PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE

5. William King opposed this offer, and said that no land at the Waitara should be sold. But the "mana" of the land was not with William King, and he had no right to forbid the sale of any land which did not belong to him personally. G. The Queen has said that all the Natives shall be free to sell their lands to her, or to keep them, as they may think best. None may compel the Maori people to sell their lands, nor may any forbid their doing so. 7. William King sets his word above the Queen's, and says, though the rightful owners of the land may wish to sell, he will not allow them to do so. 8. The Governor cannot allow William King's word to set aside the words of the Queen. 9. The Governor has said that he will not allow land to be bought the title to which is disputed. He has also said that he will not allow interference with the rightful owners in the sale of their lands. When land is offered, the title to which is clear, the Governor will use his own discretion in accepting or declining the offer. 10. The Governor accepted Te Teira's offer conditionally on its being shown that he had an undisputed title. 11. Te Teira's title has been carefully investigated, and found to be good. It is not disputed by anyone. The Governor cannot therefore allow William King to interfere with Te Teira in the sale of his own land. 12. Payment for the land has been received by Te Teira. It now belongs to the Queen. 13. William King has interfered to prevent the survey of the Queen's land by her own surveyor*. This interference will not be permitted. 14. The Governor has given his word to Te Teira, and he will not go back from it. The land has been bought and must be surveyed. The Queen's soldiers will protect the surveyors. If William King interferes again, and mischief follow, the evil will be of his own seeking. 15. The Governor desires peace. It depends upon William King whether there shall be peace or not. If he ceases to interfere with what is not his own, he will be treated as a friend, and there will be peace. An article explanatory of the Governor's intentions was also inserted in the Maori Messenger, a Government newspaper published twice a month in the Native language. A translation of the article is here annexed :— TRANSLATION. Yesterday, the 28th inst, His Excellency the Governor and suite, with a detachment of troops, embarked on board the steamer Airedale, which left Manukau early this morning for Taranaki. In order to prevent our Maori friends in various parts of the country from being misled by mere reports, we are anxious to give them correct information respecting the object of His Excellency's present visit to Taranaki, and to caution them against giving credit to any contrary statements which they may hear. The practice of raising and spreading unfounded reports is not peculiar to the Maori people. Among the Pakehas, as among them, there is no lack of persons more anxious to have something , to tell, than careful that what they tell shall be true. It is wise, therefore, always to inquire before believing anything heard in this way, and to ascertain upon what authority and from what source it comes. We have no doubt that the news of the Governor's having gone to Taranaki with the soldiers will be carried far and wide. It will naturally be asked, For what purpose ? And some one will probably reply, To fight with the Maories at Taranaki about the land. Such, however, is not the case. The Governor has gone down to Taranaki and has taken troops with him for the purpose of preventing fighting. There will be no fighting unless William King or his people are foolish enough to provoke a quarrel with the soldiers who will be sent to protect the surveyors while surveying a piece of land at the Waitara which has been purchased by the Government from its rightful owners. William King has said that this land should not be sold. But the land was not his, and he had therefore no right to say this. The land has been sold by Te Teira and others to the Government, and the Queen's money has been paid for it. If William King had owned part of the land, and he had not been willing that it should be sold, the Governor would not have directed that it should be bought. If, again, he had really possessed any authority over Te Teira, and had been able to prevent his offering his land to the Government, the Governor would not have interfered, and the land would not have been bought. Even after the offer of the land, if William King had succeeded in preventing Te Teira from applying for and receiving the payment, no attempt would have been made to take possession. But after the land had been publicly, offered to the Government in William King's presence without any attempt on his part to dispute the title of the parties offering it, and subsequently, the Queen's money had been received by the undisputed owners in payment for it, what possible ground could William King have for interference ? He did interfere, however, and sent back the Queen's surveyors who were directed to mark off this land. We can only suppose that he thought the Governor was not in earnest when he publicly accepted Teira's offer, and promised him that if he could show au indisputable title to the land it would be bought by the Government. It will now be seen by all that the Governor means to keep his word. And we hope William King will be wise and give up his obstinate and groundless opposition. At all events, we trust he will not be so ill-advised as to attempt further interference. If otherwise, the blame of what may follow must rest with him. The Governor's word will be made good : the land will be surveyed. If the surveyors are molested the soldiers must go to protect them. William King must understand that he will not be permitted to interfere with that which does not belong to him. He is at liberty to do as

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