LETTER FROM MR. COMMISSIONER PARRIS TO HIS LORDSHIP THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND, RELATIVE TO THE LOCATION OF A CLERGYMAN AT WAITARA.

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1861 Session I, E-04

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LETTER FROM MR. COMMISSIONER PARRIS TO HIS LORDSHIP THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND, RELATIVE TO THE LOCATION OF A CLERGYMAN AT WAITARA.

EETURN TO AN ORDER 08 , THE HOUSE 03? REPRESENTATIVES, OP 14th JUNE, 1861.

(Dr. Featherston.)

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No. 1. THE PEIYATE SECEETAET TO MR. PARRIS. Government House, Auckland, December 20th, 1860. Slß,— I am commanded by His Excellency Governor Gore Browne, to bring under your notice the following passage which appears in a speech addressed by Dr. Featherston to a Public Meeting held at Wellington on 24th of November. " I will mention one important fact that will stagger " most of the believers in the justice of the war. I have myself seen a letter from Mr. Parris, " stating that he was sorely beset to enter into a conspiracy to deprive William Kingi of his much " coveted land at Waitara. That letter was written by Mr. Parris to the Bishop of New Zealand." The Governor desires me to request that you will be good enough to inform me whether the statement thus made by Dr. Featherston is correct, and if so, to furnish me with such explanation of the matter as you may wish to make, in order that any erroneous impression of the facts may be sivoided. Your immediate attention to this is requested, in order that a reply may be sent by the " Cordelia" on her return to this place. I have, &c., F. G. Steward, Private Secretary. Robert Parris, Esq., &c, &c, &c. Taranaki.

No. 2. MR. PARRIS TO THE PRIVATE SECRETARY. New Plymouth, December 21st, 1860. Sir,— I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th instant, requesting to be informed whether the statement made by Dr. Featherston to a public meeting held at Wellington on the 24th November, respecting a letter written by mo to the Bishop of New Zealand be correct, and in reply to inform you, that when the Bishop of New Zealand was here in 1858, during the time Ihaia and Nikorima were besieged in the Karaka Pa by Wiremu Kingi, I accompanied him, Mr. Ironside, Mr. Whiteley and Miv/jßiemenschnoider on a visit made to both parties, with a view to arrange terms of peace between them, in which, however, we failed. On the Bishop leaving the settlement, he requested me to keep him informed on the subject of the feud. I must now quote from my letter to the Native Secretary in September last, in which I have recorded a history of the circumstances about which I wrote to the Bishop, premising that I have no copy of the letter, as it was a private communication, and must have been surreptitiously obtained from the Bishop, who, I am convinced, would never have published private correspondence, or have so perverted it. " When Ihaia, Nikorima and their party were besieged in the Karaka Pa at Waitara, and were " in a most miserable plight, Mr. Whiteley suggested to me that I should try to arrange terms of peace, " on the following basis, namely, that the besieged should be allowed to vacate the Pa, and that the " besiegers should then destroy it. I availed myself of the suggestion, and obtained the consent of " Ihaia and Wiremu Kingi, the former to leave the pa, and the latter to destroy it, and not follow them " any further; and shortly after, in the middle of the night, Ihaia's party took aloud farewell of their pa, " but their places were immediately occupied by his Wanganui and Mokau allies. They thus tried to- " take advantage of arrangements which I had attempted to make for their preservation, and but for ' : my opportune arrival, and discovery of the ambush, would probably have succeeded. " I was much blamed by the newspapers of the Province for communicating this intelligence, but " no man with one spark of honor could, under the circumstances, have acted otherwise." My letter to the Bishop of New Zealand alluded to these attacks of the local press, and those of many of the settlers, who were desirous of acquiring land by any means, and who viewed the frustration of the ambush as inimictl to land purchases. But it did not allude to any action of the Government, nor to Teira's block of land, which had not then been offered for sale. As it is now more than two and a half years ago since it was written, and as I have no copy I cannot offer any more particular explanation. I can only add, that the statement as rendered by Dr, Featherston is uotrue, and that I am convinced I did not write that which was not the case.

CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND AND MB, COMMISSIONER PARRIS;

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I enclose herewith copies of the TaranaM Herald of 15th May and 12th June, in which ray conduct on the occasion in question is alluded to. Animadversions likewise appeared in the laranaki News, hut I cannot procure copies of them. I have, &c, Robert Parkis, Captain Steward, Assistant Native Secretary. Private Secretary, Government House, Auckland.

