Private Correspondence from Wellington, dated June 30, 1843.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume 1, Issue 13, 15 July 1843, Page 2

Private Correspondence from Wellington, dated June 30, 1843.

j It is with feelings, such as I have ncvei , experienced since I havo lived in this country, that I now sit down to communicato to } ro«r o« some particulars of the most horriblo and disastrous conflict that lately took place in 1 this neighbourhood, between a number oi the Nelson settlers and tho natives, in which no less than 23 of our countrymen lost their 'lives in the most horrifying manner thai [ could well be conceived ; threo wero shot in tho engagement, seven ki.Ued by tho tomahawk in tho pursuit, four not yet found, and supposed to bo killed in tho samo manner; and nine murdered coolly after the battle was over, by tho hands of one chief, JRangi haeata, amongst whom wore Captain Wakefield, tho Company's resident Agent at Nelson, Mr. Thompson, Polico Magistrate and County Judge for that district, and many ol i tho principal settlers of Nelson. You mnsl j understand that tho imperfect manner ii 1 which tho New Zealand Company's titles t« land were originally acquired, and their 1 having all along attempted to survey ami j take possession of lands- (which as appear < in tho Commissioner's court) they never had any title at all; has, for tho last twelve 1 months created a great sensation among a! tho natives of Cook's Straits ; and has ii several instances led to acts of violence? or' the part of the natives, under tho idea thai thoy were about to lose the- whole of theii lands by force, and even sinco the Com missioner has finished his investigations here ' tho Company's principal resident, Colour:! Wakefield, has refused to completo any oi , his imperfect and half-mado bargains witl i tho natives (wliich tho government allow; : the Company to do) to tho extent of th . most contcmptiblo amount. Which- ha:, roused a spirit of determined resistance throughout tho whole native population ii ' Cook's Straits, never before' witnessed l)j. the oldest European resident. Openly dc \ daring their determination to die in tin, contest ; but, at the same time, willing ti comply with every thing reasonable, upoi c being paid a fair remuneration for suct^ lands as the settlers require, except theh l pahs and cultivation grounds ; and, whict s they have almost unanimously agreed tc c refer to Mr. Spain, and abide by his decision j which was precisely tho case in the instancy which led to this affray. Rangihaeata and c Rauparaha, arc two of tho principal chict a of Cook's Straits, and are tho owners bj a conquest of a fine district of country it c Cloudy Bay, called AVairau plains, whicl c they declare they_ never sold to Colonc™ Wakefield, and he has never shown a shadow of proof to the contrary, or even appeared ii a Mr. Spain's Court to claim it, when thest a chiefs were beforo him ; and which the Com^ pany wished to obtain, to lay out the Nclp son's settler's country lands in. Thesfd chiefsdeclarcd to Mr. Spain, their deter& mination to prevent either tho surveying oir occupation of these plains by tho Compand or their settlers, unless they had pointed outo what portion they wished to retain for theinft selves, and were paid for the remainder the! gave up ; which they were willing to do, anip] agreed to refer tho whole matter to Ma Spain, (in whom thoy have great confidence^ and abide ty his decision. They accordingly proceeded to tho dis , puted land for the purpose of awaiting W Spain's arrival at Nelson, and found severt^ of the Company's Surveyors, and a numl)^ of men who had erected houses, which the/, deliberately burnt and pulled down ; buij^ first taking all the European's goods ou' and delivering them to their owners ; stating they would neither take nor destroy anythiijL but the houses, which they considered theU own property, the materials having bee* taken from their land ; and ordered tb surveying party to leavo tho place. AO^ | they proceeded to Nelson, and reported *' - 1 the Police Magistrate what had occurred

