent- 
 atives were issued by the Governor. The old names notable 
 in New Zealand reappeared among the three-score-and-ten 
 members, on the 30th June. Sir David Monro, member for 
 Cheviot, again became Speaker. The questions of war and 
 finance pervaded the Governor's speech. Disturbance was 
 almost at an end. Remnants only of hostile bands were at 
 large on the west coast. Some of the ringleaders captured had 
 been "temporarily removed, in 1866, to the Chatham Islands," 
 and " the hope of return was held out to them as soon as the
 
 384 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 suppression of the rebellion and their own good conduct might 
 seem to justify the Government in restoring them to their 
 homes." 1 Murderers had been dealt with by the ordinary 
 tribunals. The majority of the captives had been restored to 
 liberty. The troops were in course of removal, and there were 
 districts for which the Assembly would have to provide force 
 sufficient to maintain Her Majesty's authority. It had been 
 found necessary to appoint a Commission to report on the Civil 
 Service. The tariff was to be revised, and stamp duties the 
 test which had been fatal to Mr. Weld were to be imposed. 
 Several new members had been appointed in the Legislative 
 Council, which was thereby enlarged to thirty-five members. 
 With a few amendments in the Council, and with none in the 
 Lower House, the friends of the Ministry carried addresses in reply 
 to the Governor's speech, and Mr. Stafford was firmly seated if not 
 entirely trusted. His manoeuvres in 1865, and his assumption 
 of virtue in not having overborne, by new creations, the majority 
 in the Council, were not forgotten. Colonel Whitmore carried, 
 without a division, a resolution that the number of members in 
 the Council ought not to exceed thirty-eight, with a proviso 
 that once, nevertheless, during a session two additional members 
 might be appointed to represent a Government. Subsequent 
 vacancies by death or otherwise were not to be filled up, except 
 to maintain the normal number. A Bill to give effect to this 
 resolution was passed, and sent to the other House. There 
 it encountered the jealousy which springs from self-worship. 
 Though read a second time it was strangled in Committee ; a 
 majority, which in justice to the House must be admitted to 
 contain no names of repute, determining to report progress 
 without asking leave to sit again. A ludicrous proposition was 
 made by Mr. Vogel, viz. that after repeated disagreement about 
 a measure, the Governor might summon to the Council the 
 Representatives, who were to be competent to pass the disputed 
 measure but to be otherwise powerless when seated amongst 
 their victims. 
 
 It may be assumed as a fact, recurring with almost the 
 regularity of physical laws, that inferior minds in one house will 
 
 1 Speech of Native Minister (A. H. Russell) in Legislative Council, 26th 
 July, 1866.
 
 RECONSTRUCTION OF STAFFORD MINISTRY. 385 
 
 view with disfavour whatever tends to strengthen the position 
 of the other. As the power of the purse of itself gives pre- 
 dominance, and as it is, in all imitations of the British Parlia- 
 ment, placed chiefly in the hands of the House which most 
 largely represents ignorance, it follows, almost as night the day, 
 that the power will be sought to be abused, if not converted 
 into tyranny. In quiet times the salutary influence of a 
 Governor may secure serious consideration in appointing senators 
 for life. When pressure comes he cannot, without locking the 
 wheels of the State chariot, bring influence to bear. 
 
 There was warrant for Colonel Whitmore's caution. Already 
 Sir John Young (afterwards Lord Lisgar) had, in 1861, consented 
 to overbear the Legislative Council in Sydney by a wholesale 
 creation of members. Circumstances over which neither he nor 
 his Ministers had control doomed his disorderly procedure to 
 failure, but with the rapidity with which discreditable doings in 
 one colony are proverbially heralded in another, the daring act 
 attempted in New South Wales had been bruited in New 
 Zealand, and it was natural that securities should be demanded 
 against similar violence. That they could not, even in placid 
 times of legislation, be obtained, furnished a warning to all who 
 are inclined in weak moments to subject themselves to the 
 possible tyranny of others. Mr. Stafford was not confronted by 
 serious opposition in the Council ; but on the 15th August the 
 Representatives, by 47 votes against 14, resolved that his Ministry 
 did not possess their confidence. He was less sensitive than his 
 predecessor, and being again entrusted with the task of forming 
 a Ministry, resorted to the device of securing Mr. Fitzherbert 
 as Treasurer on the 24th August, 1866. Nor was Mr. Weld's 
 Treasurer the only one of Mr. Weld's colleagues who enlisted 
 under Mr. Stafford. Major J. L. C. Richardson and Mr. J. C. 
 Richmond accompanied him in his return to the piebald Ministry 
 which Mr. Stafford thus created, and which contained active 
 members of the conspiracy which defrauded the Maoris of their 
 reserve at Dunedin. A former colleague of Mr. Weld was still 
 discontented with the guidance of Mr. Stafford. On the 24th 
 September, Mr. Fitzgerald moved resolutions which, while 
 reaffirming the resolutions of December, 1864, on the duty of 
 the colony as to internal defence, declared that the whole of 
 
 VOL. II. C C
 
 386 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the military should be under the control of the Civil Govern- 
 ment, and that its duties ought not to be measured by the 
 amount of military force which the Home Government might 
 choose to maintain in the colony. Mr. Stafford having added 
 words to the effect that the House was prepared " to provide 
 sufficient means for defence," the resolutions were shelved by 30 
 votes against 21, the Government voting in the minority, while 
 Mr. Whitaker, Dr. Featherston, and Mr. Crosbie Ward were in 
 the majority. 
 
 It was no Pharaoh who had bound the colonists to their task ; 
 but it was not made easier for them because self-imposed. 
 They had determined to make bricks without straw, and were 
 aghast at the work they had to do. Thus it was that they 
 could not speak intelligibly on Mr. Fitzgerald's resolution. 
 Similarly when Mr. Whitaker, earlier in the session, proposed 
 resolutions for remodelling the government of Auckland, the 
 Representatives went into Committee upon them, and went out 
 again agreeing upon nothing. After a week of futile discussion 
 the Speaker resumed the chair. Two financial statements were 
 made within one month. Mr. Jollie, who had become Treasurer 
 in June, made a statement on the 8th August. A vote of want 
 of confidence, moved by Mr. Moorhouse, the Superintendent of 
 Canterbury, was passed on the 15th by a large majority. Mr. 
 Stafford, to propitiate the House, made room in the Ministry for 
 three of the gentlemen whom he had driven from office a few 
 months previously. Mr. Fitzherbert, having reassumed the 
 control of the Treasury, made his financial statement on the 
 5th September. Some reduction of expenditure was proposed, 
 and the maintenance of an armed constabulary rather than a 
 rudimentary army was declared to be the policy of the recon- 
 structed Government. Mr. Fitzherbert did not propose to deal 
 in 1866 with his fonner stumbling-block The Surplus Revenue 
 Act but hinted that in a future session, the partnership in 
 revenue between the General and Provincial Government would 
 require to be dealt with. The provincial share (three-eighths) 
 of the Customs revenue was estimated at 318,750. Three days 
 before the session was closed, Mr. Jollie proposed a reduction, 
 but failed to convince his fellow-members. A Stamp Duties 
 Bill was passed, and was expected to produce 50,000 a-year.
 
 WAHAKOA AT WELLINGTON. 387 
 
 The confiscated lands were made a subject of inquiry early in 
 the session, on the motion of Colonel Haultain, the Minister 
 for Colonial Defence. A Select Committee reported that in 
 Taranaki, 1,144,300 acres; in Wellington, 200,000 acres; in 
 Auckland, 1,911,437 acres, had been confiscated. Though in- 
 structed to report upon "the best mode of disposing of land 
 available for settlement," they refrained from doing so. The 
 computation of the extent and value of lands at Waikato was 
 intricate and complex, and at Waikato and Tauranga the lands 
 had on certain terms been handed over to the Provincial 
 Government. At Opotiki, though 480,000 acres had been 
 seized, about half must be restored to the Maoris, of whom 
 about half had remained loyal ; and, deducting 25,000 acres for 
 military settlers, and assuming much to be unavailable for 
 settlement, there would remain _about 25,000 acres of choice 
 land to be disposed of. 1 
 
 The Ulysses of the Maori nation kept faith with the Governor. 
 The promise made at Hamilton by Te Waharoa the king-maker 
 was redeemed. Sir G. Grey enabled him to appear without 
 ignominy, for he arrived at Wellington as a guest on board of 
 H.M.S. ' Esk,' prepared to give information which might lead to 
 legislation on Maori affairs. On the 10th August, Mr. Fitzgerald 
 presented to the Representatives a petition from him. They not 
 only did not hesitate to accept it ; they allowed it to be referred, 
 without previous notice, to a Committee, consisting of Colonel 
 Haultain, Mr. Whitaker, Mr. McLean, Mr. J. C. Richmond, Dr. 
 Featherston, Mr. Dillon Bell, Mr. G. Graham, and Mr. Fitzgerald. 
 His petition was lengthy. The writer had been dwelling " at 
 his place great darkness and sorrow of heart," brooding over 
 the woes of his country. The Governor had made soul and body 
 
 1 In 1867 a return showed that 87,000 acres at Opotiki were given to the 
 gallant Arawa tribe who had fought for the English. The Crown Agent 
 reported of 58,000 acres, "Act not enforced." Of 96.000 acres "given 
 back to rebels," he said : " The giving back is but nominal, for the natives 
 would not have given it up. But I was required to make the best arrange- 
 ment I could." The balance in the hands of the Government, in June, 
 1867, was 151,000 acres. N.Z. P. P. 1867 ; A. No. 18. In the s;ime return 
 Mr. Parris reported that to the hero of Waitara, Te Rangitake, had been 
 restored 25 acres in the Waitara township. In the Taranaki district loyal 
 natives had received 134,000 acres ; military settlers, 106,000 ; rebel natives, 
 33,000. 
 
 C C 2
 
 388 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 rejoice by advising recourse to the Parliament, which had power 
 to lift an exceeding great weight. Two wants caused anxiety. 
 " 1. That some measure be devised to straighten those curvatures, 
 by reason of which we all fell into error. 2. For Waikato to 
 be given back to me." He dilated on the first, recounting the 
 evils which brought about and continued the wars. He had 
 throughout sought peace, and condemned savage practices. But, 
 " O friends, because of this did I fully consent to the fighting ; 
 because of my women and children having been burnt alive in 
 the fire, which was suffered, rather than the edge of the sword, 
 to consume their flesh. I would not have regarded it had it 
 been only the men." For himself, since first "we embraced 
 Christianity, when my tribe sought (utu) payment for our dead 
 who had fallen, I did not give my consent. Then I said, ' Stop ; 
 strive to repay in a Christian manner. Let peaceful living be 
 the payment for my dead.' They consented. I then drew all 
 my enemies to me : they all came, not one continued a stranger 
 to me, but all became related to me in the bonds of Christian 
 fellowship. Then I said, ' What a good payment (utu) this is for 
 those that are dead, this living peacefully.' " The king movement 
 had fostered peace among Maoris, and therefore he had supported 
 it. " Follow, O Assembly, after me, and measure my steps from 
 the beginning up to the present day. Weigh also my words 
 from the first until now, for everything is weighed ; articles of 
 food are weighed, and clothing is sold by measure. Land is also 
 meted out, and should the mind of man not be weighed ? Will 
 it not be measured to discover its weight and dimensions ? " 
 On the restitution of Waikato he wrote only the words 
 quoted already. He gave evidence, and the Committee recom- 
 mended that his petition should be referred to the Superin- 
 tendent of the Auckland province. On other Maori petitions 
 also they reported with some kindliness. Wi Tako, to whom 
 the English owed so much, was a petitioner on the subject of a 
 Compensation Court decision, and was advised as to the procedure 
 he should adopt. 
 
 The vain striving of an aboriginal race against the vices which 
 aocompany European civilization found a faint echo in a petition 
 from six members of the Arawa tribe, who prayed that a house 
 for the sale of spirituous liquors might not be " suffered to be
 
 WAHAROA. 389 
 
 established within the Arawa territories." The effort to confer 
 electoral privileges and representation on the Maoris found no 
 record in the Statute-book of 1866 ; but some of the earnest- 
 minded were labouring to bring about a consummation so 
 devoutly to be desired, as the acceptance by the natives of the 
 rights of British subjects after they had been deprived at the 
 point of the bayonet of their own. But the Assembly was not 
 idle. In three months no less than 92 Acts were passed. The 
 Settlements Act was again amended. The Native Lands Act 
 of 1865 was supplemented. Waste Lands Acts for Otago, 
 Canterbury, and Auckland gave powers to the provinces in 
 dealing with lands. Various enactments dealt with Treasury 
 bills, and with provincial debts. The Wellington Land Purchase 
 Loan Sanction Act sanctioned a loan to the Wellington province 
 to enable it to purchase from Maoris, at a cost of 25,000, the 
 Manawatu block, the titles to which had long been and were 
 to continue in dispute. Gold-fields, Civil Service, distillation, 
 carriers, inn-keepers, oyster fisheries, registration of electors, 
 and various other persons and subjects furnished titles of Acts, 
 some of which, as usual in self-governing colonies, were almost 
 verbal transcripts of Imperial statutes. 
 
 Te Waharoa, after his long estrangement from the English, 
 must have pondered long over the restless activity of the 
 members of that which his countrymen had called "the English 
 Committee." No subject seemed too large for its power, nothing 
 too small for its notice. With English blood and treasure, and 
 the help of native allies, the hostile Maoris had been put down. 
 The thoughtful chieftain must have speculated whether the 
 repugnance to tradition and rude want of reverence, which 
 characterized the Representatives, might not in the end lead 
 them to trample on the authority of the Queen. Already some 
 of the early servants of the voracious New Zealand Company 
 had been in power. One of them, Mr. Fox, had been chief 
 Minister in 1861, and in 1863, with a fellow-lawyer, Whitaker, 
 had made demands of confiscation which the exile of whole 
 tribes would not have satiated. Then, the Governor and Mr. 
 Cardwell had campelled Mr. Fox to yield; but in 1866 a new 
 order of things had arisen. Mr. Stafford, the head of the Ministry 
 which brought about the great injustice of Waitara, was again
 
 390 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 in power. The enemies of the Maori seemed ever able to crawl 
 into office. In published despatches and speeches in England 
 it had been confessed that Her Majesty's Ministers disapproved 
 of much of the confiscation policy which they shrunk from 
 restraining. Te Waharoa was familiar with Scripture, and was 
 now brought face to face with a rod which was thus swallowing 
 up its opponents. Old Maoria was passing away. The "korero" 
 of tribes had ceased to be a power in the land. The Parliament 
 of the Pakeha had become, if not an object of respect, an 
 irresistible engine for good or evil. Te Waharoa went back to his 
 own place, whither most of his tribe had been permitted to 
 return, and died in a few months. His friends said he was 
 broken-hearted. His detractors looked upon his death only as 
 the fall of an additional leaf from the tree which civilization 
 was with propriety destroying. Honourable, kind, peaceful, and 
 Christian, he had yearned for the happiness of his people. He 
 had striven with equal honesty against the inexorable Rewi and 
 the machinations and injustice of English colonists. He had 
 been maligned on both sides. After Rangiriri he had laboured 
 for peace. In Maori manner, he sent the General a token of 
 submission his mere. But for the vanity of Mr. Fox, perhaps 
 peace might then have been secured. When General Cameron's 
 overwhelming forces marched up the valley of the Waikato, 
 the baffled king-maker retreated from stronghold to stronghold, 
 finding no refuge, and bitterly complaining that professing 
 Christians burned women and children in Maori whares at 
 Rangiaohia. " Leave it to be for England," he said, " to adopt 
 the putrefactions of my ancestors, viz. killing women and 
 children, and burning people alive in their sleeping-houses. The 
 Maori people assented to me, and what I said to them." It was 
 long before he could see a way of reconciliation. The recurrence 
 of the Hau Hau fanatics to the wild orgies in which cannibalism 
 was not a cruelty, but a rite, was soon followed by his submission. 
 Sir George Grey did what he could to smooth the way. The 
 tidings of the death of the chief caused one of those kindly 
 messages which have often touched the hearts of Englishmen. 
 " The Queen desires that his tribe may be made aware that she 
 laments the loss which they have sustained. She hopes that the 
 example of his self-control, and the wise advice which he has
 
 DEATH OF WAHAROA. 391 
 
 bequeathed to them, will lead them to forget the contest which 
 is past, and to unite with their European fellow -subjects in those 
 peaceful pursuits which will best ensure their own comfort and 
 improvement, and promote the prosperity of their common 
 country." Such a message, was worthy to be the chieftain's 
 epitaph. The friend of mankind will part with the noble career 
 of Te Waharoa with admiration and regret. Amongst the many 
 actors in stirring times, on him no reproach can truly be cast 
 From the time when, as Tarapipipi, in 1844, he enforced resti- 
 tution at Remuera, until he died, receiving such tardy assistance 
 and comfort as Sir George Grey's Government afforded him, he 
 is seen as the embodiment of Christian virtue in a Maori noble- 
 man. He failed to redress his country's wrongs ; but, it may be, 
 that success was- impossible. After the Duke of Newcastle had 
 sanctioned the robbery at Waitara, it could hardly be hoped 
 for. Te Waharoa's example, nevertheless, justified the grant of 
 representation of the Maori -race, which Sir G. Grey lived to 
 see accomplished, albeit scantily, in 1867. The enemies of Te 
 Waharoa strove to assail his character by citing the letter in 
 which he announced that the invasion of Waikato compelled 
 him to arm in self-defence, and by asserting that he subse- 
 quently joined the Hau Hau fanaticism. His letter seemed to 
 imply that he would not spare the unarmed ; but no deed of his 
 conformed to the letter. On the contrary, wherever his influence 
 was great, chivalrous courtesy to. the wounded, as at the Gate 
 Pah, prevailed. In a pamphlet published by Mr. Sewell in 1864 
 (in Auckland), the author stated that he had been assured by 
 Archdeacon Brown that the expression in the letter was " idiom- 
 atic, and that the meaning intended to be conveyed was this : 
 ' I have determined to join the war-party. I am going to fight. 
 The native practice in war is to spare neither unarmed people 
 nor property. You therefore are in danger, and I warn you to 
 go.' " During Waharoa's last illness no Pai Marire ceremony 
 was tolerated near him. He ever carried with him his Bible ; 
 and, so long as he had strength, he read it. When moved from 
 place to place, his tribe as they raised him prayed thus : 
 " Almighty God, we beseech Thee to give strength to Te 
 Waharoa while we remove him from this place. If it please 
 Thee, restore him again to perfect strength ; if that is not Thy
 
 392 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 will, take him, we beseech Thee, to Heaven." In fine, when Te 
 Oriori asked, " What shall I do, and the Maoris, your children, 
 when you are dead ? " the dying chief, with the Bible in his 
 hand, replied : " You must stand by the Government and the 
 law ; if there be any evil in the land, the law will make it right." 
 Tt could not be said that his peaceful and pious professions were 
 born of weakness. He had ever shown the same tendency. His 
 father, though he invited missionaries to his territory, abandoned 
 none of the ferocity of the national cult. But it was otherwise 
 with the future king-maker. He had no love for the ways of 
 his ancestors, and grieved his father by shrinking from them. 
 When a missionary was robbed, he followed the robbers, stripped 
 them of their booty, and gave it back to its owner. When he 
 was baptized he declared that he would no more join in war, and 
 he resisted the entreaties of the wilder spirits, who pressed him 
 to lead them in battle. At a great meeting he harangued them 
 with the New Testament in his hand, and his counsels then 
 prevailed. But he did not convert them all, and thought fit to 
 establish for his Christian brethren a separate pah where 400 
 assembled. On one of the posts of the chapel was a code of 
 regulations in his handwriting, for the government of his Chris- 
 tian community. His restitution of the property seized by his 
 countrymen returning from Remuera in 1844 has been told. 
 His determination not to go to war was pursued, through evil 
 report and good report, until. General Cameron crossed the 
 Maungatawhiri. "I am now absolved from my promise," he 
 said, " for this is a war of defence." It is vain to wish that all 
 English Secretaries of State, Governors, and Colonial Ministers 
 had had the earnest piety and sense of justice which finally 
 enabled Te Waharoa to stand before his Maker, as a good man 
 who had run his course faithfully in the troublous career forced 
 upon him by the crimes of others. 
 
 The New Zealand Government, in 1866, while deprecating the 
 attitude of the troops, expressed a high sense of the value of the 
 naval force. In October, a unanimous vote of thanks to the 
 retiring Commodore was passed by the Representatives, echoed 
 by the Ministry, and applauded by the Governor. After his 
 march to Taranaki, General Chute, pleading instructions from 
 the War Office, refused to move his head-quarters from Auck-
 
 MR. STAFFORD ON WITHDRAWAL OF TROOPS. 393 
 
 land to Wellington, though repeatedly urged to do so. There 
 were rumours of a Maori rising in October, 1866, but he could 
 see no object in absenting himself from Auckland, where " the 
 usual and regular duties " of his command could " be best con- 
 ducted." He complained that the Governor would not reply to 
 his letters asking for instructions as to the posts at which the 
 military were to be stationed, and Sir George Grey curtly told 
 him that, if all the troops were to be withdrawn from the out- 
 posts to the chief towns, he concurred with his advisers that the 
 troops would be useless to the colony, and he ought not to 
 express any acquiescence with such an arrangement. 
 
 The reports of the Commissary-General in the end of 1866 
 fanned the flames of discontent. He condemned the use of troops 
 in defending confiscated lands, and urged the withdrawal of 
 Imperial aid. As usual, despatches and counter-despatches were 
 multiplied till they filled volumes of blue-books. Secretaries of 
 State were never tired of repeating that the troops should be 
 withdrawn, and Mr. Stafford (16th May, 1867) declared that the 
 Ministry acquiesced in the withdrawal, because the military had 
 been perverted into instruments for defaming the character of 
 the colony, and the commanding officer had been made inde- 
 pendent of the constitutional control of the Governor. Even 
 the withdrawal, however, had been effected " in a manner calcu- 
 lated still further to engender animosity, to inspire the disloyal 
 natives with revived hopes, and the loyal with distrust." To 
 such a pass had England brought the land of the Maoris by 
 subjecting them to the caprice of the heirs of the New Zealand 
 Company. While Lord Stanley and Sir Robert Peel were in 
 power the honour of England had been safe. From neither of 
 them could have been expected the sanction given by the Duke 
 of Newcastle to Colonel Browne's unjust conduct at Waitara. 
 By neither of them could have been approved the abandonment 
 of England's duty towards the Maori race. Without any evil 
 intention, successive Ministries had subscribed to violations of 
 the letter and spirit of the Waitangi treaty, and basely striven 
 to hide their shortcomings by slinking from the field of action 
 or endeavouring to stifle discussion. All their deeds had become 
 evil when they shrunk from adhering to a just principle. Mr. 
 Cardwell's vigorous tone as to treatment of prisoners cast a
 
 394 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 momentary gleam upon Downing Street, but, under his success- 
 ors, the gloom in what Charles Buller called " sighing rooms " 
 thickened again. There was no sympathy for anybody in New 
 Zealand in that atmosphere. Nor was public intelligence aroused 
 to create a virtue unengendered in Downing Street. With lazy 
 immorality the ' Times ' remarked in 1863 that unless the Maoris 
 were " shortly reduced to submission, the savage race which has 
 shown itself most capable of civilization would probably within a 
 few years have ceased to exist." In 1865 the same authority 
 declared : " The Hau Hau fanatics will be at once extirpated, and 
 it is not improbable that their countrymen will eventually share 
 their fate." In a few years the tone of the caterer for London's 
 gossipers was to become more sprightly. " The simple fact that 
 for every native known to be hostile to us, there was another 
 native known to be friendly, ought surely to have guided us to 
 the true military policy for the colony. . . . Every Maori has a 
 natural taste for war, and this taste can easily be improved for 
 our benefit. . . . By enlisting New Zealanders we should com- 
 bine the martial instincts of the savage tribes with the skill, 
 armaments, and organization of European armies." On the 
 justice of the case not a word was expected from the ' Times/ 
 and not a word was said. What was wanted was to assist the 
 Maori race to disappear. 
 
 Dark rumours were rife about a new uprising of hostile tribes 
 in October, 1866. In March, a letter to the Queen, purporting 
 to emanate from the Maori king, had been transmitted through 
 the hands of a chaplain to the forces. Half defiant, half beseech- 
 ing, it sounded the chords which had been struck by the Maori 
 chiefs throughout the war. It asked that " a great Judge from 
 England " might be sent to put an end to strife. Lord Car- 
 narvon's answer was written in October. At that time the 
 General Assembly had been prorogued, and the wilder spirits 
 among the Maoris were craving for war. The intimation that 
 petitioners must send their prayer through the Governor would 
 have fallen on distracted ears if it had reached New Zealand 
 before the outbreaks of the spring of 1866. A Maori friend 
 warned the Government that at Hawaka, Tauranga, Waikato, 
 Taranaki, Wanganui, Turanga, Whakatane, and the east coast 
 generally, a rising had been planned. " The first intimation of
 
 OMARANUI. 395 
 
 it may be when the weapon has touched." The perverse bravery 
 of the Maoris was such that no certainty of final failure 
 deterred them from plunging into an affray. They rejoiced 
 in a present victory when they slew more than they lost. They 
 brought to the beginning of a fight the craft of a conspirator 
 with the fanaticism of a Malay. Confidence in the final result 
 was no anodyne to the fears of colonists whose lives were in 
 danger which stalked like a pestilence and might smite, no man 
 knew where. At Napier the danger seemed most imminent. 
 Hau Hau armed bands were encamped in October, 1866, at 
 Omaranui, a few miles from the settlement. They had made 
 no hostile demonstration, and had not molested the settlers, but 
 Mr. Donald McLean, Superintendent of Hawke's Bay, called 
 upon them to surrender their arms and go to their homes. 
 Having laid his plans with Colonel Whitmore, he told them 
 that if they should refuse to surrender within an hour, they 
 would be attacked. As the colonial forces outnumbered fourfold 
 the number of the presumed rebels it might have been supposed 
 that they would yield. They were surrounded by about 200 
 militia and volunteers, and a like number of Maoris. They were 
 in a Maori village which they had not fortified. They said they 
 thought the time, one hour, rather short. Colonel Whitmore 
 after two hours told them he would wait no longer. They said 
 "there was no reason to do so as they meant to fight." They 
 fought for nearly an hour and a half. Their losses were con- 
 siderable. When the majority surrendered, Nikora appeared 
 to be the leader who induced them to do so. A majority 
 endeavoured to escape across a swamp, but cavalry prevented 
 them from gaining the hills. Colonel Whitmore reported in 
 glowing terms the gallantry of the colonial and native forces. 
 Three were killed and 13 wounded among the assailants. The 
 Hau Haus did not hoist a flag of surrender till 23 had been 
 killed and a like number wounded. Seventy-six prisoners were 
 taken, and the conqueror reported, " Nearly all the turbulent 
 spirits are now killed or taken." The chiefs Tareha and Renata 
 were conspicuous. " Tareha, with a sword alone in his hand, 
 rushed among the enemy to stimulate his men." Nine only of 
 the enemy were unaccounted for, and it was not known whether 
 they were " dead in the swamp, where they had been heavily
 
 396 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 fired upon," or whether they had escaped. The peace of death 
 had been enforced. Napier breathed freely. A newspaper de- 
 clared the action, " the most brilliant affair of this guerilla war." 
 Lord Carnarvon upbraided Sir George Grey for not informing 
 him that a new guerilla war had broken out, and when told that 
 the newspaper included the action as part of all New Zealand 
 warfare, gracefully apologized in the House of Lords to the 
 Colonial Ministry for his charges against Sir George Grey. 
 When an apology is unavoidable there is exquisite ineptitude in 
 making it to the wrong person. Colonel McDonell on the west 
 coast was distinguishing himself in a manner which at a later 
 date demanded inquiry. He spoke the Maori language with 
 fluency. Mr. Stafford's Defence Minister had ordered him in June 
 to be vigorous in inducing (at Patea and Waingongoro) the sur- 
 render of the Hau Haus the waifs and strays left by the army of 
 General Chute. Mr. Parris was, through the agency of Te Ua (the 
 repentant Hau Hau), labouring to procure their submission, but 
 Colonel McDonell repudiated diplomatic triumphs. He ordered 
 that certain chiefs should wait upon him. They did not attend. 
 He construed their absence as a punishable act of rebellion, and 
 on the 1st August, 1866, in the depth of night, with a large 
 force, surprised an undefended village at Pokaikai, scattering its 
 inmates, some of whom, though women, were bayoneted. A 
 Maori woman deposed that one of the attacking party seized an 
 ornament in her ear, and that when he could not tear it away 
 he cut the ear with his knife and secured his booty. Her 
 father and mother were shot. She was taken prisoner. She 
 complained that it was wrong to attack the village while her 
 husband, Natanahira, was absent to negotiate for peace with Mr. 
 Parris. Colonel McDonell said, " Who is Mr. Parris ? I am the 
 person with whom peace should be made." It was maintained 
 by some, and denied by others, that some of the attacking force 
 were drunk. Hori Kingi wrote to Sir George Grey. Mr. Parris 
 was at the time at Wellington ; Sir George Grey asked if he 
 would go at once to the district where the outrage had occurred. 
 The Ministers had an interview with Mr. Parris. He went to 
 the district and was not wholly unsuccessful, though some 
 Maoris would not be persuaded. The words of the woman 
 whose father and mother were shot explained the cause of Maori
 
 POKAIKAI. 397 
 
 distrust. The attack was made at " night ; at midnight, when 
 the people were asleep. The sleep was the sleep of fools, for 
 the words of the Governor, sent through Te Ua, had lulled us. 
 My children were lying around me in fancied security." Subse- 
 quent treatment of the woman was not calculated to smooth the 
 way to peace. Colonel McDonell wrote to the Defence Minister : 
 "This morning I released Natanahira's wife and sent her to 
 Otapawa with a letter to the rebels, telling them that if they 
 do not immediately submit, I will carry fire and sword through 
 the country, and give no rest by day or night. I have detained 
 his child as a hostage." Such an agent was condemned by his own 
 words, and a commission of inquiry was afterwards appointed. 1 
 McDonell requested (31st July) that Parris might be "instructed 
 to cease to communicate with the rebel natives," but the fumes 
 of Pokaikai, and other villages, and the treatment of Natana- 
 hira's wife stunk even in Mr. Stafford's nostrils, and McDonell 
 was desired (8th August) to conform to the instructions of Mr. 
 Parris. On the 12th, he was fired at. On the 30th, Parris 
 reported that the Warea natives refused to submit, and McDonell 
 took the field again, &uo more. If Parris had supped full of 
 horrors the commander was free from morbid weakness. 
 
 About the time when, in the east, the Hau Haus at Omaranui 
 were crushed by Donald McLean and Colonel Whitmore, 
 McDonell, on the west coast, inflicted severe loss upon the 
 Ngatiruanui at Pungarehu. One of his reconnoitring parties had 
 a skirmish at Ketemarae on the 2nd September, and he resolved 
 to build a redoubt at Waihi. The men engaged in the work 
 were often fired at by the natives. On one occasion within sight 
 
 1 Some years afterwards Major (become Colonel) McDonell published 
 his own defence in pamphlet form. He stated that on the 3rd August, 
 he "scoured the bush inland of Matutahi ; found out and burnt two 
 villages just located. . . This brought the natives to their senses, and on 
 the 4th August they sent me a message suing for peace. . ." On the 7th, 
 " I went into the bush with the native contingent, and met them at the 
 site of a village named Ohangae, which had been burnt during General 
 Chute's campaign. There we made peace. . . . That peace I could have 
 firmly maintained even with the small force then under my command 
 (he had previously applied for 500 more men), were it not for the suicidal 
 course pursued by Mr. Commissioner Parris, to whose conduct must be 
 attributed the subsequent hostility of the natives, and the frustration of all 
 my plans. . . . All went on we'l, until in an evil hour, Mr. Parris, who 
 had been to Wellington to earwig the Government, appeared amongst us."
 
 398 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 of the redoubt an ambuscade surprised a provision-cart escorted 
 by troopers from Patea to Waihi. One trooper was killed, and 
 the provisions were carried off before aid could be sent from the 
 redoubt. The trooper was found hacked to death by toma- 
 hawks Colonel McDonell retaliated on the 6th October by 
 surprising the village of Pungarehu, not far from the Waingongoro 
 river, and near the Maori villages laid waste and burned by 
 Colonel Butler in the beginning of the year. Though General 
 Chute's track pierced through the same country, the hunted 
 Maoris had found a temporary resting-place. The attacking 
 force was about 130 in number, of whom one-third belonged to 
 the native contingent. At daylight Pungarehu was surprised. 
 Major McDonell reported: "As we leapt the fences I called 
 upon the inmates to surrender " [he does not say that he was 
 heard or understood] ; " they replied by heavy volleys from the 
 doors and windows of the house. We returned the fire, and 
 rushed to the fortified whares, scraped the earth off the roofs, and 
 pulled down the slabs to fire at the inmates. In several instances 
 they ran out of the doors, and firing their pieces into us tried 
 to escape into the bush, but were shot down. In half-an-hour 
 we were masters of the position, and the firing ceased. . . . The 
 loss of the enemy I estimate at 30 killed : 21 were counted, and 
 others could not be counted as they were buried in the burning 
 ruins of the houses." It is a relief to read that nine prisoners 
 were taken. Three killed and four wounded formed Major 
 McDonell's loss. The escaped Maoris or some of their friends 
 rallied in the forest and fired upon their enemies. Major 
 McDonell thought that superior re-enforcements had arrived > 
 and were striving to cut off his retreat. The dashing Rangihi- 
 winui by flank-skirmishes foiled the attempt, and the de- 
 stroying Europeans left the scene of their exploit. In justifying 
 it, Mr. Stafford said that such a mode of "warfare may not 
 accord with War Regulations, but it is one necessary and suited 
 to local circumstances." 
 
 The Ngatiruanui hapu surprised at Pungarehu was that of 
 Titokowaru and Toi. About a week afterwards a re-enforcement 
 of Maoris from Wanganui arrived in McDonell's camp, and 
 some of the enemy surrendered, saying that the whole of their 
 people would do so, as soon as the subsidence of a freshet
 
 PUNGAREHU AND PoPOIA. 399 
 
 might enable them to cross the Waingongoro river. Toi himself, 
 with 12 men, in a few days tendered his submission. McDonell 
 refused to receive the submission of less than the whole tribe, 
 and told Toi to go away. Toi complied, but six of his people 
 remained. One of them was Katene. He had done his best 
 for his people, he said, and was weary of the war which was 
 destroying them. By degrees his own hapu, to the number of 
 70, including women and children, joined him Availing him- 
 self of Maori manners, McDonell employed Katene as a guide 
 and soldier. The Te Umu pah was destroyed, but the enemy's 
 scouts had given warning, and only two men were killed. A 
 village named Popoia was to be attacked on the 18th October. 
 Katene guided McDonell's force to it during the night, and having 
 reached the edge of the forest unseen, advised a halt till daylight, 
 as it was unwise to penetrate the forest in the darkness. For an 
 hour or two his counsel was respected, but Captain W. McDonell 
 became impatient, and induced his brother officers to discard 
 Katene's counsel. In single file the force advanced on the 
 narrow track, and suddenly, flashing through the gloom, sheets 
 of flame on front and right showed that the foe was on the 
 watch. Captain McDonell fell, severely wounded. The invaders 
 knelt to avoid the bullets which flew over their heads. None 
 could see friend or foe. A retreat ensued. At dawn the force 
 emerged from the forest and the enemy fired volleys from their 
 shelter. Enraged at the indignity, Winiata, of the Wanganui 
 contingent, shouted : " Behold, a challenge ! If nothing be 
 done, we shall be disgraced. I go to defy them." Stripping off 
 his clothes, he dashed back towards the forest, and with insulting 
 words and gestures dared the Hau Haus to fight him in the open 
 space. He was fired at, but not struck. His old Maori com- 
 rades consoled themselves in the retreat by saying : " Never 
 mind ; the Hau Haus are beaten. They dared not to accept the 
 challenge of Winiata." The midnight attack upon Pungarehu 
 had put the Maoris upon their guard. Sir George Grey visited 
 the scene of action, and Colonel Rooke with some of his regi- 
 ment (18th) on the 25th October accompanied McDonell's force. 
 Again the enemy fired from an ambuscade, but the troops 
 rushed forward, and Popoia was captured and burnt. One life 
 was lost in the colonial force. Two Hau Haus were shot. A
 
 400 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 plot was laid for Titokowaru's fighting man, Te Waka. Katene 
 was to entrap him in an ambuscade with the promise of a store 
 of percussion-caps. Te Waka, greedy for ammunition, walked 
 into the trap. As he approached the ambush, his treacherous 
 guide, Katene, seized Te Waka's gun and called on his accom- 
 plices to fire. Te Waka relinquished his gun and with a bound 
 reached a precipitous river-bank. Before he could hurl himself 
 over the cliff a shot struck him, and with a convulsive spring 
 he disappeared and was found dead at the river-side. Katene 
 was asked why he seized the gun instead of the man. He 
 replied : " You would have spared him. I wished him dead, for 
 he had done me wrong." McDonell made a vain attempt to 
 surprise a pah, Tirotiromoana, on the 5th November. On the 
 march it was noticed that Winiata, usually the foremost man, 
 remained in the rear of his column. An officer asked the 
 reason. He answered : " I dreamed last night that I was 
 leading the advance as usual, and was killed from an ambush. 
 I felt the bullet ; it went in at one hip and out at the other." 
 The march was continued. A deep ravine was crossed. As the 
 advance-guard mounted the opposite hill a volley was fired from 
 an ambuscade, and a private (Economedes, a Greek) fell dead. 
 Winiata rushed forward to examine the wound. It was as he 
 had dreamed. " Look," he shouted, " this man is killed by the 
 bullet I dreamed of. This is the first time he has led. On all 
 other occasions I have done so. My dream has saved my life." 1 
 Other expeditions proved that Titokowaru's people had retired 
 to various fastnesses. Some were at Te Ngaere, a settlement 
 in the forest, surrounded by marshes which tradition said had 
 once engulfed hundreds of invaders. It was rumoured that 
 some had fled to Te Rangitake's inland shelter at the rear of 
 Mount Egmont. McDonell could do no more in the field. But 
 the Government did something. The survey of the confiscated 
 land was completed from Patea to Waingongoro, and " military 
 settlers commenced to select their land. I also (McDonell 
 explained) selected my land in the district." The red hand of 
 such a settler having prospered in the west, he was ordered by 
 
 1 ' Reminiscences of the War in New Zealand,' p. 139. Lieutenant 
 Gudgeon. Mr. Gudgeon adds : " After this incident no one doubted that 
 Winiatu had a very strong God of his own."
 
 INQUIRY AS TO POKAIKAI AND PUNGAREHU. 401 
 
 Mr. J. C. Richmond, then acting as Defence Minister, to proceed 
 to Tauranga, and lead the warlike Arawa against hostile 
 Ngatiraukawa, not far from Rotorua. At this point it is good 
 to quote his own language. What he did to the captive boy 
 would perhaps be doubted by the reader unless told in the 
 commander's words. (Finding a small camp) " we at once 
 attacked the position, drove the enemy out, killed two men, and 
 captured a third, a young fellow whom the Arawa wanted to 
 tomahawk, but I spared him for another purpose. In his terror 
 he told me where I should fall in with the enemy's main body, 
 and as he knew that it was more than his life was worth to 
 deceive me, I ordered him to lead on." The camp was found, 
 surrounded, and attacked. " We killed a considerable number 
 of them." McDonell was made Lieutenant-Colonel in the 
 Auckland militia, and the stark bodies of the slain Maoris were 
 left to rot on their native soil, for the outnumbered friends of 
 the dead took refuge like foxes in the fastnesses of the forest 
 The new-fledged Colonel was again required at the west, where 
 the surveying of land had been checked by the resilient Hau Haus. 
 He met a hapu of the Pakakohi tribe, and amongst them was 
 Titokowaru, whose subsequent career was to be written in blood, 
 and who was to wrest laurels from McDonell's brow. A display 
 of bayonets glittering in the moonlight, and a warning that 
 even McDonell's " patience had a limit," secured a triumph for 
 the time, and the surveying was pushed on. 
 
 Meanwhile the reproaches caused in England by the tidings 
 of the slaughter at Pokaikai and Pungarehu had reverberated 
 to the colony. Lord Carnarvon 1 required official reports con- 
 cerning events spoken of in newspapers. Mr. Stafford furnished 
 an explanation which contained a retort that the " Imperial 
 Government has ignored the constitutional position of the 
 Governor, and has in successive despatches displayed a sense of 
 irritation and a proneness to take and give offence which are 
 much to be deplored." . . . Had the " Imperial Government 
 been properly jealous of the honour of the persons against whom 
 Colonel Weare's charges were made, it would have insisted on 
 a public investigation." Though written for Lord Carnarvon's 
 perusal this remonstrance reached the Duke of Buckingham's 
 
 1 Despatch, 28th December, 1866. 
 VOL. II. D D
 
 402 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 hands in May, 1867. In March, the Earl had quitted office 
 rather than follow the inconsistencies of Mr. Disraeli. He did 
 more. He protested against them in the face of the hero 
 of debate the Earl of Derby. As it is agreeable to do justice 
 to those who refuse to do it to others, this allusion to the course 
 of English politics becomes not unseemly. Among the Earl's 
 latest despatches to New Zealand were some which vigorously 
 reprehended the employment of regular troops in defending 
 disputed or confiscated land. "The large confiscations which 
 have taken place have been viewed with the greatest apprehen- 
 sion by Her Majesty's Government," and, if to be held by force, 
 should not be held by Her Majesty's troops. 
 
 But still there lurked in men's minds, even in New Zealand, 
 a suspicion that the occurrences at Pokaikai did not deserve the 
 name of war. The Governor appointed (1868) a commission to 
 inquire into " certain alleged acts of cruelty stated to have been 
 committed" there. The conduct of the inquiry seemed to 
 McDonell "incredible." The charges had not been specified, 
 and he had to find out from the " evidence what atrocities were 
 being trumped up." The attempt to " drag the ornament out 
 of the ear of a native woman," was proved, but McDonell's wit- 
 nesses denied that it succeeded, and it was sworn that the culprit, a 
 volunteer, was placed under arrest by McDonell. Two members 
 of the commission, Mr. Cracroft Wilson and Mr. J. Cargill, drew 
 up a report (August, 1868), highly favourable to McDonell, and 
 declaring "that no wanton outrage was committed by any 
 member of the enrolled force." There was a protest by one 
 member, Mr. George Graham. He curtly wrote : " I protest 
 against this report." He declared the attack on Pokaikai 
 unnecessary, and that by unjustly lulling the natives into 
 security while intending to attack them, McDonell had acted in 
 a manner which might seriously complicate the relations of the 
 Government with the tribe. McDonell averred that the sitting 
 of the commission lowered his prestige in the eyes of the natives, 
 and raised that of Titokowaru, who " commenced disturbances 
 almost immediately after the close of this inquiry." The 
 motives of Titokowaru, and his deeds, must be told hereafter. 
 
 It may be mentioned that Sir George Grey in his explanation 
 studiously avoided any allusion to the attack upon Pokaikai.
 
 SIR GEORGE GREY SUPERSEDED. 403 
 
 He justified that upon Pungarehu on the ground that its 
 inmates were amongst " the worst and most desperate characters 
 in New Zealand," and said that the " escape " (of McDonell's 
 force) " was a very narrow one." l 
 
 When the Earl of Carnarvon resigned office, in March, 1867, 
 only one regiment, the 18th, had not been ordered to leave 
 New Zealand. It was to be under the direction and control, 
 but not under command, of the Queen's representative. Perhaps 
 no other regiment was the subject of so much correspondence. 
 In October, 1867, the Ministry wrote that they did not ask for 
 its retention, and would not be responsible for any payments on 
 account of it, but they recommended, and the Governor ordered, 
 that the head-quarters and six companies should be stationed at 
 Auckland, two companies at Taranaki, and two at Napier. The 
 Earl of Carnarvon, hoping that Sir George Grey would recall his 
 defence against Colonel's Weare's charges, had refrained from 
 considering what the Government ought to do if Sir George 
 Grey should decline to cancel his despatch. It has been seen 
 that he declined. The Duke of Buckingham, in May, curtly 
 acknowledged the lengthy despatch in which the refusal was 
 couched. In June, replying to a despatch in which Sir George 
 Grey represented that General Chute " allowed him to have no 
 knowledge of the times at which or the routes by which troops 
 were to be marched," or temporarily massed, and that the 
 Government was therefore unable to warn or act in concert with 
 friendly or doubtful tribes, the Duke regretted the controversies 
 which had so long existed between the Governor and officers in 
 command, and wound up a short despatch with the words : " I 
 shall then also be able to inform you of the appointment of your 
 successor, and of the time at which he may be expected to 
 arrive in the colony." 
 
 The Governor's despatch had enclosed a protest from his 
 advisers against the alleged unconstitutional powers assumed by 
 General Chute as to determining the location of troops. Of this 
 the Duke took no notice. On many occasions it was his habit 
 
 1 Lord Carnarvon had not alluded to Pokaikai in direct terms, but Sir 
 George Grey would have done more justice to his office by a comprehensive 
 statement than by confining himself to the Pungarehu affair on the ground 
 that " I can only guess, and I think rightly, that it is an affair which took 
 place at Pungarehu." 
 
 D D 2
 
 404 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 to trust to the maxim, that if let alone much business will settle 
 itself. The significance of communicating his recall to a 
 Governor in a despatch on military matters was too plain 
 to be overlooked. While it was on the way , various diffi- 
 culties impeded business in New Zealand. There were dis- 
 putes about accounts, about underhand reports to the War 
 Office, about removal of troops, and abandonment of military 
 buildings. 
 
 On the 27th August, Sir George Grey received the despatch 
 recalling him. The General Assembly was then in session. 
 The Houses had previously conveyed to the Governor their 
 thanks for the prompt and decided manner in which he had 
 incurred the displeasure of the Earl of Carnarvon by defending 
 the honour and character of the colony, and they were not slow 
 to vindicate the man whom they deemed a sacrifice to the 
 offended War Office. In the Council the despatch was no sooner 
 read than on a motion by Colonel Whitmore, unanimously 
 adopted, the House adjourned as a mark of respect for Sir 
 George Grey, and regret at his recall. With equal unanimity, 
 on the 6th September, an address was adopted. Sincere regret 
 at the Governor's recall, admiration of his public and private 
 character, testimony to his ability, self-sacrifice, and activity, and 
 a recognition of the perils, privations, and fatigues he had under- 
 gone, formed the groundwork of the address. " We consider 
 that the Imperial authorities have listened too credulously to 
 accusations of the gravest kind, and by acting upon such informa- 
 tion before ascertaining its truth or falsehood, they have been 
 led to reiterate against the colonists most unfounded calumnies. 
 ... In asserting the honour of the Crown, and maintaining the 
 position of the Governor as representative of the Crown, and the 
 constitutional rights of the colony, as well as in vindicating its 
 character against unjust aspersion, your Excellency has put 
 aside all personal considerations, and has not been dismayed by 
 menace or misrepresentation." The Council trusted that the 
 great services rendered by the Governor to the Crown and to the 
 colony would be rewarded by some signal mark of Her Majesty's 
 favour. Idle hope ! Between the fount of honour and those on 
 whom it ought to flow there lies a region of slime which dis- 
 figures the claims of the just but gives false lustre to the base,
 
 REMONSTRANCES OF GENERAL ASSEMBLY. 405 
 
 like the iridescence which mantles on the surface of a stagnant 
 pool. To have earned the honours of Drake direct from the 
 hand of his Queen was a prouder distinction than to be the 
 chosen knight of ancient tourney. To fawn, and cringe, and lie 
 to obtain the favour of a Secretary of State, and thus obtain 
 undeserved sprinklings of royal grace, is a process which may 
 well bring that grace to dishonour. The system under which 
 a Vogel, a Duffy, and their congeners have been decorated in 
 the name of their sovereign, proved the truth of Herman Meri- 
 vale's declaration, 1 that it deadened appreciation of chivalrous 
 rewards, gave them an ineffaceable stain of vulgarity, demoral- 
 ized patriotic impulse, and lowered the standard of popular 
 respect for the Crown. The one way in which the Crown could 
 hope to distribute favour duly was by an avoidance of honouring 
 the base, and at least, if it could not discover heroes, to confer 
 distinction on those who would command respect. The Colonial 
 Office at this period seemed bent upon furnishing materials 
 for the censure of Mr. Merivale. If Sir George Grey in his 
 later years unworthily swerved from his former loyalty, his 
 defection may be not justified, but accounted for, perhaps, by 
 the demoralizing agency of the Colonial Office. The Repre- 
 sentatives were as energetic as the Council. They were about 
 to record their thanks to the Governor for his conduct respecting 
 Colonel Weare's reports, when the despatch recalling him was 
 laid on the table. On the motion of Mr. Stafford they echoed 
 the sincere regret of the colony at the loss of the Governor, and 
 joined in the encomium of the Council on his character and 
 services. The Governor's reply to the addresses spoke of the 
 heroic work done by the colonists in laying the foundation of an 
 Anglo-Saxon nation. Men who had so laboured together might 
 well find consolation in mutual esteem, and leave their fame and 
 reputation to a grateful posterity for whom they had in truth 
 been labouring. Associated as he had been with them so long 
 in their great work, and regretting with them that the public 
 ties which had bound them were to be rent asunder, it was 
 much to remember that they had presented addresses of which 
 any Governor or ruler might be proud, and to know that while 
 
 1 'Fortnightly Review,' February, 1870. Mr. Merivale Lud been Under- 
 secretary for the Colonies, and was therefore an expert.
 
 406 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 he lived he should have the pleasure of seeing them labour as 
 of yore to do their duty to their Queen and country. 
 
 Earl Granville was Colonial Secretary when the despatches 
 on the subject were laid before Parliament in July, 1869. It 
 then appeared that of the address of the Council no notice was 
 taken by the Duke of Buckingham, and that the despatch (23rd 
 November, 1867), entered as a reply to the address of the Repre- 
 sentatives, made no allusion to them or to their prayers, but 
 curtly repeated to Sir George Grey an intimation already made 
 (22nd August, 1867), that Sir George Bowen, the Governor of 
 Queensland, had been appointed Governor of New Zealand. 
 When the insolence of office descends to such petty insults, 
 their reprobation becomes a duty untainted with the meanness 
 of the things condemned. But the studied discourtesy which 
 had been practised was to be partially, though disingenuously, 
 disavowed by the Duke. On the 16th September, the New 
 Zealand Ministers drew up a formal protest against the sub- 
 jection of a Governor to a subordinate military officer, as directed 
 by the Earl of Carnarvon ; against the rash disposition of troops 
 made by General Chute without concert with the Government ; 
 against the conduct of the Imperial Government with respect 
 to Colonel Weare's and other secret charges ; and against the 
 silencing of truth in the matter of the illegal killing of a 
 prisoner without trial. As to the recall of the Governor, they 
 recognized the absolute right of Her Majesty to recall and 
 appoint Governors at pleasure, but they regretted that the 
 despatch summarily recalling a Governor who had for 26 years 
 rendered great services to the empire, contained not one word 
 of explanation. " Ministers desire to express their sympathy 
 with his Excellency at having been by so unusual a proceeding 
 subjected to what appears to be a studied act of discourtesy ; 
 and they are unable to divest themselves of the belief that the 
 recall of his Excellency has in a great measure resulted from the 
 uncompromising manner in which he has upheld the constitu- 
 tional position of the representative of the Crown; a position 
 upon the due observance of which the rights and liberties of 
 Her Majesty's subjects in New Zealand so greatly depend." 
 
 Forced to say something, the Duke of Buckingham (28th 
 December, 1867) made it as like to nothing as possible, but
 
 SIR G. GREY'S FINAL DESPATCH. 407 
 
 rounded off with a palpable equivocation. He had carefully 
 examined the ministerial memorandum, but thought it neither 
 necessary nor desirable to add to what he had written five 
 months before in a despatch which contained no word about the 
 slaughter of a Maori prisoner of war. As if the intelligence of 
 colonists might be slighted with as much contempt as the life of 
 a Maori, he added : " I may observe, however, that the intima- 
 tion given for your convenience at the end of your term of 
 office, that your successor would very shortly be appointed, 
 seems to be mistaken for a premature recall." Such an equivo- 
 cation could not even deceive himself, but it asserted the 
 hereditary right of a Grenville to blunder and to create dis- 
 affection amongst distant subjects of the Queen. Fortunately 
 the Grenville of 1867 was less potent for evil than his namesake 
 of 1776. 
 
 In acknowledging the formal despatch in which the Duke of 
 Buckingham announced the appointment of Sir George Bowen, 
 Sir George Grey wrote : " I request your Grace to be pleased to 
 state to the Queen that I present my duty to Her Majesty, and 
 in receiving this notification of my Sovereign's pleasure, I beg 
 to be permitted humbly to represent to Her Majesty that in the 
 year 1845, a rebellion prevailing in New Zealand, I was by Her 
 Majesty's commands especially sent to this country, and that 
 when I relinquished the Government in the year 1854 it was 
 my happiness to leave it in a state of tranquillity and prosperity ; 
 that in the year 1861, a rebellion having again broken out in 
 New Zealand, I was once more specially sent here ; and that it 
 is again my happiness upon being removed by your Grace's 
 advice from this Government, to leave New Zealand in a state 
 of tranquillity and returning prosperity, and that I humbly 
 represent to Her Majesty that I desire to claim no merit for 
 these circumstances, but rather to attribute them to the blessing 
 of Divine Providence, and to the abilities and exertions of Her 
 Majesty's subjects who have advised me and aided me in my 
 duties ; and further, that I humbly trust that the almost unani- 
 mous voice of Her Majesty's subjects in New Zealand, amongst 
 whom I have laboured in Her Majesty's service, will satisfy Her 
 Majesty that I have done my utmost to promote the welfare 
 and happiness of the inhabitants of this part of Her Majesty's
 
 408 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 possessions." The Duke replied that this statement was evid- 
 ently made under the misapprehension that Sir George was 
 prematurely recalled, but he would "nevertheless lay the 
 despatch before Her Majesty." There were various ways of 
 keeping his promise, and it may safely be assumed that he took 
 no noble way. Lord Derby, whose generous instincts might 
 have otherwise exercised influence, was in failing health, and on 
 the point of resignation. An alien, except with the buskin, to 
 English life, was about to succeed him, and a gracious Queen 
 was never asked to grant distinction or express common thanks 
 to one who had rendered no common services. No further 
 despatch on the subject was laid before Parliament. 
 
 The session of 1867 was marked by the introduction of a Bill 
 to confer partial representation on the Maori race. The Gov- 
 ernor congratulated the Assembly on the re-establishment of 
 peace generally throughout the North Island, in no part of 
 which was " systematic hostility " to be expected again. During 
 the recess he had made a journey, partly on foot, and traversed 
 native districts previously deemed unsafe. " I everywhere found 
 the embers of disaffection dying out, and I was received by the 
 Maori population, even in districts recently in rebellion, in such 
 a manner as to inspire confidence in the future peace of the 
 country." The Assembly met in July, and in August the 
 Maori Representation Bill was brought in by Mr. McLean and 
 Mr. Williamson. Mr. McLean proposed four members, and an 
 attempt to reduce the number to two was defeated in Com- 
 mittee. On the 30th August, just after the despatch recalling 
 Sir George Grey was laid before the Assembly, Mr. Reynolds 
 (notorious for his activity in robbing the Maoris of their reserve 
 at Dunedin) moved that the third reading of the Bill be post- 
 poned for six months, but only one "teller" was found on his 
 side when a division was called for. In the Council the second 
 reading was affirmed by 13 votes against 3, and amendments 
 moved in Committee were successfully resisted ; Colonel Whit- 
 more's name being found, in each division, supporting the Bill, 
 which was passed without amendment. An Act was also passed 
 for the endowment of Maori education. The Native Lands Act 
 was again amended, and one of its clauses enabled the Governor 
 to refer the Manawatu land dispute to a Court. A Confiscated
 
 FINANCIAL MEASURES 1867. 409 
 
 Lands Bill enlarged the powers of the Governor. Among nearly 
 a hundred Bills, passed in three months, was one " to authorize 
 a loan of 7,000,000 sterling for the purpose of converting and 
 consolidating the public loans of New Zealand," and a patriotic 
 Maori might be pardoned for reflecting sadly that the lands 
 which were chargeable to so vast an extent had been obtained 
 for mere trifles ; in many instances under cajolery, and in some 
 by wrong and violence. More than 500,000 had fallen into 
 the Colonial Treasury in 1866 from sales of land. The Loan 
 Bill was amended in the Council. A conference failed to 
 reconcile the Committees on the 4th October; but, on the 
 8th, a second conference was terminated by concession, and the 
 amendments made by the Council were agreed to. By this 
 measure various provincial loans were adopted as charges on 
 the colony. A Public Debts Bill converted provincial into 
 colonial securities. It was introduced late in the session, and 
 was amended in the Council, but an important amendment was 
 abandoned by that body after conference. Four members of 
 the Council protested against the measure because it burdened 
 the colony for the benefit of a few provincial creditors, and 
 because the adoption of provincial debts by the colony bestowed 
 an unjust boon on the bondholders, the provincial bonds being 
 in the market at a great discount as compared with the colonial. 
 The Surplus Revenue Act was amended so as to relieve the 
 northern provinces of some war liabilities, and Mr. Stafford 
 thus strengthened himself in the House and the provinces at 
 the expense of his consistency. At the latter end of the session 
 he received so much support from Auckland members as to ex- 
 cite uncomplimentary remarks. Mr. Fitzherbert, the Treasurer 
 (who also had been Treasurer to Mr. Weld), with candour which 
 must have amused the House, reminded it that he had in four 
 consecutive sessions made financial statements "not uninter- 
 ruptedly, for the wisdom or fickleness of the New Zealand 
 Parliament forbade such indulgence in the sweets of office." 
 Content with driving out Mr. Stafford's first Treasurer, the 
 House could afford to see him financially controlled by the man 
 who under Mr. Weld had been driven from office on a financial 
 question. After many years, the overdraft at the Bank of New 
 Zealand had been swept away. Income and expenditure were
 
 410 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 nearly balanced. The ordinary receipts exceeded the ordinary 
 outgoings, and the extraordinary barely weighed down the 
 contrary scale. 
 
 Among the causes which had swollen the Exchequer were the 
 presence of an Imperial force, the consequent inflation of trade, 
 and the rifling of the soil, which in seven years had yielded 
 13 ; 000,000 sterling of its gold. Mr. Weld's efforts had reduced 
 the colonial defence expenditure. It had been nearly 900,000 
 a-year when he took office. It was reduced in 1867 to 
 327,000. Commissary-General Jones had laboured with 
 Major Richardson, a member (without portfolio) of Mr. Staf- 
 ford's Government, to adjust the claims of the Imperial Govern- 
 ment. The claims, as stated by Mr. Fitzherbert, were, for 
 capitation charge for troops, 353,817 10s. ; compound in- 
 terest capitalized annually, 167,278 7s. ~[d. ; advances for 
 colonial troops, 582,156 17s. 7d. ; miscellaneous, 201,710 14s. 
 7d. ; total, 1,304,963 9s. 3d. Major Richardson considered 
 that more than half a million of the claim was inadmissible. 
 After much correspondence, Mr. Jones quitted New Zealand 
 abruptly, leaving his task unfinished, and assigning his failure 
 to the fact that Major Richardson's commission pointed to inquiry 
 into subjects beyond mere accounts, into which Mr. Jones had no 
 authority to enter. The counter-claims put forward by Major 
 Richardson were, for colonial debentures sold at par, 500,000; 
 military roads, 102,875 9s. \Qd. ; proportion of river transport 
 charges, 97,329 Os. lid.; miscellaneous, 206,652 4s. lid. ; 
 total, 906,856 15s. 8d. But besides these claims Major Richard- 
 son pleaded that further claims might justly be preferred, arising 
 out of the peculiar relations of the colony and the Home Govern- 
 ment when liability was incurred in repressing rebellion. The 
 arguments recurred to the time when the Colonial Ministry 
 under stress of their own misdoings at Waitara gave to Colonel 
 Browne in 1860 a pledge to reimburse the Imperial Government 
 for advances to militia and volunteers. Mr. Stafford's sins had 
 come home to him. To coerce the Maoris he had made pledges 
 of which when again in power he felt the pressure. But the 
 axiom which declares that anything may be proved by figures 
 implies that anything may in like manner be disproved. With 
 much adroitness Major Richardson dealt not only with them,
 
 IMPERIAL CLAIMS. 411 
 
 but with the provocation to war which was represented in 
 general terms, not as the act of its arch-promoters, but as that 
 of Governor Browne. Indirect losses could thus be put forward 
 much as under shelter of Mr. Gladstone's negotiations at Wash- 
 ington in 1871 they were urged by the United States as assets 
 created by new retrospective arrangements. Speaking of Wai- 
 tara, Major Richardson thought it " sufficient to state that the 
 Governor (Browne) reported that the title of Teira and others 
 having been minutely examined for several months, proved and 
 extinguished by the Crown, a survey had been ordered in the 
 usual manner, and that it was his intention in case of the 
 rumoured resistance of Te Rangitake taking place, to enforce Her 
 Majesty's right to deal with her own subjects without hindrance 
 from any one not having a legitimate interest in the transaction." 
 On the subsequent revelations that the alleged minute examina- 
 tion of title was untrustworthy that Te Rangitake and his 
 adherents had indisputable rights and that in over- riding them 
 the Government had violated the treaty of Waitangi private 
 and tribal rights, as well as their own repeated promises, Major 
 Richardson's report was almost silent, though it recorded the 
 formal abandonment of the Waitara block. Those revelations 
 have already been told in part. The result of a legal investiga- 
 tion will follow in due time. As to the Waikato war, Major 
 Richardson admitted that, to avoid risk of murderous invasions, 
 " the initiative was taken by General Cameron " ; but with an 
 inconsequential deduction that destroys the historical value of 
 his laboured report, he concluded that the whole war " has 
 unmistakably arisen from the necessity of vindicating Her 
 Majesty's supremacy and the rights of British native subjects 
 guaranteed by treaty with the Crown ! " In the hands of such 
 a mispriser of facts, figures might yield equally startling results ; 
 but Major Richardson relied mainly on the moral responsibility 
 of the Crown, and the equitable claims of the colony. If the 
 Duke of Newcastle had sternly checked the Waitara injustice, 
 no complicity could have been imputed to the Imperial Govern- 
 ment ; but as accessary after the fact, he had made it difficult for 
 the Imperial Government to hold aloof from the crime. On this 
 point his colonial associates did not press that they were re- 
 lieved by his sanction. Yet it was their strongest ground ; for,
 
 412 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 on the Duke's adoption of the course into which Colonel Browne 
 was led in 1860, the subsequent events followed in hideous order. 
 It may, however, have been felt, though not confessed, by New 
 Zealand statesmen, that the Waitara case would not bear a 
 strong light without revealing that the war of 1860 was not a 
 rebellion, but resistance by a man wronged and attacked in his 
 home. Major Richardson impeached the Imperial claims for 
 compound interest, denied that the colony was liable after 1st 
 December, 1864, for the 40 per soldier, inasmuch as it had 
 urged that the troops should be withdrawn if the demand were 
 insisted on, was of opinion that the Imperial Government 
 would withdraw the claim for cost of the New Zealand Fencibles 
 (68,000) incurred when England was solely responsible for peace; 
 arid after challenging various items, concluded his paper (for 
 which Mr. Stafford expressed the thanks of the Government), by 
 declaring that Great Britain was, as an accomplice in the war and 
 the cause of much expenditure, bound to give substantial aid 
 in lightening the burdens of a colony which " had passed not 
 willingly but by force from the position of a co-operator to that 
 of a principal in the suppression of the rebellion." The irony of 
 facts was never more severe than on this occasion. Major 
 Richardson as a colleague of Mr. Stafford sent these words to the 
 Governor in July, 1867, and Mr. Stafford thanked him for them 
 with effusion. Nevertheless, in the previous year, facts had 
 been proved at Taranaki which induced the Stafford Govern- 
 ment to arrest inquiry, and by private compositions to with- 
 draw from a court of law the further consideration of a case 
 which threatened to show conclusively that the reiterated asser- 
 tions made on behalf of the Government, viz. that Teira's claim 
 had been "minutely examined for several months," found 
 good, and fairly extinguished, were glaringly false. Although 
 the Government eluded judgment in 1866, documents had been 
 laid on the table of the Assembly in that year which refuted 
 beyond all doubt the traditional untruth which the Stafford 
 Ministry of 1866 inherited from its predecessor of 1860, and 
 which Major Richardson endorsed. Those documents will be 
 described hereafter. The financial policy of Mr. Stafford, though 
 brought forward by him who had been Treasurer for Mr. Weld, 
 was not unchallenged. Mr. Vogel impugned it in a motion
 
 PROVINCIAL LIABILITIES. 413 
 
 which was only rejected after repeated adjournments. Mr. 
 Vogel's criticisms were heeded on various fiscal questions ; and 
 it was evident that he was about to be a power in the House, 
 although in an attempt to shelve the Surplus Revenues Adjust- 
 ment Bill he found only five coadjutors in opposing Mr. 
 Fitzherbert. 
 
