Page image
Page image
Page image
Page image
Page image
Page image
Page image
Page image
Page image
Page image
English
26th. April 1870. My dear Mr. McLean, I am in a very savage mood at having missed Te Meikowa, and at other things besides. We ought to have had him as nicely as possible; for it was as good a chance as ever I had. Ten minutes delay on his part, I believe, would have sealed his doom. The worst of it is that my move was a It seems that Hoani Ngamu was in communication with Eru,- had actually got two of his children in his possession, and was likely to get him. He at once sent in a letter addressed to me and Mair, asking what he was to do. This letter I saw, though Wi Kingi did. I have written to Mair officially to ask him if such a letter came into his hands; but had no answer. Meanwhile, Marsh, unknown to Hoani Ngamu, writes to ask me for help. I consulted with Mair,- at least I asked him what he thought of Marsh's plan of getting Eru on to an island, and then I went.. I'll never surrender my own judgement to natives again. I ought to have had the scoundrel. Meanwhile, after the mistake, Marsh rides back to Ohiwa, and tells Hoani Ngamu I have ordered the two children to be killed. Hoani, of course, refused to allow this; and on my arrival at Ohiwha, I was expressly asked whether they should not be killed. You can fancy my disgust, and the row I had with Marsh, in consequence. Hoani Ngamu came in to-day; and he explained the whole matter. He is to furnish me with a copy of the letter he sent me; which, I fear, will lead to my having to write Officials. I don't like doing it; as Mair and I have hitherto pulled well together; but I can't understand his stopping a letter addressed to both of us. Mr. Campbell went last Thursday; the case of Brown being against Walker for £20. Judgement £1.10 for plaintiff. I am writing out a report on the state of the natives about here; which will enable me to introduce what I know of Robert's and Kemp's march. You will see by my Official that the Whakatoeas are quite game to come up with me. I find the claim against me is for some stock sold here in the old days; with which I had no more to do than the Man in the Moon. I never personally sold a head; and I think £10 was the utmost which passed through my hands, - and that I paid to Percival; so you must expect some heavy correspondence from me on the subject. I don't feel at all inclined to pay up for another man's misdeeds. Ever yours truly, (Signed) J.H.H. St. John. P.S. Hoani Ngamu has asked me to let the two children stay with him. One of them is to go back to his father with letters; and Hoani thinks he can be successful in trapping him. It seems Marsh was the means of bringing him down at first. He is a treacherous old brute. He actually wanted me to lay in wait whilst a white flag was sent escorting Eru's children. I was indignant at the idea of such gross treachery. (Signed) J.H.H. St.John.
This article text was automatically generated and may include errors. View the full page to see article in its original form.
Permanent link to this item

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/manuscripts/MCLEAN-1006858.2.1

Bibliographic details

5 pages written 26 Apr 1870 by John Henry Herbert St John to Sir Donald McLean, Inward letters - Surnames, St John

Additional information
Key Value
Document date 26 April 1870
Document MCLEAN-1006858
Document title 5 pages written 26 Apr 1870 by John Henry Herbert St John to Sir Donald McLean
Document type MANUSCRIPT
Attribution ATL
Author 197708/St John, John Henry Herbert, 1836?-1876
Collection McLean Papers
Date 1870-04-26
Decade 1870s
Destination Unknown
Englishorigin ATL
Entityid 12
Format Full Text
Generictitle 5 pages written 26 Apr 1870 by John Henry Herbert St John to Sir Donald McLean
Iwihapu Unknown
Language English
Name 197708/St John, John Henry Herbert, 1836?-1876
Origin Unknown
Place Unknown
Recipient 4809/McLean, Donald (Sir), 1820-1877
Section Manuscripts
Series Series 1 Inward letters (English)
Sortorder 0125-0033
Subarea Manuscripts and Archives Collection
Tapuhigroupref MS-Group-1551
Tapuhiitemcount 77
Tapuhiitemcount 2 14501
Tapuhiitemcount 3 30238
Tapuhiitemdescription Correspondents:Felice St John, Auckland & Melbourne, 4 undated letters (ca 1876); Col J H H St John, Bay of Plenty, Wellington, Poverty Bay, Nelson and Napier, 1869-1875 & undated (69 letters, including some from other correspondents)
Tapuhiitemgenre 3 230058/Personal records Reports
Tapuhiitemname 197708/St John, John Henry Herbert, 1836?-1876
Tapuhiitemname 3 4809/McLean, Donald (Sir), 1820-1877
Tapuhiitemref MS-Papers-0032-0559
Tapuhiitemref 2 Series 1 Inward letters (English)
Tapuhiitemref 3 MS-Group-1551
Tapuhiitemsubjects 3 1446/New Zealand Wars, 1860-1872
Tapuhiitemtitle Inward letters - Surnames, St John
Tapuhiitemtitle 2 Series 1 Inward letters (English)
Tapuhiitemtitle 3 McLean Papers
Tapuhireelref MS-COPY-MICRO-0535-088
Teiref ms-1340-249
Year 1870

5 pages written 26 Apr 1870 by John Henry Herbert St John to Sir Donald McLean Inward letters - Surnames, St John

5 pages written 26 Apr 1870 by John Henry Herbert St John to Sir Donald McLean Inward letters - Surnames, St John

Log in or create a Papers Past website account

Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.

By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.

Log in with RealMe®

If you’ve used a RealMe login somewhere else, you can use it here too. If you don’t already have a username and password, just click Log in and you can choose to create one.


Log in again to continue your work

Your session has expired.

Log in again with RealMe®


Alert