D—No. JG

brothers to another man to wife. The brothers said that he James had stolen her away. It is now for the brothers to pay Henare Motatau who was the cause of their finding their sister. They will soon return to Kapiti with their sister. I have &c, Tb Hoterenk, Assessor. True translation, VVm. Duncan, Interpreter.

No. 5. ACTING NATIVE SECRETARY, TO THE RESIDENT MAGISTRATE, KERI RERI. Native Secretary's Office. Auckland, September 16th, 1861. Sir,— I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th ult, enclosing as supplementary to your former report on the alleged outrage at the Kerikeri alluded to in " Southern Cross," of 28th May, a letter with translation from [Toterene, Native assessor at Whangaruru, and to inform you that the same has been duly brought under the notice of His Excellency the Governor. I have &c., Thos. H. Smith, J. R. Clendon Esq. Acting Native Secretary. Resident Magistrate, Keri Keri.

No. 6. JAMES HOLDEN TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR. Keri Keri, Bay of Islands, September 30th, 1861. Sir, — I now take the liberty of writing to you to mate a true statement of my ease, for until the present time I thought I was in the right by leaving it in the hands of the Resident Magistrate of this place, but I am now led to believe that wrong reports are forwarded to the notice of the Government, I therefore think it is time that I interfered in it myself, I send you the statement from the commencement of my arrival in Port Nicholson in the year 1854, about the middle of May or June. I arrived in the " Belle Creole," a vessel bringing sheep and cattle for Messrs. Harman, Luxford, and others; as soon as the sheep and cattle was discharged I proceeded on to Whanganui, about 120 miles from Port Nicholson, where I engaged with one Mr. John Jackson, then contractor for firewood for the Government officers stationed there ; I went on to his farm to work, after being there about two months, I visited several times the pa of one of the Native Assessors of that place, called Tahana ; the name of his pa was Wipakuta, about eight miles from the town, I resided about three miles further up a small creek called Makirikiri; during my visits back and forward to TatMOa'l place, I became acquainted with a native woman named Taia, a relation of Tahana's ; he took notice of it, and several times made the remark to me, and questioned me if I would not like to take her to live with me for a long time ; I made no reply to his questions ; one night I stayed there, when he brought her to me and told me to take her ; I consented ; and according to the native way, I gave him a blanket and £3 in money, he then told me to take her home with me, and if any others came to claim payment not to give them anything. We lived together until the woman was near being confined; I then tried to get married to her but as I had no money at the time we did not get married. About that time, a horse belonging to the person that employed me happened to break the leg of a horse belong to some Maoris ; the woman living with me was the only witness of the occurrence and was brought up to the Court. A person that I worked for, blamed me and said I might have stopped the woman from going as a witness against him. The Maoris gained the case ; he then told me lie would not let that woman stop on his place any more, I must send her away; I made the reply, if she goes Igo too. He said, I don't care ; I immediately took my things and the woman and child and went to Tahana's pa ; in about three days a policemen came with a warrant to arrest me for breach ; I was brought before the Court and received the sentence of two months ; I went to prison before I would go to work, and send the woman away ; I got through the two months and then went back to work for the same person at day work to clear off a small debt that I had contracted with him ; I got through that and then went a sawing timber up the river, when the woman began persuading me to leave that place and go to Port Nicholson ; I did not leave after the birth of a second child ; about the month of September, 1856, we left to go to Port Nicholson, when I went to work for one Mr. John Leverton at the river Hutt; I worked on until about May, 1857, when I took the woman and got her baptized in the Catholic Chapel by the Revd Bishop P. H. Viard, on account of her relations being of that creed; she and her children were baptized and we were married; that was after the Marriage Act was brought in vogue in New Zealand; in the same year we left, and went back to Wlianganui; the woman saw her brother and informed him of her marriage, and that she was going to go overland to Auckland; she tried to persuade her brother to come along with us, but he said he would not; she then told him

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ABDUCTION OF THE WIFE AND CHILD