TO NATIVE AFFAIRS.

7

E—No. 3e

breadth of the island, until every inch of land would have passed away from its Native owners into the hands of the Europeans, and the Aboriginal inhabitants of the country themselves would bave been totally exterminated. For the simple reason alone of preventing such a dread calamity, (these Taranaki say) they feel themselves under the necessity of protecting both Katatore and Wiremu Kingi against being in any way touched or proceeded against by the Pakeha and the Military. Hence (they declared) as soon as any attempt shall be made by the latter, to get either of these two Chiefs into their power, all Taranaki and Ngatiruanui, &c, as far as Whanganui, will rise instantly to a man in arms, and hasten to Katatore's and Wiremu Kingi's rescue and support, and they will not relinquish the struggle until they shall either have conquered or have lost their last man in the attempt ; because (say they) it is not merely for those two individuals the war will be waged, but it will be for the principle which the Natives recognise as bound up in those two men, as soon as they are placed between the two different races, the Pakeha and the Aborigines. If (they urge) Hone Heke had fallen into the hands of the Europeans, all the Ngapuhi lands would have been taken too in cons-eqnence, and all that tribe would have been gradually exterminated, and again, if Te Rangihaeata had fallen into the hands of the Pakeha, all the land in the South would have been taken too, as conquest, and all the Maori there would have been cut off after him. The escape of the two last named from falling into the hands of the Europeans, had saved both them and their people, their existence and possessions, so it would be here if Katatore or Wiremu Kingi or both should be taken by the Pakeha, all the Maori along this coast, including Taranaki, Ngatiruanui, &c., would be next subjugated and cut off by the soldiers, and their lands be taken away as a possession for the Europeans. In the present case (they say) it is even more clearly to be foreseen than in the case of Hone Heke and Te Rangihaeata that such would be the result, in as far as here the Pakeha have ro just cause to go to fight about with the Maori, and can therefore, if still they do so, have no other object for so doiDg than to make themselves masters of both the Maoris and their lands. When,as in Hone Heke and Te Rangihaeata's case, they had the advantage of being able to shew that those parties had been the aggressors, owing to which also Te Rauparaha's capture and detention by the British Authority had excited but little excitement among the Natives generally. Here neither W. Kingi nor Katatore had interfered with the Pakeha or their land, &c, nay, the latter and his party had even given up to the Queen the land asked of him by the Governor as " utu" for Rawisi's death. Hence there was no sufficient reason left, why the Pakeha should at all interfere with the Maori and their quarrels. Thus fully the whole case has been repeatedly argued before me during the last fortnight by the Natives in the Taranaki district, and there can be no doubt that they are in earnest about it. The roost sober and quietly disposed amongst them declare in a manner not to be mistaken, that they will rise because cbey feel convinced fmohio rawa) that it will be necessary for the defence and preservation of their lives, liberties and possessions against a system of violence and aggression threatening them and theirs. I have already observed further above, that letters had been written and sent to Mr. H. Halse and others, tc enquire if whether any aggressive movement was likely to be made by his Excellency Governor Browne against the Natives. At the same time a letter was written by some of the chief men here in Taranaki to Wiremu Kingi of Waitara, which ran as follows :"E hoa, c Wiremu Kingi; Tena ra koe ! Ka. nui ta matou aroha atu ki a koe 1 na, kia. rongo mai koe; kahore matou ite pouti, ki ta koutou whawhai kite te Maori. Xi te pai koutou kite whakamate i a koutou, c pai ana, ki a koutou. Heoi ano." Thus far they let me into the contents of that letter, but 1 rather am inclined to believe that it contained more. At all events I asked the authors of that document point blank whether it was not intended to convey to W. Kingi in a manner perfectly intelligible to him the promise of Taranaki aid and support in case it should appear as if the Pakeha had any designs jigainst his personal liberty or right. The answer I received to this question frankly admitted th»t it was so. The letter was subsequently detained, and not sent, as I strongly argued against it, as besides its having a mischievions tendency, it was »ltogettiev unnecessary and premature. In the course of my listening to their long " toreros" and of my occasional arguing with them about the various points, I observed that it appeared to rr.e there was much reason to believe that Wiremu Kingi had, properly speaking, no land and no claim of his own to the lands at the Waitara on the South side. With much evident surprise they, the Taranaki, looked up and asked me where then his lands and his claims were if not theie, since he was the rightful and principal Chief of the Waitara. When I further reminded them that W. King had no right either to hold or to occupy land on this (South) side of the Waitara river since in 1849, he had given his distinct promise to Governor Sir George Grey, previous to his coming up from the South that he would not settle on this side, but on the opposite north banks of the river, I received in reply that W. Kingi being the head chief of all Waitara, on both nides of it, it was for himself to choose and say on which side and on which spot he was to reside. In fine the Taranaki Natives seemed to scorn the idea of having that personage set down as merely a second or third rate Chief, and as being possessed of only a nominal right and claim to the Waitara lands, which he holds and occupies, and they also ridicule the idea that Katatore should have a right and title only to five pieces of land within the whole territory, owned by the Pukatapu tribe. In writing the above it has been throughout my endeavour to give you as brief, comprehensive and correct a statement as possible of what are the feelings and sentiments of this Taranaki tribe in refeience to the Puketapu disturbances, and in what light they are viewing the whole affair, and in making these statements, I have strictly adhered to what I have personally had opportunity to