 Provincial liabilities still irritated New Zealand. In June, 
 1867, the Otago Council adopted a petition to the Queen, pray- 
 ing that a Bill might be brought into the Imperial Parliament 
 to carve the North and Middle Islands into " separate and inde- 
 pendent colonies with such provisions for a federal union " as 
 might seem advisable. Their interests were distinct, and they 
 did not desire to be dragged into extravagant expenditure in the 
 north. Mr. Stafford and his colleagues deprecated compliance 
 with the petition. Mr. Vogel (24th July) moved for a Com- 
 mittee " to inquire into the financial condition of the colony, 
 and to recommend an equitable apportionment of colonial and 
 provincial liabilities with a view to end the indefinite liability of 
 the southern provinces for northern expenditure, and to give 
 the northern provinces the control of northern affairs within 
 their respective limits." On Mr. Fitzherbert's suggestion the 
 House amended the proposition, resolving to appoint the Com- 
 mittee to ascertain "whether the indefinite liability of the 
 southern provinces for northern expenditure can be limited, and 
 if so whether any recommendation can be made for an equitable 
 apportionment of colonial and provincial liabilities. Whether, 
 and if so, in what manner, the control of native affairs can be 
 conferred on the northern provinces within their respective 
 limits." Mr. McLean demanded a ballot, and three of the names 
 proposed by Mr. Vogel were rejected. Before the report was 
 presented (30th September) the Surplus Revenues Bill had 
 been passed, and Mr. Vogel could not hope to carry any proposi- 
 tion unacceptable to the Government. But there had been 
 contention in the Committee. On the question that the report 
 do lie on the table Mr. Stafford having failed to add words 
 requiring that the proceedings of the Committee and all proposi- 
 tions submitted in the Committee be appended Mr. Hall 
 carried, by 25 votes against 14, an addition "that the protests of 
 the dissentient minority be expunged from the minutes of the
 
 414 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 proceedings." Nevertheless, the pertinacity of Mr. Vogel had 
 given him such a position that Mr. Fitzherbert made him one 
 of a Committee of three members to confer with the Legislative 
 Council on amendments in the Public Debts Bill. The waif 
 from the gold-fields of Victoria was rapidly becoming a leading 
 statesman in New Zealand, in spite of a rebuke administered to 
 him by the Representatives on the 19th September. He had 
 impugned the conduct of the Chairman of Committees. The 
 House declared, by 42 votes against 2, its confidence in the 
 uprightness of the chairman, and that Mr. Vogel's charges were 
 unfounded, and " should not have been made." The distribu- 
 tion of surplus revenue might well stir men's minds in 
 provinces distracted by debt, war, and massacre. From 1st 
 July, 1858, to 30th June, 1867, the amount distributed was 
 1,780,000 (omitting fractions). The amount which ought to 
 have been distributed was less by 183,000 than the sum dis- 
 tributed. Auckland had received 25,000 less ; and Otago had 
 received 25,000 more than was due, and other inequalities 
 were to be redressed. High above such local differences rose 
 the financial question. In November, Mr. Fitzherbert was 
 accredited to England to deal with : 1. The consolidation 
 of the various loans of New Zealand, and the investment 
 of the sinking fund of the guaranteed loan of 1856 in New 
 Zealand securities. 2. The settlement of all claims between 
 the Imperial and Colonial Governments. 3. The establish- 
 ment of a mint in New Zealand. 4. The defence of harbours 
 and of the colony, and the disposal of sites hitherto granted 
 for barracks within the colony. There were various indications 
 that the Maoris 1 began to look to the law, to the New 
 
 1 A singular episode in the changing Maori life occurred early in 1867. 
 The Rev. Richard Taylor was about to visit England. He had been the 
 fast friend of John Williams Hipango, the Christian chief who arrested the 
 murderers of the Gilfillan family in 1846, had accompanied Mr. Taylor to 
 England in 1855, presented in person Maori gifts to the Queen and to 
 Prince Albert, and had in after years fallen in battle against the Hau Haus. 
 The loyal chiefs now sent petitions to the Queen by the hand of Mr. Taylor, 
 who was accompanied by young Hipango. Sir George Grey wrote a 
 despatch, begging that the young chief might be presented to Her Majesty. 
 Sorrow was expressed in the petitions about the taking of Maori lands. 
 They did not know whether the law which confiscated them came from 
 England, or from Wellington. They implored that some of them might
 
 MAORI PETITIONS. 415 
 
 Zealand Parliament, or even beyond it to the Queen, to 
 safeguard their rights. Patuki's appeals in the matter of the 
 Maori reserve at Dunedin have been described. Not only the 
 allies of the English, but those who had been in arms against 
 them, were petitioners to the English Committee the " Ru- 
 nanga nui o Niu Tireni " as they styled the " Assembly of New 
 Zealand." Horomona Pohio petitioned for inquiry about land 
 paid for, in 1847, by the Government to the Ngatitoa. " This 
 was wrong, as that tribe went across of their own accord, and 
 attacked my people, the Ngaitahu. Therefore we killed some of 
 them by way of utu (reprisal). . . . The last battle fought was 
 won by us, and so I think the land still belonged to us." He 
 wanted to know why the disposal of land was not left to the 
 owners. 
 
 The Committee did not think it politic to re-open such claims. 
 Two hundred and fifty-six Turanga natives petitioned. " These 
 are our troubles : our land that the Government is constantly 
 trying to take away from us. After the cessation of hostilities 
 some people were transported to the Chatham Islands, but the 
 land was left untouched, neither was there anything said about 
 taking our pieces of land ... we inferred the only punishment 
 this people were to suffer was in the dead who had fallen and 
 the prisoners sent to the Chatham Islands. The blood has since 
 dried, during two years, yet the word of the Government that 
 we are to be deprived of our lands has only now come forth. It 
 has been heard only during this year : had it been uttered 
 during the fighting it would not have pained us so much, though 
 
 be restored. Another subject of bitterness was the absence of Maoris from 
 the Councils of Government. It was not right for one race only to judge. 
 Wrong was thus perpetuated. " An unjust Court is summoned and much 
 money wasted ; the Court sits, and all is in confusion, the spirit is wearied. 
 ... Queen ! let your love for us be expressed." They had fought for 
 her. "If you behold this letter let your reply float over the ocean to us? 
 to your loving children." Amongst the petitioners were Hori Kingi, Mete 
 Kingi, and Rangihiwinui. They had no word to say against Sir George 
 Grey. They were satisfied with him, but disapproved of his Ministry. 
 Mr. Taylor besought some mark of distinction for young Hipango. The 
 Duke of Buckingham evinced no sympathy. The petitioners were politely 
 told that they must apply through the Governor, but that the Home 
 Government would not reverse decisions in New Zealand on the matters to 
 which the petitions related.
 
 416 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 we did not join in the offence of the Hau Haus. Give heed, 
 Assembly of Gentlemen ! We are in great trouble by reason of 
 what the Government has done in deceiving us, so that we 
 might lose the whole of the level land of this district. It has 
 been owing to the influence of us, the chiefs, that the greater 
 portion of the country has been kept quiet, and our reward is 
 that we are to be washed away by the tide." The Judge of the 
 Lands Court had promised to hold a Court ; twice they were 
 deceived when they attended. . . . "We all assembled, but 
 there was no Court. We wondered why we were annoyed 
 everlastingly, and after considering for some time, we heard a 
 word about the land being taken. The life-giving words came 
 first ; namely, the Native Lands Court was to be holden here. 
 These were followed by the death-causing words, namely, the 
 land was taken. We have waited for relief by law, but in vain." 
 Captain Biggs had negotiated with them. "What he wanted 
 was to get all the level country, and we might perch on the 
 mountains. Thereupon we told him it must be left for the 
 Land Court to give us relief. He replied, he would bring the 
 land-taking Court. This was the first time we had heard such 
 a name for the Court, and we were surprised." They appealed 
 to the "gentlemen elected to devise such measures as promote 
 the peace of the country." 
 
 Their allegations were found by the Committee to be correct- 
 Neither the Native Lands Court, nor the Court appointed under 
 " the East Coast Titles Investigation Act, 1866," had kept the 
 times appointed and notified. The assembled natives retired 
 disappointed. Mr. McLean's negotiations at the close of 
 hostilities had unfortunately not been acted upon by the Govern- 
 ment. When the two Courts failed, Captain Biggs and Mr. J. 
 C. Richmond had failed also to solve disputes. The fiery 
 Captain Biggs then recommended the Government to work 
 under the New Zealand Settlements Act (the land-taking 
 Court), but the Government shrunk from doing so, pending the 
 session of 1867. The Committee recommended that there 
 should be no farther delay in allowing the established Courts 
 to go into operation in the district. After making all possible 
 allowance it is hard to excuse the dilatoriness displayed by the 
 Government at Turanga. A matter small in itself, but like a
 
 TITOKOWARU FRIENDLY. 417 
 
 spark in a magazine capable of much mischief, reflects little 
 credit on the Government. Eight Turanga natives petitioned 
 for the return of their " very valuable carved house, taken away 
 without pretext by the Government." Mr. Richmond, a mem- 
 ber of the Executive Council, had asked for it, and was told he 
 could not have it. He replied, " That is all. I will cease to urge 
 you." But after he departed a steamer arrived, and Captain 
 Biggs carried away the house without sanction from the tribe. 
 The name of Rahurui was first in order of the petitioners. The 
 Committee reported that the house (Whare Waikaro) was a 
 very fine specimen of native workmanship, and would be 
 properly taken care of in the Wellington museum ; that some 
 money had been paid for it by Biggs to some Maoris ; and that 
 the house and land having belonged to rebel natives were, 
 "strictly speaking, forfeited to the Government." It was 
 admitted that the house stood on the land of the petitioner 
 Rahurui. 
 
 There was no prophet to step in and say to the covetous 
 Pakeha Thou art the man ! and there was little attempt to 
 gloze the transaction, which yet could not fail to embitter the 
 feelings of the disaffected at Turanga, as well as those who were 
 confined at the Chatham Islands, and were expectant of the 
 release .of which the Government had spoken to them. On 
 the west coast, Te Kepa Rangihiwinui used persuasions in 
 favour of peace in November, 1867. Titokowaru also called a 
 meeting at Te Ngutu-o-te Manu, a village built after the 
 destruction of Pungarehu. Mr. Booth, resident magistrate at 
 Patea, was present by invitation, and heard the speeches. Mr. 
 Booth reported that Titokowaru had shown untiring energy in 
 bringing other tribes to make peace from the date of the " first 
 overtures for friendly relations." The Manawatu -block disputes 
 still furnished petitioners, praying that the Native Lands Court 
 might be brought into operation. That Court early obtained 
 praise, and in 1886, the Pakeha Maori, Mr. Maning, officially 
 reported that the Native Lands Act 1865 would "prove the most 
 beneficial action we have ever attempted in native affairs, and 
 that the good effects we may expect from it can scarcely be 
 over-rated." The removal by that Act of restrictions upon sales 
 by Maoris to Europeans, had been so freely adopted in some 
 
 VOL. II. E E
 
 418 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 places that the resident magistrate at Hawke's Bay appealed 
 to the Government to protect the Maori from himself. Prima 
 peregrinos obscena Pecunia mores intulit. Suddenly invested 
 with unchecked control, prone to exchange land for the means 
 of idleness and debauchery, the Maori was in many instances 
 parting with his heritage so recklessly that a future of pauperism 
 was in store for him, unless the Government would use their 
 power of declining to assent to the alienation of reserves, and 
 thus debar the existing generation from waste. The Pakeha 
 Maori (Maning) was called upon to exercise a strange judicial 
 function during the Parliamentary session of 1867. Quarrels 
 arose about land, the title to which was to be brought before 
 him. Two Ngapuhi warriors tottering with age stirred up the 
 young, prone as themselves, to fight. Ancient tribal feuds were 
 ransacked to envenom differences. The Judge in olden time 
 had known the combatants, but kept himself aloof to do official 
 justice. The Surveyor asked whether he should carry on the 
 survey, backed by force. The Judge replied that he believed 
 the man must be mad to ask such a question. The case had 
 not come into Court, when two grantees and a claimant had 
 been shot. 
 
 In June, the resident magistrate, Edward Williams (a son 
 of Archdeacon Henry Williams), found the two parties on the 
 brink of battle. They were within a few yards of each other, 
 when he rode between them, and out of respect for him they 
 retired; and subsequently agreed that he should be their 
 arbitrator. He had not received the thanks of the Government 
 for his intervention when the disputants met again, and though 
 he endeavoured to interpose they commenced firing before his 
 eyes. On the 10th July, he saw five killed and two wounded 
 as he stood by the Ngarehauata. Fighting was more accept- 
 able than law, and the magistrate's entreaties were disregarded, 
 until, on the 16th July, the death of Archdeacon Williams drew 
 off the sorrowing Maoris to attend his funeral. The scene 
 which followed has been told in relation to his death. Judo-e 
 
 O 
 
 Maning's proceedings deserve special mention. Before peace 
 was finally made the hostile parties offered to make a truce, to 
 attend the Court unarmed, and keep the peace while the Court 
 was sitting. He declined to authorize in such a manner,
 
 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL ADDRESS TO SIR G. GREY. 410 
 
 indirectly, a return to violence after his departure, adjourned his 
 Court sine die, or until hostilities should cease, and intimated 
 that probably all the Courts in the district would be closed. 
 Meanwhile he joined his peaceful persuasions to those of others. 
 The Hokianga chief, Abraham Taonui, aided the sons of the 
 deceased Archdeacon, peace was made, and the land had rest. 
 
 Such was the aspect of New Zealand life, while the General 
 Assembly in 1867 was busy with many things passing an 
 " Old Metal and Marine Store-dealers' Bill," regulating Friendly 
 Societies, empowering a race-course board at Wairarapa to 
 exchange certain lands, and dealing with the thousand objects 
 which in all communities of Englishmen engross their time, but 
 which, as common to all, require no special notice. The session 
 was the last to be convened by Sir George Grey. The addresses 
 he received from the two Houses and the remonstrance drawn 
 up in his praise by his responsible advisers have been quoted. 
 In December, 1867, he was requested to forward the final 
 testimony of his Executive Council. "When immediately on 
 the receipt of the first intimation that your Excellency would 
 shortly be informed of the name of your successor, both Houses 
 of the Legislature, by simultaneous addresses, marked their high 
 regard for your Excellency personally, and their appreciation 
 of your distinguished public services; and while numerous 
 bodies of colonists hastened to re-echo those sentiments of 
 respect which everywhere greeted you in your late visit 
 throughout the provinces, we abstained from approaching your 
 Excellency with any expression of sympathy, because we could 
 not but believe that, at the close of your career in New Zealand, 
 Her Majesty would have been advised* to mark her appreciation 
 of your services ; but the tone of the late despatches addressed 
 to your Excellency, impels us no longer to withhold the ex- 
 pression 'of the 'sentiments entertained towards you, by those 
 who have witnessed, near at hand, the devotion to the empire 
 and to public duty which has distinguished your long career. 
 Seldom has a Governor been placed in circumstances more 
 trying, and amid duties more conflicting and embarrassing. In 
 so difficult a position we cannot but think that your Excellency 
 might reasonably have expected that you would not have been 
 
 left unprotected to bear the unjust aspersions to which you have 
 
 E E 2
 
 420 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 been exposed. Again and again during the last twenty-six years, 
 where there has been danger and difficulty in the administration 
 of colonial affairs, your Excellency's aid has been invoked by the 
 most eminent statesmen of the day. Sacrifices you have dis- 
 regarded, and trials have served as opportunities of evincing 
 devotion to public duty, and we cannot but regard it as indica- 
 tive of the indifference, if not positive disfavour, with which the 
 colonies of the empire are regarded when loyalty, zeal, and 
 high intelligence displayed in the administration of their affairs 
 are passed by without even the courtesy of a cold acknowledg- 
 ment. Nevertheless, it will be no mean gratification to your 
 Excellency to feel assured that upon your retirement from the 
 Government of New Zealand, it is universally recognized that in 
 defence of constitutional Government, the honour of the colony 
 entrusted to your guardianship, and the best interests of the 
 empire, you have added to your other sacrifices that of the 
 assured prospect of some still more honourable position in Her 
 Majesty's service, or a distinguished retirement from the cares 
 of office. We trust that the day may not be far distant when 
 the high services you have so freely and ably rendered will 
 meet with a fitting recognition. We pray your Excellency to 
 accept these words as expressing the sentiment of Ministers who 
 have had the honour of being associated with you in the 
 administration of the affairs of New Zealand." The names of 
 E. W. Stafford, William Fitzherbert, John Hall, T. M. Haultain, 
 J. C. Richmond, J. H. Harris, and Major Richardson were 
 attached to the address. 
 
 Sir George Grey replied : " It is fitting that I should briefly 
 acknowledge the far mor% than friendly words which you have 
 addressed to me on my removal from my office of Governor of 
 New Zealand. These words coming from those who not only 
 have seen and known the trials and difficulties I have had to 
 encounter, but who also amidst those difficulties have been my 
 advisers and fellow-labourers, are very valuable to me, and I 
 shall often think of them in my retirement. I will only further 
 say to those who by their advice, by their sympathy, and by 
 their own toils and devotion to public duty, have so often 
 guided my path in difficulties, and lightened the labours im- 
 posed upon me, that I thank them for the services they have
 
 THE COLONIAL OFFICE. 421 
 
 rendered their Queen and country ; that I also thank them for 
 their affectionate farewell, and that whatever may be the future 
 trials and changes of my life, I shall always think myself 
 fortunate that they were so long given me as companions and 
 associates in the trying duties I had to perform in New Zealand." 
 The framers of the address could not complain of any terms 
 applied to it by the Duke of Buckingham. Its receipt was 
 acknowledged without a word of comment. Well might Rajah 
 (Sir James) Brooke groan in bitterness of spirit that the fiction 
 that honours were conferred by the Queen could barely make 
 them respectable. Well might one who had been Under- 
 secretary for the Colonies l declare that the manner in which 
 distinctions were conferred by the Colonial Office was fitted to 
 degrade them. When the Duke of Buckingham thus super- 
 ciliously set aside the protestations of the Executive Council of 
 New Zealand with regard to the public services of a man for 
 whom several of them could in no manner be supposed to be 
 prejudiced, there was in a neighbouring colony another man in 
 full career on the path to titular honour obtained in the manner 
 denounced by Mr. Merivale. Convicted of sedition in 1844, but 
 set at large on technical grounds, reverting to seditious practices 
 but evading the personal risks to which he incited others, for the 
 desertion of whom one of the most resolute among them branded 
 him as " a pitiable blaspheming traitor," intriguing against his 
 Sovereign, against his reputed leader Daniel O'Connell, against 
 his country and his oaths in the House of Commons and in 
 a colony, fawning upon his countryman O'Shanassy in Victoria, 
 until he had obtained a title and a pension, and then spurning 
 the patron whom he no longer needed, Mr. Charles G. Duffy 
 pursued the primrose way to the favours of Downing Street. 
 They could not. convert him from that to which he was in a 
 manner born, but the method of their distribution might sour 
 the minds of others more loyal than he. History has different 
 garlands to dispense, and strikes a juster balance between the 
 ignoble and the worthy. One gathers honour with time, while 
 the distinctions of the other excite disgust. 
 
 Sir George Ferguson Bowen assumed office as Governor of 
 New Zealand on the 5th February, 1868. His predecessor 
 1 Herman Merivale.
 
 422 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 remained in the colony until, at the close of the year, he 
 hastened to England to fight his battles in person, and to press 
 upon the Colonial Office the propriety of doing right in regard 
 to the slaughtered Maori prisoner of war. Sir George Bowen 
 thought it becoming to show public respect towards the super- 
 seded Governor. He informed the Colonial Office that Sir G. 
 Grey was to be entertained at a banquet (at which Sir David 
 Monro was to preside), and that, having been invited, he would 
 have much pleasure in evincing his sense of the personal 
 courtesy and consideration he had received from his " able and 
 accomplished predecessor, whose name will be inseparably 
 connected with the history of this colony."
 
 423 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 NATIVE LAND COURT. 
 
 IT is proper to examine the working of the Native Lands 
 Court, constituted under the Native Lands Act of 1865. Two 
 or three cases which were brought before the Land Court and 
 before the Compensation Court created under the New Zealand 
 Settlements Act, will throw light upon many previous occur- 
 rences dealt with in these pages. One enabled justice to cast a 
 momentary ray upon the shameful wrong done to the loyal 
 Ngatiawa chief, Te Rangitake, at the Waitara. It would have 
 been easy to state the final result, and then to dismiss the 
 subject. But by such a course the true history of New Zealand 
 would have been concealed ; and by such a course the numerous 
 misrepresentations in other works would have been contradicted 
 but not disproved. The act done at Waitara by Governor 
 Browne was the plague-spot which corrupted the subsequent 
 life of the colony. He himself, and Mr. Richmond, wrote 
 despatches and minutes, as bulky as volumes, in which they 
 contended that the prayer of Sir William Martin and others for 
 judicial inquiry was ridiculous, and that the title of Teira, so 
 rashly accepted by Governor Browne, had been " duly investi- 
 gated" and found good. Two or three sentences written by 
 Governor Browne and Mr. Richmond may be quoted before the 
 proceedings of the Land Court are told. To the Secretary of 
 State the Governor wrote (March, I860) : " I have insisted on 
 this comparatively valueless purchase, because if I had admitted 
 the right of a chief to interfere between me and the lawful pro- 
 prietors of the soil, I should soon have found further acquisition 
 of territory impossible in any part of New Zealand." A pub- 
 lished manifesto prepared for the Governor by his Ministry
 
 424 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 declared : " Te Teira's ti tie had been carefully investigated and 
 found to be good. It is not disputed by any one. The Governor 
 cannot therefore allow Te Rangitake to interfere with Te Teira 
 in the sale of his own land." To his shame it must be said 
 that Mr. Donald McLean abetted this manifesto. In the same 
 despatch which transmitted that manifesto to England was 
 enclosed a memorandum by Mr. Richmond, imploring for troops. 
 Mr. Richmond wrote : " An occasion has now arisen on which it 
 has become necessary to enforce obedience to the Governor's 
 decision by a military force. The issue has been carefully 
 chosen the particular question being as favourable a one of its 
 class as could have been selected." The reader will form his 
 own conclusions as to the class, after scrutinizing the special and 
 favourable case thus gravely averred to have been carefully 
 chosen. It is only necessary to refer generally to the earnest 
 intercessions of Sir William Martin, the Bishop, and Archdeacon 
 Hadfield, in favour of judicial inquiry, and the contempt with 
 which they were thrust aside. The land at the Waitara was 
 included in the blocks confiscated in the Taranaki province in 
 September, 1865. It will be remembered that within confis- 
 cated tracts, the Government undertook to reserve and award 
 lands to loyal natives who had tribal rights in the district. 
 Rebels were also invited to declare their allegiance, and thus 
 entitle themselves to restoration of such lands as might be 
 allotted to them. To ascertain the proper quantities to be 
 awarded in the Taranaki province a Government Gazette notice 
 intimated in March, 1866, that a Compensation Court would be 
 " holden at New Plymouth (Taranaki), for the purpose of hearing 
 and determining the claims of persons to compensation on 
 account of the taking under the authority of the New Zealand 
 Settlements Act of the blocks of land in the province of Taranaki 
 hereunder described." The blocks were described by certain 
 boundaries as the Waitara South, and the Oakura. The first- 
 named included the land which Governor Browne professed to 
 buy from Teira in 1859, and which was abandoned by the Gov- 
 ernment in 1863. The Oakura case was first undertaken. The 
 Judges of the Compensation Court were Mr. Fenton sitting as 
 Senior Judge, and Messrs. J. Rogan and H. A. M. Monro sitting 
 as Judges. It will be remembered that Mr. Fenton was also
 
 LAND AND COMPENSATION COURTS. 425 
 
 Chief Judge of the Native Land Court. Mr. W. S. Atkinson 
 appeared as Crown Agent to oppose the claims of the natives. 
 His contention was peculiar. By the Settlements Act the 
 Crown could elect whether to give compensation in land or in 
 money. He elected " to give land in lieu of money." But the 
 Oakura block was supposed to contain from 25,000 to 26,000 acres, 
 and the Crown or its agents, without regard to possible or probable 
 claims of loyal natives, had authorized occupation by European 
 settlers to such an extent that only 2500 acres remained to 
 satisfy any awards which might be made by the Compensation 
 Court. Mr. Atkinson pleaded generally, as Mr. Fox and his 
 friends had often urged, that the natives did not really exercise 
 ownership, and only used about 1000 acres properly. On this 
 point a chief replied : " As to the extent of our cultivations, I 
 call attention of the Court to our live stock on the land. I 
 demand that our compensation be within the block ; the blood 
 of my relatives is on the land. Remember my services during 
 the war. My cattle, my sheep, my pigs, and all my property 
 went in the war ; my wheat and my cultivations ; and I never 
 received any compensation for them, though the Pakehas have 
 all been compensated. What I did was not rewarded. Let the 
 Government now fulfil its promises." Mr. Atkinson was unable 
 or unwilling to produce any evidence as to the lawful settlement 
 of military settlers on, or of the disposal of, the block by sale, to 
 such an extent as to leave an insufficient quantity of land to 
 meet the claims of natives, which claims were contemplated in 
 the Act, and had been repeatedly and solemnly guaranteed by 
 the Government. In a proclamation of the 17th December, 
 1864, there was the unshakable sentence : " The land of those 
 natives who have adhered to the Queen shall be secured to 
 them." There had been other intimations of like purport. 
 The Court considered and admitted 76 claims in a manner 
 which may be told in their own words. 1 " Having thus arrived at 
 the, to us, unavoidable conclusion that the claimants before us 
 were entitled to 7400 acres of good land in this block, and 
 having accepted Mr. Atkinson's assertions that the whole of the 
 available land, except 2500 acres, had been appropriated to 
 military settlers, the question then arose, What are we to do ? 
 1 N. Z. P. P. 1866 ; A. No. 13.
 
 426 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 We thought that possibly the Government were not aware of 
 the large majority of owners of this land, who had remained 
 loyal, and reflecting on the great public calamity which would 
 be caused, and the serious embarrassment which would occur to 
 the Government if we issued orders of the Court extending, as 
 they would have done, over the lands of considerable numbers 
 of these military settlers, we determined to despatch one of our 
 number to Wellington to place the state of affairs before the 
 Government, and give them an opportunity of availing them- 
 selves of the power given to the Colonial Secretary by the 9th 
 clause of the Act of 1865. 1 We accordingly postponed our 
 decision, and Mr. Rogan went to Wellington, whilst Mr. Monro 
 and I proceeded with the case of Waitara South. Mr. Rogan 
 returned with the Honourable Colonel Russell, the Minister for 
 Native Affairs, who effected an arrangement with the claimants, 
 and ultimately all the claims except one, that of Rawiri Motuere, 
 were withdrawn to our satisfaction. What the terms of Colonel 
 Russell's arrangement were, the Court did not think it their 
 duty to inquire. In consequence of this agreement having been 
 come to, no adjudication was made by the Court, as our juris- 
 diction was gone. ... In the case of Rawiri Motuere, who had 
 returned home to Waikanae, the Court accepted the undertaking 
 of the resident owners to admit him as one of themselves." 
 
 Such was the measured language of the judicial report. But 
 more might have been told. The section of the Taranaki com- 
 munity which had so largely promoted discord through its 
 covetous agents and representatives in former days, was indig- 
 nant at the thought that even loyal natives should maintain a 
 footing on the land through the action of a Court of Law. It 
 mattered not that the claimants in 1866 had in 1863 gone out, 
 when many Europeans declined, to rescue and escort to the town 
 the scattered settlers whose lives were in danger after the 
 
 ; By that section the Colonial Secretary could on behalf of the Govern- 
 ment agree out of Court with any claimant to give him money, or hind, or 
 buth, to withdraw his claim. By section 10 the same functionary might 
 " at any time before judgment or award, elect to give the claimant land in 
 lieu of money out of any land within the province, subject to the provisions 
 of the said Acts," &c. The Compensation Court, or the arbitrators or 
 umpire, were still to "determine the extent of land so to be given as 
 compensation."
 
 LAND AND COMPENSATION COURTS. 427 
 
 Oakura massacre. It mattered not that by now striving to 
 strangle the claims of their allies in war, the settlers were doing 
 their utmost to prove the truth of the prophecy, that, when 
 alleged rebellion had been dealt with, loyal Maoris would be 
 robbed. The passions of the dwellers in Taranaki darkened 
 their judgment. The nature of the settlement arrived at by the 
 Native Minister may be told in few words. Mr. Parris acted as 
 native agent. Mr. Atkinson "applied for and obtained a 
 suspension of judgment for two days," and offered to the natives 
 " the whole of the remaining land in the Oakura block." Parris 
 on behalf of the Maoris accepted the offer if " intended to include 
 all the Government reserves and the whole of the land not 
 allotted to military settlers." Atkinson consented. The land 
 thus restored to the original joint-owners (according to Parris's 
 statement) exceeded 10,000 acres. That held by military 
 settlers contained 18,930 acres. Every one familiar with the 
 conversation of the settlers is aware that the restoration of lands 
 to the Maoris has been made the constant theme of ridicule. 
 The use made by the military settlers of their lands may be 
 illustrated by the result at Taranaki. The three prescribed 
 years of service terminated in 1866, and nearly all of the settlers 
 sold their lands and left the province. The historian of the 
 province ascribes their departure to the unfitness of many of 
 them for rural life, and to the inability of the local government 
 to employ them, or to make roads amongst their farms. As a 
 proof of the tenacity of the Taranaki mind to the course pur- 
 sued with regard to the natives, it is right to mention that 
 although that historian l devotes some space to the departure of 
 the military settlers and the absorption of their lands by other 
 Europeans in 1866 and 1867, he says not one word of the sitting 
 of the Compensation Court and the emergency in which one of 
 its Judges was despatched to Wellington to induce the Govern- 
 ment to find a way of escape from the exposure which was 
 dreaded. A further proof of the pertinacity displayed is to be 
 found in the fact that when a Maori prophet, Te Whiti, stirred up 
 his disciples, and a West Coast Commission was appointed in 1880, 
 it was proved that the Government had not at that date taken 
 steps to comply with the contract made by the Native Minister 
 1 ' History of Tarunuki.' B. ^'eils. 1878.
 
 428 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 with the Maoris in 1866. To promise and not to perform was 
 the accepted method of dealing with Maori claims by the 
 numerous Ministries which existed in the colony from 1866 to 
 1880. Within that period there was occasion for many claimants 
 to die. The urn of fate combined with weapons of war in remov- 
 ing suppliants or appellants from the scene in which they 
 troubled the heirs of Colonel Wakefield's devices. 
 
 Startling revelations were made at Waitara, where the native 
 ownership of the .ill-famed Waitara block was incidentally 
 brought under the eye of the law. Teira and his friends 
 appeared before the Court to establish their claims on the 4th 
 July, 1866. The exiled rebels were of course unrepresented, 
 but in order to prevent exorbitance of the claims of Teira and 
 others, the Government were of necessity constrained to put 
 forward some portion of that which would have been the case of 
 the absentees if they had not been barred. Their hereditary 
 rights, concluded by their imputed rebellion, could be used to 
 rebut the claims of others. The Government Agent in the 
 Court was a Mr. Atkinson. Tamati Tiraurau of the Ngatiuenuku 
 hapu (of the Ngatiawa tribe), of which Te Rangitake was the 
 principal chief, was first examined. The evidence of Teira will 
 be sufficient for the purposes of this narrative. 
 
 It will be remembered that under the Native Rights Act of 
 1865, native title and interests in land were to be determined 
 in all cases according to the ancient custom and usage of the 
 Maori people so far as they could be ascertained. It was the 
 practice of the Land Court to receive copious evidence and 
 frequently to frame genealogical tables, which, when established 
 by concurring testimony, often decided cases to general satis- 
 faction. There were many Maoris present when Teira was 
 examined (about 400 of them attended the Court). Teira said 
 he was of the Ngatiuneku tribe. The hapus, or sub-tribes, which 
 were part-owners of " Taylor's piece " (as the block bought by 
 Colonel Browne was termed), were Ngatirangiroa, of which a 
 woman, Mauirangi, was chief Ngatiuenuku, of which the 
 witness and Te Rangitake were chiefs; Ngatihinga, whose chief 
 was Hemi Pataka ; Ngatihineuru, of which Rewiri Kaiuri was 
 chief; Ngatihua, whose chief was Parani Tukoko ; and Ngatituao 
 whose chiefs were the witness, and Ropoama Te One. The
 
 LAND AND COMPENSATION COURTS. 429 
 
 tribes enumerated were all hapus of the Ngatiawa. In the 
 solemn atmosphere of a Court of Justice, and surrounded by 
 Maoris who could refute mis-statements, the man who to wreak 
 his spite against Te Rangitake had lied to Governor Browne, 
 was compelled to admit that several hapus had interests in the 
 block which he had been put forward, and had been accepted as 
 competent, to sell in 1859, without tribal concurrence. He 
 essayed, even in 1866, to maintain his evil reputation. When 
 a table of descent was framed from the evidence it was found 
 that Teira was seventh in descent from Tarikura ; while, from 
 her sister Parekaita, Te Rangitake was fifth in descent, and had 
 therefore a better title than Teira as being more nearly related 
 to the common ancestor. When reminded of this, Teira had the 
 effrontery to say that proximity of descent made no difference 
 in heritage ; but the Maoris in the Court significantly evinced 
 their dissent. A further catastrophe awaited the claim which 
 Colonel Browne's advisers had pronounced to be good. Ascend- 
 ing higher towards the family founder it was found that the 
 two sisters above-named derived their descent from a female 
 ancestress, Nenuku, whose brother was Te Wheturereao. From 
 Te Wheturereao in the male line, Te Rangitake traced a direct 
 and incontrovertible descent. Thus, in addition to representing 
 a wider circle within the tribe, Te Rangitake boasted direct 
 descent from the house-father, so dear to Maori hearts. 
 
 It would perhaps be too much to say that by Maori as by 
 Roman law, agnatic was invariably preferred to cognatic inherit- 
 ance, although the reverence for the ancestor, or eponymous 
 hero of a tribe, would give much sanction to such a theory. 
 One careful and learned writer, Colenso, 1 distinctly declares the 
 " order of succession of inheritance as clearly shown in Maori 
 genealogical recitals was from father to son." The transfer of 
 tribal leadership, from the unworthy to the worthy, of which 
 there were well-known instances, perhaps forbids the laying 
 down of an irreversible canon on the subject. But the carved 
 images of their great forefathers in the Maori meeting-houses 
 were perpetual memorials of Maori custom and tradition, if 
 not of positive law. But this the brazen Teira was ready 
 to challenge. Asked whether the proven descent from Te 
 1 ' Transactions of N. Z. Institute, 1868,' vol. i. p 363.
 
 430 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Wheturererao did not establish Te Rangitake's claim as superior 
 to his own, he desperately denied the fact. His own followers 
 were so amused or shocked at this affirmation that they made 
 demonstrations of dissent. 
 
 The Court tested Teira on a more general principle. 
 
 " You say that an individual Maori can sell land ? Yes. And 
 that a single Maori could sell land before the Government came 
 here ? Yes. Could he have sold to any one ? Yes. Could 
 he have sold to another Maori ? Yes. Now could you have 
 sold this piece (the Waitara block) to Kukutai, 1 or to Te 
 Awaitaia ? Yes. And would the tribe have let them take 
 possession ? Yes. And build a pah upon it ? Yes." 
 
 At this daring denial of well-known Maori usage, Teira's 
 friends burst into laughter so loud and derisive that the baffled 
 liar, looking round and seeing that further imposture was hope- 
 less, rushed out of the Court. 
 
 One touch from the wand of justice had destroyed the baseless 
 fabric on which Colonel Browne and his advisers endeavoured to 
 justify the robbery of Te Rangitake. The visions of which Sir 
 William Martin had denounced the folly were dissolved ; but not 
 without leaving a rack behind. The Majesty of England pawned 
 to do a great wrong : the home, the church of a loyal chief 
 wantonly sacked by the Queen's troops although that chief was 
 believed to have saved Wellington from destruction after the 
 Wairau massacre in 1843 ; -a solemn treaty shamefully violated 
 in defiance of the warnings of that just man who had been Chief 
 Judge of the colony ; the blood of thousands of loyal Maoris, 
 (resenting injustice) spilt upon their land in futile strife with 
 the mighty engines arrayed against them ; the desperate hearts 
 of many driven to fulfil the prophecy of Sir William Martin and 
 to spurn the creed tendered to them by those whom they believed 
 to be a nation of liars ; the Bishop, who had lived in their 
 affections, and, welcome in every Maori village, could wander 
 through mountains and forests at will, turned into an object of 
 aversion because in endeavouring to temper the horrors of war 
 he had accompanied the conquering army of the Queen ! 
 
 1 Both those chiefs were Waikato men who joined in the invasion of the 
 Taranaki territories when Pukerangiora was sacked and Nga Motu was 
 saved.
 
 LAND AND COMPENSATION COURTS. 431 
 
 These were the fruits of the policy which Governor Browne 
 abetted in 1859, when he was tempted to abandon his opposition 
 to the schemes which in 1858 he had denounced as framed to 
 rob the Maoris of their land " Recte si possint, si non quo- 
 cunque modo." And this was the policy which after such a 
 significant warning from the Governor, the Duke of Newcastle 
 had formally approved, though he admitted subsequently that 
 he deemed it reprehensible. By retributive justice, Stafford, the 
 head of the Ministry by which the wrong was done, was Premier 
 when it was exposed ; and the Crown Agent, a member of that 
 section of the Taranaki community which had urged the crime, 
 was in 1866 the unwitting tool by which the truth was brought 
 to light. In resisting the claims, in order to diminish the unholy 
 wages, of Teira, the Government was constrained to make clear 
 the title of Te Rangitake. But although Teira's evidence, and 
 that of Kirikimero, Tamati Tiraurau, and others' established 
 completely Te Rangitake's original title. Te Rangitake could 
 obtain no benefit from the proof. He, as a rebel, had no 
 standing in the Court. The " carefully chosen issue " of Mr. 
 C. W. Richmond had been sufficient for the purposes of Taranaki 
 avarice. The confiscation of the land under the Settlements Act 
 of Whitaker and Fox professed to bar all claims of those directly 
 or indirectly concerned in the war. Violence in seizing upon the 
 land had been resorted to in order to convert Te Rangitake into 
 a rebel, and the device had been successful enough to satisfy not 
 only Mr. Richmond and his Taranaki friends but a majority in 
 the New Zealand Assembly. There might have been an argu- 
 ment raised that as the Maori title was tribal, the abrogation of 
 the rights of the rebels left their loyal tribesmen with rights 
 co-extensive with the area of the tribal domain, but no New 
 Zealand Government would tolerate the raising of such an issue 
 in the Courts. In reporting their proceedings at Taranaki in 
 1866, the views of the Judges on Maori tenure were succinctly 
 stated. " Each individual has a right as against the rest of his 
 tribe, to a pretty well defined piece of land, part of the tribal 
 estate, which he could hold and cultivate as against any member 
 of the tribe ; but his power extended no further. He could not 
 alienate it out of the tribe ; and, if he abandoned it, another 
 member could take possession. The tribal estate belonged to
 
 432 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the tribe, and no' man could weaken the tribe by alienating any 
 part of it to another tribe, or person out of the tribe, or to any 
 outsider." By the treaty of Waitangi the Queen had guar- 
 anteed " to the chiefs and tribes of New Zealand and to the 
 respective families and individuals thereof, the full, exclusive, 
 and undisturbed possession of their lands and estates, forests, and 
 fisheries, and other properties which they may collectively or 
 individually possess, so long as it is their wish and desire to retain 
 the same in their possession." It would have been difficult to 
 maintain in a Court of Justice that the forcible extinction of the 
 rights of Te Rangitake could abrogate those paramount tribal 
 rights which ran over the whole domain, and by which each member 
 was invested with concurrent tribal rights. The joint-tenancy 
 known to English law recognized the jus accrescendi of each re- 
 maining owner at the time of the removal of any of his co-tenants. 
 The hereditary tribal right could not be weaker than the artificial 
 ownership created by joint-tenancy. It added to all the favour- 
 able incidents of joint-tenancy the crowning quality that each 
 man born into the tribe became invested in his turn with the 
 common right. So long as the tribe might exist, so long was 
 there a man to stand upon the soil and assert the common 
 ownership. Even the ephemeral joint-tenancy of English law 
 preserved the whole of the estate to the last survivor. Could it 
 be said that the forfeiture of his allegiance by one man could 
 divest all his tribe of their inheritance ? If so, some vile creature 
 might be bribed at any time to destroy his people by some act 
 to be put forward by the Government as an excuse for confiscation 
 of tribal lands. But reason and justice had been silenced in New 
 Zealand. When the New Zealand Settlements Act was passed 
 by Whitaker and Fox in 1863 a point of tyranny was reached 
 from which Henry VIII. had abstained. He, when he desired to 
 bring within his grasp the possessions of his victims, procured 
 a repeal of the law which protected estates-tail from forfeiture 
 for treason. He resorted to the only tribunal needful in that 
 matter. In New Zealand no law could be honourably proposed 
 or passed by the Europeans in violation of the treaty of 
 Waitangi. Only by the formalities by which that treaty had 
 been made, could it be undone, or its sanctions -be changed. 
 But the dry light of justice was obscured when Whitaker and
 
 NGATIUENUKU. 
 
 Cnmpiiedj from/ evidence* of Tamati TiraurmL, Te- Teira 
 Ihaia; Tcunaiti, Ruxv &o. by f.D. Fenton, Senior Judge, C.C? 
 Witnesses Te- lietrev. Ihara/ IBrikunero and- TbanMtv Tiraurcvu,, rfc. 
 NOTE : NyaJbikuro^ l Tf^atiuemaJca,, & Nqadtuvti seem, to lie' identicaJi. 
 
 Extract from> Reburru^A N9 23 presented* to 
 the, Genjeral Assembly ofJeH> ZeaLcuwU, 
 24*^ September 1866.
 
 GENEALOGY OF NGATIUENUKU. 433 
 
 Fox darkened the political hemisphere, and the Assembly 
 passed the Settlements Act of 1863. During the Weld 
 Administration in 1865 the influence of himself, Mr. Mantell, 
 and Mr. Fitzgerald, and the labours of Sir William Martin and 
 Mr. Fenton, purified the air, and by the working of the Native 
 Rights Act and the Native Lands Act some gleams of light were 
 admitted to the gloom in which justice had been shrouded. 
 
 The wrongs of Te Rangitake need no further comment in these 
 pages, though in finally dismissing them it is not out of place to 
 remind the reader that in July, 1867, Major Richardson, one of 
 Mr. Stafford's colleagues, in an elaborate report hazarded the 
 statement that the whole war had "unmistakably arisen from 
 the necessity of vindicating Her Majesty's supremacy and the 
 rights of British native subjects guaranteed by treaty with the 
 Crown." Before that report was received and lauded by Mr. 
 Stafford, the Compensation Court had wrung the truth out of the 
 mouths of Teira and others, and to prevent exposure or avoid 
 inconvenience, the Government had eluded the delivery of judg- 
 ments, in the Oakura and Waitara cases, by compositions out of 
 Court which ousted the Court from jurisdiction. Mr. Richardson's 
 assertion requires no other comment than the remark that if he 
 believed what he wrote, the self-deception possible with man is 
 immeasurable. The papers relating to the sitting of the Court 
 were laid on the table by command, and were ordered to be 
 printed on the 4th October, 1866. The genealogies of the 
 tribes, as compiled by the Senior Judge, Fenton, were laid on the 
 table on the 24th September, 1866, but were not ordered to be 
 printed until, in the session of 1867, Mr. Carleton, on whose 
 motion the other papers were printed in 1866, succeeded (though 
 not without a division in which 18 members opposed him) in 
 causing the genealogies of Teira and Te Rangitake to be pre- 
 served in the blue-books. 1 It may be well to glance at the 
 result of the Waitara negotiations. The Crown Agent, Atkinson, 
 procured adjournments from time to time. He also impugned 
 
 1 They are printed (1867. N. Z. P. P; A. No. 23) as 'Genealogies of 
 certain Maori Families,' without a word to connect them with the disputed 
 Waitara block, or with the sitting of the Compensation Court. Even so 
 they are useful to those who sedulously follow the thread of New Zealand 
 story. Te Rangitake and Teira belonged to the Ngatiuenuku hapu or 
 section of the Ngatiawa tribe. 
 
 VOL. II. F F
 
 434 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the validity of Donald McLean's proceedings. He denied that 
 McLean's appointment had been proved, and urged that McLean's 
 recognition of, and promises to, absentee owners ought to form 
 no precedent for the Court, inasmuch as McLean might have 
 been constrained by a desire to pacify the Maoris. Atkinson also 
 maintained that one Government was not bound by the acts of 
 its predecessors. The Court over-ruled him in each case. On 
 the last point they said : " We doubt very much whether the 
 doctrine expressed is a good doctrine even in politics ; certainly 
 in Courts of Law, in matters of right affecting the Crown, it 
 must be held to be bad doctrine." Forty-two claimants had 
 been admitted when the Government deemed it advisable to 
 settle the Waitara investigation, like that of Oakura, by arrange- 
 ment out of Court. There was an adjournment to afford " time 
 and opportunity" for negotiation. On the 10th July, Atkinson 
 proposed to Parris to give to " the friendly residents and absentee 
 natives and half-castes . . . the whole of the block to seaward of 
 the military settlements in the Waitara south block with the 
 exception of the Waitara township . . . the whole of the 
 reserves in the military settlements with the exception of the 
 town belts ... a fourth part of the land comprised in the 
 township of Waitara outside of that intended for the town, 
 present and future, comprising about 500 acres ... 125 
 sections in the Waitara Township . . . and also sections on 
 the site of the Hurirapa pah." To these terms Parris on 
 behalf of the natives agreed. The land thus stipulated for 
 exceeded 11,000 acres, but its quality was, according to Mr. 
 Parris, very inferior to the 14,000 acres comprised in the military 
 settlers' allotments in the block. This restitution was viewed 
 with anguish by the more petulant amongst the advocates of 
 confiscation of Maori lands. The claims being withdrawn from the 
 Court, the defence of the Crown on their merits was not entered 
 upon. So much has been written about what Colonel Browne 
 called the "comparatively valueless purchase" from Teira that 
 its disappearance from the field of strife deserved special notice. 
 Many volumes have been written to defend that fatal wrong 
 which in 1859 and 1860 plunged the races into war. Others 
 have been written to denounce it. Now for the first time are 
 arrayed together the facts which enable the curious to see in one
 
 REV. HETA TAHAWHITI. 435 
 
 work the contention of its champions and of its opponents. All 
 impartial persons must admit that the rape of the Waitara was 
 an act which can never be sufficiently mourned by those who 
 hold dear the honour of England. Would that it could be 
 blotted out ! It may not be ; its deadly poison envenoms still 
 every relation between Pakeha and Maori. 
 
 Another case brought before the Compensation Court must 
 be recorded. The Rev. Heta Tarawhiti was left in charge of the 
 mission station at Taupiri on the Waikato river when the war of 
 1863 drove all Europeans from the district. No threats could deter 
 him from his duties. Bishop Selwyn's testimony to that effect has 
 been recorded. Tarawhiti applied (under the Settlements Act 
 and the Government proclamations) for a block of land within his 
 native territory, Central Waikato. At a Compensation Court held 
 in January, 1867, at Ngaruawahia, Mr. Mackay on the part of 
 the Crown admitted Tarawhiti's interest in the lands taken from 
 his tribe by confiscation, but alleged that the claimant had barred 
 himself from compensation by aiding or comforting rebels, or 
 conspiring against the Queen, or joining with conspirators, &c.. 
 Such acts under certain provisions of the Settlements Act of 
 Fox and Whitaker deprived a Maori of hope of compensation. 
 
 Mr. Mackay thought it sufficient to allege generally that the 
 Rev. H. Tarawhiti had infringed the Act, but when asked by 
 the claimant's counsel to define the charges " declined to bind 
 himself to anything, or even to state decisively the times and places 
 where the acts to be proved were committed." So monstrous 
 an injustice could not find favour in a British Court, and Mr. 
 Mackay was fain to apply for an adjournment of two months, 
 which was granted. He still declined to put his "accusations 
 into form." On the 12th March, the case was resumed at 
 Auckland. Evidence was taken generally, the Crown Agent 
 still abstaining from formulating his accusations. Again, on the 
 12th April, evidence was taken. On the 18th April, Fen ton, 
 the Senior Judge, with Mr. Monro, Judge, delivered judgment. 
 They commented on the course which, " in the absence of any 
 specific charge against the claimant," left the Court "to abstract 
 from the closing address of the counsel for the Crown the points 
 on which he relied." They might have added that such a 
 course was in direct violation of cherished statutes which guard 
 
 F F 2
 
 436 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 in England the liberty of the subject. The charges so extracted 
 were that the claimant, " though left in charge of the Taupiri 
 station, wandered about ministering amongst rebels, that in 
 his ministrations he omitted the prayer for the Queen, and 
 inserted a prayer for the Maori king (so-called) and that he 
 supplied sheep and other food " to rebels. Bishop Selwyn J 
 had given evidence, and distinctly stated that he had instructed 
 Tarawhiti to minister to all sick and wounded without fear 
 or favour. As to the prayer for Matutaera, the Bishop also 
 declared that the practice of praying for the principal chief 
 of a place was usual, and was conformed to by the Bishop 
 himself. The claimant averred that he never omitted the 
 prayer for the Queen when using the Book of Prayer. The 
 Court believed him, and did not think the omission of the 
 Queen's name in an extempore prayer could be construed as 
 " comforting, or adhering to, or aiding rebels." As to the supply 
 of sheep, the claimant stated that he had none in 1863 when the 
 offence was charged. Mr. Ashwell testified that he had given 
 Tarawhiti some sheep in 1860, and had put others in his charge 
 for Matutaera, for the king-maker, and two other natives. Tara- 
 whiti declared that on the marriage of a son, in 1861, he gave 
 him all his sheep. At the end of 1863, when General Cameron's 
 army devastated the Lower Waikato, the king-maker sent to 
 demand ten sheep as the property of himself and of his king. 
 Tarawhiti disputed the number, alleging that six only belonged 
 to them. The messenger seized and killed ten. In passing, the 
 Court remarked upon the singular fact that there were many 
 sheep at the station deemed to be the property of the mission or 
 of a missionary, and that the Maoris respected them during 
 the war. The Bishop declared that he afterwards found 140 
 sheep "more than he expected." The charge of supplying 
 sheep was set aside. That of giving food was more colour- 
 able. Matutaera, the king, had taken food at the station. 
 Tarawhiti declared that he had no quantity of food to give. He 
 
 1 The Bishop was so shocked at the attempt on the part of the Crown 
 to punish a minister for comforting a wounded rebel, that the Judge was 
 constrained to ask him to moderate his indignation in the court. Reviled 
 himself for striving to do justice, the Bisho;/ revolted from the injustice 
 sought to be inflicted upon Tarawhiti,
 
 REV. HETA TAEAWHITI. 437 
 
 received but 20 a year from the Bishop. If his store had been 
 large he would have given it. " Let the food perish, so that I 
 remain alive." The Court pronounced that " alone as the 
 claimant was among rebels in arms " it could not reasonably be 
 supposed that they would have abstained from supplying them- 
 selves, and that submission in such a case was, according to Sir 
 Michael Foster, not criminal. There was one charge made by 
 Mr. Mackay which was withdrawn by counsel. Tarawhiti was 
 arraigned for attending the death-bed of Te Whareupu. Com- 
 menting on the graceful withdrawal of the charge by counsel, the 
 Court said that Mr. Brookfield " doubtless recognized, with the 
 Court, in the conduct of Tarawhiti the same Christian senti- 
 ment which induced the Commodore to send thither his medical 
 advisers." After a careful summary of the facts the judgment 
 concluded thus : " In the judgment of this Court the Crown has 
 failed to prove that the claimant has done any of the things 
 mentioned. ... It was the hope of the Court when the case was 
 closed that the Crown Agents, having discovered that the circum- 
 stances which appeared to them suspicious had been disproved 
 or explained away, would have gracefully withdrawn the whole 
 of the charges, and admitted the right of this claimant to the 
 compensation which the Legislature has provided for loyal 
 citizens whose property has been taken under power of the 
 New Zealand Settlements Act, 1863. This course was not 
 taken. The Court therefore feels itself called upon to conclude 
 by adding that the Rev. Heta Tarawhiti leaves this Court with 
 his name untainted as a loyal subject of Her Majesty, and with 
 his character high in our estimation as a good and courageous 
 clergyman. We are unable to see in the matter before us any 
 grounds of reasonable suspicion even ; and the Court is entirely 
 at a loss to discover any grounds for the remarkable pertinacity 
 with which Mr. Mackay has pushed this case, nor can it refrain 
 from expressing its surprise that that officer, on the occasion of 
 the second adjournment, refused the very reasonable request of 
 Mr. MacCormick, the counsel for the claimant, for a statement of 
 the charges against his client." It was added that the case was 
 the only instance of its kind which had come under the 
 experience of the Judges present. The judgment of the Court 
 must have given unalloyed pleasure to many, but to none more
 
 438 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 than to the good Sir William Martin, the personal friend of 
 Tarawhiti. 
 
 A case tried before the Native Lands Court in 1869 may be 
 selected to illustrate its working. The anachronism of inserting 
 it here will be outweighed by the convenience of placing it in 
 juxtaposition with the Oakura and South Waitara investigations. 
 In 1869 a cloud loomed at Wanganui. The Rangitikei tribal 
 dispute about land, which had so often been before the Govern- 
 ment, seemed about to burst into war. The General Assembly, 
 fearing to take a wrong step, had taken none at all. The 
 Ngatiraukawa were the stumbling-block. Warlike, but friendly 
 to the English, they were now brought almost into collision with 
 active allies of the English, Hori Kingi, Rangihiwinui, and 
 others. In July, 1867, Parakaia te Pouepa, a Ngatiraukawa 
 chief, petitioned the Queen. He asked that some competent 
 person might be sent from England, " to give life to the tribe," 
 and raise up the treaty of Waitangi, which the New Zealand 
 Government was " trampling under foot." The demand of the 
 tribe was that their claims might be judicially investigated ; but 
 the Government refused to bring the disputed title under the 
 operation of the Native Lands Court. Other chiefs sent similar 
 petitions to the Queen. The case was complicated, and furnished 
 volumes of reports, and yet, in 1868, the New Zealand Govern- 
 ment had arrived at no decision, and would not apply to it 
 the test of law. In 1866, the Native Minister drew up for Sir 
 George Grey a statement as to the facts, which a subsequent 
 decision of the Native Lands Court controverted. He assumed 
 that the Ngatiraukawa tribe had rights which, on examination by 
 a Court, were found wanting. Whatever the titles to the land 
 might be, it was found that search would have to be made so 
 far back as Rauparaha's invasion of the southern regions of the 
 North Island. The Court had to glance at the history of half a 
 century. Colonel Wakefield, in 1839, for guns, tobacco, beads, 
 fish-hooks, apparel, and gunpowder, had procured signatures to 
 a deed which purported to make him lord over islands, bays, 
 streams, forests, and mountains in the Manawatu district ; but 
 it was palpable that many potential signatures were absent, and 
 in the description of the land, territories were included which 
 the signers had no intention to convey.
 
 RANGITIKEI MANAWATU CASE. 439 
 
 The company's} claim was condemned by Mr. Spain in 1843. 
 In process of time the Crown acquired land in the territory, 
 and Maoris gave to Europeans irregular leases, from which the 
 Ngatiapa and Rangitane tribes derived the principal profit, 
 though the Ngatiraukawa and Muaupoko received a share. 
 The death of Taratoa, a Ngatiraukawa chief, who counselled 
 moderation, threatened to embroil the three tribes. The 
 Ngatiapa relied upon the friendship of the Wanganui tribe, 
 without whose support they could not war against the powerful 
 Ngatiraukawa. To avert a fray, Dr. Featherston, in 1863, was 
 commissioned to mediate between the tribes. Arbitration failing, 
 a suggestion was made by the Ngatiawa and Rangitane that the 
 Crown should buy the disputed land, and distribute the purchase- 
 money equitably between the tribes. The Ngatiraukawa held 
 back for some time, but at length a majority, led by Ihakara, 
 consented a section of the tribe still refusing to accede to the 
 terms. There were meetings in April, 1866, which lasted for 
 days. A deputation of ten chiefs of the other tribes prevailed 
 on the Ngatiapa to agree to terms. The purchase-money was 
 fixed at 25,000, each of the two large tribes receiving two- 
 fifths, the petty Rangitane receiving one-fifth. But many delays 
 intervened before, in December, 1866, the money was paid. 
 Petitions and meetings were numerous. The Government in- 
 tended to reserve a per-centage of the proceeds of land sales, to 
 content, if possible, the recusant section of the Ngatiraukawa. 
 Parakaia still advocated an appeal to the Native Lands Court. 
 An English traveller, Sir C. Dilke, saw a meeting at the 
 Parewanui pah in December, 1866. A thousand Maoris were 
 there armed. The heralds summoned them as the Greeks were 
 summoned on the plains of Troy. The traveller wondered at 
 the resemblance of the runanga to the Homeric council. Though 
 the disciple of an unheroic school, he saw, in Hunia te Hakeke, 
 the Achilles ; in others, the Nestors of the Maoris. " The Argive 
 and Maori leaders are one in fire, figure, port, and mien," he 
 said. At one time Hunia seemed about to strike a Ngatiraukawa 
 chief, but the genius of wisdom at the last moment stayed the 
 hand of the dusky Achilles. The meeting ceased when the bell 
 began to toll for evening prayer. Sir C. Dilke had been told 
 that there would be no blows, but was full of doubts when Hunia
 
 440 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 and Karanama poured upon one another a torrent of Homeric 
 abuse. A day intervened, and the chiefs, at the close of it, 
 consumed the night in solemn conclave. On the following 
 morning the runanga was resumed. Hunia, having prevailed 
 in private, was gracious in public. The sale must be completed, 
 lest the world be " set on fire by intertribal war. What is the 
 good of mountain land ? There is nothing to eat but stones. 
 Granite is a hard, but not a strengthening, food ; and women and 
 land are the ruin of men." Again there was oratory mingled 
 with bardic rhymes interwoven with the words of the speakers. 
 The deed of sale was borne to the flagstaff by Hunia and 
 Ihakara; friendship was sworn, and the deed was signed by 
 hundreds of men and women. Rangihiwinui rode with Dr. 
 Featherston to Wanganui for the purchase-money; and grief 
 came over the quiescent at the camp. The wife of a chief 
 chanted a lament, whose burden was that nature was still gay, 
 the sun would shine, the trees would bloom, the fruit of the 
 earth would be found, but the Maoris would melt away from the 
 homes of their fathers. Hunia postponed the payment of the 
 money till the following day, so that the sun might shine upon 
 the deed. When it was done the war-dance was performed, and 
 the ensuing feast was prolonged until the following morning. 
 Hunia said, and Sir Charles Dilke believed, that all dispute was 
 ended. The chief, generously assuming that every Englishman 
 was loyal to his Queen, charged the visitor to tell her that the 
 Maoris would fight for her. " My cousin Wiremu died fighting 
 for her. As he died, we will die if need be I and all my chiefs. 
 This do you tell our Queen." The Englishman could admire 
 the "noble eloquence and singular rhetoric art" of Hunia; but 
 it is probable that, if the chief could have foreknown the 
 unchivalrous terms in which his auditor was afterwards to re- 
 flect upon the Queen in England, he would have poured another 
 kind of eloquence into his ears. But even the Parewanui 
 meeting did not allay doubts and strife. A section of the 
 Ngatiraukawa still demanded inquiry. "Let the Land Court 
 try their rights ." But the Governor's advisers shrank from the 
 test. The Native Minister, Mr. J. C. Richmond, reported in 
 July, 1867, that the case was one of "compromising and 
 insoluble quarrel between half-civilized men," whose titles all
 
 RANGITIKEI MANAWATU CASE. 441 
 
 rested on recent violence, and who were ready for fresh violence 
 as a last resort. The policy of the Government was to allow 
 considerable delay in winding up the transaction, in order that 
 as many as possible of the malcontents might be brought to 
 agree to it. Governor Grey had tried his eloquence in Maori 
 tongue upon Parakaia in 1866, but in 1867 was requested to 
 forward petitions to the Queen, asking for justice to Parakaia 
 and his tribe. He wrote, in August, 1867, that he would himself 
 have wished to submit his claims to a Court, whose decision 
 might teach the Maoris to submit all disputes, however complex, 
 to a judicial tribunal. On the other hand, the Ministry urged 
 that any decision would be challenged by the losers, and might 
 provoke strife. As the local government had become responsible 
 for the peace of the country, it would be difficult to interfere with 
 their views, and as the case had attained notoriety, Sir George 
 Grey thought it improbable that injustice could be done. The 
 Maoris, by petitioning the Queen, had shown that they understood 
 their rights and the constitutional means of defending them. 
 
