E—No. 3A

THE NATIVE INSURRECTION.

the three letters from W. King, to Archdeacon Hadfield, and as requested, to forward the enclosed Keport, upon the accusations expressed or implied therein. I have, &c, (Signed) Eobert Pakris, The Native Secretary, District Commissioner. &c, &c, &c, Auckland. Enclosure 1 in No. 8. REPORT ON WILLIAM KING'S LETTERS TO ARCHDEACON HADFIELD. New Plymouth, August 14th, 18G0. With respect to the accusation contained in the ktter of William King to Archdeacon Hadfield of 2nd July, 1859, "that my heel was lifted against him," and that I had insulted him by telling him that "it was by me he was saved." I most distinctly deny having made use of that or any similar expression, in connection with the purchase of land, or in any way, save under the circumstances following, which are corroborated by my correspondence with Mr. Watt, a copy of which I enclose herewith. 2. When negotiating with William King, to permit the peaceable return of Ihaia and his people to the Waitara after their expulsion thence, and urging him to consent, he replied, " but for you, there would have been no occasion for this, the matter would have been finished," meaning that if I had not frustrated his (William King's) plans, Ihaia and party would have been killed. I replied, if by me Ihaia was saved, by me also he (William King) was saved, alluding to my preventing the slaughter of the besiegers that must have ensued had they attempted to enter the pa of Ihaia, which they believed to be abandoned, until I informed them of the ambush ; and I addressed myself to him as the recognized head of the besiegers, substituting him for his pnrty, a method of expression common among the Natives. 3. I most distinctly deny that I ever talked of apprehending him about his holding the land, or for any other cause, but you are aware that on one occasion, as reported in the late Assistant Native Secretary's diary, for the month of December, 1858, a summons was issued against him by the Resident Magistrate, for the price of a thrashing machine, burnt with the Ikamoana pa. This summons was entrusted to Mr. liaise, the Assistant Native Secretary, to serve; who communicated the same to me, and we concurred in withholding it until instructions on the subject should he received from Auckland. This is the only time at which (to my knowledge) anything of the sort occurred, or was ever talked about. The talking of shooting him with a gun, and burying him outside in their cultivations, is a pure fabrication, I know nothing about it. 4. William King knows well that I did not rejoice in Katatore's death, and that his death for the time completely upset all my land purchasing operations, for he was present at the Kaipakopako and in the same room with me and Katatore when the Tarurutangi block was first offered ; and wheu Katatore explained the whole matter to him, he replied, "Kei a koe te whakaaro," (the thought is with you) and yet subsequently having heard that Katatore had suggested to Ihaia and Nikorima, that they should offer for sale a portion of Waitara land, as sugar to sweeten that which he (Katatore) was offering , , he writes to them the letter enclosed, dated 30th August, 1857, in which he denies any knowledge of Katatore's proceedings, and recommends them to discontinue the talk about selling the Ikamoana, bur to stick to it and cultivate it, or that the land will be all sold by one man (meaning Katatore) and significantly exclaims, "be stout hearted! war! war again!" Moreover, William King well knew that on the occasion of his murder, Katatore came to town for the purpose of arranging about the payment proposed by the Provincial Government for the cutting of the Scotch thistles in the neighbourhood of. the Bell Block, as is explained in his letter of sth December, 1857, also herewith enclosed. 5. Having thus exposed the cunniug and falsehood of William King, I cannot close this report without again alluding to the circumstance respecting which the expression, " Naku koe i ora ai," (it was by me you were saved) was used, nor without some strictures on the course Archdeacon Hadfield has pursued in reference to this matter. When Ihaia, Nikorima, and party, were besieged in the Karaka pa at Waitara, and were almost sinking under their lamentable prospects, the Rev. Mr. Whiteley suggested to me that I should try to arrange terms of peace on the following basis, viz. : that the besieged should be allowed to vacate the pa, and that the besiegers should then destroy it. I availed myself of the suggestion and obtained the consent of Ihaia and also of William King, not to follow them any further, and shortly after, in the middle of the night, lhaia's party took a loud farewell of their pa, and thus tried to take advantage of arrangements which I had attempted to make for their preservation, and but for my opportune arrival and discovery of the ambush, would probably have succeeded. I was much blamed by the newspapers of the Province for communicating this intelligence to William King's party, but no man with one spark of honor could, under the circumstances, have acted otherwise, and, in allusion to this circumstance, I addressed the observation to William King, to shew the perfect good faith I had maintained towards him, though I knew he was inimical to the plans I had in view. C. With respect to Archdeacon Hadfield, the position he has taken in this matter justifies me in reporting, that seeking to effect a peaceful purchase of Teira's land at Waitara, 1 solicited Archdeacon

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