E—No. 5a

yard had been erected for the impounding of all cattle found trespassing; when, as chance would have it, five of his own herd were amongst the first to be impounded, nor would the keeper let them go unless the fees were paid. On this, the Chief made a long blustering speech on the unreasonableness &c. of impounding his cattle with the rest, and succeeded with his hatchet in opening out a way of escape, and so let them go. This was, at once, the means of breaking up a good system, well adapted to the place, and to which all the people had given their consent. On the Upper Waikato and Waipa rivers, there were Runangas everywhere, but none in such full and active exercise as about Rangiawhia and Mohoanui, and strange work they seemed to be making of it in many instances. Each hapu had its own leading Runanga, and all these bodies were continually being brought into collision with each other; so much so, that on my arrival at Rangiawhia, one of these misunderstandings had very nearly terminated in bloodshed. Hori Te Waru, with his son Taati and many others, broke off from the system whilst I was there, submitted their cases to my Court, and joined in requesting that a Resident Magistrate should be appointed to Otawhao, the former official residence of Dr. Harsant. My visit to Waikato being professedly not so much of an official as of a friendly character, and for the collection of information, precluded me from seeing so much of the Runangas as I otherwise should have done. But from all that I did see and hear, 1 came to the same conclusion as in other places, namely, that the Government should leave no step untried to bring the whole of these councils under its own central management, if ever anything like order and efficient control is expected to result from them. But if, as hitherto, each tribe or village is allowed to receive or reject the direction of the Government according to its own will, then I cannot see how any system whatever can be made to work efficiently!, or anything like proper order be maintained in the country. The mere spirit of opposition alone, and the love of notoriety, will breed dissentients against the most perfect of institutions, if the Maoris once know that the final decision will rest with themselves. At Napier, the Native Council seems to be getting louder in its pretensions, which is not to be wondered at, considering all the reports they have received from Waikato and Taranaki during the last eighteen months. I had the good fortune to meet about sixty of them together at the erection of their mill, near Clive, and I could not but think, as I listened to them, what good stuff was there for all the purposes of life, if their energies could only be directed and sustained in a right channel. And the same observation I made at Wairarapa, Kapiti, Whanganui, and other districts, in each of which are to be found many Native Chiefs of middle age, who only require to know that insubordination to law will not be tolerated, to make them the most submissive of subjects and the most effectual of coadjutors. Most of the Runangas contain men who are constantly advising the rest to act with caution and decency, and in some cases their counsel is adopted and peace reigns throughout the district ; but in other cases (and by far the most numerous) a few of the more thoughtless and energetic will seize the reins, and bring disgrace upon their brethren by proceedings of the most irregular description. And it requires a man to be constantly moving amongst them, and that too in the character of a Magistrate, to feel the full effects of such proceedings in the obstacles which they oppose to the general efficiency of his work. In many of the Runangas there is a strong determination evinced to interfere with the Europeans residing in the district. But for this, the latter have in a great measure to thank themselves, by frequently appealing to the Runangas in the first instance for the collection of their debts, &c. Then, when in return they are cited to appear before the Council for some debt or trespass of their own, they complain loudly of the interference, and decline to comply, leaving the Maoris to take by force what is refused to their authority ; and in so doing many of them are satisfied that they are doing right. Some of the Europeans also will make use of the Resident Magistrate or Maori Runanga, just a3 it suits their convenience; and then, in their turn, the Natives will often refuse to appear, saying that they do not acknowledge our jurisdiction. For this, in the present state of things, there appears to be no remedy but patience. In the foregoing observations, I have purposely omitted to notice the great waste of time, unnecessary consumption of food, and irregularity of behaviour, especially amongst the younger people, attending the too frequent recurrence of these Runangas. Most of the Missionaries have given up the old system of holding " huis" 01 general assemblies, because of the evil which accompanied them : and I am satisfied that much of the popularity which attaches to these miscellaneous gatherings of both sexes (unattended either by their Ministers or their Monitors) is attributable to the opportunity which they afford of undiscovered indulgence in secret sin : though I am sorry to say that after thirty years of Missionary instruction, the Native people generally do not appear to feel that such connexion amongst the young or unmarried is in anywise sinful. But it is to be hoped that on the adoption of a more regular system, such evils would in time be extracted, and nothing but the good remain. In conclusion, I must again apologise for the length and tediousness of my remarks, which nothing but a painful experience of the difficulties described, could have induced me to make. H. H. Tueton, Resident Magistrate. Auckland, November 20th, 1861.

No. 2. REPORT BY THE CIVIL COMMISSIONER OF THE BAT OF ISLANDS RESPECTING THE RUNANGA. Civil Commissioner's Office, Waimate, April 3rd, 1862. Sir, — In submitting to the Government the Minutes of the First Session of the Bay of Islands District Runanga, which has been duly constituted by authority and carried out with every prospect of final success, I would beg to make a few general remarks.

Piinted in Sees. Pap. 1862, E No. J.

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RESPECTING MAORI RUNANGAS, &c.