 By an amending Act (1867) the Governor was empowered to 
 refer to the Court the claims of the natives who had withheld 
 their consent to the sale of the block, and in process of time the 
 Rangitikei-Manawatu claims were submitted for judgment. Sir 
 George Bowen, in reporting the result, declared that it seemed 
 to be generally agreed that their previous exclusion from 
 jurisdiction had been unfortunate. The Chief Judge, Fenton, 
 presided. A few Maori policemen were the preservers of order. 
 The Attorney-General appeared for the Crown, and eminent 
 counsel spoke for the petitioners. Eighty-four Maori witnesses 
 were examined. The trial lasted 45 days. The wars and 
 conquests of Rauparaha; the rights lost and won; the revival 
 of the claims of restored warriors ; the resistance of those claims 
 by others, for whom obscena pecunia mingled its charms with 
 alleged Maori customs ; all these matters were before the 
 Court. Tamihana Te Rauparaha, son of him into whose 
 thoughts the proverb said it was hard to dive, appeared as a 
 witness. The Pakeha Maori, F. E. Maning, delivered the final 
 judgment of the Court at Wellington on the 25th September, 
 1869. It coursed over fifty years. The Ngatiapa tribe were 
 once possessors of the land. About 1818, Rauparaha, with
 
 442 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 fighting men of his own (Ngatitoa) tribe, suspicious of the 
 growing power of the Ngapuhi, whose acquisition of fire-arms 
 threatened to gratify Hongi's lust for empire, induced some 
 Ngapuhi warriors to accompany him, with their dreaded weapons, 
 to the south on a tour of conquest. From Kawhia, carving his 
 unchecked way, he passed through the forests (through which 
 General Chute in later years was to march), ravaging, as he 
 reached it, the territory of the Ngatiapa, who eluded the terrible 
 fire-arms, and sought fastnesses in the hills. Conquering at 
 Otaki and Cook's Straits with Maori ferocity of triumph, the 
 wily chief looked round for means of retaining what he had 
 seized. The Ngapuhi, with their fire-arms, might wrest from 
 him the territory he had gained by their aid, unless he could 
 fortify himself by new alliances, and place between Otaki and 
 the distant Ngapuhi a cord of allies. "It is pertinent to 
 remark," said the Judge, " that Rauparaha, famous for wiles and 
 stratagems, either conquered by force, or made tools of by policy, 
 or destroyed by treachery, almost every one he came into contact 
 with." He established amicable relations with the Ngatiapa on 
 his homeward route. He dismissed the Ngapuhi warriors from 
 Kawhia with gracious words and presents, some prisoners being 
 thrown in to flavour their banquets or to attend them as slaves. 
 Having parted with his dangerous friends, he collected his 
 tribe for a migration to his southern conquests ; and, to create 
 an additional barrier against invasion from the north, invited the 
 Ngatiraukawa tribe to settle on some of his new territory, to 
 which he himself proceeded after his conquest. In separate 
 bands, from time to time, the Ngatiraukawa under the leading 
 of Whatanui complied with the invitation. As they passed 
 they killed or captured straggling members of the Ngatiapa 
 tribe, whose sagacious war-chief withdrew the main body of his 
 people to the hills, anxious to give no cause of quarrel with 
 Rauparaha, with whom he had so recently made friendly arrange- 
 ments. The Judge pronounced that no acts of these roving 
 Ngatiraukawa, whether of killing or enslaving, gave them any 
 rights according to Maori usage over Ngatiapa lands. The 
 paramount chief Rauparaha would not object to such atrocities 
 so long as none of his own particular tribe, the Ngatitoa, were 
 involved. Neither would the Ngatiapa conceive that the
 
 RANGITIKEI MANAWATU CASE. 443 
 
 ravagers were exceeding the bounds of Maori usage. They would 
 reserve to themselves a right to retaliate if they should become 
 strong enough. They were neither conquered nor looked upon 
 as conquered. The small Rangitane tribe, whose own lands 
 were adjacent to those of the Ngatiapa, were interfused with the 
 Ngatiapa tribe when the scourge of Rauparaha's first raid swept 
 the land. On his second journey these Rangitane, weak in the 
 field, conceived the idea of destroying the terrible conqueror by 
 stratagem. They nearly succeeded. Almost all the companions 
 of Rauparaha, and four of his children, were slain, but he eluded 
 the fate prepared for him. He never forgave the Rangitane. 
 With others he made peace. He encouraged the Ngatiapa in 
 procuring fire-arms, and ensured their aid as a barrier against 
 possible invasion from the north. But the Rangitane he followed 
 with bloodhound tenacity. He slew their fighting men, and 
 made their name a memory on the land of their fathers. For 
 a time they disappeared as a separate people. But within the 
 bounds of Ngatiapa territory, near to their hereditary and 
 ravaged homes, they reappeared as half-castes, or children of 
 intermarriages between Ngatiapa and Rangitane, and became 
 entitled by Maori usage to the privileges of their hosts. About 
 1829 the Ngatiraukawa immigration was complete. Kapiti, 
 Waikanae, and the neighbourhood, were the principal homes of 
 the Ngatiraukawa, while under Rauparaha's advice they culti- 
 vated flax to exchange for fire-arms with European traders. 
 Subsequently he apportioned other lands to them, but no 
 evidence was produced to show that he made grants to them 
 within the Ngatiapa boundary. To have done so would, 
 according to Mr. Maning, have been inconsistent with Maori 
 usage. The Ngatiapa were allies whom he was strengthening. 
 The land between the Manawatu and Rangitikei rivers was 
 theirs, by ancient tenure, and by his own friendly recognition. 
 But after 1835, three "hapus" of the Ngatiraukawa tribe were 
 proved to have been found settled between the rivers, in friend- 
 ship with the Ngatiapa, owning lands, sometimes in homesteads 
 under Maori usage, sometimes jointly; aiding in war expedi- 
 tions, and, as witnesses averred, " eating out of the same basket " 
 with the Ngatiapa. The claims of the petitioning Ngatirau- 
 kawa, were 1st, that the land conquered by Rauparaha was
 
 444 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 given by him to the Ngatiraukawa tribe; 2nd, that failing 
 proof of right by conquest, they claimed by any right accruing 
 to them, whether by occupation or otherwise. The counter- 
 contention was, that the Ngatiapa were not conquered, that as a 
 tribe the Ngatiraukawa had no right or interest in the land, 
 and that the Crown had purchased the land from the rightful 
 owners. The judgment was that Rauparaha had not made a 
 grant of land north of the Manawatu river to the Ngatiraukawa ; 
 that he had given land on the south, and that the grantees, in 
 the language of one of the witnesses, " stretched the grant of 
 Rauparaha, and came over the river " ; that the Ngatiapa, much 
 as they valued land, valued fighting-men more, and welcomed 
 the three "hapus" who were found settled north of the Mana- 
 watu; and that the guests, thus received, acquired, by Maori 
 custom, well-known and recognized rights in the soil, con- 
 stituting them owners along with the Ngatiapa tribe to the 
 disputed lands. The Ngatiraukawa, as a tribe, were found to 
 have no right or interest in them ; but the rights of sections of 
 the tribe were recognized by the issue of certificates of land as 
 follows : To thirty-seven named members of the Ngatikauwhata 
 "hapu," 4500. acres; to five of the Ngatikahoro and Ngati- 
 parewahawaha " hapus," 1000 ; to twenty enumerated chiefs, 
 500 ; to one named chief, 200 as marked in a survey-plan 
 before the court. 1 
 
 The Rangitikei-Manawatu case affords a good example of 
 cases brought before the Native Lands Court. The Chief Judge 
 thought that the Court had "settled cases of much greater 
 intrinsic difficulty, and possessing far more powerful extrinsic 
 
 1 The judgment set forth mainly the arguments hostile to the Ngatirau- 
 kawa. It is right to mention that not only Mr. Travers, the counsel for 
 that tribe, but others versed in Maori lore, deemed that the Ngatiraukawa 
 were hardly treated ; that the Ngatiapa were really conquered by Wha- 
 tanui ; and that it was through his influence that his ally Rauparaha was 
 prevented from utterly destroying the Rangitane and the Muaupoko whom 
 Whatanui befriended, but who afterwards ungratefully turned upon the 
 tribe of their benefactor. The question hinged originally upon the manner 
 in which Raupaniha agreed with his allies to apportion (he territory over 
 which his right of conquest extended. It is most improbable that he 
 would work against the interests of his kinsmen, the Ngatiraukawa, whose 
 aid he had so long and earnestly besought. The arguments on both sides 
 justify the title " composite " given to the district in this work.
 
 RANGITIKEI MANAWATU CASE. 445 
 
 obstacles, and had never yet, even at Taupo, had a decision 
 disputed, or obedience delayed." Whether he undervalued the 
 difficulty of the case or not, his testimony as to the acceptance 
 of decisions by Maoris gives further proof, if proof were needed, 
 of the folly of the Government in refusing to allow the Waitara 
 case to be tested by law. It must be noticed also that in 
 recognizing the rights of " hapu " settled by permission on 
 Ngatiapa territory, the Court affirmed that Te Rangitake would 
 have acquired positive rights at the Waitara block by his 
 settlement there, under tribal sanction, even if he had had 
 none before. 
 
 It deserves to be mentioned that shortly after the delivery of 
 the judgment in the Manawatu-Rangitikei case, Donald McLean 
 entered into friendly relations on behalf of the Government with 
 the Maori king. There were still some members of the Ngati- 
 raukawa tribe who strove to resist the survey of the land. One 
 Meritana l was sentenced to imprisonment. King Tawhiao 
 showed his good faith to the English, and the reality of his 
 office among the Maoris, by directing the Ngatiraukawa tribe to 
 abide by the decision of the Lands Court. The surveys were 
 peacefully resumed and a free pardon was granted to Meritana. 
 
 The reader may here be reminded of two important cases in 
 which the judgments of the Lands Court have been interwoven 
 in these annals ; viz., the Orakei case which explained the con- 
 vulsions of the Auckland tribes before and during the wars of 
 Hongi, and the Te Aroha case which resulted from the wars of 
 Waharoa the father of the king-maker. 
 
 1 The 'Wellington Independent' (7th December, 1869) reported that 
 Meritana was captured by Mr. Buller, two constables, and a score of natives, 
 " after nearly an hour's scuffle," and that the " Hon. Mr. Fox was in the 
 district and assented to the proceedings taken."
 
 446 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 SIR GEORGE BOWEN. 
 
 THE new Governor set on foot inquiries as to the condition 
 and future prospects of the Maori race. The Native Minister 
 asked officially for information from the principal officers in 
 "native districts." The loyal natives throughout the colony 
 were not slow in testifying their loyalty to the new Governor. 
 Old Poihipi Tukeraingi, from Taupo, was first in the field, 
 having written his address before Sir G. Bo wen reached New 
 Zealand. It was graciously acknowledged. Te Puni, the Nga- 
 tiawa chief, under whose protection the English had first found 
 it feasible to settle at Cook's Straits, and without whose aid 
 Colonel Wakefield could not have transferred the settlement 
 from Petone to Te Aro, attended the new Governor's levfo, under 
 the load of many years. The old man told the Governor, who 
 visited him, that old custom had passed away, and that most of 
 his kindred had in the strife of recent years been led into Hau 
 Hauism, or had become debauchees. Te Puni was isolated in 
 Christianity within a quarter of a century of embracing it with 
 his tribe. The Maori king had recently inclined to ancient 
 custom by abandoning his name Matutaera (Methuselah), and 
 adopting a pure Maori name Tawhiao. A loyal chief, improv- 
 ing the illustration used by Sir George Grey, that he would dig 
 around the Maori king till, like a tree, he fell, said to Sir George 
 Bowen : " O Governor, Matutaera is now like a single tree left 
 exposed in a clearing of our native forests. If left alone it will 
 soon wither and die. My word to you, Governor, is to leave 
 Matutaera alone." Wiser than in 1860, or in 1863, the Colonial 
 Ministry had reached the same conclusion.
 
 CONDITION OF THE MAORIS. 447 
 
 There was a great meeting early in 1868. Summoned by 
 Tawhiao, numbers reported to exceed 3000 assembled at Tokan- 
 gamutu in the Ngatimaniapoto territory. Rewi was there, and 
 in enigmatic language, whose intent could only be surmised 
 by Europeans, declared " fighting must cease. The sale of land 
 must cease. Leasing land must be put a stop to. Such doings 
 as selling and leasing must cease; then only will peace be 
 made." For the same reason that the Pakeha Maori extolled 
 the Native Land Act, the patriotic Maori shrunk from it. But 
 the meeting was considered ominous. It was -feared that mal- 
 contents might combine against the new Governor. But between 
 the sullen isolation of Tawhiao and Rewi and the savage incur- 
 sions of the Hau Hau fanatics there was DO coherence. Violent 
 men found violent deaths. By war and disease the Maoris were 
 decimated year by year, while Europeans multiplied. Sir George 
 Bowen had hardly assumed office when the Ministry apprehended 
 troubles about the Rangitikei-Manawatu block. Mr. Richmond 
 (Native Minister) wrote urgently to Hori Kingi, to Parakaia of 
 Ngatiraukawa, and to Rangihiwinui of Muaupoko. The Ministry 
 began to look with favour on the appeal to the Native Lands 
 Act, which had hitherto been avoided. The Court would settle 
 the land dispute ; let no blood be shed. The Governor looked 
 to Rangihiwinui confidently, as one whose habit it was to main- 
 tain law and order. Parakaia answered that he had already 
 exerted his influence, and was pleased that the Court was 
 about to sit. Quarrelling would not be allowed. Rangihiwinui 
 answered that he had written to urge the tribes to remain quiet. 
 
 The condition of the Maoris, in 1867, has been partly traced in 
 previous pages. Their numbers were diminishing, in some places 
 with frightful rapidity. The Central Waikato, who under Te 
 Whero Whero (in spite of their defeat by Hongi's fire-arms) were 
 regarded as the most powerful as well as most numerous of 
 Maori tribes, had fallen from their high estate. Numbered at 
 18,400 in 1845, there were found only 2279 on their old terri- 
 tory in 1867. On them the waste of war had fallen with pecu- 
 liar severity. The starved appearance of captured women and 
 children betokened that the desolation of homes had been an 
 effective weapon in General Cameron's campaign. There were 
 exiles of their race wandering among friends, but the people
 
 448 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 whose gigantic proportions caused the wonder of General Pratt 
 as he saw them on the field at Mahoetahi had in seventeen years 
 dwindled to a dispersed remnant, who, if their hereditary abodes 
 told truth, had been eight times decimated under the influence 
 of civilization and war. The Ngatimaniapoto known as a Wai- 
 kato tribe had suffered less than their northern brethren, and 
 their lands in the Waipa had barely been touched by confisca- 
 tion, although Rewi's old abode, Kihikihi, had been seized. 
 
 The tribe second in importance and numbers in 1845, the 
 Ngapuhi, had now become the first. Yet they had decreased 
 from 12,000 to 5804. Never at war against the English, the 
 principal chiefs had frequently offered to furnish military aid 
 against their countrymen. The same rate of decay marked the 
 fortunes of other tribes, but as the divisions and subdivisions 
 obtained at different periods vary in the reports, it would be 
 difficult to make trustworthy comparisons of details. The 
 general decline is told in the totals. In 1845 the estimate was 
 109,550; in 1848 it was 100,000; in 1858 a census gave a 
 return of 56,049; in 1867 the same test showed only 38,517; 
 but there were many whom no census collector found in the 
 forests. Yet, amid the precipitous ruin of their nation, old men 
 stood forth to prove the hardiness of the race. Waka Nene, in 
 the north, with more than eighty winters' weight upon his head, 
 still attended meetings, and with firm figure and voice declared 
 that, as at Waitangi, so now, he pronounced that it was good for 
 the Maori to accept the sovereignty of the Queen and the law 
 of the Pakeha. Te Puni, his Wellington contemporary, similarly 
 inclined towards the English, had also passed the ordinary term 
 of human life. The Arawa had suffered in the service of the 
 English, and were numbered at less than 2000. The Ngatiporou, 
 if former returns were trustworthy, had decreased less rapidly 
 than other tribes. They were 4500 in 1867. 
 
 The friendly tribes were reported to be, in the North Island : 
 the Rarawa, 2671 ; Ngapuhi, 5804 ; Ngatiwhatua, 709 ; Wan- 
 ganui, 1427; Ngatiapa, 325 ; Rangitane, 250 ; Muaupoko, 125 ; 
 Ngatikahungunu, 2952; Arawa, 1951; Ngatituwharetoa, 500. 
 The " hostile " were the Ngatimaniapoto, 2000 ; the Uriwera, 
 500. One tribe was summed up as the Ngarauru, "mostly 
 returned rebels," 400. The "mostly friendly" were said to be
 
 CONDITION OF THE MAORIS. 44 ( J 
 
 Ngatiawa, 1952, many Hau Haus; Ngatiruanui, 750, many 
 Hau Haus. The " partly friendly, partly hostile," were Ngati- 
 maru, 3670 ; Ngaiterangi, 1198 ; Waikato, 2279 ; Taranaki, 400 ; 
 Whakatohea, 573 ; Ngatiraukawa, 1071; Kongo whakaata, 1000 ; 
 Ngatiporou, 4500 many of each tribe being Hau Haus. In 
 the Middle Island the Ngaitahu and Ngatimamoe were numbered 
 as 1500, all friendly. 
 
 Amongst the reports furnished to the Government was one by 
 the Pakeha Maori, F. E. Maning. He summed up the state of 
 affairs as "a doubtful armed truce," the result of physical ex- 
 haustion on the part of the natives, and pecuniary expenditure 
 which the colonists found it impossible to continue. The rapid 
 course of events is illustrated by the fact that not even Mr. 
 Maning in writing of the war and its causes referred so far back 
 as to the Waitara seizure in 1860. He admitted that natives 
 had alleged that acts by Europeans drove them to arms ; but 
 knowing the abounding pugnacity of his comrades of old days 
 he thought that they rushed to war of their own choice, weighed 
 down by the conviction that, unless the English progress could 
 be checked, the tribes would be trampled under foot and robbed 
 of their country. If they had such a floating conviction, 
 Governor Browne's conduct at Waitara would crystallize it into 
 a hard fact, and make a resort to arms, in their own eyes a 
 necessity, in the opinions of their English friends a certainty. 
 Their wilful preference of Rewi's counsels to those of Te 
 Waharoa proved how truly Mr. Maning gauged their warlike 
 obstinacy, but did not remove the original wrong done to them. 
 To the Native Lands Act of 1865 he looked as the only 
 possible curative for their national ills. Already they valued 
 its provisions, and in one district a tribe by no means numerous 
 was receiving rents amounting to 40 ; 000. Hau Hauism was 
 not in his opinion worthy of notice. Such pretended revelations 
 had been known in former times. It would die out with the 
 hopes of the Maoris of success against the English. Various 
 officers reported on various localities. The Maori king still 
 maintained "the boundary line," "Te Aukati," over which 
 no European was allowed to step, and which even a Maori 
 friendly to the English could not pass. The Hau Haus 
 at Tauranga imitated Tawhiao by establishing an " Aukati " in 
 VOL. IL GO
 
 450 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 March, 1868, and the Civil Commissioner found it potent in 
 preventing him from procuring information as to the disaffected 
 districts. He was able to assert, however, that "the Uriwera 
 and Whakatohea adhere to the horrible practices introduced by 
 Kereopa, and every European or Arawa who falls into their 
 hands is slaughtered without mercy, and their bodies subjected 
 to the most revolting indignities." The resident magistrate at 
 Napier thought the New Zealand Government had no more to 
 fear from Hau Hauism than had that of the United Kingdom 
 from Fenianism, to which Hau Hauism bore " in many respects a 
 strong resemblance " ! The superstition was, he said, " generally 
 abandoned when in March, 1866, Sir George Grey visited Napier, 
 and by his personal influence induced Te Hapuku" with all 
 his followers to take the oath of allegiance and surrender their 
 flags. Since the Waikato war, even friendly natives had 
 become lax in religious observances ; and debauchery increased 
 as the Maori associated more and more with the lower classes of 
 Europeans. No enthusiasm had been excited amongst the 
 natives by the Maori Representation Act. Some said (at 
 Kororarika) that they ought to have been consulted as to the 
 number of representatives, and that as the Pakehas had begun 
 they ought themselves to carry out the plan. Some thought 
 each tribe ought to have a representative. In depopulated 
 Waikato no interest was displayed. At Napier, the resident 
 magistrate was disappointed at the lack of attention to the 
 proposed benefits. At Waimate the chiefs were apathetic- 
 Taonui said that there would be " a word to attend to if the 
 Maori members were to be equal in number to the European ; 
 but what were four among so many ? Where will their voices be 
 as compared with the Pakeha voices ? How are the Maori 
 members to understand the Pakeha, the Pakeha the Maori ? Is 
 each man to have an interpreter by his side ? If not, are they 
 to listen and not understand ? to speak without being under- 
 stood ? Give the Aye without knowing what they say Aye to ; 
 and, by-and-bye, when some new Act bearing upon the Maoris is 
 put in force, be told, Oh ! you assisted to pass it ? It will not 
 do." There was less apathy at Wairoa in the west, and 
 amongst the Ngatiporou, than elsewhere. At Taranaki, Mr. 
 Parris reported that the development of such a question as
 
 QUESTION OF AMNESTY. 451 
 
 representation was rendered a matter of impossibility by the 
 condition of the district during the war, and under the general 
 confiscation of territory. Even the Native Lands Court in that 
 unhappy district was a dead letter. There were no native lands 
 to deal with. The- treaty of Waitangi was overthrown. All 
 Maori rights were deemed extinct, and the Settlements Act was 
 the vehicle for re -distributing the land by sale, by gifts to friends, 
 by dole to returning rebels. If an inconvenient judgment of the 
 Compensation Court was apprehended, the Ministry eluded it 
 by secret composition, and everything was 'deemed satisfactory. 
 As for Tawhiao, with his adviser Rewi, they were supposed to be 
 peacefully inclined if not interfered with in their pale, or Aukati. 
 But contributions from distant tribes still flowed in to Tawhiao's 
 exchequer, and the name 1 of king was not without adherents. 
 The Provincial Council at Auckland, in the end of 1867, had 
 agreed to a resolution that to "secure the pacification of the 
 country and the welfare of both races a general amnesty should 
 be proclaimed with as little delay as possible." The Government 
 consulted Donald McLean at Napier. That gentleman appre- 
 hended danger from such a measure, but recommended a few 
 objects of mercy. Mr. Stafford, in February, 1868, told Sir 
 George Bowen that the Ministry could not advise the grant of 
 an " indiscriminate amnesty of all political offences." It would 
 not tranquillize and would not be understood by the natives. 
 Moreover, such an amnesty would include murderers. There 
 were 173 political offenders at the Chatham Islands, whom 82 
 women and children had been permitted to join. Eleven of the 
 prisoners had been allowed to return. The Under-Secretary 
 of the Native Department, Mr. Rolleston, had recently inspected 
 the Chatham Islands. The prisoners complained that they 
 were compelled to- work when ill. An old chief, declared by the 
 doctor to be in good health, was thought by Mr. Rolleston to be 
 in bad health, and the magistrate for whom the old man was 
 working agreed with Mr. Rolleston. A sergeant, questioned by 
 Mr. Rolleston, admitted that he might " have occasionally used 
 rough measures in cases where the doctor said the prisoners 
 were shirking their work on the unfounded plea of sickness. 
 On their refusing to turn out I may have given them a kick." 
 
 Mr. Rolleston appealed to the resident magistrate against such 
 
 o G 2
 
 452 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 " insult and tyranny." The work to which the prisoners were 
 put was described as building, planting potatoes, road-making, 
 general, &c. The majority worked for the Government. The 
 rate of pay was one shilling a day with rations. A few worked 
 under contract with residents on the island, and thus, it may be 
 hoped, escaped the boot of the sergeant-guard. The prisoners 
 permitted to return to their native place, Turanga, wrote to 
 the ' Waka Maori ' newspaper, and speaking for their own people 
 still confined, said they were grateful for being kindly treated, 
 and would not join the Hau Haus if released. Horomona 
 Tutaki was one of those recommended to mercy by Mr. 
 McLean. His son Tamati Petera was not so fortunate. Tamati 
 was ill, and Horomona begged that he might take him also to 
 his home. Mr. Rollestorv found Tamati too ill to be moved. 
 "On asking Horomona whether he would stay and take care of 
 him, he said he would. The sight of the two men with tears in 
 their eyes was one of. the, most, touching I have seen." Such 
 was the general aspect of the Maori race when Sir George 
 Bowen arrived. >His predecessor had left the land at rest. 
 War there was none : but a band of Hau Haus of the Uriwera 
 tribe had been lurking -in the vicinity of Opotiki, and were 
 supposed to be bent on mischief. They had been encountered 
 by the military settlers on the 8th February, 1868, and six of 
 them were killed, only two Europeans being wounded. The 
 losers had retired to the mountains. On the west coast, under 
 Titokowaru, a large meeting held at Te Ngutu-o-te-manu, served 
 to show the difficulty under which a Governor not trained , to 
 the task himself must labour in obtaining information. Mr. 
 Parris, who had in 1859 lent himself to the conspiracy against 
 Te Rangitake, reported in April, 1868 : " I look upon the move- 
 ment of the tribes in this province in convening these meetings 
 as the best earnest of their desire for peace." 
 
 Within a few months murders had been committed, property 
 stolen, Maoris assailed, and Titokowaru was denounced as a rebel. 
 Schools had ever been ardently sought for by the Maoris. The 
 Arawa had made moving appeals for help. For this they held 
 meetings, and though poor, pledged their substance. Land was 
 given by the chiefs without stint. In wading through the records 
 of the time one finds official statements which tell their own
 
 CONDITION OF COLONISTS. 453 
 
 story in few words. 1st February, 1867 : " Sir George Grey is 
 supporting a school at his own expense, so that if the views 
 of the committee can be carried out, schools will be available for 
 children in the Maketu, Rotoiti, and Rotorua districts . . . The 
 movement originated altogether amongst the natives, and they 
 seem extremely anxious that their children should have the 
 advantage of English teachers." At a meeting of chiefs 100 
 a-year was guaranteed at Maketu, for Arawa schools, and a like 
 amount was asked from the Government. One chief undertook 
 to call on each parent, weekly, for the school fee of sixpence 
 for each child. At one place a resolution, carried unanimously, 
 enumerated the chiefs who were to contribute towards a school- 
 master's salary. But even in adopting European usages the 
 chiefs gave them Maori peculiarity. A European tenant failed to 
 pay his rent. The Maori landlord offered to fight for the amount 
 "double or quits." The tenant, a powerful man, was willing. In the 
 struggle the settler was severely hurt and yielded. The Maori 
 forgave the debt, saying, " Keep it to pay the doctor." A chief sur- 
 rendered, and was asked why he did so, when but a few days before 
 he had been fighting. " The fact is, inflammation has damaged 
 my right eye, and I can no longer shoot properly. In that last fight 
 with you I missed two men whom I ought easily to have killed. 
 The next day I went pigeon-shooting to get my hand and eye 
 into unison, but I missed several times. So, as I could not 
 shoot anybody, I came in and took the oath of allegiance." 
 
 Such being the condition of the Maori race early in 1868, it 
 may be well to take a comprehensive view of the European 
 colonists and the results of their labours. From 172,158 in 
 1864 the white population had increased to 226,618 in 1868. 
 Sixteen thousand homes had been acquired in the same period, 
 and there were more than 54,000 inhabited houses in 1867. 
 Sheep had multiplied from 2,761,583 in 1861 to 8,418,579 in 
 1867; cattle from 193,285 to 312,835; and pigs from 43,270 to 
 115,104 in the same period. The postal revenue had risen from 
 39,000 to 55,000. The value of exported gold was 1,800,000 
 in 1864; 2,700,000 in 1867. Wool exported was valued at 
 rather more than 1,000,000 in 1864; more than 1,500,000 in 
 1867. The ordinary revenue had gradually risen from 815,000 
 to 1,225,000. The territorial, more fluctuating, under the
 
 4j4 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 operation of confiscation seizures and the Settlements' Act, was 
 in 1864, 714,770; 1865, 500,045; 1866, 776,429; 1867, 
 561,730. An electric telegraph had been created in 1866, and 
 some scores of thousands of messages had forthwith coursed 
 along its veins. In one item there was diminution. The with- 
 drawal of so many British regiments had contracted the shipping 
 returns. The inward tonnage had fallen from 426,000 tons in 
 1864 to 309,000 in 1867. The increase of population had been 
 mainly in the Middle Island. Auckland and Taranaki were 
 almost stationary, while Wellington, as was natural for the 
 metropolis, had increased. But Canterbury, with its offshoot 
 Westland, and Nelson had grown ; while Otago, though not 
 leaping forward as in the first flush of the gold-fields' excite- 
 ment, maintained its pride of place as the most populous of all 
 the provinces. Immigration had declined after the richest gold- 
 fields were occupied or exhausted. The maximum nett gain by 
 immigration had been 35,000 in 1863. In 1867 it was nearly 
 5000. Judged by the standard which measures welfare by 
 figures only New Zealand was rapidly rising. In the catalogue, 
 the men, the goods, the gains of the colonists could go for much . 
 But the " higher " gifts which bounteous nature hath inclosed in 
 man, are sullied by the absorbing chase of gold. All were not 
 demoralized, but the restless activity of its votaries, by influence 
 and example, introduced a low morality into their private circles, 
 and, eventually, into the Government. A gambling love of 
 adventure intruded into halls of council. When corruption 
 once eats its way, it overbears even those who scorn while they 
 submit. 
 
 The immigration to Otago had not failed to cast upon New 
 Zealand its share of the doom which can "place thieves, and 
 give them title, knee, and adoration, with senators on the bench." 
 Yet, as in the man corrupted by temptation but supported by 
 conscience, so in the community, ever by the side of the base a 
 good genius will struggle. The men whom love for their fellows 
 had sent as missionaries to the Maoris laboured also among their 
 European kin. Bishop Selwyn was eminent. Not even his 
 stand against the mean desires of the Taranaki settlers alienated 
 public respect. He had found earnest fellow-workers in his 
 Master's vineyard. With some of them the reader is acquainted.
 
 DEPARTURE OF BISHOP SELWYN. 455 
 
 The names of Henry Williams, Archdeacon of Waimate ; his 
 brother William, the Bishop of Waiapu ; Octavius Hadfield and 
 Robert Maunsell ought not to die while Christian heroism is 
 honoured among men. The devoted demeanour of native con- 
 gregations and the deep-toned unison of the Maori responses, 
 once everywhere observed, had, in many places, been overthrown 
 in 1868 by neglect or by savage orgies ; but a Church had risen 
 up amongst the Europeans. Bishop Selwyn attended a conference 
 of Bishops in England in 1867. He was invited to fill a vacancy 
 in the See of Lichfield. The Prime Minister and, it was said, 
 Royal persuasions represented consent as a duty, and he severed 
 his connection with the land of the Maoris. It may be doubted 
 whether it was on the whole the most desirable ending of his 
 apostolic career in the south. But his prayers for justice to the 
 Maoris having been spurned by the Government, and the faith 
 of Maori disciples having been crushed under sense of wrong 
 so that some looked upon him as an enemy, he may have 
 accepted the belief that he could no longer serve his Master 
 best in New Zealand. He did not welcome the change. He 
 said at Oxford : " Twenty-six years ago I was told to go to New 
 Zealand, and I went. I am now told to go to Lichfield, and I 
 go." He paid a parting visit to the colony in 1868. J. C. 
 Patteson, who had been made Bishop of Melanesia in 1861, 
 went from Norfolk Island to see his spiritual father once more, 
 and thus described Selwyn's departure from Auckland. There 
 were "crowded streets and wharf (for all business was suspended, 
 public offices and shops shut), no power of moving about, horses 
 taken from the carriage as a mixed crowd of Maoris and English 
 drew it to the wharf. Then choking words and stifled efforts to 
 say, God bless you, and so we parted." In this world they were 
 to meet no more. The General Synod of the Church in New 
 Zealand presented to their retiring head an affectionate address, 
 and to him was entrusted the duty of selecting the future Bishop 
 of Auckland. The title of Bishop of New Zealand expired with 
 his tenure of office. An address from a Maori congregation 
 deserves a place in these pages. It was presented by the Rev. 
 Matiu Taupaki, who led his countrymen in their affectionate 
 efforts to do honour to the memory of Henry Williams :
 
 456 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 "Sire, the Bishop. Salutations to you and to our mother 
 (Mrs. Selwjn). We, the people of the places to which you first 
 came, still retain our love for you both. Not to see you is a 
 grief to us, and here we shall not see you again. We heard 
 gladly that you were to return to us. Great was our joy. And 
 now, hearing that it cannot be so, we are again sad. Sire, great 
 is 'our affection for you both who are now being lost to us. But 
 how can it be helped, seeing that it is the word of our great 
 Queen ? Our thought regarding you is that you are as the poor 
 man's lamb taken away by the rich man. Our parting wish for 
 both is this Go, and may God preserve you both. May He 
 also provide a man to take your place of like powers with yours. 
 We shall no more see each other in the body, but we shall see 
 one another in our thoughts. But we are led, and protected, and 
 sanctified by the same Spirit. Such is the nature of this brief 
 life, to sunder our bodies ; but in a little while, when we shall 
 meet in the assembly of the saints, we shall see each other, face 
 to face, one fold under one shepherd. This is our lament for 
 you in few words : 
 
 " Love to our friend who has vanished suddenly ; 
 Is he a small person that he was so beloved ? 
 He has not his equal amongst the many ; 
 I long for the food which he dispensed. . ." 
 
 The special history of the Church of England in New Zealand 
 will properly be sought in works devoted to that subject. The 
 characters of Samuel Marsden, Bishop Selwyn, Henry Williams, 
 and a few others who belonged to that Church, have made it 
 necessary to weave into this narrative much which would under 
 other circumstances have been excluded. Without Marsden the 
 Maoris might not have welcomed the Gospel. Without Henry 
 Williams, Hobson could not have negotiated the treaty of 
 Waitangi. But for the manly protests of Selwyn, Sir W. Martin, 
 and Archdeacon Maunsell, the nefarious schemes of Earl Grey 
 might have found fruition in 1846. Without Selwyn it is probable 
 that the career of John Coleridge Patteson would not have 
 given assurance to the world that the highest type of the hero 
 has not departed from the earth. But the internal organization 
 of the various Christian denominations is hardly a matter of 
 general history. When the State assumes the position that the 
 public conscience is absolved from reverence for, and inculcation 
 of, the highest truths, it removes them from its public life. 
 Professing that where there are differences of opinion the State
 
 CHURCHES IN NEW ZEALAND. 457 
 
 ought to do nothing, it applies to the moral world a rule whicli 
 it dares not to apply to the physical. It will have its reward. 
 Indifference pleaded as a necessity degenerates into contempt. 
 That which the State neglects or despises will become the object 
 of aversion in the eyes of the ignorant, the worthless, and the 
 designing. The idle plea that the State cannot support one 
 form of religious teaching without persecuting others is refuted 
 in modern times in many lands. An honest attempt to provide 
 secular education at the cost or partial cost of the State, and to 
 afford ample facilities for the inculcation of religious truth by 
 parents or friends of children has never been unsuccessful. But 
 the abandonment of the higher interests of man by the State 
 has been followed in some cases by a crusade on the part of the 
 Government against their promotion, and thus in the name of 
 liberty of conscience an almost unmatched violation of it has 
 been perpetrated. 
 
 Though no details are needed about ecclesiastical affairs in 
 New Zealand, it may be well to mention that during Selwyn's 
 primacy various bishoprics were created, over one of which 
 William Williams presided at Waiapu. The question which 
 had vexed the branches of the English Church in Canada and in 
 Australia, concerning their connection with the parent body in 
 the United Kingdom, and their powers of self-government, was 
 much discussed in New Zealand. Selwyn preferred a voluntary 
 compact to permissive legislation by the State. A General 
 Synod and Diocesan Synods were organized in accordance with 
 his views. One of the first acts of the General Synod in 1859 
 was to adopt a resolution binding the members, by " voluntary 
 compact," to fidelity to the standards of the Church. From his 
 point of view the Bishop thought such a compact sufficient, and 
 preferable to a foundation laid upon colonial legislation. But it 
 may be questioned whether in either aspect he was right. If 
 the members of the first Synod had power to declare to what 
 doctrines they would adhere, it was open to them to fix upon 
 some other standards than those of the Church of England. If 
 
 O 
 
 their profession of the doctrines of that Church rendered them 
 incapable of exercising such power their voluntary compact was 
 idle. In Canada, in Victoria, and in Tasmania, the members of 
 the Church obtained permissive acts to enable them to govern
 
 458 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 themselves and manage their temporalities without any de- 
 parture from the authorized standards of the parent body. 
 They did not thereby ask for interference in spiritual matters. 
 Sections of a. community which, in order to manage their own 
 business, apply for legal permission to embody themselves in 
 corporations or in companies, do not derive their principles from 
 the Acts of Incorporation. They acquire the power to enforce 
 legal penalties, and it would be contrary to all civil polity that 
 without legal sanction any imperium in imperio should be 
 created with powers which might invade the laws or the 
 liberties of the people. Moreover, the voluntary compact chosen 
 could not keep the internal affairs of the Church from possible 
 purview of the State. In the administratio rei familiaris it has 
 been laid down that on reference to a civil tribunal, in case of 
 resistance to the order of a colonial bishop, " the court would 
 have to inquire not what were the peculiar opinions of the 
 persons associated together in the colony as members of the 
 Church of England, but what were the doctrines and discipline 
 of the Church of England itself, obedience to which doctrines 
 and discipline the court would have to enforce." The same 
 rule applied to other religious bodies. The Judicial Committee 
 of the Privy Council declared (Long v. Bishop, of Cape Town, 
 1863) that "the Church of England in places where there is no 
 Church established by law, is in the same situation with any 
 other religious body, in no better but in no worse position. . . . 
 The tribunals constituted (by religious bodies) are not in any 
 sense courts . . . they have no power of their own to enforce 
 their sentences, they must apply for that purpose to the courts 
 established by law, and such courts will give effect to their 
 decision as they will to the decisions of arbitrators whose juris- 
 diction rests entirely upon the agreement of parties. These are 
 the principles upon which the courts in this country have always 
 acted in the disputes which have arisen between members of 
 the same religious body, not being members of the Church of 
 England." One consequence of this, and of a confirmatory 
 judgment by the Privy Council (on petition of Bishop of Natal, 
 1865), was that the New Zealand Bishops united in a petition 
 to the Queen to release them from their Letters Patent, and to 
 recognize their inherent competency to consecrate and elect
 
 CHURCHES IN NEW ZEALAND. 459 
 
 Bishops in conformity with the regulations of the Synod without 
 Letters Patent, and without Royal Mandate. Having travelled 
 thus far for sanction, the Bishop and his friends did not, never- 
 theless, adopt the simpler method of asking for an enabling Act 
 in the colony which, without dealing with religious tenets, might 
 empower the members of the religious body, subject to its 
 fundamental doctrines (which it would have to prove on any 
 occasion), to manage their own affairs. But the Bishop and his 
 immediate friends shrunk from what seemed to them a recog- 
 nition of the right of the secular Colonial Legislature to make 
 laws for the Church. They fondly .hoped that they could govern 
 the composite machinery of affairs in the nineteenth century 
 upon the principles which were sufficient in primitive societies. 
 Neither in Canada nor in Victoria had the secular Legislature 
 meddled with spiritual affairs. The spiritual body asked and 
 obtained only that legal sanction which was requisite to enable 
 it to control its temporal affairs. Having secured that sanction, 
 the Churches in Canada and in Victoria could in case of need 
 proceed, decently and in order, to obtain temporal justice in 
 administering their affairs. 1 The common sense required in 
 conducting the temporal affairs of the Church soon called upon 
 the Bishop to abandon his ideal. How could the law sanction 
 trusts unless their objects were known or recognized ? The 
 voluntary compact was made in 1857, and in 1858 the Colonial 
 Legislature was appealed to, and consented to pass an Act 
 authorizing Bishop Selwyn to convey to other trustees the 
 lands and hereditaments theretofore held by him as a corpora- 
 tion sole. Again in 1865, with similar objects in view, the 
 Legislature with equal readiness passed a measure which the 
 members of the Church thought needful to enable the various 
 Diocesan Synods in New Zealand to hold and vest lands in such 
 
 1 The biographer of Bishop Selwyn roundly declares (1879) that the 
 course adopted in Melbourne and Canada furnished an example to be 
 shunned. He asserts that the members of the Church there "derive their 
 powers of synodical action entirely from the State " ; but he does not prove 
 his assertion. If they had the right originally, local legislation was not 
 needed in that regard. If they could not have it originally, the New 
 Zealand Church was without it. What the Canadian Act conferred was 
 not any spiritual power, but the faculty of appearing when called upon to 
 do so as a lawful body exercising control over temporalities.
 
 460 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 manner as the General Synod had previously been empowered 
 to hold and vest them. The great law-reformer of England, 
 Edward I., had engrafted upon English institutions principles 
 which had life at the uttermost ends of the earth, and which 
 while Englishmen are worthy of them will stifle the attempts 
 of traitors, foreign or domestic, who would mar the liberties of 
 England. 
 
 It need hardly be said that in founding schools and colleges 
 the Bishop was untiring. At Auckland, Sir William Martin 
 aided in preparing Maori students for the ministry; and thus 
 without money and without price performed services which in 
 this world neither could nor would be rewarded. Of the Maori 
 clergymen thus trained, Bishop Selwyn was able to say, when he 
 bade farewell to New Zealand : " Our native clergymen need not 
 return, because they have not swerved ; it may be said of each 
 of them, like Milton's seraph Abdiel, ' Among the faithless, faith- 
 ful only he.' Though they be few in number, they have ever 
 been faithful to that faith which they have espoused, and still 
 the native Church is full of vitality and hope." In New Zealand 
 no apostate priest was found ready to abjure his faith. The 
 Carmagnole of the Hau Haus was terrible, but it had not the 
 ingredient which the miserable Gobel added to the horrors of 
 1793. Selwyn's testimony to the faithfulness of the native 
 clergymen in 1868 was confirmed by Hadfield (then Bishop of 
 Wellington) in 1881. In the other provinces the Church of 
 England had made progress, but was not specially endowed as in 
 Canterbury, the scene which Gibbon Wakefield had chosen for 
 his experiment, when, reflecting on the higher aspects of national 
 colonization, he deliberately accepted it as the duty of colonizers 
 to make adequate provision for religion. In Otago, for the same 
 reason, with an impartiality which redeemed him from all sus- 
 picion of bigotry, if not of serious preference in matters of faith, 
 he promoted the formation of a Scotch Presbyterian settlement. 
 The land reserves, though not set apart by the power of the 
 State, remained for the benefit of the Presbyterian Church when 
 the general affairs of the settlement were absorbed into the 
 political systems of government, provincial and general. Bishop 
 Selwyn, with wise forethought, procured in newly-formed town- 
 ships, sites for the uses of the Church, and thus at trifling cost
 
 CHURCHES IN NEW ZEALAND. 461 
 
 obviated difficulties which in after-time might have been found 
 insurmountable. The Wesleyan body sent early missions to the 
 Maoris, and though they had not been presided over by men 
 of the stamp of Marsden, Williams, Patteson, and Selwyn, they 
 had made many converts. When European population increased, 
 the Wesleyan pastors, as usual, laboured strenuously in their 
 vocation. In every province their functionaries were multiply- 
 ing with the expansion of population. The Roman Catholic 
 mission had been sent to the islands, when it was hoped that 
 they might become not an English but a French possession. 
 When the French scheme of annexation was frustrated in spite 
 of the French Bishop's opposition, which was adroitly veiled 
 when made, and was denied with the hardihood of the sinning 
 St. Peter when its acknowledgment seemed impolitic a hardi- 
 hood which the French Peter did not repent the Roman 
 Catholic mission laboured with earnestness. The Church of 
 Rome had many votaries amongst the European immigrants. 
 At Wellington there were places of worship numerous and 
 various enough to meet the wants of a metropolitan population. 
 Taranaki, retarded in many ways by the sins of the people, was 
 not without places to preach in, but preachers were sometimes 
 wanting. Te Rangitake had a church at Waitara, which did 
 not decay, but was burnt. There was some sense of the fitness 
 of things in the destruction. When the congregation were to be 
 slaughtered or driven away, there was an incongruity in sparing 
 their church. The work was to be thorough. Thus only could 
 Colonel Browne and his Ministers maintain the dignity of their 
 country and the honour of the Queen. 
 
 The mission in Melanesia was in a manner connected with 
 New Zealand, because its first founder, Selwyn, and its martyr, 
 Patteson, laboured there to instruct pupils, whom at the risk of 
 life by heroic humanity they gathered from the islands of the 
 Pacific. The tale, however, is not so closely connected with the 
 history of New Zealand as to demand detailed narration in these 
 pages. It may be mentioned that in 1847 Selwyn made a voyage 
 in H.M.S. ' Dido,' to explore. He volunteered and was allowed 
 to act as chaplain and instructor on board, while the chaplain of 
 the ' Dido ' remained at Auckland. Soon afterwards in a petty 
 schooner, the ' Undine ' (21 tons), he commenced a series of
 
 462 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 voyages in the Pacific. In process of time larger vessels were 
 procured. During Selwyn's visit to England in 1854, John 
 Coleridge Patteson dedicated himself to the work in Melanesia 
 until his martyrdom. In 1856, Patteson had visited with his 
 Coryphaeus twenty-seven islands, and was able to preach in their 
 own tongues to Maoris, Solomon Islanders, and others. Pupils 
 from the islands were collected at Kohimarama, near Auckland, 
 and there taught, until in 1867 the establishment was transferred 
 to Norfolk Island. 1 Patteson conversed in more than twenty 
 languages with his pupils. In 1861, he was consecrated 
 Bishop of Melanesia by Selwyn and his brother Bishops of 
 Wellington and Nelson. In 1868, Patteson joined the New 
 Zealand Bishops in a farewell address to Selwyn when he left 
 New Zealand for Lichfield ; and, when his child in the spirit 
 was slaughtered in vengeance for the crimes of others at 
 Nukapu, in 1871, it was observed that Selwyn seemed suddenly 
 older. But his faith was triumphant over grief; for though his 
 voice was tremulous, he added to the words, "We thank Thee 
 for all Thy servants departed this life in Thy faith and fear," 
 " especially for John Coleridge Patteson." 
 
 The provinces in New Zealand had not been idle with regard 
 to public education, although war-taxes and pressure of various 
 exigencies had cramped their powers. There were Colleges, or 
 High or Grammar Schools, at Otago, Canterbury, Nelson, Auck- 
 land, and Wellington. In 1867, the Rev. F. C. Simmons, Rector, 
 of the High School at Otago, apprehending that the time was 
 not ripe for founding a local university, petitioned the Assembly 
 in favour of State-founded scholarships for New Zealand youths 
 at English universities. Wentworth had in 1851 induced his 
 countrymen to found the university of Sydney, and in 1853 the 
 colony of Victoria followed the example of New South Wales. 
 Both Houses of the New Zealand Legislature appointed Select 
 Committees with power to take evidence. Many witnesses 
 advocated the foundation of a university in New Zealand, but 
 
 1 The descendants of the mutineers of the ' Bounty' were carried to the 
 island. On the 7th September, 1856, Bishop Selwyn administered the 
 rite of confirmation (at Norfolk Island) to 85 persons, the descendants of 
 Adams and his brother outlaws. Adams had inculcated Christian precepts. 
 Bishop Selwyn's wife spent two months on the island in preparing old and 
 young for continuation, and the Bishop found them duly qualified.
 
 QUESTION OF FOUNDING UNIVERSITY. 463 
 
 neither of the Committees could recommend such a step, 
 although both advised that blocks of confiscated lands should 
 be set apart at once for a future university. Confiscated lands 
 furnished to New Zealand statesmen in such a case the same 
 relief that the Custom House provided for one generation of 
 Australians in financial difficulties, and which spoliation or class- 
 taxation promises to provide for another. In each case the 
 process was too inviting to be resisted, and was simplicity itself. 
 The Maori and the Custom House could be bled freely. To the 
 one goods must come to be taxed, the other could not remove 
 his birthright the land. The system contained the germ of 
 future woe, for when the last life-drop has been drained in each 
 case, an appetite suckled on injustice and grown to full estate 
 will look round for other prey, and fasten its teeth on the fattest 
 of the herd around. But few colonial statesmen troubled them- 
 selves with such speculations. Witnesses were not wanting to 
 advocate the foundation of a New Zealand university on high 
 social grounds, and in a few years their arguments prevailed. 
 Sir William Martin was one of those who supported it. Mr 
 Justice (C. W.) Richmond was so adverse as to write, " The time 
 even for an Australasian university is not yet in my judgment 
 come, and may never come." 
 
 One of the early efforts of English colonies is to provide, as 
 soon as they can afford it, regular communication with the 
 mother country. Business relations demand it, and men 
 prompted by adventurous or ambitious spirits recognize the 
 pressing claims of their daily avocations. Ignorance of events 
 may mean ruin to him, the fruit of whose toil is dependent on 
 distant markets. But a holier motive permeates colonial society. 
 While a settlement is young its component parts are chiefly 
 exiles from homes, where reside mothers, sisters, and all the 
 kindred whose memory is interwoven with the very chords of 
 life. The families of enterprising colonists may have consented 
 to their banishment, but yet it is banishment ; and a brave wife 
 has often accompanied her husband with the consciousness at 
 her heart that she was too old to be transplanted from her native 
 land. Striving then to do her duty in her new sphere, contend- 
 ing with new privations, embracing new duties, teaching her 
 children, and learning the while, herself, in order to be able to
 
 464 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 teach what she had not been taught, such a heroine made many 
 a home in the colonies full of hearts yearning for closer com- 
 munion with the friends of youth. Added to these motives, the 
 crude curiosity of mankind eager for new things, sufficiently 
 accounts for the fact that postal communication finds early 
 prominence in colonial affairs. To a newspaper editor the 
 world without his columns would be a blank. Conferences on 
 the mail services were held between representatives of various 
 colonies, and there was much correspondence upon the route to 
 be adopted and subsidized. 
 
 Amongst their efforts to beautify the land of their adoption, 
 the New Zealand colonists bestirred themselves in importing 
 animals. Prince Albert presented various deer. Pheasants 
 found a congenial home in the land of fern. To the chaplain 
 of the Bishop of New Zealand, the successful introduction of 
 the common bee was due. Acclimatization societies were 
 established at Auckland, Wanganui, Ahuriri, Wellington, Nelson, 
 Canterbury, Otago, and Southland. The land, famous for its 
 natural scenery, bid fair by the acquisition of beautiful forms 
 from other climes to rival them all in its charms. Within a few 
 years of the liberation of skylarks, their carol was poured as 
 profusely upon Maori air as over the heathery downs of England. 
 
 After a welcome at Auckland from thousands of Englishmen 
 and Maoris- in March, the new Governor paid a visit to the 
 Bay of Islands, where the Ngapuhi tribe were enraged at the 
 cowardly attack in Sydney, by a Fenian assassin, inspired by 
 rebellion and drink against the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince 
 Alfred. The prince was to have visited the tribe, and they 
 expressed their indignation at the arrest of his plans. Sir 
 George Bowen met them on the historic site where the treaty 
 of Waitangi was made in 1840. There, again, the old warrior, 
 Waka Nene, met the Queen's representative in 1868. Though 
 now weighed down by more than four-score years the old man 
 rose, and in presence of Maoris and Englishmen, who knew that 
 his control had mainly brought about the treaty of Waitangi, 
 struck the ground vigorously with his staff, and reminded them 
 that on that spot more than a quarter of a century before he 
 had counselled the fathers of the living generation to place 
 themselves under the shadow of the Queen and of the law. He
 
 Sm G. BOWEN'S DESPATCHES. 465 
 
 knew that he had then counselled well, and now he urged the 
 sons of his former friends to live in peace and brotherhood one 
 with another, and with the Pakeha in the time to come. 
 
 In May, 1868, Sir George Bowen visited the Waikato district. 
 At Ngaruawahia he was received by military settlers and by 
 Maori allies. Near the tomb of Te Whero Whero, friendly 
 chiefs addressed Sir George Bowen, and he volunteered to cause 
 the tomb of the Maori king to be repaired and preserved in 
 honour of that " famous chief of old time who had never made 
 war against the Queen." One of the chiefs had asked if the 
 treaty of Waitangi was still in force, and prompted by his 
 advisers, the Governor replied that it was. The son of the 
 king-maker was one of those who met him at Hamilton, and 
 though on each side were scars of recent wounds, the Ngatihaua 
 and the military settlers intermingled with friendly courtesies. 
 He described to the Secretary of State the novel scenes through 
 which he had passed, and the effect produced upon his mind. 
 He had been warned, and now saw, that New Zealand was a 
 reproduction of Scotch life in the 18th century. The strife of 
 tribes was but a southern repetition of the feuds of the Camp- 
 bells and the Macgregors. Even the carrying about of the 
 head of Captain Lloyd was exceeded, according to Macaulay, by 
 the exploits of the Macgregors, who placed the head of an enemy 
 before a sister, maddened at the sight; and the Macdonalds 
 surrounded a church and burned the congregation, mingling the 
 harsh triumph of bagpipes with the shrieks of victims. The 
 Maori "aukati," the impassable line with which the Maori king 
 had surrounded his territory, was but the Irish "pale," with the 
 difference that the invaded, and not the invaders, established it 
 in New Zealand. Mr. Firth and Mr. Buckland had lost 200 
 cattle, 50 by escape of the beasts from their drivers, 150 by 
 seizure by Maoris who drove their booty to king Tawhiao. Mr. 
 Firth saw Mr. Stafford, and deprecated violence, and the Govern- 
 ment did not make the outrage a cause of war. Mr. Firth wrote 
 letters to Tamati Ngapora, the king's chief adviser, and to the 
 son of the king- maker. Tamati Ngapora sent back the stolen 
 cattle. Orders were given to collect the stragglers, and Mr. 
 Firth was informed that those which had been killed should 
 
 be paid for. Mr. Firth declared that there could be but one 
 VOL. n. u u
 
 466 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 opinion of the very handsome manner in which the king and 
 his counsellor had behaved. Sir George Bowen told the Secre- 
 tary of State that the case was a reproduction of the cattle- 
 lifting, described by Sir Walter Scott in ' Waverley,' where Fergus 
 Mclvor anticipated the part of the Maori chief. He did not 
 expend his illustrations without a purpose. The New Zealand 
 Ministry did not desire that the last regiment should be with- 
 drawn. Their fears found an echo in the Governor's despatch. 
 He was informed that loyal tribes would be disheartened, and 
 construe the removal into an expression of the Queen's dis- 
 pleasure. In short, the loyal clans would view the " entire 
 withdrawal of Imperial troops with feelings similar to those 
 with which the Hanoverian clans in Scotland 150 years ago, 
 while exposed to the vengeance of their Jacobite neighbours, 
 would have regarded the removal of the English garrisons from 
 Inverness, Fort William, and Stirling." After their assertions 
 of self-reliance the Ministry could with ill grace ask directly for 
 the retention of the troops, but it was hoped perhaps that the 
 classic illustrations of the new Governor would divert the mind 
 of the Secretary of State from his determination. 
 
 The Duke of Buckingham was impervious to any history not 
 contained in recent despatches of the Department over r/hich he 
 had been called to preside at short notice, and which he was 
 soon to leave. In May he had written that the 18th Regiment 
 was to be removed from New Zealand to New South Wales. 
 In September he dismissed Sir G. Bowen's elaborate illustrations 
 and consequent request with brief thanks, and a reference to 
 the previously-announced instructions for the removal of the 
 regiment, which there was no intention to replace. Sir George 
 Bowen visited other portions of his territory. At Tauranga the 
 chiefs, recently hostile, assembled to greet him, and the settlers 
 invited them to a dinner given in honour of the Governor. The 
 chairman, a military settler, proposed as a toast : " Our guests, 
 the Maori chiefs, lately our brave enemies in war, and now our 
 friendly neighbours in peace." Five chiefs responded with 
 " the fluency, humour, and eloquence of their race." At Maketu 
 the Arawa performed their war-dance before the Governor- 
 They, like the Ngapuhi, were indignant at the cowardly 
 assault upon the Queen's son, and entreated that they might
 
 COLONEL McDoNELL IN THE WEST. 467 
 
 "be led against the Fenians." At the school at Maketu the 
 Governor observed a proficiency equal to that attained by 
 Europeans. Opotiki, Turanganui, Napier, were visited. At 
 the latter place about 200 families were receiving 26,000 
 a-year as rents. The Ngatikahungunu did not greet the 
 Governor with the Maori dance, but with Maori guards of 
 honour commanded by chiefs wearing English staff-uniforms. 
 The desire of the Arawa to be allowed to chastise the Fenians 
 was not so Quixotic as might be supposed in England. Some 
 of the disorderly elements gathered at the gold-fields of the 
 Middle Island excited such uneasiness in 1868, by a display of 
 Fenian sympathies, that troops were made ready for landing at 
 Hokitika, and a few ringleaders were arrested and convicted, 
 but were leniently dealt with. Sir George Bowen did not 
 extend his journey to the Wanganui and Taranaki districts in 
 1868. There were troubles there in April, May, and June. 
 The Commissioners, a majority of whom had exculpated Colonel 
 McDonell for his conduct at Pokaikai, had sat at Patea and at 
 Wanganui in March ; and it will be remembered that McDonell 
 attributed Titokowara's rebellious disposition to the loss of 
 prestige which the inquiry inflicted upon the hero of Pokaikai. 
 McDonell himself was sent, at the end of March, to Hokitika, to 
 deal with the Fenian plotters, and took thither about 80 of the 
 armed constabulary. He returned in May and found that the 
 Maoris had become troublesome at Patea. His own narrative l 
 states that natives had been stealing horses, and that " Mr. 
 Booth had been arresting the wrong persons, and then releasing 
 them again ; this aggravated the natives and complicated 
 matters very considerably." From a Maori point of view the 
 situation was indeed provoking. Under Governor Browne, the 
 Colonial Government had refused to recognize the well-known 
 Maori collective title to land. Under Governor Bowen it pro- 
 ceeded to create a collective responsibility for private theft. If 
 a low-born Maori stole a horse, a chief who derived his honours 
 from a long line of ancestors was seized by armed men. It was 
 as if for the act of a horse-stealer in Hertfordshire the lord of 
 Hat field House had been cast into chains. McDonell's mode of 
 
 1 ' An Explanation,' &c., by Lieutenant-Colonel T. McDonell. Printed 
 at Wanganui : 1869. 
 
 H II 2
 
 468 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 management could not but provoke a race like the Maori. 
 Katene, Titokowaru's tribesman, who had joined McDonell's 
 force, declared that mischief was brewing, and warned his com- 
 mander that in future the Maoris would not defend their pahs, 
 but fight in guerilla fashion, which their knowledge of the intrica- 
 cies of the country would make effective. 1 Some arrests were 
 made. The Pakahope hapu held a meeting, and disturbance was 
 allayed by an undertaking that the Europeans and the chiefs 
 should combine to prevent disorder. But the authority of 
 chiefs could not restrain all evil-disposed Maoris. It had long 
 been known that the ancient Maori rule had waned under the 
 influence of European civilization. It will be remembered that 
 at Waitara, Mr. C. W. Richmond declared : " The issue has been 
 carefully chosen, the particular question being as favourable a 
 one of its class as could have been selected." In 1868 it de- 
 volved upon his brother, Mr. J. G. Richmond, to write that " a 
 case of robbery of horses and other effects was chosen to check 
 the evils" on the west coast. Mr. Booth, the magistrate, 
 directed Colonel McDonell to arrest three chiefs, Toi, Hahu- 
 whenua, and Ihaka, whom he suspected of stealing horses 
 belonging to Mr. Booth and two other persons. McDonell 
 obtained a warrant from Booth. With a force composed of 
 armed constabulary and settlers, McDonell marched by night 
 to Te Ngutu-o-te-manu. He arrived at the conclusion that 
 warning was given, and the objects of the warrant escaped. He 
 was hospitably entertained at the pah by Titokowaru and others, 
 and in the morning expressed to the chiefs his regret at the 
 thefts committed by the ungrateful Maoris. He seized a chief, 
 Tauke, as a hostage, and carried him off to Waihi. He declared 
 in his printed narrative that he guaranteed the safe return of 
 Tauke, even if he should be proved to have stolen the horses. 
 
