E.-No. 3 .

slaves of them. It was evident that some mischief-makers had been at "work, and I found afterwards' tliat one of them ia a settler in this neighbourhood. lat once turned the current of feeling by telling them that they were labouring nnder great misapprehension ; that I had seen the Governor upon this very subject, and that his answer was, that the Government would not interfere in any way with those natives who are peaceable, and who neither directly nor indirectly act in opposition to the Government. Mohi Turci. who had lately returned from St. Stephen's school in Auckland, a man of great tact, and who is strongly in favour of the Government, gave a very clear account of the causes which led to this breach with \\~ail .to. After this the meeting went on satisfactorily, and the conclusion arrived at was to send a deputation to the Governor, but first of all to obtain the co-operation of the Napier natives in any course they might take. In the meantime a report reached us that Porourangi, a chief of Waiapu, who went with others to Waikato in August last, had returned home, and it was expected there might be trouble in that quarter. lat once sent oft'Mohi, who is from Waiapu. He found that only 13 out of 45 natives had returned, but that they were accompanied by seven from "Waikato, one of whom is~ Te Waharoa, a cousin to Tamehana Te Waharoa. There was no satisfactory account given of those who were missing, but at length a Waikato native, living at Waiapu, took Waharoa aside, and asked him what was the real state of things. He replied, my mouth is closed by . gatiporou ; but I can tell you that the soldiers have taken all Waikato. He then added, I came to bring back Porourangi aud Te Eangi Kawanoa, and on the road we picked up stragglers, one and two at a time, until the HS'gatiporou reached the number of 13. Of the rest I know nothing. It is quite possible the rest may have been killed. Yet these who remain are bent upon enlisting recruits for the war, and they make use of a device which seems to be established among the Waikatos, of magnifying the loss of the soldiers, and of diminishing to the greatest degree their own. Thus it was said that 6,000 soldiers fell at Eangiriri, and of the natives only 35 ; that the inhabitants remaining in Auckland do not exceed 500 ; and it was proposed that natives from the coast should go and attack Auckland, while Tamehana keeps the soldiers occupied. It was also reported that 1,000 black soldiers of very diminutive stature have been entrapped by the natives at Maungatautari. Much good was produced by the efforts of Mohi, and the large numbers which were first talked> as about to go from Waiapu and Tokomaru have dwindled down to 53, and some say to -13. At Tokomaru there are two leading mon, Henare Potae, a strenuous supporter of the Government, and Paratcne Te Moko, an elderly man, who gives his influence to the war party. In consequence of the proceedings of the latter, Henare Potae has withdrawn from Tokomaru. This Paratene Te Moko came to Tauranga last week, for the purpose of stirring up tho people to follow those who have gone to Waikato. At the same time there arrived the schooner ' Henry,' with the deputation who had been to Napier. It was evident that the feelings of the people were becoming much excited. The assurance given by the Governor was losing its effect. Paratene was at work with his marvellous stories from the scat of war, and the mischievous sayings of some of tho settlers were repeated, and now the deputation from Napier stated that a white man had told them there that the Queen's intentions are published in the newspaper, that she will take all the land of the natives, as well that of those who are living in peace and quietness as of those who are fighting with the Government. I enclose a copy of this statement from one of the natives. This seems to be the most likely course possible to stir up the people against the Government. At a meeting held here on the 27th the effect of this was manifest. Much allusion was made to what Englishmen had said to them, and such sentiments as these were put forth —"Me whawhai kei kaha ana te tangata," and "Engari kia mate whakatane,"—" Let us fight while we have strength remaining,'' and " Let us die like men." This outburst of feeling cooled down, and the opinions of the body were in agreement with their first wish, to go quietly, and have an interview with the Governor. Under these circumstances I have encouraged this wish. The best way for them to be disabused from erroneous statements is that they should receive their information in a manner which admits of no doubt. Connected with a wish to be assured of their safety from those evils which the hostile natives are bringing upon themselves, a desire has been expressed by them to use their influence with the Waikato natives to induce them to accede to the terms of the Governor. This is the course they adopted two years ago when solicited by Ngatipaoa to rise en masse and join with Waikato. It is possible there may be no opening for such a step, or the Governor may not wish to have any interference from other tribes. But in case the Governor should desire to avail himself of such instruments, there are, 1 believe, no natives in tho country more likely than those of Ahuriri, and of Poverty Bay, to carry influence with those of Waikato. This, however, I consider to be secondary in importance, compared to the necessity of giving assurance to a body of natives whose better disposition has been most unwisely tampered with. I write then at the request of these natives to ask if his Excellency will be willing to give them the interview they ask for. If the Governor is graciously pleased to accede to their wishes, may I beg that an answer may be sent by return of the ' Tawera,' which may probably be not more than two days in Auckland, because they will anxiously wait for an answer to this letter. While the runanga was together, a report was brought that a native from Te Wairoa had just effected the purchase of part" of a keg of powder, for the sum of £6, from a Turanga native, the said powder being intended for use, at Waikato. A party of ten natives was immediately despatched in pursuit of the purchaser, with the hope of getting the powder back. I see by a statement in the " Southern Cross " of January 15th that the settlers in this Bay arc said to have lately experienced much trouble from the natives, and that they would be glad to have protection, and would in fact give half they possessed for it. If the author of this statement be a settler who was passenger by the ' Kauri,' it is rather inconsistent that he should leave his wife and two children in a house by themselves in a lonely situation. I enclose a note I have received from Mr. Harris, the oldest settler here, which, I believe, expresses the opinion of the majority of the English population, and is adverse to the printed statement. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Auckland. William Waiapu.

20

FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO