A.—N0.,4.

short time however sufficed to effect the object, and on the conclusion of the campaign, in which the rebels suffered heavily, the greater part, with Te Warn at their head, came in and took the oath of allegiance and delivered up their arms. A striking change now took place in the behaviour of the Natives, who seemed to be. quite aware of the futility of coping with the Europeans with any chance of success, and from being a turbulent independent race they quietly subsided with a few exceptions into most orderly and loyal subjects. I had, however, about this time to fight against two great evils that had taken root among the Natives —namely, drunkenness and thieving, but knowing that I must make a determined stand against such practices I at once did so, and being most ably supported by Kopu, I soon put a stop, in a great measure, to the latter ; the former, although sl'ill existing to a certain degree, is not probably worse than in most places so thickly populated as the Wairoa. It may not be out of place hero to remark that in addition to the beneficial results of our success against the rebel Natives in the campaign above alluded to, I attribute many of the changes that have taken place in the district to the assistance I always received from our lamented friend Kopu, whose loyalty and good feeling towards the Europeans cannot be too much commented upon. With regard to the physical condition of the Natives, as compared with past years, I have the honor to forward the enclosed report from Dr. Scott which gives every information on the subject. Their moral condition, I. am sorry to say, is bad (although perhaps not worse than in many places in New Zealand) from the following causes : —Firstly, from having been for many years without a resident European clergyman, a want, however, which I am glad to say is shortly to bo supplied. Secondly, from the example set them by the original European population consisting of whalers and men of that stamp ; and lastly, from the demoralizing effect generally produced by locating troops among an almost purely Native population. As far as I am able to judge of the progress and ultimate tendency of Hauhauism I should say that the prompt measures taken by Government towards its suppression have had the desired effect, and I consider Hauhauism in this district a thing of the past, the Natives having, I think, too much good sense even to attempt a revival of the same absurdity. Touching the feelings of Natives respecting the war, I may, I think, safely say that they would bo quite as much pleased as the Europeans, at the prospect of a permanent peace being established throughout the Island, being perfectly sick of war and its unavoidable consequences, at the same time they look upon the departure of the troops with indifference, never having had much to do with them in this district. The only occasion they have been brought into collision with the Imperial troops was during the .King movement, when a party of about seventy men under To Waru were defeated at Orakau, bringing back only thirteen of their number, the larger portion of those being also wounded. I may state also that they appear, as a rule, to have a greater dread of meeting the Colonial than the Imperial forces, having suffered greater losses (considering the numbers engaged) from the former than from the latter. It must be understood that I allude to the Natives of this district only, not having had opportunities of judging the opinions of those of the other parts of the Island. With regard to the working of recent legislation respecting Native Lands, I am rather diffident in expressing a decided opinion on the subject till I have had further opportunities of seeing how it acts. I can only say that frequent applications are being made for investigating titles in order to procure Crown Grants. The Native Representation Act, I may safely say, has given unqualified satisfaction, the only difficulty being the usual tribal jealousy which naturally exists, but which, however, as far as this district is concerned, is very trifling. I. have already alluded to the subject of education in a former report, and I think that with assistance of the clergymen appointed to the district, that the most favorable results may be looked forward to in that respect. I find it rather difficult to arrive at a correct approximate of the numbers of the Natives, I think, however, I may say that the population (Native) would be somewhere between three and four thousand, including men, women, and children. I will endeavor, however, with as little delay as possible, to arrive at a more definite estimate than the one now given. Any information not embodied in this report that may occur to you, I shall bo happy to render to the best of my ability. S. Deigiitojt, Wairoa, Bth April, 18G8. Eesident Magistrate.

3. Deighton, Esq.— continued.

Enclosure in No. 10. Dr. Scott to Captain Deighton, E.M. Sir ,— To Wairoa, 7th April, 1868. Inlaying before you my opinion of the present health and future physical prospects of the Natives of this district as compared with for seven years, and more particularly while I have had peculiar facilities for observation (since 1862), I would state primarily, that as aborigines, 1 think they were subject to a great variety of scrofulous ailments, necessarily arising from their habits of life, among which, neglect of personal cleanliness, insufficiency of clothing, and above all, the inhalation (in their badly ventilated whares) of impure tainted air, unfit for respiration. Thus, pre-European, ngahe (phthisis), and pukaki (diseased lymphatics), existed among, them as also at this time. I find.it extremely difficult to arrive at any definite pathological knowledge respecting the Natives at this period, diseases being attributed for the most part to supernatural evil influences. The arrival of Europeans (traders from Sydney) at the northern parts of the district (Waikokopu), did not improve the sanitary condition of the Natives, as then the venereal disease (under the name of pakiwhara) became known for the first time, although syphilis, under the name of " tokatoka," or "paipai," is an original Maori disease. 5

17

THE TIME OE SIR G. E. BOWEN'S ARRIVAL.