 Natanahira strongly urged Mr. Booth not to sally forth to seize 
 the missing horses. Natanahira went himself and recovered some 
 
 1 Katene's frankness was peculiar. He once, by the fireside, said to an 
 English officer : " Do you trust me? Yes." Katene paused and put his 
 hand on his companion. " You are right and you are wrong. Right, 
 because now I mean well to yon wrong, because you should not trust a 
 Maori. Some day I may brood upon my wrongs my ancestral land 
 ravished my tribe destroyed my 'mana' departed. At that moment I 
 shall be your foe. Remember my warning."
 
 MR. BOOTH AT NGUTU-O-TE-MANU. 469 
 
 of the horses, but not Mr. Booth's. That gentleman determined 
 to seek his own. With an armed party furnished by McDonell 
 (reluctantly, according to the statement of the letter), Booth pro- 
 ceeded. McDonell declared that he thought " bloodshed certain " 
 to ensue, and he followed Booth with an armed force. Booth, 
 arriving at Te Ngutu-o-te-manu, ordered the arrest of a chief, 
 Kohiri. Roughly seized, Kohiri resisted and called on his 
 people to rescue him. They did so. Booth seized three Maoris 
 and, perceiving guns pointed at his men, yielded to Katene's 
 advice, relinquished Kohiri, retreated, and met McDonell. 
 Tauke, the hostage, had accompanied Booth ; and, during the 
 scuffle in the pah, had called out, " Be careful ; McDonell is at 
 hand with a large force." The Native Minister reported the 
 result thus to Sir George Bowen : " Two of the prisoners were 
 quickly released, as nothing could be proved against them : the 
 third, Ihaka, was detained, but subsequently made his escape." 
 Such proceedings boded ill for the peace of the district, and 
 none but those incapable of reasoning could doubt that disturb- 
 ances would follow. Tradition, hatred, injured dignity, all 
 prompted Ihaka to revenge. In June a settler was murdered in 
 the bush in the vicinity of Pungarehu. Mr. G. S. Cooper, 
 Under-Secretary for Native Affairs, in a careful report of later 
 date, speaking of the arrest and escape of Ihaka, said : " A few 
 days afterwards the murders were committed, which, according 
 to Maori custom, commenced open war, and Ihaka was one of 
 the murderers." The case chosen to check evil, in 1868, was 
 thus, like that of 1860, tainted by irregularity, injustice, and 
 folly. It was at once seen that the provoker of war was without 
 sufficient means to wage it. Colonel McDonell went to Wel- 
 lington for reinforcements. He complained afterwards that the 
 Ministers did not recognize the danger, or accord him sufficient 
 force. To his original strength of 100 men, 300 militia and 
 volunteers with 50 Maori allies were added. The Native 
 Minister thought the outrages had been committed by a few 
 savages with whom the bulk of their countrymen had no sym- 
 pathy. The disturbance would, he thought, be short, and would 
 "hasten the peaceful settlement of the district." Thus he 
 wrote (5th July) a few days before the General Assembly met ; 
 and the Governor transmitted the pleasing fallacy to England on
 
 470 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the following day. Before the Native Minister and Governor had 
 thus written, Titokowaru (whom Mr. Parris had described as a 
 leading chief on the west coast, and whose exertions in promoting 
 good feeling had been highly commended in several reports) had 
 issued (25th June) a peremptory order that travelling in the dis- 
 trict and intercourse with Europeans should cease. With hideous 
 Maori metaphor he wrote to a tribe friendly to the English, that 
 he had begun to eat human flesh, and his throat was constantly 
 open for the flesh of man. A trooper was cut down in sight of the 
 Waihi camp only the legs could be found by his comrades. 
 
 The Governor had recently written to the Secretary of State : 
 " I shall apply myself diligently to the study of the native lan- 
 guage and annals " ; and when the manifesto of Titokowaru 
 reached him he must have sighed for more knowledge or more 
 trustworthy advisers. He reminded the Secretary of State that 
 "positive and reiterated orders" prevented the 18th Regiment 
 from assisting to subdue Titokowaru. A redoubt, Turo-turo 
 Mokai, held by an officer and 25 of the local forces, was surprised, 
 and before Major Von Tempsky dashed up from Waihi in time to 
 see the conquering Maoris retire, Captain Ross and seven others 
 were killed or wounded. Of the attacking force about 12 were 
 wounded or killed. One of them was a near relative of Katene. 
 While McDonell was absent from the district, charges of theft 
 had been brought against Katene, and the resident magistrate 
 sent him to gaol for three months, at Patea. McDonell, on his 
 return, caused the gaoler to escort Katene to McDonell's 
 quarters, and there discussed his future plans with his scout and 
 guide. The conversation was long, and McDonell invited Katene 
 to remain in his house, promising that, as a reward for informa- 
 tion, Katene's sentence should be remitted in the morning. 
 Katene preferred to return to the gaol where he had his bed. 
 McDonell went with him. The gaol was locked, and the gaoler 
 was absent. Katene climbed up to a gable window, and said to 
 McDonell : "It's easy to get in, but easier to get- out." "Why, 
 then, did you stay ? " " Oh ! I thought matters would go 
 rightly on your return. If not, you would not have found me 
 here." When this cool and daring scout approached Turoturo- 
 mokai with McDonell, the first object he saw was his dead 
 relative. McDonell dreaded lest the Maori lust for revenge
 
 KATENE AND McDoNELL. 471 
 
 should prompt Katene ; but the latter betrayed no symptom of 
 displeasure. He talked confidentially with McDonell until two 
 o'clock on the following morning, and left his commander lulled 
 in temporary security. But in a moment he acted. Silently he 
 roused his people, and bade them muster at his tent. " You 
 know where I have been ? Yes, in McDonell's whare." " I 
 have," replied Katene ; " and he is distrustful. He means to 
 murder you as spies and traitors. But for me it would have 
 been done to-night." Te Hira (a Wanganui chief who resided 
 with Katene' s people) was seized, bound, and gagged ; and 
 before day-dawn, Katene, with all his people, had rejoined 
 Titokowaru. Colonel McDonell's force having been raised to 
 700 Europeans and 300 Maoris, he prepared to attack Titoko- 
 waru in his pah. The Governor suggested that if the colonial 
 forces should receive a check, there might be a general rising. 
 The intentions of the Maori king were unknown. Mete Kingi, 
 a member of the House, wrote to Tokangamutu to sound the 
 king. His old comrade, Hori Kingi, described the success of the 
 mission. The herald was " passed on by Tahana Turoa to 
 Wiremu Pakau and Ropata, by whom he was passed on to Pehi 
 Turoa and Topia Turoa, and then passed on to Topine te 
 Mainaku." Thus aided, he reached a station whence a Maori, 
 by name Marino, carried Mete Kingi's letter to Tokangamutu. 
 There, oracularly, Rewi and Tamati Ngapora allowed it to be 
 believed that they condemned Titokowaru. His evil-doing was 
 with himself alone, even though through it he sink down to the 
 world of spirits was Rewi's word. Tamati Ngapora said : 
 " Hearken, Rewi, there is nothing to say. Leave Titokowaru to 
 be pecked by the seagulls. He sought it himself." Hori Kingi 
 begged his Maori representative to write and let the tribe know 
 if he should " hear anything important at the Assembly." The 
 Native Minister, Mr. J. C. Richmond, took comfort from the 
 result of the mission. 
 
 Such was the state of affairs when, on the 9th July, 1868, Sir 
 George Bowen met the General Assembly at Wellington. 
 Writs had been returned for the election of the four members 
 for the northern, eastern, western, and southern M iori districts : 
 Frederick Nene Russell, a nephew of Waka Nene ; Tareha; 
 Mete Kingi Paetahi ; and John Patterson, a Maori with an
 
 472 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 English name. At the western district there had been irregu- 
 larity. Every representative body founded on the basis of the 
 English House of Commons takes a pride in following with 
 nicety every detail which shows or implies the independence of 
 its members. 1 Before the speech from the throne is taken into 
 consideration, a Bill is invariably read a first time to assert a 
 right of deliberation independently of the cause of summons by 
 the Crown. Mr. Stafford introduced on this occasion a Bill to 
 declare valid the election of Mete Kingi Paetahi. The general 
 provisions of the electoral law disqualified him, inasmuch as he 
 was the holder of an office of emolument under the Government. 
 On the following day the Bill was passed through all its stages. 
 The Council passed it with celerity ; on the 16th July, the 
 Governor assented to it in the Queen's name, and Mete Kingi 
 Paetahi took his seat. In the oriental imagination of the chief, 
 who, like so many of his countrymen, could count the genera- 
 tions of his family from the time when his ancestors landed in 
 Maoria, what thoughts must his new position have aroused ! 
 After strife with trading hucksters, with debauched wastrels of 
 seafaring life, with settlers, with 'Ministries, with Governors, 
 with an English army, there had yet been left such vital force 
 in the Maori noblemen, that now, though in disproportionate 
 strength, they took their seat in the Councils of the land. Bad 
 advisers, and consequent war, had thwarted the honourable 
 intention of the English Government when the treaty of 
 Waitangi was signed, but yet at last an instalment of justice 
 had been wrung from a conjunction of evil circumstances, and 
 the voice of a Maori could be raised in the halls of the English 
 runanga. The spectacle, which might minister to the pride of 
 the Maori, reflected also credit upon the Colonial Government. 
 
 Difference yet remained between the members. The Maori, 
 with a written language, was not compelled by daily need to 
 learn that of the Colonists. It was ordered that an interpreter 
 
 1 They are not so careful in other respects. The mace, the symbol of 
 authority, is in England surrendered to the Lord Chamberlain at the close 
 of the session, and is replaced in the hands of the House, by the royal 
 authority, only at the commencement of the next session. This venerable 
 relic of a constitutional principle, on which the summons of a Parliament 
 is founded, has not been imitated in the Colonies.
 
 MAORIS IN PARLIAMENT. 473 
 
 should attend during the debates, and that papers of interest 
 to the Maoris should be accompanied by a translation. There 
 were many contemporary statements of which it would have 
 been wise to prevent the translation. The ' Wellington Inde- 
 pendent ' said (21st July, 1868) : "The operation must be short, 
 sharp, and decisive. Within the rebel districts no mercy should 
 be shown. No prisoner should be taken. Let a price be put 
 upon the head of every rebel, and let them be slain without 
 scruple, wherever the opportunity is afforded. We must smite, 
 and spare not. . . . They are determined to fight, and we, in 
 self-protection, must treat them as a species of savage beasts 
 which must be exterminated to render the colonization of New 
 Zealand possible." The Governor sent the following extract to 
 the Secretary of State : " Give a reward for every rebel's head 
 that is brought to head-quarters. Exeter Hall may lift up its 
 pious hands in holy horror, but what else is left to us ? ... Few 
 will hesitate long to recommend the doctrine and practice of 
 head-money. Fiat" 
 
 The hearts of those who wrote thus in 1868 must have 
 bounded with joy when, in 1869, it appeared from a printed 
 return, 1 that at Makaretu and Ngatapa there were 175 Maoris 
 slain, no wounded, and none captured. Another return, printed 
 in 1870, reveals the character of the force to which these ribald 
 writers would have delegated the task of rivalling the Maori 
 fanatics. The condition of the armed constabulary under 
 Colonel McDonell, on the west coast, soon to be described, will 
 serve as an illustration. A compendious view is provided in the 
 return 2 of the number of the force " discharged on the report of 
 their own officers for drunkenness, uselessness, and insubordina- 
 tion respectively, since the 1st July, 1869." Drunkenness, 330 ; 
 uselessness, 263 ; insubordination, 38; total 631. Another re- 
 turn, laid on the table in 1870, 3 showed that at the same date (15th 
 June, 1870) the total armed constabulary force in the field was 695. 
 The force which the hirelings of the press would have deputed to 
 
 1 N. Z. P. P. 1869 ; A. No. 3, G. 
 
 8 N. Z. P. P. 1870 ; D. No. 36. Colonel Haultain, who had been Minister 
 for Colonial Defence in 1869, but was out of office in 1870, moved for this 
 return in order to justify the character of the force ! 
 
 3 1870 ; D. No. 7.
 
 474 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 do murder was worthy of its employers. That there were some 
 honourable men in it may well be believed. The enormous pro- 
 portion dismissed in twelve months, proves to some extent the 
 health of the body which could thus discard peccant humours. 
 
 Mr. Fitzherbert's mission to England was successful as 
 regarded the Imperial claims. Though the Duke of Bucking- 
 ham thought that a complete scrutiny would have proved a 
 debt from the colony, yet recognizing the pressure upon its 
 resources, and the fact that it had taken upon itself the entire 
 duties of internal self-defence, he. considered that " simultaneously 
 with the removal of troops, installation of a new Governor, and 
 the establishment of a complete system of self-reliance," the 
 Imperial Government might properly consent to close the 
 accounts by a mutual release. It was agreed that the colonial 
 claims should be abandoned .with the cancelling of the Imperial. 
 The Colonial Office and Mr. Fitzherbert were complimentary to 
 one another, and Mr. Stafford applauded Mr. Fitzherbert. 
 
 Mr. Fox at an early date moved that " an impression had 
 gained ground throughout the colony that his Excellency's 
 Government proposes to effect organic changes in the institu- 
 tions of the colony," that there was anxiety about native affairs, 
 and that the Government ought to declare its policy. After 
 repeated adjournments the motion w r as rejected (12th August) 
 by 34 votes against 25. In discussing one of Mr. Fox's hostile 
 motions, Mr. Dillon Bell was loudly cheered while he denounced 
 Mr. Stafford's policy towards the natives. The Maori member, Mr. 
 Patterson, through the interpreter, demanded equal laws for the 
 Maori and the Pakeha. " If I vote for the Government, it may 
 not profit me ; if for the Opposition, the result may be the same. 
 Honourable members may be all right or all wrong. I will leave 
 the House when the time for the division arrives." On another 
 occasion Mete Kingi said : " I have listened to the talk here for two 
 months. The talk is all about money. Men's lives are nothing." 
 Out of fashion in Wellington he might be, but he struck a higher 
 chord than was touched by the party manoeuvrers in the Assembly. 
 
 The question of retaining the 18th Regiment was not swept 
 out of the way as the Duke of Buckingham had imagined. On 
 the 18th August, the Representatives resolved to fall back upon 
 the old arrangement, that while the colony expended 50,000 a-
 
 TE KOOTI ESCAPES FROM CHATHAM ISLANDS. 475 
 
 year on native purposes, the English Government should retain 
 a regiment in the colony free of charge. The elastic construction 
 which could be put upon the phrase " native purposes," qualified 
 the obligation of expenditure. The Legislative Council had in 
 July been asked to resolve in plain terms, without reference to 
 any past arrangements, that it was expedient on grounds of Im- 
 perial and colonial policy that one regiment should remain; but 
 the motion was rejected by one vote. A few days afterwards, how- 
 ever, the Council resolved without a division to entreat Sir George 
 Bowen to delay the departure of the 18th Regiment until he 
 could tell the Secretary of State the condition of the colony. 
 
 Again the war-cloud hung over the land. Again it rose 
 from violent acts or breach of faith under a Ministry headed 
 by Mr. Stafford. The obstinate Maori would neither submit in 
 his fastnesses nor remain in banishment. Prisoners on board of 
 a hulk at Wellington, on a stormy night, let themselves down 
 through a porthole, and three-score men, women, and children 
 reached the shore, and regained their old haunts. On the 4th 
 July, 1868, the prisoners at the Chatham Islands, disappointed at 
 being kept in exile contrary to their expectations that after two 
 years they would be released, rose as one man, took possession 
 of their guards, of all the money and ammunition they could 
 find, seized a schooner, the ' Rifleman,' of 82 tons burden, and 
 sailed towards their homes in the north. A return, obtained by 
 Mr. Mantell in the Legislative Council, revealed the fact that 
 there had been no " writ, warrant, or other form of authority " 
 for the exile or detention of the prisoners. The capture of the 
 island was so startling in its suddenness that no explanation 
 could be furnished. Te Kooti Rikirangi, who was unjustifiably 
 seized at Waerenga-ahika by Major Fraser, in 1865, was the 
 Maori leader. Under pretence of holding religious services, he 
 introduced some novelties as a prophet of a new Karakia, or 
 worship. He had arrived on the island on the loth June, 1866, 
 and the expected two years of probation having expired, became 
 restless when no hope of release was held out. The resident 
 magistrate separated Te Kooti from other prisoners, and forbade 
 him to hold religious services. These precautionary measures 
 were reported on the 1st July. They failed. On the 4th, 163 
 men, 64 women, and 71 children, escaped in the ' Rifleman.'
 
 476 . NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Three men and one woman only remained behind. One con- 
 stable was killed with a tomahawk, in the act of resistance ; but 
 the rest of the guard were merely bound. One man said : 
 " They laid me down very gently, and bound me hand and foot. 
 They tied my hands behind my back, and left me on the ground 
 with my face downwards." Mr. G. S. Cooper was sent by the 
 New Zealand Government to inquire, and reported : " Upon 
 looking back upon this extraordinary episode in the history of 
 New Zealand, it is difficult to say whether one's wonder is 
 excited more by the precision, rapidity, and completeness with 
 which the enterprise was planned and executed, or by the 
 moderation shown in the hour of victory by a gang of barbarous 
 fanatics, who in a moment found their former masters bound at 
 their feet, and their lives entirely at their mercy." There was 
 apparently some prospect that the escaped prisoners would 
 eschew violence, and be content with replacing their feet on the 
 land of their birth. But mismanagement destroyed the prospect ; 
 and the colony learned how much it had owed to Sir George 
 Grey when he resisted the importunities of Mr. Fox on the 
 escape of the prisoners from Kawau. Though the Ministry 
 could produce no warrant under which the prisoners had been 
 detained, they denied that the refugees had been absolutely 
 promised their freedom after two years of good behaviour. Yet 
 a belief in the promise was widely spread. Bishop Selwyn 
 declared in the House of Lords : " They were told if they con- 
 ducted themselves well, at the end of two years they would be 
 set at liberty. They behaved in the most exemplary manner ; 
 but at the expiration of the two years they were informed that 
 they were not to be set at liberty, whereupon a look of despair 
 at once came over them, as if every hope they had of life were 
 cut off." The first official instructions to the resident magis- 
 trate at the Chatham Islands distinctly pointed to release in 
 connection with the end of the war. He was told that it was 
 not " desired to detain them longer than may be necessary. 
 They should be informed therefore that their return will depend 
 upon their own good conduct, and the termination of rebellion. 
 A few of the best-behaved will be allowed to return periodically, 
 and it is to be hoped that none of them need be kept prisoners 
 for any lengthened period." The verbal promises made under
 
 TREATMENT OF MAORI PRISONERS. 477 
 
 these instructions can be inferred. Mr. Stafford, under whose 
 Government they were issued, was still in office in 1868. There 
 was no rebellion in New Zealand at the expiration of the time 
 which the prisoners had associated with their probable release ; 
 but Mr. Stafford gave no sign, although he received urgent 
 letters informing him of the restlessness of the prisoners under 
 their disappointment. It could not be alleged that he was 
 ignorant of the expectations of the prisoners. In May, 1867, 
 the Government sent Major Edwards of the New Zealand 
 militia, to the Chatham Islands, with orders to report upon all 
 matters connected with the Maoris and their guard. The 
 prisoners assembled to meet him. They stated : " That they had 
 been promised they should be sent back to New Zealand, a few 
 at a time, probably after they had been one year at the Chat- 
 hams, if they behaved well, and that the whole were to be sent 
 back as soon as the war was over." Major Edwards told them 
 that he " felt sure that the promise, if made, would be carried 
 out, and that their good conduct would have its due weight." 
 If Mr. Stafford or his colleagues did not admit that the promise 
 quoted had been made, their neglect to correct the report con- 
 victs them of duplicity or of mismanagement. In April, 1868, 
 Mr. Ritchie, a resident at the islands, reported to Mr. Stafford 
 that there was a growing determination amongst the whole of 
 the prisoners to leave their prison. He urged that a special 
 Commissioner should be sent to make careful inquiry. Mr. 
 Stafford curtly replied that other reports which reached the 
 Government did not confirm Mr. Ritchie's statements. He 
 cared not to make inquiries about Maoris who might be aggrieved 
 in an island-prison. He would not stoop to untie such a knot. 
 Te Kooti suddenly cut it by seizing the ' Rifleman ' the day after 
 she arrived at the Chatham Islands. The surprise was complete. 
 The chief officer vainly resisted the Maoris who, from two boats, 
 scaled the vessel's sides, and stationed sentries in the forecastle 
 and cabin. Te Kooti was almost the last to visit his prize, and 
 on taking charge declared that unless the crew would navigate 
 the vessel to Poverty Bay they would be killed. All the fire- 
 arms at the islands were seized by the Maoris. An attempt to sail 
 on the evening of the 4th was defeated by adverse wind ; but on 
 the 5th the ' Rifleman ' sailed. A head-wind was encountered,
 
 478 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 and one morning a Maori was thrown overboard by his com- 
 panions " to bring a fair wind " from the Atua, or god, of winds. 
 But though he resorted to ancient superstitions to stimulate 
 devotion, Te Kooti kept his powder dry. An armed guard paced 
 the deck day and night. A Maori with carbine and sword stood 
 by the helm to watch the steersman's course. The crew were 
 not allowed to cook. On Friday evening (10th July) the 'Bine- 
 man ' was anchored at Whareongaonga, six miles south of 
 Poverty Bay. The crew were kept below, while the women and 
 children, and some others, landed at night. On Saturday 
 morning the Maoris carried off the cargo (consisting chiefly of 
 provisions), returned with two casks of water for the crew, and 
 said they might now go where they liked with the ship, as the 
 Maoris " had done with them." Before the ' Rifleman ' reached 
 Wellington, the electric telegraph had warned the Government 
 of the catastrophe, and no man knew whether before leaving the 
 Chatham Islands the prisoners had murdered the Europeans 
 there. A steamer was despatched thither. 
 
 Captain Biggs, who commanded the colonial force at Poverty 
 Bay, heard, on Sunday the 12th, that the prisoners had landed. 
 He mustered 50 Europeans with 53 Maoris, marched towards 
 the runaways, and demanded their arms. They refused to sur- 
 render them. Finding that they outnumbered his force he 
 abstained from carrying out his original intention to attack 
 them, determined to act on the defensive, and urged the Govern- 
 ment to send " a force at once to retake the prisoners." The 
 Government complied. Colonel Whitinore was despatched to 
 the spot, and Commander Palmer of H.M.S. ' Rosario ' was sent to 
 help him. Captain Biggs was eager to assist. Ridges with 
 sheer steep rocks encompassed the outlaws, who, confronted by 
 the Maumaukai Ranges, and impeded by their plunder, were 
 many days in toiling to a spot where Captain Westrup of the 
 Poverty Bay Mounted Rifles with 66 Europeans and 22 Maoris 
 endeavoured to bar their way. He detached 44 men to a 
 position commanding their path, near Paparatu, and Te Kooti 
 promptly changed his front, dashed upon Captain Westrup and 
 captured his camp, provisions, and horses. Many of the men 
 fled in disorder, and Westrup himself with about 40 men was 
 compelled to retreat across the country under guidance of a
 
 TE KOOTI ATTACKED. 479 
 
 friendly chief, on the 20th July, and report his defeat to Colonel 
 Whitmore, who did not conceal his dissatisfaction when he found 
 that the forlorn fliers were not prepared to turn back and pursue 
 Te Kooti without delay. Whitmore himself had some Napier 
 volunteers with him. Hearing that the nature of the country 
 would make it impossible for the encumbered fugitives to reach 
 Opoiti, on the Wairoa river, in less than a month (though the 
 distance was only 27 miles in a straight line), he organized scout- 
 ing parties to hem them in, consoling himself with the reflection 
 that the heavy -floods and stormy weather which harassed his 
 own men would prevent the enemy from moving. A force of 
 friendly Maoris and European volunteers was gathered together 
 at Wairoa in Hawke's Bay and inarched under Major Richardson. 
 Te Kooti, determining to transport the women and children to 
 shelter, cut his way for about ten miles through the forest ; and 
 on the 24th, at Te Konaki, on the Hangaroa river, encountered 
 Major Richardson, whom he fought -for three hours before he 
 could force his way. Major Richardson complained that his allies 
 fought badly ; but the only sufferers on the Government side were 
 Maoris, though the Major said the rebels used their rifles with 
 precision. A want of ammunition was also regretted by Richard- 
 son. It was plain that war to the knife was declared, and the 
 Government called out the militia, strengthened Colonel Whit- 
 more with a detachment of armed constabulary, and determined 
 to show what would have been the result if Sir George Grey had 
 consented to adopt Mr. Fox's policy at Omaha in 1864. General 
 Chute, writing at this juncture from his head-quarters at Mel- 
 bourne, urged that the battalion of the 18th in New Zealand' 
 ought to be concentrated as much as possible. On the ground 
 that the withdrawal of the detachments from Taranaki and 
 Napier would necessarily encourage Titokowaru and Te Kooti 
 in insurrection, Mr. Stafford deprecated, and Sir George Bowen, 
 in despatches to General Chute and to the Secretary of State, 
 vehemently remonstrated against, such a disposition of the 
 battalion as would concentrate it at Auckland where it was not 
 needed. The Duke of Buckingham yielded to the Governor's 
 entreaties. Colonel Whitmore strained every nerve to surround 
 Te Kooti. The adroit use which the latter had made of his 
 followers had deceived Westrup and Richardson. Colonel
 
 480 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Whitmore ascertained that the fighting men had been fewer 
 than had been thought, and that the women must have taken 
 part in the previous skirmishes. He rapidly marched from 
 Turanga to the Waihau lakes, where Major Fraser joined him 
 with a force which had marched round by a regular track. Te 
 Kooti had passed on, cutting his way with desperate energy 
 so as to transport his impedimenta through the broken country 
 between the Waihau lakes and Puketapu. The road thus 
 made facilitated the march of Colonel Whitmore's force, which 
 closed with Te Kooti at Puketapu on the 8th August. An inde- 
 cisive engagement at Ruakiture, in which Te Kooti was wounded 
 in the foot and lost about eight men, did not stop his retreat. 
 Five were killed and five wounded in Colonel Whitmore's force. 
 Two officers fell in a charge made by the Maoris, while the 
 words of their women urged them on. Colonel Whitmore found 
 that Te Kooti's tactics differed from the wont of Maoris. " He 
 held a desperate body of men in reserve to charge whenever he 
 sounded the bugle. His fire was deliberate and never thrown 
 away : every shot fell close to its mark if it did not reach it, 
 and there was no wild volley discharged during the action. He 
 began the fighting himself, and no opportunity was afforded me 
 to summon him to surrender." In former wars the Maoris had 
 only guns. At the Chatham Islands Te Kooti had seized 32 
 rifles. For the third time within a month of his landing Te 
 Kooti had been brought to bay by his pursuers, and had worsted 
 them. An officer who served against him has been heard to 
 say that in such a warfare the generalship of Te Kooti could not 
 be surpassed. Colonel Whitmore fell back to procure supplies, 
 and Te Kooti after giving his followers rest at Puketapu resumed 
 his march to the interior. In a month he was heard of a hun- 
 dred miles from the coast. The savage was aroused within 
 him, but he was calculating in his revenge. His position was 
 strange. He had escaped from imprisonment unwarranted by 
 law. Wounded, and dragging his wounded to the fastnesses of 
 the hills, he was scotched but not killed, and his rabid followers 
 were soon to horrify not only New Zealand but England by the 
 massacre at Poverty Bay. 
 
 It was just after Te Kooti's struggle on the 8th August that 
 Mr. Fox's motion hostile to the Government was rejected by the
 
 NGUTU-O-TE-MANU. 481 
 
 House of Representatives. A fortnight afterwards Mr. Graham 
 moved that inasmuch as the Imperial Government were willing 
 to allow a regiment to be stationed in New Zealand on condition 
 that the colony would spend 50,000 a year on native purposes, 
 it was expedient to comply with the condition ; but by 20 votes 
 against 4 the motion was rejected. A much larger number 
 displayed interest in the question of carrying newspapers with- 
 out charge. Mr. Vogel, a newspaper editor, arrayed 22 members 
 to vote for thus squandering the public money for the enrich- 
 ment of newspaper proprietors, but the Government opposed 
 him with 33 votes. Both Houses seized the occasion of a visit 
 paid by Sir George Grey to Wellington, and unanimously ac- 
 corded him a seat within their Chambers. He was then on his 
 way to England, splenetic against the Colonial Office. On the 
 day of his embarkation the Council adjourned early to enable its 
 members to go in a body to pay respect to him. Before he left 
 he offered to go to the west coast to endeavour to pacify Tito- 
 kowaru's followers : but the Ministers declined the offer. As 
 the mail-steamer was about to depart rumours of a serious 
 disaster sustained by Colonel McDonell at the hands of Tito- 
 kowaru reached Wellington. Colonel McDonell with about 350 
 Europeans had surprised Titokowaru in his village, Ngutu-o-te- 
 manu in August. It was undefended, although well con- 
 structed rifle-pits were passed in approaching it. The houses of 
 Titokowaru and his people were burnt. Two rebels were killed 
 and one European. On his return to Waihi, McDonell was 
 pursued by Titokowaru, and four of his men were killed and 
 eight wounded. Colonel McDonell loudly praised his officers 
 and men. He had set his heart upon destruction of villages. 
 Pungarehu and its successor Ngutu-o-te-manu were desolate, 
 but there were other inhabited places. On the 7th September, 
 at four o'clock in the morning, he sallied forth with 250 Euro- 
 peans and 110 Maoris, of whom Rangihiwinui was one, to 
 attack Te Rua-arua, a fortified village, and return by Ngutu-o- 
 te-manu. A track was found and followed. No signs of an 
 enemy were seen. A halt was called. Rangihiwinui sent a 
 man up a tall rata tree to see whether smoke or village was 
 near. Half a mile off smoke was seen, and the man heard 
 sounds of a Maori dance. Rangihiwinui said : " We now know 
 
 VOL. II. I I
 
 482 NEW ZKALAND. 
 
 where the enemy is. Take your Pakeha men off the track. 
 Let them he hidden in perfect silence in the forest. I with my 
 men will -be in ambush. If an enemy come near, I will have 
 him tomahawked without noise. But I expect no one, for this 
 track is evidently not much used. When it is dark I will 
 reconnoitre the enemy's position so that we may know how 
 to act in the morning." Lieutenant Gudgeon avers that the 
 chiefs advice would, " if followed, have undoubtedly ensured suc- 
 cess," and that when Titokowaru's people heard of it afterwards 
 they said : " Had it been taken we were lost." But McDonell 
 rejected the advice. He ordered an advance. He led one division 
 of Europeans. Von Tempsky led another. Rangihiwinui with 
 his Wanganui countrymen preceded them. A tent was on the 
 track. A woman, close to it, screamed and fled. A man 
 emerging, and two children, were shot. McDonell and his men 
 did not know where they were. To surprise the enemy was now 
 impossible; but the force advanced. Rangihiwinui extended 
 his men on the left. Von Tempsky went forward and descended 
 into a gully, where a shattering volley was poured upon his and 
 a part of McDonell's advancing force. The pah was near, but 
 was hidden by the trees. Katene's warning flashed upon the 
 leader. The Maoris would fight in the guarding forest rather 
 than in the entrapping pah. While McDonell was thus discon- 
 certed, Rangihiwinui sped to his side and told him that he was 
 before Te Ngutu-o-te-manu the place he had destroyed so 
 recently. The puzzled McDonell could hardly believe the truth. 
 Marksmen in trees singled out and shot the Europeans. The 
 loss was so great that McDonell resolved to retire although 
 Rangihiwinui's men on the left had driven the enemy from the 
 forest to the pah. He sent his brother, Captain McDonell, to 
 call back the brave Von Tempsky, who was loth to obey, but in 
 the act of encouraging his men and reviewing his position was 
 shot dead. Captain Buck determined to recover Von Tempsky's 
 body before retreating. As he raised it, he also was shot. 
 Captain Roberts, next in seniority, knew not of the order to 
 retire, and held his position in ignorance that McDonell was in 
 full retreat. By Rangihiwinui's advice McDonell retired by the 
 edge of the clearing with his wounded men, while Rangihiwinui 
 held the enemy in check in rear. Through twining vines and
 
 NGUTU-O-TE-MANU. 483 
 
 undefwood, the pursuers and pursued sometimes almost inter- 
 mingled wended their harassing and harassed way. When 
 the gorge was crossed at Te Maru it was found that Von 
 Tempsky's division was absent. When Von Tempsky was shot, 
 Captain McDonell had told Captain Buck to retreat, but had 
 returned to his brother without knowing of Buck's immediate 
 death. Colonel McDonell thought of fighting his way back, to 
 relieve his comrades, but Rangihiwinui suggested that as the 
 main body of the enemy had pursued to Te Maru, Von Temp- 
 sky's men had an easier journey and more unmolested than 
 McDonell's. The retreat was continued, and Titokowaru pursued 
 until darkness set in. As Colonel McDonell reached the open 
 ground the Maoris fired a parting volley, and on the edge of the' 
 forest danced a war-dance, which the English disturbed with 
 their rifles. At nine o'clock in the evening McDonell's division 
 were in the Waihi redoubt, whither about 40 of the rifle corps 
 had preceded him, having fled (when Von Tempsky was shot) 
 and reported the destruction of the force. The European IOLS 
 was reported at once as 22 killed, 25 wounded, and 2 missing. 
 The enemy's loss could only be guessed at. It was thought that 
 Rangihiwinui' s men had killed 15, and that the European forces 
 had killed 13. The English dead were left behind. McDonell 
 said he could not speak too highly of Rangihiwinui and his men, 
 none of whom, strange to say, were killed. Trained to bush- 
 warfare they kept apart from one another, while the English 
 could not be prevented from collecting in groups which afforded 
 a mark for the enemy. About 80 Europeans were left under 
 Roberts, and were pursued till night. Then under the guidance 
 of a chief, Pehira Turei, after waiting for the rising of the 
 moon they found their way, and gladdened McDonell's heart by 
 arriving safely in the morning 1 meeting a band of Rangihiwinui's 
 
 1 The text is compiled mainly from official reports. In Colonel McDonell's 
 pamphlet (1869) he says, that having directed the native contingent, who 
 were " heavily engaged " in the rear, to move in a parallel line on his left 
 flank, he gave the word to move off. " The enemies' fire increased, and our 
 casualties increased also. ... I presumed Von Tempsky was following 
 in our rear (McDonell had informed Von Tempsky of the directions given 
 to the native contingent), when some of his men rushed up crying out that 
 be and the other officers were killed." Proceeding to the rear he learned 
 the truth. " I would have gone further back to see if I could do any good, 
 
 I I 2
 
 484 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 men who had started in search of them. The alacrity of the 
 Maoris was the more highly esteemed at the time, because their 
 great chief, Hori te Anaua, had recently died, and it was not 
 customary to devote to war the season appropriated to grief. 
 They economized their time by robbing themselves of sleep. 
 They kept up a tangi or wailing for the dead throughout the 
 night, and in the morning sallied forth in search for Roberts. 
 
 Colonel McDonell's published defence pleaded that "the 
 drunkenness which demoralized 1 some men of my force after 
 the defeat, and for which I was censured, arose out of the 
 recklessness of the men who had bolted, and the action 
 of the Taranaki Government." The fact that by McDonell's 
 wrong-doing at Pokaikai, and in conjunction with Booth at 
 Te Ngutu-o-te-manu, the conflict with Titokowaru had been 
 brought about, neither McDonell nor his employers thought it 
 convenient to admit. There was alarm and wrath at Wellington, 
 
 but the enemy still attacked our rear. ... I accordingly pushed on. . . . 
 Inspector Roberts, who fortunately did not follow our track, escaped the 
 enemy, camped in the bush for the night (with his party), and reached 
 Waihi the next morning. . . . The men who had bolted into camp were 
 for the most part drunk when I arrived. . . . The drunkenness which 
 demoralized some men of my force after the defeat, and for which I was 
 censured, arose out of the recklessness of the men who had bolted, and the 
 action of the Taranaki Government. To raise a revenue they had passed 
 a Bottle Bill, under which every "storekeeper in that province on paying 
 the licence fee could sell liquor by the bottle. . . . Ministers refused to 
 grant me power (to close those grog-shops). . . . One Government opened 
 the flood-gates of intemperance, the other refused me the power to shut 
 them. . . ." (The Wanganui native contingent) " during the many years 
 they served under me fought cheerfully and bravely, and I never had cause 
 to doubt either their courage or their loyalty." McDonell attributed the 
 disasters to the Pokaikai Commission false economy and bad instructions 
 from the Defence Minister, Colonel Haultain, in " urging the second attack 
 upon Te Ngutu-o-te-manu," &c., &c. 
 
 1 Mr. Fitzgerald, in a published letter (1870) on the self-reliant policy of 
 the colony, thus described the state of affairs : " Titokowaru had not, it is 
 admitted, above 80 men with him when he began. . . . The head-quarters 
 at Patea were a scene of perpetual drunkenness and debauchery which 
 would have destroyed the discipline of the best soldiers in the world." 
 Mr. Fitzgerald still advocated the Weld policy of self-reliance, but main- 
 tained that the Waitara war was unrighteous, and was undertaken with 
 the assent of the colonists, whose clamour drowned the voices of such men 
 aR " Sir William Martin and some few others who tried to stem the tide of 
 popular feeling in favour of war."
 
 ALARM AT WANGANUI. 485 
 
 and McDonell's dismissal was demanded. Colonel Whitmore 
 deprecated indecent haste in expelling a man against whom 
 the accredited but unexamined charges rested mainly on mis- 
 behaving subordinates of his corps. By Colonel Whitmore's 
 advice the Defence Minister, Colonel Haultain, removed to 
 the west coast a division of armed constabulary stationed at 
 Napier, and thus partially reassured the minds of dwellers at 
 Patea and Wanganui. Whitmore generously offered to serve 
 under McDonell (though his junior) until final arrangements 
 could be made. Colonel Haultain accepted the offer, and, 
 although a member of the Assembly, then in session, pro- 
 ceeded to the scene of disorder and defeat. There only large 
 bodies of Europeans dared to move between Waihi and Patea. 
 There also the Wanganui men were found disgusted with the 
 state of affairs. Lieutenant Gudgeon avers that though they 
 pleaded the necessity of attending to their crops and to a tribal 
 ceremony, they were in truth, like the Europeans, " cowed " by 
 Titokowaru, but they really distrusted the capacity of the 
 Commander-in-Chief. After an unsuccessful effort to tempt 
 the enemy from a position at Taiporohenui, Colonel Haultain 
 deemed it necessary to withdraw the advanced posts from 
 Waihi and mass his force at Patea in the end of September. 
 The former was too near the lair of Titokowaru to be deemed 
 safe. Rangihiwinui and his men returned to their homes at 
 Wanganui. That which had made the Government anxious 
 had made Titokowaru bold. He had acquired valuable arms 
 from the Europeans slain in the Ngutu-o-te-manu forest. His 
 "mana" was exalted, and he gained recruits. He devastated 
 the homes of the settlers and advanced to Patea. Terror 
 reigned in Wangauui. Four companies of militia were called 
 out for active service, but refused to go "to the front unless 
 their houses and families were placed in security by the pre- 
 sence of a detachment of regular troops." There was consola- 
 tion only in one quarter. Rangihiwinui's men had gone home 
 to attend to their cultivations. When Colonel McDonell called 
 for the native contingent, 300 men responded promptly, and 
 entrenched themselves as required, at Weraroa. 
 
 The magistrates met at Wanganui on the 29th September, 
 Mete Kingi Paetahi being present, and declared that there was
 
 486 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 absolute necessity for the presence of a body of Imperial troops 
 in the town. But for the native contingent, Titokowaru might 
 have sacked the town and swept the coast. On the 1st Octo- 
 ber, the Colonel of the militia urgently appealed to the Govern- 
 ment. Troops were necessary, and during such a crisis the 
 presence of a Minister would be desirable. On the 2nd Octo- 
 ber, Mr. Stafford moved, without notice, that the removal of the 
 troops would foster rebellion and discourage the loyal ; that the 
 colony was "virtually fulfilling" the conditions 1 under which 
 Earl Carnarvon had (1st December, 1866) sanctioned the reten- 
 tion of a regiment, and that the Governor be respectfully asked 
 "to take steps to delay the departure of the 18th Regiment 
 until the subject shall be referred to the Imperial^Government." 
 Mr. Fox, the leader of the Opposition, seconded the motion. 
 Verbal amendments were moved and rejected. Mr. Stafford's 
 motion was carried. Mete Kingi Paetahi voted for it. He, a 
 Wanganui man, was for thorough measures. In a former debate 
 he had warned the House that, wherever imprisoned, Maoris 
 would break from their guard : " Although you imprison them 
 and wish to hold them till they repent, nevertheless I fear they 
 will not repent. You saw how those captured at Weraroa acted. 
 I brought them here. They were imprisoned in a ship. They 
 soon swam ashore and escaped. Then you, thinking that the 
 prison-ship had been too near the shore, were minded to send 
 prisoners, afterwards captured, to the Chatham Islands, 300 
 miles distant from New Zealand ; but lo ! they seized a vessel 
 and came back to this island. Judge ye then the mind of the 
 Maori people. If you send Maoris as prisoners to England, I 
 warn you that they will probably get possession of a ship and 
 
 1 The condition proposed by Earl Carnarvon in 1866 was that the regi- 
 ment might be detained "in case the grant of 50,000 per annum for 
 native purposes shall be continued." Mr. Stafford, on the 15th March, 
 1867, handed to Sir George Grey a ministerial memorandum " declining to 
 accede to the proposed conditions." Some of the reasons alleged were 
 connected with the relative positions of the Governor and the General, but 
 the declining of the terms was absolute. In what way the condition was 
 "virtually fulfilled " in 1868, it would be hard even to guess. Returns laid 
 on the table of the House, in 1869 (B. No. 2, Table R.) showed that in no 
 one year after 1864-5 had the sum of 50,000 been devoted to native 
 purposes. In the year 1867-8 the sum set down was 24,316 3a. 6d. Yet 
 the term " native purposes" had been made elastic.
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN ASSEMBLY. 487 
 
 return to New Zealand." Sir George Bovven urged the officer 
 in command at Wellington to treat the case as one of urgent 
 necessity which justified him, under the Queen's Regulations, 
 in communicating with a subordinate officer in the absence of 
 his superior. Two companies were at once detached to Wan- 
 ganui. To General Chute Sir George Bowen apologized for 
 what he had done, but declared that the emergency which had 
 arisen "overrode all general rules." The Minister for Native 
 Affairs (J. C. Richmond) assured the Governor that no efforts 
 would be spared which in the depressed condition of the colony 
 were within its means, but his minute evinced that the alarm 
 in the provinces was not unshared by the Ministry, for he said 
 that " a general rising of the Hau Hau tribes might take place 
 any day." Tawhiao had not lent his influence to the fanatics, 
 but he was beset by turbulent advisers. No further fighting 
 took place while the Assembly was in session. It was felt that 
 Mete Kingi Paetahi and Rangihiwinui had at Wanganui saved 
 the State. To them the natives looked up after the death of 
 the old chief, Hori Kingi Te Anaua. But for them Titokowaru 
 would have glutted his ire in one of the oldest settlements in 
 the islands. 
 
 A petition from the Ngapuhi was described by the Public 
 Petitions Committee as the dawn of a new era in the lifa of the 
 native race. The tribe claimed equal law for Maori and European ; 
 they resolved to assist the magistrate when called upon to arrest 
 an offender. They declared that nothing was so beneficial as 
 education in restraining the commission of crimes ; " therefore 
 schools for Maori children should be established, whereas there is 
 not a single Maori school from the town of Auckland to the North 
 Cape." The glowing phrases of the Public Petitions Committee 
 were embodied in a motion, but the Representatives only consented 
 to say that the presentation of the petition was highly satis- 
 factory. They agreed, however, that " a practical response " should 
 be accorded. But friendly communication with the ever-friendly 
 Ngapuhi did not smooth rough places at Wanganui. Colonel 
 McDonell was made a scapegoat and obtained leave of absence. 
 Colonel Whitmore assumed the command. When Mr. Stafford 
 argued in the Assembly that the colony had virtually fulfilled 
 the Earl of Carnarvon's stipulation for the expenditure of
 
 488 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 50,000 on native purposes, his memory was as idle as had been 
 the care of the Government for the friendly Maoris of the north. 
 The petition of the Ngapuhi, whose authenticity was vouched 
 by the Maori member for the northern district, was one of the 
 first-fruits of the Maori Representation Act. Although driven 
 by Titokowaru to combine with Mr. Stafford in the attempt to 
 retain Imperial soldiers, Mr. Fox relaxed no effort to seize the 
 helm of affairs. Beaten in the House in August, he moved in 
 Committee on the financial statement that " this House has no 
 confidence in the policy of the Government." In that arena 
 where deadly thrusts in argument neither kill nor disarm, inas- 
 much as a discomfited casuist can reiterate statements already 
 confuted, Mr. Fox battled for many days. When the Government 
 resolution was reported to the House the two sides tested their 
 strength in a division, which gave 37 votes to Mr. Stafford and 
 30 to Mr. Fox. The Government did not carry the whole of 
 their propositions, but in their main object to abolish the system 
 of provincial charges on the general revenue, and charge on the 
 Consolidated Fund, the Interest and Sinking Fund, on colonial 
 and provincial loans, the expenses of government, and of harbour 
 defences, they were successful. 
 
 Mr. McLean was an important ally to Mr. Fox. On the 16th 
 September, he moved that the House viewed with alarm the 
 condition in which the Government placed the colony " in rela- 
 tion to defence and native affairs." The fate of his motion was 
 put off from day to day. The House, meanwhile, reckless of 
 parliamentary usage, devoted itself to Bills on carrying news- 
 papers, distress and replevin, the claims of one John Jones, of 
 one George Green, protection of animals, public-houses, escheat, 
 bankruptcy, Civil Service, bakers and millers, weights and 
 measures, a Government-house site, juries, petty sessions, and 
 various other matters which would formerly, even in New Zea- 
 land, have given way to questions affecting the Government. 
 But the influx of a gold-seeking population, for the 'most part 
 intent on personal gain or aggrandizement, had overborne the 
 colonizing element of former days. The Middle Island had not 
 only furnished criminals and murderers whose deeds shocked 
 the community as a whole; it had returned legislators whose 
 aim was low, and. whose means were akin to their aim ; but who
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN ASSEMBLY. 489 
 
 were rapidly becoming a majority, and looked forward with hope 
 to a general election. The political gamester was on the watch 
 for the chances of the game. McLean's motion was decided upon 
 on the 26th September. The numbers for and against it were 
 equal. Thirty -two gazed at a like number of opponents, while 
 the Speaker gave his casting vote with the Noes. It was plain, 
 however, that Fox and Vogel were marshalling their forces, and 
 that the confidence reposed in McLean would lead to victory. 
 On the 30th September, Mr. Fox demanded an appeal to the 
 people, but was defeated by 33 votes against 24. Public meet- 
 ings were called in various places to demand a dissolution, and 
 many of Mr. Stafford's constituents at Nelson called upon him 
 to resign. The general opinion as to affairs at Wanganui is 
 shown by the fact that while the combatants were thus excited 
 against one another, the successes of Titokowaru made Mr. Fox 
 meekly second Mr. Stafford's proposition to retain the 18th 
 Regiment. The Government being allowed to proceed with its 
 estimates the session was closed in October. Eighty-one bills 
 were passed. Conspicuous among them was one to provide for 
 land endowment of a university to be afterwards established. 
 The Bill had been introduced by Dr. Pollen in the Council, and 
 was agreed to in both Houses without a division. A few days 
 before the end of the session Mr. Hall, who, in the absence of 
 Mr. Fitzherbert in England, made financial statements, earnestly 
 appealed to the Representatives for support against impending 
 dangers. He asked for 83,000 more than had been previously 
 provided for. " On the west coast we are in presence of a 
 formidable difficulty . . . dark clouds hang over other parts of 
 the colony . . . the difficulty has increased while Parliament 
 has been in session. ... If we do not shrink from whatever 
 sacrifices may be necessary, if we will for the time stay the 
 political and domestic strife by which we are now distracted, 
 and afford hearty support to whatever men for the time may 
 have the government of the country . . . but if we cannot 
 suspend our political wrangling . . . then I am. bound to say I 
 have the gloomiest forebodings for the future." The members 
 must have felt, as the student now sees, that such an appeal 
 would have been more fitly made on behalf of Mr. Stafford if 
 he had not, in 1865, unduly obstructed Mr. Weld in order to
 
 490 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 obtain possession of the Treasury benches. One thing stands 
 clear to sight. There was almost a panic when a Minister could 
 speak thus, and his propositions could be accepted by the 
 Representatives. On the 1st October, the newspapers published 
 the alarming statement that the Maori king was about to declare 
 war, and that Kereopa was mustering a band to join Titokowaru. 
 The Legislative Council had given indications of distrust in 
 the tendency of the Executive Government. Moulded by a 
 majority of the Lower House, a Ministry might induce a Governor 
 to create an equally plastic majority in the Upper House, of 
 which the members were nominated by him. A Committee was 
 appointed to report on the powers and privileges of the Council, 
 with a view " to extend its influence and preserve its independ- 
 ence." The Committee analyzed the composition of the second 
 chambers of other colonies. In former years the number of 
 members of the New Zealand Council had been limited. In 
 Governor Browne's reign the limit was 15. In 1861 Governor 
 Grey was instructed by the Duke of Newcastle not to appoint 
 more than 20. In 1862 the same nobleman withdrew the 
 limitation. Thereupon the Council, in an address to the Queen, 
 prayed that some limit should be imposed lest their independence 
 should be impaired. Three-fourths of the number of members 
 who sat in the Lower House should be the maximum of the 
 number in the other. The Duke of Newcastle saw no reason 
 for the exercise of a prerogative to limit the number of members 
 which the law of the colony did not limit. For his change of 
 opinion he alleged reasons which arraigned his former conduct. 
 By taking away a limitation he virtually paralyzed one branch 
 of the Legislature. He refused to undo a wrong he had 
 done, alleging that no New Zealand law compelled him to 
 do right. The Council endeavoured to legislate in 1865. In 
 1866 they passed a Bill to limit their numbers, but the Lower 
 House allowed it to lapse in Committee. In 1867 the Council 
 took up the subject, but were persuaded to leave it in the hands 
 of the Government. The Committee of 1868 recommended a 
 Bill to limit the number of members, and, further, that the 
 Government should be urged to submit important measures at 
 an earlier date than was habitual, the only remedy in the hands 
 of the Council being to refuse to entertain any Bills sent from
 
 THE TWO HOUSES. 491 
 
 the other Chamber at so late a period of the session as to forbid 
 mature consideration. The Bill to limit the number of members 
 was quashed (5th October) by postponement for six months in 
 the Lower House, the majority being 30 to 18. Four days 
 afterwards a Bill to apply the ballot to elections for the Lower 
 House was similarly shelved in the Council. Correspondence 
 was asked for to show that, in 1867, Mr. Stafford, in order to 
 carry a Bill, brought pressure to bear on members of Council 
 who were also holders of paid offices. Mr. Crawford, who held 
 other offices besides that of sheriff, had voted against the 
 Government, not from political predilections, but because he 
 shrunk with the instinct of a sheriff from accepting absolutely 
 and at large all provincial liabilities as a colonial burden. In a 
 friendly letter he explained his motives to Mr. Stafford. The 
 Houses adjusted their differences on the Bill by conferences, and 
 the session was closed before Mr. Stafford replied to Mr. Crawford's 
 letter. He had waited till the matter was decided, and did not 
 refer to the Bill. But as an opinion had been generally expressed 
 that there were too many officers of Government in the Council, 
 he wished to know whether Mr. Crawford would prefer to retain 
 his offices or his seat in the Council. The sheriff said that when 
 the two positions might be found incompatible he would elect 
 to retain his offices, and Mr. Stafford told him that his resignation 
 of his seat would be accepted; on which hint Mr. Crawford 
 resigned his seat. 
 
 The constitution of the Upper House and its ductility were 
 becoming serious questions to Mr. Stafford. The onward progress 
 of the ordinary revenue had been checked. In the customs 
 receipts there was a deficiency of 80,000. A member of the 
 Council, Colonel Russell, proposed, but could not carry, a motion 
 to consider the financial policy of the Government. Mr. Mantell, 
 besides obtaining a return which proved that the Maori prisoners 
 had been deported to and detained at the Chatham Islands 
 without warrant or authority of any kind, procured another 
 return, which revealed gross neglect. In 1865 it was arranged 
 (Mr. Weld being in office) that Bills specially affecting the 
 Maoris should be translated and printed in Maori for their 
 information. Mr. Stafford became Premier in October, 1865. 
 The return showed that after July, 1865, no Bill had been
 
 492 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 translated and printed for Maori information. The Native 
 Lands Act 1865, the Native Schools Act 1867, and the Maori 
 Representation Act 1867, were the only documents which the 
 Stafford Government had condescended to circulate among those 
 for whose behoof they were enacted. 
 
 After the successes of Titokowaru the Council resolved (8th 
 October) to address the Queen. They urged that colonial 
 responsibility had only been accepted in reliance on the future 
 co-operation of the Imperial Government, and that if their 
 equitable claims should not be recognized, a Commissioner ought 
 to be sent from England to inquire into their grievances. The 
 Address, laid on the table on the 14th October, was never adopted. 
 Colonel Russell, its framer, on the second day of debate withdrew 
 his motion on the subject. It had stated that the withdrawal 
 of troops had created in the minds of both loyal and rebel natives 
 a feeling that the colonists were condemned and abandoned by 
 the Queen, and that should such feeling become general a war 
 of races might ensue, in which the English would be exposed to 
 easy aggression, and the Maori would " be fierce and elated, with 
 little to lose, and secure of refuge in swamp and forest." 
 
 In October, a Civil Commisssioner reported that on the Upper 
 Thames and Waikato districts the Hau Haus were so jubilant 
 as to tell him to his face that Titokowaru would regain the 
 whole country; while friendly natives were abashed, and half 
 inclined to believe in the invincibility of the rebels. It was 
 rumoured that cannibal orgies had been held over the victims 
 at Ngutu-o-te-manu, and that human flesh had been sent to the 
 Maori king ; but that he indignantly rejected the offering. War, 
 massacre, and devouring of human flesh became, if not topics of 
 common speech, subjects of common thought. Englishmen living 
 at home in ease could scarcely picture to themselves the state of 
 affairs. Orders for the withdrawal of the last English soldier 
 were in the colony. Military settlers were compelled to be 
 always armed, but did not feel secure from surprise. It had 
 been the custom to issue to friendly natives a supply of arms, to 
 be returned to the Government when fighting had ceased. The 
 issues of such arms had been, at Taranaki, 172 ; Bay of Plenty, 
 316 ; Auckland, 187 ; Wanganui, 725 ; East Coast, 2209 = 3609. 
 They had not in all cases been returned at the end of a campaign,
 
 COLONEL WHITMORE AND TITOKOWARU. 493 
 
 though closely inquired for. The weapons of the Maoris in 
 former wars had been common guns. Te Kooti had rifles, and 
 no man knew how many Titokowaru had secured. Ammunition 
 was difficult to procure, but by picking up hostile bullets inter- 
 cepted by earth-works and otherwise, by moulding lead, by 
 using broken nails or pebbles, by rough manufacture of bad 
 gunpowder, the Maori had hitherto maintained some kind of 
 supply. Where a raid might be made could not be predicted, and 
 when made it could not be speedily reported to Wellington. The 
 Maori king was supposed to have at his disposal more than 1500 
 armed men. While the country in which he had laboured for 
 more than a quarter of a century was thus distracted, Bishop 
 Selwyn bid it farewell. Had he been listened to in 1860, New 
 Zealand might not have been rent by war and blotted by 
 massacre. He did not recriminate, but, in reply to an important 
 address, trusted that he might soon hear of reconciliation, and 
 " that New Zealand may again exhibit the blessed sight of the 
 Maori and the English growing up together as one nation in 
 the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in dutiful allegiance to 
 the Queen." The experience of recent years hardly warranted 
 such a hope. Only inability to do wrong afforded prospect that 
 a New Zealand Ministry would do right. 
 
 At this period the Government thought it advisable to enter 
 into friendly negotiation with the Maori potentate, whose very 
 name had been denounced by the Stafford Ministry in 1860 as 
 intolerable. The Native Minister, Mr. J. C. Richmond, hoped 
 that an interview between the Governor and Tawhiao might be 
 brought about. Meanwhile (October, 1869), Colonel Whitmore 
 marched against Titokowaru, who was supposed to have more 
 than 500 men. With 450 friendly natives Colonel Whitmore 
 advanced to Patea, but could not bring Titokowaru to action on 
 the open ground. Rangihiwinui reconnoitred, and found that 
 the enemy was at Moturoa, an inland settlement not far from 
 Patea. Mete Kingi wrote from Patea to Sir George Bowen. 
 He was devising plans with Rangihiwinui for the campaign. 
 They would soon extinguish (cover up as with a lid) Titokowaru's 
 pah, if the roads were not bad. He had heard from the Maori 
 king, and sent enigmatical letters, which seemed to imply 
 peaceful intentions. Mete Kingi wished the Governor to visit
 
 494 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Patea. The death of Hori Kingi had left it doubtful whether the 
 chieftainship should belong to Mete Kingi or to Rangihiwinui ; 
 and Colonel Whitmore was about to complain of the apathy or 
 cowardice of Maoris not under Rangihiwinui's influence. On 
 the 7th November, Colonel Whitmore marched from his head- 
 quarters at Wairoa to attack Titokowaru at Moturoa, a village 
 situated on a cleared space under a slope covered with forest. 
 To Rangihiwinui was assigned the most important task. Through 
 the forest he made a circuit, which brought him to the rear of 
 the village. Colonel Whitmore marched forward by the road. 
 Rangihiwinui, with 50 Maoris and a few constabulary, was to 
 attack the rear as soon as Whitmore' s force reached the front. 
 After continuous firing, the rear attack seemed to Colonel 
 Whitmore for a moment successful, and with a cheer Major 
 Hunter led the storming party in front. But by a shot from the 
 bush he fell, and in spite of the commander's efforts the whole 
 force was driven off, with a loss of 9 killed, 19 wounded, and 
 8 missing. Colonel Whitmore had relied on the support of 
 Maoris behind him, and of 100 more upon his right, but 
 complained that, either from treachery or from cowardice, his 
 " wretched allies " (with the exception of those under Rangihi- 
 winui) refused to aid him. The enemy pressed hard on the 
 retreat, but recoiled from the rapidity of the breech-loading 
 rifle fire. Rangihiwinui was the last to leave the scrub. His 
 European forces were commended highly by Colonel Whitmore. 
 Fresh from the field when he had retreated to his camp, he wrote 
 thus of " Kemp," as the English called Rangihiwinui : " His few 
 natives behaved admirably, undismayed by the continual arrival 
 of re-enforcements to the enemy, or the fact of our having lost an 
 officer ... of the 80, only 50 with the chief Kemp, whose 
 gallantry, whose coolness, and whose determination to hold if 
 possible the post of honour, was evident throughout the day 
 behaved like men. ... If he had even 100 more natives the 
 village must have been taken." When a chief was shot, " Hunia 
 at the head of his companions fled precipitately,'' and left the 
 wounded man. " Kemp was standing conspicuously on the 
 parapet, defying the Hau Haus, when this disgraceful scene 
 occurred. Kemp called one of his men, and they bore their 
 countryman from the field. Bullying and insolent and braggart
 
 RANGIHIWINUI. 495 
 
 as Hunia has always been where he dared, on this occasion he 
 had no voice to speak. On the other hand, Kemp, whose 
 behaviour was beyond all praise, has the most to regret in the 
 conduct of his followers. Certainly, had he known that one 
 European was missing, he would have gone back at the last 
 moment to fetch him, or (as it seemed to me) to die. For his 
 sake I will say no more on the subject, and have foreborne to 
 say one hard word to the inferior chiefs." l Colonel Whitmore 
 asked for more Europeans. He applauded the gallant conduct 
 of Sub-Inspectors Newland, Goring, McDonell, and Roberts, 
 Captains Gilling, O'Halloran, and Hawes, Dr. Brown, Captain 
 Gudgeon, Mr. McDonell, Inspector Gumming, and Mr. Forster> 
 but he could not lay down his pen without paying a final tribute 
 to Te Kepa Rangihiwinui. " Lastly, Captain Kemp, brave, 
 modest, and generous in all his conduct on this occasion ; who 
 never boasted before the fight ; who has cast no reproaches after 
 it; who has shown every officer that he is endued with great 
 capacity for military operations ; who has exhibited to every man 
 of the force that a Maori chief can manifest a calm, deliberate 
 courage in no way inferior to his own ; who has laid up for himself 
 in the hearts of many of the force the gratitude of the men who 
 received a comrade's help in the moment of need, and who has 
 tried hard to redeem the forfeited reputation of his tribe this 
 officer and chief merits a full recognition on my part of his 
 deserts." Colonel Whitmore, being unable to speak Maori, was 
 at great disadvantage in consulting with the chiefs. Investi- 
 gation by those acquainted with the native language and 
 character imputed the want of concert at Moturoa partly to 
 misunderstandings between Colonel Whitmore and certain 
 chiefs, and partly to jealousies amongst the latter springing from 
 
 1 Lieutenant Gudgeon gives a different version. " Seventy men followed 
 Rangihiwinui, and the remainder would have done so, had not Colonel 
 Whitmore in his ignorance of Maori customs stopped a young chief, and 
 ordered him to hold a position on the right to prevent any flanking move- 
 ment on the part of the enemy. This irritated the main body, who said : 
 4 If all of us may not go into the fight, none of us will.' Consequently 300 
 men remained outside the bush and never fired a shot. Had they gone 
 on, the pah, strong as it was, might have been surrounded and the enemy 
 starved out" (' Reminiscences of the War in New Zealand,' p. 198). Mr. 
 Gudgeon's surmise may have been sanguine, but at least it is clear that the 
 Wanganui men had cause to distrust their European commander.
 
