11

A.—No. 3.

her, but we could not find her. I complained at the time to Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell that it was very wrong to attack the village whilst my husband, Natanahira, was absent, having gone to Taranaki to Mr. Parris to make peace, and Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell replied, " Who is Mr. Parris, I am tho person with whom peace should bo made." Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell and I went to the spot where my father and mother were lying dead, and I said to him, I wish to have them buried, and the Licut.Colonel's men buried them at once. Tho Lieut.-Colonel then told me to go with him to Manawapou, and I begged of him to order the houses to be spared. Before the bodies of my parents were buried I expressed a wish to be allowed to wrap them in some clothes. The Lieut.-Colonel said to me, "My men will see to that." lam not aware whether any clothes were supplied or not. The houses in the village were burnt, and all the property, guns, &c., were either taken away or burnt, and we went to Manawapou, as prisoners, with no clothing on. [Deponent afterwards stated that those who escaped went away without clothing, but that the prisoners who were taken to Manawapou had clothes on.] Ten prisoners, women and children, were taken to Manawapou. At Manawapou the Native Contingent cooked for us, and when it was daylight I went to Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell and asked his permission to go and look for the little girl whom I had not been able to find. The Lieut.-Colonel consented, and leaving one child in the camp, and taking the youngest with me, I went to Pokaikai. Not finding my little girl in the village I wont into the bush and found her unhurt. Another of my daughters who had escaped with the fugitives had been hurt by a splinter running into her hand. That daughter is approaching womanhood, and she said that the splinter was caused by a bullet striking a piece of wood near her. When I left Manawapou to look for this daughter Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell asked me to take a letter from him to Tito, with a message from him to the effect that if he and his people did not come in and surrender he would send the prisoners to the Chatham Islands, making an exception in my favour. I was to be sent to Wanganui, to remain there until my husband's return. I was in fact no longer a prisoner. I delivered the letter to Tito, and the message also, and I also told him that if they did not surrender they would all be followed into the bush as if they were wild pigs. Tito agreed to the proposal of the Lieut.-Colonel and sent a lad into the camp. 83. Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell.] Do you swear on your oath that the ornament in your ear was torn or cut out by any European of the force on the night of the attack of Pokaikai ?—Yes, I do swear ; and I saw the European in the Camp at Manawapou, when I went there as a prisoner. 84. Did you on the spot and during the night of the attack on Pokaikai hold any conversation with Captain Newland, Captain McDonnell, or myself, on the subject of your ear ornament ? —I had never seen either of the officers above named before, and I had no conversation with them on the subject during that night; but on the following morning after daylight, I showed the blood to Lieut.Colonel McDonnell and the men of the Native Contingent. 85. You have stated that you went that night with Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell to look for your little daughter; how do you now state that you did not know Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell, because you had not seen him before ?—On the night of the attack I did not know who it was that said to me, " Let us look for your little daughter," but I now know that the officer who made that speech to me is Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell. 86. Do you know now Captain Newland and Captain McDonnell ?—Yes; I do know them both now. 87. Did you show on. the following morning at Manawapou the blood to either Captain Newland or Captain McDonnell, or to any one else ?—I did show it to Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell; the two others I did not at that time know personally. Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell was the only officer whom I knew at the time, he having been pointed out to me as their chief by the men of the force. 88. Did you not propose to me, the morning after the attack on Pokaikai, that you yourself should return to your tribe and endeavour to induce'them to surrender ? —Yes, I did. 89. Did I not say to you that I was afraid that you would not return, but that I would run tho risk of your absconding ?—Yes, you did say so; and I was in fact released as soon as I reached Manawapou. The Colonel had reached his tent before the prisoners arrived. On my arrival, being in great grief about the death of my parents and my missing little daughter, I went at once to the Lieut.Colonel's tent, and I was then and there released. 90. The Chairman.] Did Bangiamohia, of whom you say that she came to Pokaikai as a Pakeha, and paid Tv Kino the two shillings toll, say nothing to you and your people about the affairs of the Pakeha, such as coming in and surrendering at the Camp at Manawapou ?—We were then living in peace. Bangiamohia said nothing about coming in and surrendering. 91. With what intent did she then come to Pokaikai ?—Bangiamohia told us that it was her great love for us which induced her to visit us. 92. If you were living in peace, what is the meaning of Tv Kino demanding money, and receiving two shillings toll from Bangiamohia your relation, who came to visit you out of her great love for you, on the plea that she had crossed a boundary line established by the Hauhaus ? —That boundary had been established, and it was the intention of our people to do away with it when Natanahira returned from Wellington. 93. Do you remember what occurred to Merieana, a girl of Pokaikai, on the night of the attack ? ■ —She was fired at by an European whilst in a house ; the bullet grazed her side. She had a bayonet wound near tho collar-bone, another bayonet wound on the left cheek, and a tooth was also knocked out. She then turned upon her side, and the Europeans discovered that she was a woman. 94. Was she taken as a prisoner to Manawapou or left behind in the village ? —She was left behind in Pokaikai in my house, the only house left standing in the whole village. She was attended by Dr. Suther, who dressed her wounds, and she is now alive and well in this village. 95. Mr. Commissioner Graham.] Was Bangiamohia at Pokaikai on the evening or on the night of the attack ?—She was not. 96. Mr. Commissioner Cargill.] Was Bangiamohia abused or ill treated by any of the Pokaikai Natives on the occasion of her visit ?—Not an ill word was uttered; tears fell upon both sides.

Martha. Continued.