E—No. 7

tin, R. Taylor.

invited me to open the Runang.i. I exhorted them to take no steps at present, that if they had any subjects of grievance to submit them to Sir G. Grey, that now he was returned as their Governor and they were all well acquainted with his sentiments towards their race it would be unreasonable to discuss them now. This (hey seem to have agreed to. I likewise expressed my hope that they would not allow their old (iovernor to come back without receiving a letter of welcome, and this I believe will be done; indeed 1 felt much surprised at the very quiet and moderate tone of all the speakers. It i« evident they all view Sir G. Grey's re<ippointmeut as a good sign and omen of peace. Nearly a thousand were present. Should I notice anything worth communicating, 1 shall not fail doing so. I have, &c, Richa&d Taylor. The Native Secretary. No. 14. WAIRARAPA TO TURANGA. REPORTS FROM HERBERT VfARDELL, ESQ., RESIDENT MAGISTRATE. Wellington, 23rd August, 1861, Sir, — I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your circular letter of the 7th instant, requesting me to furnish, for the information of His Excellency the Governor, a general report on the present state of the Natives in districts with which I am acquainted. In consequence of my abseuce at Waiiarapa when the Auckland mail arrived here, lam prevented by want of time from furnishing such a report by the present opportunity; it shall however be forwarded by next mail. I must confine myself for the present to remarking that I have found a different state of feeling amongst the " King" Natives at Wairarapa since the receipt of His Excellency's Declaration to the AVaikato tribes, to that which I have before reported as existing. That declaration appears to have brought clearly before the Natives the troubles which a perseverance in the King movement must bring upon them, and they have assumed a more thoughtful manner, and some have shown a disposition, to search for the means of bringing their movement into harmony with the Queen's supremacy, instead of maintaining, as they did not long since, their right to a perfect independence. I believe this, however, to be the result of their being yet in ignorance of the course the VVaikato Tribes intend to pursue, and of a consequent hesitation to commit themsplvtu to any strong opinion on the subject ; and, not to indicate any change of feeling on the part of the leaders of their party. I have, &c. The Native Secretary, Herbert S. Wardell, Auckland. Resident Magistrate. Wellington, 20th September, 1861. Sir, — In compliance with His Excellency's request, conveyed in your circular letter of the 7th ill*., to which I replied shortly on the 22nd ult., I have the honor to report as follows:— My acquaintance with Natives is confined chiefly to the Tribes occupying those portions of the East Coast situate between Table Cape and East Cape to the North, and between Tukarae Head, Palliser Bay, and the boundary of Hawke's Bay Province to the South. In 1858 I furnished to the Government an estimated return of the Native population in the Northern or Turanga District, which was as follows:- - liQngoivhakaatu. —Turanga, including 400 Ngatikahungunu at Table Cape ... 1900 Titangahauiti. —Puatai, Tologa a d Anaura 700 ZJrungawcra. —Tokomaru and Waipiro 500 Ngatiporou. —Waipiro to Hick's Bay, Long Point 3700 I included by error in the Ngatikahungunu at Table Cape about 100 Ngapuhi, who are residing at Nukutaurua, which place they obtained by conquest. The numbers are now probably not so many —for there can be no doubt that the Native population is decreasitig rapidly. I estimate the number of tlie Ngatikahungunu tribe, between Tukarae Head and Hawke's Bay Province, at about 600. This tribe extends from Tukurae to Turanga. The Rongowhakaatu is a branch of this tribe, which is also connected with Titangahauiti, Urungawera, and Ngatiporou; indeed, each of these tribes is claimed by Ngatikahungunu as divisions of it, they being all descended from Kahungunu. I regret that, in consequence of having lost a portion of my private memoianda, I am unable to give the particulars of the subdivisions of the tribes in the Northern District, which I should have been otlrerwise able to furnish: such information as I have, however, together with the particulars of the subdivisions of Ngatikahungunu at Wairarapa, I enclose in a tabular form. On receiving my commission as a Resident Magistrate, I was, in 1855, apppointed to Turanga, On my arrival there in that year, I found that the Natives denied the right of the Government to send a Magistrate amongst them, on the ground that, as they had not sold their land to the Queen,

11. Wardell,E.%q.

30

REPORTS ON THE STATE OF THE NATIVES