No. 3. THE PRIVATE SECRETARY TO ME. PAEEIS. Government House, Auckland, 26th December, 1860. My dear Sir, — By the Governor's direction, I forward a copy of a Letter from His Excellency to the Bishop of New Zealand, together with His Lordship's reply, by which you will perceive that he declines furnishing the Governor with a copy of your Letter of August, 1858, without your consent; His Excellency, therefore, thinks you had better write and ask him to do so, with a view to His Excellency making such use of it as he may think desirable. I have, &c, F. G. Steward, R. Parris, Esquire, New Plymouth. Private Secretary.

No. 4. MR. PARRIS TO THE PRIVATE SECRETARY. New Plymouth, December 29th, 1860. SIE, I have the honor to acknowledge your letter of the 26th instant, and to enclose a copy of a letter sent by this mail to the Bishop of New Zealand, requesting him to furnish me (thiough you, for the information of His Excellency the Governor), with a copy of the letter alluded to by Dr. Featherston. His Excellency will, of course, make such use of the contents as to him may seem most fitting. I have, &c, Eobeet Parris. Captain Steward, Private Secretary, Government House, Auckland.

Enclosure in No. 4. MR. PARRIS TO THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND. New Plymouth, December 28th, 1860. My Lord, — I have the honor to inform you that His Excellency the Governor has caused to be forwarded to me, a copy of your letter to him, dated the 26th instant, respecting my letter to yourself, alluded to by Dr. Featherston in his address at Wellington. I need not remind your Lordship that my communications to you were private, and that they were written at your own request and for your personal information only, in the full confidence, that no other use would be made of them than that which they were intended to have served. I notice that in reply to His Excellency's request, that you will furnish him with a copy of my letter, that your Lordship evades the request, and states that you had constantly refused "to allow it to be published ; as, however, it has been publicly mentioned, it will probably be found to be the best course to pursue, to allow it now to be published." My Lord, as it was considered by me to be a private letter, I kept no copy of it, and cannot charge my memory with the exact contents ; and if your Lordship intends to furnish no copy, save by process of publication, you will but consummate the injustice already dene to me. I submit to your Lordship, that I should be the person to decide whether to publish or not, and that I require a copy to enable me so to decide. I therefore respectfully request that your Lordship will furnish me with a copy of the same, and transmit it through the hands of the Private Secretary fci the information of His Excellency the Governor. I have, &c, The Right Reverend Robert Parris. The Bishop of New Zealand.

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No. 5. GOVERNOR GORE BROWNE C.8., TO THE BISHOP OP NEW ZEALAND. Government House, 24th December, 1860. My Lord, — In answer to a letter from my Private Secretary, calling Mr. Parris's attention to certain statements made public by the Superintendent of Wellington, Mr t Parris writes as follows:— " As it is now more than two years and a half since it (my letter) was written, and as I have no " copy, I cannot offer any more particular explanation. I can only add that the statement as rendered " by Dr, Featherston is untrue, and I am convinced I did not write that which was not the case." In justice to Mr. Parris, I trust your Lordship will favour me with a copy of the letter to which the Superintendent of Wellington has refeired in so public a manner. I have, &c, The Right Reverend T, Gore Browne. The Bishop of New Zealand.

No. 6. THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND TO GOVEENOE GORE BROWNE, C.B. Auckland, December 26th, 1860. Sm,— I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your Excellency's letter of the 24th instant, in which you express your hope that, "in justice to Mr. Parris," I will furnish your Excellency with a copy of the letter to which the Superintendent of Wellington referred to in a speech made by him on the 23rd of November. I have the honor to inform your Excellency, that I have carefully read the report of that speech, printed in the " Wellington Independent," of December the 7th, and am unable to discover any such charge against Mr. Parris, as would induce me to publish, without his consent, a letter addressed to me on matters unconnected with the preseat Taranaki question, and not intended for publication. Mr. Parris's letter was written to me on the 26th August, 1858, to give me a report of an effort made by the Taranaki tribe to obtain a Clergyman to reside among them. In the course of his letter, Mr. Parris was led to state the anxiety of mind which he felt for the Natives of his district, and spoke of plans which had been suggested for the acquisition of the Waitara. I understood him to refer to plans of the same kind as those against which I had remonstrated in my Pastoral letter in 1855. I have shown Mr. Parris's letter only to a few persons, and have constantly refused to allow it to be published. As, however, it has been publicly mentioned, it will probably be found to be the best course to allow it now to be published, but I shall not do this without Mr. Parris's consent. The only use which I have made of it has been to shew that the danger arising from the excessive eagerness of some of the Taranaki settlers to obtain possession of the Waitara, was the same in J 858 as I had represented it in 1855. I have, &c, His Excellency, G. A. New Zealand. Colonel Browne, C. 8., &c, &c, &c.

