19

A.—No. 3,

quence of my having relations in the village, they would not do so on the present occasion, but that if I ever came back to the village they would certainly do so, and if my husband Arapata came to the village they would tomahawk him, or any man of the Contingent who might come to Pokaikai." 191. Were you present at the attack upon Pokaikai ? —No ; I remained in camp. I was unwell, and though I could do the duty of Quartermaster-Sergeant in camp, I was not fit for active duty in the field, —crossing rivers on cold nights, &c. 192. Did you see the men of the Contingent return to the camp at Manawapou with any plunder ? —No ; I did not consider it loot. They brought back with them blankets and other things, but the prisoners, women and children, claimed all the things, and they were returned to them. There were two tents full of the prisoners. 193. How were the prisoners treated ? —I received an order from the Lieut.-Colonel to give them rations, and I gave them rations of bread, meat, and grocery. Their daily allowance was the same as that served out to the men of the Contingent. I asked the Lieut.-Colonel if the children were to have half allowance, and that officer ordered them to have full allowance. 194. You have stated that the woman Mohi took letters from me to Pokaikai: are you certain that Aperaniko, of the Native Contingent, did not send a letter by her ? —Aperaniko and Power, shortly before Mohi started, came to me and asked for pen, ink, and paper, saying that they wished to write letters as Mohi was about to start for Pokaikai. 195. Do you know a man named Grey Spencer ?—Yes, I do. 196. What position did he hold in the Contingent ?—I considered him as a volunteer private attached to the Contingent, and treated him as such. He used to say that he had been a Major in the East India Company's Service, and that Colonel Haultain, the Defence Minister, had appointed him to the corps with the same rank as that which he had held in the Indian Army. 197. Can you state what kind of character he bore during the time of his serving with the Contingent ? —I can say from personal experience that he was a liar and a rogue. He never was sober so long as he could get rum to drink ; if he could not get it honestly he did not scruple to steal it. When I was in charge of the rum which I had drawn from the Commissariat on account of the Contingent I caught him several times taking it from my tent, and I was compelled in consequence either to remain myself in the tent or to leave some one in the tent to watch it. 198. Mr. Commissioner Graham.] Did Mohi speak to you in Maori or in English ? —She spoke in half English half Maori, —what we call Pakeha-Maori. 199. You have said that you do not speak the Maori language so well as you understand it when spoken : are you sure that you understood what Mohi said to you? —Yes, I am on my oath; and I have sworn, that I did understand her. I would not have made that assertion on my oath if I had not been quite certain on this point. 200. If Mr. Booth, the interpreter attached to the Commission, asked you a question in the Maori language would you be able to understand it ? —lf Mr. Booth will ask me a question in the same kind of Maori language as that in which the men of the Contingent and Mohi are in the habit of addressing me, I will reply to the question. [Mr. Commissioner Graham then wrote a sentence in pencil in the English language, and proposed that Mr. Booth should interpret it to the witness, which was accordingly done, and the witness explained to the Commission the meaning in English of that sentence in pencil, he not having been permitted to see the writing in English.] 201. Mr. Commissioner Cargill.] Did Grey Spencer act as an officer in the Native Contingent ?— No ; he went out on expeditions armed as a private. He did not march in the ranks because being an European he was not allowed to march in the ranks with Native troops. Ho used to give orders to the men while on expeditions, but the men objected to it and never obeyed his orders; and he attempted two or three times to give me orders, but I at once complained to Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell, and told him that rather than submit to be commanded by' Spencer I would leave the force, and Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell told me not to obey his orders for that he had no authority over me whatever. 202. The Chairman.] How many days intervened between Mohi's report of the result of her visit to Pokaikai, and the attack upon that place ? —I have a diary at home, and had I known that I was to have been brought up as a witness when I left home this morning I could have from my diary, told the Commission the exact dates ; but, speaking from memory, I think that a few days intervened. 203. Did the men of the Contingent express any feelings of anger when they heard Mohi's statement ? —Yes, they did. They were much annoyed, and they exclaimed openly in the camp that if they could get hold of the men who had thus insulted Mohi they would show them who would get the tomahawk first. 204. Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell.] Did the officers commanding the Imperial Forces stationed at Patea, Manawapou, and Waingongoro, whenever stores, &c, were sent from one post to another, order a strong escort to accompany those stores both before and after the attack upon Pokaikai ? —Yes, it was the rule to do so. A small convoy was escorted by twenty rank and fife; a large convoy was escorted by an officer, fifty rank and file, and fourteen or fifteen troopers. 205. Did the Local Forces before the taking of Pokaikai bear a portion of the burden of this escort duty ? —Yes ; the Local Forces furnished half of the escorts which were ordered. 206. Were the wood parties who went for firewood for the Manawapou Camp protected by a covering party, and how far had the wood parties to go from camp ? —Something less than a mile, and the wood parties were always protected by a covering party.

Mr. S. Austin. Continued.

Wanganui, Wednesday, 25th Maech, 1868. Aperaniko having been duly sworn was examined. 207. The Chairman.] What is your name, where do you reside, and to what hapu do you belong ? —My name is Aperaniko Bangihikitea; I reside at Karatia, on the Wanganui Biver, and I belong to the Ngapoutama hapu of the Ngatihau tribe.

Aperaniko. 25th March, 1863.