G.—4

4

people while he was engaged selling apples to others of the party, but on the whole he lost very few, not more than he might have expected, and he thought under the circumstances the Natives behaved very well, and that he had no complaint whatever to make. I have, &c, W. Rennell, The Under-Secretary, Wellington. Native Officer.

No. 6. Lieut.-Colonel Robeets, Opunake, to the Hon. the Native Ministee. Sic, — Armed Constabulary District Office, Opunake, 18th May, 1885. With reference to the report about Mr. Mills, of Pungarehu, having been assaulted by a Native of Parihaka, I have the honour to report the Native's version of the circumstance. The Native says that he left his dray with potatoes on the road, and called at Mr. Mills's house to inquire if he wanted any. Mr. Mills told him to go away, or he would shoot him. Mr. Mills then went into the house and brought out a gun. The Native then said, "If you want to shoot (uncovering his chest), shoot here." As Mr. Mills was placing two cartridges in the gun, the Native closed on him, and in the struggle the gun fell on the ground. The Native then left. I have, &c, J. M. Robeets, Lieut.-Colonel, Commanding Provincial District of Taranaki. The Hon. the Native Minister.

No. 7. Inspector Paedy, New Plymouth, to Inspector James, Armed Constabulary, Wanganui. Sib,— Police Office, New Plymouth, 26th May, 1885. In referring to the late scare at Parihaka, and the alleged depredations on the property of settlers in that district, I have the honour to report that the only depredations I can find, beyond the larcenies on Plummer and Wallace, already reported, are the damage alleged to have been done to settlers' fences and the loss of cattle by them. In regard to the first, this, like other matters, has been greatly exaggerated, for through the whole district there has been only one fence injured, and that only to a trifling extent. The following are the facts of the case : About two months ago a chief named Te Whetu with some of his tribe were getting in horses in the neighbourhood of Cape Egmont for sale, when some of them, by some means, got into Mr. Fleming's paddock, and to get them out the Maoris made a gap in the ditch-and-bank fence, instead of taking them out at the gate. I asked Mr. Fleming if he wished to prosecute the Maoris, when he replied that he did not, as the damage was so trifling, while he and Te Whetu were on the most friendly terms, and he did not wish anything to be done to break that friendship. As regards the loss of cattle, I found this to have been greatly exaggerated : the sixty head alleged to have been stolen having, on inquiry, dwindled down to twenty. The greatest sufferer in this respect appears to be a Mr. Wright, residing at Rahotu. He states that he has lost seventeen head altogether —sixteen before the removal of the constabulary from Parihaka and one since. But it does not follow, because these cattle have been lost, that they have been taken by Maoris, as, from the fact of their having, in all instances, been lost when running on unfenced lands, they may have strayed into the bush, or been driven away by dealers when driving mobs of cattle through the district. The majority of the settlers are perfectly satisfied since the visit of the Hon. the Defence Minister that there is no danger to be apprehended from the Maoris, and are perfectly satisfied with arrangements being made for the protection of their property. The whole scare has been got up by a few interested persons for their own individual ends, and is now being kept alive by them and a few fussy individuals through the Press. Wright, who has made himself so conspicuous in this matter, is a timid, eccentric person, who rushes into print without having any idea of what he is writing about. This man spent several days in New Plymouth working up the agitation through the Press and at public meetings, while his wife and little children were living all alone in the bush at Rahotu, and in that state they were found by me when visiting his place. I then asked Mrs. Wright if she was not afraid of living there alone, when she replied that there was nothing to fear, as the Maoris never troubled them. I am quite satisfied that the peace of the district can be preserved by one smart, intelligent constable having a good knowledge of police duty, with occasional assistance if required. In the meantime I have placed Constable Ryan at Pungarehu, who is making daily patrols amongst the settlers, which is having a good effect. I enclose a short report just received from that constable, showing how things stand there at present. I also enclose an article clipped from this day's Taranaki Herald, which I should not have taken any notice of did it not tend to make me look ridiculous in the eyes of my superiors. All I can say in reference to it is that the statements and opinions therein ascribed to me were never uttered by me or even thought of, and, further, I have had no communication with that paper since my return from Pungarehu on Saturday last,