Wairoa Jany. 19/67 My dear Sir An affair of rather an unpleasant nature as regards myself having taken place here I have taken the liberty of writing you on the subject as many garbled statements ane I believe going about calculated to do me an injury. I think I can pretty well trace the affair to its true source and shall endeavour to do so, in the meantime I will give you a statement of the whole affair. It appears that when my brother was in Port last he was asked by a Dr. Todd to procure him a run in the Waiwua district either up the Waiau or the Waiau river. When the affair came to my knowledge I informed my brother that as Govt. Agent I should do all I could to thawt his views, to which he agreed and nothing more was said on the subject and as I heard no more of the matter from him or the Natives I naturally concluded that he had given up all ideas of obtaining the said run. To my surprise however Kopu came down one morning and said he had heard from the Maoris up the river that my brother was trying to get a run and seemed to infer/that they imagined that I had something to do with it. I was very much annoyed about it and told Kopu and the people he brought down with him that I had nothing to do with the affair and was quite ignorant that any such transaction was in contemplation at the same time informing him (my brother being present at the time) that I should do my utmost to prevent anything of the kind taking place as I considered that being at the head of the Govt. in this place I considered it only my duty to do so, and I looked at my brother only in the light of a stranger in the business, he at the same time telling Kopu that as far as he was concerned he should not move in the matter till all claims and titles to land were settled by yourself at the Great Runanga. Kopu then left perfectly satisfied and I heard no more of it. A day or so after this I recd. a letter from Ihaka Whanga asking me whether land was going to be let to Carroll and my brother and if I knew any thing of it and sanctioned the matter. I immediately wrote and told him that the whole thing was untrue that my brother spoken about land but that on my representing that it was wrong and upon Kopus speaking about the matter he had given up the whole thing till your arrival here when the claims could all be arranged. As for Carroll I knew nothing about him. It appears also that Tamihana and some others have I believe written to you stating that they have been advised by the brother of the Kai Whakawa to have their claims put throught the court. I am given to understand by my brother that he had done nothing of the kind and has utterly refused to have anything more to do with the matter till the titles to the land are made known. Now as I firmly believe that Mr. G. W, and Joseph C. have been at the bottom of the whole affair to try and do me a serious injury with the Government I consider it is only due to myself to put the true state of the case fairly before you. You are I think aware from my antecedents that have always done what I considered my duty towards Govt. to the best of my ability and I can only state that it is my intention to continue to do so. I am only sorry for one thing, that is that I did not write and inform you but as I fully believed after my conversation with Kopu that the whole affair was at an end I thought nothing more of it, and I only heard of the letter to you on the subject (from Tamihana) on Friday morning after the mail had left. I have accordingly taken the opportunity of Mr. Toogood going to Port to write at once. Mr. Toogood will give you any further information that you may require being fully cognisant of the facts. I am my dear Sir faithfully yours S. Deighton.