EURTHER REPORTS EROM

I?.—No. 3a.

12

His Excellency Sir G. P. Bowen then spoke to the following effect: —0, my friends, chiefs, and people of Ngatituwharetoa. I have already addressed you in the pa of that loyal subject of the Queen and firm friend of the pakeha, Poihipi Tukairangi. He deserves the title of floromatangi, because he has been an enemy to all crime and evil in this district, even as in the legend Horomatangi destroyed the cruel monsters (Taniwhas) of the lake Taupo. Poihipi is one of the few survivors of the chiefs who signed the treaty of Waitangi when the sovereignty of these islands was ceded to the Queen, who on her part engaged to protect the lands, the fisheries, and all the other rights of the Maoris. This treaty remains inviolate. The law protects the property of the Maoris as it protects the property of the pakehas. The Government fully recognise the merits and services of Poihipi and of other loyal chiefs, and wili assist them in making the roads, building the mills, and in the other good works which they contemplate. I am glad also to meet here to-day so many of the great tribe of the Ngatiraukawa. Matene Te Whiwhi and many of the tribe have welcomed me at Otaki, and now Hori Ngawhare is waiting to welcome me at Orakeikorako, I rejoice that so many of the chiefs of the old times —trees of the forest —are still standing, and that a noble growth of young trees is rising round them. I trust that you will join the Government in founding schools here, such as those already established at Pakowhai, Maketu, and elsewhere, in which the youth of the Maori race learn the language and arts of the English. As I said at Tokano the other day, there was once a time when the ancestors of the English were little more advanced in civilization than the Maoris now are, but wise and good men rose among them, and taught them to make roads, and to build houses and ships. About the time Hongi, the Ngapuhi chief, went to England, a Scotchman, MAdam, discovered how best to make roads, and his is the system now in use both in England and New Zealand. Tou have not to make new discoveries for yourselves, but only to adapt the useful discoveries of your pakeha friends. What Poihipi said just now in his speech was correct. Each tribe can do what it likes within its own boundaries. Por example, whenever a tribe wishes to make roads, the Government will assist with money and tools, and no other tribe has any right to interfere. The Government has no desire to make roads, or other useful works, except in those districts where the Maoris willingly co-operate. Tou already understand the advantages of roads. A horse does not cost so much to feed as a man, and yet it is eight times as strong. When you have got roads, one man, with a horse and cart, can carry as much corn and potatoes as eight men would carry. As there are no other points on which you wish to address me, I will now conclude. I thank you once more for the hearty welcome which you have given me, and pray that peace and prosperity may flourish among you like the everlasting green of your native forests.

Enclosure 4 in No. 7. This is a Summaey of the Speeches delivered at Oeakeikoeako, 13th April, 1872. Pcohepa Taupiri : Come, O Governor. Come and see us, your people. You are the father of the people. (Song of welcome.) Salutations to you, O Governor. We have been swimming as it were in the ocean, and knew not where to go. We feel that we are now touching the shore, and you have come to help, and guide us to land. Salutations to you, 0 Governor. Tuiri Pangihoro : Sajutations, 0 Governor. Come and see us. We hand over all the roads in this district to you —they are in your hands. It is for you to direct what is to be done here. Salutations. Ptare Matenga : Salutations. Come 0 Governor, come and see us. We rejoice to see you here. We shall ever remain faithful to the Government. The people and the pas are all yours. We cannot say more. Aranui: Welcome, 0 Governor. Come and clear away the doubts and darkness that surround us. Come and see Hori Ngawhare. We have long been searching for a proper course to take so as to save the people. We are now beginning to think that we have found out the right way. You have now arrived, and we will listen to you, m hopes that our troubles may end. All the Ngatiraukawas and followers of the king will hear what you say to-day. Salutations to you. Mori Ngawhare : Come, O Governor, and search for yourself what is required for us. We are searching—we, the Maoris, for a proper course. We wish you, Governor, to point out to us what to do. His Excellency Sir G. F. Bowen then addressed the meeting, mainly as follows : —0 my friends, Hori Ngawhare, and chiefs and people of Ngatiraukawa. Salutations to you all. I thank you for your loyal speeches, and am very glad to visit you in your own country. I also rejoice to meet your celebrated chief Hori Ngawhare, and am sorry to find him suffering in body, though his mind is as clear as ever. I thank him for having travelled fifty miles to meet me here, and for his invitation to escort me through your country from Taupo to Cambridge, in the Waikato. I am very glad that the Ngatiraukawa desire to see the Governor crossing their district. I know that there are two roads from here to Auckland, and that both are equally safe for me. Next time I will go by your road, but this time I will go by Eotorua, and Tauranga, where I have promised to meet your friend Mr. M'Lean, to consult with him how best to promote the interests of the Maoris. One of your chiefs (Tuiri) said in his speech that the Ngatiraukawas place the question of roads entirely in the hands of the Governor; but, my friends, this is a question principally for yourselves, each tribe will say whether it will assist the Government in making roads in its own district, and no other tribe has any right to interfere, as I have explained at Taupo, and elsewhere. The benefits of roads are great, and affect the Maoris equally with the Pakehas —indeed, there are as yet but few Pakehas in these inland districts. lam very glad to find the Ngatiraukawas wish for roads, and the Goverment will assist you with money, and tools, as it is assisting other tribes. Eemember the roads do not affect the mana of the chiefs, or the ownership of the land. This is quite clear. Let no man deceive you on this point. The telegraph is also of great use to the Maoris. Formerly, if a Maori wanted a bag of flour from Napier or Tauranga he had to send a messenger for it, and to incur much delay and expense. Now he can send for it by the wire.