ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume I, Issue 22, 16 September 1843, Page 3

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

To the Editor of the Southern Cross. Sir,— l have lately been favoured with a view of your paper, and my attention was especially arrested by your statement of

what you called "the Wairau massacre." Living, as I do, amongst the natives, having some knowledge of the Maori language, and for years being on intimate terms with most of the natives connected with that tragical event ; I consider that justice to those who have so few friends to plead their cause, demands, that the Maori statement of tho case, should be heard, ere we can arrive at a satisfactory conclusion ; and before unsparing censure, and odium, are heaped upon them ; and as I believe that interested parties have concealed from the public, the real character of the Wairau affray, and as I cannot perceive that either the Government authorities, or the native Protectors have published any thing satisfactory to the public, I hope you will not refuse insertion to the following facts, which are fully confirmed by both native, and European statements, in your valuable journal. It is to be deeply regretted that the New Zealand Company have, from their first arrival in this country, been at variance with the natives, relative to lands. Large tracts of country have been sold to respectable parties in England, who have come out to New Zealand to occupy them, and on their arrival, they find the lands they have bought, have never been alienated by the natives-, notwithstanding, they arc led to believe, that they are kept out of these lands by tho natives, and so growing discord between the races has been tho consequence. In vain have overtures been made to tho agent of the Company, to extricate, the respectable settlers from the dilemma in which they have been placed by him, by remunerating the natives, and quietly giving the settlers possession of their lands, every thing has been pertinaciously rejected, recourse has in some cases been had to violence, to take possession of native lands, and, but for the hope the natives still cherish that tho British Government will do them justice ; the Company's settlements would before this, have been crushed, by their acting upon this principle of forcibly taking possession of native lands ; oppressing an already oppressed people, has occasioned the whole of tho late Wairau affray. It appears, that as early as the month of March, Captain Wakefield was distinctly told by the chiefs Bauparaha and llangihaeata, that they would not allow Wairau to be surveyed, which, in their estimation, is equal to taking possession ; stating, that they had never sold that place. The same assertion was made by these chiefs to Mr. Commissioner Spain, who promised to go over to Cloudy Bay, and investigate; tho claim. -But, in the face of these remonstrances, the Company's agent persisted in having Wairau, neither regarding the opposition of the chiefs, nor waiting the decision of the Commissioner ; a large party of surveyors was sent, who commenced their survey. Some time after, the two opposing chiefs passed over the straits, and, tired of waiting for the Commissioner, they remarked it was of no use delaying any longer, they were not bound by tlieir promise, as tho Europeans had broken theirs, by surveying, and were determined to take possession of the Land. They went therefore, to tho surveyors, spoke to them about proceeding with their surveys against their repeated remonstrances, and again requested them to desist. Finding themselves disregarded, they took every thing carefully out of the surveyor's huts, placed them in their tents, enquired of them whether every thing was removed, and then set fire to the huts, observing, that they had a right to do what they liked with their own property, on their own lands, against obstinate, unjust, and oppressive Europeans. The surveyors, thus stopped in their work, proceeded to Nelson, and pro - cured from the Police Magistrate, Mr. Thompson, a warrant against the two chiefs for arson. The Government brig which was then at Nelson, was pressed into the service, and to make sure work of it, upwards of 40 men were armed, who, with the Magistrate, Captain Wakefield, and the principal gentlemen of Nelson, proceeded to Wairau to arrest the two chiefs. On their way to tho residence of Rauparaha, the armed party met a native named Puaha, and his younger brother, who speaks pretty good English, pressed them into their service, abused them, and threatened to shoot them, as relatives of Rauparaha, but agreed on detaining them as guides to the residence of the old chiefs ; however, in passing through some wood, the natives made their escape, arrived at tho residence of the chiefs the night before the party of armed Europeans, and apprized them of what was going forward. The following morning, the Europeans arrived at the small creek called Inainarino, on the opposite side of which, were Rauparaha and Rangihaeata, who rose and said, " here I am," " here I am," " what is there with me' that you are so hostile in yonr appearance, 5*5 * Mr. Thompson told him, that he must go with him on board the brig, to be tried for having burned the huts of the surveyors ,• to which the old man replied ; "this is my land, and not yours, the huts that were put

