E.—No. 8.

4. Up to Wednesday morning the 2Gth, there was no appearance of a steamer, and after consulting with Captain Ealston, who was of opinion that no time should be lost in endeavouring to communicate with Xew Plymouth, in order to make known to the Colonel Commanding the predicament we had been left in, I therefore determined to go at once with the Native allies overland. Those who had come to Pukearuhe on horseback went with me so far as Mimi, and on joining those who had remained there, I sent the others back to remain with Captain Ealston. During our passage overland we were joined by six men, four women, and six children (followers of William King), who came down from the Ranges and tendered their submission. One of the men, who came down from Tupari, a high position inland of Mimi, stated that some more of their friends were anxious to come in, and asked to be allowed to go back for them, which I agreed to : but on his returning he found an armed Native patrolling in front of the place, and without speaking to him he returned, without seeing his friends, knowing by the armed sentry that William King's Natives must have arrived from Kaipikari to prevent their coming in. I should have gone to the place with our allies, but for the necessity of getting to town without delay. After getting some potatoes from a cultivation near Urenui, which were cooked for food, we resumed our journey, bringing with us the sixteen who had joined us; and on arriving at Onacro, after instructing the Natives to hold themselves ready to take supplies overland in case there should be no steamer for that service, I left the Natives in order to ride into town that night, where i arrived about eight o'clock. 5. The following morning the s.s. " Wonga Wonga" was at anchor in the roadstead, and after reporting to Colonel Warre and the Defence Minister the condition of the detachment left at Pukearuhe, steps were immediately taken to secure the "Wonga Wonga" to take supplies to them. The supplies were shipped at once, and about two o'clock p.m. we left the roadstead, and arrived off Pukearuhe about six o'clock ; but although dark I went ashore with a boat, and took some food and ammunition. The next morning everything was landed, and about one o'clock we left for New Plymouth, where, on arriving, I found arrangements had been made for an expedition by water, to occupy Te Nainu, in Taranaki. The s.s. " AVanganui" was taken up, and troops were embarking. On landing, Colonel Warre, C.8., requested me to accompany the expedition (which he was going to command, and take some Natives, and also a canoe. We left the roadstead about twelve o'clock, and arrived oft' Te Namu the following morning at daybreak. Several tires were lit on the cliffs immediately on standing in for the Opunake fifty (about a mile and a half south of Te Namu). Colonel Warre requested me to send the Natives which I took with me in the canoe to ascertain if the Natives ashore were willing to communicate, as he had no desire to fire upon them unnecessarily, more especially should they prove to be William King, Matakatca, and Arama Karaka's people. Five Natives got into the canoe, and pulled inshore, when two men came down from some houses by the Waiana lliver on to the rocks, and spoke to our Natives. The two men proved to be some connections of Arama Karaka's, who they said was living in the bush inland. Our Natives told them we were going to land, but if there was no resistance no one would be fired upon. We had two surf-boats with us, which were both filled with troops and Bushrangers immediately the canoe left the steamer; and by the time the canoe left to come back we wevo halfway ashore. The landing on this occasion was conducted very differc; ly to the landing at the White Cliffs. Colonel Warre went ashore himself with two boatloads of men, and commanded personally the landing, which was effected without opposition, which I am convinced would not have been the case had the Natives had time to assemble. Opunake is a deep bay in the form of a horse shoe, with perpendicular cliffs all round it; and on getting up over, we were rather surprised to find the palisading of a new pa recently erected close to the cliff, hidden from view on the beach below by some very high flax bushes. This is the best landing-place on the Taranaki coast, and I have no doubt the pa was put there for the purpose of opposing the landing of troops, whether with William King's and Araka Karaka's sanction or not is difficult to say, but I am inclined to think that, although they might not have opposed it, they were not favorable to its being done. However, shortly after we were in possession of the place, a Native was seen riding towards us with a white flag, which proved to be a young man of Arama Karaka's party, named P.ira (Burrows). He said that on hearing of our arrival Arama Karaka had requested him to ride oft* at once to inform William King, whose place was several miles off (but the only road to it was through the part we were in possession of). Before leaving us he requested me to send one of our Natives up the track he had come, to meet Arama Karaka, who he said was on the way from the bush with his followers, but might bo afraid to come to us on seeing we had landed. He left to go for William King, and I sent a Native, as desired, to go to meet Arama Karaka. Our Native had gone but a short distance the other side of the Waiana Biver when, before meeting Arama Karaka, he fell in with two Natives, who it afterwards proved had just arrived from Waimate, and by whom lie was very near being shot. One of them was a Waikato Native, and the other a native of that district. On seeing our Native one of them levelled his gun at him, when he sung out, " Kati, kati," and retreated, and came back to us in double quick time. At the time we could not understand what it meant, and presently we saw a Native with a gun on a very high clift', on the opposite side of the Waiana Eiver. I got one of our Natives to call to him, and ask him who he was. They both then drew nearer, and as they appeared to be afraid, Colonel Warre, who was with me, told me to show a white handkerchief, on seeing which they came down opposite to where we were standing, and asked who the Maori was that they were following, and also asked whose white flag it was. On being told that it was the Colonel and Parris's, he asked where I was. On being informed that I was present, he replied " Pai Marire," and both turned and walked up to a post (niu) standing by some houses of Te Ua's (the name of the place is Matakupu, on the south bank of the Waiana Eiver, the residence of Horopapara, Te Ua, from which place his family were removed about a fortnight before), where they performed a short ceremony, after which the Waikato Native, who was riding, started off inland to Arama Karaka's place, and the other went on to the cliffs, and performed another ceremony, after which we saw nothing of them. G. Soon after our return to Opunake, Para returned from William King with a message to say he was coming. We were standing close to the new pa, and the Colonel requested me to ask him who built the pa, to which he very coolly replied, "My soldiers built it; and had I been here with them

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PAPERS RELATIVE TO MILITARY POSTS AT PXJEEARUHE.