No. 7. THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND TO THE PRIVATE SECRETARY. Auckland, 2nd January, 1861. SIK,-^-At the request of Mr. Parris, I have the honor to transmit through your hands a copy of a letter written to me by him in August, 1858, with an answer from me to a letter just received from him, dated 28th December, 1860. I have, &c, G-. A. New Zealand. Captain Steward, Private Secretary.

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Enclosure 1 in No. 7. MR. PAKEIS TO THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND. New Plymouth, August 26th, 1858. Mr Loed,— I have the honor to inform you that on the 19th instant a party of about 20 Natives came to see me from Taranaki, on the subject of making an appeal to your Lordship for a Minister to be located among them, having previously held meetings for the consideration and discussion of the subject at their own place, as shewn by their own letters herewith enclosed. In the absence of a Clergyman able to confer with them, I consented to talk the subject over with them and report to your Lordship, which I have much pleasure in doing, as a member of the Church (unworthy as I am) but not in the capacity of & Government officer, lest I should be charged with partiality for Natives of that denomination, as some are wont to do, because I refuse to support or countenance dishonorable and treacherous treatment of Wm. King and his people, to exterminate them from the Waitara in accordance with Mr. Turton's peremptory plan for the acquirement of that delightful and much coveted district. Since your Lordship's departure in February last, I have had to contend with very trying circumstances of a most painful nature which has caused me intense anxiety of mind for these Natives. Pardon this digression from the subject matter of my letter, in reverting to which I would beg to observe, that the Natives who are moving in this matter appear to be in real earnest, and although there may be some opposition, I believe they can carry their point, should a Minister be available for so desirable and neglected a field. They are principally Hoera's relatives. The land proposed to be handed over to your Lordship for the residence of a clergyman is about 7 miles from Tataraimaka. The quantity not ascertained, (perhaps 20 acres.) Wm. King of Umuroa, Taranaki, is now with me talking over the subject, he expresses his grief at the conduct of his people for repudiating the offer made at Moutore, and appears equally anxious as the others for a Minister, in proof of which the former applied to me to borrow (£100) one hundred pounds to hand over to your Lordship as an earnest of theiv sincerity, being the amount they propose to subscribe yearly towards the maintenance of a clergyman. The only information I could give them was, that when your Lordship was last here, you told me that you purposed returning about November, when they would, no doubt, have an opportunity of seeing your Lordship on the subject, and in the meantime I recommended them to give the matter a thorough consideration among themselves and extend it through the district. While we cannot but feel the need of great caution with respect to these poor creatures who enquire concerning the truth as it is in Jesus, at a period when the Natives throughout the country, I believe, were never more unsettled; still may we not look upon such a solicitation as a proof that the Lord has not forsaken them, and that their consciences are still striving within them ? Hoping that your Lordship may be able to give them some encouragement, I have, &c, Robert Pakeis.

Enclosure 2 in No. 7. THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND TO ME. PAKRIS. Auckland, 2nd January, 18GL Sir, — In compliance with the request contained in your letter of 28th December, J B6O, I herewith furnish you with a copy of your letter to me of August 26th, 1858, and transmit it as you desire, through the Private Secretary. You will see from the tenor of the letter, that it was not a private communication to me, nor written at but a public document written at the request of twenty Natives of the Taranaki tribe on a subject of common interest, and forwarded by you, not as a private friend, but as a member of the church " in the absence of a clergyman able to confer with the Natives." Tour incidental mention of the state of feeling between the English settlers and the Natives contained nothing new or private. It related only to the plans of Mr. Turton and others, the mischievous character of which had already been exposed by his Excellency Governor Gore Browne in his Memoof November 19th, 1855 (Parl. Papers, July, 1860, page 177) and by me in my pastoral letter of the same year. Your opposition to those plans was as well known and open as mine, or it would not have exposed you to the invidious remarks to which your letter refers. I can see no reason why you should now wish to conceal or retract a single word of that letter, , which is as honorable to your feelings as it is favorable to the Native character. Having placed the letter, at your request, in the hands of the Government, I shall reserve to myself the full discretion of giving any further publicity to it, which I may hereafttr consider necessary. I have, &c, G. A. New Zealand.

