Alexandra May 12th 1874 My dear Mr McLean I enclose to you a letter which I received a short time since from Manuwhiri, it refers to two puronga's of his (Hinerakei and Te Hou-hou) who tahuti'd to Opotiki some months since, in reply I informed him that you had gone to Australia and that I would send you his letter. It appears that Hinerakei was his cook etc. and the old man is so much troubled at losing her that he remarked to Mrs. Morgan that he had "not been so pouri for many a day"! The day after you left Auckland I received a letter from Manga enclosing one to you asking you to meet him, he reached Kopua on the 6th and sent an invitation to me to go and see him. Mr Mackay who was in Town advised me not to go, but I do not see that I ought to snub Rewi, so I went and stayed a night with him, his object was to enquire about your movements, and to tell me that when you were last in Alexandra you wrote regretting that you had not met but hoping that ere long you would meet, and that he thought that the time had come when you should see each other, so hearing that you had arrived in Auckland hedetermined to arrange a meeting with you, he also said that his word was for your ear alone. A day or two after hearing that Mr Mackay was at Cambridge, Rewi sent a message to me to telegraph to Mr Mackay that he would like to see us together, Mr Mackay came at once, but evidently did not wish me to go to Kopua with him, nor (seeing that he took an armed escort) did I care to go. Rewi made the same statement to Mr Mackay that he did to me, viz. that his word was "for Te Makarini alone", but being hard pressed to speak he said very well if you will have me say something, I will speak "do not make a road across Rangipo"! (between Taupo and Whanganui) I mention this to show you that Rewi wishes to see you particularly, and I do not think that he has given the of what it is that he wishes to confer with you about. he is very much put out with Waikato, and threatens to to Taupo, but I think that it is merely a threat and that before long he will settle at Kopua a number of his people have - by his wish - come over from Kawhia and are about to form a on the fernhills between the junction of Waipa and Punui. Waikato too appear to be anxious to come to terms, I think it very probable that it will ere long be a question between the two tribes who shall be the first to come in. Tawhiao has forbidden any of his people to leave Kuiti - established a kind of in fact - but a few people pass up and down, various reasons are assigned for it, one is that it was done to prevent a of Ngatipou to lower Waikato, another reason is that Tawhiao wishes to keep his people together with the view to inviting you to meet him in their presence, - this came from Takenei - For some time past they have been expecting Te Wheoro to respond to an invitation to Kuiti, but he appears to be temporising, and says that he is awaiting your return, I have merely heard this from the natives, for I never hear anything through the Cambridge office, Te Wheoro takes a Waikato view of things and is hostile to Ngatimaniapoto, so that some allowance must be made for anything he may say against them. About ten days since Manuhiri sent a very bulky letter through me to Sir George Grey, I was told that Tawhiao had written to him as the "good Governor who ended the fighting" but probably this applied to Manuhiri's letter. I have heard too that Sir George has written to Takerei Te Rau inviting him to Kawau, Sir James Fergusson has been spoken of by the Kuiti people as a "soldier Governor" because he appeared at Ngaruawahia in uniform and I am inclined to believe that they are a little frightened of him! The "Waikato Times" has been very hot against the Native Department, for my own part I am so accustomed to censoriousness and misrepresentation, that I look upon the Press as harmless to annoy! I am My dear Mr McLean Yours very truly W. G. Mair