ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 182, 28 April 1847, Page 2

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE.

We have received the following letter from the Rev., W. ,Colenso on the subject oi the late alleged* robbery at Ahuriri. With reference to that part of his letter which applies to ourselves, it will be sufficient foi us to observe that the intelligence was brought by the Gypsy o^^rreturn from Ahuriri. and that Mr. Cole^^lMplanation appears in the number of our Journal immediately subsequent to that containing, the account of the transaction, and to disclaim being actuated by any other motive than a desire to publish a correct report of passing occurrences : —

To the Editor of the New Zealand Spectator. In my tent, at Petoni, Saturday evening, April 24, 1847. Sir, — I was not a little surprised on reading in your paper of this day's date, of a " robbery committed by the natives at Ahuriri on the Flying Fith /'' Had the paragraph, Sir, met my eye at any other place than Port Nicholson — or, had I not been well acquainted with the whole transaction — I should not have cared to notice it ; but, — lest silence on my part should be construed by any one knowing me to be here into acquiescence — or, the New Zealanders be believed to be worse than they really are, — I feel myself constrained to say a word or two upon the matter. I must, however, necessarily be very brief. The Flying Fith, Captain Mulholiand, came into the Ahuriri harbour to refit rather than to obtain pigs, &c. ; she being in such a state as not to be able to proceed on her voyage without it. Before she came in the captain and crew had fallen out; on her coming in they again fell out, and some of the crew subsequently left the vessel. A heathen chief of first rank, X., visited the vessel, and, with the Captain's consent, " tapu'd" some "trade," which, shortly after, the Captain sold to another chief. On X.'s returning to the vessel he found his •' tapu'd' 1 articles gone, and made a noise about them. The Captain endeavoured (as too many, I am sorry to say, Sir, of my countrymen do> to ride the high horse — and faiied. He got struck — which he told me, himself, wa^his own fault— and the chief ttok away some^F trade," for which, however, a certain number of baskets of potatoes were to be paid. In this state of things the Captain called at the Mission Station. I was from home in the Taupo country, immediately, however, on my return, I visited him at Ahuriri, and had the relation from his own mouth. He had no complaint to m ike against ibe natives (so far from it, that I should not have known the particulars of X.'s conduct had I not been informed by some natives which led me to enquire of the Captain) but against his own countrymen, (not his c»ew,) who had robbed him, and who were pursued and taken and brought back by the Christian natives, and their plunder taken from them. On my stating I should write to X., the heathen chief, to hasten his promised payment, as the Flying Fish would soon be ready for sea, Captain Mulholland said, he thought there was no need of my doing so, as the stipulated day of payment was not yet past. I, however, did so, and requested K. to give him a pig in addition for his having struck the Captain. To this K. assented, and made the payment within 4 days after, as the Captain (who afterwards called upon me) stated and as his note of thanks, written to me the night before he sailed, abundantly testifies. The Flying Fishh&d to have every thing taken out of her in order to clean and caulk her without and within. The whole of her " stock-in-trade" and stores, were piled upon the shingle bank at Ahuriri with no other protection than a sail ; some hundreds of natives were about ; and yet, Sir, her stores were not plundered by any but by Christian Englishmen! In fact, the Captain was obfiged to set a native wfctch, to protect his property against his own countrymen. I do not mean to say, Sir, but that the natives of Hawke's Bay, are difficultto deal with ; still, I venture to think, that one step towards making them better is, for more vessels than one to trade there, and to have those vessels manned (or, if not 'manned, commanded) by moral, if not Christian men, who will set them a good example. I scarce need add, that such vessels may depend upon what little aid and influence I may possess being exerted in their favor. Apropot — statements similar to the alleged "robbery" have been formerly concocted in reference to other places in these seas, to secure the monopoly and scare away a new-comer. " Facts," Mr. Editor, "are stubborn things," — as you, yourself, have more than once said. And yet (though I believe I have said enough to satisfy any impartial person) I have not told the whole; some of the deeds of some of our countrymen in Hawke's Bay, I willingly for the present draw a veil over. In conclusion, Sir, I may — as a well-wisher to the peace of the colony — be allowed to remark (though I don't pretend to know how it is, yet true it is) — that your paper too frequently sets matters in a very strong light against the natives. During the last 14 months in particular, I have been several times grieved at the relations therein contained concerning events which happened (I mean the bias— the animut which too plainly pervaded them), and which I knew were very widely different from what were

therein related. I do not mean to lay that your aim is to over colour or unnaturally to distort your statements; but I think, Sir, that when you have been led to publish forth to the world somewhat against the natives, and which, a few days after, has been found to be incorrect, you should, at least, make the amende honorable, and take the earliest opportunity of sitting "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the the truth." Upon the whole, I think, Sir, you should be a little more cautious, in these times of extra-ex-citement, at to what you receive and tell forth to the world as facts. Who can possibly tell the tremendous amount of physical evil (not to say moral guilt) which a continued course of inflammatory — though, it may be, infinitesimal — doses, will ere long cause to the whole system? I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, William Colenso, Resident Missionary at Ahuriri. P. S. — I should also remark — in order to avoid ambiguity — that, the cause of Captain Mulholland's visit to the Mission Station was, to ascertain if he could obtain any assistance in a pecuniary way to enable him to engage and pay some white men to repair his vessel. — As the whole of his "trade" (tobacco) which he brought" with him, did not amount to a fourth i part of the quantity mentioned in your paper. W. C.