Hokianga August 23, 1871 My Dear McLean, I fear my letters coming so quickly one on the heels of another will begin to bore you but I wish to keep you informed on the progress of a matter which I think more of every day, and to prevent you from thinking that because there has up to this time been so much delay, caused indeed entirely by the most unprecedented continuance of the bad weather, that it will come to naught. I mean the Ngapuhi letter - or rather two letters for there is one from all the chiefs of hapu and principal chiefs on the Bay side, and another from Moses Tawhai and the other principal people of his own particular section. I have now both these letters and there will be no further delay than a few days necessary to send them for signatures of some Hokianga Chiefs up and down the river - a few days which I (as I wish to do the thing properly and make it as effective as I can) will delay till Te Rarawa Chiefs, at the head of whom is Te Tai Paapapia, have completed and signed theirs. This will take only a few days more as only the Rarawa Chiefs who live near hear will have to sign their letter as it would take too much time to send to the others - but who in about a month will send one themselves which coming to the Waikato folks some time after the other letters and signed by the chiefs who the Waikato people will no doubt perceive were wanting in the other letters will have even a better effect perhaps than if they were to be attached to the present letter as it will shew the matter to be a deliberate movement by all the northern people whether Ngapuhi or Rarawa. No have signed these letters to swell the number of signatures, a thing that would be at once detected by the Waikato people but every chief has placed before his name the Hapu of which he is the head and in this way it is shewn that all the Ngapuhi hapu on the east coast are represented. The Hokianga hapu will be equally well represented the chiefs will sign the East coast Ngapuhi letter this letter is a most excellent one and I think better than that of which you have seen the copy. A better piece of diplomacy and well considered. It recounts the numerous instances in which the Ngapuhi have from a date long before the arrival of the Govt. to the present time have either given up offenders to the law or put them to death themselves not excepting chiefs of the very highest rank as Maketu was undoubtedly, and they demand that the Waikato give up their man also on good grounds which they state. The letter of the Tai Paapahia however will be worth more than all the rest put together for he demands according to unanswerable Maori reasoning that the Waikato give up their man (Te Tai) The value of the Rarawa letter is great according to my view, whether the Waikato give up their man or not, for it shews that, whatever differences they may have from accidental circumstances had with the Ngapuhi that they are nevertheless quite united in a determination to adhere to the European System of Government, and that therefore the Walkato people need not think of building anything on a supposed division between the tribes. No European has at all had anything to do in this matter (as sich) or will be in any way seen in it it is a spontanous act of the Natives arising out of the original proposal to send a personal deputation to Waikato and which they now see would have been impolitic. I scarce think myself the Waikato will give up their man but whatever answer they make we shall be able to divine from it in all probability what their real feelings are on things in general and they on their side will be impressed with the feeling that the Govt, are stronger than ever in the adherence of the Northern natives, when the reply from Waikato as received the Ngapuhi and Rarawa will then consider what further steps are to be taken, and if the murderer is not given up and you can do no better you can put a round price on his head and put him in the list of outlaws and refuse to enter into any friendly negotiations with the Waikato people until he is given up it might be worth while to consider whether it would not be well to outlaw the King and all his people who join in withholding this criminal from justice. It will be now only a very short time till the three letters are sent they will I think be sent by post to the care of Lewis Hettit and as the letter will be a rather bulky packet and addressed to the Maori King (but not giving him that Title) I hope the post office authorities wont mistake it for a Torpedo or some other invention of the Evil one and so loose time about it. I wish you to be perfectly sure that in a few days the thing will be all complete you may depend on it to a certainty the bad weather and also my desire to have the thing done properly has kept it from being completed sooner but I must say that I think the affair of sufficient value to have it done well. I see by the Papers that Kawana Hunia and the Ngatiapa are getting obstreperous about some land at Horowhenua south of Manawatu and which I conclude is part of your late purchase. The evidence on the Manawatu case has reference to all that land south of the Manawatu river full as much as to the Manawatu - Rangitikei block and I feel quite sure that the Ngatiraukaua are in this instance as much in the right as they were wrong in the Manawatu affair. A very short investigation would shew this. I dare say the Ngatiapa are making this disturbance partly as utu for the trouble the suffered from Raukawa in the Manawatu affair, and partly in the hope of getting some money, as for their taking up the cause of the Muaopoko that is mere nonsense and is a proof to me of the weakness of their claim, or rather of their right to interfere. How Kepa (is it Major Kemp?) and the Whanganui natives came to adhere to the Ngatiapa I cannot divine any way but by the supposition that they are incited by the hope of a little hard cash. I know nothing of the matter except what I have seen in the papers and as the action of the Land Court is suspended in that district and I am not therefore likely to be called on to interfere I feel free to make these remarks, tho' after all, the stories one sees in the papers about native matters are scarce worth making any remarks on. I have no doubt that if there is any little difficulty you will soon find a way to get rid of it. Poor old Waaka is gone. The Pakehas turned out well at his funeral and the expence the Govt. went to was not thrown away it gave great satisfaction to the natives. "take him for all and all we shall not look upon his like again" and we must how the virtual chiefs. I am going to start in about a fortnight on a grand Land Court cam through the North which will occupy all my time till next winter there are so many claims and so many contested ones amongst them and by the time they are got through I expect there will be as many more new ones on hand the work got somewhat in arrear through my being so long at Auckland about that Aroha business I was not fit to be there at all I was so ill and it kept me ill I have now got a rhumatic gout or something like it in one of my knees and am wondering how I shall get over the big hill at this side of Whangahe on my way to Ahipara, however it does not trouble me much for hap what hap it , and a leg or arm more of less is of no consequence as long as the holds out. I shall be anxious to see what course her "Majesties Opposition" will take this session. I think however you are in a very good position and have the means of holding your own. I saw in one of the papers that your office is to be permanent and independant of changes in the Ministry. If this is true the office is worthy of the ambition of any man and if I were in it and a quarter of a century younger I would devote myself body and soul to the salvation of the Maori by bringing them under the laws and institutions of civilisation, and making them, in war, our best allies, and in peace, amongst the most usefull of our citizens. Any man who could accomplish this would have done something the like of which had never been done before, and would have lived to some purpose, which not many of us do. I shall keep copies for you of all the letters of the northern natives which go to Waikato. I chiefly write to assure you that the thing is safe to be done well and to shew you the reason of the delay anything worth doing at all is worth doing properly and this matter has taken some time. I shall let you know when the letters are posted. Command me in any little matter in which I can be of any service to you and Believe me as ever Yours very sincerely, F.E. Maning. Donald McLean, Defence Minister. P.S. As I shall be soon involved in a sea of Maori litigation and most of my time from ome you will not be bothered by my scrawls to any dangerous extent for some time but I shall let you know anything worth hearing. F.E.M.