A.—No. 1

68

DESPATCHES EROM THE GOVERNOR OE NEW

At present there is in the way of any such attempt the obstacle presented by the English regiments, which, in conjunction with the Colonial Force, occupy Waikato and Tauranga. Whilst this advantage still remains to us, every possible security should be provided against the breaking out of fresh troubles whenever those regiments shall be withdrawn. The South-western Tribes. 5. From the beginning our relations with the Ruanuis have been unfortunate. The visit of tho "Alligator" in 1834 could not leave on their minds any favorable impression. Since we have entered the land fewer reclaiming influences have been brought to bear upon them than on most of the other tribes. In Governor Browne's Memorandum on Native affairs, dated 25th May, 1861, it is stated that " even up to that time many districts, such as Taupo, Ngatiruanui, Taranaki, and the country about the East Cape, have never been visited by an officer of the Government. The residents in theso districts have never felt that they are the subjects of the Queen of England, and have little reason to think that the Government of the Colony cares at all about their welfare." Tho Ruanuis, like the other Maoris, had seen their own need of being aided and raised. In 1853, they were urgent for a missionary, but none could be found. At this very time the Bishop of Wellington is building his Cathedral Church on a site which was given for the purpose by Governor Grey in that year as a memorial of the earnest desire of these very Ruanuis for Christian instruction, and of their readiness to give annually a tenth part of their produce for the support of ministers of religion. 6. A. strong feeling is commonly entertained against tho Taranakis as having rushed into the AVaitara quarrel without any immediate provocation. In fairness it ought to be remembered that circumstances, to them very alarming and irritating, had occurred at Now Plymouth a very few years before (in 1855), and had wrought strongly on their minds, and that they then openly declared their apprehension of an attempt by the Pakeha to dispossess the Maoris of their land, and their fixed determination to resist any such attempt. Ido not seek to extenuate their misdeeds. I only say that there had been no concealment of their determination, and that there was every reason to expect them to act upon it. (Pari. Pap., July, 1860, p. 170, and March, 1861.) Warea, the chief settlement of that tribe, is the place where we now meet the most determined and Unceasing resistance. May it not be that in our recent measures they believe they see the verification of the suspicions they expressed in 1855. I do not say that when these small nations voluntarily come into collision with a great nation they ought not to suffer for their temerity. I only point out facts which cannot properly bo overlooked in estimating the amount of punishment to be inflicted. The Hau Hau Superstition. 7. Amongst these Southern tribes the now superstition had its birth, at a time when the relations between the Pakeha and the Maori were such as greatly to favor its growth. For at that time the susjiicions which had from the beginning existed as to the intentions of the Government appeared to many of the Natives to be clearly justified. Erom the very beginning it had been apprehended by some that the English Government would, when strong enough, seize the Natives' lands. This suspicion was suggested to a number of Chiefs by an English subject in the year 1814 at Sydney, just when Mr. Marsden was on the point of sailing for tiiis country ("Nicholas' A royage to New Zealand," 1. 41.) Once kindled it never died out. From time to time it has blazed forth as it AVaitangi and on other occasions. It was apprehended that the ministers of religion, whether knowingly or not, wore employed or encouraged by the Government for the purpose of gradually weakening the power of resistance on the part of the Natives, a view which was favored by the diplomatic habits of the Native tribes accustomed to seek by craft ends which could not be attained by force. It was seen that an active part was taken by the missionaries in introducing into the country first a Resident, and afterwards a Governor, the responsibility which the missionaries in so doing took upon themselves was rightly estimated at the time by Dr. Maunsell, of Waikato (Pari. Pap., 1841, p. 99.) In 1843 I heard these notions broadly avowed on the shores of Taupo Lake by one of the leading Chiefs of that district. They gained great strength from the events of IS6O. When the Southern tribes set up their toll-gate on the coast road, the highest tolls demanded were for ministers of religion —English or Maori. In AVaikato children were withdrawn by the parents from the missionary schools which were known to be aided by grants of Government money. Mr. Gorst, with all his qualifications and resources, could draw into his institution scarcely any purely Native pupils. Many public discussions look place at Tauranga and other places on the East Coast upon the conduct of tho missionaries, and their relations to the Government. 8. AVhcn the result of the hostilities in AVaikato were seen, and the soldiers had taken possession of all the lands of the tribes on the AVaikato and AVaipu, it appeared now clear to many that the old apprehensions had been too well grounded, and that they had, in fact, been the victims of a plot in which the ministers of religion had been the agent sof the Government. Along with the first bitterness of their exasperation there broke out a hope that in their extremity supernatural aid was at hand. That aid appeared to be supplied by the new revelation to the Prophet Horopapera Te Ua. A sort of preparation for the new superstition had been noticed by an intelligent traveller who passed fhrough the territory of the Southern tribes in 1861. After the cessation of active hostilities at Taranaki there was a widely-spread notion that supernatural help had been already vouchsafed. The vaunted energies of the Pakeha had really inflicted little damage. The people stated that by our Armstrong guns only three persons had been killed. In this they saw a proof that the hand of God had been over them. The new superstition having gained strength in the south-west began to spread northward and eastward. Everywhere very many were predisposed to welcome it. Some accepted it in faith, many in wilfulness and bitterness. Some thought it true, others thought that it might be useful. Some men severed themselves from their missionaries in perfect calmness and quietness. One of the Chiefs of Opotiki informed Bishop Williams of his conversion to the new creed in these words : " Bishop, many years ago we received the faith from you ; now we return it to you, for there has been found a new and precious thing by which we shall keep our land." (Kua kitea tetahi taonga hou a mau ai to matou