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Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1137, 20 March 1872, Page 4

The formal release of the Maori prisoners confined in the Dunedin gaol took place yesterday at noon, says the Otago Daily Times of the 9th instant, when the Hon. Mr M 'Lean the Defence Minister), his Honor the Superintendent, and Lieutenant-Colonel J. H. H. St. John, accompanied by Wiremu Tamihana Te Neke, of Waikanae, in Wellington, and Aperahama Tamitaporea, Waitotara (influential chiefs of the Ngatiawa and Ngaraura tribes), visited the gaol. After the customary tangi had been indulged in, the Defence Minister addressed the prisoueru, telling them that the Government had resolved to restore their liberty, hoping that they would for the future abandon the evil courses that had, in the first instance, got them, into trouble. They would be conveyed to the North Island in the course of a few days, and the Govern-; ment would provide a suitable dwellingplace for them away from their old haunts. The chief Taurua, addressing Mr M'Lean, promised that when he reached the North Island, he would avoid haying any intercourse with the native chiefs ; and that they would all submit themselves to the guidance of the Government, and settle down wherever they were directed to. The prisoners had received intelligence from the north of the meeting between Mr M'Lean and Wiremu Kingi at Taranaki, and they seemed to regard that event, which they alluded to several times, as a guarantee of peace, for the future.