E—No. 1

THE. GOVERNOR'S DESPATCH tion on tha subject, and 1 do not believe that any separate rights exist between Ngatihinga and Ngatituahn on the one side anl Ngatikura and Ngatiuenuku on the other: the various hapu3 through former intermarriages are so mixed up one with another that it would be impossible to give either an affirmative or a negative to a question which you can neither believe nor disbelieve: the question il perfectly unintelligible and irrelevant" (146). 103. From the foregoing extracts it will be seen that although Archdeacon Hadfield says in his letter of 29th May, ''I have hitherto felt my ground secure, dealing with facts within my knowledge," he really knew but little of th? matter. Certain it is that he failed in the attempt to convince the House of Representatives that Kingi was right, for im:n_diately afterwards the following resolution was passed, approving the policy I had pursued: —" That in the opinion of this the interference of Wiremu Kingi at Waitara, and his resort to force to prevent the survey of land there, rendered the measures adopted by His Excellency the Governor indispensable for the due maintenance of Her Majesty's Sovereignty, and that the welfare of both races of Her Majesty's subjects peremptorily requires a vigorous prosecution of the war to a successful termination" (147). 101. The Legislative Council adopted the same view, and addressed me in the following terms :—" We, the Legislative Council of New Zealand, beg to assure Your Excellency of our earnest desire to afford to Your Excellency our mo3t cordial support in carrying on the war now unhappily existing in a portion of this Colony. Deploring, as we do, the existence of this evil, a feeling which we are persuaded is entertained by Your Excellency with equal strength, we are convinced that Your Excellency has been forced into this course, by a series of circumstances beyond Your Excellency's control" (148). 105. And tlr. Conference of Chiefs at Kohimarama, who best knew what the rights of the Nga-. tiawa people are, passed the following Resolution condemning Wiremu Kingi, and justifying me; which, resolution was signed by the Chiefs with only three dissentients:—"That this. Conference having-, heard explained the circumstances which led to the war at Taranaki, is of opinion that tho Governorwas justified in the course taken by him ; that Wiremu Kingi provoked the quarrel; and that the, proceedings of the latter are wholly indefensible" (149). yj.—xhe relation between wiremu kingl's insurrection and. the natite kins/ movement; and land league. 106; I have, on so many occasions, in dispatches addressed to Your Grace's Department during the last four years, described the various phases of the agitation which resulted in setting up aNative King and the establishment of a League among a number of Tribes to forbid the further cession of Native lands to Her Majesty, that I shall confine myself to indicating, here the close, relation which has subsisted from the first between that movement aud the insurrection of Wiremu, Kingi. 107. I beg, in the first place, to refer Your Grace to the following account given by the RevMr. Buddie, Superintendent of the Wesleyan Mission, in. a pamphlet specially devoted to the origin and progress of the King Movement, of the deputation which came up to Waikato from the Ngatiawa. and Ngatiruanui tribes, to hand over their lands to the King:—"During 1859 two or three deputations visited the South and left the Maori King's flag 3 at Taranaki, and with the Ngatiruanui. It is said that Wiremu Kingi Te Rangitake refused to receive the flag or to join the movement ; but in the autumn of the present year a deputation from the Ngatiawa and Ngatiruanui tribes visited Waikato, entrusted with the important duty of presenting the allegiance of those tribes to the Maori King, and of handing over their lands to the league of which he is the recognised head. The deputation consisted of about sixty picked men, chiefly young men. They arrived at Ngaruawahia on the 10th of April, accompanied by Ngatimaniapoto from Kawhia, Rangiaohia and Upper Waipa. They marched up to the flag staff, three abreast, wearing favors to distinguish the respective tribes. On reaching the flagstaff one stepped forward, and with a clear distinct voice said, ' Houou.r all men, love the brotherhood ; Fear God ; Honour the King ;' then turning to the train he said 'Honour the King :' all responded by uncovering and kneeling. The leader of the Ngatiruanui then read from a memorandum book an address beginning, ' G King, live for ever : thou art bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh ; thou art a saviour for u_, our wives, our children,' &c, &c, and went on to pledge their allegiance. The leader of the Ngatiawa then read a similar address. ' Honour the King' was again demanded, and a bw salaam, aud a general cry of hear, hear, hear, was the response" (150). 108. It was while this deputation was in ttie Waikato that news arrived of the breaking out of hostilities at the Waitara. This fact will explain much that would otherwise be unintelligible in the speeches of the Chiefs at Ngaruawahia, from which I shall presently give extracts!. " The Chiefs of the Ngatimaniapoto tiibe were no doubt encouraged to make their revolutionary proposals and to use. the strong language contained in their speeches, by the speeches of two Waikato. Chiefs, Te Wetini and Rararrroa, who spoke the preceding day, when the Ngatiruanui and Ngatiawa presented their, allegiance to Potatau" (150 a). 109. Before quoting from the Native speeches, I beg to refer to the following further particulars as to the purposes of the Land League : — " These opponents [to Land sales] pushed their views, and sought to make it Te Tikanga a te Iwi (the Law of the Tribe) that no individual or family should alienate land without the consent of the whole tribe. To make (he law popular and binding, they determined on a more general meeting, and to invite all the tribes along the coast to join them in this measure. * * * This was the origin of the notorious Taranaki Latid League, which evidently contains the elements of the present

••TKRNOr's DESPATCH. 4th Dec. 1860.

(146) Hadfield, App. E. 15.

(147) Resolution of House of Representatives, Sess. Pap. Gen. Assembly, 1860.

(148) Addrest, Legislative Council, Sess. Pap. Gen. Assembly, 1860.

(149) Resolution, Conference of Chiefs. In Maori Messenger, August 18 SO.

(150) Buddie. App. E. 5.

(159 a) Hid.