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of tlie Taranakis fled to Cook Strait, many were carried away captive to Waikato, and only a few remained in secret places in the forest. When the land was purchased by the Agent of the New Zealand Company that gentleman congratulated his employers upon having obtained possession of a district in which there were but few Natives. He was woefully mistaken. In Waikato the early missionaries commenced a crusade against slavery; and the Waikatos, different from any white slaveholders I ever heard of, came to the conclusion that they ought to liberate the Tarauakis, and they conducted them back to the land of their fathers. The people of Cook Strait also returned, and the Tarauaki settlers soon found they had a great many very troublesome Natives to deal with. How all the difficulties arose I have no doubt will be made clear enough before this meeting terminates. A Visit to Waitaka. Between New Plymouth Town and Waitara, a distance of twelve miles, almost every rood of which has been the scene of a skirmish or a murder, the railway now runs, and, taking the train, I reached Waitara about 1 o'clock. Three sheds, each about one hundred and twenty feet long, are being erected for the accommodation of the Natives on a piece of ground of historical interest to the place—namely, where the first resistance was made to the survey of Waitara. I need tell the story very briefly. The settlers of Taranaki had for years urged the Government to buy land for the extension of the settlement. Governor Fitzroy, having insisted that a large extent of land alleged to have been purchased for the company had not been purchased, the Government were eager to buy, and a Native named Te Tera, with some others, having offered the Waitara, it was determined to purchase it, in spite of the opposition of William King, who had returned from Cook Strait, and who claimed to have a veto. Be it remembered that the Maori system of landholding was different from ours. It more nearly resembled that system which certain philosophers hold to be the only right one, and that to which Europe will come in the course of a century or two. The present Attorney-General, Mr. Stout, is, I believe, somewhat affected by these notions, and might derive from Maori history some information which would be useful to certain speculators in Europe. Here is the Maori opinion, in the words of a Maori chief, quoted by Mr. Swainson in his book : " It is right that every individual should be free to sell his own bushel of wheat, potatoes, and corn, for they are produced by the labour of his own hands ; but the land is an inheritance from our ancestors. It is the father of us all." William King wrote thus to Governor Browne: " I will not agree to our bedroom being sold (I mean Waitara Here), for this bed belongs to the whole of us. All I have to say to you, O Governor, is this : that none of this land will be given to you ; never, never; not till I die." Writing to Archdeacon Hadfield he said: " Tou must bear in mind the word of Here (his father) which he spoke to you and Mr. Williams. You know that word about Waitara (referring to the injunction of his father in 1840 not to sell the Waitara). The Governor may strike me without cause, and I shall die. In that case there will be no help for it, because it is an old saying, ' The man first, and then the land.' They say that Tera's piece of land belongs to him alone. No ; that piece of land belongs to all of vs —it belongs to the orphans, it belongs to the widow." However, William King's protest was not heeded. Money was paid to Te Tcra, and a party was sent to survey the land. William King again wrote : " Friend, Governor, —Do you not love your land, England, the land of your fathers, as wo also love our land at Waitara ?" The Governor determined that the survey party should be protected by an armed force. The attempt at survey was made on the 20th February, ISOO, but a crowd of Maoris would not permit the surveyors to proceed with the work, laying hold of the chains. An ultimatum was sent William King, giving him twenty-four tours to apologise for the obstruction. He returned an answer, "That he loved the white people very much, but that he would keep the land." On the 22nd of the month a proclamation of martial law was issued, and the troops marched to the Waitara. Then the Natives pulled up the survey pegs, and the troops attacked apa they had built. Then followed the war at Taranaki. In 1863 a proclamation was issued by Governor Grey, with the advice of his Ministers, renouncing all claim upon Waitara, and all authorities now agree that William King was entitled to veto the sale of Waitara upon the spot. Where the first disturbance took place buildings for the accommodation of the Natives are now being erected. At Waitara I met Wetere, the Mokau chief, who was present when the llev. Mr. Whiteley was murdered. This murder took place at the White Cliffs, a place plainly visible from Waitara. Eight persons were murdered at the White Cliffs. In a report by Mr. Searancke it is stated, "The actual murderers at the White Clift's were a half-caste lad, son of a European named Frank Phillips, residing at Mokau Heads; Wetere, a son of the late Takerei, of Te Awakino; Herewini and Te Tana, of Mokau. ' These four actually committed the murders. Mr. Whiteley was shot by Wetere. He was told to go back, and refused. His horse was then shot. Mr. Whiteley then sank on his knees and commenced praying." While so doing he was shot at twice by Wetere with a revolver, and missed. Wetere then went up close, and shot the uufortunate gentleman dead." I was told to-day, however, that Wetere tried to save Mr. Whiteley. I should prefer to believe that, if possible, as Wetere is a fine looking, frank fellow. Eewi is at a settlement two miles from Waitara, waiting on Sir George Grey. Te Whiti, the prophet, is hardly expected at the meeting. William King is at a place called Ngatimaru, about twenty-five miles inland. He is very frail, and, it is said, is not able to walk down, and, the road being hilly, he cannot ride. [From the New Zealand Herald, 21st June.] THE WAITARA NATIVE MEETING. (By Electric Telegraph. From our Special Correspondent.) New Plymouth, Thursday. Te Wetebe and the White Cliffs Massacre. To what 1 said on this subject I must add something, as I do not want to do an injustice to Te AYetere, who has now come in, and is desirous of aiding in the opening of Mokau. The following persons ■were murdered at the White Cliffs I Bey. John Whiteley, Lieutenant Gascoigne, Mrs. Gascoigne,