 496 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 doubts whether, after the death of Hori Kingi te Anaua, the 
 tribal guidance devolved on Mete Kingi or on Bangihiwinui, 
 whom Sir George Bowen described in his despatches as the 
 Ulysses and Achilles of the Maoris. But Mete Kingi spoke in 
 the name of all the tribes when he said they were willing to 
 fight if properly commanded, though they refused to be led 
 foolishly to the slaughter. They had no confidence in Colonel 
 Whitmore. The day after the battle the whole of the native 
 contingent broke up their camp, and returned to their homes at 
 "Wanganui. Thus, twice had Titokowaru triumphed, and Colonel 
 Whitmore was almost a general without an army. It was 
 because the militia had refused to go to the front that the force 
 at Moturoa was chiefly composed of Maoris ; and now the chiefs 
 were sulking in their tents. If there had been alarm before, 
 there was now consternation in Wellington, where the tidings 
 arrived on the 10th November. 
 
 While the public mind was striving to master the situation, 
 and resolve what ought to be done to remedy defeat in the west, 
 a shudder of horror was sent to all hearts by tidings that in the 
 east, Te Kooti Rikirangi, having placed women and children in 
 safety in the hills, had descended like a wolf upon Poverty Bay, 
 and before dawn on the 10th November had massacred every man, 
 woman, and child whom he could seize. It was said that, from 
 their lair in the hills the robbers had come down so famished 
 that some died on the road. There had been no warning. 
 There had been apprehension of an attack in the Wairoa district, 
 south of the track by which Te Kooti had fought his way to the 
 hills. Major Biggs had received authority to place an officer with 
 nine men to guard, and act as scouts, between Poverty Bay and 
 Te Reinga. The officer (Gascoigne) extended his inquiry towards 
 the north, where a Maori track led from Ngatapa to Poverty 
 Bay. Biggs thought the labour superfluous. Donald McLean's 
 influence had been used in enlisting a large force. Six hundred 
 Maoris, of the Ngatikahungunu, Ngatiporou, and Wairoa tribes 
 were to march under Colonel Lambert from Wairoa. They 
 marched within 20 miles of Puketapu, but returned without 
 encountering Te Kooti. He was on the track to Poverty Bay, 
 which Biggs thought it needless to guard. In the watches of 
 the night Te Kooti and his myrmidons pounced on their victims.
 
 . MASSACRE AT POVERTY BAY. 497 
 
 Major Biggs, who had demanded Te Kooti's arms when he landed, 
 challenged some sound which he heard, and was instantly 
 wounded. He retired for his gun, and while loading it was 
 again shot, and fell. He implored his wife to fly, but she 
 determined to remain by his side. Her heroism was equalled 
 by that of a servant, who refused to leave her mistress. A boy, 
 one of the few who escaped, told the tale. Though the house 
 was surrounded, by crawling under a platform in the uncertain 
 light he reached the scrub, from which he saw a Maori beating 
 out with the butt-end of his musket the brains of Major Biggs. 
 The houses at Poverty Bay were scattered. From one the 
 inmates, warned by the boy, ran with the strength of despair : 
 weak women carrying children, and reaching Turanga, six miles 
 distant, by five o'clock. Fire followed slaughter. A strange 
 contrast was there. While murder stalked from house to house, 
 an old man slept soundly in a little hut, and rising after dawn 
 "to help Hyperion to his horse," was proceeding to milk his 
 cows, when he found his footsteps amongst the bodies of the 
 dead. He ran in horror to a house he knew, and found dead 
 bodies there. Unseen by the triumphant savages, he fled to 
 Turanga, and there overtook the other refugees. At the house 
 of Captain Wilson (late military settler) the murderers had found 
 the door barred, and fire was applied. The captured inmates were 
 led some distance before the work of slaughter began. Mrs. 
 Wilson fell wounded, and apparently dead, as her husband was 
 bayoneted. After long swoon she saw around her the bodies of her 
 husband and three children and a man-servant. One boy, eight 
 years old, was missing. She lay there all day, during which an 
 old -Maori, Hori Warakihi, passed and took away her shawl. On 
 the following day she crawled back to her old home, and ensconced 
 herself in an outhouse, with nothing to refresh her except water 
 in a small tea-kettle. On the third day her missing boy 
 gladdened her sight. When his father was killed, he scrambled 
 away, unseen or despised. He had sense enough to endeavour 
 to hide. In the undisturbed hut of the old man who had slept 
 through the massacre, he found food which he thought " it would 
 not exactly be stealing to eat." He found a bed in the house 
 from which the women had fled to Turanga, and though Maoris 
 entered while he was there they did not discover him. On 
 
 VOL. II. K K
 
 498 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Wednesday he was hidden in a sweetbriar bush, " the best place 
 
 he ever saw to hide in." That day he saw the murderers set 
 
 fire to the houses as yet unburnt. He strayed towards his old 
 
 home, and saw the bodies of his father, brother, sisters, and the 
 
 man-servant. "He thought the Maoris must have taken his 
 
 mother to eat her as she was not there." He wandered to 
 
 Toanga, where the Maori, Hori Warakihi, whom he knew, gave 
 
 him bread and meat. On Thursday he mechanically recurred 
 
 to the desolate home, and found his wondering mother. The 
 
 fowls had not fled. He found some eggs. They had no fire. 
 
 He went back to Hori Warakihi, and the old man gave him 
 
 potatoes. The suffering woman sent the child to obtain fire 
 
 from the houses recently in flames. Food being thus obtained, 
 
 woman's wit went to work. The savages were still in full career. 
 
 On a card, after four hours' struggle with weakness, she wrote : 
 
 " Could some kind friend come to our help, for God's sake. I 
 
 am very much wounded, lying at a little house in our place. 
 
 My poor son James is with me. Come quick. ALICE WILSON. 
 
 We have little or no clothing, and are in dreadful suffering." 
 
 Several bayonet-wounds and blows had been borne by the 
 
 desolate creature, whose child was to bear her message through 
 
 murderers red with the blood of her house, and btisy in finding 
 
 and murdering their countrymen loyal to the Queen. Twice 
 
 the poor boy failed to find his way. A third time he saw a dog 
 
 which he knew. He followed it as it trotted before him towards 
 
 Turanga. Two miles from the fort he met some reconnoitring 
 
 friends, and he hid in the bush, fearing they were Maoris. The 
 
 dog barked, and the child was discovered. The child and 
 
 mother had then been seven days in starvation and torment. 
 
 The widowed and child-bereft woman was taken to Napier, but 
 
 no kind care sufficed to cure her wounds. Te Kooti had murdered 
 
 many, but not all the Turanga Maoris. He invited all to join 
 
 him. Many did so. He retired but a short distance. Rumour 
 
 multiplied his followers, who were said to be 600. Thirty-two 
 
 whites and a larger number of Maoris had fallen before he 
 
 retraced his steps. The few surviving English were gathered in 
 
 the redoubt at Turanga. A small vessel carried some to Napier. 
 
 Volunteers sailed thence, and in a few days 30 Europeans and 
 
 220 Maoris, Ngatiporou and others, were assembled at Turanga.
 
 ROPATA AT MAKARETU. 499 
 
 The Ngatiporou, applied to for more help, declined to leave 
 their homes unguarded, and sent only 37 additional men ; but 
 on learning that Te Kooti had been murdering the Maoris, 
 220 more sailed at once. A mixed force, composed chiefly of 
 Ngatikahungunu, marched forward under Lieutenant Gascoigne, 
 and at Patutahi and Makaretu had much skirmishing. They 
 received their supplies by means of pack-horses, and the wily 
 Te Kooti, while engaging his enemy in front, detached a strong 
 party to cut off a convoy. He seized eight kegs of ammunition 
 and more food than the robbers could carry. Gascoigne's men were 
 fearful for their communications, and anxiously waited the arrival 
 of Ropata, who was on the march from Wairoa, and joined the 
 force in the beginning of December. A council of war was held, 
 and it was resolved by the chiefs to drive Te Kooti from the 
 rifle-pitted hill on which he had held his pursuers at bay. Till 
 Ropata and his dreaded warriors were close to their lines the 
 Hau Haus held their position at Makaretu, but then turned and 
 fled, leaving plunder to their foes. Thirty-seven Hau Haus 
 were killed. Some of the wounded were despatched in cold 
 blood. The Ngatikahungunu offended the Ngatiporou by 
 sparing the lives of two prisoners related to themselves. In 
 the morning Ropata scanned the country in front, and descried 
 on the forest-crowned crest of Ngatapa, the mountain lair which 
 his enemy hoped to hold even from him. But Pakeha and 
 Maori believed in Ropata as in Rangihiwinui. 
 
 In less than nine years after the light-hearted robbery of 
 Rangitake the New Zealand Government were glad to ask aid 
 from chiefs who were more loyal to the treaty of Waitangi than 
 they were themselves. No one doubted that if they should 
 combine, the Maoris in the North Island could wreak their will 
 upon the settlers. Would sudden success in the east and the 
 west raise national hopes and spread the atrocious fanaticism of 
 the Hau Haus? The 'Wellington Independent' repeated its 
 nostrum (19th November). Rewards for extinction of the 
 enemy should be offered " to Maoris and Europeans alike, and 
 should not be paid except on the production of the head. These 
 savages should be dealt with as wild beasts which, unless exter- 
 minated, render the colonization of a country impossible." Sir 
 George Bowen's official despatches reveal the public alarm. 
 
 K K 2
 
 500 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 " Fears are generally expressed that all the English settlements 
 in the disturbed districts are in imminent danger. . . . Many 
 competent judges are of opinion that the presence and exhort- 
 ations of the Governor would afford the best chance of inducing 
 the Wanganui tribe to take up arms for the Queen, and of 
 securing the neutrality of other tribes now wavering in their 
 loyalty." Mr. Stafford accompanied the Governor overland to 
 Wanganui. Not now, as in 1860, to cast the lustre of the 
 Queen's representative on unlawful rapine from a loyal chief, 
 but with words of goodwill in his mouth, and alarm in his 
 heart, the same responsible Minister who signed the proclamation 
 of martial law at Taranaki attended a civilian Governor to 
 vivify those loyal sympathies which he had formerly done so 
 much to quench. At Waikanae Sir George Bowen conferred 
 with the chief Wi Tako, who journeyed with him to Otaki. 
 Again the old man addressed words of peace to his countrymen. 
 Most of them seemed to be Hau Haus, but not prepared to join 
 Titokowaru. But Sir George Bowen observed in them a gloomy 
 irresolution which might end in taking the side likely to be 
 successful. In the Rangitikei district he saw Mr. Fox, the former 
 Prime Minister, who with others had determined not to fly 
 from his home. RecLoubts and block-houses were ready at each 
 village, to receive women and children in time of need. All 
 adult males were enrolled and armed. As the Governor scanned 
 the thriving crops, divided by green hedges budding in the 
 spring, he sighed to think that the hand of the marauder might 
 in a moment scatter there the desolation which Titokowaru 
 had already inflicted at the north of Wanganui. Gathered at 
 Wanganui were the families whom Titokowaru had driven from 
 their homes. One night there was a cry that Titokowaru was 
 at hand. Crowds fled to the block-houses which even men 
 strove to enter for refuge, and the authorities were compelled to 
 bar them out and reserve the shelter for women and children. 
 The critical moment had come. The Maoris were to be appealed 
 to. Sir George Bowen visited their camp at Putiki on the 17th 
 November. Rangihiwinui escorted him across the river. Shouts 
 of welcome, the war-dance, and a feast, preceded conference. 
 Some chiefs cast blame on English officers, and there was 
 recrimination amongst the Maoris. The Governor extolled the
 
 ALARM AT WANGANUI. 501 
 
 loyalty of the Wanganui warriors in many a well-fought field 
 adjured them to treasure the last words of Hori Kingi te Anaua, 
 who bequeathed to them the duty of loyalty to the Queen, and 
 called on them to banish jealousy and strife, and once more fight 
 for the Queen and the law. Rangihiwinui stepped forth and 
 declared his readiness to lead a new " taua," or war-party, enrolled 
 for permanent service for the Queen. Other chiefs followed his 
 example. Sir George Bowen did not fail to urge that the 
 removal of troops at such a crisis would be disastrous, and that 
 another battalion should be sent to New Zealand. Earl Gran- 
 ville, with cynical self-consciousness, answered : " It appears to 
 me at this distance that you over-rate the magnitude of the 
 danger of the colony." More than six hundred " wives, mothers, 
 and daughters " of the Wanganui settlers made piteous wail to 
 the Queen, imploring that Imperial troops might be left to 
 guard them, and " avert their extinction." On Earl Granville 
 was devolved the task of informing the petitioners that the 
 Queen felt warm sympathy for them, but that he was unable to 
 advise compliance with their prayer. 
 
 There was a strange cry from the far south where no danger 
 to life was in question. Mr. Macandrew, Superintendent of 
 Otago, demanded Imperial help. " Self-reliant policy has failed. 
 . . . The colonists regard the wars with the Maoris as matters 
 of Imperial concern ; they did not come to New Zealand to 
 fight the Maoris : . . . they had no notion but that the rebellious 
 Maoris must be subdued by paid soldiers, supplemented by the 
 local militia." The Governor ought to use the extreme powers 
 submitted to him and summon the Imperial troops, or to dissolve 
 the Assembly and " have a fresh election " to convince him that 
 the great majority of the " colonists disclaim being a party to 
 the insult which is shown to the empire in refusing to use 
 Imperial troops to assert Her Majesty's sovereignty, and to 
 protect the lives and properties of British subjects from the 
 atrocities of fanatic cannibals." Macandrew wished his letter to 
 be sent to England for "submission to Her Majesty." The 
 Queen, if she had known the facts, might have sighed, with 
 Shakspeare's heroine, at the fantastic tricks which the angry 
 ape of Otago was anxious to play with the thunderbolts of war. 
 
 Colonel Whitmore having received levies of about 250 men
 
 502 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 from Auckland, placed garrisons in suitable posts, making his 
 line of defence at the south of the Kai Iwi stream. Patea was 
 held by 200 men, and the Wairoa redoubt by 60 settlers. The 
 Weraroa pah in which the Hau Haus successfully defied General 
 Cameron was abandoned to the conquering Titokowaru. He 
 was in force at Nukumaru on the Wanganui side of Weraroa, 
 and only a few miles from the English line of defence at the 
 Kai Iwi, but was too politic to encounter superior weapons in the 
 field. He wrote to Colonel Whitmore : " England was for the 
 Pakeha, New Zealand for the Maori. Bethink you there has 
 been fixed between you and us a great gulf, even the ocean. 
 Why did you not take thought before you crossed over hither ? 
 We did not cross from hence over to you. Away with you from 
 our country to your own country in the midst of the ocean." 
 " Arise, and be baptized, and let your sins be washed away, calling 
 upon the name of the Lord." The irritated Lieut.-Col. Herrick, 
 with the connivance of Mr. Booth, a resident magistrate 
 unable to punish Titokowaru, seized his two messengers who had 
 been received under a flag of truce. 1 They were imprisoned at 
 Wanganui. But Whitmore was not satisfied with his own country- 
 men there. They were not making the sacrifices requisite to 
 success in a campaign in the difficult country between Wanganui 
 and Patea. If the rumours of the Maori king's intention to 
 display his war-standard were true, no offensive movement by 
 the English could be possible. Although Titokowaru was 
 believed to have 500 men within a day's march from Wanganui, 
 Colonel Whitmore advised that the town should only be held 
 defensively, and that a strong expedition should be sent to the 
 east coast to deal summarily with Te Kooti red-handed from the 
 Poverty Bay murders, which the Ngatiporou chiefs were burning 
 to avenge. Mr. Parris reported from Taranaki that Te Rangi- 
 take and Hapurona had set their faces like flint against proposals 
 that they should side with Titokowaru. Waitara was therefore 
 safe. Te Whiti was reported by Parris as peaceful and influen- 
 tial for good. As Sir George Bowen had informed the Secretary 
 of State that " The attempt to occupy the confiscated lands at 
 Patea and Opotiki has been probably the immediate cause of 
 
 1 Those who violated the flag of truce did not conceal but reported the 
 fact (N. Z. P. P. 1869 ; A. No. 10).
 
 NEWSPAPERS DEMAND VENGEANCE. 503 
 
 the outbreak," it may be concluded that in the eyes of the 
 Maoris there was sufficient provocation for war, but that many 
 of them shrunk from the atrocities of Titokowaru. It is perhaps 
 charitable to presume that Sir G. Bowen had been kept in 
 ignorance of the illegal acts of Mr. Booth and Colonel McDonell 
 when he attributed no importance to the violence attempted 
 against Kohiri and committed against Ihaka. 
 
 Many reasons induced the Government to transfer active 
 operations to the east coast. Colonel Whitmore had failed to 
 inspire confidence amongst the forces in the west. Chiefs who 
 were indignant at his aspersions on some of them for cowardice 
 planned an expedition of their own. Colonel Haultain forbade 
 it. Mete Kingi at a conference (23rd November) defended the 
 Maoris for their unwillingness to be led by Colonel Whitmore. 
 They were ready to fight in their own way, and without pay, but 
 not to be led to a foolish slaughter like sheep. With a commander 
 unacceptable to the Maoris, and who condemned the backwardness 
 of the English, there was no prospect of immediate success at the 
 west. Recruiting officers had been sent to Australia, but as yet no 
 levies had been made. Colonel Whitmore went to the east. A 
 ship of war sailed to Tauranga, where the settlement could be 
 protected by ships. Sir George Bowen entreated the commodore 
 to retain at least two of his squadron, and besought General 
 Chute to visit the colony, to show that the fighting men of the 
 Queen were not careless about its fate. Men who run no per- 
 sonal risk are often ready to stir others to deeds of danger. To 
 them it seems as becoming for others to shed blood, as for them- 
 selves to spill ink. The crack-brained Smith O'Brien was 
 goaded on by writers who prophesied that Ireland was about to 
 " rise as a nation," and " kill and capture " the Saxon intruders. 
 He rose and became famous among the cabbages of Ballingarry. 
 Punishment fell upon him, but was avoided by conspirators who 
 from secure garrets had spurred, him on. The newspapers in 
 New Zealand were thorough in their demands. Rumours of 
 the bloodthirsty expressions of some colonists and of a portion 
 of the press in New Zealand reached England. The morality of 
 the ' Times ' was startled from slumber. " Abstinence from 
 excesses which would not be allowable in European warfare is 
 necessary for English honour, and any different policy would be
 
 504 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 intolerable." The enemies of the Maori were indignant with 
 the ' Times.' The ' Wellington Independent ' (26th November, 
 1868) declared : " If the Imperial Government were willing to 
 help us, and to crush that rebellion which has been the result of 
 its own bad faith in the past, then English opinion might be 
 entitled to some weight here as to the manner in which the 
 rebel natives might be dealt with. But when John Bull, 
 buttoning up his breeches-pocket, tells us, who are fighting for 
 our very existence against a merciless foe, that we are to be 
 very temperate and merciful, we naturally rejoin that he had 
 better mind his own business. We know very well what to do, 
 and how to do it." At a later date (17th December, 1868), it 
 seemed to admit that help was needed. " Let the mother 
 country give us money and arms to settle a difficulty mainly 
 brought about by Imperial mismanagement, and we venture to 
 predict that in our hands the New Zealand native rebellion will 
 soon be brought to an end." Nor was this fiery breath con- 
 fined to the press in Wellington. The ' Hawke's Bay Times ' 
 (December, 1868), speaking of rewards offered for prisoners, 
 declared : " The fatal clause which requires the rebels to be 
 brought in alive will completely nullify the effect intended. 
 Death on the spot is what they deserve, and will most likely 
 receive if they fall into our hands." 
 
 The literary cravers for blood were soon to be gratified on the 
 west and east coasts by events of which some were not officially 
 reported ; nor told in Mr. Gudgeon's ' Reminiscences of War.' 
 Lieutenant Bryce, who was in after years a Native Minister, 
 distinguished himself. Some women and young children 
 emerged from a pah to hunt pigs. Lieutenant Bryce and 
 Sergeant Maxwell of the Kai Iwi cavalry dashed upon them and 
 cut them down gleefully and with ease. This exploit will be 
 looked for in vain in Mr. Gudgeon's book, which records a " rash 
 and unfortunate affair,". in which, subsequently (28th December), 
 Sergeant Maxwell, riding up to Titokowaru's pah, Tauranga-ika, 
 was shot. 1 But the treatment of the children was not unknown. 
 Dr. Featherston, the Superintendent of the province of Welling- 
 ton, expressed his horror. Rangihiwinui declared that he would 
 
 1 In a return (N. Z. P. P. 1869 ; A. No. 3. G.) no such casualty is ascribed 
 to the 28th December. I am unable to reconcile the discrepancy.
 
 SUSPENSION OF CONSTITUTION TALKED OF. 505 
 
 not have joined the local forces if he had thought them capable 
 of such acts. He earned thereby the hatred of Bryce, who long 
 afterwards, when Native Minister, dismissed Rangihiwinui from 
 office. Bryce earned among the Maoris a title which clung to 
 him. They called him Kohuru (the murderer). 
 
 Sir George Bowen, hopeless of sympathy, wrote long de- 
 spatches. He enclosed a note from the Chief Justice, one 
 sentence of which spoke volumes. "The colony must brace 
 itself up to hold its own until the time arrives when the native 
 race may feel constrained to respect us in our strength as they 
 now despise us in our weakness." The Speaker, Sir David 
 Monro, publicly advocated a suspension of the Constitution in 
 the North Island. Let the Queen be asked to resume control 
 of native affairs. The colony had failed to cope with them. 
 Let the North Island be subject to an Imperial Commission. 
 When murderers marched amid the glare of burning home- 
 steads, there was no time for a " discordant Parliament to be 
 wrangling and coming to no result." The self-reliant policy 
 was, in the Speaker's opinion, impossible in a country where 
 provincial interests prevented unity and national spirit in the 
 Parliament. In reply, Mr. Fitzgerald (one of Mr. Weld's 
 Ministerial colleagues of 1865) deprecated the demand for 
 troops, but urged that England should furnish money and arms. 
 But Mr. Fitzgerald, the advocate of self-reliance, had misgivings 
 when he looked at the colonists of the day, worsened as they 
 were by the swarm of gold-seekers. " The men around one no 
 doubt talk glibly of their political privileges, but I doubt 
 whether they have the same deep love for liberty as had the 
 men of Massachusetts. . . . No one who reads the history of the 
 Pilgrim Fathers, and witnesses the events passing around him in 
 this colony, but must painfully feel conscious that the colonist 
 of the 19th century is in some respects a lower type of man than 
 his forefathers of the 16th." In January the Governor trans- 
 mitted to England a petition adopted at Auckland, praying for 
 the suspension of the Constitution as the only remedy for " the 
 evident incapacity of the Colonial Government." A petition from 
 Southland joined in the prayer that the Constitution might be 
 suspended. From north and south there was the same cry of 
 discontent, the same appeal for help. Sir George Bowen
 
 506 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 'implored for delay in removing the troops. In case of their 
 withdrawal many competent judges thought a general rising 
 probable, accompanied by tragedies dreadful as those of Delhi 
 and Cawnpore. He liberated his conscience by declaring that to 
 remove the soldiers at such a juncture would create in the minds 
 of the rebels such feelings as might have actuated Nana Sahib 
 and his fellow-mutineers, if, after the massacre at Cawnpore, the 
 English army had been withdrawn from India. Peace might be 
 hoped for on three conditions : A garrison of two battalions of 
 the line; prohibition of fresh settlements in insecure posi- 
 tions; a peaceful arrangement with Tawhiao not inconsistent 
 with the suzerainty of the Queen. Thus, after exhaustion of 
 blood and treasure, Sir William Denison's advice rejected in 
 May, 1860, by Governor Browne and his Ministry was forced 
 upon the same Premier in 1868, and with his consent was 
 recommended to the Crown. Earl Granville had but one song 
 to sing, and he hummed it at his leisure. Kereopa was far from 
 his fireside. The troops must be withdrawn. The other pro- 
 positions appeared to him judicious, but ,were for the Local 
 Government to decide upon. As to the meeting at which Sir 
 George Bowen addressed the chiefs of Wanganui, the Earl conde- 
 scendingly remarked : " I approve both of your proceeding thither, 
 and the language which you used to the assembled tribes." 
 
 The desire of the Representatives that the 18th Regiment 
 should be retained because the colony was " virtually fulfilling " 
 the condition imposed by Earl Carnarvon, was met with contra- 
 diction to the House, and rebuke to the Governor. The Colonial 
 Government had not, as the Governor supposed, signified their 
 acceptance of Lord Carnarvon's offer, and, even if they had, Earl 
 Granville was not in any case prepared to repeat it. He was 
 surprised at the Governor's statements, " which might have 
 greatly misled Her Majesty's Government." Before receiving 
 this discomforting despatch, Sir George Bowen endeavoured to 
 establish friendly relations with the Maori king. A Waikato 
 chief, Rapihana Otaota, was persuaded by Wi Tako to see the 
 Governor at Wellington. The Governor wanted to know if 
 Tawhiao would meet the Queen's son, who was expected to visit 
 New Zealand. Rapihana was doubtful. Sir George Bowen 
 asked if Tawhiao was aware that by his command Te Whero
 
 THE GOVERNMENT AND TAWHIAO. 507 
 
 Whero's tomb had been repaired. Rapihana said, Yes ; but that 
 Tawhiao grieved that a green-stone " m6r6 " buried at the foot 
 of the Ngaruawahia flagstaff had been removed, and was in the 
 hands of the Government. Sir George Bowen said the " mere " 
 had never been in possession of the Government. If they could 
 obtain it they would at once restore it to Tawhiao. 1 He asked 
 if Rapihana had any message, or what was the object of his 
 mission. Rapihana said he bore a message to Maoris. 1. The 
 sword is to be sheathed. 2. The leasing of land is to cease. 
 3. The selling of land is to cease. 4. The digging for gold is to 
 cease. He would like to know the Governor's opinion of the 
 message. Sir George Bowen, in startling incongruity with his 
 despatches, said, "The sword is sheathed." He bore words of 
 good-will from the Queen. He must punish Te Kooti and 
 Titokowaru, but desired peace with the amiable Tawhiao. 
 Rapihana said the first part of his message was its main object. 
 The other provisions related only to the king's territory. Tawhiao 
 had no sympathy with Te Kooti and Titokowaru. The Governor 
 
 1 The readiness with which promises were made, which were sometimes 
 not meant to be fulfilled, is exemplified in this instance. It has been seen 
 that the conquering Europeans were in the habit of rifling burial-grounds 
 and sacred places in search of treasures, or in the revelry of spoliation. 
 Ngaruawahia, occupied by General Cameron in 1864, had become the site of 
 a town appropriately named Newcastle, after the noble Lord who became an 
 accomplice after the fact in the deed which involved the Waikato tribes in 
 war. An innkeeper dug at the foot of the flagstaff of the Maori king, and 
 found there a mass of green-stone which the Maori artificers had begun to 
 shape into a mere. He intended to sell it. Mr. Searancke, a Government 
 official, demanded it The thief refused to yield it, and fearing that Mr. 
 Searancke would overcome his resistance, broke the green-stone into three 
 pieces. Sir George Bowen promised with effusion, in 1868, that it should be 
 restored. This he did through an interpreter, and his^words were officially 
 recorded. The reader might imagine that it was impossible to find the 
 relic. It was nothing of the kind. In 1879 it was in the Auckland 
 Museum. It bore this label : "Green-stone found at the base of the flag- 
 staff at Ngaruawahia; said to carry the 'mana' of the Waikato." The 
 three fragments were preserved. The stone had been about 14 inches long, 
 5 inches and a half wide, and an inch and a half thick. It might possibly 
 be pleaded that to restore the shattered symbol would have been an insult. 
 But if such humane motives prevented the restoration, the word of the 
 Governor ought not to have been pledged to it. In 1879 a member of 
 the Ministry was induced to visit the museum and read the label which 
 commemorates the vanquishing of Tawhiao, and the fragility of the word 
 of a Government.
 
 508 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 wished to see Tawhiao at Auckland or Wellington. Rapihana 
 wanted to know if the Governor would afterwards visit his king 
 at Tokangamutu. In such a case the Governor said he would 
 gladly visit Tawhiao as he had visited " other great Maori chiefs.'' 
 Rapihana declined to merge the royalty of his master, and drily 
 remarked that perhaps Tawhiao would shrink from seeing the 
 Governor inasmuch as the title of king had caused great trouble. 
 Sir George Bowen wrote a carefully-framed letter to Tawhiao. 
 He would cordially present his friend Tawhiao to the prince. 
 Tawhiao's advisers understood the value of his friendship. 
 While he preached peace to Rapihana, Colonel Whitmore was 
 on the brink of one of the most stirring incidents of Maori war. 
 
 When Ropata and Hotene, after chasing Te Kooti from 
 Makaretu on the 3rd December, saw the robber's eyrie perched 
 on the mountain peak Ngatapa, the allied Ngatikahungunu 
 under Tareha expressed a desire to attack the enemy forthwith. 
 Hotene, grieved at the mercy extended to the two prisoners who 
 had been spared, declared the omens bad, and it was only after 
 much persuasion that differences were so far reconciled by 
 Lieutenant Gascoigne and Mr. Preece, that the Ngatiporou 
 agreed to attack Ngatapa on the following day in concert with 
 Tareha. The latter, however, when informed of the arrange- 
 ment, declared that he had been insulted and should take his 
 men home, and he kept his word. Ropata, nevertheless, with 
 Mr. Preece, proceeded on the 5th December to the attack. 
 Wairoa natives under Ihaka Whanga accompanied Preece. An 
 advance-guard, of which Preece was one, reached the fortress, 
 and sustained a volley, which in spite of the remonstrances 
 of Ihaka Whanga and Preece created a panic, and the men fled 
 half a mile, leaving Ropata close to the pah. Mr. Preece 
 returned to him, and gallantly the two with 16 Maoris scaled 
 the forest cliff until they found themselves exchanging shots with 
 the enemy at a distance of less than 30 yards. Ropata having 
 established his dangerous position entreated Preece to go back 
 and bring up more men. Preece went and found that most of 
 the runaways had fled to Makaretu, and that Ihaka Whanga 
 had failed to stir his people. Nine men returned with Preece 
 to Ropata, who was furious, and hastened back for more. He 
 persuaded 30 to return with him. Holes to serve as rifle-pits
 
 NGATAPA. 509 
 
 on the edge of the cliff were scooped out, with a bill-hook and 
 hands, and at three o'clock in the afternoon Ropata with his 
 small band stormed an outwork. A messenger reported the 
 success to Ihaka Whanga, and 30 more men joined Ropata, 
 whose position was more perilous in the outwork than in his 
 earth-holes, for retreat without exposure was impossible. The 
 re-enforcement carried welcome ammunition. At dusk Preece 
 again went back for more ammunition, and in Ropata's name 
 entreated the main body to advance. But the superstitious 
 recalcitrants said "it was too dark." With Ropata his own 
 relations were as daring as himself. One climbed a tree and 
 fired downwards on the foe. Another, Watene Tukino, cried 
 out : " You brought us here. Why don't you order a charge into 
 the pah and settle the affair one way or another. I will never 
 go back." He repeatedly mounted the parapet and fired at the 
 enemy. He kicked the dust at their faces and yet was unhurt. 
 But there was method in Ropata's rashness. When he had fired 
 his last shot he withdrew before dawn and strode through the 
 camp of the fugitives who had abandoned him before the pah. 
 Sullenly scorning the deserters, Ropata's men looked not upon 
 them, but camped apart in silence. The shamed offenders 
 feared to approach the chief. Captain Porter who was with 
 them was deputed to intercede. Ropata gave him no heed for 
 some time. At last he said : " My people have betrayed me. I 
 will have nought to do with them. I will go back to Waiapu 
 for others ; and when I come back if I find the Ngatikahungunu 
 here I will attack them for deserting me." He marched towards 
 Turanga, and his remorseful tribesmen followed at a distance. 
 On the way he met Colonel Whitmore, who had just arrived by 
 sea from Wanganui with a large force of armed constabulary, 
 and was proceeding to Ngatapa. Whitmore begged him to 
 return. He answered : " I never break my word. I have said 
 I will go to Waiapu, and I will. I will come back with other 
 men and attack the Hawke's Bay tribes who abandoned me." 
 It was long before he consented not to attack the Ngatika- 
 hungunu ; but he yielded at last, and as his journey to Waiapu 
 could not be stayed, Colonel Whitmore facilitated it by placing 
 a steamer at his disposal. Fires were seen at Ngatapa, and so 
 confidently was it thought that Te Kooti had fled, that Colonel
 
 510 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Whitmore prepared to send back some of the constabulary to 
 Wanganui. The vessel in which they embarked ran aground 
 and they were relanded. Te Kooti, meanwhile, sent a marauding 
 party which killed two Europeans and one Maori. The smoke 
 at Ngatapa had not risen from houses abandoned to the flames, 
 but from the destruction of the scrub near the fortress in order 
 to deprive assailants of that shelter under which Ropata had 
 captured an outwork. 
 
 On the 24th December, Colonel Whitmore advanced, and on 
 the 27th was camped on a ridge a mile from Te Kooti's pah. 
 Ropata had returned from Waiapu with 370 men, but was 
 seriously ill. Colonel Whitmore sent exacting messages to 
 hasten the sick man's movements. At last he said he would 
 take Ngatapa by himself if Ropata shrunk back. " Be it so," 
 said the chief " I tried ; it is his turn now." He immediately 
 halted his men. Whitmore was told that bluster would not 
 prosper against Ropata, and went in person to explain, on the 
 following morning. " Have you taken Ngatapa ? " said Ropata. 
 "'No; I want your help." "I will be with you to-morrow." 
 Mr. J. C. Richmond, a member of the Ministry, was with the 
 forces, and begged Ropata to retire on the ground of illness. 
 " My tribe," he answered, " would be of little use without its 
 chief." On the 30th December, he was at the front, and plans 
 were laid for the capture of the stronghold. It stood on a peak 
 about 2000 feet high on a tortuous forest range, girt on each 
 side by precipitous gorges and rugged intervening ridges. Triple 
 lines of fortification, with deep ditches, guarded the front, and 
 the crest of the range was narrowed in wedge-like form in the 
 rear of the pah. The outer parapet, seven feet high, extended 
 on each side to the edge of the range, but was formed with 
 angles near its junction with the cliff in order to cover com- 
 pletely an attacking party. The inner parapet, more than twelve 
 feet high, was guarded by sand-bag loop-holes to enable the 
 robbers to fire in safety. Covered ways from parapet to parapet, 
 and pit to pit, protected the garrison in their movements. As 
 usual there had been insufficient provision of water, and before 
 Ngatapa was taken the garrison were compelled to collect the 
 falling rain on blankets and clothing stretched out for the 
 purpose. The attacking force contained 242 armed constabulary,
 
 JUaj 
 
 PLAN OF 
 
 NGATAPA PAH 
 
 POVERTY BAY 
 
 taken; Iry 
 
 COL. WHITMOREn-irtx the. COLONIAL FORCE 
 
 from* fte 
 HAU HAU wuUo- TE KOOTI 
 
 01 W li 
 
 Staff Ji
 
 3 i 
 
 1?
 
 NGATAPA. 511 
 
 60 Arawa, and 370 Ngatiporou. The sides of the winding range 
 were so steep as to defy approach, and the plan of the assailants 
 was to advance by sap in front, while Major Eraser with 2uO 
 men was sent to the rear to prevent escape. There was difficulty 
 in this task, and when shots had been exchanged on the 31st 
 December, Colonel Whitmore, after consulting Ropata, altered 
 the route by which Major Fraser was to reach his post. Ropata 
 himself undertook, with 60 Arawa and 60 Ngatiporou, to gain, 
 unseen, the wooded crest of the ridge on the enemy's left 
 front. In front, on his right, in his rear, with no unguarded 
 space except a precipice too steep for foothold, Te Kooti was 
 hemmed in. Known to have been wounded in one of his 
 desperate battles after landing, the tiger was thought to be 
 caged securely in his mountain den. For several days there was 
 firing upon and from the trenches. Shells were thrown into 
 the pah. " Ropata was indefatigable in inspecting his line and 
 keeping the men to their duty." Captain Brown was shot dead. 
 Captain Capel was wounded. Many sorties were driven back. 
 In one which was foiled by Major Fraser, on the steep-sided 
 ridge in the rear, three of his force were hurled over the 
 precipice, and four of the Hau Haus were shot. Major Fraser 
 was not aware that Te Kooti's force was not more numerous 
 than his own. The desperation of his foe made him report that 
 he could no longer hold his position unless an attack could be 
 made in front. That attack Colonel Whitmore desired to make. 
 But the wiser Ropata would not lead his men to certain 
 slaughter ; and his counsels prevailed. He ascertained that by 
 a concealed movement the outer ditch and fortification might 
 be surprised. A band of Arawa and Ngatiporou undertook the 
 task, while heavy firing from the trenches occupied the attention 
 of the besieged. With a bound and a cheer, after scaling the 
 cliff, the assailing Maoris seized the left corner of the work, the 
 beleaguered and outnumbered foe falling back before them. 
 The sap was driven rapidly onwards to the next line of defence. 
 The right extremity of the front was similarly stormed by the 
 Ngatiporou under Wikiriwhi and Arapeta. The toils were thus 
 closed on the besieged at dusk on the 4th January. At dawn 
 Colonel Whitmore was preparing to annihilate them, when word 
 was brought that they were escaping. In the night, by lowering
 
 512 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 his men, and some of the women, down the precipice on his 
 left, Te Kooti, wounded a second time at Ngatapa, and one of 
 the last to leave his fortress, had again escaped, with a band 
 half-starved and weary with watching and fighting. Pursuit by 
 the conquering Maoris was immediate and relentless. Colonel 
 Whitmore took credit in his report for the mercy extended to 
 the women and children found in the pah, for " the women had 
 fought and excited the men by their cries." He did not report 
 that the women and children found in the pah were Te Kooti's 
 captives abandoned in it. On the 8th January, it was certain 
 that at Ngatapa, and in the pursuit, 136 Hau Haus had been 
 slain. Many of the wounded, Colonel Whitmore said, must 
 have died in the mountain forests in rear of Ngatapa. The 
 character of the chase may be learned from a phrase in his 
 official report : " The pursuers were few if any of them ac- 
 quainted with Te Kooti, and it is possible he may be among the 
 killed." No one could guess whither he had fled, if he had 
 escaped. Colonel Whitmore was loud in praise of his officers 
 and men. " To none was I more indebted than to the chief, 
 Ropata Wahawaha. His courage in the fight was equalled by 
 the wisdom of his counsel and the command he possessed over 
 his men ; whilst his knowledge of the position, derived from a 
 previous chivalrous attempt to take the place with a handful of 
 his tribe and three or four Europeans, was of the greatest value. 
 He was well supported by Hotene; Wikiriwhi, and other chiefs. 
 Captain Gundry and the Arawa were the admiration of the 
 whole force. Always in front, always cheerful and obedient, as 
 brave as they were well-behaved. Much of the credit belongs 
 to their officer." The loss of the attacking force was 11 killed 
 and 8 wounded. Captain Brown of the armed constabulary, 
 and Heteraka, one of the bravest and highest-born of the Arawa, 
 were signal losses. The latter fell while reconnoitring the 
 enemy with Major Fraser. Amongst the slain were trusted 
 leaders. They were not all slain in battle or in flight, nor was 
 the manner of their death reported. But it could not be kept 
 altogether secret. The Maori allies would not affect to conceal 
 what in their warfare was not shameful. Mr. J. C. Richmond 
 the Minister, and Colonel Whitmore the Commander, made no 
 resistance to the demand of Ropata and his friends that they
 
 REWARDS FOR MAORIS, DEAD OR ALIVE. 513 
 
 should deal with captives. Mr. Richmond stimulated ani- 
 mosity by offering 1000 for the body of Te Kooti. Ropata's 
 dealings were thorough. Women were among the victims. As 
 captives were brought in, singly or in small parties, they were 
 shot and precipitated over the natural rampart which had failed 
 to guard them. Some betrayed fear or discontent as they faced 
 their doom. One old chief, highly tattooed, with scornful 
 countenance seemed to welcome his foes to do their worst, which 
 could in no wise shake his soul. Pride was in his eye as he met 
 his fate. Englishmen looked on while for several hours the 
 slaughter was continued, as each prisoner was dragged to the 
 presence of the conquerors. Lieutenant Gudgeon in his book 
 on the war remarks : " Those who surrendered were brought 
 before Ropata, who, after a few questions, ordered them for 
 execution. The system was simple : they were led to the edge 
 of the cliff, stripped, . . . then shot, and their bodies hurled over 
 the cliff, where their bones lie in a heap to this day. Some of 
 the pursuers were two days absent, and even these brought in 
 prisoners." The soul of the editor of the ' Wellington Inde- 
 pendent ' must have rejoiced ; for, although not officially reported, 
 the facts could not but become known. With bated breath 
 they were spoken of throughout the island. The ' Hawke's 
 Bay Herald' (12th January) threw a lurid light upon them. 
 Besides the reward for Te Kooti, Mr. Richmond had offered 
 50 for the head of Nikora, and smaller rewards for the heads 
 of any others. " The good effect " (a correspondent wrote) " has 
 been seen in the arrival of a great many prisoners, who are shot 
 as soon as they arrive. We have taken from Te Kooti in all 
 200 women and children prisoners. 1 Such objects ! ... At 
 Ngatapa I saw quite enough to convince me that if Ropata's 
 advice had not been followed, and Ngatapa had been stormed 
 when Colonel Whitmore proposed, most of our force must have 
 been destroyed ; and every man of the force with whom I have 
 conversed is of the same opinion." The head of Nikora was 
 brought in. Mr. Richmond paid 50 for it, and afterwards 
 
 1 The emaciated condition of Te Kooti's prisoners was pleaded by one 
 officer as an excuse, if not a justification, for the slaughter of the Ngatapa 
 captives. Yet even that officer saw with a pang, the killing of the resolute 
 chief who in death seemed to breathe defiance. 
 
 VOL. II. L L
 
 514 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 asserted that (when a Maori ally proposed to carry it about as a 
 trophy) he " directed that the head should be buried." He did 
 not say whether his directions were respected. Colonel Whitmore, 
 writing officially from Turanganui on the 8th January, coolly 
 and deceptively said : " Among the dead are many men of note, 
 Nikora of Ngatihineuri, the leader of the murdering party. . . ." 
 Nikora was found severely wounded, but the fact did not save 
 him from the murder which Mr. Richmond paid for. The result 
 of these proceedings is exposed in one brief line in a return of 
 killed and wounded (A. No. 3, G.) laid upon the table of the 
 New Zealand Assembly : " 3rd to oth January, 1869. Ngatapa, 
 Killed, 136 ; captured, none ; total, 136." The dry compiler 
 of facts had no column prepared for the prisoners whom Te 
 Kooti had abandoned or, perhaps, like Colonel Whitmore, he 
 might have taken credit for the mercy extended to them. 
 
 Nor was the wholesale slaughter of the wounded and the 
 prisoners at Ngatapa the only fruit of Mr. Richmond's policy, if 
 a tale narrated by a member of the constabulary force in 1879 
 be true. Lieutenant Gudgeon says that, after the taking of 
 Ngatapa, three Maoris appeared at Poverty Bay, whom the 
 settlers suspected of having been accomplices with Te Kooti in 
 the massacre in which Biggs fell. " Justly indignant that men 
 who had so lately murdered women and children should be 
 allowed to settle again among them, the settlers formed them- 
 selves into a vigilance committee, and some of the members 
 bound themselves by oath to shoot the next lot of ruffians who 
 made their appearance." Accordingly one Benson shot "the 
 man told off for him." To cloak the deed with nominal 
 decorum a coroner's inquest was held, and Benson was made 
 a juryman. (Gudgeon says he was unwilling to act.) Benson 
 acted on the jury, to which he narrated his exploit. The result 
 the reader is entitled to see in the precise words of Gudgeon, 
 who styles himself " Lieutenant and Quarter-master, Colonial 
 Forces, New Zealand " : " The intelligent jury, having heard 
 his statement, brought in the following verdict : ' Shot by some 
 person unknown, and serve him right.' A piece of pure 
 patriotism that deserves commendation in these degenerate 
 days." l Mr. J. C. Richmond was not degenerate from Gudgeon's 
 
 1 ' Reminiscences of the War in New Zealand,' p. 255. London : 1879.
 
 MR. STAFFORD AND THE COLONIAL OFFICE. 515 
 
 standard. He will be found hereafter justifying such a verdict 
 by informing the Governor that there was an inquest, but the 
 jury returned an open verdict, the neighbours "sympathizing, 
 not unpardonably," with the accused. Mr. Richmond's defence 
 and Earl Granville's contentment with it will be told hereafter. 
 
 The force of the rebels being shattered, and the forest 
 encumbered with their remains, Ropata was left to pursue Te 
 Kooti. Captain Westrup was to assist, or nominally to guide 
 him. Having made so terrible an exhibition of his own ruth- 
 lessness and the complicity of Mr. Stafford's Government, 
 Ropata soon afterwards spared 80 persons, women and others, 
 not known to have been fighting against him. Gudgeon says 
 that when asked the reason of his clemency he replied (satirically 
 we may presume) : " I thought you Pakehas might call me a 
 butcher." The Governor meanwhile, undisturbed by the horrors 
 of the warfare thus countenanced by his advisers, returned from 
 a tour to Canterbury, described by him as the continuance of 
 " a policy initiated with success " by his predecessor. He was 
 accompanied by Wi Tako and other chiefs, whose self-love was 
 (he said) gratified by the honours they received in company 
 with the Governor, while their shrewd and observant minds 
 became impressed with the hopelessness of a struggle with the 
 hordes of Nelson, Christ-church, and Dunedin. 
 
 At this time Sir G. Bowen received a reply to his earnest 
 appeal for help made when Colonel McDonell was routed near 
 Ngutu-o-te-manu in September, 1868. The Duke of Bucking- 
 ham was sorry for the disaster, but could not suppose that 
 220,000 Europeans, with the loyal Maoris, were unable to 
 dispose of a few hundred rebels. He found " no reason to vary 
 the instructions already given." The last soldier must leave 
 New Zealand on the arrival of the transport ship, and it was 
 difficult to imagine such a state of affairs as would induce Sir 
 G. Bowen to take the responsibility of detaining any troops after 
 receiving his instructions. 
 
 General Chute visited New Zealand to make final arrange- 
 ments. Mr. Stafford, goaded by the tone of the Duke of 
 Buckingham's denial that the Imperial Government had broken 
 faith with the colony, drew up a memorandum in which he 
 declared that sneers might be spared by those who remembered 
 
 L L 2
 
 516 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 that "when one of England's best generals at the head of 10,000 
 British soldiers and 5000 colonial auxiliaries, besides friendly 
 natives, encountered the same foe whom the colony has now to 
 face, the result was neither brilliant nor conclusive." Mr. 
 Stafford roundly denied that the abandonment by the Imperial 
 Government of all control over native policy was conditional on 
 being totally relieved from responsibility for military defence of 
 the settlers. His Grace's statement, he said, "teemed with 
 inaccuracies and anachronisms." They were fit only to eke out 
 foregone conclusions, and, except in order to defend the character 
 of the colony, deserved no notice. The colony would have 
 learned with lively interest the views of the Imperial Govern- 
 ment as to future relations. " The total silence of his Grace on 
 this subject (for it can surely not be intended that the inter- 
 change of condolences and reproaches is to be the only future 
 nexus), and the absence of any indication of a positive policy, 
 deepen the peculiar impression made by the despatch of the 
 1st December last." * Earl Granville received, and characteris- 
 tically commented (23rd April 1869) on, Mr. Stafford's protest. 
 " As I cannot doubt that Her Majesty's troops will have finally 
 left the colony before this despatch reaches you, I do not think 
 it advisable to pursue a discussion which is no longer practical 
 and which is naturally viewed in a different aspect by the 
 Government of this country and by that of New Zealand." 2 It 
 was perhaps impossible for Earl Granville to treat the question 
 satisfactorily in 1869. He was now serving under Mr. Gladstone, 
 who had in 1846 been a member of the Peel Government which 
 honourably administered New Zealand affairs. The policy of 
 Peel and Derby was now "exploded. The new order of things 
 was incapable of public defence ; but much could be done in the 
 way of stifling inquiry, or by diplomatic evasions of troublesome 
 disputes. The Earl had recently rejected Sir George Grey's 
 appeal for inquiry as to the slain prisoner. His course was to 
 put off inconvenient questions, as is the wont of Ministers in 
 Parliament. An adroit sneer would serve instead of argument 
 to put down pertinacious colonists ; and the Earl did not per- 
 ceive that the successful and insinuating retort which amuses 
 the House, where it can be immediately explained away as 
 1 P. P. 1869, p. 353. 2 Ibid. p. 431.
 
 APPEALS TO EARL GRANVILLE. 517 
 
 gentle trifling, might, when committed to a despatch winged to 
 the uttermost parts of the world, cause bitter rankling in the minds 
 of men whom it was unwise to taunt, and whom no explanation 
 could soothe until after lapse of months. Major Atkinson, who 
 had been Minister for Colonial Defence in Mr. Weld's Ministry, 
 was in England, and appealed to Sir George Grey to aid in pro- 
 testing against the immediate removal of the troops. Repeating 
 his adherence to the self-reliant policy which would dispense 
 with regular forces in New Zealand, he declared that at such a 
 juncture to remove them would give confidence to rebels, dismay 
 the loyal, and render future warfare more bloody and disastrous. 
 Sir George Grey, though already foiled in his own appeal to 
 Downing Street, transmitted Major Atkinson's letter to Earl 
 Granville, stating that he concurred with its arguments. The 
 Earl replied that the 18th Regiment would be left in New 
 Zealand until May, by which time he hoped the alarm of 
 persons connected with New Zealand would be diminished. 
 Other New Zealand colonists were in England. Mr. Water- 
 house and Mr. George Graham separately addressed Earl 
 Granville. The former wrote (June, 1869) : " If those troops be 
 withdrawn the blood of thousands of your fellow-countrymen 
 may lie at your door, and England may witness the destruction 
 of a thriving colony." He urged a reference to Sir George 
 Grey. Earl Granville wanted not such advice to prompt him 
 to a sneer. The Government must " measure the importance of 
 presence of troops not by statements of private informants," but 
 by the deliberate acts of the Government and Legislature. Mr. 
 George Graham deprecated removal of troops, not because he 
 wished to coerce the natives, but because he would not trust 
 Mr. Stafford . . . (who) " some years ago urged Governor Browne 
 to commence the unjust and unnecessary Taranaki war over the 
 disputed sale of the Waitara. All parties in Auckland that had 
 anything to lose strongly protested against that act of injustice. 
 . . . Mr. Stafford and the relatives of some of his colleagues 
 then in office are in the present Ministry, . . . and I do, as an old 
 colonist, protest against the Imperial guarantee being given 
 to any future loan for war purposes. . . ." The Earl merely 
 acknowledged the receipt of the letter. A misconstrued tele- 
 gram delayed the removal of the troops and entailed much
 
 518 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 correspondence. In March, Mr. Stafford sent questions to England. 
 Could a regiment be retained on Earl Carnarvon's conditions of 
 1866 ? If not, by what payment per head ? Could more than 
 one regiment be kept if paid fur? If retained, could they 
 repress insurrection if directed by the Governor ? If not em- 
 ployed in the field, might they support colonial outposts ? If 
 the Governor might not use his discretion, might "troops be 
 stationed at such of the following posts as he might indicate, 
 viz. Auckland, Taranaki, Wanganui, Wellington, Napier, 
 Tauranga, Ngaruawahia, Taupo, Patea ; and what would be the 
 minimum strength of a detachment at any of the four last- 
 named places ? " If Mr. Stafford expected that conscious ignor- 
 ance of details would remit their control to the Governor, lest 
 the Earl should fail to distinguish between some inland post 
 and a sea-port, Mr. Stafford was disappointed. It was un- 
 fortunate that such questions should be asked on the eve of the 
 removal of troops. Mr. Stafford's difficulty in understanding 
 on what conditions troops might be retained was not due to 
 variations of policy in England, but to the fact that no conditions 
 existed, the only conditions proposed from England having been 
 rejected in the colony, and no others having been propounded. 
 For himself he found no basis for a change of policy in Mr. 
 Stafford's minute. He sympathized much with the settlers' 
 misfortunes, and regretted the crimes of a portion of the rebels, 
 but could not change his policy. The local government must 
 determine whether to continue the war, or to aim at a peaceful 
 solution by such negotiation with Tawhiao as Sir George Bowen 
 had suggested in his .confidential despatch of 7th December, 
 1868. The Colonial Government must have felt that, whatever 
 they might wish, they could procure no men from England, and 
 it is notable that in a memorandum which Mr. Stafford wrote 
 to the Governor concurrently with the one sent to Lord Gran- 
 ville, he said that the Ministry were considering the policy of 
 extending the liberality shown to natives who had been dis- 
 possessed of land for acts of previous aggression. Confiscation 
 was felt by the high-handed wrongdoer at Waitara to have been 
 strained too far. Poverty of resource, not sympathy with the 
 Maori, induced a change of tactics. There was general dread of 
 what the Maori king might do. Through the Ministry Sir
 
 RUMOURS ABOUT TAWHIAO. 519 
 
 George Bowen obtained information, and to them his despatches 
 were shown. On the 1 5th March, he wrote that it was generally 
 estimated that the so-called " Maori king could bring from 10,000 
 to 15,000 practised guerilla soldiers from the central highlands 
 against the European settlements, and after diligent recruiting 
 throughout New Zealand and in Australia, the Colonial Govern- 
 ment has been unable to raise its permanent force of armed 
 constabulary to above 2000 men." Tawhiao could bring into 
 the field no such force as was ascribed to him : but reputation 
 in this instance was as powerful as a brigade. A Maori meeting 
 was expected to take place. The debt of the colony was 
 enormous in proportion to its receipts. Earl Granville was 
 withdrawing troops in language which embittered the fact. 
 Mr. Stafford arrived at the conclusion that on loyal Maoris and 
 on justice to all Maoris the colony ought to rely for safety.
 
 520 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 COLONEL WHITMORE. 
 
 WHILE the Earl was lazily putting away serious considerations, 
 Colonel Whitmore was r hard at work in New Zealand. After 
 the capture of Ngatapa he returned to the west coast. Colonel 
 McDonell and Rangihiwinui had not been idle during his 
 absence. A scouting party from Patea found Ngutu-o-te-manu 
 unoccupied. It had been much strengthened by Titokowaru, 
 but he was at Tauranga-ika, near Nukumaru, and had not 
 garrisons for all his forts. Ngutu-o-te-manu was destroyed, and 
 large stores of potatoes found there were uncovered and left to 
 rot. From the position of charred remains, it was inferred that 
 Von Tempsky and the others whom McDonell had lost, " were 
 partly eaten and partly offered up as a sacrifice by the infamous 
 Titokowaru and his band." On the 2nd February, Colonel 
 Whitmore shelled Tauranga-ika, 1 and prepared to invest it on 
 the 3rd. Titokowaru, though sheltered behind double rows of 
 palisades backed by rifle-pits and by strong cover for marksmen, 
 found the shell-practice fatal, and on the morning of the 3rd he 
 was gone. His rear-guard escaped the pursuit of scouts. There 
 was no gateway through the palisades, no egress except by 
 underground passages. Palisaded roads traversed the interior. 
 Wondering at Titokowaru's flight from such a stronghold, 
 Colonel Whitmore pursued. Titokowaru retired to the forests 
 beyond Moturoa, the scene of his recent success. He trusted 
 apparently to ambuscades, for when ten men with their com- 
 mander's permission went to collect peaches, seven were killed 
 and one was wounded before a relieving force could go to their 
 
 1 Where Bryce and Maxwell harried women and children in the begin- 
 ing of December, and Maxwell was afterwards shot in the same month.
 
 MURDER OF REV. J. WHITELEY. 521 
 
 rescue. Rangihiwinui, with a band of Arawa and Wanganui 
 men, scoured the country without loss near Putahi. 
 
 It will be remembered that the Rev. J. Whiteley, a Wesleyan 
 missionary, distinguished himself by his animosity against Te 
 Rangitake, and defended the terms of the proclamation of 
 martial law in the Maori language which Mr. Stafford sent to 
 Taranaki in 1860. Though more than sixty years of age he 
 laboured earnestly in his sphere, 1 strong in opinion, and vigorous 
 in body. He had been a missionary in New Zealand in 1832. 
 It was his custom to ride from Taranaki to different outposts on 
 Saturday to officiate on the Sunday. On the 13th February, 
 1869, he was proceeding to Pukearuhe, a block -house at the 
 White Cliffs, where Lieutenant Gascoigne with his family resided. 
 On that day a small band of Maoris had descended on the re- 
 doubt and had slain Gascoigne, his wife, three children, and two 
 Englishmen. As the missionary, after crossing a stream, began 
 to ascend the hill on which stood the redoubt, he was ordered 
 by Maori voices to go back. He rode on. A volley was fired, 
 and his horse fell. He was seen to kneel in attitude of prayer. 
 Another volley was fired and the brave man passed away. When 
 the tidings reached Taranaki the bodies were taken thither for 
 interment, and an obelisk was erected in memory of the eight 
 persons thus slaughtered at the White Cliffs. At the time 
 when these massacres occurred there were rumours of intended 
 outbreaks elsewhere. Taranaki was in terror. Though there 
 was a detachment of the 18th Regiment stationed there, it was 
 under orders to leave in a few days. Sir George Bowen reported 
 
 1 On' the 30th of September, 1868, Mr. Whiteley had written a fore- 
 boding letter. He had never felt so desponding during his residence of 
 35 years in New Zealand. The troops were gone or going. England 
 seemed to desert the settlers and the loyal Maoris. The rebels would 
 " seek ' utu ' (payment, revenge) for all the past." In Abyssinia the 
 English had completed their work and the author of evil was slain, whereas 
 the army was withdrawn from New Zealand before it had done its work. . . . 
 It has been said the natives are fighting for their lands. But the earth is 
 the Lord's, and for 600 years he has been waiting for them to occupy. Six 
 hundred years more may find them with millions upon millions of unoccu- 
 pied acres ; and Providence indicates that now shall this portion of his 
 earth be occupied by those who are able and willing to bring forth the 
 fruits thereof." If such was the measured language of a serious letter, it 
 requires but little imagination to suppose that in casual speech the old 
 enemy of Te Rangitake would often bring hatred upon himself.
 
 522 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 that among the mining population on the Thames river, Fenian 
 conspirators were tampering with the Hau Haus. A Fenian 
 flag was sent to the Maori king by men with the Irish patrony- 
 mics of O'Connor and O'Neil, the former of whom, with the 
 vanity which made Wolfe Tone admire himself in French 
 clothing in Paris, exhibited to the Maoris a photograph of 
 himself in Fenian uniform. Plaintively, the Governor thought 
 it unfortunate that these things should occur, and that the 
 entire withdrawal of the English soldiers should take place on 
 the eve of the arrival of the Duke of Edinburgh in the colony. 
 With this faint hint that Fenian assassins might endeavour to 
 complete in New Zealand the work essayed in Sydney, Sir 
 George Bo wen promised to inform Earl Granville of the pro- 
 gress of events. He was mistaken if he thought that any 
 danger to the Duke of Edinburgh in New Zealand would alarm 
 Earl Granville in London. Meanwhile, no mercy was expected 
 for or from Te Kooti or Titokowaru. The former, with a band 
 of unknown numbers, swooped down to the Bay of Plenty from 
 the Uriwera mountains early in March, scaring the settlers and 
 their families to redoubts at Tauranga and Opotiki, capturing a 
 pah from Maoris loyal to the Queen, destroying a settlement at 
 Whakatane, and killing all who resisted. Kereopa was said to 
 be with him. An old French settler sold his life dearly, de- 
 fending his house. From the deck of a steamer Te Kooti 
 himself was seen galloping about on a grey horse, conspicuous 
 with a red shirt, boots and breeches, with a sword by his side, 
 and four revolvers in his belt. Mounted orderlies approached 
 him with a military salute and went to do his bidding. He was 
 then reconnoitring a position held by Major Mair near the 
 mouth of the Whakatane river, with a mixed force of 200 
 Europeans and Maoris. In a short time Te Kooti's army 
 dwindled away, and he retreated to his mountain fastnesses, 
 followed by Major Mair, who was strengthened by an accession 
 of 200 Arawas. At Tauaroa, Te Kooti seemed brought to bay 
 one night, but in the morning only his departing rear-guard was 
 in sight. Major Mair accused his Arawa friends of backwardness. 
 They were thought to shrink from the rugged Uriwera country 
 and its fierce inhabitants. Some of the Arawa complained that 
 the Government would not pay them sufficiently for their toils.
 
 MR. STAFFORD UPBRAIDS D. McLEAN. 523 
 
 Meanwhile, Colonel Whitmore and Rangihiwinui pursued 
 Titokowaru on the west coast. Early in March, with about 
 600 men, an advance was made up the Patea river. Titoko- 
 waru's camp was taken. Rangihiwinui commanded the right 
 column, and dashed into the camp so promptly that baggage 
 and moveables were left indiscriminately behind. Rangihiwinui, 
 allowing his men little time to plunder the camp, pushed on, 
 driving the enemy before him. Titokowaru escaped by swim- 
 ming the river, Rangihiwinui's rapidity having prevented the 
 fugitives from crossing by the main ford. Colonel Whitmore 
 reported (14th March) that though the enemy's actual loss was 
 small, his ignominious flight must ruin his reputation irretriev- 
 ably. To follow him in tangled forests was difficult. Colonel 
 Whitmore regretted that Ropata with the Ngatiporou was not 
 with him. The value of " so intelligent a chief at the head of 
 the bravest ' hapu ' of the best bush tribe in New Zealand " it 
 would be impossible to exaggerate. 
 