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No. 8. COPT OF A DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR GORE BROWNE TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. Government House, / Auckland, New Zealand, Ist February, 1861. Mr Lord Ddke, — I have the honor to submit to Your Grace an extract from a speech by the Superintendent of Wellington relative to a letter written by Mr. Parris, District (Taranaki) Land Purchase Commissioner, to the Bishop of New Zealand. It is only neeassary to inform Your Grace that the letter was dated 1858, and I have the Bishop's nuthority for stating that it was " on matters unconnected with the present Taranaki question, and not " intended for publication." I should not have ventured to trouble Your Grace on this subject, were it not that many statements and assertions have been circulated and believed in England on no better foundation than the oi.e now explained. I have, &c, T. Gore Browne. His Guaee the Duke of Newcastle, K.G., &c, &c, &c.

No. 9. MEMORANDUM BY BE. TUETON IN REFERENCE TO A CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE BISHOP OF NEW ZEALAND AND MR. PARRIS. A correspondence between the Bishop of New Zealand and Mr. Parris of Taranaki, having been laid before the House of Representatives, I beg to offer a few remarks on that portion of it which specially refers to myself. On the 26th August, 1858, Mr. Parris writes privately to the Bishop, that he had been brought into great disfavor with some settlers of New Plymouth, because he " refused to support or countenance dishonorable and treacherous treatment of William King and his people, to exterminate them from the Waitara, in accordance with Mr, Turton's peremptory plan for the acquirement of that delightful and much-coveted district." And in reference to this letter, the Bishop observes on the 2nd of January, 1861, " I can see no reason why you should now wish to corjceal or retract a single word of that letter, which is as honorable to your feelings as it is favorable to the Native character;" thus endorsing with his Lordship's own fanction, every word which had been penned by Mr. Parris. Whether it was my " peremptory plan" which advised " dishonorable and treacherous treatment of William King and his people," or whether such an iniquitous mode of carrying out some plan of mine, was pressed upon Mr. Parris by certain of the settlers, does not plainly appear. If the latter be meant, the writer will be able to support his assertion by other evidence; and if the former, then the exact nature and extent of the treachery contemplated will appear on the face of the following extracts of my Journal, &c, published at the time, in the Taranalci Herald, and referred to with much misapprehension by Bishop Selwyn in his Pastoral Letter, I have not a copy of that letter by me, but I well remember that its allusions to me and the Waitara land, were not more correct thau many of its references to other parts of the general Native question. How his Lordship could possibly take exception to any remarks which I publicly made at that time, on this subject, I never could comprehend, unless it was simply that they were made by myself; for Ido believe that had they proceeded from a Church Missionary or Minister, or even from Mr. Whiteley or Mr. Ironside, they would have met with a much better acceptance. I shall now proceed to extract from my printed journal, and will gladly allow my proper Christian feeling and good conscience towards all the Natives, to be tried on that issue. It was written in 1855, when the Colony was without a Governor, and when Colonel Wynyard, as the Officer Administering the Government, did not like to encounter the responsibility of adopting strong measures with tiie Native belligerents at Taranaki. "New Plymouth, 11th August, 1855.—F0r the past twelvemonths, in accordance with the request of the Government, we have done our utmost to bring this question (the Native warfare) to a safe termination, according to the principles of non interference. This we never approved of, except as a matter of necessity, inasmuch as it is altogether opposed to the dictates of justice, and to the requirements of social order; and therefore, it has been found impracticable. If ever any part of New Zealand is to be called a " settled District," where British law and usage is to obtain, this surely must come within the category. With our Native Assessors spread over every part of the Circuit, and the general lawfulness and civiiiz;ition which has obtained in it for many years past, we can imagine nothing so impolitic or so unjustifiable, as to deprive the people of the protection of those laws to which in a great measure, they have been led to sudmit. Had the Puketapu Chiefs retained

