F.—No. 1

PAPERS RELATIVE TO SURRENDER

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of this work is? No, the magnitude of it can only be imagined or arrived at by treading it with the feet. llth June. —Ascended Whakapunake, and camped that night on the top of it; as soon as the top was reached, parties of scouts were sent out on both sides; the main body remained on top of the hill, keeping watch all night for any signs of fire, but nothing was seen. 15th June. —Descended, and travelled along the base of the hill, on the side nearest to the Hangaroa river, the expeditions having joined again, as nothing had been seen; but, in case anything is seen, they will be divided again. When Te Whenuakura was reached, the expedition started to ascend the middle of AVhakapunake to an old pa called Te Rakiroa. Search was here made for the places where pigeons were snared, for this was a favorite resort in former times for catching pigeons feeding on toromiro berries ; a further search will be made to-morrow higher up the hill, and if there are no traces to be seen, we will start up the Ruakituri, searching all the kaiangas on the way on to Papuni. This is all the information for the present, but a further report will be forwarded as we proceed. From your Friend, Major Ropata.

No. 45. His Honor J. D. Ormond to the Hon. the Defence Minister. Sir,— Napier, 30th June, 1871. I have the honor herewith to forward the rough diary kept by Captain Porter, of the march of the Ngatiporou expeditionary force under Major Ropata Waha-Waha, through the Urewera country in March and April last, in search of Te Kooti. Although the expedition failed to capture Te Kooti himself, yet his chosen hiding place was discovered, his kaingas and food destroyed, and the people still adhering to him scattered ; whilst the continued visits of our forces to the Urewera fastnesses, have had great effect upon the sections of the Urewera tribe who have not been brought into contact with us by location on the coast, and were still keeping aloof. A perusal of Captain Porter's diary discloses the great hardships and privations endured by the force during its long and difficult march, and clearly shows that no effort was spared by Major Ropata and his men to secure the object they were employed for. As I happened to be at Turanganui when the force came out of the bush, I am able to state, from personal observation, that the men of the force bore unmistakeable evidence of the hardships they had undergone. Although the diary is lengthy, I would recommend that it be published with the other papers for Parliament, in order that some idea may be formed of the work which Major Ropata's force has been engaged on. The diary has been laid by for some time owing to unusual pressure of business in this office. I have, &c, The Hon. the Defence Minister, Wellington. J. D. Oemond.

Enclosure in No. 45. Captain Porter to His Honor J. D. Ormond. Sir— Napier, 10th April, 1871. I have the honor to enclose herewith copy of rough diary kept by me during the march of the Ngatiporou expeditionary force to Ruatahuna, and in quest of Te Kooti. I endeavored to curtail its length, but could not do so without throwing out matter which may be useful for future reference. Nearly all the country we passed during our wandering march has been hitherto unexplored by Europeans, and but little known to Maoris. The names of all the prominent points, such as mountains, rivers, kaingas, &c , will be found correct, as I took particular care to ascertain proper names. I have, &c, T. W. Porter, J. D. Ormond, Esq., Captain and Adjutant East Coast District. General Government Agent, Napier.

Sub-enclosure to Enclosure in No. 45. Captain Porter's Diary. 14:th Jauuary, 1871.—The men comprising the expeditionary force, 170 in number, are now fairly on the march, with a prospect of a long fatiguing chase before them, only two other Europeans besides myself accompanying them, one of them, Shuker, being an old Forest Ranger, the other, Blackstock, formerly one of the Hawke's Bay volunteers. -After a war dance, as usual before the marching of a Taua, the men departed from Waerangahika in very good spirits, and seeing them fairly on the road, I returned to Gisborne to procure some breech-loading ammunition to follow on to-morrow. 15th January, Sunday.—Having a severe attack of illness I could not start after the expedition. AVeather very wet; do not think the men can proceed. 16th to ISth January. —Though still suffering from severe illness, I started to-day to rejoin Ropata; on reaching the settlement of Ormond, received information that Te Kooti had made an appearance at Tapitaho and had killed five persons. Accompanied by as many mounted men as I could obtain, I proceeded by Patutahi, where we were reinforced by a few Ngatiporou (grass cutting), and having visited the place found the statement to be false; great alarm was caused by this rumour, and a number of settlers abandoned their houses.