undertaking of Tareha's must be taken for what it is worth, I myself believe that he sincerely thinks he can safely undertake to do so. But the fact that the most friendly Chiefs, and those two of the highest rank in the Province, can neither prevent the arrival, nor control the stay amongst us, of the propagandists of this incendiary superstition, seems of itself sufficient to shew that if the lives and properties of H. M. subjects in Hawke's Bay are considered worth defending at all, we are bound to do something more than we seem at present in a position to do, towards resisting an onslaught that may be made at any moment. I have, etc., (Signed) G. S. Cooper. Acting Civil Commissioner. To:- The Honorable, The Minister for Native Affairs Wellington.