MR. MACKAY'S REPORT.

Colonist, Volume XVI, Issue 1663, 26 August 1873, Page 6 (Supplement)

MR. MACKAY'S REPORT.

(From the New Zealand Herald, August 18.) Mb. Mackay's report upon the circumstances of the murder of Sullivan in the Waikato has been laid before the Assembly.. It is a very interesting paper. It is rather redundant for the general reader, and therefore we make no apology for giving a succinct statement of it. It leaves no doubt on the mind that this was a political murder, in the strictest sense of the word. But this in no respect extenuates the barbarity of it. It opens with tbe statement that the Ngatihauas, half of whom are friendly and half Hauhaus, owned in 1860 about 400,000 aores of land in the Waikato. These blocks were called the Maungatautari, Pukekura, and Puhoi blocks. About 150,000 were lost to them in consequence of their conduct in the war. 160,000 acres have been alienated by lease, so that some 90,000 aores remained to them. These lands were claimed by friendly natives and Hauhaus alike, and. by natives of different hapus. The Native Lands Court sat at Cambridge on several occasions between 1868 and 1870, to settle these claims. In 1870, the Hauhau claimants having received notice, the Court settled these claims. The Hauhaus did not appear. Purukutu was a claimant, and a Hauhau. But several of the other claimants swore that they had conversed with the Hauhau claimants, who consented. This consent, according to Mr. Mackay, was an ambiguous one. In December, 1868, Captain Wilson obtained a lease of the land upon whioh Sullivan was murdered, and which was subsequently transferred to Messrs. Douglas and Walker, who put stock upon it. ' This appears to have been the signal for the more turbulent of the King natives to assume an attitude of aotive hostility. On the 6th of December, 1870, three head of cattle were shot; on the 2nd July, 1871, a housd on the land was burnt; on the 22nd of the same month a bullock and 10 sheep were oarried away; on the 22nd of Julj next year, 70 head of cattle were driven away, three of whioh were drowned; on the 7th of December following two horses were stolen. After these exploit! Purukutu appears to hare contented himself with "driving cattle of settlers about the run." On the 24th of January last, the King natives held their great meeting. This Purukutu was appointed guardian of the aukati, and it was ordered that all leasing and selling land should be stopped In less than a month after that, we heard of the outrage upon Lsney, the ditcher, by natives now known to be a part of Purukutu's gang. The criminality of this savage in a month after that culminated in the murder of the' unfortunate Sullivan. The whole of these proceedings were undoubtedly preconcerted. The above is the simple narrative of the facts, abridged as much as possible. What may be the attitude of the Government there is perhaps at this moment not much time to consider. But, notwithstanding the political aspect of the case, Purukutu is a murderer still in the eye of the law, and we assume that there is no change in the determination to catch him and bring him to trial by all possible means. ;

liAB€KB EXPOBT OP G6ID AND- StoTEB TUG* Auckland.—The Southern Cross of August 14th reports the departure of the barque Hylton Castle for London, with a cargo valued at £64,063. She took the following quantities of gold and siUer :— Ounces. Value. Gold 10,949 ... £45,125 Silver ... ~. 22,130 ... 6,850