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their native authority, instead of deferring to ours, they would still have been alive, and in the possession of all their rights, which none would have dared to dispute. And if, after losing their lives in the maintenance of our cause, the slaughter is to be ignored, and the murderers go free, it is not to be supposed that the survivors will submit themselves any longer to our direction. Their only protection will be found in their ancient though barbarous customs ; and the Queen's laws they will leave for the Queen's subjects. And thus will rise up in our midst an imperium in imperio —the Maori Chief will supplant the Native Assessor—and British rule and supremacy will cease to be acknowledged, even in our own Township. " We have tried, on every available occasion, to effect an arrangement for the termination of hostilities, especially by urging upon Katatore to adopt the plan proposed by Mr. Commissioner McLean, in accordance with Native usage, viz, to abandon the land to the use of the survivors, and with his few adherents, to remove away from the district. But this he peremptorily refuses to do ; and so long as he can get assistance from other parties, it is not to be expected that he will comply with even so lenient a measure. Thus, with the exception of the slaughter, William King is even worse than Katatore ; because, had it not been for his unwarranted interference and support from the very commencement, the question might probably have been settled long ago. And now that the wives and children of the Ngatiruanui have arrived at the Kaipokopoko, it seems as if they have made up their minds to a prolonged struggle ; which, if allowed within half-a-dozen miles of an English settlement, and British troops, will make me ashamed to confess myself a British subject. And as a Missionary to the Natives, and one of the best friends they possess, I should consider such a policy destructive to their interests, as it would be suicidal to ourselves. It would lead to the entire demoralization of the district, and thus neutralise every past effort for their advancement and every fresh project for the future—besides surrounding the settlement with a cordon of most turbulent men, with whom no peaceful relations could ever be established." " 13th.—Having just heard that Bishop Selwyn is on his way hither, overland, and that his visit has reference to our Native disturbances, I would beg to add a few further observations. Amongst his own people, it is well known, that his Lordship possesses great influence, and it is quite possible that that influence may be rendered effectual on the present occasion. Nearly every individual engaged in this aggression, and committed to this fatal policy in legard of the land, belongs to the same communion. If, therefore, his Lordship can only persuade William King to retire from the league, and remove, with Katatore and his people, to the other shore of the Waitara, leaving the whole of the block on this side, to be disposed of by those who are now its sole and rightful owners—thus causing it to be immediately occupied by a large European population—then the Ngatiruanuis would retire quietly home, and the question would bejpeacably settled. But if some minor arrangement of this kind is not proposed and agreed to, then I will venture to prophecy that the final settlement of this perverse dispute, to render it effectual, will have to include the whole of the seaboard, from the White Cliffs on the one hand, to Whanganui on the other." "16th.—When we mentioned our proposal in the last paper, we meant to say that that was the most lenient measure, which under the circumstances, would be accepted by the injured party. Otherwise, the full justice of the case would require, as regards William King's people, that they should be at once removed away beyond the original Surveyor's line at Titirangi; and by no means be allowed, (after all their opposition to the Government, for the past three years,} to reap the commercial advantages of the Northern banks of the Waitara, which in a short time, would make them more unbearable than ever. From what we know of the men and their conversation, this would be, by far, the better arrangement. And then as to the alternative—we simply prognosticated, from our entire knowledge of the question, if some such mode of settlement as the one alluded to, were not adopted, that the future consequences would be such as to involve the whole of the Province, both North and South, in any final arrangement that would require to be made. The very fact of leaving the dispute to be settled by the Maories themselves, would bring every surrounding tribe into the conflict, and thus necessitate the adoption of those final measures, which as a mere matter of conjecture we pointed out." " 18th.—Yesterday a letter was brought to me to read and seal, and send to the Post Office. It was addressed to the Government, and stated that if His Excellency would assist them in obtaining justice from Katatore, and prevent their lands from being taken possession of by King and the Ngatiruanuis, that then they would dispose of the whole block to the Government, as far as Waiongana—■ and tiat is about as far as the Puketapu claims extend. It was only signed by one Native, after the fashion of most Maori letters, but we find that it was the result of a general council. And though we were not aware that they intended to make their proposal in so formal a manner, yet we highly approve of it, on every ground. But, especially, on that of their own advancement in civilized life, which will never be the case until they become more intimately intermixed with their European neighbours, and establish private friendships amongst them, which alone will bind the two races together in interest and affection. But this can never take place where the blocks of each party are situated so widely distant, as to convey the idea of separate districts with disunited interests. The district must be one, with the came laws and penalties for each ; and then for the first time, the fears and affections and obligations and good offices of brotherly kindness on the part of both, will be found to be reciprocal. As to the old system of tenth sections as Maori Reserves, we prevailed on Col. Wakefield not to press for its adoption (as being too far apart.) But the plan of intermixing the two races, as at present adopted, and allowing the Natives to re-purchase their lands from the Government, (if done impartially), and thus derive a personal title from the Crown, is a system well adapted to exalt them in the social scale, without, at the same time, rendering them inaccessible to Missionary labor. And thus their every interest, will be promoted, in every available way, and at all times ; and the principles of a true and Christian philanthropj will be carried out to their utmost extent."

