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Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 7, Issue 358, 27 August 1863, Page 3

alive should Governor Grey decline to interfere. The arrival of a small part}' of 15 or 20 of these nat ves on the river bank opposite Mr. Scott’s, for the purpose of planting potatoes on Friday last, gave rise to one ot those foolish panics which are so little creditable to our community, and which, being supplemented by somq ridiculous “ warning,” said to have been given by two Ngatiapa chiefs, to the effect that 100 Waikatos were hid up the river and abont to commence indiscriminate murder, soon got the alarmists in a state of high fever. A public meeting was got together in the Scotch church Lower b’angitikei, undertlio chairmanship of Dr. Curl, a memorial to Major Hassard duly extemporised, and a “ special ” despatched by moonlight to Wanganui requesting sappers and miners to build stockades, besides other alarming requisitions. Of course the snowball soon grew as it rolled, and hcfore Saturday evening the panic was at its height—--1100 armed natives at Scott’s, and all the settlers off for W anganui. Fortunately, however, the bulk of the Rangitikei settlers had more sense than to take the alarm, and ths actual number of supposed assailants having been ascertained to be 15 or 20, and the authorship of the exaggerated stories traced to their parent age, the bubble soon burst, and confidence was greatly restored.