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.fend who, with Captain Wakofield and about fliirty-four otliers, immediately proceeded in fie government brig (she being there at the !m<s to Cloudy Bay, to take the two prmpal chiefs into custody, by a warrant issued r the Magistrate for that purpose. Un ;C ir arrival on the land, and intimating irousrh an interpreter their intention, the licfsTrof used to obey the warrant; under an atoprehension, uo doubt, that they wore to S put in irons and imprisoned ; which, in fteir estimation, is even worse than death, &d explicitly declared they would rather accept the latter alternative ; but, at the jtfno time stated, that they had not taken titiy property belonging to the Europeans, Ml, as the dispute was about land again ofercd to refer it to Mi. Spain, and only Sited payment. The Magistrate refused -g& terms but absolute submission ; and threatened to firo upon them with his forco, fd immediately withdrew from the parly to In" forward his men for that purpose ; d when marching to tho attack on the itatives, a shot was fired, it appears, by the .Europeans, but was uncertain by whom, or f tether accidental or intentionally, when Mmodiately a simultaneous firo took place In both sides, when three of tho Europeans 'jtffero shot, and several wounded ; and on tho •f&rt of the native?, three men and one chief ffenan, Rangehacato's wife, were shot dead $n tho spot (tho natives say the first volley ipas fired by the whites before they fired at aj|) when tho Europeans gave way in confmion, and were pursued in all directions by § natives firing upon them, and slaughtertlicm as they carao up with them, with lahawks in all directions, until they came (with Mr. Thompson, tho Magistrate, ptain Wakefield, Captain England, (late Auckland) and six others, who had surtdcrod and laid down their arms, and )wn a flag of truce. Rauparaha was disposed to pave them, t tho other chief, Rangihaeata, a most lent, furious savago when roused, which i death of his wifo did upon this occasion, .rdcred tho whole party with his own ids, in the most shocking manner. Tho who escaped had a hard run to tho brig, ich was luckily off the coast at the time, aid came over to Port Nicholson with the 4 ounded, one of whom has had his arm i mputatcd since ; when several of tho Maj istratcs Of this place and Mr. Spain, immo- { iatcly proceeded to the sceno of action, not Slowing tho fate of the other twenty-three, t those who escaped knew nothing beyond o commencement of the affray ; when they \ itaessed a most melancholy scene of the mangled remains of their countrymen, laying as they had been murdered, with tho exception of their fire-a,rni3 and animation, '^prich tho natives took ; and their remains «o buried on the spot, in ono grave ; a lamentable monument of a purile government, and the cupidity of Public Companies, liich nothing in my opinion, but the most jrn exertions on the part of tho public can crt occurring again ; and has put the lole of this part of tho island, both natives d Europeans, in the utmost state of alarm, th for its immediate consequences, and .Tgtimato results ; which may, if not cautiously remedied, involvo tho existence of 4§cry settlement in Cook's Straits; and a war of extermination against the $|tivcs ; which we have no availablo forco v£ present in tho country, .settlers in&Mcd, to maintain. It appears the natives Mt the scene of action on the same day it WK>k place ; under an apprehension that European would rise against them? a|d came across tho Straits in their canoes amongst their friends on this side, on the ,<|hast opposite Entry Island, where they arc IgUccting their forces, and building a strong IjSh on tho river Maiiawatu, also one of |j|c Company's settlements, preparing for |» attack from us, which they fully expect ; wid have loft all their old places of abode ; |»t I am happy to say, tho natives of this fflpce, and a largo number in Cook's Straits, H not approve of these chiefs' conduct ; ||td I think they may be relied upon to roJgin neutral in case of war, and aid us in Mending this place from any attack ; but filch I do not anticipate, unles3 something Si tnGr is dove by us to induce it, when Jgave no doubt, it would immediately take Pice, as these chiefs' influence extends over W eat part of the North Island, in inducing tribes to join them. jH r ' S^ in aiid the Magistrates have taken agthc evidence they could collect from tho savors- and it does not clearly appear tomij Mr. Thompson and Captain WakeIttr r^ and in % fiist instance, indeed like madmen ; Ind Un t ll" hom P son ™ considered a madSt *\f tu f s ' aud .l Buspect the intimifltuig the .natives to give up the land, had M smaU share in influencing the Company's Scut m urgmg it on. It however, his lid Wo very bad effects among the natives •

that of giving them an idea that wo are cowards, and no match for them in fighting; and destroyed all confidence in the justice of our laws, -which will lead them to commit many more acts of violence in all parts of tho country ; indeed, it may bo said to have been occasioned by the injustice of tho Now Zealand Company's transactions with the natives, and tho absurdity of tho government making them British subjects ; both of which, in my opinion, had no other views than dividing their lands between them at tho cheapest rate, that would countenance the farce of a purchase, without the slightest regard to the interests of the overgrown children they professed to protect and educate. All the people hero are in great fear, building batteries, and drilling for acting in defence, under tho idea of the town being attacked. Arms and amunition are in great request to prevent their falling into the hands of the natives, who cannot now obtain even a pound of powder to shoot pigeons, at which they are not a little astonished, and imagine we intend using it all against them. Your humble servant is doing all in his power to assist tho Magistrate in keeping tho natives quiet and neutral, whatever may be done ; and I am in great hopes this will be the case, although I am much taunted and rcdiculcd at present here, for my well-known friendly feeling for them ; but as I have a good cause, I can boar it well. At a meeting of the Magistrates this day, it was decided that Mr. Spain should proceed to the coast, and have an interview with the rebel chiefs ; ho is tho only man that can settle the disputes about land, and maintain a good feeling with tho natives. lie is highly respected here, both by Europeans and natives, except tho Company's people, for the honorable manner in which he has conducted his duties. One of our great guns here has been selected to represent this affair to the government, and proceeds in tho brig to Auckland ; lie is ono of the original Company, or Forty Thieves, as they are called, completely in the Company's interest ; although ho may not appear so, and is deeply interested in land hero ; so that he will no doubt, throw tho whole blame on the natives, and justify tho Companys agent's proceedings as far as he can ; no doubt blink tho question, being owner of land not purchased, and throw the onus on the government to support tho farce of enforcing a warrant against a Maori, who docs not understand what it moans. I hopo nothing will be done without tho most rigid enquiry. A petition will bo forwarded to tho government, certainly representing very accurately tho state of alarm here, as a great many are at present frightened of their own shadows ; but certainly not justified by facts and circumstances of any immediate, or ultimate dangor, until some stops are taken against theso chiefs. I do not think that tho people here believe there is so much dangor as they profess, but ar;e anxious to crcato a noise against government, whom they blame for everything, even for not paying for their land ; and I think it is a deep game to obtain soldiers to intimidate the natives, that they may get it at their own price on the part of the Company ; and that a great deal of tho alarm is created for that purpose. I shall write you any further I particulars I learn by next ship, and as long as I remain here. Our readers will perceive by the correspondence in our fourth page, that England has pounced upon tho Sandwich Islands. Wo sincerely trust she will deal more justly and kindly by the poor Natives there, than she has done by those of this country.