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" 24th.—In this week's paper, we find a letter on the subject, but by whom written we have not the slightest idea. Its statement of the general question, if intended to be such, is, in our opinion, not quite a correct one. It is rather too single-sided to be complete, owing apparently to the subject being viewed at the time of writing only from one direction: whereas it is of so comprehensive a nature as to require to be examined on every side. It is composed of parts, which, though distinct, are not separate; and though what the writer says about the slaughter is quite correct, yet, as to the final settlement of the question, it will be found to have as much, if not more, to do with land than with blood. But we will explain ourselves. The crime itself was murder, which stands on its own merits, and about which there can be no two opinions; but the originating cause of that crime was the disposal of land to the Government, to which the parties themselves had rightful claims. " Had the slaughter been inflicted as the punishment of adultery, or any other offence, then the matter could be settled at once, by seizing the person of the transgressor. But the same remedy will not apply to every disease; and in this case the disease is of altogether a different character. It is one of conspiracy, a determination on the part of the strong to eend the weak to the wall, and to allow of no other interference with their despotic will, not even from the British Government. They have repeatedly declared that no person whatever shall sell any land to the north of " Waitaha" without the forfeiture of his life; and, if you try it to-morrow, you will find the same consequences ensue, whether at Puketapu or Waitara. On the other hand, our Natives hold that they have a positive right to dispose of their waste lands, either to the Government or to some other party, and that they ought to be protected in the exercise of that right. "As to any arrangement about land, as between the conflicting parties—why, that is the very basis on which we have been proceeding all along, ever since the return of Mr. Commissioner McLean. If the relatives themselves submit to a compensation in banishment and property from the ringleaders, it is not for a minister to cry aloud for blood, until every other offer has been made to, and rejected by, the guilty parties. It has hitherto been our duty to attend to this land question, and to endeavour to arrange matters on this ground alone. Therefore, we were quite within our duty when we expressed the opinion that, if Bishop Selwyn could effect some such arrangement as the one alluded to, with his own people, the question might be finally settled. " There are two principles in the acquisition of Native lands which can never be overlooked in this country—lst, That they be obtained equitably: that is, not only in accordance with our English views of equity, but also according to the plans which have hitherto been invariably adopted by the Government, and admitted by themselves. 2ndly, That they be obtained peaceably: for, after all shall be said that can be said, and every argument expended, we still maintain with obstinacy (as the settlers well know we ever have done) that, unless the lands of this country are to be obtained by peaceful measures, they are not worth the bare possession. But let us not be misunderstood. We mean peaceful, as towards the real owners of the property. If other parties presume to interfere to prevent the sale and occupancy, having no just right to do so, that is another thing altogether, and is to be dealt with on its own merits. Whilst we act justly towards them, they must be brought to act justly towards each other, otherwise the greatest tyrant will soon become the greatest chief, and a premium will thus be paid for insubordination and injustice. Here is a party saying "We will not live with Europeans ourselves, neither shall they reside with our relatives: for, though the land is theirs, they shall not be allowed to sell it." Ihaia is the greatest landowner of his tribe, and yet for nine years he has been subject to this despotism; until at one time he and his people were getting quite alienated from the Government, and had become so exasperated at not being allowed to bring their own property to the same market as other Natives, that they determined and endeavoured to put Europeans in possession, in opposition to the law. This fact will be in the remembrance of everyone, as it was taken into the Resident Magistrate's Court. We do not believe that there are ten -men in the settlement who would wish to add to its extent by an act of injustice towards the Natives; but at the same time we hope that it will not be forgotten that injustice can be committed towards those who wish to sell, as well as towards those who wish to keep, "We are of opinion (so long as the other hostile tribes can be kept away) that this matter of Kative right may be settled peaceably, and with justice to all parties. Unless the cure be entire, there is no confidence to be placed in it; and that cure will not be radically sound which does not embrace this subject in all its parts. Much of the land on this side of the Waitara belongs to the consenting party. What does not, could easily be excluded from the sale (but not in one block, as recommended and reserved), to its owners, but under its present Maori title, with all its disadvantages, and never hereafter to be bought at a higher price than its present value. The rest could then be properly purchased. Crown titles given to the Native occupants for their part of it, and the remainder speedily and thickly settled with steady and industrious farmers, who would at once protect, and be protected by, their Maori neighbours. Thus a bloodless victory would be gained over ignorant and unreasonable men; and thus would they be forced, even against their consent, into immediate contact with civilized life. " Such are our simple views on this difficult subject, and it will not be required that we refer to them again. There is| no occasion to say more, and we could not in justice to our people say less. Nor in justice to ourselves, since much of what we have written has been grossly perverted by certain parties, and made to bear a meaning which neither its etymology would justify nor our consistent and well-known sentiments support. And these misrepresentations! they have retailed to the Natives. We are always ready to be responsible for what we do, or write, or say; but, beyond that, we beg to be excused. It has been our unfortunate lot, ever since we came into this settlement, to have had more to do, in reality, with the land question than any other single individual unconnected with the Government. And Mr._ Commissioner McLean can testify that though the several blocks hare