 Great efforts were made to induce Ropata to lead some of his 
 men to the west. In 1868 the Government had accepted an offer 
 made by Mr. Donald McLean to aid in securing the co-operation 
 of the Maoris at Hawke's Bay and the east coast. Ropata 
 arrived at Napier with 80 followers, and consulted McLean, 
 having no desire to go to the west without Mr. McLean's con- 
 currence. McLean by telegraph dissuaded the expedition. The 
 Ministry persisted. Ropata declined to go, alleging that his ab- 
 sence from his district invited attack. The recruiting officer per- 
 suaded 19 of the men to go with him. The rest were obedient 
 to Ropata. Angrily declaring that McLean had set " a vicious 
 example " by dissuading Ropata, Mr. Stafford removed McLean 
 from his agency for the Government. The English residents in 
 the surrounding districts passed strong resolutions favourable to 
 McLean and hostile to the Ministry. They prayed that the 
 General Assembly might be convened. Mr. Stafford became 
 less petulant. It was plain to him and to them that by need- 
 less insult of a man so trusted as McLean with regard to 
 native affairs generally, and so influential in the districts kept 
 in terror by Te Kooti, he had done much to convert the scant 
 majority of 1868 into a minority in 1869. The friendly Maoris 
 also were offended. Karaitiana Takamoana declared that he
 
 524 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 had besought Ropata not to go away, that Mr. McLean was 
 not the dissuader, and that "if he fall the whole of the Maoris 
 of this coast will fall with him." As it was well known that 
 without Rangihiwinui on the west, and Ropata on the east, the 
 English appeared to disadvantage in the field, and as the east 
 coast Maoris were unwilling to serve under Colonel Whitmore 
 without the chiefs in whom they trusted, it might be affirmed 
 that from the date of their insulting Mr. McLean the doom of 
 the Stafford Ministry was certain. Failing to obtain the aid of 
 Ropata, Colonel Whitmore devised other plans. " If (he wrote) 
 the Ngatiporou are unavailable, and hounds to carry the trail 
 considered to be improper agents for the purpose, I would 
 suggest that some Australian blacks should be engaged to 
 supply what only very great practice can give to Europeans, 
 and what I have not got in this force the faculty of tracking 
 fugitives in the bush." Scorned in his own country, except 
 when his unrivalled hunting and tracking powers were required 
 by Europeans in pursuit of game or of his brethren, in an hour 
 of need the Australian became the hope of the leader of the 
 forces of New Zealand. At the head of 350 men, Rangihiwinui, 
 having ascertained that the enemy were in full retreat to 
 Whakamaru, pushed forward, discovered their camp, sent back 
 for the armed constabulary, and placing them in concealment in 
 front, made a circuit to enclose Titokowaru in rear. Colonel 
 Whitmore arrived at the front. The harangues of Titokowaru 
 and others were distinctly heard. All hearts were exultant at 
 the thought that in a short time Rangihiwinui would bar the 
 retreat, when a mounted rebel, said to have been Katene 
 (McDonell's quondam guide), rode almost into Colonel Whit- 
 more's hands, discovered his danger, fired his revolver, and 
 galloped back to his friends. Colonel Whitmore advanced, but 
 Titokowaru was gone. Rangihiwinui, "after his men had 
 cooked, continued the pursuit, and at sunset fell in with their 
 rear. They attempted to lay an ambuscade for Ranghiwiuui's 
 advance, but were attacked so quickly and with such determin- 
 ation that they could not hold their ground ; but they sprang off 
 rapidly and dispersed so quickly, after delivering their fire, that 
 only one could be killed. Rangihiwinui, however, pressed on, 
 clambering up a precipice, forcing him to abandon an already
 
 TE NGAERE. 525 
 
 prepared sleeping-place, and inflicting some loss in this and 
 similar skirmishes during the following day." Titokowaru was in 
 full retreat towards Te Ngaere. To it Colonel Whitmore said, 
 " no guide could be found to show the way, but Rangihiwinui 
 with his usual intelligence made it out correctly." Across the 
 treacherous marsh three large kaingas or villages were seen. 
 No fires were lit in the English camp, screened as it was by 
 tangled growth on the forest margin. The hapu of Ahitana, 
 not hostile to the English, was known to be peaceably residing 
 at Te Ngaere, but Colonel Whitmore was sure that Titokowaru 
 was there also. At night a woman's voice was heard summon- 
 ing the Maoris : " Come hither, ye brave, come hither to the 
 food." By means of long hurdles made on the spot the attack- 
 ing forces were transported across the swamp at daylight on the 
 25th March. They saw some Maoris apparently escaping, and 
 others approaching the new-comers with the friendly welcome, 
 " Haere mai." In this manner the son of Ahitana met Colonel 
 Whitmore, who suspected the villagers of aiding the escape of 
 Titokowaru, who was gone towards Te-Ngutu- o-te-manu. Colonel 
 Whitmore came to the conclusion that about 70 of Titokowaru's 
 people were present at the surprise of Te Ngaere, and walked 
 off while the son of Ahitana met the English commander. 
 Rangihiwinui having traversed the country and ascertained that 
 Titokowaru had fled, the Wanganui men returned to their 
 homes, and Colonel Whitmore marched to Taranaki. A few 
 stragglers dead, or dying of inanition, were seen by Rangihi- 
 winui, but the rebel leader had made his way to the Upper 
 Waitara, north of Taranaki. Scouting parties were left to 
 defend the settlements, and Colonel Whitmore proceeded by 
 way of Auckland to the east coast. A marauding expedition, 
 under a detachment of the Wanganui militia, destroyed at 
 various places on the Waitotara river, settlements, cultivations, 
 eel- weirs, and, in its commander's phrase, " any stock we could 
 not eat." Scattered families fled in terror from it. At one pah 
 a decrepit old woman was left to fly a small white flag, but she 
 did not save the dwellings. 
 
 Amidst all these wars and the wild rumours to which they 
 gave birth, Te Rangitake and his followers loyally kept the 
 peace at Waitara, and refused to Titokowaru a passage through
 
 526 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 through their territory. Mr. Parris reported that he had only to 
 speak, and he would command the support of all Maoris un- 
 friendly to the English. But Rangitake kept his pledge of 
 peace. Under these circumstances Te Kooti was deemed more 
 dangerous than the routed Titokowaru, and it was resolved to 
 discontinue the campaign in the west, with reference to which 
 the Minister of Defence, Colonel Haultain, writing in April to 
 the Governor, added his tribute to the general praise of Rangi- 
 hiwinui's " courage and resource as remarkable as his modesty 
 and devotion." 
 
 When Major Mair abandoned his pursuit at Tauaroa, Te 
 Kooti remained at Ahikereru, whence he could make prompt 
 raids either upon the Bay of Plenty, on Napier, or Wairoa, or 
 could reach Rotorua, or the Waikato, as he might choose. The 
 Civil Commission at Tauranga urged an immediate expedition 
 to crush the freebooter, while short of ammunition. On Satur- 
 day, the 10th April, he appeared, where least expected, to supply 
 his wants. He treacherously captured a pah (Huke), on the 
 coast at Mohaka (about 40 miles from Napier), murdered the 
 inmates, 7 Europeans and 57 Maoris, destroyed all habitations, 
 and made off with some casks of ammunition and a few rifles. 
 There was a small pah (Hiruharama) at Mohaka, in which Ihaka 
 Whanga and others defended themselves successfully for two 
 days, and Te Kooti beat a retreat before 400 of the Napier 
 militia arrived to learn that the marauders had escaped with 
 their booty. Colonel Whitrnore hastened to the scene, and with 
 armed constabulary and allied Maoris carried war into the 
 Uriwera territory. Colonel Herrick with one force, Colonel St. 
 John with another, and Whitmore with a third, traversed the 
 land, but vainly sought to bring Te Kooti to a pitched battle or 
 to sustain a siege. They captured pahs after desultory skir- 
 mishing from rifle-pits, and found them empty. On one 
 occasion the retiring conquerors saw the enemy, of whose imme- 
 diate proximity they had been unconscious, march quietly into 
 the camp which had been left by the constabulary and the 
 Arawa. Te Kooti himself, after his raid at Mohaka, returned 
 through his mountain fastnesses only to hear at Waikaremoana 
 that Ruatahuna had fallen into the hands of his enemies. He 
 despatched some followers to dog the retiring forces, and took
 
 TE KOOTI AT OPEPE. 527 
 
 up a central position from which he might guide his adherents 
 and march suddenly to the interior or to the coast. Want of 
 ammunition distressed him; and the winter cold pinched bitingly 
 those who had scant store of food. 
 
 The season had its terrors for the allies. The Arawa declined 
 to march beyond Ruatahuna. Great efforts were made to 
 persuade Ropata Wahawaha of what was called his " sulkiness," 
 but it was found that his counsel could not be dispensed with, 
 and that without him his countrymen distrusted the capacity of 
 the Pakeha leaders to cope with the wily Te Kooti. How that 
 hunted robber could retain an army seemed mysterious. Out- 
 numbered always, he was not deserted. To a cunning which 
 availed itself of every art of vantage, he joined the show of pious 
 belief. A native gave an account of a meeting at which for five 
 hours he addressed assembled chiefs, and persuaded several to 
 flock to his standard. That which the Ministry dreaded was his 
 escape into the territory of the Maori king, where his influence 
 might stir the latent fanaticism of Tawhiao's adherents. 
 
 From his post of espial Te Kooti watched the colonial forces, 
 some of whom were stationed at Fort Galatea on the Rangitaike 
 river. He waylaid troopers with despatches. Colonel St. John 
 was about to go from Fort Galatea to Lake Taupo, to arrange 
 for such an occupation of posts as might foil Te Kooti if he 
 should endeavour to pass towards Waikato. Te Kooti cautiously 
 followed an escort party. At Opepe his advance-guard saw 
 smoke arising where they had thought there was no inhabitant. 
 A body of troopers was there. Te Kooti sent scouts into various 
 ravines to prevent escape, and ordered picked men to saunter up 
 as if they were Arawas, friendly to the English to go between 
 the troopers and their arms, and to massacre them. The device 
 succeeded. The men were deceived. Ten troopers were re- 
 ported as killed. A sergeant with two men escaped to Fort- 
 Galatea. Te Kooti had not succeeded in making away with 
 Colonel St. John, who, fortunately, had with four others ridden 
 forward before Te Kooti arrived at Opepe. But all the ammu- 
 nition with the escort party was seized. The successful marauder 
 passed on and murdered 21 Maoris at a village before he took 
 up his abode at Lake Taupo. There he persuaded Te Heu 
 Heu to join him, and thence, after some time, with a powerful
 
 528 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 band, he went to Tokangamutu to confer with the Maori 
 king. 
 
 What the Ministry most feared had come to pass. When in 
 June they heard that Te Kooti had slain the troopers at Opepe, 
 they knew that there was nothing to bar his way to Waikato. 
 At that time also Mr. Stafford had to encounter an eager Oppo- 
 sition, strengthened by Donald McLean, whom Mr. Stafford had 
 gratuitously insulted and removed from office at Napier. To 
 add to their troubles, some of the armed constabulary at Fort 
 Galatea mutinied, demanding more food; and the Colonel in 
 command was powerless. The Ministry which could compla- 
 cently approve the slaughter of prisoners, lost temper at remon- 
 strance. They were irritated beyond measure at the thought 
 that two men, wantonly driven to resistance, were able with a 
 few undisciplined enthusiasts to foil the colonial forces. In the 
 North Island there were altogether more than 2000 Europeans 
 and 1000 'Maoris maintained in the field to crush the two 
 bandits who defied the Government. In the armed constabu- 
 lary the men received five shillings a day. The militia and the 
 Maoris were paid alike ; receiving four shillings a day, with an 
 additional shilling when serving outside of their own districts. 
 Scouts received eight shillings a day for carrying their lives in 
 their hands. While battling with the discord which he had, in 
 1860, done so much to create, Mr. Stafford was further provoked 
 by a polite but galling remonstrance from Earl Granville. The 
 Earl observed in the newspapers that a reward of 1000 had 
 been offered for Titokowaru he inferred alive or dead and 5 
 for eveiy Maori rebel brought in alive. He pronounced no 
 opinion, but thought such steps at variance with the usual laws 
 of war. The Governor's despatches had been silent on this and 
 on other questions, such as the breach of faith with the exiles at 
 the Chatham Islands; and the arbitrary seizure of Maoris as 
 hostages on the west coast, which was thought to have produced 
 Titokowaru's outbreak. The Earl wished for explanations. It 
 would have been difficult for a Governor to explain either his 
 complicity or silence. Sir George Bowen contented himself 
 with sending a memorandum from Mr. Stafford. As to Titoko- 
 waru, " the report which has reached the Colonial Office is 
 exactly true, as also the inference drawn by his Lordship that it
 
 LORD GRANVILLE AND STAFFORD ON OUTRAGES. 529 
 
 was implied in the offer that the reward would be given for the 
 body of Titokowaru, alive or dead. Ministers regret if this offer 
 has not been reported in the copious minutes of events furnished 
 to his Excellency by every mail. It is right now to add that a 
 similar reward on the same terms has been offered for the body 
 of Te KootL" The offers were exceptional as were the atrocities 
 which produced them, but were not without precedent in the 
 history of India, or of " Fenian outrages in the heart of the 
 United Kingdom." Mr. Stafford condescended to no further 
 explanation. The colony must, he said, be content to bear the 
 "censures of unreflecting critics." A more careful defence was 
 made by the Under-Secretary for Native Affairs. It was 
 admitted that, in the matter of supposed horse-stealing, the 
 high-handed carrying away of hostages by Colonel McDonell 
 was irregular, but not that it had any direct bearing on the 
 subsequent acts of Titokowaru. It was admitted that hostages 
 and prisoners were seized ; that three of them were released ; 
 that a fourth, Ihaka, was remanded for a week ; that he escaped 
 from durance, and was present at the murders which a few days 
 afterwards, " according to Maori custom, commenced open war." 
 At a later date Earl Granville returned to the subject, when his 
 attention was drawn to a newspaper statement that Mr. J. C. 
 Richmond, at Ngatapa, offered 50 for the head of Nikora, 500 
 for that of Te Kooti, and 1 per head for others, who were shot 
 as soon as brought in. He could make every allowance for 
 indignation at Te Kooti's atrocities, and would not deny the 
 necessity of extraordinary measures, but " a general offer to 
 savages of 1 for every head brought in" was calculated to 
 intensify the worst characteristics of the Maori nature, and to 
 breed in the relatives of the victims a thirst for revenge. 
 
 Strange are the contradictions of the human mind ! The 
 same high functionary who would make no effort to wipe off the 
 stain cast upon England's scutcheon by the killing of a prisoner 
 of war, now called upon others to do what he had set them the 
 example of shunning. " The statement that prisoners are shot 
 as soon as they arrive is unaccompanied by any information as 
 to what steps are taken to secure that the persons so put to 
 death have been implicated in any of the more criminal acts of 
 the rebels." 
 
 VOL. II. MM
 
 530 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Mr. Richmond was not an unprofitable pupil in Earl Gran- 
 ville's school. He had paid 50 for the head of Nikora. He 
 would have paid 1000 for Te Kooti dead or alive. He said 
 nothing about the deaths of flying men and women shot on the 
 chance that the pursuer had Te Kooti in view. He had offered 
 5 for every Chatham Island refugee brought in alive, and " in 
 two or three cases the reward had been claimed." One of such 
 prisoners was afterwards killed ; but it was believed that the 
 killer's child had been previously killed by the prisoner. There 
 was an inquest, but the jury returned an open verdict, the 
 neighbours " sympathizing, not unpardonably," with the accused. 
 If suggestions of censure on the Colonial Government were to be 
 founded on newspaper statements, it could retort by urging that 
 the London ' Times ' had in February, 1869, advised that the 
 hands of the colonists should be free to choose their measures ; 
 that " the two races must be left to settle accounts with each 
 other." Another English paper had said that the Maoris would 
 perish ; but it was not England's business to save them from the 
 consequences of their own acts. This, Mr. Richmond said, was 
 " no doubt cool philosophy," but colonists had long ago said that 
 if the two races were left to fight out their quarrel over New 
 Zealand soil, the Maori must be swept away, and the non- 
 intervention by England " practically admitted " that it was no 
 business of hers. 
 
 Sir G. Bowen was more diplomatic than Mr. Richmond. 
 He explained that Colonel Haultain was absolutely unpopular 
 with the press because he would not yield to the clamour which 
 called for a reward of 5 for every Maori head brought in. 
 He urged that the Colonial Government was endeavouring to 
 mitigate the horrors. He wrote as if he expected to be believed. 
 He claimed no credit for having warned the Secretary of State 
 that horrors would not be averted by the removal of British 
 troops. On a recent occasion the thirst for Maori " utu " was so 
 strong that it was " with extreme difficulty that Maori allies 
 were induced to refrain from indulging in their turn in a can- 
 nibal feast " upon the bodies of Hau Haus who had slain some 
 of their relations. He did not explain why he had made no 
 representations on the subject at an earlier date. 
 
 Earl Granville was charmed with the " cool philosophy " which
 
 LORD GRANVILLE'S SATISFACTION. 531 
 
 Mr. Richmond echoed back to England. " The subject is one 
 on which I am myself glad to be satisfied, and the present 
 despatch will show that your Ministry repudiated and held in 
 check those feelings of ungoverned animosity which must neces- 
 sarily prevail in certain portions of a community situated like 
 that of New Zealand." He delicately hinted, however, that 
 there was a lurking -repugnance in Englishmen to condone 
 atrocities, and that when excesses, to some extent " excusable in 
 proportion to outrages on the other side," occurred, the Imperial 
 Government could " not escape the duty of sifting, by way of 
 reference to the Governor, the truth of the reports which reached 
 England. Indeed " (he added) " it is often impossible to pre- 
 vent the expression of public opinion against cruelties committed 
 even in foreign countries with which England has no constitu- 
 tional connection whatever." Not the crime under his cogniz- 
 ance, but the consequence of its exposure before a blunt 
 English public, had terrors for the Earl. Had he been prescient 
 of a few short years, he would have known that he and his 
 party would be found striving to do what he almost complained 
 of as impossible to prevent. Politicians out of office often find 
 sweet morsels in that which they reject as poison when in 
 power. 
 
 In a later despatch (7th July), Sir George Bowen expatiated 
 on the " strong comments " made in the New Zealand Parlia- 
 ment and press upon Earl Granville's interference. The 
 Attorney-General supplied a paper to prove that the natives 
 had no rights under the treaty of Waitangi ; that they were 
 included under the Queen's sovereignty ; that the rebels had no 
 belligerent rights ; and that their conduct had " forfeited all 
 title to the observance towards them of the usages of war, if 
 they ever had such title." Unsvillirig to put forward ministerial 
 arguments as his own, Sir George Bowen introduced some of 
 them as current in New Zealand. Why blame a Ministry for 
 measures less stringent than those in Canada, India, Ireland, 
 Ceylon, Cephalonia ? Earl Granville disclaimed any desire to 
 interfere. " As to the supposed questioner (whose arguments 
 you appear to adopt), I am not prepared to inquire whether the 
 most severe acts of Lord Soaton, Sir H. Ward, and Lord Tor- 
 rington, were those for which they were held entitled to public 
 
 'I M 2
 
 532 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 approval." As to Titokowaru, the Earl hardly understood the 
 Governor's meaning. He seemed to disclaim the application of 
 martial law, but there was no colonial enactment enabling any 
 chance person to shoot down a murderer untried. When the 
 Earl's despatch was received, the New Zealand Attorney-General 
 (Prendergast) was brought forward to counteract it. He argued 
 that the safety of the State justified the acts of the Government. 
 He quoted books which held that felons fleeing might be shot 
 down, and wrote as if such statements justified the indiscriminate 
 slaughter of Maoris with whom the Queen had entered into a 
 solemn treaty. It was very needless to urge such a defence. 
 Nothing was wanted to repress the humanity of Earl Granville. 
 
 Before confronting the General Assembly on the 1st June, 
 the Government, well aware that their discourtesy to Mr. 
 McLean was a danger in their path, strove to make terms with 
 the Maori king. 
 
 It will be remembered that soon after Sir G. Bowen's 
 arrival in New Zealand he described the capture and restitution 
 of cattle taken from Mr. Firth as analogous to the Highland 
 raids depicted by Sir Walter Scott in ' Waverley.' Mr. Firth, 
 who had followed various callings in Auckland, as a trader in 
 bricks, a miller and merchant, and had in the Assembly sup- 
 ported by his vote the Taranaki war and confiscation of Maori 
 lands, had, after the close of the Waikato war, devoted his 
 attention to the acquisition of a landed estate by peaceful nego- 
 tiations, which the Land Court Act of 1865 might protect. He 
 had recourse especially to Waharoa the king-maker, through 
 whose patronage he acquired leasehold property convertible (and 
 converted) into freehold. On learning Earl Granville's accession 
 to office, Mr. Firth wrote an elaborate letter on the critical 
 position of the colony in consequence of what he called " the 
 policy of abandonment " adopted by the English Government, 
 which was calculated " to deprive the Crown of a valuable 
 colony, and might lead to the destruction of Her Majesty's 
 colonial empire." He had used the influence which attached to 
 the friend of the king-maker, and had besought the advisers of 
 the Maori king to discountenance the atrocities of Titokowaru 
 and Te Kooti, chiefs not of higli birth. 
 
 Divisions in the king's council had prevented Tawhiao from
 
 MR. JUSTICE RICHMOND ON LAW. 533 
 
 taking strong measures to coerce Te Kooti ; but to " the sin- 
 gularly peaceful attitude maintained by the Maori king " was 
 due the absence of a "general rising among the tribes." Yet 
 bands of armed murderers traversed the country. The Queen's 
 laws were the scorn of rebels, and were regarded as a mockery 
 by the loyal. The laws of the Maori king were becoming 
 weaker. Anarchy was near. At Poverty Bay three Hau Haus 
 were captured by loyal Maoris. A settler, whose son had been 
 murdered, called on Major Westrup to avenge his son. Major 
 Westrup declined. The settler, with a friend, went to the 
 Maori allies and demanded the death of the captives. A firing- 
 party levelled their arms, and one of the Hau Haus fell dead. 
 The others escaped in the darkness, though one was wounded. 
 
 To such a condition was the Imperial policy reducing the 
 colony. Nay, on the judicial bench at Nelson had just occurred 
 a scene of like significance. Mr. Justice Richmond, the former 
 colleague of Mr. Stafford, had declared, " it had now become 
 impossible to carry out the ordinary law in the ordinary way in 
 the North Island. ... If we were to be burdened with the responsi- 
 bilities of independence we should also be permitted to enjoy its 
 powers." Mr. Firth thought that when a Judge could utter such 
 words "judicially, a very vital and radical change must shortly 
 take place in the relations between England and her colony of 
 New Zealand." Yet the colonists contemplated a rupture with 
 the mother country only " as a bitter and cruel necessity " 
 imposed by the Imperial policy of abandonment. If Her 
 Majesty's new advisers should adhere to it as irrevocable, " then 
 ancient Rome would not have been the only empire to teach the 
 world that the decay of national spirit is but the precursor of 
 the decay of national power." Sir G. Bo wen in sending Mr. 
 Firth's letter, said : " I am informed that Mr. Firth's opinions 
 are also expressed by a large portion of the press and the general 
 public, especially in the North Island." It is almost needless to 
 say that Mr. Firth's anticipations did not disturb Earl Granville's 
 equanimity. A leading journal in Sydney said : " In the face 
 of this danger the 18th Regiment is peremptorily recalled. In 
 dealing with such subjects the Liberal Ministry have hardly 
 been so successful as their predecessors. The Conservative 
 Government has shown itself more anxious for the honour of the
 
 534 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 nation than for its gold. . . . The Maori king does not, for the 
 moment, take part in the war. Everything will depend on his 
 views and conduct. If he should rise, all will rise. . . . Sir" 
 George Bowen has a task of immense difficulty one which 
 will require consummate skill and patience." These and other 
 expressions of opinion Sir G. Bowen forwarded to Earl Granville, 
 who merely acknowledged their receipt. He behaved with 
 scant courtesy to the Governor. Though with Mr. Richmond's 
 " cool philosophy " about rewards he was " glad to be satisfied " 
 he did not relieve Sir G. Bowen from implied censure in the 
 matter, although it was admitted by Colonel Haultain that 
 the Ministry neither brought the subject before the Executive 
 Council, nor advertised the rewards in the ' New Zealand Gazette/ 
 The arrival (April, 1869) of the Duke of Edinburgh, whom the 
 Maoris styled "the Queen's Son," produced no change. The 
 Maori king was not prevailed upon to meet him. ' He would 
 take time to consider the question. Mr. Stafford postponed the 
 meeting of the General Assembly, partly because it would have 
 interfered with the reception of the Prince in the provinces, and 
 partly because in the absence of the Treasurer (Mr. Fitzherbert) 
 in England, he was unable properly to deal with financial 
 measures. Wherever the Duke arrived he was received with 
 the profuse loyalty which characterized his tour in Australia. 
 Maori chiefs presented to him green-stone heirlooms prized for 
 centuries. Tamihana te Rauparaha, the son of the dreaded chief 
 who laid waste the country around Cook's Straits, presented one 
 which had been renowned in song and tradition. He was child- 
 less, and said : " As my house is gone like the moa, I bequeath 
 the talisman of my fathers to the son of the Queen of England 
 and of New Zealand." A meeting, called by the Maori king at 
 Hangatiki, on which the minds of all the English in the North 
 were intent, took place in the end of April. Three thousand 
 five hundred persons attended, of whom 1700 were men in arms. 
 To the relief of the Government the speeches, though couched in 
 ambiguous terms, were pronounced to be peaceful in tendency ? 
 and complicity with the atrocities of Titokowaru and Te Kooti 
 was disclaimed. Tamati Ngapora, the king's chief counsellor^ 
 who had taken a new name, Manuhiri, had consented to permit 
 Mr. Searancke, the resident magistrate in the Waikato and
 
 MAORI MEETING AT HANGATIKI. 535 
 
 Raglan districts, to be present at the meeting. Only one other 
 European, Mr. Louis Hettit, a Frenchman married to a chiefs 
 daughter, was present ; and Hettit had always been permitted 
 to live on the confines of the king's territory. He was married 
 to a relative of Rewi. Natives loyal to the Queen had been 
 invited, and many were there. The first greetings between 
 them and their hosts, Mr. Searancke was not permitted to see ; 
 but a war-dance, in which 160 guests and 400 of the king's 
 men with double-barrelled guns took part, he saw. Speeches 
 followed the dance. One thing seemed remarkable. The 
 king's people had changed their names. All baptismal names 
 had been cast away and old Maori names taken in their places ; 
 just as before the Greeks threw off the Turkish yoke they 
 christened their children by names enshrined in ancient story. 
 Tamati Ngapora's name, Manuhiri, described the condition in 
 which his exile placed him. It signified that he was a " guest." 
 Rewi had become Manga. Nevertheless, his speech was peace- 
 able and straightforward. He admitted that he had formerly 
 done much to create war, but declared that he had now 
 put it away from him. Tjie Aukati, or pale, was strictly 
 enforced against all who were not invited to the meeting. 
 Europeans who strove to accompany invited Maoris were stayed 
 at the boundary. Wiremu te Wheoro, a constant ally of the 
 English, was listened to with profound attention. When he 
 said " I will return to my place and my treasures (ancestral 
 home), and never will I leave Waikato the land of my forefathers 
 and my treasures no, never, never, never," the hearts of his 
 hearers throbbed at the thought that they were exiled, their 
 lands were confiscated, the tombs of their fathers profaned by 
 the stranger. For several minutes after Te Wheoro' s speech 
 there was silence as among the dead. Not only his words but 
 his character gave him weight. The king-maker had always 
 averred that Te Wheoro was the best of the Waikatos on the 
 side of the Queen. The frank manliness of his appearance 
 would have sufficed to make friends in any part of the world. 
 Though duskier than many of his countrymen his features were 
 of a east common in Europe. So much importance was now 
 attached by Mr. Stafford to a friendly arrangement with the 
 Maori king that the Queen's son was induced to delay his
 
 536 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 departure from New Zealand in the hope that he might meet 
 Tawhiao at Ngaruawahia. Mr. Firth negotiated with Tawhiao, 
 with the cognizance, but not as the envoy, of the Government. 
 The General Assembly was to meet on the 1st June, and Mr. 
 Firth started on his mission on the 27th May. It was thought 
 that favourable terms concluded with the Maori king would foil the 
 onslaught of Mr. Fox, though strengthened by Donald McLean. 
 Mr. C. O. Davis and Mr. Preece accompanied Mr. Firth. The 
 meeting took place at Orahiri on the 1st June. A prayer was 
 offered by Te Aroha. A hymn was sung. A special reporter 
 of the ' Southern Cross ' newspaper was astonished by the beauti- 
 ful thoughts of the prayer and the deep reverential tones of the 
 voices joining in unison with the chant, " Matua, pai marire, 
 rire, rire ; Tamaiti, pai marire, rire, rire ; Wairiia, pai marire, 
 rire rire ! " " Father, good and gracious, grace, grace ; Son, good 
 and gracious, grace, grace; Spirit, good and gracious, grace, 
 grace." Long conferences ensued. Whitiora te Kumete, who 
 in battle at Rangiriri won admiration from friends and foes, 
 now obtained the same tribute for his manly aspect and oratory. 
 Tamati Ngapora, or Manuhiri, was .the central figure, in whom the 
 reporter found grace, ease, and dignity. Long colloquy took place 
 between the chief and the interpreter Davis. When the former 
 said, " While we talk of peace there is fighting," Davis replied, 
 " Why don't you stop the fighting ? " The chief answered : 
 " Why don't you stop it ? " " Has all ' mana ' (power, authority) 
 been taken from you ? " asked the interpreter. " Has all ' mana ' 
 been taken away from you, that you do not put a stop to this 
 fighting ? " retorted the chief. The first day's conference was 
 resultless. Sorrow mingled with proud resolution pervaded the 
 speech of the chiefs on the second day. "The land is like a 
 stricken bird whose wings are quivering on account of the pain. . . . 
 To what do you allude when you wish us to speak out ? Is it in 
 relation to the streams of thought that day by day and from season 
 to season we each derive separately from the Almighty ? You have 
 one stream and I have another, and we each ought to work out 
 the thoughts that present themselves to our minds. . . . The 
 times have not yet come for terms of peace. The times are in 
 God's hands. If this be the abomination of desolation spoken 
 of by Daniel the prophet which is to come to pass in the last
 
 NGAPORA AND MR. FIRTH. 537 
 
 days, what can be done to prevent it ? " Mr. Davis said tlie 
 business of the day was to do duty towards fellow-men, and not 
 to refer to Daniel's predictions about other events. After long 
 silence Te Aroha said : " Jehovah of Hosts lives, and He has 
 said that peace shall never be made. There was a covenant 
 with Noah, and the sign of it was the rainbow. There was 
 another dispensation and another covenant ; and now, in these 
 days, Jehovah of Hosts has said there shall be no peace for ever 
 on the earth." Mr. Davis replied that Jehovah of Hosts lived, 
 but desired that men should live like brethren. Te Aroha replied : 
 " Turn round and work among your own people. I will work on 
 this side, and as the days go on, the Almighty will be a Judge 
 between us." Questioned as to terms, Te Aroha said that 
 restoration of the Waikato as far as the post erected before the 
 war at Maungatawhiri was demanded. " Our word has gone 
 forth that the striking of man by man should cease. Now, 
 then, do your part. Remove your armies, for my messengers 
 cannot pass through." Mr. Firth, interpreted by Mr. Preece, 
 addressed Tamati Ngapora and the other chiefs. He spoke of the 
 Queen's son ; of the deceased king-maker. He did not repre- 
 sent the Government, but believed that the king would be 
 assented to in a certain district. On this Tamati Ngapora 
 remarked : " It is a matter of indifference to us whether you 
 consent or not. We shall have him." Mr. Firth spoke of 
 murders. The chief said : " What you call murders are not 
 murders according to our custom, because when war begins, the 
 rule is to kill all you see." Whitiora said : " If I were to kill 
 you now that you are here on a friendly visit, that would be a 
 murder. If I inveigle you under friendly guise, and then kill 
 you, that is foul murder. And here are your foul murders. 
 General Cameron told us to send our women and children 
 to Rangiaohia where they should remain unmolested ; but 
 he went away from Paterangi, with his soldiers, after them, 
 and the women and children were killed and some of them 
 burnt in the houses. You did not go to fight the men ; you 
 left them and went away to fight with the women and 
 little children. These things you conceal because they are 
 faults on your side, but anything on our side you set down 
 against us, and open your mouths wide to proclaim it. That
 
 538 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 deed of yours was a foul murder, and yet there is nobody 
 to proclaim it." 
 
 Mr. Firth continued his oration, and asked for a letter stating 
 the wishes of the chiefs. Ngapora replied : " You are our letter. 
 We Maoris consider it sufficient to speak face to face." There 
 was more discussion, in the course of which Mr. Firth blamed 
 Rewi for sending men to fight at Taranaki. " Hold there," 
 interrupted Ngapora ; "did not the Europeans go from Auck- 
 land ? " Mr. Firth replied evasively. " Answer my question 
 direct. Did not the Europeans go from Auckland to Waitara ? " 
 retorted the chief. He was told that soldiers did. " How about 
 your Governor, did not he go ? " Mr. Preece said a Governor 
 was not a colonist. Governors were moveable like soldiers. 
 The colonists had not gone to Waitara. " Te Aroha : By whose 
 authority did the soldiers go to Taranaki ? Preece : By that of 
 the Governor, the servant of the Queen, not by the Pakehas of 
 the soil. Ngapora : Cease this : you are holding a Court. It 
 would take days to decide. Preece : It would take months. A 
 chief: Years." There was a long pause. Mr. Firth could only 
 report that he believed the Maoris would be content with the 
 acknowledgment of their king, the stoppage of fighting, a general 
 amnesty, and the restoration of all Waikato. They had not 
 accepted his suggestion that the recognition of the king should 
 be limited to a certain district, and that only portions of 
 Waikato land should be restored to the homeless. Ngapora laid 
 stress upon a letter he had received from Sir William Martin 
 recognizing that all Waikato ought to be restored. Sir William 
 Martin subsequently published his letter in Maori and in English. 
 It then appeared that his proposals were similar to those of Mr. 
 Firth, coupled with earnest and eloquent appeals to Tawhiao and 
 Ngapora to repress " the senseless men, the shedders of blood." 
 Hearing that they were doing so had caused a gleam of light to 
 arise in his heart. Contemporaneously with this fruitless meeting, 
 Te Wheoro strove to bring about at Ngaruawahia a meeting 
 between Tawhiao and the Duke of Edinburgh. On the 1st 
 June, 400 natives were gathered there. They waited ten days 
 only to find that Tawhiao would not meet the Governor or the 
 son of the Queen. He sent fifty men with a letter to Te 
 Wheoro declaring that they went to see the Prince. " If the"y
 
 Fox MINISTRY FORMED. 539 
 
 do not, they can come back. That is all." Fortunately the Prince 
 was too wise to go to Ngaruawahia to encounter disappointment. 
 The Government having failed to bring about the meeting threw 
 blame on the officiousness of Mr. Firth. Towards Te Wheoro 
 there was sympathy even among the king's friends. It was 
 allowed that he had not been justly dealt with, and the final 
 reconciliation of the king was attributed by some to the working 
 of this feeling on the minds of the king's counsellors. Whatever 
 expectations Mr. Stafford had founded on the "mana" of the 
 Queen's son were disappointed. 
 
 The General Assembly met on the 1st June. The Prince 
 departed. The field was open for attack upon the Government. 
 Mr. Creighton moved vainly for returns concerning the rewards 
 offered for capture of Titokowaru, Te Kooti, and others. Fox 
 and McLean carried motions for returns. There was no contest 
 on the Address. A proposition for a loan was accepted, and the 
 Governor's hope that in asking for an Imperial guarantee " the 
 last prayer " of the colony to the mother-country might not be 
 rejected was echoed by the House of Representatives, while the 
 Council qualified the application by calling it an " appeal." A 
 motion for Supply was postponed for a week, and, before the 
 week had elapsed, Fox had moved and McLean had seconded, a 
 brief motion : " That this House has no confidence in the pre- 
 sent Government." Mr. Stafford fought hard for the post he 
 had wrested from Mr. Weld. Adjournment succeeded adjourn- 
 ment. On the 23rd June, Mr. Carleton vainly strove to ward 
 off the blow by moving as an amendment, that " proposals for 
 meeting existing difficulties ought to have preceded any question 
 of personal confidence." On the 24th June, by 40 votes against 
 29, Mr. Fox's motion was carried. Mete Kingi Paetahi and 
 Tareha voted with Mr. McLean for the expulsion of the man 
 who had brought so much misery on their country in former 
 days. Mr. Fox became Colonial Secretary and Premier; Mr. 
 Vogel combined the office of Treasurer with sundry others ; Mr. 
 Donald McLean became Native Minister and Minister for Colo- 
 nial Defence ; Mr. Dillon Bell, a member of the first responsible 
 Ministry in 1856 ; and Dr. Featherston, a colleague of Mr. Fox 
 in 1861, cast in their fortunes with Mr. Fox, as they doubtless 
 supposed, but with Mr. Vogel as it proved in fact. Great hopes
 
 540 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 were founded on McLean's accession to power. He addressed 
 the chiefs as he would address the heads of ancient Highland 
 clans whom, he said, they resembled. He relied on personal 
 influence and his own word rather than on law. This, which 
 was a trouble to his colleagues, commended him to the Maoris. 
 It also fostered his own vanity, and caused him to disparage 
 arrangements not made by himself. Nevertheless, such was his 
 reputation, that from the time of his joining the Ministry in 
 1869 until his death at the end of 1876 he was in office as 
 Native Minister with the exception of one brief month in 1872. 
 Ministries were formed and transformed under Messrs. Fox, Water- 
 house, Fox, Vogel, Pollen,. Vogel, Atkinson, but amongst them ever 
 was Donald McLean. He had ample funds at his disposal ; and, 
 squatted on the ground in a Maori whare. smoking the pipe of 
 peace with his host l and conversing in his language, he was the 
 dispenser of sums at which the lords of the clan of his ancestors 
 would have gazed in astonishment, and of which he did not keep 
 the accurate records usually required by the Treasury. 
 
 Mr. Cracroft Wilson, a supporter of Mr. Stafford, on the 30th 
 June, before the new Ministry was fully constituted, failed to 
 carry resolutions praying for troops. The resolutions did not 
 emerge from Committee. On the 7th July, Mr. Fox obtained 
 leave to go into Committee on a resolution declaring that the 
 existing expenditure on colonial forces was altogether beyond 
 the resources of the colony, and could not be maintained con- 
 sistently with the public credit. On the 13th, Mr. Stafford 
 moved an amendment, to the effect that more information as to 
 Ways and Means was necessary to justify the House in adopting 
 Mr. Fox's resolution, but by 37 votes against 31 Mr. Fox's 
 motion was finally adopted. It had little significance except as 
 connected with a motion on the same day by Mr. Donald McLean 
 to send Commissioners to England empowered to ask for two 
 regiments, and to pledge the colony to pay 40 per man at the 
 end of each year. On the 22nd July, both Houses carried 
 resolutions praying the Governor to move General Chute to 
 delay the departure of the 18th Regiment, "pending further 
 reference to. the Imperial Government." On the 3rd August, 
 Mr. McLean substituted other resolutions in Committee. One 
 
 1 In hie youth McLean was employed as goatherd by a Maori chief.
 
 STAFFORD ON RETENTION OF TROOPS. 541 
 
 declared that the threatening aspect of affairs in the north and 
 financial exhaustion made it impossible for the colony to supply 
 garrisons and to resist rebels. Others urged that a final appeal 
 should be made to the mother-country for troops, 1500 men 
 engaged for five years, and to be maintained by the colony as 
 might be arranged, that the colony should provide an efficient 
 constabulary force ; that Commissioners should at once be sent 
 to England to negotiate with the Imperial Government, having 
 full power to determine whether to "employ Ghoorkas or any 
 other body of disciplined men." Mr. Stafford, when in office, 
 had endeavoured to cause the retention of Imperial troops 
 without condescending to ask for them. On the 8th August, 
 1868, he ostentatiously remarked that since October, 1865, he 
 had declined to advise the employment of British troops in the 
 field, or to accede to formal conditions on which the regiment in 
 New Zealand should be retained. Sir George Bowen in an 
 official minute, 12th December, 1868, warned him that it was 
 " possible that the Home Government may have taken Ministers 
 at their word, and that General Chute may have received 
 instructions accordingly." Mr. Stafford nevertheless declared 
 that the Home Government broke faith by not supplying troops 
 on the terms contained in Earl Carnarvon's despatch of 1866 ; 
 viz. that 50,000 should be annually expended on native pur- 
 poses. These terms (though they had been promptly rejected 
 by Mr. Stafford) he contended were " virtually fulfilled " by the 
 colony, and therefore, in October, 1868, with the help of Mr. 
 Fox, he carried a resolution asking the Governor to delay the 
 departure of -the 18th Regiment. Earl Granville had pointed 
 out the inaccuracy of Mr. Stafford's contention, and that gentle- 
 man was constrained to plead that, though Earl Carnarvon's 
 offer had never been formally accepted, it had been complied 
 with in practice, and that the resolution of October, 1868, was a 
 formal acceptance of the terms offered in 1866. Pressure of 
 events made Mr. Stafford change his policy but not confess that 
 he had done so. He resented Earl Granville's exposition of the 
 case, and professed, in May, 1869, to adhere to his own. He 
 was now out of office, face to face with the question. He dared 
 not to adhere to his self-reliant theories openly, but strove to 
 qualify Mr. McLean's proposal by an amendment limiting the
 
 542 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 colonial expenditure to the cost of one regiment stationed at 
 posts appointed by the Governor, " with a view to moral effect." 
 After repeated adjournments, Mr. McLean's first proposition was 
 carried by 31 votes against 27, on the 6th August, and at a 
 later date ancillary resolutions were carried. The resolutions 
 finally reported to the House were : 1. That in the very 
 threatening aspect of native affairs, the maintenance of a highly- 
 disciplined and well-organized force has become a matter of 
 imperative necessity. 2. That the presence in the North Island 
 of a small body of Imperial troops would greatly assist the 
 colony in its efforts to form and discipline such a force, and 
 would tend to check the spread of disaffection amongst the 
 native race. 3. That, in conformity with the above, this House 
 is of opinion that Commissioners should be sent to England to 
 treat with the Imperial Government for securing the services for 
 the colony of an Imperial force not exceeding 1000 men, for a 
 period not exce'eding five years; and this House engages to 
 make provision, in respect of the cost of such force, upon such 
 terms as may be agreed to by the Commissioners on behalf of 
 the colony. 4. That the Commissioners be instructed to lay 
 before the Imperial Government the grounds upon which the 
 colony feels justified in asking for assistance, and to ascertain to 
 what extent, aid, either in men or otherwise, will be afforded. 
 5. That the Commissioners be also instructed to confer with the 
 Imperial Government and military authorities as to the de- 
 scription of force, whether Ghoorka Kegiments or other body of 
 disciplined men, in addition to the 1000 Imperial troops already 
 authorized, it will be most advantageous for the colony to em- 
 ploy for its defence, it being clearly understood that such force 
 will be subject to the control of the Colonial Government ; and 
 that the Commissioners be empowered to conclude arrange- 
 ments for the organization and employment of such force for a 
 period not exceeding three years, provided that the whole cost 
 of it to the colony does not exceed the sum of 70,000 per annum. 
 To such prostration had the self-reliant doctrine been reduced, 
 that all the resolutions except the last were accepted without a 
 division. Mr. Stafford moved the rejection of the fifth, and the 
 majority against him was only 32 against 29. Mete Kingi and 
 Tareha, who had supported the other propositions, did not vote
 
 RESOLUTIONS OP REPRESENTATIVES. 543 
 
 upon the fifth. The Council, when asked to concur with the 
 resolutions, struck out the words, " whether Ghoorka Regiments 
 or other body of disciplined men." Sir G. Bowen wrote that 
 the introduction of Sikhs or Ghoorkas would have alienated 
 the loyal Maoris. He forwarded a message to Ceylon, whence 
 it was telegraphed to the Secretary of State. It told of the 
 resolutions praying that the 18th Regiment might be detained, 
 and added that an Act had been passed binding the colony to 
 pay the sum demanded by the Imperial Government if the 18th 
 Regiment should be detained. With his explanatory despatch 
 he sent a memorandum, in which Mr. Fox reasoned in a tone 
 very different from that of his book on the war published in 
 1866. The arrival of Te Kooti at the Maori king's head- 
 quarters vibrated terribly in his breast. " It may truly be said 
 that a general rising of the natives and a special attack on the 
 settled districts of Auckland, is trembling in the balance." The 
 Ministry thought the removal of the troops would precipitate a 
 conflict. They were grateful to Sir G. Bowen for his previous 
 efforts but asked for more. They could not believe that orders, 
 given months previously at the other side of the globe, would 
 be carried into effect when a large sacrifice of human life was 
 imminent. They could not but believe that General Chute had 
 some discretion in the matter. The Governor was entreated to 
 forward to the General a copy of the piteous memorandum. 
 Sir G. Bowen decided "that it would be improper on his part 
 to obstruct the action of Parliamentary Government by declin- 
 ing to forward" to the General and to the Commodore the 
 appeal of the Assembly. General Chute could not but pity, and 
 pitying, could not but use what power he had to allay Mr. Fox's 
 alarm. He informed the Governor that he had "taken the 
 responsibility of detaining the 18th Regiment in New Zealand 
 pending further instructions from the Imperial Government." 
 Both Houses, on the llth August, unanimously passed votes 
 of thanks to the General " for the great promptitude with which 
 he had acted in a critical emergency." He deserved them. 
 The Maori king also deserved thanks which he did not 
 receive. 
 
 Te Kooti made no impression at Tokangamutu. Tawhiao 
 would not admit him to his presence. The marauder affected
 
 544 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 to assume authority. At Lake Taupo he had made chiefs 
 surreuder to him their green-stone heirlooms. He failed to induce 
 the king's adherents to humour him in the same manner. It 
 was said that Te Paea, Tawhiao's able sister, threatened that if 
 the king's court should countenance Te Kooti she would shake 
 the dust off her feet, and seek a husband among the Pakehas. 
 The outlaw persuaded Rewi to accompany him in excursions, 
 but Ngapora would not listen to him. In August he was so 
 unwelcome a guest that his supplies were stopped. Tawhiao 
 would not permit him to proceed to the west coast. The roads 
 thitherwards were guarded against him, and he was compelled 
 to return by the road by which he came. Tawhiao's armed 
 body-guard was ever on the alert while Te Kooti's visit lasted. 
 Before Te Kooti left the district he went to the house of Mr. 
 Hettit at Otorohanga, where his followers took what they chose. 
 Te Kooti offered as payment a stolen bill of exchange on the 
 Bank of New Zealand. He did not violate the " mana " of the 
 king by violence to Mr. Hettit's person. He took occasion to 
 say that when he returned from the Chatham Islands he 
 intended to interfere with no one, and that Major Biggs was 
 the cause of what he called "the war." But the court of the 
 Maori king was secluded. The pale (aukati) made it difficult 
 to procure trustworthy information. Rumour was busy. Evil 
 report flitted over events like the will of the wisp over a marsh. 
 Long days elapsed before the colonists knew that Tawhiao had 
 discouraged Te Kooti. A motion by Mr. Tancred on internal 
 defence proposed that settlers should be withdrawn from 
 isolated situations and allowed to select homesteads nearer to 
 protecting force, a moveable corps being held available at every 
 moment. Though withdrawn (27th July) after repeated dis- 
 cussion, the motion shows the condition of the public mind. 
 On the 22nd July, a friend of the Government moved that 
 a Commission, consisting of two Judges of the Native Lands 
 Court, and two other persons not members of the House of 
 Representatives, should be appointed to inquire into the un- 
 satisfactory relations between the European and Maori races. 
 After adjournment, this motion also came to an untimely end. 
 Mr. Stafford, with a majority of 33 to 22, shelved it by moving 
 the previous question on the 27th July, although Mr. Fox and
 
 MR. VOGEL ON THE PROVINCIAL SYSTEM. 545 
 
 Mr. Donald McLean were in the minority as well as Mete 
 Kingi Paetahi. 
 
 At attempt to deal with constitutional questions seriously 
 occupied the House. Mr. Stevens, a ministerial supporter, strove 
 " in pursuance of the financial resolution " of the previous session 
 to lay down principles that there should be no taxation except 
 what might be required for general charges of the Government, 
 and that Provincial Government should cease to exist, with 
 sundry other propositions. In Committee another member who 
 had assisted to place Mr. Fox in office carried an amendment 
 that it was inopportune to decide constitutional questions at 
 such a time ; that the new Parliament must meet them ; and 
 that the grave difficulties of the colony permitted no reduction 
 of taxation. Sir George Grey had commenced, and Sir George 
 Bowen did not cease to recommend, the old Roman policy of 
 making roads as the surest method of subduing the country. 1 The 
 Maoris understood its significance. The Ministry accepted it as 
 essential to the safety of settlements, and proposed a loan to the 
 North Island, guarding against its incidence upon the general 
 revenue of New Zealand by a proviso that the liability of the 
 North Island should be irreversible except by a vote of three- 
 fourths of the House of Representatives. Mr. Vogel thought 
 this precaution necessary " against the reversal, by a North 
 Island majority, of the condition of the loan. " The proposition 
 bore no fruit in 1869. Mr. Vogel spoke strongly in favour of 
 the provincial system. " Can we doubt," he said, " that the 
 colony owes to the provinces that they have saved for useful 
 purposes some portion of the enormous revenues raised within 
 them ? how powerful for colonizing purposes the provincial 
 organizations have proved ! ... It is well to think over this 
 history before deciding to do anything to destroy institutions, 
 the past usefulness of which it is impossible to question." . . . 
 We will not submit to the House proposals which would organic- 
 
 1 Earl Grey in his 'Colonial Policy,' published in London in 1853, 
 wrote : " There were no measures of improvement which both on civil aud 
 military grounds the Governor considered so important as the construction 
 of roads. It is a remarkable circumstance that at the very time when Sir 
 George Grey was writing from New Zealand to represent the absolute 
 necessity of roads, with a view to military security, the great Duke of 
 Wellington was in this country expressing precisely the same opinion." 
 VOL. IL N N
 
 546 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 ally change the relations between the colony and the provinces." 
 Voluminous financial tables accompanied the Treasurer's speech ; 
 but he proposed no startling changes. His estimates of ways 
 and means left a small balance in the Treasury such as had been 
 bequeathed by his predecessor. Mr. Fitzherbert had succeeded 
 in converting under the Consolidated Loan Act of 1867 about 
 two millions and three quarters sterling of existing colonial 
 and provincial bonds, and Mr. Vogel stepped into the vantage- 
 ground thus obtained. He declared, however, that as to the 
 reciprocal waiving of claims by the Home and Colonial Govern- 
 ments he was still dissatisfied. " Circumstances give us a wide 
 pecuniary claim on the Imperial Government." As to the war 
 he took the view of him " who carried the bag." Righteousness 
 was not in his estimates. "It is the purse which fights upon 
 the Maori's side, and well he knows it. What is the result of 
 the last eight years' prolonged rebellion ? A certain loss of life 
 on both sides ; some loss of land on one side ; an enormous loss 
 of money and property on the other. The land remains to be 
 disposed of, and, as the rebels mistakenly hope, to be won back. 
 But the money is gone it cannot be recovered. You cannot 
 get money from the Maori, for he has none ; you cannot commit 
 him to an enormous debt, for there is no one from whom he 
 could borrow were he even disposed to do so. Every fresh 
 100,000 he adds to our debt is a fresh triumph gained by him 
 which it is impossible to win back. Are we so blind as to fail 
 to see that the financial ruin of the colony would be victory to 
 the rebels ? We ask the House to arrest the steady progress the 
 rebels have hitherto made in fixing on the colony overwhelming 
 burdens. We have land which may be worth a quarter of a million 
 to show against three millions and a half of debt, besides claims for 
 an unknown amount for compensation for destruction of property." 
 The same truth was forced upon Mr. Vogel and the Maori. The 
 former groaned : " Thou stick'st a dagger in me ; I shall never 
 see my money again." The latter had long before bitterly 
 sighed in a petition to England : " The blood of the Pakeha is 
 shed in his money, but as to the blood of the Maori it is shed 
 on his own land." Mr. Vogel was responsible for no former war, 
 but he could not speak truly of a prolonged rebellion. Sir George 
 Grey left and Sir George Bowen found New Zealand in peace.
 
 MR. VOGEL ox WAR. 547 
 
 The deeds of Titokowaru and Te Kooti were the consequence of 
 acts of the Government. If Mr. Vogel's speech was reported 
 to the latter he must have smiled grimly at the way in which 
 the iron was entering into the soul of the Pakeha Treasurer. 
 Without regular ammunition, and known to have used the heads 
 of lucifer matches instead of percussion-caps, the wandering 
 savage had been able to put an insufferable load on his well- 
 supplied foes. 
 
 Amongst the returns compiled for the financial statement was 
 an interesting summary showing that in eleven years revenues 
 of 6,877,000 had been collected, of which nearly 3,400,000 
 had been disbursed for colonial purposes, about 1,400,000 for 
 services within and for the provinces, and nearly 2,200,000 had 
 been handed to the provinces for appropriation. Such had been 
 the provincial leanings in Governments that more than 100,000 
 in excess of their dues swelled the last item. 
 
 The labours of the session found expression in 76 Acts. One 
 empowered the New Zealand Commissioners to treat with the 
 Imperial Government for a force to put down rebellion, and to 
 raise another force for colonial service. The Commissioners 
 appointed were Mr. Dillon Bell and Dr. Featherston. Sir 
 George Bowen made their appointment known by telegram 
 from Ceylon, hoping the Imperial Government would decide 
 nothing without hearing the Commissioners. A New Zealand 
 Cross Endowment Act enabled the Governor to grant incomes 
 from certain reserved lands to holders of the New Zealand Cross. 
 The Stafford Ministry had, on the recommendation of Colonel 
 Whitmore, in March, 1869, obtained the assent of the Governor in 
 Council to an order instituting the " decorative distinction of a 
 silver cross." It had been conferred on four Europeans and one 
 Maori when Sir George Bowen applied for sanction of his Order in 
 Council. Earl Granville answered in October, 1869, that " under 
 the very exceptional circumstances of the colony " he had recom- 
 mended, and Her Majesty had been pleased to sanction the 
 Order, from its original date, by her direct authority. To avoid 
 creating a precedent the despatch emphatically pronounced that 
 to no Governor was delegated the authority inherent in the 
 Queen as the fountain of honour. 
 
 A languid consciousness of the valour of Rangihiwinui had at 
 
 N N 2
 
 54~8 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 this time begun to pervade Earl Granville's mind. On the 22nd 
 June, he informed the Lords of the Treasury that " strong repre- 
 sentations had been made by the present and late Governors of 
 New Zealand of the services rendered by a friendly chief of high 
 rank known as Te Kepa or Major Kemp." A pension and a 
 sword, or a sword and badge the gift of Her Majesty, had been 
 suggested as an appropriate distinction. Earl Granville thought 
 the pension was a matter for the Colonial Government to 
 consider, but approved of the sword, and of the badge. The 
 Lords of the Treasury concurred. Earl Granville announced 
 (14th July) that a sword would be sent, and would " probably be 
 followed by a silver badge." The secret was not to be men- 
 tioned to Rangihiwinui " until the sword arrives." Other chiefs 
 would be similarly honoured on the Governor's recommendation. 
 Sir George Bowen with the advice of Mr. McLean recommended 
 Ropata Wahawaha, the hero of Ngatapa, and four others. The 
 task which the Earl had now undertaken suited so well his 
 noble mind that he ruminated much upon it. He revised his 
 first impressions, and after several months wrote as follows : "In 
 my despatch of the 14th July, I informed you that the swords 
 would be followed by badges. On consideration, however, it has 
 been determined that the gift of a sword will be a sufficient mark 
 of Her Majesty's favour." Rangihiwinui's sword, sent in Septem- 
 ber, was kept back till other swords arrived. On the 20th June, 
 1870, he, Ropata, and Mokena Kohere, received their swords in 
 presence of Ministers, members of Parliament, and other notables. 
 The Governor made an oration on the exploits of each chief; 
 Rangihiwinui having recently marched across the island from 
 Wanganui to Opotiki. The inscription was " Given by Queen 
 
 Victoria to for his unfailing loyalty and valour. May you 
 
 long wear it in health and honour." Rangihiwinui's speech has 
 been thus translated. " Victoria by the grace of God, long may 
 you live. May your children, Prince Albert, the Duke of Edin- 
 burgh, and the princesses live long. I thank Victoria, Queen of 
 the world, for casting her eyes hitherwards upon me, upon this 
 dark-complexioned, this foolish, unhouselled race. I thank the 
 Queen heartily for sending me this proof of her love across the 
 billows of the great sea. Here it lies ; the sickle with which 
 evil is to be cut down. Your ancestors, the kings, and yourself
 
 SWORDS PRESENTED TO CHIEFS. 549 
 
 have been protected by God. You stand on the most sacred 
 place of your ancestors the kings of great fame of old. And 
 now you have caused the sun to shine over this obscure island. 
 It is very good that the elder and younger brother should live 
 together as they did in the ark. After that, the elder and the 
 younger brother were divided. Now, in this year, for the first 
 time they are again united. I and my tribes are under the 
 authority of the Queen. This was Hori Kingi's last word, to 
 me, to Mete Kingi, and to all his tribe : ' When I am gone, 
 remain quiet under the authority of the Queen : be loyal to 
 her.' And to me especially he said : ' Be strong in putting 
 down evil that peace may be secure.' Well ! now that your 
 pledge of affection lies before me, I trust that peace will always 
 be with you, O Queen Victoria, and with your children. May 
 peace be with the Government of New Zealand. Let love be in 
 your hearts. Do not keep all the good word to yourselves let 
 us share it." Mokena Kohere said : " The first proof of the 
 Queen's affection for us was in sending missionaries ; the second 
 was the law ; and the third is this. I thank you, Queen Victoria, 
 I greet yon." Ropata Wahawaha said : " I have nothing to add 
 to the words of Rangihiwinui and Kohere. I thank you heartily, 
 O Queen Victoria ; and you, O Governor Bowen." 
 
 Some of the chiefs who frequented society at Wellington were 
 so ignorant of European manners that they were known to seize 
 food in their hands. They had nevertheless a nobility of mind 
 which they may be allowed to show in their own words, and 
 they could trace their unquestioned rank through many gener- 
 ations. Recorded on the genealogical tree, twenty generations 
 testified to the rank of Rangihiwinui's ancestor in the days when 
 the Maoris first sailed to New Zealand. All who had seen him 
 in the field admired his strategy and courage. The Duke of 
 Edinburgh remarked his noble bearing in society. Sir George 
 Bowen wrote : " He is not darker than many Spaniards, and if 
 he were in a London drawing-room people would say of him, 
 ' Who is that distinguished foreigner ? ' His manners, like those 
 of most of the great hereditary chiefs, are excellent." To him, 
 he declared, was due more than to any man or men the obtaining 
 of peace for New Zealand. On his visit to Wellington when he 
 received the sword from the Queen, he with Ropata Wahawaha,
 
 550 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Mokena Kohere, and eleven other chiefs, was entertained at the 
 Governor's house. The last of the English troops had then been 
 removed from New Zealand, and men's minds were dark with 
 apprehension of what might come upon the land if the Maoris 
 should combine against the Pakeha. There were intrigues 
 among men in power to transfer the allegiance of the colony to 
 the United States of America. Rangihiwinui told the assembled 
 company : " I and the other chiefs would feel it unworthy of us 
 to take advantage of the weakness of the English through the 
 removal of the troops. We will never do that. Kahore, Kahore, 
 Kahore " (No, no, no). He waved his hand as he spoke, and 
 appealed to his brother chiefs, who responded, in deep-toned 
 chorus, " Kahore," to the deep and powerful voice of the speaker. 
 Turning from this digression to the session of ] 869, it deserves 
 to be mentioned that not only in the press but in Parliament 
 there were murmurs about casting off allegiance to the Queen 
 and seeking the aid of the United States in crushing the Maoris. 
 Sir G. Bowen wrote to the late Chief Justice, Sir W. Martin : 
 "If what has been called the last prayer of New Zealand is 
 rejected (the prayer for retention of troops at the cost of the 
 colony), I fear the colonists will transfer their allegiance to the 
 United States." In the Acts of the Assembly in 1869, there is 
 little which demands notice. The Military Contribution Act 
 was short and unambiguous. In the event of detention of the 
 18th Regiment it applied from the Consolidated Revenue such 
 sum as any of Her Majesty's Secretaries of State might certify to 
 be required towards the support of the regiment. It was- rapidly 
 passed through both Houses while the attitude of the Maori 
 king was an object of anxiety. A few days afterwards a Dis- 
 turbed Districts Bill was passed by the Representatives. It was 
 worthy of introduction by Fox, one of the promoters of the 
 Coercive Acts of 1863. It provided for summary trial by courts- 
 martial composed of officers of the colonial forces, and for 
 superseding the ordinary tribunals. In the Council, on the 
 motion of Mr. Mantel 1, it was referred to a Select Committee, 
 which took evidence from Judge Johnston, of the Supreme 
 Court. In the midst of general panic it is consoling to find the 
 dispenser of justice unshaken. He thought it unwise to abandon 
 the time-honoured principles of trial by established Courts. He
 
 JUDGE JOHNSTON ON LAW. 551 
 
 suggested alterations. He quoted against the introduction of 
 " the so-called drum-head court-martial " the weighty words of 
 Chief Justice Cockburn (in Regina v. Nelson and Brand) : " It 
 is said that as the necessity of repressing rebellion is what 
 justifies the exercise of martial law, and as to this end the 
 example of immediate punishment is essential, the exhibition of 
 martial law in its most summary and terrible form is indis- 
 pensable. If by this it is meant that examples are to be made 
 without taking the necessary means to discriminate between 
 guilt and innocence ; and that, in order to inspire terror, men 
 are to be sacrificed whose guilt remains uncertain, I can only say 
 I hope that no Court of Justice will ever entertain so fearful and 
 odious a doctrine. There are considerations more important even 
 than the shortening the temporary duration of an insurrection. 
 Among them are the eternal and immutable principles of justice ; 
 principles which can never be violated without lasting detriment 
 to the true interests and well-being of a civilized community." 
 
 The Council amended the Bill. The Lower House agreed to 
 the amendments, and the Governor gave the Royal Assent. The 
 Act was to be in force to the end of the next ensuing session of 
 the Assembly and no longer. Earl Granville did not recommend 
 its disallowance, but pointed out clauses which were too stringent, 
 "in case it should be proposed to re-enact the law." 
 
