replied that they had not come for that purpose, and having explained the exact nature of their visit demanded a canoe so that he and some of the other officials could cross. The forty constables who remained on the other side with the rest of the armed party under the charge of Captain England and Mr Howard had each been issued with eighteen rounds of ball cartridges. They had been told before their final instruction from Mr Thompson was to act if called upon. Most of these had never handled a firearm before. Some of their weapons were faulty and antiquated, while complete lack of discipline combined with a total ignorance of bush fighting proved to be a pitiful contrast to the more numerous trained fighters of Te auparaha and Te Rangihaeta. Even at this stage, however, Thompson and Wakefield behaved as if they were dealing with nothing more than a couple of travelling bullies who could easily be coerced into showing, as Thompson put it, “a prestige for the law”. Te Rauparaha approached Thompson with his hand extended to exchange a friendly greeting, but the arrogant Magistrate pushed it aside and through his interpreter Brooks, told him that he was their prisoner. The chief replied that he would prefer to have the whole matter settled when Mr Spain made his judgement about the land. Whereupon Thompson explained that the charge was one of buringin down some houses, an offence which did not come under the jurisdiction of Spain's court, and one which he intended to deal with aboard the brig. “What houses have I burned down?” demanded Te Rauparaha. “Was it a tent belonging to you that you make so much ado about it? You know it was not; it was nothing but a hut of rushes. The materials were cut from my own ground.” At this point he appealed to Mr Cotterell to verify his assertion that no European property or equipment had been destroyed, and that gentlement accordingly agreed. “For this reason,” continued Te Rauparaha, “I will not go on board, neither will I be bound. If you are angry about the land let us talk it quietly over, I care not if we talk till night and all day tomorrow and when we have finished I will settle the question about the land.” The Police Magistrate only became more impatient. Producing a pair of handcuffs, and stamping his foot with rage, he demanded that the chief accompany him aboard the brig or he would be compelled to use force. Then, turning to Brooks, he exclaimed. “tell them there are the armed party, they will fire on them all!” As he did so he waved his arm in the direction of his constables, and a native who had a slight knowledge of English interpreted this violent outburst as an order to fire. There was an instant reaction from sixteen of Te Ruaparaha's men who sprang to their feet with muskets levelled. they were subdued by Mr Patchett who nervously explained that it had only been a threat and not an order to shoot. Thompson then called in a loud voice for Te Rangihaeta who during this time had been sitting quietly behind a nearby bush. Leaping into the midst of the group, and wielding his tomahawk menacingly above Thompson's head, he began threatening him in violent tones. “What do you want with Te Rangihaeta that you come here to bind him?” he demanded angrily. “Do I go to Port Jackson or to Europe to steal your lands? Have I burned your house? Have I destroyed tents or anything belonging to you?” His temper seemed to be getting the better of him, and Te Rauparaha thought it wise to order him to retire while he continued to seek a peaceful settlement with the stubborn Thompson. Meanwhile Mr Tuckett and Captain Wakefield decided to join the rest of their men on the other side of the stream. As they were crossing Thompson made another attempt to handcuff Te Rauparaha who indignantly withdrew his hands from the Magistrate's grasp. It was at this point that Captain Wakefield was said to have observed a threatening move by the natives towards Thompson which prompted him to shout to the constables, “men forward, Englishmen forward!” Several of the armed constables rushed toward the canoe and in doing so one of them discharged a shot which instantly provoked a volley of musket fire form the Maoris who were by this time quite convinced that the pakehas had come to fight. During the intense firing which opened up on both sides Mr Thompson and his party safely made their crossing. Many of the Englishmen fell in the first volley, and as they retreated to the foot of a nearby ridge several were left dying in the open severely wounded; amongst these was Mr Patchett. He was quickly attended to by a man named Richardson, who enquired if he was badly hurt, to which Patchett replied, “I am mortally wounded, I am mortally wounded, you can do no good for me, make your escape.” The main party of Europeans was finally forced to surrender, and included amongst the survivors were Captain Wakefield, the Police Magistrate Thompson, Capt. England, Messrs Richardson, Howard, Brooks, Cropper and MacGregor. For a few minutes the prisoners were kept under the guard of several young warriors until Te Rauparaha arrived upon the scene. the chief, having accepted the Europeans' explanation that the shooting was a mistake, was at first agreeable to accepting money in payment for their release, when Rangihaeta suddenly intervened. His wife Te Rongopamamao had been killed by a stray bullet early in the affray while hiding in a swamp at the rear of the Maori camp. Se was the widow of Te Whaiti, a nephew of Te Rauparaha and a first cousin of Te Rangihaeta who according to ancient custom married her because she was the widow of his near relative. Rangihaeta insisted that only the lives of the principal Europeans could compensate as sufficient utu for the loss