5

&.—4

In conclusion, I would strongly urge that a public station be formed at Pungarehu as soon as possible, as Constable Ryan cannot be well spared from his station; while lam afraid, if the place is left without a constable at the present time, the agitators may seize on some pretext to renew the excitement, which is now fast subsiding. I have, &c. Wm. S. Pardy, W. H. James, Esq., Inspector, Armed Constabulary, Wanganui. Inspector.

Enclosure 1 in No. 7. Constable Ryan to Inspector Paedy. Since you left Pungarehu I have kept up a patrol around amongst the settlers, and there does not appear to be any feeling of insecurity, but Hill has been around to every settler in the district trying to get up a public meeting to vindicate his character. On Sunday he went to Mr. Elwin, and Mr. Elwin has taken up Hill's case, and came to Pungarehu and telegraphed to Major Atkinson to call a public meeting at Pungarehu, so that the settlers may put their troubles before him, and give Hill a chance of airing his grievances, so that Major Atkinson would be able to lay the matter before the House. I was at Mr. Mills's house on Sunday night, and Hill came in. When he saw me, he called Mills out and talked to him for about an hour. Mills told me he (Hill) wanted to get up a public meeting, to pass a resolution saying Hill was a bona fide settler and of good character. 26th May, 1885. W. H. Ryan, Constable.

Enclosure 2 in No. 7. [Extract from Taranaki Herald.'] Unpeotected State of the West Coast. Inspector Paedy returned on Saturday from his visit to the Parihaka district in connection with the police supervision. He informs us that he spent a couple of days in interviewing the settlers and trying to allay their excitement. Ho thinks they had every reason to be uneasy, owing to the presence of a large number of Natives with bad characters at Parihaka. He thinks, however, that the presence of a policeman will most effectively deter any lawlessness, as the Natives have a great horror of the New Plymouth Gaol since Hiroki's execution there; and the threat of locking them up where Hiroki is buried seems to arouse very unpleasant apprehensions. The Armed Constabulary, he considers, were all along powerless, as they lost a deal of their mana, or influence, from being on such intimate terms with the Natives. On the principle that familiarity breeds contempt, the Maoris had little or no respect for the members of the force as representatives of British law. With the police, however, it will be very different, and the main policy will be to abstain from intimacy with the Natives except where it is rendered necessary by breaches of the law, and then it will not be of the kind that excites contempt. Mr. Pardy avoided visiting Parihaka. He thinks it a mistake to glorify Te Whiti and his minions by a deferential visit. Keeping in mind the belief that they are impostors, and rather disreputable at that, he will give no cause for the Maoris to conclude that the police are any respecters of their persons. What gives a very fair idea of the fear in which the police are held is the conduct of the chief Rangi, who has broken the eighth commandment in respect to a washing-tub. He hid away, and the Armed Constabulary man who conducted Constable Ryan in the search could not lead up to an arrest. As soon, however, as the constable returned to New Plymouth, Rangi emerged and asked the Armed Constabulary man, " How much Ryan give you look for me?" plainly drawing a distinction between the duties of constabulary and constable. Rangi is still at large and unrepentant, but the country would probably be little the worse if every Maori there stole a tub, providing, of course, it was put to its legitimate purposes. It would save much sickness no doubt, and bring them to that stage which, if not on the verge of honesty, is spoken of as being next to godliness. From Inspector Pardy's observations the belief in Te Whiti is undiminished, and the Natives still entertain an hallucination that Providence is going to hand back all their lands to them on the Ist of June, with all the houses, implements, and stock into the bargain. He does not fear that they will assist the workings of Providence in any way; and probably, when they find that things do not turn out as they expect, this beautiful and touching reliance on the supernatural will give way to good honest nineteenth-century scepticism as far as Te Whiti's divine mission is concerned. The Inspector is as much puzzled as anybody else to assign a reasonable cause for the late processions, but, as they are the doings of fanatics, there is probably no reasonable explanation to be found. The most probable, he thinks, is that the processions gave them an importance which, as a few scattered individuals, they could never attain, and were very jolly and diverting while the food lasted.

No. 8. New Zealand Constabulaey Foeoe.—New Plymouth Station, Wanganui District. Crime lie-port. Offence : Housebreaking and stealing therefrom. Committed at Pungarehu. Date and hour : Between 5 p.m. on the 21st and 3 p.m. on the 22nd April, 1885. On whom: Albert Plummer. Address : Feilding. Date and hour reported to police, and by whom : 23rd April, 1885, at 9.30 a.m., by William May. If a theft or robbery, description of property stolen, and if identifiable: One table, 4ft. by 3ft.; three forms (two 4ft. long, one 3ft. long); one cupboard, 3ft. high by 2ft. wide, two shelves inside; two doors, 6ft. by 3ft. (all roughly made out of white-pine wood); 100 ft. of 6 by 4 white-pine boarding, three sheets of corrugated iron, one small camp oven and lid; twg