 In a luminous charge to the grand jury at Wellington, 
 Judge Johnston (1st September, 1869) explained the purport of 
 the law, the crimes it was intended to restrain, and the duties 
 of the grand jury. The wild demands of the market-place, 
 echoed in the printing-shop, and reverberated by the Repre- 
 sentative House, were abashed by the voice of justice. To the 
 grand jury the Judge expounded the general law of high 
 treason, the New Zealand treason felony law of 1868, the 
 recent enactment, and the incumbent duty of the jury to be 
 reasonably satisfied that the persons brought before them aimed 
 by force to coerce the Government, to change the law, or to 
 subvert the sovereignty of the Queen, before they could find 
 indictments for treason felony. As it stood, the Disturbed 
 Districts Act might content the most exacting enemy of the 
 Maori. Any officer of the forces might arrest on suspicion, and 
 a person arrested might, on failing to satisfy a resident magistrate,
 
 552 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 or any two justices of the peace that he had been of good 
 behaviour for twelve months, be imprisoned with or without 
 hard labour for eighteen months. How difficult it might be for 
 a Maori to prove his past good behaviour to those who arrested 
 him on suspicion can be imagined. Yet this was the law after 
 the Council had pruned the Bill. Amongst the Acts of the 
 session was one which made it capital felony to sell arms to, or 
 for the use of, rebels. 1 A question of privilege arose early in the 
 session. On an amendment about war expenditure, lost (15th 
 July) by 31 votes against 37, Major Brown, of the Taranaki 
 militia, voted in the minority against Mr. Fox. Mr. Fox resented 
 Major Brown's conduct. A Select Committee inquired whether 
 Mr. Fox's letter was a breach of privilege, and in the House a 
 bare majority (29 to 27) resolved that it was not. Major Brown 
 was in the minority; as was Mr. Stafford, whose conduct towards 
 Mr. Crawford was like that which he condemned in Fox. The 
 condition of the Thames gold-field was seriously considered. 
 In 1852 the Government first made agreements under which 
 gold was searched for on Maori land, and in subsequent years 
 McLean and others made bargains with chiefs and averted 
 trouble. Proclamations defined the area within which mining 
 might be carried on. On the 6th July, Fox and Vogel intro- 
 duced a Bill "to remove doubts as to the validity of certain 
 proclamations relating to a certain district known as the Thames 
 gold-fields, and for other purposes." It was pointed out that 
 the Bill would injure the Maori owners, and make valid regula- 
 tions which were contrary to "agreements" entered into with 
 the chiefs. It would enable the Government, maugre any 
 agreement previously made, to prevent the natives from selling 
 land within the area of a proclaimed gold-field. Thirteen 
 native owners feared that a proclamation by the Superintendent 
 at Auckland would cause them to receive less money under a 
 leasing system than had accrued to them under the miner's 
 right payments. The Committee on Public Petitions failed to 
 see that the petitioners' fears were well grounded. They sub- 
 mitted figures to prove that in certain contingencies the gains 
 of the chief would be increased by the new regulations. They 
 
 1 32. & 33 Viet, No. 57, section 33. "... shall be guilty of a capital 
 felony, and being convicted thereof shall suffer death as a felon."
 
 BILLS RELATING TO MAORI AFFAIRS. 553 
 
 thought that if the substance of their report were " honestly and 
 fairly explained to the petitioners their apprehensions might be 
 removed." It was duly translated into the Maori language. 
 Mr. Robert Graham petitioned for protection of his rights 
 acquired from the natives. The Committee left him to any 
 legal remedy available. The Bill was read a second time on 
 the 13th July ; committed, and recommitted on the 14th, and 
 on Mr. Vogel's assurance that it was of an urgent nature was 
 passed through all its stages on the same day. But the Council 
 declined to pass with equal rapidity a measure which might be 
 fraught with evil. Seventeen chiefs petitioned that their interests 
 might be protected in accordance with agreements entered into 
 with the Governor Mr. Robert Graham asked to be heard at 
 the bar of the Council against the Bill. On the 21st July 
 counsel for and against the Bill were heard. Numerous amend- 
 ments were made in the Bill. Its title was altered. It was 
 made a Bill to remove doubts as to the validity of certain pro- 
 clamations and agreements? &c., and the House of Representatives 
 accepted the amendments. It was a time when the Colonial 
 Government could ill afford to furnish fresh cause of quarrel. 
 One of the points of the Maori king's message to the northern 
 chiefs by Rapihana, communicated by that chief to Sir G. 
 Bowen, related to "digging for gold." Te Kooti was at the 
 court of the Maori king ; there were many Hau Haus in the 
 Thames district ; and no one could tell to what height the flame 
 of rebellion might rise if fed by a fresh act of injustice. There 
 was a Bill to amend the Native Lands Act before the Houses, 
 which involved the same point. Among five new members 
 called to the Council in the beginning of the session was Francis 
 Dart Fenton, Chief Judge of the Native Land Court. He 
 introduced a Bill to amend the Native Lands Act, and the 
 Council passed it without amendment. Referred to a Select 
 Committee in the Lower House, it was closely examined. Mr. 
 Fenton was heard as a witness ; and descanted on the delicate 
 nature of his office. " As Chief Judge of the Court I have not 
 only to decide principles of law on equitable grounds; if you 
 can understand the expression, I am greatly concerned with the 
 political state of the country, and I cannot separate the two 
 1 The agreements were all made in the Governor'u name.
 
 554 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 functions. Although deciding legal questions, I am in many 
 cases deciding peace and war. The first thing necessary is to 
 keep faith with the natives, and to do justice towards them ; and 
 also to prevent them from breaking faith." Alterations were made 
 and conference ensued between the Houses, but the Bill became 
 law. Mr. Fenton was not so fortunate with regard to the 
 Native Reserves Bill adopted by the Council. By 21 votes 
 against 16 it was resolved not to allow it to go into Committee 
 in the Lower House. The episode of these Bills is useful in 
 bringing before the eye of the student the condition of the 
 country at the time. Terror in the street and farm ; a savage 
 fury in the press, only exceeded by the atrocities of the Hau 
 Haus ; piteous cries from Ministers to the General, and to Eng- 
 land ; diplomatic suggestions from the Governor about the forces 
 of the Maori king all these things tell their tale significantly. 
 But the spirit of the Judicial Bench, as witnessed by Judge 
 Johnston and Mr. Fenton, declares that still there was, happily, in 
 the community a sea-mark high above the turbid foam, a beacon 
 to the eyes of all who clung to the eternal principles of justice. 
 The daily needs of a colony found expression in those 
 numerous Acts which come and go like colours on leaves in 
 autumn. The spectacle of a noble but savage family battling 
 for its native soil gives absorbing interest to the 50 years 
 which followed the preaching of the Gospel by Marsden on 
 the shore of the Bay of Islands. To rescue the deeds of the 
 Maori from oblivion, and present them in their true light, is 
 the duty of the historian. War, which has been called the 
 staple of the story of most countries, was specially so in New 
 Zealand, whose chiefs did not shrink from battling with superior 
 numbers. Nevertheless, the political condition of the colony must 
 be scanned. The Council was still careful about its standing. 
 On the motion of Mr. Menzies, who had been a member since the 
 year 1858, a Committee was appointed "to inquire into certain 
 privileges " of the Council. The Committee examined : 1st. The 
 powers held by the New Zealand Council. 2nd. The powers 
 held by law, rule or usage, by the Houses of Lords and Com- 
 mons. 3rd. Legislative powers in British colonies, and in the 
 United States of America. They reported their labours without 
 making any other recommendation than that a similar Committee
 
 POWERS OF THE Two HOUSES. 555 
 
 should be reappointed in the following session. Their quotations 
 from Judge Story's ' Commentaries on the United States Con- 
 stitution ' implied that the Committee were not friendly to the 
 extreme claims put forward by some writers. 1 They remarked 
 that the assumption of power to tack measures to a Money Bill 
 was "an unconstitutional encroachment," and that, to stay it, 
 the Lords, to give permanent effect to their own rights, made it 
 a Standing Order to reject upon sight all Bills that are tacked to 
 Money Bills, and thus guarded against the abuse of power by 
 the Commons. 
 
 It may seem strange that up to this date there had been no 
 step taken to place Maoris in the Council. No Ministers had 
 advised the Governor to give that voice in the Council which 
 the Maori Representation Act had given in the House of Repre- 
 sentatives. Before the prorogation of the Assembly, a protest 
 made in London against a despatch from Earl Granville (21st 
 March, 1869) was published in the colony. Forgetful that he, 
 as President of the Council in 1859 and 1860, was jointly 
 responsible with the Duke of Newcastle for unjustly plunging 
 into the Waitara war, the Earl in writing about Mr. Fitzherbert's 
 mission in terms which seemed rude from a polished pen, threw 
 the whole brunt of responsibility upon the colonists. To gratify 
 their desires, to satisfy the Assembly and his advisers, Governor 
 Browne had taken a step " blamed by some as inconsistent with 
 those duties to the natives which were in some sense Imperial," 
 although the Queen was bound by treaty to respect the terri- 
 torial rights of the natives. The result was war in the interests 
 of the colonists (but principally carried on at Imperial cost), and 
 confiscation of lands which could not otherwise be obtained 
 unless by friendly arrangement. The Earl denied that the 
 Imperial Government had transferred any "obligation to the 
 colony whatever, except that imposed on all of us by natural 
 justice, not to appropriate the property of others," and asserted 
 that the mother-country had paid a high price for the territories 
 
 1 If any black-letter student should collect cases to prove that the House 
 of Lords has exercised larger powers than is generally believed, he would 
 produce a work showing an amusing contrast with those which have been 
 compiled to exhibit the powers of the House of Commons. The judicial 
 Hallam amongst Whig writers finds few followers.
 
 556 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 recently and unwisely appropriated. The publication of the de- 
 spatch in England induced Sir George Grey (the late Governor), 
 Sir Charles Clifford the late Speaker, Mr. Sewell, Mr. Atkinson, 
 and Mr. Campbell, to protest publicly against it as " fraught with 
 danger to the colony." It would be interpreted to natives con- 
 currently with the removal of troops ; it would be inferred that 
 the Queen was displeased with the colonists, and that massacres 
 of women, children, and missionaries were sanctioned by Imperial 
 authority as mere acts of reprisal. They declared with sorrow 
 that the policy pursued towards the colony was calculated to 
 alienate the affections of loyal subjects, and "to drive the colony 
 out of the empire." At the close of the session Sir George 
 Bowen informed Earl Granville of the comments made upon the 
 protest in the colony. He sent " one of the most moderate," 
 a leading article, which called the Earl's despatch "studied 
 misrepresentations" ... a fitting climax "to a long course of 
 mal -ad ministration," and only intelligible if the policy of the 
 Imperial Government was to reduce the empire and drive away 
 the colonies. The tone was declared to be even more offensive 
 than the matter, and suggested the idea that the writer was not 
 unwilling to irritate the colonists. If revolutionary rancour 
 should be excited against England, " the historian would have no 
 difficulty in tracing its rise and progress." More measured 
 comments appeared in Australian newspapers ; but if those 
 which were sent to the Earl from New Zealand were " the most 
 moderate," he might flatter himself on success, if his object had 
 indeed been to irritate. Sir G. Bowen deplored the protest and 
 its consequences, but confessed that it reflected not unfaithfully 
 the general feeling in New Zealand feeling which would pro- 
 bably be universal, if " the last prayer of the colony " for garrisons 
 of the line should be refused, after legislative guarantee had 
 been given for their cost. With " pain and sorrow " he added 
 that a portion of the New Zealand press had already advocated 
 annexation of the islands to the United States of America, in 
 the hope that the coercion of the Indians of the west of the 
 Mississippi would be imitated by the Washington Cabinet in 
 New Zealand. Earl Granville, finding that his reasonings won 
 no friends, replied that the views of the Government were 
 arrived at after the most serious consideration, " under a grave
 
 SIR G. BOWEN'S TOUR. 557 
 
 sense of responsibility of what were the true interests of the 
 colony as well as of this country." He was at the time solving 
 the knotty point whether a badge as well as a sword should be 
 given to loyal chiefs, and a few days afterwards wrote a separate 
 despatch about it. 
 
 After the close of the session the Governor made a provincial 
 tour. At Taranaki, the Ngatiruanui chief, Hone Pihama, met 
 him with words of peace. He had availed himself of events 
 which he could not prevent, and had entered into a contract to 
 carry the mail-letters through the country of Titokowaru, who 
 did not molest the carriers. A band of Ngatiporou allies, from 
 the east coast, located at Waihi, were in ill-humour about the 
 lands to be assigned to them. Sir G. Bowen, at Mr. Fox's 
 request, made promises which were deemed sufficient, and they 
 marched forthwith to secure their new home. He rapturously 
 described the kilted warriors, striding proudly forward with 
 mantles waving in the breeze, their arms flashing in the sun, 
 mounted chiefs galloping to and fro, marshalling their clans- 
 men by voice and gesture, and guiding the waggons which bore 
 the sick and wounded. "As I rode up to each group I was 
 saluted by all alike with ringing shouts and chants of welcome. 
 This fertile country is bounded on the south by the Pacific, as 
 blue and sparkling as the Mediterranean ; on the north by the 
 dark forests which reach inland from Wanganui to Taranaki, 
 and above which swells the graceful cone-like peak of Mount 
 Egmont, the holy mountain of the Maoris, celebrated in their 
 traditional songs and legends. Mount Egmont, a now extinct 
 volcano, is a more shapely and graceful Mount Etna." Mr. 
 McLean accompanied the Governor in his tour, and was evidently 
 acceptable to the Maoris. In October, the vice-regal party was 
 at Kaipara on the north-west coast, and was warmly welcomed. 
 The careful examination of the Rangitikei-Manawatu land dispute 
 by the Court in 1869 was thought to have had good effect in 
 reconciling the Maoris to the law. The execution in November, 
 1869, of a prisoner, proved to have joined Te Kooti after the 
 latter returned from the Chatham Islands, on " evidence which 
 would have justified his conviction for participation in several 
 murders," was at the same time a warning to those who might 
 be disposed to join that robber. One prisoner strangled himself
 
 558 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 in gaol, and three of Te Kooti's companions were sentenced to 
 penal servitude for life. One of them, Matene te Karo, averred 
 that he had fought for the Government as well as for Te Kooti, 
 and the Attorney-General admitted the truth of the averment. 
 Seventy-three of Titokowaru's followers were sentenced to terms 
 of penal servitude ranging downwards from seven years. After 
 his flight Titokowaru was quiet, but Te Kooti was stirring. 
 When leaving the Maori king's territories he was accompanied 
 by Rewi, and the informants of the Government thought Rewi 
 insane. Subsequently it was surmised that Rewi abandoned Te 
 Kooti when the latter was foiled in battle. When Te Kooti 
 reached Lake Taupo he entered upon a career of defeat, escape, 
 march and countermarch, sudden attacks upon overwhelming 
 numbers, and retreats so rapid that men were aghast at his dis- 
 appearance they knew not whither. It is a tale which none but 
 a Hau Hau chronicler could tell, except as to his conflicts with 
 the local forces. His first repulse was at the hands of a Maori 
 chief, Henare Tomoana, who was persuaded by Mr. Ormond, 
 Superintendent at Hawke's Bay, to lead an expedition from 
 Napier. Henare Tomoana was about to start, when one Sutton 
 served him with a writ for a debt, for stores, to the amount of 
 900. Mr. Ormond, who was Government Agent in the province 
 as well as Superintendent, sent a message to Sutton : "I 
 explained (he swore, 1873) that it was for the public benefit 
 that Henare was going out, and asked him to wait till his 
 return. Sutton said, ' He is going into action, he may be 
 shot to-morrow, and what is to become of my money ? ' ' But 
 Mr. Ormond's interference prevailed. He swore (1873) Henare 
 gave " the writ as a reason why he could not go. I obtained its 
 suspension in some way, and he did go." The creature Sutton 
 swore (1873): "The action proceeded, judgment being entered 
 in default of plea. ... I did not at once enter up judgment, 
 but waited till about a month after Henare's return from 
 Taupo." Henare Tomoana, unconscious of Sutton's campaign in 
 his rear, marched (August, 1869) to Taupo, and at Turanga, 
 bordering on the east shore of the lake, Te Kooti made a 
 sudden onslaught with numbers superior to those of Tomoana. 
 Nevertheless, sustaining and maintaining a fire, heard far off by 
 friends unable to assist, the brave Tomoana twice beat off his
 
 TOMOANA FOILS Tfi KoOTI. 559 
 
 assailants. He lost but few men, but Te Kooti seized more than 
 a hundred horses, which it had cost Tomoana much to procure. 
 
 Rangihiwinui had been sent for with his men of Wanganui. 
 Armed constabulary were despatched to Runanga, commanding 
 an entrance from the Uriwera territory to the plains eastward 
 of Lake Taupo. In July, 1869, Mr. Fox had informed Colonel 
 Whitmore that his services in command of troops would be 
 discontinued, and offered him a Commissariat appointment in 
 the Defence Department which was to entail resignation of his 
 seat in Parliament. Colonel Whitmore declined the offer, and 
 the Ministry sent Colonel McDonell to Lake Taupo in September. 
 Mr. J. D. Ormond, as Government Agent at Hawke's Bay, had 
 under nominal control 220 Ngatikahungunu, 50 Arawa, and a 
 few militia and constabulary. Of a total of 550 men 440 were 
 Maoris. The rapidity of Te Kooti's movements made it doubt- 
 ful whether the settlements in the province could be protected. 
 Mr. Ormond reported his conviction that if Henare Tomoana 
 had not worsted Te Kooti, the rebel standard would have been 
 flocked to by Waikato, Ngatimaniapoto, and Upper Wanganui 
 men ; and the centre of the island, with direct connection with 
 the Uriwera mountains, would have armed against the Queen. 
 In the signal service he had rendered, Tomoana had thought 
 himself insufficiently supported by the European forces near 
 him. He expressed surprise, but accepted with good grace the 
 reasons offered by Colonel Herrick for not relieving him. He 
 showed Herrick a sketch of his own position and that of Te 
 Kooti which proved how hardly he had been pressed. It was 
 surmised by others as well as by Mr. Ormond that success would 
 have brought large accessions to Te Kooti's ranks, and that his 
 failure did much to destroy the "mana" of his "atua," the 
 " authority " of the " god " whose priest and warrior he claimed 
 to be. Colonel Herrick thought the Government should notice 
 Henare Tomoana's gallantry. Te Kooti at Tokano, at the head of 
 Lake Taupo, took up a position which severed Colonel McDonell 
 and Henare Tomoana, but he abandoned it when he learned 
 that his enemies were arriving in force. Carrying off towards 
 Moerangi all the cattle he conld seize, he left Tokano, where 
 Colonel McDonell effected a junction with Henare Tomoana. 
 Te Kooti having removed his camp and baggage returned to
 
 560 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 deal with his enemies. Again he was beaten, Colonel McDonell 
 reporting that he fought well and contested every inch of 
 ground with from 250 to 300 men, skilfully disposed in rifle- 
 pits and fern-ridges. Te Kooti's loss was thought to be thirty 
 men. Lieutenant Gudgeon's narrative informs us tha't " most of 
 the killed and wounded were left behind. The latter were soon 
 despatched, for Colonel McDonell was not a man to spare 
 scoundrels who openly boasted of having participated in the 
 Poverty Bay massacre; in fact there never was an officer in 
 New Zealand with less of the maudlin sentimentality known as 
 Exeter Hallism than he." To an English reader it may appear 
 strange that in one sentence a writer can condemn brutality and 
 advocate it. In New Zealand the anomaly was common. Te 
 Kooti saw that his position was critical before such a commander. 
 Moreover, the dreaded Kangihiwinui was approaching. Te 
 Kooti's enemies held the passes towards his wild haunts in the 
 Uriwera mountains. To deter Rangihiwinui, he warned him 
 to leave the quarrel alone, under threat of a raid down the 
 Wanganui river amongst Rangihiwinui's friends. On the 1st 
 October, after detention by severe illness, Rangihiwinui reached 
 the camp, and his Wanganui men were greeted by the Ngatika- 
 hungunu with a war-dance. On the 3rd October, Colonel 
 McDonell with more than 400 men assailed Te Kooti's fortified 
 position at Pourere, near Lake Rotoaira. The force was com- 
 posed of Wanganui, Ngatikahungunu, Arawa, and Europeans. 
 The commander was Colonel McDonell, but like Vendome under 
 the Duke of Burgundy the workman was Rangihiwinui. 
 Colonel McDonell reported : " Rangihiwinui's party came into 
 contact with the enemy's skirmishers about half a mile in front 
 of the redoubt, and quickly dislodged them, following them up 
 wildly and driving them back in confusion and with some loss. 
 . . . The Wanganuis set the example by charging up the face 
 of the hill on which stood the redoubt, closely followed by the 
 Ngatikahungunu and Arawa. Though exposed to the galling 
 fire of the enemy, who fought well, they had in a short time 
 taken the trenches in the front and right of the redoubt, under- 
 mining the parapet, jumping up and firing into it." Colonel 
 McDonell said : " Rangihiwinui has been my right hand man all 
 through, and a great proportion of the late success has been
 
 TE KOOTI DEFEATED AT POURERE. 561 
 
 owing to his conduct, and the bravery of my old friends, the 
 Wanganuis." Winiata, of whose prowess his tribe were proud, 
 was shot as he stood exposed on the parapet of Te Kooti's 
 pah, firing rifle after rifle handed to him by comrades below. 
 A despatch from Rangihiwinui to Mete Kingi was published. . . . 
 "Whanganui and Ngatiteapokoiri made a flank movement. 
 When the advance got close up, the flank party attacked ; the 
 enemy seeing that we were advancing to attack fired a volley 
 at us. Whanganui and Te Paneiri paid no heed to it, but went 
 right on. When close up we fired a volley and the enemy 
 retreated. Winiata Pakero made a rush and killed the first 
 man, Te Mano" (a notable point in Maori war) . . . "the 
 enemy retreated to their pah . . . the- enemy fired and killed 
 Winiata Pakero ; they fired again and killed Pape . . . then the 
 pah was rushed; Te Wiki jumped up and shot a Hau Hau 
 dead. In about a minute they were lying as thick as a heap of 
 sharks. Thirty of the enemy fell ; including prisoners saved 
 alive seventy. The chief whose life was spared was Wiripo 
 Tohiraukura. The last man killed was Tarei, a son of Te Papo ; 
 he was killed by Kingi te Patuotu. Of the Europeans, Captain 
 George was killed. Three of us, the Maoris, were killed ; and 
 the European makes four." Te Heu Heu, whom Te Kooti had 
 captured, offered to surrender to the chiefs. He told Rangi- 
 hiwinui : " All you have done is fair. I have nothing to say 
 against you, but I do blame Hohepa Tamamutu, and had he led 
 the charge on my pah, I should have aimed at him and shot 
 him." Again Te Kooti had been wounded. One finger was 
 shot away and his hand otherwise injured as he was putting it 
 to his waistcoat-pocket for a percussion-cap just before the pah 
 was taken. The pursuit had followed a track, but the wounded 
 man was threading his way through the jungle. Where the 
 beaten force re -assembled, Colonel McDonell could not ascer- 
 tain. He marched and countermarched vainly until it was 
 made known that Te Kooti had taken sanctuary in the territory 
 of the Maori king, which Donald McLean had no disposition to 
 violate. It was fortunate that Mr. McLean was in the Ministry. 
 The same instinct which drove Mr. Fox to quarrel with Sir 
 George Grey about confiscation of land now burst from him in 
 a telegram to Mr. Ormond, about terms with Te Heu Heu. " I 
 VOL. ii. o o
 
 562 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 think he ought to give land at Taupo for a small settlement and 
 redoubt, and pledge himself to assist in road-making." By thus 
 giving point to accusations that acquisition of land was the 
 ruling motive of war, Mr. Fox might have inflamed chiefs 
 hitherto neutral. Mr. McLean gave wiser counsel. He told 
 Mr. Ormond : " I do not think it would be judicious or politic 
 to confiscate any of Te Hen Heu's land, nor do I consider, as far 
 as I know of the case, that such a course would be attended 
 with good results. In the first place, his possessions are very 
 small, and so much mixed up with the land of friendly natives 
 that the trouble of getting a clear title would be greater than 
 the cost of acquiring such land as may be necessary for settle- 
 ment. I believe that the members of the Cabinet are agreed 
 that the confiscation policy, as a whole, has been an expensive 
 mistake. I am clearly of opinion that cession, in all cases where 
 land is required, is the most politic and satisfactory mode of 
 acquiring territory for the purposes of Government, as it will 
 not require a standing army to maintain possession." Had these 
 golden words been spoken by a Minister in 1863 and 1864 the 
 island might have been pacified. It was determined to treat 
 Te Heu Heu as having been forcibly misled by Te Kooti ; and 
 Te Heu Heu was grateful. He said that Te Kooti was probably 
 at Tuhua, near the uppermost sources of the Wanganui river in 
 the king's territory, within which McLean would not allow him 
 to be pursued. From Auckland, McLean corresponded in- 
 cessantly with chiefs and officers by letter and by telegram. 
 The name of Topia Turoa may be remembered as that of a 
 chief who was allowed (by Sir George Grey) twenty-four hours 
 to put himself out of the reach of the Government at Wanganui. 
 He was a relative of the Maori king. He sent word (28th 
 October) to Rangihiwinui and Mete Kingi that he had some- 
 thing to tell them from the king, at Ohinemutu, on the Upper 
 Wanganui. Rangihiwinui recommended Colonel McDonell to 
 keep the armed Maoris on the alert at Tokano, while he went to 
 Wanganui to hear the word of Topia's king. He impressed 
 upon Colonel McDonell the urgency of making roads con- 
 verging at Lake Taupo, so that, if other tribes should join Te 
 Kooti, troops might speedily be moved to confront them. This 
 was in the beginning of November. On the 22nd, Colonel
 
 McLEAN MEETS NGAPORA AND REWI. 563 
 
 McDonell reported that he had been reluctantly compelled to 
 send home the Wanganui men because he could not supply 
 food. Fearing an attack, he had asked them to remain without 
 supplies. " They cheerfully consented to stay, and since then 
 have searched for and scraped up food as best they could ; the 
 last potatoes they had to go thirty miles for." Such were the 
 conditions of war in the interior." The Maoris were, he said, 
 " all that could be desired. I cannot say too much in their 
 praise. Much of their good spirit was no doubt infused by 
 their leaders Rangihiwinui and Captains McDonell and Wiri- 
 hana." Old Poihipi Tukeraingi, the fellow-traveller of Captain 
 Meade, was on the alert. No one knew in what direction Te 
 Kooti would be heard of, but there were rumours that Kereopa 
 had joined him. Rangihiwinui in his letters spoke of him con- 
 temptuously as " the eye-eater." Mr. McLean thought the time 
 propitious for making terms with the Maori king, who had looked 
 coldly on Te Kooti. Ngapora and Rewi intimated their willing- 
 ness to meet their old acquaintance. McLean arrived at Otoro- 
 hanga on the border of the king's pale on the 6th November. 
 Rewi was expected to go thither to see him, but did not appear. 
 There was some discussion amongst the natives as to the place 
 of conference, and Ngapora invited him to Pahiko. On the 
 9th November, Mr. McLean with several Europeans and a few 
 .Maori friends went thither. Amongst the 200 chiefs present 
 were many of importance from surroundiug tribes. Mr. McLean 
 was received with respect. Prayers were offered up with 
 fervour, in front of the house of the chiefs, before Ngapora 
 stepped forward to shake hands with his visitor. Food was 
 placed before the guests. No chief stepped forward to speak 
 when the repast was finished. Mr. McLean moved towards 
 them, and said that as he understood they wished to depart 
 from custom and to hear him first he would address -them. He 
 reminded them of his friendship with their old chiefs the great 
 trees of the forest passed away. He recognized their good 
 spirit in discountenancing Te Kooti. Why should they not all 
 act together in suppressing evil ? To Ngapora he said : " You 
 and I are no strangers. We have talked together frequently in 
 times gone by. Why are you now silent ? " Let their speech 
 
 be free as to their intentions. If evil, let it be understood ; 
 
 002
 
 564 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 if peace, let it be proclaimed. "My thought is, let the evil be 
 cast away and let us hold to the good. It is now for you to 
 express your thoughts." After long silence Rewi rose. 
 "Friends," he said, "this is the man. This is Makarini. He 
 has come to speak to Potatau." He chanted an invocation to 
 the spirits of the departed ; then turning to the visitor he said : 
 " There is nothing to be said except Welcome, welcome, come 
 and see us," shook hands with him, and sat down. There was 
 another long pause, broken only by muttered speech among the 
 chiefs. Then Rewi rose and spoke for them all. "This is 
 my word. Cease, cease, cease. Let fighting end. Here is 
 another word. Let my land at Taupo be restored ; you have 
 got the men, but leave the land with me. Te Heu Heu is in 
 your hand : he has been foolish, but deal mercifully, and let him 
 be liberated. I have yet another word ; Te Hura, has he not 
 been punished enough for his evil ? Let Te Hura be given to 
 me. That is all. Now do you answer me." McLean said : 
 " As to your first word, Rewi, Cease, cease, cease, I say yes." 
 Let- all work together to restore order. As to Taupo, the troops 
 had not gone there to take land. Nothing would be done 
 without consent of the chiefs who owned it. Te Heu Heu 
 would be released. Would Rewi be answerable for Te Hura if 
 he were set free ? Rewi answered, " I will. I do not want Te 
 Heu Heu : he belongs to another people ; but I wish to see Te 
 Hura here." Then turning to the Waikato chiefs he asked if 
 they had nothing to say to " Makarini, the repository of the 
 thoughts, who is able to settle troublesome questions." McLean 
 had a word to say about Te Kooti. It was right, to expel him 
 from the district, but Rewi was wrong to accompany him. 
 Rewi replied : " I will speak to you in future about him. He 
 is in the mountains somewhere now. Should he not be caught 
 by your soMiers, and should he come to me and be peaceful, I 
 shall not molest him ; but should he be troublesome in my 
 district I will deliver him to you. . . . You blame me for 
 accompanying him. I did so to see him out of my district. I 
 did not wish to shield him from you when beyond my boundaries." 
 McLean suggested that they should select a chief whom they 
 could trust to assist the Government in allaying misunder- 
 standings. Rewi said that enough had been done for that day,
 
 PEACE MADE IN WAIKATO. 565 
 
 and it was much. There were other days in store. Let the 
 sun shine and the rain fall on the words spoken. It was no 
 small matter that they had spoken with Makarini. If only a 
 fragment of light was yet visible, like the dawn it would soon 
 spread. There were indications that the chiefs were satisfied 
 with the result. Several stepped forward to shake hands with 
 their visitor. Tamati Ngapora told him that he was labouring 
 to deter the Maoris from joining Te Kooti, and promised to 
 warn old Poihipi Tukeraingi in case a war-party should be sent 
 against the allies of the English. Te Hura, for whose release 
 Rewi applied, had been imprisoned for joining an outbreak on 
 the east coast in 1865. He was related to Rewi and Ngapora. 
 On Mi\ McLean's advice he, with others, was handed to the 
 king's party on a guarantee for their good conduct by the chiefs. 
 Mr. McLean lost no time in sending a circular letter to chiefs 
 throughout the island to acquaint them with the good relations 
 he had established. Thus, face to face, according to Maori 
 custom, were terms of peace arranged with the man whom the 
 Maoris trusted. There was no contract signed. No protocols 
 were interchanged. They were needless. The word of the 
 Maori was enough. The king's word had indeed gone forth, 
 through Topia Turoa, before Mr. McLean visited the chiefs ; 
 and Mete Kingi and Rangihiwinui had been invited to hear it 
 at Ohinemutu. Mr. McLean was able to send to Mr. Ormond 
 the names of the localities in which Te Kooti might be pursued 
 without infringement of Tawhiao's rule. " Preliminaries of peace 
 had been concluded," he said, " with the Ngatimaniapoto and 
 Waikato tribes." The care with which 'Mr. McLean guarded 
 against untoward events in dangerous districts was shown by 
 the appointment, on the 15th November, of a Board to advise 
 the Government on native affairs at Taranaki. It contained 
 the names of ^the members for the district, of Mr. Parris, and of 
 the Superintendent of the province. McLean added five chiefs 
 to the Board soon after it was constituted. But it was important 
 that the resolve of Tawhiao and his counsellors should be made 
 known amongst the Maoris, and Topia Turoa was the mouth- 
 piece of his king. Rangihiwinui marched towards Ohinemutu, 
 on the Wanganui river, where Mete Kingi and Topia had met in a 
 new house called Aomarama, or the dawning of clear light after the
 
 566 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 long estrangement between the Wanganui tribes. On each side 
 were about 200 chiefs. Salutations and speeches preceded the 
 following announcement by Topia : " Friends, fathers, brothers. 
 You are welcome. Come with the talk the talk of former days. 
 You are not the chiafs of the daylight. I am the chief of the 
 daylight. If you go to the house of a Pakeha friend you are 
 asked what you will eat. I am expected to talk to-day, and I 
 ask what you will take, whether 1st, You wish me to take Te 
 Kooti prisoner ; 2nd, Whether he shall be tried ; or 3rd, 
 Whether you wish that we may be at peace ; or 4th, Whether 
 there shall be fighting between us?" Mete Kingi responded. 
 His love for the men of the Wanganui was not exhausted. 
 Why would they persist in living in darkness ? Let the good 
 of the people of Wanganui be the first thought, and not quarrels 
 abroad. " Salutations to you, Topia ! You who have come 
 from Tawhiao, the man who is the foundation -of the whole 
 matter. . . . Welcome, welcome to your canoe. Come back to 
 your canoe. Although you have a different master it is right 
 for me to ask you to come back to the feelings and thoughts 
 of bygone days. Your words are large. In the morning it 
 rains, at noon it clears up. Your words are like this. . . ." 
 
 The meeting separated for a repast ; but the end was plain. 
 On reassembling, the chiefs heard Topia read a letter from 
 Tawhiao to himself, declaring that all men were to turn against 
 Te Kooti, whose name was to be made a by-word among the 
 people. Topia volunteered to assist in the work. But " see," 
 he said, " this (a spear) is my only weapon. Do you think it 
 can kill men ? If you say it is sufficient against a rifle I will 
 take it ; but if not I shall require a better weapon for my pur- 
 pose to look for this man. These are words ! Words ! I am 
 in earnest when I say I will look for Te Kooti. . . . This house 
 has been well opened. Let the good work go on." Mete Kingi 
 wished to consult with Rangihiwinui before taking further steps. 
 Topia said he would only strive to capture Te Kooti and about 
 30 of his immediate followers ; and another chief, Pehi, said : 
 " There is a great difference between the guilt of Titokowaru and 
 Te Kooti. The former was fighting for his land." On the 27th, 
 the chiefs assembled again at Ranana, a place lower down the 
 Wanganui river. Rangihiwinui had arrived. Rangihiwinui
 
 Fox MEETS CHIEFS ON WANGANUI RIVER. 567 
 
 welcomed Topia as a relative who made all hearts whole by his 
 words. Once he had declared : " I will not see Topia ; he has 
 allowed the window to be broken, namely, the word of peace 
 between him and Hori Kingi. Now that you have come it is 
 well." A chief suspected of intriguing with Te Kooti was told by 
 another that he ought to exchange his spear for a " taiaha " (flat- 
 headed wooden weapon), because it had two faces. Rangihiwinui 
 denounced the intriguer with warmth, and Topia as master of 
 the ceremonies interposed, with words of good-will, inviting 
 Rangihiwinui to join in putting down Te Kooti. The meeting 
 concluded with a short speech from Rangihiwinui, who was not 
 deaf to the cautions of wisdom. " Welcome, Topia, the man of 
 influence and the man of words. ... I am not a man of words. 
 Fighting is my work. I am a fighting man. With you is the 
 work at this time." 
 
 The Government having been informed of Topia's proposals, 
 and his demand for fire-arms, Mr. Fox went to the scene. A 
 canoe carried 40 guns and 2000 rounds of cartridges. Seven 
 strong Maoris poled the canoe against the rushing Wanganui. 
 But Mr. Fox was not sure that Topia could be trusted. At 
 Ranana he met the chiefs on the 29th November. There it 
 seemed politic to the Maoris to make Rangihiwinui their spokes- 
 man, although Topia was present. He told Mr. Fox that unless 
 he wished them to speak first it was for him to address them as 
 visitors come from the war. Mr. Fox greeted them warmly and 
 paid tribute to the valour of the Wanganui war-party returned 
 from Taupo. " Let us, Kemp and Topia, combine, and then we 
 shall have peace. Why should there be "fighting and trouble ? 
 There is no cause of quarrel ; we do not fight about the king, or 
 about land ; there is no cause why there should not be peace. . . 
 The country is large enough for all." It may be questioned 
 whether the new opinions of Mr. Fox about the Maori king's 
 position and the right of Maoris to their native lands would 
 have been accepted by the Maoris as sincere, if McLean had not 
 been the Native Minister. The man of whose enmity Te 
 Waharoa the king-maker had complained was not the man after 
 their hearts. They put forward Rangihiwiuui, who had declared 
 that he was no orator, to make categorical demands. " I have 
 three burdens on my shoulders. They are very oppressive, and
 
 568 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 it is in your power to remove them. My first burden is 
 Tongariro ; the land about Taupo. Let that land be given to 
 the original owners, to Hare Tauteka, to Topia, to the children 
 of Hori Kiiigi, to the chiefs of Wanganui, who have claims there. 
 Do not take the land as the land of the Ngatiruanui tribes was 
 taken. That land, Taupo, belonged to me in common with 
 others. After Te Kooti came, I went there and took that land 
 again. I took it as a servant of the Government. Therefore I 
 say to you, at the head of the Government which I serve, Do not 
 confiscate that land, the land of the men who have been fighting 
 your battles. Let the owners of the land re-occupy. That is 
 one burden which it is for you to remove." The other burdens 
 were about imprisoned Ngarauru and Pakakohi Maoris. Let 
 them be given to him. Let them live on the Wanganui river. 
 He would be responsible for their good conduct. Others, in- 
 cluding Mete Kingi, took up the burdens of the chieftain's 
 speech. Mr. Fox was now face to face with Maoris, as he had 
 desired to be a few years before. But he had not an English 
 army at his beck in 186!). He also felt his burden. As to the 
 Taupo land : " Why should the Government claim it ? the land 
 of Hare Tauteka, of Topia, of Wirihana and the rest ? Is it not 
 the land of those chiefs, and of the children of Hori Kingi ? 
 The Government will not touch any of that land. It will remain 
 with the owners who have always possessed it." Mr. McLean 
 was the man to arrange such matters with the chiefs. The 
 assembled chiefs applauded the speaker, and Rangihiwinui said, 
 "that burden is now taken off." When Mr. Fox said that the 
 Ngarauru men would be allowed to live on the Wanganui river 
 under Rangihiwinui's care, there was loud applause, but the third 
 burden he could not at once remove. When peace might be 
 firmly established, perhaps the offending Pakakohi imprisoned 
 at Otago might be released. 1 
 
 The subject of putting arms in the hands of Topia was 
 
 1 In 1879 the author conversed, with 'Rangihiwinui about his propositions, 
 and Mr. Fox's acceptance of them, with regard to land at Taupo, and the Nga- 
 taurii prisoners. He smiled and said : " I made better use of the prisoners 
 than the Government. They tried to keep them at the Chatham Islands. 
 Te Kooti escaped and caused trouble. I induced Mr. Fox to yield those 
 prisoners to me. I made soldiers of them, and they fought well for the 
 Queen under me. Was not that better ? "
 
 TOPIA TUROA JOINS RANGIHIWINUI. 569 
 
 reserved for an interview between Mr. Fox and that chief, with 
 Mete Kingi and Rangihiwinui. Fox was profuse in compliments 
 to the outlaw, who in 1865 had coolly refused to take the oath 
 of allegiance. The members of the Government were now 
 friends with " chiefs and tribes of honourable men." McLean 
 had their best interests at heart. Topia was pleased to hear 
 that Mr. Fox had brought fire-arms to enable him to pursue Te 
 Kooti. " My words were not spoken lightly, therefore I willingly 
 take the responsibility of receiving the arms you have brought." 
 Let the arms remain with Mete Kingi and Rangihiwinui till 
 required. " There are two tribes or peoples here. First, the 
 Europeans, amongst whom I include all Government natives; 
 and secondly, the natives living inland. I represent the latter 
 class. We struck out a path for ourselves ; but the good in that 
 work has been destroyed by wicked men (Te Kooti and others) 
 who made side-paths for themselves, which have led to trouble 
 and disaster, and brought disgrace upon the whole party of 
 which they were offshoots. We, the chiefs and men of thought 
 of this party, now wish for what you also wish, a renewal of 
 the good feeling which once existed between the Pakeha and 
 Maori. We are now trying to establish a -road to it." Mete 
 Kingi suggested that he would leave to Topia and Rangihiwinui 
 the charge of the arms. Mr. Fox perhaps distrusted Topia's 
 loyalty ; for he waited till the following day for a general recom- 
 mendation from the friendly chiefs, who reported that it was 
 right to trust Topia fully, and hand him the arms. Mr. Fox 
 then proceeded up the river to Ohinemutu, where he renewed 
 his assurances of goodwill at private conference, and on the 
 following day (1st December) met the chiefs publicly in the new 
 house, Aomarama. How deeply the land question had pierced 
 the native mind was shown by the importance given to the fact 
 that Mr. McLean's policy not to confiscate land at Taupo was 
 made the public test of the words of the Government. Topia 
 declared : " We have heard your words about Taupo ; they are 
 the same as those of Makarini (McLean) in reply to Rewi." 
 Mr. Fox protested that he had great confidence in Topia. " Had 
 I thought him a deceitful man I would not have brought those 
 guns. I knew Topia was a great chief, and I felt sure the word 
 of such a chief would not be broken." Tahana Turoa rose and
 
 570 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 repeated the words of Topia Turoa ; then, turning to his brother 
 chiefs, he said : " Let this first of December, 1869, be the first 
 day in our new life ; let all the old thoughts and grievances be 
 washed away. . . . When we separate, let not the separation be 
 long. Let the Pakeha and the Maori come to the Aomarama ; 
 and let us hope for better times in the future." 
 
 Mr. McLean had indeed done a good work, and Mr. Fox 
 deserved gratitude for not impeding it. Maugre the blunders 
 by which the Government or their officers had stirred up fresh 
 strife, peace had dawned upon the land. Topia Turoa in the 
 name of the king was ready to war against Te Kooti, who was 
 lurking in the mountains whence flowed the waters of the 
 Wanganui and the Waikato. To the north and east the Maori 
 king frowned on him. On the east and south the Wanganui 
 tribes were standing in the leash. Westward he had just been 
 hunted from Lake Taupo (where Colonel McDonell remained), 
 and the colonial forces seemed to bar his way to his old haunts 
 among the Uriwera. While schemes for his capture were being 
 concocted, it was reported in the town of Wanganui that he had 
 made a raid on a native settlement on the river. Mr. Fox 
 telegraphed to Mr. Ormond that " all Wanganui was furious," 
 and that Rangihiwinui wished to take 500 men to punish the 
 outlaw. That chief with Topia Turoa and 600 men, of whom 
 each commanded a moiety, proceeded up the river from Ohine- 
 mutu, on the 13th December. Te Kooti spurned the warnings 
 of the Maori king, and retorted with threats. Tribes were 
 mustering in all directions, and it was not known whether some 
 would ally themselves to Te Kooti. A chief, Topini, barred the 
 progress of Topia and Rangihiwinui, but on Topia's persistence 
 withdrew his opposition and furnished food. Amongst the 300 
 whom Rangihiwinui led were some of the Ngarauru, who, made 
 prisoners for aiding Titokowaru, were yielded to Rangihiwinui 
 by Mr. Fox, and now shouldered arms for the Queen. 
 
 Everything seemed prosperous to the Colonial Ministers if 
 only Earl Granville would leave the 18th Regiment a little 
 longer. But at this time terms which would "preclude con- 
 tinuance of doubts and surmises," ordered removal of the troops. 
 It was urged that the " distasteful remedies of abandonment of 
 land, the recognition of Maori authority, and the maintenance of
 
 MINISTRY PROTEST AGAINST LORD GRANVILLE. 571 
 
 an expensive force " would not be resorted to while the colony 
 expected assistance from England. The true friend of the 
 colonists would tell them that they must adjust their policy, at 
 whatever sacrifice, to their resources. The Ministers at Welling- 
 ton drew up a long memorandum which reached Sir G. Bowen 
 while he was on a tour with Mr. McLean at the Thames, in 
 January, 1870. They deprecated change at so critical a juncture 
 while delicate negotiations with Tawhiao were in progress. They 
 pointed out that the despatch written on the 7th October was 
 published in London in the 'Times' on the 12th October, and 
 the substance of it, publicly telegraphed to Ceylon, became 
 known in New Zealand before the despatch reached the 
 Governor. The colonists asked neither money nor compassion 
 from England, but appealed to the eternal principles of justice, 
 which were as much the duty of the strong as the heritage of 
 the weak, and which even the most powerful nation should not 
 withhold from the meanest suppliant. They claimed that the 
 colony should not practically be " thrust out beyond the pale of 
 the empire as of infinitely less consideration than a British 
 subject in foreign lands." Sir G. Bowen stated in his despatch 
 that Mr. Donald McLean entirely concurred with his colleagues. 
 At a later date (2nd April, 1870) the Governor sent a separate 
 memorandum, in which Mr. McLean said that a meeting was 
 about to be held at Raglan, on the west coast, by natives, to 
 consider Earl Granville's despatch, and that " it would be well 
 that Lord Granville's attention should be called to the fact, and 
 should be informed that the despatch, which was supposed to 
 convey his ultimatum, is understood by the" natives to mean 
 encouragement to them to make extravagant demands on the 
 colony." Mr. Fox also denounced bitterly the invitation to 
 leave the empire, which Earl Granville, by implication, offered 
 to the colony. The " Ministerial Memoranda " were published 
 in pamphlet form in New Zealand, with a preface which declared 
 that the policy pursued towards New Zealand " evidently con- 
 templated a disruption of the empire." The pamphlet was 
 transmitted for general distribution in England. It happened 
 that at this time the tone of Earl Granville and the speculations 
 of Professor Goldwin Smith and others jarred upon the hearts of 
 many Englishmen. Earl Granville had casually said that there
 
 572 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 would be no desire to retain a colony willing to separate itself 
 from English sway. A Colonial Society (afterwards the Royal 
 Colonial Institute) was formed in London in 1869, to bind closer 
 the union of the mother-country with all her colonies. The 
 effect was almost instantaneous on the mind of Mr. Gladstone 
 if not on Earl Granville's. Viscount Bury was made President of 
 the Society. In March, 1869, 200 noblemen and others ex- 
 pounded their thoughts after a feast. Conservatives and Whigs 
 were there. Mr. Gladstone, the Prime Minister, proposed the 
 toast of " Prosperity to the Colonial Society," and with practised 
 tongue played upon the sympathies of his audience. The 
 Marquis of Normanby, in proposing the toast, "the Colonial 
 Empire," roundly declared that no severance of colonies such as 
 some persons desired would be tolerated by those whom he 
 addressed. He for one entirely repudiated such a doctrine. 
 Earl Granville returned thanks for the toast, and descanted 
 amiably upon the reorganization of the order of St. Michael and 
 St. George, recommended by his predecessor, and promoted by 
 himself. Four Cabinet Ministers graced the board, and the 
 spectre of the disintegration of the empire was not presented to 
 view. Yet, like the effigies of Cassius and Brutus kept out of 
 sight in Rome, it was in all men's minds. Sir Charles Nichol- 
 son, who had been Speaker in New South Wales and President 
 of the Legislative Council in Queensland, deprecated the mis- 
 chievous speculators who would sever the colonies from England. 
 Sir Charles Clifford, recently Speaker in New Zealand, touched 
 the same chord more sharply when he said that to keep the 
 colonists in good humour it was needful "that their feelings 
 should not be maligned." Under the varnish of Earl Granville's 
 polished manners he saw the spirit of detraction unabashed ; and 
 shortly afterwards he signed with Sir George Grey and others 
 the protest which declared that the policy of the Colonial Office 
 tended to drive New Zealand out of the empire. 
 
 The new Society was not a power, but it expressed a conviction. 
 The typical Englishman, though not a creature of sentiment, 
 displays feeling when it is least expected by those who do not 
 understand him. When, in 1857, John Bright and Richard 
 Cobden were rejected at Manchester and Huddersfield, when; in 
 1874, Mr. Gladstone was sent back from a general election shorn
 
 ROYAL COLONIAL INSTITUTE. 573 
 
 of his strength, the surprise of their friends was measureless. 
 They called the people ungrateful. They ought to have confessed 
 that they had misunderstood them. At the inaugural meeting 
 of the Colonial Society on the loth March, 1869, Viscount Bury 
 declared that the brilliant but mischievous eloquence of Professor 
 Goldsmith Smith called for such a bond of union as the Society 
 furnished. A greater than Smith ere long advocated hearty 
 union between England and her colonies, and the baleful light 
 of Goldwin Smith well-nigh perished. " Earl Grariville " (wrote 
 J. A. Froude) " took pains to exhibit his indifference whether 
 the colonies went or stayed ; and it is this indifference, so osten- 
 tatiously displayed, which is the active cause of alienation." By 
 faint denials and polite evasions, and by his translation to the 
 Foreign Office on the death of the Earl of Clarendon in 1870, 
 Earl Granville's influence disappeared. His successor, Earl 
 Kimberley, took a different tone, and Mr. Knatchbull-Hugessen, 
 who became Under-Secretary for the Colonies, disclaimed all 
 sympathy with those who would treat colonies with coldness, 
 and would regard as a matter of money the links which bound 
 them to the land of their forefathers. He for his part would 
 do his best to strengthen them. In 1872, he was able to assert 
 that such was the policy of the Government of Mr. Gladstone. 
 " Once more I tell you that unless I am utterly and entirely 
 deceived the policy of the Government is to cement the union 
 between the colonies and the mother-country." Iteration would 
 have been needless if Earl Granville had not created the 
 impression which the speaker strove to destroy. But, as has 
 been seen, the indifference of the lump of society was leavened 
 at last. There was a feeling that Lord Granville had needlessly 
 wounded loyal hearts. On the 27th July, 1869, Earl Carnarvon 
 suggested that the Government should send some one in whom 
 they had confidence to report on the colony. He cited analogous 
 cases : Lord Durham in Canada ; Sir H. Storks in Jamaica ; 
 Mr. Gladstone in the Ionian Islands, furnished instances. Lord 
 Granville did not accept the suggestion, but avoided the use of 
 phrases calculated to irritate the colonists. The Bisliop of 
 Lichfield entreated the Government not to commit themselves 
 rigidly to the principle that they would under no circumstances 
 interfere in the affairs of the colony. He declared that though
 
 574 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 a few colonists might at times rush into violence, the great 
 majority were inclined to live in peace with the natives. In 
 mercy, both to colonists and natives, let power be retained to 
 interfere in urgent need. It is almost needless to say that his 
 eloquence was less potent with Earl Granville than it had been 
 in former years with Maoris. The planished crust of civilization 
 can be harder than the heart of a savage. 
 
 AJbout the same time that Sir George JBowen was sending 
 home the remonstrances of his Ministers against Earl Granville's 
 despatch of the 7th October, 1869, the New Zealand Commis- 
 sioners arrived in England, and the negotiations of Mr. McLean 
 with the Maori king's adherents became known. Earl Granville 
 seized the occasion to offer to the negotiator the distinction of 
 Companion of the Order of St. Michael and St. George. Uncon- 
 scious of the offer which was being wafted to him, Mr. McLean 
 was intent on the pursuit of Te Kooti. Mr. Vogel was busy in 
 Australia negotiating a mail contract between Sydney, Auckland, 
 and San Francisco. Maori affairs were by common consent con- 
 fided to Mr. McLean. Topia Turoa and Rangihiwinui, impeded 
 by stormy weather and want of supplies, reached Taumarunui, 
 near Tuhua, to find that Te Kooti had deserted his cultivations, 
 which were so extensive as to imply that he had intended to 
 dwell there. Rangihiwinui sent back 100 of his men to guard 
 the Wanganui country, and pursued with Topia. Suddenly Te 
 Kooti appeared close to the English settlement, Cambridge, on 
 the Waikato river, far from his recent lurking-place, and seemed 
 to threaten settlements at the Waikato on one side and Tauranga 
 on the other. He was received in a friendly manner by a chief, 
 Hakaraia, of Tapapa. He sounded the son of the king-maker, 
 Te Waharoa. He sent a message to Mr. Firth, the friend of 
 that chief, and the would-be negotiator for peace with Rewi and 
 the Maori king. He told Firth his lands were safe because he 
 had been the friend of Te Waharoa. He would not fight on 
 them. Mr. Firth thought this a Maori overture and telegraphed 
 to Mr. McLean. If the Government would spare the lives of 
 Te Kooti and his companions he might surrender. Te Kooti 
 asked for a conference with Mr. Firth, who agreed to meet him 
 at the monument of Te Waharoa at Matamata. Mr. McLean 
 had hastened to Tauranga to order affairs there in case of
 
 TE KOOTI AND DR. POLLEN. 575 
 
 attack. Dr. Pollen, the agent for the Government at Auckland, 
 refused to parley with Te Kooti in spite of Mr. Firth's urgent 
 averment that a general amnesty might ensure a lasting peace. 
 It was agreed that no effort should be made to capture the 
 outlaw during his interview with Mr. Firth. Te Kooti told Mr. 
 Firth that he wished to live in peace with Hakaraia at Tapapa, 
 and that if the Government would let him alone he would 
 never fight again. On returning to Cambridge, Mr. Firth found a 
 message from Dr. Pollen, guaranteeing safe-conduct for Te Kooti 
 as a prisoner to Auckland. Te Kooti wrote back to Dr. Pollen : 
 " Friend, I have seen your reply. My word to you is that I 
 have promised Firth to cease fighting. But as for me I will not 
 go to Auckland. Let me remain in peace. Slaying shall cease ; 
 but if you pursue me let it be so. Friend, let your trying to 
 kill me cease. That is all." If Mr. McLean could have foreseen 
 the future he might have accepted these terms. But Te Kooti's 
 capture was deemed certain. Topia and Rangihiwinui were on 
 the march. Colonel McDonell effected a junction with them. 
 Between Te Kooti and his haunts among the Uriwera was the 
 lake country of the loyal Arawa. The Ngaiterangi at Tauranga 
 had pledged themselves to assist McLean. McLean's chief 
 obstacle was found in Earl Granville's despatch of the 7th 
 October. He wrote to the Governor (14th February) that some 
 of the rash advisers of the king "read in the despatch an incentive 
 to combined national movement. The furiously disaffected are 
 of course delighted with it. It has even worked mischief with 
 that section of the colonists who have habitually felt themselves 
 at liberty to interfere without authority, and lend their counte- 
 nance to rebellion. Thus Mr. Firth, the lessee of a large quantity 
 of native land, made an attempt to procure for Te Kooti, who 
 had promised not to interfere with his land, something like a 
 free pardon. Ministers have lately had to exercise a great deal 
 of firmness." With such feelings in McLean's mind the overtures 
 of Firth were disregarded. Mr. Fox also was indignant. He 
 rated Dr. Pollen for suspending operations during Firth's inter- 
 view with Te Kooti. The Government would not accept any 
 position thus forced upon them by a man who like Mr. Firth 
 "officiously interfered" by visiting Tawhiao in 1869. Dr. Pollen 
 at once tendered his resignation of office, but, apprehensive of
 
 576 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 going too far, Mr. Fox in the name of the whole of the Ministry 
 begged him to withdraw it, and Dr. Pollen remained Government 
 Agent at Auckland. When the papers were presented to the 
 Assembly, Mr. Firth took umbrage at the allusions to him and 
 wrote a defence, which was also printed. He wrote also to the 
 Secretary of State. Confident in his own intentions and in the 
 estimation in which he was held, and attributing Mr. Firth's 
 zeal partly to a fear lest he should lose his land held under lease, 
 McLean paid no heed to him, and the Government forces were 
 pushed forward to hem in Te Kooti, who knew their movements, 
 and told Dr. Pollen to keep back the troops if he wished for 
 peace. Colonel McDonell, Rangihiwinui, and Topia, with a force 
 of 370 Wanganui, 150 Arawa, and 100 Europeans, advanced 
 northwards rapidly from Lake Taupo, and on the 24th January 
 came in contact with Te Kooti's picquets at Tapapa. Rangihi- 
 winui's usual office of activity fell to his lot. With 200 men he 
 dived into the forest to take a position on the enemy's rear 
 in the night. The remainder of the force was to move at 
 daylight on the 25th January. Colonel McDonell thought it 
 fortunate that he was prevented "by circumstances" from moving 
 so early as had been agreed upon, for "just as he was preparing 
 to start," from the bush close to his camp the alert Te Kooti 
 made an attack upon him in a dense fog. The enemy was 
 driven back with trifling casualties. Topia Turoa and his men 
 pursued and lost several men, though not so many as they killed. 
 In the afternoon Rangihiwinui returned. He had heard the 
 firing at Tapapa and dashed directly on Te Kooti's camp, which 
 he destroyed, capturing more than 100 horses. The loss of his 
 horses was thought a deadly blow to the fugitive. But for 
 several days no man could learn whither he had gone, although 
 more than 800 men were in arms against him in the district. 
 On the 29th January he was found at Kurunui. Thinking it too 
 late to attack him on that day, McDonell returned to Tapapa, 
 leaving Rangihiwinui to watch him on a rifle-pitted hill. In 
 the morning Te Kooti was gone. Rangihiwinui pursued through 
 the bush, and on a track leading towards Tauranga shot an 
 enemy in the rear-guard of the fugitives ; but having no supply 
 of food was compelled to return to his camp. The robber's 
 career seemed to be run. Contemned by the king, beaten by
 
 TE KOOTI IN FLIGHT. 577 
 
 the English allies loyal to the Queen, he could raise no Iribes to 
 assist him. The Uriwera, fearing confiscation of land for their 
 previous hostility, might, like himself, live and die snapping 
 like wolves at their foe, but the Arawa domain was between him 
 and the Uriwera, and the Arawa were in arms against him. A 
 
 O 
 
 strong force was posted at Rotorua. Nevertheless, such was 
 the desperate character of Te Kooti that he was still the object 
 of terror. McLean instructed Colonel McDonell to guard the 
 Rotorua passes, and specially to prevent the outlaw's escape 
 westward into the domain of the king. The alarms of dwellers 
 in Tauranga may be guessed when it is remembered that it was 
 visible from the hills in which Te Kooti lurked. Fortunately 
 H.M.S. 'Blanche' and 'Rosario' were in the harbour. Through 
 the tangled wood and the fern, marauding parties, far outnumber- 
 ing his own, in zigzag courses strove to find and crush the outlaw. 
 Topia and Rangihiwinui advanced on his trail towards Paen- 
 garoa. Colonel Fraser was traversing the dense forest between 
 Tauranga and Rotorua, when, on the 3rd February, from an 
 ambuscade, shots laid low two Arawa and one European. The 
 outlaw retreated safely, and it was remarked that he had 
 accepted the new conditions of his warfare. There was no 
 war-cry of defiance, no shout of exultation. His path was 
 silent as death. Topia and Rangihiwinui reached Paengaroa on 
 the 4th, and lamented that the skirmish with Colonel Fraser 
 had disturbed their prey. Colonel Fraser, " glad to see them," 
 " sent them for food, and to occupy Oropi," about twelve miles 
 from Tauranga, thus unwisely checking their pursuit. The 
 Civil Commissioner at Tauranga, about 17 miles from Paen- 
 garoa, wrote : " I am unable to explain why Te Kooti's trail 
 was not followed up." Rangihiwinui proposed immediate pur- 
 suit, but he was over-ruled by the European commander. 
 Colonel Eraser's reason was thus stated : " On the 6th, it rained 
 torrents." Te Kooti was regardless of such impediments. On 
 the 7th, he was far away to the south, at Lake Rotorua, where 
 Lieutenant Mair strove to stay him with the loyal Arawa. A 
 Maori woman had seen some of Te Kooti's band emerging from 
 the forest of Ngongotaha, on the west of Lake Rotoma. She 
 fled to escape capture. As Mair was gathering in his patrols, 
 the robber sent an envoy to propose terms of peace between the 
 
 VOL. II. P P
 
 578 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Uriwera tribe and their neighbours. He knew himself out- 
 numbered. His men were distressed with their toils through 
 mud and jungle. He wished to obtain time. Before it was 
 discovered that the peace proposals were a trick, he had sped 
 two miles on his way. Availing himself of every favourable 
 position to shield with picked men the retreat of the main body 
 Kereopa the eye-eater being conspicuous in a determined 
 charge, through broken ferny ground and swamp and fell, he 
 pursued a track till the sun had set, and then suddenly turned 
 into the Tumunui bush, into which it was thought useless to 
 follow him. The pursuers were fatigued. So hot and close was 
 the pursuit for 16 miles, that, with a glass, Lieutenant Mair 
 could distinguish Te Kooti and his wife and the guide who led 
 them. Through the night the flight continued. A brief halt 
 was made to cook food at Ohau, and at daylight the path to 
 a grim lodgment in the Uriwera territory was assured. Colonel 
 Fraser, who had checked Topia and Rangihiwinui in their 
 pursuit, was urged by Mr. Clarke, the Civil Commissioner at 
 Tauranga, to hasten to Rotorua through the Mangorewha forest 
 to help Lieutenant Mair. He marched on the 8th February to 
 Tauranga to obtain passages by sea to the south, in order to 
 land his troops and march inland to Kaingaroa, in the Uriwera 
 territory. Mr. Clarke complained that Colonel Fraser had not 
 perceived that men could not be landed on the coast in the 
 heavy sea then running, and that the only available vessel was 
 incapable of carrying his men except by repeated voyages. 
 
