AFFAIRS AT TAURANGA.

13

A.—No. 20.

Before closing this report I will touch upon two other subjects, which will one day be brought under the notice of the Government. 1. Shortly before His Excellency the Governor met the Ngaiterangi, on the occasion of the peacemaking, His Excellency, in the presence of the late Ministers, Messrs. Whitaker and Fox, and myself, Mr. Puckey interpreting, promised that the Arawa Chiefs should have each a town section. No record, as far as I can remember, was ever made of this, but it is not likely that the Arawa Chiefs will forget it. 2. The question of the island Motiti will have to be considered by the Government. The island has been for many many years a bone of contention between the Arawa and Ngaiterangi; it was generally supposed that the Arawa had given up all claim to it in favour of the Ngaiterangi, but since the Tauranga Natives took part in the late war against us, the Arawa consider that they have forfeited all their right to it, and they now claim the whole island. At the meeting of the Arawa, alluded to above, the Governor told them that he would hold Motiti until the matter had been properly settled. The Ngaiterangi are still jealously watching the Arawa, and every attempt at occupation is complained of. If the matter is left in the hands of the Arawa there is but little doubt that they will occupy and hold it against any force the Ngaiterangi could bring against them. In considering all these subjects I would again respectfully impress upon the Government (especially in dealing with questions between the Ngaiterangi and other tribes) that the Ngaiterangi are in a weak and defenceless state. Most of their chiefs have fallen, and they are, for the most part disarmed; rival tribes and old enemies know this, and no opportunity will be lost in taking advantage of their weakened condition. When in arms against us they proved themselves brave and honourable enemies, and I trust that the Government will protect them against the encroachments of their now more powerful neighbours. I beg to forward b} r this opportunity a plan of the Tauranga district, so far as it has been surveyed. 1 have a duplicate plan in this office. I have; &c, H. T. Clakke, The Hon. the Native Secretary, Wellington. Chief Commissioner.

No. 12. Memorandum by Mr. Heale on Tauranga Affairs. The position of the Ngaitcrangi tribe previous to their joining the King party and so going to Avar with the Government, was briefly as follows : —■ 1. It had very old and bitter feuds with the Arawa on the south boundary, and had actually been fighting with them for many years, and down to a recent period. 2. It had great contentions with Ngaiterangi and Ngatimatera on the north, and the surprise of the Ngaiterangi pa at Onare, by Taraia, was the occasion of the last great and avowed act of cannibalism which has occurred in New Zealand. 8. It had close and onerous connection with the Ngatihaua, the great Thames tribe on their west, chiefly through the Pirirakau, a hapu which belongs about equally to both. Whether by permission, as is asserted, or by invitation with a view to protection, as is more probable, Te Waharoa, the father of William Thompson, occupied an extensive tract of land at Omokoroa, and died there. Thus Ngatihaua claim the land, but apparently rather a chieftainship over it than the actual property of the soil, a claim which Ngaiterangi resist. 4. In addition to these extensive troubles, disputes arose between the hapus of the tribe, which, at a recent period, led to fighting amongst themselves with a considerable loss of life. The Government- occasionally interfered in these quarrels, especially by the military expedition of 1843, but without any decisive effect. Most of the chiefs of the tribe, but especially the leading one —Hori Tupaea, were always well disposed towards the Government and. the settlers, but their authority was very much weakened by the intestine feuds ; nevertheless the tribe generally were friendly to the Colony, and it was repeatedly proposed, long before the war, to surrender a large territory to the Government, and seek its protection ; but the Government was never in a position to encourage such overtures. Pressed on all sides by these growing troubles, and hopeless of any effective aid from the Government, many of the younger members of the tribe eagerly listened to the emissaries of the Maori King, who confidently promised them speedy extrication and the establishment of law and order under a Maori nationality as the reward of taking up arms against the Government. Many months of continued agitation, and the interruption of all other occupations were necessary to overcome the friendly feeling of the tribe towards the white people; but at last the young chiefs and King party prevailed, and the tribe became thoroughly committed to the war. Hori Tupaea with his immediate friends refused to join them, and retired to the mountains; while others, who, determined on submission to the Government, withdrew to Bangiwhaea, where they were never molested. In the great loss which the tribe sustained at the Gate Pa and at Te Eanga, every leading supporter of the King movement fell. The remainder of the tribe thoroughly repentant, cordially returned to the old proposal of submission to the Government, and close alliance with the settlers ; and in all the terms of their submission, it is evident that their one earnest desire was to bury all the old land feuds for ever, and to become independendent of all their tribal enmities and entanglements by complete submission to the Government, and by obtaining the support of a numerous settlement of colonists on their territory. Thus, at the meeting with His Excellency the Governor on the sth August, 1864, all the speakers most emphatically declared that they gave up the mana of all their land absolutely to the Governor. When pressed to explain the mana, they stated they gave up all their land to him for him to deal with as he thought fit. When informed that only one-fourth part would be confiscated, and pressed to set 4