DISTURBANCES AT PATEA.
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A.—No. 8-
of the Ngaruahine hapu, of the Ngatiruanui tribe, and now residing at Ngutu-o-te-Manu, have now in their possession certain articles of property, to wit, three horses, one revolver, and other property, stolen by the said Toi and the said liau Whenua from Waingongoro and other places, and belonging to European settlers, viz., one horse, belonging to Mr. E. McDonnell; two horses, belonging to Mr. Smith ; one revolver, belonging to Mr. G. Gilfillan. These are therefore in Her Majesty's name forthwith to apprehend the said Toi, Hau Whenua, and other Natives residing at Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu, and to bring them before me, or some other Besident Magistrate, to answer to the said information, and to be further dealt with according to law. Given, under my hand and seal this ninth day of May, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, at Carlyle, in the Colony aforesaid. James Booth, Besident Magistrate.
No. 37. Copy of a Letter from Inspector Huntee to Colonel McDonnell. Sis— Waihi, 14th May, 1868. I have the honor to inform you that, in accordance with your instructions, I started from this place on the afternoon of the 13th instant, with seventeen troopers, accompanied by Mr. Booth, Resident Magistrate; Sub-Inspector Cumming, Armed Constabulary; Captain O'Halloran and Mr. Campbell, of the Patea Light Horse, and arrived at the Native village which the force under your immediate command had left the preceding day. I left two troopers at the edge of tho clearing beyond Pungarehu, to act as a connecting link with the rear, four others in charge of the horses a little further on, and went into the village with the remainder; just as we came up to it I directed two of the men to seize two horses, identified as having been the same stolen some short time ago by Natives. When in the village Mr. Booth requested me to make prisoners of three of the Natives, which I did, and placed them for security in a large house in the village. The Natives appeared to be all armed, and in a very sulky and unfriendly humour, and upon Mr. Booth calling out to them that ho wished to talk with them, took to the bush in various directions, armed with guns and tomahawks. As it was now getting dusk, and as I was apprehensive of these Natives cutting us off as we retired through tho bush, I urgently pressed Mr. Booth to come away as quickly as possible, as I considered our position rather a critical one. I then loft the village, bringing the prisoners and horses, and was on my way back when I met you bringing up the reserve of infantry. 1 have great pleasure in bringing to your notice the cool and determined manner in which the officers and men under my command behaved on this occasion. I have, <fee., Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell, E. W. Huntee, Commanding Field Force, Waihi. Inspector Armed Constabulary.
No. 38. Copy of a Letter from Mr. Canning to Colonel McDonnell. Sic,— Patea, 16th May, 1868. I am in receipt of your letter requesting me to forward you a written statement of what circumstances came under my notice during the last expedition of the forces to Te Ngutu-o-te-Manu, which I accompanied as a volunteer. On approaching the above-named village we discovered two horses in a clearing, which wore immediately recognized by several of the men as those stolon from some of their comrades several weeks before. Major Hunter ordered them to be seized and brought on in the rear to the pa, which was done. On entering the village, sentries were at once stationed at the front and side of the large whare. Mr. Booth, Besident Magistrate, then requested the attendance of all the Maoris in the pa to a korero (talk), which they peremptorily refused, appearing to me frightened lest they should be taken prisoners. I may here mention, for your information, that the number of Natives on this occasion was far larger than on our previous visit, I should say fully three times as many, the majority being armed. Those who could not muster firearms had provided themselves with long-handled tomahawks, &c. Seeing that they positively refused to attend, and were making off to the bush in every direction, Mr. Booth instructed Captain Cumming to place them under arrest in the large whare. We succeeded in arresting three men —amongst them a Maori named Ihaka, who a short time ago had broken into and robbed a European dwelling in the neighbourhood —and were in the act of taking a fourth, called Kokiri, when our Native guide, To Katene, told Mr. Booth and myself that if we persisted in taking him prisoner the Natives would fire on us; in fact one Hauhau Native had his piece levelled and aimed at myself and Corporal Crichton, and as Kokiri was resisting all in his power, and endeavouring to escape by means of slipping through his blanket, Mr. Booth said he had bettor be let go, which was accordingly done. Meantime Major Hunter with the other three prisoners and his mounted men had gone on, leaving Mr. Booth, Captain Gumming, myself, and Corporal Crichton behind. After advancing some little distance from the pa, say 100 yards or thereabouts, Mr. Booth requested me to run and tell Major Hunter to come back, as we had left the two horses behind in the pa, and Mr. Booth was unwilling, he said, that the Maoris should retain them. I accordingly pushed on and overtook Major Hunter, delivering my message to him. Major Hunter then said, " I wish you to ride on with all possible speed to where Lieut.-Colonel 7