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been finally purchased, and paid for, by Governors and Government officers, yet it has chiefly been by our own continuous endeavours and endless arguments that these Natives have been persuaded to alienate their waste property to the Crown, and to intermix so familiarly and beneficially with their European friends. "And yet what we have done here is only in accordance with the general practice of the other members of our mission, when opportunity has occurred, as may be seen from the following extract of a letter published in the ' New-Zealander' in June last. Some one, it would appear, had taken up the common observations concerning Missionary obstruction, and applied them to our body, and it was in answer to that allegement that the Chairman of our District very properly published the following disclaimer:— " ' You insinuate that some or all of the Missionaries are opposed to, or do oppose, the settlement of the country by colonists ! Now, sir, for myself and all my brethren, I boldly meet your accusation with this public denial, in the strongest form the language will admit of. No, sir, it has long been our settled, unanimous, and declared conviction, that the sooner the land is purchased by Government, and the country filled in the length and breadth of it with British colonists, the better it will be for all parties. Both the Surveyor-General and the Native Land Commissioner will tell you that our conduct is in accordance with these professions.' "I therefore feel that I have the same right as others to express my opinions on a subject with which the best interests of my people, and of my whole missionary life at Taranaki, have been so intimately identified." The above extracts contain all that I proposed in the year 1855, in reference to the Waitara land, but which, after all, was no proposal of mine, but the ''peremptory" plan of Sir G. Grey, as laid down by him on the 2nd of March, 1847. At this time his Excellency wrote thus to the Secretary of State: — " Upon taking a review of the whole of these circumstances, together with our isolated and weak position in this portion of New Zealand, the only arrangement I thought could be advantageously made, was, to acquaint the Natives that I should order in the first place that the most ample reserves for their present and future wants should be marked off for the Resident Natives, as well as for those who were likely to return to Taranaki; but that the remaining portion of the country in that district should be resumed for the Crown, and for the use of the Europeans. That in the fulfilment of the promises made by my predecessor, the value of the resumed land, in its wild and defenceless state, should be assessed by a Commissioner, and that a Court should then be appointed to enquire into the Native titles to the whole or portions of the district so resumed; and that those Natives who established valid claims to any part of it should receive the corresponding portions of the payment to which they would become entitled. But very few of the Natives seemed disposed to assent to this arrangement. '' But they distinctly understood that it was my intention to enforce it. I trust that it may meet with your Lordship's approval, as the best which could, under circumstances of such difficulty, be made; and as one which, whilst it ensures the interests of Her Majesty's European subjects, inflicts no injury on Her Majesty's subjects of the Native race: although I fear that these latter, now that their cupidity has been so strongly excited, may, if they think they are strong enough, endeavour to resist it by force of arms." So much for the plan itself. And as to its execution, Governor Grey on the sth of th 3 same month instructed Mr. Commissioner McLean, after making ample reserves to the several tribes, that " Every rffort should be made to acquire for the European population those tracts of land which were awarded to the New Zealand Company by Mr. Spain. " If possible, the total amount of land resumed for the Europeans should be from 60,000 to 70,000 acres. " No time should be lost in completing these arrangements, (and that) "Those Natives who refuse to assent to this arrangement mu3t distinctly understand that the Government do not admit that they are the true owners of the land they have recently thought proper to occupy." And lastly, in reference to Captain Fitzroy's reversal of Mr. Spain's award, Sir G. Grey received a despatch from the Secretary of State (Mr. Gladstone) of 2nd July, 1846, in which the following passage occurs:— " I cannot but express my great, surprise and regret, at not having been placed by Captain FitzEoy in possession of a full repoit of the course which he pursued in this case, and of his reasons for that course. I however indulge the hope that you may have found yourself in a condition to give effect to the award of Mr. Spain in the case of the Company's claims at New Plymouth ; and in any case I rely on your endeavours to gain that end, so far as you may have found it practicable, unless indeed, which I can hardly think probable, you may hare seen reason to believe that the reversal of the Commissioner's judgment was a wise and just measure." Such was the sanction which Sir George Grey's plan received, as by anticipation, from the Home Government. As to Mr. Spain's award of Bth June, 1844, I was present when it was given, and both then and since I have ever looked upon it as a most upright judgment, and one which ought not to have been reversed. At the same time, it may be quite true, that with the small force then in the Colony, the Governor could not have carried that award into immediate execution. The block of land awarded by Her Majesty's Commissioner was bounded on the North by the Surveyor's line at Titirangi, three miles from the Waitara Eiver. This breadth of three miles is included in that tract which Mr. McLean was instructed by Sir G. Grey to use "every effort to acquire for the European population.'' And I never heard that scheme pronounced to be " dishonour-