 On the same evening in which Te Kooti shook off his pursuers 
 and dashed into the Tumunui bush, the wondering Colonel 
 McDonell arrived at Tauranga to gain intelligence " having 
 not the least idea of what was going on." While pursuing Te 
 Kooti, Rangihiwinui had sometimes been without any food but 
 fern-root for his men. It was plain that but for Colonel Fraser's 
 interference, Topia and Rangihiwinui might have prevented Te 
 Kooti's escape from Paengaroa. Ropata Wahawaha with the 
 Arawa chiefs consulted with Mr. McLean. Confusion ensued 
 from divided command, Ropata said, and Maoris were impatient 
 of European orders " while engaged in field operations." It 
 could not be forgotten that at Ngatapa Whitmore would have 
 sacrificed his force but for the sagacity of Ropata. The
 
 PRICE SET ON TE KOOTI'S HEAD. 579 
 
 Government informed the commander of the field force 
 Colonel McDonell, that after full consideration they had deter- 
 mined that no European should interfere with the new expedi- 
 tion, but that the chiefs of each tribe should command their 
 followers. 1 In after years Mr. McLean informed the General 
 Assembly that Ropata declared that his zeal was stimulated by 
 McLean's resolution that life should be spared. Ropata's good 
 faith was proved by his capturing some hundreds of his country- 
 men on these terms. Ropata was to lead a force from the 
 Poverty Bay coast to the Waikaremoana and Ruatahuna dis- 
 tricts. Another column was to move from Hawke's Bay to 
 the Waikare Lake, and Colonel McDonell with the help, and 
 giving due weight to the opinions, of the native chiefs, was to 
 dispose the native forces for purposes of protection of the Bay 
 of Plenty. All Europeans were withdrawn to Maketu. To 
 Topia and Rangihiwinui Mr. McLean wrote that the chase 
 after Te Kooti was handed to the Maoris, " because according 
 to what the chiefs say, the reason for failure was the complication 
 caused by European officers." 
 
 For catching or killing Te Kooti the Government offered 
 5000. Ropata Wahawaha would lead the Ngatiporou. Their 
 own chiefs would command the Ngatikahungunu. Topia and 
 Rangihiwinui would lead the Wanganui. On the 4th March, 
 after "making arrangements with the people (the tribes) of 
 this east coast," Rangihiwinui wrote that, with 428 men, he 
 was marching. The Arawa chiefs remonstrated against their 
 work being paid for only by a sum in case of Te Kooti's capture. 
 Some one else might capture him. One of them said of his 
 tribe : "These children do not approve of this mode of service." 
 Another wrote : " The heart has become sad because of your 
 letter stopping the daily pay. Here is another affliction of ours 
 having no food. This is the word of the chiefs, that the four 
 shillings a day be again given." Mr. McLean answered that 
 
 1 Lieutenant Gudgeon, in his ' Reminiscences of the War,' makes no 
 allusion to this announcement on the part of the Government, except by 
 casual mention that the campaign near Tapapa " was the last in which 
 European forces were employed," and that " fortunately for the Govern- 
 ment they found two men to be depended upon in Kepate Rangiliiwintii and 
 Ropata Wahawaha." It seems desirable to tell the truth which, if Gudgeon 
 knew, he did not tell. 
 
 P P 2
 
 580 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 other tribes had agreed, and that his love for the Arawa would 
 not cease. If they could catch Te Kooti the Government would 
 settle with them without trouble. He consented that food 
 should be supplied. True to his word, Ropata started with 
 nearly 400 men from Poverty Bay. The Governor wrote (19th 
 February) : " The march of the loyal chiefs Rangihiwinui and 
 Topia (lately one of the principal adherents of the so-called 
 Maori king; in pursuit of Te Kooti is certainly a remarkable 
 event. In three months they have forced their way, at the head 
 of their clansmen, through the forests and mountains of the 
 central interior, across the entire breadth of this island from 
 Wanganui on the west coast to the Bay of Plenty on the east. 
 Neither the constant guerilla warfare in which they have been 
 engaged, nor the severe trials and hardships which they have 
 encountered, seem to have impaired their zeal and spirit." 
 
 Early in March, Rangihiwinui had a skirmish near Opotiki, 
 and made peace with a Uriwera, chief, Tarnaikowha, who was 
 thought not to have joined Te Kooti. The terms were to be 
 open to all the Uriwera tribes. Ropata, who had expected to 
 meet Rangihiwinui at Maingopowhatu (a celebrated pah in 
 former times, situate on a rock 500 feet high, on the highest 
 range in the mountain country), was disconcerted by the peace, 
 though he reluctantly consented to it. He himself captured all 
 whom he could find about 50 men, women, and children with 
 a view to keep them, not as slaves, but as a means of making a 
 durable peace. The captives suffered from cold. He asked for 
 clothing for them, and spades with which to cultivate for food. 
 A raid by Te Kooti, near Opotiki, being reported, Ropata inarched 
 thither, meeting Rangihiwinui at Ohiwa, and expressed surprise 
 at that chiefs inaction. The blow struck by the outlaw was at 
 Opape, eight miles from Opotiki. He swooped upon it and 
 captured all the Whakatohea natives there, about 200 in 
 number. Most of the young men were away with Rangihiwinui. 
 Mr. McLean wrote (26th March) that the fate of the prisoners 
 was unknown, but their massacre was apprehended. Colonel 
 McDonell and some Maori chiefs threw blame upon Rangihiwinui. 
 He did not discuss the question in his official despatches, but 
 with Topia and a strong force, marched, on the 20th March, 
 before midnight, up the valley of the Opotiki river, crossing over
 
 MARAETAHI TAKEN. 581 
 
 to the Waioeka river, so as to take Te Kooti in flank. On the 
 24th March, he captured several villages and pahs before assailing 
 with 300 men a large pah, Maraetahi, in which (he wrote to Mr. 
 McLean) were Hakaraia and Kereopa the eye-eater. " Having 
 reached the pah, dispositions were made to surround it. The pah 
 was attacked and the prisoners taken by Te Kooti I mean the 
 people of the Whakatohea were recovered by us ; those who 
 were taken at Opape. Of the Whakatohea there were, males, 
 57 ; females, 83 ; children, 78. Total, 218. Belonging to Te 
 Kooti males taken alive, 23 ; females, 38 ; children, 26. Men 
 killed, 18. Grand total, 323. There were amongst the killed 
 three chiefs Hakaraia of the Ngaiterangi ; Timoti, who com- 
 manded the vessel that brought the prisoners from the Chatham 
 Islands ; and Hakopa, a cousin of Te Kooti's. As for Kereopa, 
 it was during the confusion that took place about the Whaka- 
 tohea, or that which ensued, that he managed to escape. More- 
 over, none of the Wanganui men knew him by sight." Naming 
 chiefs who " all did their work equally well," he added : " This 
 finishes my report." Of himself he said nothing. Writing to 
 Mr. Fox, he said that " Hakaraia, the son of Satan, was killed." 
 Scouts were sent out to discover Te Kooti's position. Kopata, 
 meanwhile, ascending by the rugged Waioeka river to the 
 Maraetahi pah, had surprised a picquet as he approached Marae- 
 tahi, but the inmates fled when one man was shot, and a man 
 and woman were captured. Rangihiwinui and Topia were 
 approaching silently from the rear of the pah, and heard the 
 firing. They intercepted many of the fliers, killing and cap- 
 turing. Rangihiwinui wrote to Mr. Fox : " They came upon 
 the pah suddenly, not having sent scouts. Some of them 
 say that the squad in front were dull fellows; had it been 
 Ropata's own ' hapu ' some of them would have been caught." 
 Topia wrote to Mr. McLean : " Friend, I think we should have 
 caught Te Kooti if it had not been that Ropata attacked the 
 pah in which he was. I think if I had had the storming or 
 taking of the position we should have captured that fellow 
 Te Kooti." Ropata wrote : " The proverb says, ' It is a work to 
 which one may return again.' What could we do in so rugged 
 a country ? Had Te Kooti escaped from an attacked pah, there 
 would have been cause for disappointment. As it was, he kept
 
 582 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 to the unfortified bush, and before we could overtake him your 
 people were faint with the fatigue of climbing and descending 
 the precipices of this rugged country." 
 
 Among the wiles of a Maori leader was a knowledge of 
 human nature. In passing through the Uriwera country 
 Ropata' s people captured a woman and child. The woman said 
 her husband was hunting and would soon return. The captors 
 waited. As the huntsman returned, the woman warned him by 
 a loud salutation. He threw away his load, bounded up a 
 precipice, and escaped. Ropata told the Englishman who accom- 
 panied his force that the man would follow, " seeking the body 
 or blood of his wife and children." His prophecy was true. 
 At another place five were captured. Two escaped. Ropata 
 was at hand. He quietly moved forward, and having encamped 
 two miles away, sent a picked force to surround the place where 
 the five had been captured. The two refugees would, he said, 
 return to ascertain the fate of their companions. His judgment 
 was correct, and the men were captured. Sometimes when the 
 warriors were resting, Ropata incited them to bravery by singing 
 "waiatas," which stirred them as the Spartans were stirred by 
 Tyrtseus, and in which the imagery and lyric force of the Maori 
 tongue went to their hearts like fire. These and other facts 
 were embodied in official reports by Lieutenant Porter and by 
 a Civil Commissioner (H. T. Clarke) to the Native Department. 
 The latter decla'red that the family jealousies among the Arawa 
 had made him believe previously that the Maori contingent 
 needed European leaders. But with the Ngatiporou and Wan- 
 ganui the case was entirely different. "Majors Rangihiwinui 
 and Ropata have perfect control over their men, and their orders 
 are strictly carried out. A chief of the Ngaitai, who has been 
 serving under Rangihiwinui ever since the Wanganui came to 
 the Bay of Plenty, told me that he had served under Pakeha 
 Colonels and Majors, but none of them would compare with 
 Rangihiwinui, adding : ' That is a man of judgment, and one I 
 would follow to the death.' " a Mr. Fox wrote warm thanks to 
 
 1 N. Z. 1870; A. No. 8, B. p. 35. The Whukatohca contrasted the 
 march of the Wanganui men with that of Europeans. The hitter were 
 heard far off by "the jingling of their pannikins and their oaths, whereas 
 the Maoris moved without noise" (H. T. f'larke's teport). A return
 
 McLEAN ON PEACE WITH THE URIWERA. 583 
 
 Rangihiwinui and Topia for "quenching the power" of Te 
 Kooti. 
 
 As old Waka Nene had mainly built up English influence 
 in 1840, so now in 1869 it may be said that the security of 
 many settlements rested in the hand.s and hearts of Rangihi- 
 winui and Ropata, and the countenance of the Maori king 
 reflected in the conduct of Topia. It was fortunate for the 
 colonists that the chiefs confided in the word of Mr. McLean. 
 The ignominious flight of Te Kooti from the pah at Maraetahi 
 was fatal to him. There he had thought himself safe behind 
 the almost inaccessible gorge of the Waioeka. There he had 
 taken refuge after his rout at Ngatapa. There he had caused 
 a wkare karakia, a temple for prayer, to be built, and furnished 
 with mats manufactured with great care. There now his atua, 
 or god, was dishonoured and degraded. Ropata discovered that 
 the outlaw had secreted gunpowder in the neighbouring woods 
 for extreme needs. With prisoners as guides, the chief rooted 
 out from two places in the forest 20 quarter-casks of powder 
 and a bag of bullets. Captain (late Lieutenant) Gilbert Mair 
 was with the Arawa contingent, scouring the Kaingaroa plains 
 and Rangitaiki river amid frost and snow. Mr. McLean went 
 to Opntiki to consult the chiefs of the victorious expedition. 
 They showed their men suffering from bruises and sores, and 
 wished to return home. Campaigning in winter in mountain 
 snows was hardly to be expected, and Mr. McLean yielded to 
 their wish. He told Rangihiwinui that the peace with the 
 Uriwera was not sanctioned by the Government. Some of the 
 Whakatohea chiefs had been suspected of intrigues with Te 
 Kooti. To ward off raids from such a foe they might almost 
 be excused for overtures, and it was a portion only of the tribe 
 which was accused. Many of them had joined the campaign 
 against Te Kooti. Mr. McLean prudently accepted their defence, 
 
 (1870, D. No. 36) laid before the New Zealand Assembly, explains in some 
 measure the inferiority of the European. In July, 1869, there were about 
 1400 men in the armed constabulary force. In 12 months 330 had been 
 discharged for drunkenness, 263 for uselessness, and 38 for insubordination. 
 In June, 1870, the number enrolled had fallen to 776, but by that time the 
 victories of Rangihiwinui and Ropata had made the State independent of 
 its "discarded unjust serving-men."
 
 584 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 holding Ropata and their other neighbours responsible for them 
 in future. 
 
 It was ever the curse of New Zealand that some European, 
 after a notable success, presumptuously provoked strife. Colonel 
 St. John at Opotiki became now the sinner. Mr. McLean was 
 not faultless perhaps, for he took no steps to acquaint Tamai- 
 kowha with the views of the Government on the terms of peace 
 made with that Uriwera chief by Rangihiwinui. Tamaikowha 
 informed Rangihiwinui, Topia, and others, including Captain 
 Mair, that the Uriwera tribe accepted the peace, and that there 
 would be no trouble if the land were not invaded. Colonel St. 
 John started on the 24th April, by what he called Kemp's 
 (Rangihiwinui's) track, with 50 Whakatohea to surround 
 Tamaikowha in his sleep, at Wakarae, where he was visiting, 
 and holding communication with the Arawa. A dog barked as 
 the circle was contracting, and Tamaikowha, dashing down a 
 precipice, escaped in the darkness. Two of his sons were 
 captured. His uncle, Tepine, was " tomahawked." Such was 
 the narrative sent by this pestilent disturber to Mr. McLean. 
 He even wrote boastfully and coarsely of what he had done. 
 Mr. Clarke, the Civil Commissioner, submitted that the action 
 was not judicious. Tamaikowha had not been told that the 
 terms of peace were disapproved by the Government. The 
 stealthy attack upon him would be "considered a 'Kohuru' 
 (murder), and nothing will convince the natives to the contrary. 
 I think means should have been taken to inform Tamaikowha 
 that Rangihiwinui's truce could not be acknowledged." The 
 act of Colonel St. John, done by a Maori to a European, would 
 have been called murder, as Whitiora plainly told Mr. Firth at 
 Orahiri. Mr. McLean did not prosecute the Colonel, but re- 
 minding him that he had not adhered to his instructions, which 
 were " to capture Te Kooti if possible," he said : " The course 
 you have taken is not only likely to endanger the safety of the 
 settlements at the Bay of Plenty, but also to impress the natives 
 with the conviction that an act of treachery has been committed 
 by an English officer. I cannot deprecate your action too 
 strongly in this instance, which leaves me no alternative but 
 to remove you from the command at Opotiki." Letters were 
 received from Uriwera chiefs, saying, that the " recent murder "
 
 SUBMISSION OF URIWERA CHIEFS. 585 
 
 by Colonel St. John deterred them from friendliness. The 
 resident magistrate at Tauranga wisely induced some friendly 
 chiefs to write letters denouncing the act as unauthorized by 
 the Government. He sadly said, however : " From a man of 
 Tamaikowha's well-known ferocity, I fear that the least that 
 can be expected in way of retaliation will be a murder or two 
 on the beach." Mr. McLean took the occasion of meeting some 
 chiefs at Whakatane, to declare that after what had passed, if 
 Tamaikowha would surrender he should not be punished ; and 
 eventually through Ropata's means Tamaikowha was reconciled. 
 An expedition marched in May to Lake Waikaremoana at the 
 head of the Wairoa river, capturing a few prisoners; and 
 Captain Mair from another direction went to Fort Galatea on 
 the Rangitaiki river, where a friendly native induced several 
 chiefs to tender allegiance. One of them, a Wanganui man, 
 had been with Te Kooti for several months, but had left him in 
 disgust, having lost faith in his atua (god). He told the names 
 of the few who clung to the outlaw. A noted hostile chief, Te 
 Waru, had separated from Te Kooti, and was thought to be at 
 Waikaremoana with a band which yelled derisively at their 
 pursuers, who vainly eyed them from the opposite shore of the 
 lake, on the 8th May. Colonel St. John, though summarily 
 treated by Mr. McLean, was not driven from the service, but 
 was permitted to take part in further operations. Te Kooti, 
 meanwhile, was skulking at Te Wera among the fastnesses of 
 the Upper Waioeka. His lair was unknown to his enemies. 
 Even in the hunted savage there lurked some kindly feeling. 
 He had returned after his flight from Maraetahi, and buried his 
 dead after the conquerors had disappeared. He was now frowned 
 upon even by the Uriwera. Ropata headed a brief expedition 
 to the mountains, and returned with 28 prisoners. Amongst 
 them was the husband of a woman captured by Ropata on his 
 previous journey to Opotiki. As Ropata had prophesied, the 
 poor wretch had then followed the captors of his family, and 
 finding at one of Ropata's camps some rags which had belonged 
 to his children, was found wearing them round his neck. Ropata 
 was kind to prisoners, as he had stipulated with McLean that 
 he should be permitted to be, and several voluntarily surrendered 
 in consequence of letters sent to them by him. Forty-two of
 
 586 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the TJriwera gave themselves up on the 7th June, and on the 
 same day Mr. Hamlin, who was again at Waikaremoana with 
 friendly natives, crossed the lake and occupied Matuahu, the 
 principal position of the enemy who had fled. Large stores of 
 potatoes were found there, and Mr. Hamlin thought that he had 
 discovered the last resort of the Hau Haus. He destroyed 
 potatoes enough to feed "a thousand men for fifteen months." 
 
 The plundered robbers meanwhile lurked in frost and snow, 
 delving for scanty sustenance living, it was said, on rotten 
 maize and fern-roots. Te Waru was thought to be near 
 Maungapowhatu, and Te Kooti was at Te Weranga on the 
 rugged watershed of the Waioeka. Several Uriwera chiefs 
 surrendered, and through one of them (Hapurona) Mr. Clarke 
 invited others to yield. Excepting Te Kooti, Kereopa, and one 
 or two other murderers, all lives would be spared. Hapurona's 
 manner proved that fear of confiscation of land was intense 
 among the Uriwera. Mr. Clarke wrote : " With respect to your 
 lands, the Government will not hold them. The confiscated 
 block will not now be extended. Respecting Tamaikowha, the 
 peace of Rangihiwinui will be acknowledged if he will come 
 out, and there will be no thought towards him on account of his 
 alleged crime. Do not think about Tepine (the chief toma- 
 hawked under Colonel St. John), the Government disapprove 
 of the death of that man." It is the strong man who is bold 
 enough to confess to a wrong, and thus disarm complaint, or 
 diminish distrust. Mr. McLean's candour was not unrewarded. 
 More of the Uriwera surrendered. Six of them, as the winter 
 hardened, were found (by Mr. Hamlin's native scouts) dead in 
 the snow. It was resolved to withdraw the force from Waikare- 
 moana to Wairoa, carrying back the captives, and making the lake 
 so desolate and foodless that none could dwell on its borders. 
 Hapurona had met his brother chiefs at Ruatuhuna, north of 
 Waikaremoana. As the Uriwera now held aloof from Te Kooti, 
 operations could be continued against him without endangering 
 Hapurona's efforts to induce his countrymen to surrender. 
 
 In June, occasion was taken to present to Ropata, Rangi- 
 hiwinui, and Mokena Kohere, then in Wellington, the swords 
 sent to them by the Queen. Rangihiwinui returned to his own 
 place. He and Topia claimed and received payment for their
 
 TAMAIKOWHA SURRENDERS TO ROPATA. 587 
 
 followers at the rate of four shillings a day. For less than 
 15,000 they had done successfully what an enormous ex- 
 penditure under others had failed to do. It would be diffi- 
 cult to exaggerate the military deserts of their companion, 
 Ropata Wahawaha. He took the field again in the end of 
 July. At Opotiki he negotiated again for the peaceful 
 surrender of the Uriwera. He urged tha* the Uriwera prisoners 
 in Wellington should be liberated, in which case the wanderers 
 might surrender. Mr. McLean replied that they should not be 
 hung. Ropata sent a chief, Kawakura, to prevail on Tamai- 
 kowha to surrender. He consented, but haughtily said that it 
 would have been better if he who had done him wrong by 
 midnight murder had apologized. Te Kooti, deserted, weak, 
 and starving, was yet venomous. He made a faint repetition 
 of his former surprises. With about two-score of miserable 
 followers he appeared in midwinter (the 26th July, 1870) at 
 Tolago Bay, on the east coast. As on a previous occasion, he 
 hoped to deceive the friendly Maoris, master them by treachery, 
 and obtain ammunition. A Maori addressed him as Te Kooti. 
 He said, " I am Major Ropata, do not fear." While blandish- 
 ment was tried in one direction, surprise was attempted in 
 another. Some of the band assaulted a pah in which the 
 coveted gunpowder was supposed to lie, but were beaten off, 
 and the discomfited marauders retreated to the mountains by 
 the way they had come, followed by Captain Porter with 100 
 men. An attempt was made to surprise Te Kooti at dawn 
 on the 31st July, but it was clumsily executed, and only a 
 woman was caught. She said that there were only 21 men 
 and five women left with Te Kooti. Ropata, with 70 men, 
 meanwhile arrived at Tolago Bay, and started on the 3rd 
 August on the outlaw's track. Of the prisoners captured at 
 Maraetahi, 34 had at this time been tried at Wellington. 
 Thirty were sentenced to death for "levying war against the 
 Queen;" two were acquitted for want of proof, and two the 
 Attorney-General declined to prosecute. The sentences of 
 death were commuted to penal servitude. It will not be 
 necessary to trace Ropata's succeeding campaigns, but his 
 diary of a winter journey in 1871 may be quoted : " 9th June. 
 Too slippery to travel. . . . 10th June. The wet might be
 
 588 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 travelled through if it were not for the biscuit, as both hot and 
 cold water destroy it ; however, it is no use talking about the 
 wet, as it is man that has defied the winter, llth June. 
 Sunday. Started again without taking into consideration that 
 it is Sunday. All that was thought of was the fine weather, 
 so that some portion of the way might be got over, and that if 
 possible success might crown our efforts in finding the place 
 where this wretch (Te Kooti) has taken up his abode. . . . 
 12th June. ... In speaking about Te Ahimanu, the narra- 
 tion makes it appear a short distance, but when travelled it is a 
 very long road nothing but climbing hills and going down into 
 valleys ; by the time the top of one hill has been gained it is 
 night, and by the time the bottom has been arrived at it is 
 night again. This country is very rough; there is nothing 
 equal to it ; and the days are so short that no distance can be 
 travelled before dark. If it were a beach or plain it could be 
 travelled by night, but there is nothing here but cliffs, creeks, 
 hills, bush, fern, and everything that is bad. 13th June. . . . 
 Oh ! these troubles. But I and the Ngatiporou will yet seek 
 revenge for these difficulties if we can only come face to face. 
 Perhaps we shall all die from the cold and snow, and the biting 
 wind. No ; we will not die from the cold. If we were the 
 offspring of Ruaimoko we might ! But as it is we are the off- 
 spring of Tongia, who thought of weaving and making the 
 rough garment the Pake. . . . Thinking of our ancestor 
 Tongia causes these remarks : his thoughtfulness has descended 
 on us. ... Perhaps some of our friends think that we only go 
 through ordinary troubles of an expedition. Can it be decided 
 by those who are in comfortable places what the extent of the 
 work is ? No ; its magnitude can only be imagined or arrived at 
 by treading it with the feet. . . ." 
 
 On the expedition preceding the capture of Maraetahi, Lieut. 
 Porter pictured the whole of Ropata's force winding along a 
 mountain crest, and only obtaining drink by seizing moist bark 
 from prostrate trees and squeezing water into vessels ; and (he 
 said) doing it cheerfully. The same officer (a Captain in 1871), 
 describing a march of 11 hours under Ropata on the Waioeka, 
 wrote : " The whole line has been through a deep gorge, over 
 immense rocks, 20 to 30 feet in height, which we had to climb,
 
 ROPATA ON A CAMPAIGN. 589 
 
 lowering ourselves by holding on to one another's rifles. In 
 crossing the falls and rapids many of the men were washed off 
 their feet. . . . Ropata and I have great difficulty in keeping 
 the men from lighting fires. It seems very hard indeed to 
 deny ourselves this small comfort, miserably wet and half-fed 
 as we all are." One day they found a letter from Te Kooti to 
 a friend. " Be on your guard. Leave everything to me. Be 
 very wary. I know not when I may return." They captured 
 in March, 1871, one of Te Kooti' s people, who led them to a 
 concealed pah at Haupapa. At three o'clock in the morning it 
 was surrounded, but the robber's den was empty, and had been 
 deserted for many days. Some rifles were found. At other 
 places fugitives were surprised and secured. Te Kooti himself, 
 in midwinter, was thought to be living on pigeons, pigs, and 
 berries. Ropata's men were for some days reduced to the last- 
 named article. Te Kooti fired upon some men under command 
 of Captain Preece, in the Waikaremoana district, in August, 
 1871 ; and when Captain Mair pursued with a strong force, a 
 letter from Te Kooti was found posted in the hut which he had 
 occupied the night before. It was : " To all the Government," 
 and bade them cease to pursue him, as he was living in his own 
 place, in the bush. He spoke of future fighting, and concluded 
 thus : " If you despise these words, who cares ? They are for 
 you. From your enemy." l Close watch was kept to guard the 
 
 1 In juxtaposition with Ropata's diary it may be well to include here, 
 some prayers, which the learned Mr. Colenso tells us were written by Te 
 Kooti with his own hand in his pocket memorandum-book ; very much 
 worn with constant usage, and more than once repaired by stitching it 
 together with fibres of New Zealand flax. 
 
 1. A Prayer used in the Chatham Itlands. 
 
 God, if our hearts arise from the land in which we now dwell as slaves, 
 and repent and pray to Thee and confess our sins in Thy presence, then, 
 Jehovah, do Thou blot out the sins of Thy own people, who have sinned 
 against Thee. Do not Thou, O God, cause us to be wholly destroyed. 
 Wherefore it is that we glorify Thy Holy Name. Amen. 
 
 2. A Prayer on going to bed. . . . 
 3. A Prayer offered in the night while in bed. . . . 
 
 4. A Prayer on rising from bed. . . . 
 5. Another Prayer on rising from bed. . . . 
 
 6. A Prayer for deliverance from foes. 
 Jehovah, Thou art the God who deliverest the people repenting,
 
 590 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 passes to the Waikato district, but it was not close enough to 
 kf ep out Te Kooti. From the date of his disaster at Maraetahi, 
 for nearly two years he clung to the mountain fastnesses at the 
 south of Opotiki. Neither he nor Kereopa after the campaign- 
 ing of Ropata became a terror in the land. Te Kooti could but 
 crawl unnoticed into the territory of the king. Kereopa dragged 
 out a miserable half-starved existence, spurned even by those in 
 whose mountain-home he was hidden. Whether Ropata could 
 at an earlier date have brought the wanderer's career to a close 
 has been doubted by some. At last, when Ropata had threatened 
 to build a pah in Uriwera territory unless the tribe would assist 
 in the capture of Kereopa, a chosen band of Ngatiporou, guided 
 by Uriwera information, laid hands upon the outcast in November, 
 1871, and carried him to Napier. In gaol he made a desperate 
 attempt to cut his own throat with a knife, but the prison 
 warders averted such a horror in order that he might be lawfully 
 strangled. Tried and convicted, he admitted to the Bishop of 
 Waiapu the justice of his sentence, and was hanged. Sir G. 
 Bo wen told the Secretary of State that his surrender to the civil 
 authorities proved " the softened manner of the native race," 
 inasmuch as in former times he would when captured by clans- 
 men of his victims, have been " forthwith shot or hanged with 
 tortures, or mutilations similar to those inflicted by himself." 
 
 From the ghastly picture of the dusky murderer on the 
 gallows, the mind turns with relief to another portion of the 
 Governor's despatch. Rangihiwinui, with other chiefs, pleaded 
 at Wanganui with Sir G. Bowen in December, 1871, for the 
 release of the prisoners captured by their swords, offering to be 
 responsible for the good conduct of those who might be released. 
 Fifty-eight still remained in Dunedin, and the punishment of 
 Kereopa was allowed to be the signal for their release. Mr. 
 
 therefore do Thou listen hither this day to the prayer of Thy servant con- 
 cerning our enemies. Let them be destroyed and turned to flight by Thee. 
 Let their counsels be utterly confounded, and their faces be covered with 
 sadness and confusion. And when thou sendest forth Thy Angel to 
 trample our enemies to the earth, through Thee also shall all their bones 
 be broken to pieces. Glory to Thy Holy Name. Amen. 
 
 (These prayers were printed at Napier after Mr. Colenso had faithfully 
 translated them.)
 
 RESULTS OF CAMPAIGNS. 591 
 
 McLean counselled it, and went in person to the south to bring 
 them back with distinction. Early in 1872 there was no political 
 prisoner in New Zealand. Though it is needless to narrate in 
 detail the toils of Ropata in the Uriwera mountains, it may be 
 well to mention in this place one of the results. When, in 
 December, 1870, the Duke of Edinburgh with Sir G. Bowen 
 visited Turanga and Maketu, and was escorted by the Arawa to 
 their lakes, Te Waru availed himself of the presence of the 
 Queen's son, and with 46 followers tendered his submission at 
 Maketu. " Though dejected " (Sir G. Bowen wrote), " he main- 
 tained, in the presence of His Royal Highness the Duke of 
 Edinburgh and myself, the usual dignified bearing of Maori 
 warriors." He surrendered under the terms of proclamations 
 which guaranteed freedom and land to him. He was never 
 accused of murder. Significant returns l were laid before the 
 Assembly. Within the year ending in June, 1869, it appeared 
 that 279 rebels had been killed and 242 wounded. In the 
 succeeding year 116 were killed, 453 were captured, and 361 
 surrendered. The loss on the side of the Government was 
 mainly under Colonels McDonell and Whitmore, on the west 
 coast. The Europeans killed in the year ending June, 1869, 
 were 143; the wounded were 101. In the following year there 
 were 12 killed and 26 wounded. Amongst the Maoris slain by 
 the rebels, 57 were killed by Te Kooti at Mohaka, in April, 1869. 
 His ferocity can be explained, but not excused, by the fact that 
 a Colonial Minister had offered a price for his body dead or 
 alive, had paid 50 for the head of Nikora, and had sanctioned 
 the slaughter in cold blood of every rebel captured at Ngatapa, a 
 place which bears in the published returns the ominous reputation 
 of having seen 136 Maoris killed, and not one prisoner. 
 
 Before adverting to the meeting of the General Assembly in 
 June, 1870, it may be well to glance at the condition of affairs 
 among the Maoris in the western and northern districts. In 
 Waikato lands were allotted to " returned rebels " on a scale by 
 which a " man of rank " received 50 acres, his wife 33 acres, and 
 a further portion was allowed for children. When mother and 
 father had both fallen ill the war, land was granted to orphans, 
 " in proportion to the rank of their parents." There was peace 
 1 N. Z. P. P. 1869, A. No. 3, G ; 1870, D. No. 37.
 
 592 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 between the hot-blooded Ngapuhi and Rarawa in the far north. 
 A great assembly (hahunga) to celebrate the removal of the 
 bones of a chief, Arama Karaka, was held at Waima. Three 
 thousand Maoris were present, and 1000 fighting-men took part 
 in the customary war-dance. The hosts, the Ngapuhi, excluded 
 wines and spirits, but there was munificent provision of food- 
 The Rarawa guests brought presents of food to the Ngapuhi. 
 The ceremony lasted for three days. More than sixty Europeans 
 were hospitably entertained. The crier, in announcing the 
 allotment of food, pronounced that three separate lots were for 
 the Pakehas. On the second day the widow of Arama Karaka 
 carried on her back the bones of her husband and of her child 
 to the place prepared for them. The day and night were spent 
 in chant and dance. In the morning 100 women, wearing 
 wreaths of fern and willow, moved towards the body in har- 
 monious gesture of the "kanikani," in which hands and arms 
 keep time with the footfall; and then they burst forth into 
 piteous wailing for the dead. Among the chiefs the orations 
 breathed friendliness to the English. Old Poihipi Tukeraingi, 
 at Lake Taupo, aided the Government in its policy of making- 
 roads. Already vehicles could pass from Taupo by Runanga 
 to Napier. The astute old chief urged the Government not 
 to spend their money for nought in running after Te Kooti, 
 but to make roads, build a few strongholds, and then, at 
 any moment, they could crush him or any other foe. The 
 Government thanked him for his zeal. Roads through the 
 Taranaki province, and thence to Waikato and Taupo, were 
 contemplated ; but under Mr. McLean's influence Mr. Fox had 
 learned wisdom. He told Mr. Parris that, the natives being 
 uneasy at the " forcing of a road through between Taranaki and 
 Opunake, the greatest care must be taken not to provoke ill- 
 feeling and create distrust in the native mind as to the objects 
 of the Government. If any symptoms of serious dissatisfaction 
 appear, cease at once to press matters." Mr. McLean instructed 
 Parris to confer with the natives about the line between Patea 
 and Taranaki, and ascertain their willingness to co-operate before 
 allowing an officer to survey the line. Among those with whom 
 Parris conferred was Rako, a grandson of Rangitake. Many 
 chiefs took contracts for sections of the roads, and punctual
 
 OPINIONS OF MR. Fox. 593 
 
 payment on completion of their work commended it to their 
 minds. There was telegraphic communication with Lake Taupo 
 from the east coast, and from the west. In all directions the 
 arms of the Maoris were called in to subdue their country by 
 their own labour to the uses of the colonists. Titokowaru, after 
 fleeing from the face of Rangihiwinui in 1869, remained quiet 
 in the hills at the Upper Waitara. 
 
 On the 14th June, 1870, a few days before the presentation 
 of swords to Rangihiwinui, Ropata, and Mokena, the General 
 Assembly met at Wellington. The Governor congratulated it 
 on the field operations conducted by Majors Rangihiwinui, 
 Ropata, and Topia, and intimated that measures for renewing 
 the great work of colonization would be brought before them. 
 It was significant of Mr. Fox's state of mind, that in the 
 Governor's speech the opening of steam communication with 
 the principal port of the United States on the Pacific was dwelt 
 upon as a substantial benefit, while the fact that it " also afforded 
 speedy communication with Great Britain" was added as a 
 minor matter. No allusion was made to the removal of the last 
 body of English troops the disappearance of the English flag 
 the silencing of the stirring sounds which reminded Englishmen 
 that the symbol of their country's military power was amongst 
 them. It had been taken from them when they had almost 
 abjectly entreated Earl Granville to delay its departure, and 
 when the Assembly had solemnly guaranteed by law to provide 
 for the necessary cost of maintaining it. Colonel Elliot, in 
 February, had sent off the last detachment. After a thankless 
 service, in which it could not but be plain to them that they 
 were compelled to fight in wars unjustly provoked by some of 
 their countrymen, the severance had come, and the kindly 
 feelings of man toward man made the parting bitter. At 
 Auckland, Napier, Wanganui, and Taranaki, they were accom- 
 panied to the shore with demonstrations of regret at their 
 departure. In March, Mr. Fox summed up his feelings in a 
 lengthy memorandum sent by himself to the New Zealand 
 Commissioners in England, and by the Governor to Earl 
 Granville. The Earl's policy, he said, tended to the disin- 
 tegration of the empire. " The action of the Imperial Govern- 
 ment was not only unfriendly, but scarcely reconcilable with 
 
 VOL. II. Q Q,
 
 594 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 any other motive than a desire to drive New Zealand from the 
 empire." If the new policy should be persisted in, Ministers 
 were convinced it must create in the minds of colonists "a 
 rankling feeling of alienation 'from the mother-country," which 
 would be "handed down to the future inhabitants of New 
 Zealand." Before the calling of the Assembly, Mr. Fox had 
 asked the Governor to send a memorandum (from Mr. Fox), to 
 open up direct negotiations with the Government of the United 
 States ; but Sir G. Bowen proffered no more than to send it to 
 the Secretary of State, through whose good offices it might find 
 its way to its destination from the Foreign Office. These dilatory 
 pleas (approved by Lord Kimberley) suited ill with Mr. Fox's 
 temperament, and his letter found its way into the newspapers. 
 Sir George Grey was reported to be inclined to a declaration of 
 independence. Dr. Featherston, one of the Commissioners in 
 England, and Mr. Sewell, also in the mother-country, were said 
 to be of the same mind. Independence or annexation to the 
 United States were openly spoken of in New Zealand. The 
 London ' Spectator ' insinuated that but for a sudden change of 
 style in despatches from the Colonial Office, and the guarantee 
 accorded to the New Zealand Commissioners for a new loan, 
 separation had become probable. The induction of Lord 
 Kimberley at the Colonial Office in July, 1870, produced a 
 change. Under the provocation received from Lord Granville, 
 Mr. Fox was not anxious to give prominence in the Governor's 
 speech to the advantage of " speedy communication with Great 
 Britain ; " nor were his colleagues in good humour. Mr. Vogel 
 and Mr. McLean, in telegraphing the "brilliant successes" of 
 Rangihiwinui and Ropata to the Commissioners in England, 
 added : " But for England's desertion we believe we could 
 establish permanent peace." In March, 1870, Mr. Fox formally 
 desired that the Panama mail line might be "the commence- 
 ment of friendly relations " with the United States, and that the 
 American Government would " in future be willing to allow the 
 New Zealand Government to communicate witli them direct 
 in matters affecting the relations between the two countries." 
 The theories of Professor Goldwin Smith and the acts of Earl 
 Granville were apparently on the high road to success. Donald 
 McLean's native policy assured the position of the Ministry.
 
 LOAN BILLS. 595 
 
 With the session of 1870 the existing House of Represent- 
 atives was to close its labours. The Treasurer, Mr. Vogel, 
 determined to avail himself of the majority at the disposal 
 of the Government by initiating a new policy. He laid 
 upon the table vast piles of financial tables, and he proposed 
 in his Budget speech to borrow six millions sterling for 
 defence, immigration, public works, and other purposes. By 
 48 votes againsi 7 the second reading of the " Defence and other 
 purposes Loan Bill " was carried on the 2nd August, and by 45 
 votes against 7 the Immigration and Public Works Loan Bill was 
 carried on the 3rd. Never was the path to debt followed with 
 greater unanimity. Railways were to be constructed. More loans 
 loomed in the distance, to construct them. Mr. Vogel thought 
 that 1500 or 1600 miles of railway would be required ; that with 
 2 millions of acres of land and 7,500,000 the railways might 
 be made ; and that about 1,000,000 more would be needed to 
 carry out his other proposals. He exhibited elaborate calcula- 
 tions (such as were never wanting to a projector), which showed 
 that in ten years the rapidly-increasing receipts would over- 
 balance the expenditure of the colony. The Commissioners in 
 England had reported that the Imperial Government was willing 
 to guarantee a loan of one million sterling for public works and 
 immigration, which would save 20,000 a year by means of the 
 superiority of a guaranteed to an unguaranteed loan. He pro- 
 posed to propitiate the provinces by giving to each of them a 
 grant of 2 per head of population. The whole grant would be 
 half a million sterling. Otago and Southland would thus obtain 
 140,000; Auckland, 1 24,000. The grant was to be diminished 
 gradually till it fell to 30s. per head. Caught with the glitter of 
 the thirty pieces of silver, a majority accepted the bait. 
 
 The decline in the character of the representation where a 
 crowd of gold-seekers overwhelm at the polling-booths those who 
 have a wholesome and permanent interest in the soil was as 
 marked in New Zealand as in Australia. Thousands of the 
 same men who had taken part in degrading the Legislature of 
 Victoria, now exercised similar influence in the land of the 
 Maoris; and the general toleration extended to the new 
 Treasurer proved that the decay in moral worth had infected 
 large sections of the community. It placed its future in pawn,
 
 596 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 and was at the mercy of the pawnbroker. In him it could find 
 only a prophet whose god was money, but for the time it had 
 discarded from its care the weightier matters which contribute 
 to the true welfare of a people. Like a young spendthrift in the 
 hands of a Jew, and bent on a wild career, it trampled on the 
 maxims of prudence and the ungrateful compunctions of con- 
 science. Mr. Vogel's financial propositions were substantially 
 accepted. Four millions sterling were authorized, by enactment, 
 to be raised for immigration and public works, and one million 
 was devoted to defence and other purposes. The provinces 
 secured their portion by a Payments to Provinces Act. 
 
 Mr. Fox deserves credit for the passing of a Bill to found the 
 University of New Zealand. On the 20th July, a Joint Com- 
 mittee of both Houses reported that it was desirable to establish 
 at once a Colonial University, and there was no opposition to 
 the passing of the necessary Bill. There were peculiar facilities 
 for appropriating reserves of land to the University in New 
 Zealand. Grants of 10,000 acres in various places were allotted. 
 Mr. Tancred, one of the earliest responsible Ministers in the 
 colony, was elected Chancellor of the University as soon as it 
 was formally constituted, and Mr. Hugh Carleton Vice-Chan- 
 cellor. For such posts the new blood of the colony furnished no 
 competitors. Mr. Fitzherbert, Mr. Stafford, and other members 
 of the General Assembly appeared on the list of the governing 
 body. Thus at the very time when it adopted a policy which 
 pointed to money as the TO /caAoV, the be-all and the end-all of 
 national prosperity, the foundation was laid of a counteracting 
 principle which might recall men's minds to higher purposes. 
 To give their due to those who worship at the shrine of Plutus, 
 they commonly, because it is considered a mark of liberal views, 
 are ready to sanction expenditure on that intellectual culture 
 for which they care so little. With vulgar indifference they 
 patronize the knowledge to whose behests they pay no heed. Mr. 
 Richmond from the Opposition benches moved a series of reso- 
 lutions declaring the propriety of legislation to provide for the 
 education of the people in all parts of the country. He contem- 
 plated school-rates, inspection of schools, and secular instruction 
 by the State combined with facilities for imparting religious 
 instruction out of school-hours and at the charge of parents or
 
 PROTESTS AGAINST PUBLIC WORKS BILL. 597 
 
 friends. A conscience clause was to be strictly maintained in 
 denominational schools which might be subsidized by the State. 
 An amendment to excise the details of the plan and commit 
 the Honse to no more than a general recommendation, was 
 rejected, and Mr. Richmond carried his resolutions without a 
 division. A resolution to secure the independence of Parlia- 
 ment by excluding place-men and by barring ex-members from 
 offices of emolument for a stated time after vacating their seats, 
 was thrown out by a narrow majority of four, the Ministry con- 
 tending against the curb thus sought to be placed upon them. 
 They were willing to profess purity, but not to give to the 
 country any security against corruption. An attempt to abolish 
 existing provincial boundaries and divide the colony into two pro- 
 vinces, of which the North Island was to be one, was got rid of 
 by the previous question. The convocation of the Assembly at 
 Wellington was not universally consented to. There were some, 
 amongst whom were two of the Fox Ministry, who desired that 
 the next session should be held at Auckland. A Representation 
 Bill engrossed the serious attention of the Representatives. Mr. 
 Fox proposed to confer more members on the Middle Island 
 than on the Northern Island, but after obtaining the assent of 
 the House to general resolutions, referred them to a Committee 
 of 20 members for revision. All resistance on the part of Mr. 
 Stafford was overwhelmed by Government majorities, and the 
 Bill was passed. The Maori representation, by four members, was 
 left untouched. The European members were fixed at 74. 
 Vote by ballot was enacted in a separate measure which was 
 amended in the Council. The Representatives appointed a 
 Committee on the 10th August to prepare reasons for disagree- 
 ment, but the Committee was discharged on the 24th, and the 
 one disputed amendment was agreed to. A minority opposed 
 the Immigration and Public Works Bill in the Council, but the 
 second reading was passed by 25 votes against 8. Mr. Mantell, 
 Colonel Whitmore, Colonel Kenny, and Mr. Pharazyn were in 
 a minority which recorded a protest against the measure, because 
 it would bind the future colonists weightily and unfairly ; gave 
 too great latitude to the Government, and provided no sufficient 
 check upon its acts ; afforded no security that the works would 
 be prudently undertaken, be remunerative, or proportioned to
 
 598 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the growth of population and revenue ; contemplated alienation 
 of extensive tracts of land without conditions as to settlement 
 and occupation, and would therefore restrict the growth of popu- 
 lation and of the revenues on which the loan was to be secured ; 
 and because being dangerously vague and speculative it was 
 calculated to inflict "much misery in the early future, and 
 perhaps shame and disaster in the sequel." 
 
 Many such predictions are falsified in colonies, not because 
 the evils they denounce are baseless, but because the spread of 
 population in virgin territories carries with it so many unfore- 
 seen advantages that, not by reason, but in spite, of legislative 
 blunders the growing community advances. Maugre all ill-treat- 
 ment colonies often thrive ; but, to borrow an illustration from 
 Sydney Smith, their growth no more arises from their treatment 
 than the ruddy cheeks of an urchin in the street are due to his 
 ragged clothes. The protest in the Council did not retard Mr. 
 Vogel. The victories of Ropata, Rangihiwinui, and Topia, and 
 Mr. McLean's truce with the Maori king, had lulled apprehen- 
 sions about native affairs ; and mounted on his new battle-horse 
 the propound er of the loan scheme determined to ride off in the 
 flush of success to negotiate in London the loans which had been 
 authorized, and thereby to pave the way for a career amongst 
 London brokers. 
 
 One of Mr. McLean's devices in 1870 to convince the Maori 
 king of the advantages of friendly relations deserves mention. 
 Te Whero Whero, or Potatau, before taking up his abode at 
 Ngaruawahia had resided near Auckland on land granted to 
 him by the Government. McLean laboured to induce Tawhiao 
 to accept the mesne profits from the land abandoned by his 
 father, and after some reluctance, or show of resistance, Tawhiao 
 consented to receive the money (600) through the hands of 
 Mr. Hettit, a settler connected by marriage with Rewi. The 
 transaction, though kept secret, was one which gave power to 
 McLean ; for if it were made public the enemies of Tawhiao 
 would not fail to taunt him with receiving a pension. A Bill to 
 provide for the construction of railways authorized under the 
 Immigration and Public Works Act, and the concomitant Loan 
 Act, underwent serious discussion. The Council had made 
 alterations, some of which were opposed by the Government.
 
 IMPERIAL RELATIONS. 599 
 
 The Representatives disagreed with the amendments, and asked 
 for a free conference, which was held. Agreement was not 
 arrived at in conference. The Council returned the Bill with a 
 message inquiring whether the Representatives "still insisted 
 upon their objections to the amendments." Mr. Vogel moved 
 that the vote to disagree with the amendments in the Bill be 
 rescinded, and by 24? votes against 15 his irfotion was carried. 
 
 Both Houses took up the subject of the Imperial policy 
 towards the colony. A Committee of the Council prepared an 
 address to the Queen, " relative to the line of conduct lately 
 pursued by Her Majesty's Government towards the colony of 
 New Zealand." It enumerated the woes of New Zealand, and 
 regretted " that a feeling of estrangement and even antagonism 
 towards the colony has been lately manifested by your Majesty's 
 advisers." Earl Granville had rashly and prematurely published 
 unfriendly despatches before the colony could guard against their 
 ill effects. The policy pursued " had raised a belief that there 
 is a desire to drive the colony into separation from the mother- 
 country, which belief has already caused great bitterness of feel- 
 ing, and is likply to result, if the policy be continued, in lasting 
 enmity." Her Majesty was besought to command Ministers to 
 "preserve the integrity of the empire until it shall appear to 
 your Majesty, to the British Parliament, and to the colonists 
 themselves, that it is no longer desirable that New Zealand 
 should continue to be a dependency of the Crown." In the 
 last resort they prayed that a Commission might be sent from 
 England to inquire into their grievances. The Speaker, the 
 Chairman of Committees, and some of those who from early 
 days had been respected by their fellows and honoured by the 
 Crown, were members of the Committee, and if there had been 
 no prospect of change the address might have been carried. But 
 kind words of some of Earl Granville's colleagues had made 
 their way to New Zealand ; the Commissioners, Bell and 
 Featherston, had been courteously received in England, and 
 there was a yearning in men's minds towards the land of their 
 forefathers. An amendment was moved to declare the inex- 
 pediency of addressing Her Majesty, but asserting the content- 
 ment of the Council with the vigorous statement of the case of 
 New Zealand in the ministerial memoranda which had been
 
 600 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 sent to England for distribution. Eventually it was resolved : 
 " That in the opinion of this Council the best interests of New 
 Zealand will be consulted by remaining an integral part of the 
 British Empire. That this Council regrets the course adopted 
 by the Home Government towards the colony, but as the causes 
 of dispute have been satisfactorily discussed by the Colonial 
 Government, and as* an indication of a desire to preserve a 
 friendly feeling towards the colony has been made by the Home 
 Government, it is undesirable to make any further reference to 
 past misunderstandings." A shorter and less affectionate motion 
 was made in the House of Representatives. Mr. McGillivray, a 
 new member of the House, moved on the 30th June : " That this 
 House is of opinion that the Imperial Government has failed in 
 its duty to the colony " and it was not until the 28th July that 
 after adjourned debates the motion was withdrawn. At that 
 date the intention of the Government to raise loans to pay fixed 
 sums to provinces was known to be acceptable to the members 
 and to their constituencies. The Treasurer wished to go to 
 England with the credit of the colony in his hand, and it 
 would have been irksome to him if he had been encumbered 
 with such a resolution as that of Mr. McGillivray. In debate, 
 Mr. Miller, on the side of the loyalists, declared that the colonists 
 should address the mother-country in the language of Horace to 
 Mecaenas, and was loudly cheered when he uttered the words : 
 Non ego perfidum dixi sacr amentum. 
 
 Amongst the papers laid before the Assembly in the session 
 of 1870 were letters and despatches which passed between Sir 
 George Grey and Earl Granville early in the year, on the subject 
 of the prisoner of war put to death without trial. The Com- 
 missioners saw Lord Granville in January, 1870. They reported 
 that their reception was friendly and courteous. They con- 
 sulted Lord Napier of Magdala about the employment of Sikhs 
 or Ghoorkas, from which for various reasons he dissuaded them. 
 They were unable to shake Earl Granville' s resolution to recall 
 the 18th Regiment, but they induced him to " absolutely dis- 
 avow any wish on the part of the Government to abandon New 
 Zealand, or to bring about separation between this country and 
 the colony ; " a disavowal which he communicated in a despatch 
 in which he condescended to say, that his views respecting the
 
 EARL GRANVILLE AND MR. Fox. 601 
 
 modified recognition of Maori authority, and the extent and 
 consequences of the confiscation policy, might be right or 
 wrong, and that he fully admitted that the decision on such 
 questions rested entirely with the New Zealand Government ; 
 an admission to which Mr. Fox retorted that it was much 
 to be regretted that the Earl had so positively published 
 statements which he confessed might be right or wrong, know- 
 ing that the publication would seriously embarrass those who, 
 on his own showing, were responsible in the matter. As to the 
 Earl's disavowal of a separate policy, Mr. Fox's colleagues accepted 
 it " as meant to convey the feelings of the time Earl Granville 
 was writing. They cannot suppose that it in the least affects 
 the accumulated evidence from different parts of the world that 
 Her Majesty's Ministers previously favoured a policy having 
 for its end a more or less speedy disintegration of the empire. 
 It is gratifying to think that the representations made on behalf 
 of New Zealand may have had some share in leading to this 
 change." 
 
 Though sometimes vaguely stared at as if the gazer expected 
 to see them tattooed, the Commissioners were welcomed in 
 England, not as foreigners but as fellow-subjects, by distinguished 
 persons. They accepted an offer of a guarantee of a loan of one 
 million sterling for immigration and public works as a measure 
 of conciliation which would be deemed in New Zealand "a 
 proof of goodwill," and their telegram to that effect (received in 
 those days by ship-carriage from Ceylon) had a soothing effect 
 upon the minds of members then occupied with financial con- 
 siderations. Earl Granville trusted that the waiving by the 
 Government of certain objections to guarantees of loans would 
 " be received by the colonists of New Zealand as a proof of the 
 deep interest which Her Majesty's Government feel in the 
 welfare and prosperity of this great possession of the Crown." 
 
 A more acceptable proof was the substitution of Earl Kim- 
 berley for Earl Granville in Downing Street. A Bill was 
 brought into the Imperial Parliament to give effect to the loan 
 guarantee. Mr. Fox relented under these accumulating proofs, 
 and in the prorogation speech the Governor congratulated the 
 Assembly " on the friendly feeling towards New Zealand which 
 the Commissioners sent to Great Britain to communicate with
 
 602 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 the Imperial Government have succeeded in establishing." Mr. 
 Sewell, also, who was said to have advocated separation, consented 
 to these amicable phrases. He had returned to New Zealand, and 
 in June, 1870, joined the Fox Ministry as Minister of Justice. The 
 labours of the New Zealand Assembly terminated on the 13th 
 September. Amongst other enactments was one which, first 
 brought forward by Mr.R. R. Torrens in Adelaide, had commended 
 itself to all Australasian colonies. It simplified the transfer of 
 real property. It swept away the cobwebs clinging to titles and 
 prevented them from again accumulating. The Registrar or 
 Commissioner of Titles having once given a certificate, the title 
 was disburdened of doubt, and conveyances from hand to hand 
 became as easy, to use a favourite simile of the author of the 
 measure, as the transfer of shares in a ship. The principle was 
 greedily accepted by the public. In one or two of the colonies, 
 where the personal advocacy of Mr. Torrens was wanting, 
 lawyers succeeded in encumbering the enactment with techni- 
 calities which he excluded in South Australia, but neither legal 
 nor administrative opposition, however obstinate, could stay the 
 march of the reform. The session produced about a hundred 
 Acts. In all these the influence of a new order of things was 
 reflected. The electoral rolls of 1869 showed that miners' 
 rights or other special qualifications gave more than 20,000, 
 while all other interests in the colony gave less tnan 37,000 
 votes for the House of Representatives. The folly and the fate 
 of the colony is to be read in these figures. Wherever the 
 spirit of gambling and recklessness cared to meddle, it was 
 dominant. 
 
 In 1870, a question about tariffs distracted, not the colonists, 
 but their rulers. Protective duties in Victoria had caused dis- 
 cussion about tariffs, and the provision which debarred any Aus- 
 tralian colony from imposing differential duties. Intercolonial 
 conferences dealt with the subject on more than one occasion in 
 Sydney and Melbourne ; and Mr. Vogel, soon after he became 
 Treasurer, represented New Zealand at one of them. When it 
 was found that prohibitive duties cramped commerce their advo- 
 cates sought a remedy, not by freedom of intercourse with the 
 world, but by special relaxations favourable to immediate neigh- 
 bours with whom it seemed absurd to wage restrictive war. The
 
 COLONIAL DISTINCTIONS. 603 
 
 general obligations of the empire in foreign relations were 
 pleaded politely by Earl Kiinberley, and were not denied, but it 
 was averred that they ought not to bar the colonies from admit- 
 ting produce inter se free from duty or otherwise. 
 
 Mr. Stafford's Ministry had no sooner resigned than the 
 Governor made a special request that Mr. Stafford, Mr. Fitz- 
 herbert, Mr. Hall, Mr. J. C. Richmond, and Colonel Haultain 
 might receive Her Majesty's permission to retain the title of 
 Honourable. The blazonry of his post was ever congenial to the 
 Earl, and he lost no time in conveying Her Majesty's gracious 
 approval of the retention of the title in New Zealand. But 
 unexpected obstacles arose. Many people thought that New 
 Zealand would be annexed to a great nation whose Constitution 
 places titles of nobility under a ban. And, moreover, about the 
 Order of St. Michael and St. George there was a tawdry glitter 
 contrasting strangely with Orders honoured among Englishmen. 
 A greater than Lord Granville, Herman Merivale, a scholar and 
 a ripe one, a professor of political economy, had written an article l 
 denouncing in scathing language the re-furbishing of the new 
 colonial Order of knighthood. Both the Order itself and the 
 manner in which its distinctions were conferred were calculated 
 to degrade it. " If I were to affirm broadly," he said, " that the 
 established usage under which the Crown distributes honours on 
 the advice of party leaders at home as well as in the colonies, 
 deadens the public appreciation of these chivalrous rewards, 
 gives them an ineffaceable stain of vulgarity, demoralizes 
 patriotic impulse, tends to lower even the standard of popular 
 respect for the Crown itself, I should doubtless be charged with 
 gross exaggeration. But I should appeal to the judgment of 
 such as will throw aside inveterate prepossessions, and consider 
 the question with impartial philosophy." If Lord Granville 
 were to succeed in detaching New Zealand from the British Em- 
 pire, colonists might pause before covering their coats with the 
 last patches of mud sprinkled from the departing wheels of the 
 chariots in which men sat with the liveries of the Queen. Mr. 
 Merivale's censure would have more life than Earl Granville's 
 grace. Mr. Stafford and Mr. Richmond, noticing that their 
 titles were limited to New Zealand, declined the proffered 
 1 ' Fortnightly Review,' February, 1870.
 
 604 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 honour. The Governor assiduously persuaded them that refusal 
 would appear like discourtesy, and after some months they with- 
 drew their refusals rather (they said) than allow him to be 
 placed in a false position. They explained that it was not the 
 local limitation which was objectionable, but the invidious 
 distinction implied, if a permanent honour conferred by the 
 Sovereign on subjects domiciled in England were recognized 
 throughout the empire while a permanent honour conferred on 
 a subject in New Zealand was locally restricted. 
 
 Lord Kimberley acknowledged Sir George Bowen's despatch, 
 but did not discuss the question. When, for a few weeks in 
 1872, Mr. Fox and his colleagues lost office, the same request 
 was made on their behalf " in conformity with (what Sir George 
 Bowen termed) the established practice." It would be difficult 
 to establish a worse practice. In a community gathered 
 together from all lands, adventurers may for a time by popular 
 professions obtain popular honours. To make their brief success 
 an established passport to permanent honour may sully the 
 favours of Downing Street, but cannot ennoble the receivers. 
 At the end of 1870, a different debt of honour was paid in New 
 Zealand. Te Puni, the Ngatiawa patriarch, the protecl or of the 
 New Zealand Company at Wellington in the days of its weak- 
 ness, died nearly 90 years old at his residence, Petoni. His last 
 public appearance had been at a levte held by the Duke of 
 Edinburgh at Wellington in 1869. The Government ordered a 
 funeral at public cost. Members of the Ministry were pall- 
 bearers with Maori friends. The Bishop of Wellington read the 
 service. Mr. Donald McLean addressed the Maoris eloquently 
 in their own tongue, acknowledging the gratitude due by the 
 colonists to Te Puni. The pioneers of English civilization stood 
 round the grave, with Maoris, as the old chief was laid to rest 
 according to the rites of the Church of England to which he 
 belonged. The Volunteer Rifles and Artillery attended in full 
 force to pay military honours. In due time a special message of 
 sympathy from the Queen was sent to the family and tribe of 
 Te Puni. At the end of 1871, another chief, Taringa Kuri, a 
 Ngatiawa, supposed to be the only remaining Maori who had 
 seen Captain Cook, died at an age computed to exceed 100 
 years ; and Waka Nene, the Ngapuhi chief, passed away about
 
 MAORIS AND THE DUKE OF EDINBURGH. 605 
 
 the same time. Old Maoria with its representatives was fading 
 visibly away. The honours paid to Te Puni were rendered just 
 before the colonists were again called upon to webome the 
 Duke of Edinburgh. At Tauranga he was welcomed, with the 
 Governor, by 700 of the Arawa and Ngaiterangi tribes. A 
 chief, who had fought against the English at the Gate Pah, was 
 loud in his loyal and figurative congratulations. Thence to 
 Maketu the Prince proceeded, and saw the spot where Maori 
 tradition declares that the Arawa canoe landed the tribe, who, 
 like the Argonauts, took the name of their vessel, but gave a more 
 enduring title to their descendants. They took pride in giving 
 a guard of honour to the son of the Queen ; they enjoyed the 
 exhibition of his activity and endurance in the journey through 
 the territory to the hot lakes, and to the matchless terraces of 
 Rotomahana. At Ohinemutu, on their return, they paused on 
 Sunday by the waters of Lake Rotorua. A missionary read the 
 service of the Church of England. A little knot of Englishmen 
 were with the Prince ; a large congregation of Maoris repeated 
 the responses and joined in the hymns in their own sonorous 
 language, amidst that lake and mountain scenery, under which 
 irrepressible fires are raging; on a spot renowned in Maori 
 legend, and where, within living memory, human victims had 
 been sacrificed, and the abomination of cannibal feasts had been 
 held. It was on the following day that at Maketu the chief, Te 
 Waru, with 46 followers, surrendered on the terms which had 
 been offered to him by McLean through the mouth of Ropata 
 te Wahawaha. 
 
 The Duke of Edinburgh was popular with all with whom he 
 came into contact, and his influence may have created a kindly 
 feeling in other minds as well as amongst the Maoris. More- 
 over, Lord Kimberley had earned a new reputation for Downing 
 Street. The readiness with which he had gained it proved the 
 wantonness with which Earl Granville had turned men's minds 
 to disaffection. In a memorandum, dated 30th December, 1870, 
 on the subject of colonial defence, in case of war " between 
 Great Britain and any foreign nation," Mr. Fox " reiterated the 
 expression of the loyalty of the colony to the Crown, and of 
 anxiety that it should always be preserved as an integral portion 
 of the empire." Armed with letters of introduction from the
 
 606 NEW ZEALAND. 
 
 Governor, Mr. Vogel, as Treasurer and Postmaster-General, 
 sailed for America and England to negotiate postal arrange- 
 ments with the United States, and arrange in London the 
 financial affairs of New Zealand. 
 
 The General Assembly was dissolved by proclamation at the 
 end of 1870. It had been elected for five years in 1866, and 
 was thereford on the eve of effluxion. It remained to be seen 
 whether the elections in 1866, which confirmed Mr. Stafford's 
 power, would reflect a similar reply in 1871 ; or whether, under 
 the bribe of untold money for the general government and for 
 the provinces, the policy of discounting the present by drafts on 
 the future the bane of many an heir was to be endorsed. 
 The ballot was for the first time used in New Zealand at the 
 election in 1871. Though no ground of expediency in practice 
 can justify the conversion of a public trust to a private act, 
 the opponents of the ballot in New Zealand, as well as in other 
 countries, were constrained to admit that it tended to peace and 
 order. The magician who had bewitched the dazzled colonists 
 thought it wise to be absent ; his presence might mar success. 
 The colony, committed to his policy, could hardly repudiate it, 
 while, with common consent, he was promoting it abroad. The 
 butcher-claimant of the Tichborne estates, when the mother of 
 the dead heir visited him in Paris, turned his face to the wall 
 and would not speak. The woman was more likely to believe 
 in him in proportion as she saw him less. Recognition being 
 once established, the rest would follow. The office of Agent- 
 General for New Zealand in London, created by the Public 
 Works and Immigration Act of 1870, was conferred .upon Dr. 
 Featherston, who had acted with Mr. Dillon Bell as one of the 
 Commissioners in England. 
 
 KND OF VOLUME II. 
 
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