D—No. 1G

would make enquiries about them. I went on to Mr. Duncan's where I staid until Mr. Clendon's return. He did not return for two or three days ; when he did I went to his house to hear what account he had heard. He informed me that he had heard that the boat had put in at the Rawiti and that they said there the woman was not married. I then told him him, lam lawfully married to the woman, but he said, I think you have somebody at Duncan's to blame. He should have come and informed me about the case, then I should have sent for you and have had you face to face and have heard the rights of the case. He is to blame there, but that Native will have to be brought back and made to pay dear for what he has done; I shall get Duncan to write some letters which I will forward to Mr. Barstow to deliver to some of the Native chiefs, and when I return from Hokianga he would see more into the case. I then went to Mr. Duncan; he asked me what Mr. Clendon said, I told him as Mr. Clendon had told me. He said that the principal person to write to was Marsh Brown Kawiti; if he could not get my wife returned she would not be returned if I paid a ship-load of goods. He wrote a letter to that party. He said that Marsh was the greatest of all the natives in that part up to Whangarei. He gave the letter to me; I told him I would go if that I could, and deliver the letter myself. But when I went home I could not get a person to look after my children, so I brought the letter back. Mr. Duncan was not at home, he had gone with Mr, Clendon to Hokianga. I gave the letter to his daughter. I told her to give it to her father when he came home. She said, I will. I then went home on the Sunday after Mr. Duncan came to my place. I then lold him I thought I should start on Monday and try and go to Wananaki. He said, you had better let things be quiet a bit as you have given it into the hands of the law. I shall see you again on Tuesday. I went up to his house on the Monday; he was away; I staid there that night; in the morning, a person that was looking after his place told me Mr. Duncan had given him orders if I came there that he was to tell me that he did not want me hanging about the place. I then left and went home. I wondered for what reason I was thus treated, as I always took Mr. Duncan to be my friend. On my road, I heard that he, Mr. Duncan, said I was going mad. I again, in a few days, went to the Keri Keri. Mr. Duncan was absent at Whangaroa, but his daughter told me that my wife's case had been spoke about at the meeting of chiefs a few days before, and that Marsh Brown had been told to git the woman, my wife, returned. Several natives spoke up and said that if they did not fetch her back for him they would go and 6ee; if they was refused the Magistrate would go, and if he did not succeed he would leave it in the hands of the Government. After six weeks had expired, I saw, again, Mr. Duncan. I told him I should go and see if I could not see my wife and child. He said you had better not, for the natives are sure to want to come to some terms with you. I told him it was in the hands of the law and I should not interfere. I then started to go to Whananaki; on the way I called at Marsh Brown's; I told him where I was going. He said, I think you and me had a great deal better make some arrangement for your wife and child. I said, I have given it into the Magistrate's hands. He said Ido not think that Henry Ngakapa will give her up for them. He is a very bad native, and does not consider he is under the European law, but still for all that the law hangs over him. You had better come and reside here and I will try if I cannot bring your wife and child back. I said no, I did not intend to do that. He, Marsh Brown, then said, what are you making such a fuss about that ugly old woman; I said, have you even seen her that you know that to be true; he said, I was told so by Rutu; I said if she is eld and ugly, she is the mother of my children; he said, that is true, but if he does not listen to me, he will not listen to anybody; I have sent a letter to him to come to the court and bring your wife and child back, if you go on when you reach there they will be here most likely; I staid there in the morning; I went on my road to Whananaki, when I got to the Ruapekapeka, I got a person to guide me to Wananaki and promised to pay him in second hand property, when I returned. I and the native went on until I fell in with some natives of Whananaki, a catching of eels; he then left me and I proceeded on; I reached the head of the river, where a man and his wife, their name was Keesing; they told me a great deal of the way the native Henry Ngakapa was treating my wife; they said that he had been offering her to several natives as a concubine, but she refused and said, I am no slave that you should be treating me in this manner; they also said that if she fretted about me or the children she had left behind he used to rebuke her by saying what is this slave of a woman crying about, you are alive and well; they also said, that Henry Ngakapa said, that that Duncan was no good, for he promised to come and bring the woman back and the time was expired, therefore, he thought he was perfectly right in what he had done. In the morning I went to the pa at the mouth of the river,( I arrived on the 6th June), where I saw several natives; they told me that Henry Ngakapa and party with my wife and child had gone to Whangarei the day before; one named Thomas sent a note to the h< ad person on the other side of the river, to let him know that I had arrived, and for him to come and hear i\ hat I had to say; he came and listened to my statement of what occurred on the evening of the 25th April; he said my statement agreed with that what he had heard, except two phrases, one was that I refused to give the boat, the other that Henry struck me because I tore his shirt; I denied refusing the boat, the other I did not know whether I tore his shirt or nut in our struggle; they then told me the same tales as Keesing and his wile and some others, one was that if she refused to take any of the men, ho would take her himself, he even went so far as so lay hands on her one night, when she rose up an 1 said, that is what you have brought me here for, I am no slave you had better send me back to my husband and children, if you go on in this way I will make away with myself and child; one, the head of the Kunanga, told vie Henry Ngakapa had gone to Whangarei and would not return to the 17th of June, I had better stay until they returned, then he would hear what each had to say and he would decide the case; he said, I do not hold with him taking the law into his own hands, I do not think a human being is lawful payment for debt; I told him 1 should return to the Kerikeri to my children

7

OF JAMES HOLDEN.