up there, were mine, the materials and land, "both belong to me, and have not been sold to you, I have not burned any thing of yours ; if I had burned a hut or any of your property'", there would have been some reason for your hostile appearance, and in your request that I should be judged by you, but I am not going on board that vessel to be tied up like a slave for nothing." At this honest, and manly rebuke, Mr. Thompson flew into a dreadful passion, and said he must come, and if he did not, ho would fire upon him. Rauparaha said, " no, do not fight ; let us settle it quietly, and equitably, but do not fight, what if it does detain us two or three days, and I agree with you in that time to give up Wairau." Mr. Thompson then turned round, and said something to Capt. Wakefield, called the constable, and laid hold of Rauparaha's hand, who suspecting his purpose, instantly withdrew it. At this, Mr. Thompson stamped, and foamed at the mouth with rage, and again threatened lie would order his people to fire ; when Puaha, a nephew of Rauparaha, rose with a Maori Testament in his hand, and addressing the Police Magistrate, said, "we profess to be guided, and bound by the precepts of this book, let not blood be shed, but let us settle tho matter quietly ;" the Magistrate pushed away with his hand this reasonable native Christian, rejected his proposals, knocked the book out of his hand, using such abusive language as I shall not repeat. He then said, "where is Rangihaeata," who came forward, and said, in an indignant tone, " what do you want with me ? have I gone to England, or to Port Jackson, to rob you of land ? are you going to tie me up, and make a slave of me, after having robbed me of my lands, and because I say they are mine, and have asserted that right by burning down the huts you built of rushes and wood belonging to me ? Is this your boasted equity, to come and steal my property, and then bring an armed force to manacle me ? Have I stolen a single nail, that you should come and imprison me ? have I injured a European, or touched any thing in his tent, although pitched upon lands you are plundering me of ? may I not do as I please with my own blanket ? 'You, and your own people are the robbers, and not me ; go and manacle them, I will not go with you ; if Mr. Spain and Mr. Clarke were here, I would go, but I will not trust myself with you, who are destitute of all justice to us natives,"" Rauparaha knowing that Rangihaoata was hasty in his temper, told him to sit down, and let Puaha and himself settle the matter. He sat down, when Rauparaha again addressed Mr. Thompson, and said, that they were very willing to enter quietly into tho subject on the spot, but that they would not suffer themselves to be degraded by being hand-cuffed. The warrant was then produced, and the only explanation given to them of it, was, " Tho book, the Queen make a tie Rauparaha and Raugihaeata, for burning pakeha's huts." After which, Mr. Thompson ordered his men to advance, some of whom said " no, no, there are a great number of natives." "Oh!" said Captain "Wakefield, " there are plenty of our men, and plenty of guns." Mr. Thompson and Captain Wakefield left the natives, again requested from them a canoe to re-cross the creek, as soon as they had z-egained the canoe, word was given by the Police Magistrato to firo upon the natives ; one gun was first fired, and instantaneously followed by a volley upon the natives, three of whom fell, one man named Ahita, younger brother of Rauparaha, among the number ; then, and not till then, Puaha jumped up, and said, " stand up for your lives, and seek a payment," and old Rauparaha, taking leave of tho bright world, ordered his people to fire, and charged tho Europeans, several of | whom fell, and so instantaneous was the onset of the natives, that the Europeans had not time to re-cross the creek, and so unexpected was the attack upon the natives, who had only nino guns to defend themselves with, that they made the charge upon the Europeans with sticks, a few hatchets, with which they were clearing the land, and it was found that some of the guns were loaded with pebbles, instead of ball, and it was not until they wrested the guns from the Europeans, whom they pursued, that they were iv a position to defend themselves. On the first charge, the Europeans retreated precipitately to the first brow of the hill side, threw away their guns in their panic ; the others kept up a brisk' fire upon the natives. Rauparaha who is an old man, was out-run by the younger, and being apprehensive of the repetition of the same conduct, arid anxious to stop the effusion of blood, called out to those before Him, when about halfway up the first hill, to spare the gentlemen, his wife also hurried Puaha over the creek for the same purpose. They were both however, too late, a son of Te Ahuta (the chief killed) had overtaken Captain Wakefield and Mr. Thompson, while he was calling out to Rauparaha for quarters, and Te Ahuta 's people cut them immediately down ;

the fray was going on all this time on both sides ; the Europeans were still firing, and as many as were caught, were slain, and judging from native calculation, from the firing of the first European's gun, to the end of this disgraceful affray, very little more than five minutes elapsed; the Europeans say a quarter of an hour. In the published accounts of this affair, both in the /Southern Cross and Chronicle of July 15, the conduct of the unfortunate gentlemen is deprecated, but both papers fasten upon one feature of the affray, which is not borne out by any evidence, and contradicted by tho body of those engaged in it, namely, the cooZ-blood massacre of the gentlemen who surrendered. Now, it is evident, that there was no time for the blood to cool, nor, had the firing ceased. The circumstance of the destruction of the captured gentlemen, having been accomplished by the chief Rangihaeata, alone, is most emphatically denied by the natives ; neither is any sufficient evidence adduced by Europeans to substantiate such an allegation. I regret therefore, that the word massacre should have been used, as it tends greatly to prejudice the whole case. I can easily imagine, survivors and friends of survivors, catching like drowning men, at straws and rushes to save their own, and the unfortunate sufferers' reputation, and do not wonder at their diligence in propagating any partial views of this melancholy affair, calculated to divert the public mind from the contemplation of conduct so disgraceful to men calling themselves civilized ; more especially, as that conduct has endangered the necks of all engaged in it, ruined the affairs of the Company, and degraded the British character in the eyes of thejiatives, both as a bravo, and just people. But, I can hardly imagine, and cannot but express my wonder, that men calling themselves Britons, should have fallen so I«w, and discovered themselves to bo so utterly destitute of those qualities which constitute a Briton's glory and boast, as not only to have recourse to the local authorities, to tho Government of New South Wales, and even to the Parent State, praying for assistance to glut their revenge, and perpetuate the iniquity of their proceedings ; but, in the event of these honourable proposals being rejected, to render assurance doubly sure, that they should actually make propositions at which humanity shudders. A Lover of Truth. September 11, 1843. [We insert the above letter, but we do not vouch for its accuracy. We do not know the writer. We omit the last part because we cannot believe it to be true. — Ed.]