A.—No. 8
34
PAPERS REEATIVE TO NATIVE
No. 55. Copy of a Letter from Major Stapp to Captain Holt. (No. 473.) Taranaki Militia Office, Sic,— New Plymouth, 3rd July, 1868. In reference to letter, number and date quoted in the margin, I have the honor to state, for the information of the Hon. the Minister for Colonial Defence, that I consulted his Honor the Superintendent, and also wrote especially to Major Parris, and they stated that it was perfectly safe for the mounted men to go overland. Sub-Inspector Newland agreed to. go on Saturday, the 27th ;he altered his mind, and said he would go on Monday, the 29th. On Sunday he got a doctor's certificate, and informed me that he should not go overland himself or allow his men to go. Captain Holt, Under Secretary for Colonial Defence, arrived here on the 29th, and after consulting his Honor the Superintendent, Government Agent, and Major Parris, he directed me to order the men to proceed overland ; and if Sub-Inspector Newland was not able to go, they were to proceed in charge of Sergeant Bennett, a very good man. Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell wrote a letter to me, dated the 24th ultimo, directing the whole of the Constabulary to embark on board the " Sturt," leaving their horses behind; but I considered it desirable to carry out the orders of the Government if considered practicable, and Captain Holt agreed with me. I have, &c, The Under Secretary, C Stapp, Brevet Major, Colonial Defence, Wellington. Commanding Militia and Volunteers.
295 June 17, 1868.
No. 56. Copy of a Letter from the Hon. Colonel Haultain to Colonel McDonnell, (No. 362-2.) Colonial Defence Office, Sic,— Wellington, 10th July, 1868. I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of your letter No. 343-1, of the Ist instant, in which you complain that your instructions to Sub-Inspector Newland relative to the mounted men of his detachment of Constabulary had, by direction of the Under Secretary for Defence, been set aside by tho officer commanding the Now Flymouth district. You also intimated that having been led to believe that Mr. Parris had authority to " interfere with operations in your district, and to countermand your written orders to your officers, you had suspended operations until you should hear that that gentleman and others had been directed to cease their unnecessary interference with your duties and in your command." 1 am glad to learn from your letters subsequently written that you had reconsidered this determination, and were about to return to Patea, and were actively engaged in making your preparations for the field ; but as you have on more than one occasion referred to the interference of the civil authorities, I cannot now allow your remarks to pass unnoticed, and must express my regret that you should have raised difficulties oii such trifling grounds at a time when your entire energies are required for the performance of most difficult and important duties, and when the Government have intrusted you with such large powers, and assured you of their full confidence. Mr. Parris has in no way interfered with you: his action in the matter was confined to giving the officer in charge of the mounted party (at the request of the Government Agent and Under Secretary) a letter to the Native, Honi Pihama, requesting him to send scouts in advance to see that there was no ambuscade, and it was only with a view to assist you that those gentlemen acted in this manner, knowing that it was the wish of the Government, and very desirable that you should have as many mounted men as possible with your force ; and the result has proved that they were quite correct in supposing that the party •could reach Waingongoro in safety. I have, &c, Lieut.-Colonel McDonnell, T. M. Haultain. Commanding Colonial Forces, Patea.
No. 57. Copy of a Letter from Colonel McDonnell to the Hon. Colonel Haultain. (No. 1.) Sic,— Wanganui, 6th July, 1868. I have the honor to state that, having been detained in Wanganui for twelve hours by the impassability of the Patea bar, my brother, Captain McDonnell, arrived this morning from Rangitikei, .and brought the news that Ngatiraukawa and Ngatiapa had fought with tomahawks yesterday, and that to-daythey would fight with guns, their old quarrel being the cause of it. My brother expresses no doubt that by this time all chances of a peaceable settling of the question are at an end. I am convinced, from information obtained by a lengthy and careful examination of Katene, that the active resistance of the Ngatiraukawa is caused by the general agreement of all the tribes formerly in rebellion on this coast to make another combined attempt to regain their lands. Tho momentary peaceful attitude of the Bakakohe and others is explained by Katene as being the result of their disgust at Tito Kowaru having begun two months before the time appointed. I saw from the very beginning that the whole success of the work before me would hinge almost entirely upon the kind of information I could obtain from Katene. I have therefore spared no time or pains to obtain it, and am more and more convinced that his counsels are both reliable and wise. He urged me two days ago, as a first step, to take the Pakakohe and others prisoners: now that step seems almost inevitable.