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able," or " treacherous" or " exterminating," or at all improper, until the issue of Bishop Selwyn's Pastoral Letter in 1855, and now of his correspondence with Mr. Parris, in which the same line of remark is adopted ; and in proposing its being carried into effect, I never expected to meet with censure. The proposal complained of (as will be setn by the foregoing , extracts) was one entirely of a pacific character, made by one minister to another, that the united influence of all parties should be rsed (especially at that crisis) to bring peace and prosperity to the Province, by the final settlement of that long-disputed block: and by such a peaceful measure to break up at once that illegal conspiracy of Maori land-owners who threatened immediate death to the " seller of land." Rawiri Waiawa and his companions had been massacred for the same cause but a fortnight before, and the same promise was held out for the future ; and I certainly never dreamt of being rebuked for proposing a settlement of that question on the terms already laid down by the Home and Colonial Government, and already adopted in every other portion of the New Zealand Company's Block. I did most earnestly desire that the Bishop and Archdeacon Hadfield, with many others, should combine their influence together, in breaking up that unlawful confederacy, which otherwise, I foresaw would be the cause of an internecine warfare bel ween the two races, which, when once commenced, would never be satisfactorily settled until the whole of that sea-board'had been drawn into the dispute. If the Bishop had then used his endeavours to effect so peaceful a solution of our difficulties, they might possibly have been successful, and the present war averted from the country ; but by withholding his advice until such time as the electoral " rights" of the Natives are conceded to them (as mentioned, I think, in his Pastoral Letter), we have been summarily plunged into a war for which we were not prepared, but which, in 1855, I had earnestly entreated his Lordship to use his utmost endeavours to avert. The sad and tragical history of Taranaki, from that day to this, will at once evince whose plan was best, and what system it is which will most surely lead to Maori extermination. That the Waitara land was greatly desired (not coveted, for no man can covet his own property) by some of the settlers, is accounted for on the ground that they had properly bought it from the New Zealand Company, and that it had been duly awarded to them by Mr. Commissioner Spain. They did not crave for the peach groves of Huirangi, though more " delightfully" situated, and on the bank of the same river, simply because they had never purchased them. As also with Mangaoraka. There a beautiful village had been formed, and the waste land brought into a slate of European cultivation by a band of ha>d-working and respectable settlers; but they were driven away to town, even against the remonstrance of Governor Fitzßoy. Never shall I forget the day when they were ordered off, simply to satisfy what Sir George Grey very justly terms the cupidity of Katatore and some ten or a dozen followers, who have never to this present time been able to cultivate or reclaim those very sections which were thus abandoned to their primitive state of waste and uselessness. This was the beginning of the settlers' sorrows at Taranaki, and this doubtless was the ultimate origin of the present war, which could only afterwards be averted by breaking up the land-league, and by the further purchase of the Waitara district from its rightful owners (with suitable reserves), and its peaceful occupation by the united races. In conclusion, I cannot but regret that the inauguration of our free institutions should be attended with such very great freedom of remark, on the plans and purposes of those who have spent the best years of their lives in hard-working and practical endeavours to promote the real advancement of the Native race of this country. H. Hanson Tuetox. Auckland, June 22nd, 1861.

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