E—No. 9 Sec. III.

asked me to appoint other officers : viz , two heads for the runanga, a second magistrate, five policemen, and there was some mention made of a secretary—in all ten officers for the government of fifty persons. I said that I should do no such tiling. They seemed very much disappointed, and complained that I was treating" them much less favourably than other tribes hnd bepn treated; they particularly instanced Meremere, where, they said, the tribe was a smaller one than their own. They next asked that the carrying cf the mail should be given to them instead of the Rangiaowhia Natives, and they offered to take it on horseback instead of by canoe; I said they must make application to Mr. Morgan, who had the management of the mails. Then they asked for a Queen's flag. They were told that the best way to show their zeal for the Queen was by obeying her laws, and that if they did so perhaps at some future time the Governor would give them a flag as a testimony to their loyalty. Lastly they expressed a desire to sell an acre and a half of land to a Mr. Oldfield, a European trader who has been for some time resident at Kahumatuku, and asked what officer of the Government conducted land sales at the present time; I promised to write for information on this subject to the Government Mr. Clarke and I hnd a lorg private talk with Hona, who appears to be a reasonable and tolerably intelligent man. He said that his tribe was very urgent to have more officers appointed, and was much disappointed by my refusing to do so. He was told that it was absurd to suppose that more than one magistrate was necessary for fifty persons, and that if more were appointed it could only be to bribe them. I gavehim a written declaration to the following effect: — " We, whose names aie annexed, are willing to adopt European laws, as laws for our guidance. We have elected Hona Te Kotuku to be our Magistrate, and we will abide by his decisions":— and told htm to get all his hapu to sign it, and that he should then be appointed an Assessor, but he would have more work than the government of 50 men. He acknowleged the reasonableness of this and seemed satisfied. I have, &c, J. E. Gorst. The Hon. Attorney-General, &c, &c, ' &c.

No. 4. PAKT OF THE JOURNAL OF J. E. GORST, ESQ. Otawhao, May 28th, 1862. SlB,— I beg to enclose a portion of my official diary, for the information of Government. I remain, &c, The Hon. the Attorney-General. J. E. Gorst.

Journal. Monday, May 12th —I rode over to Kihikihi to tisit Patena, the chief who ordered us to quit the district in February last. He Im been very ill wilh a disease something like scurvy ; his body was covered with red blotches and his gums were in a state of dreadful ulceration. We had a lon<>talk. He began on the subject of mails, and particularly of the Ahuriri mail, which the Kihikihi Natives have lately stopped. To this proceeding he is strongly opposed, though he himself stopped the Taranaki mail when it was first sent. He gave two reasons : —1., that Potatau had always said the Ahuriri mail was to go ; 2, that when mails had been once permitted, it was wrong to stoo them: thus it would not be right, he said, to stop the Taranaki mail now. Just so, when I first came into the district he fully intended to send me away, but his attempt was condemned by my friends William Thompson and Tumuhuia, and so now nothing would induce him to renew it, though the Runnnga of Tamahere had very recently requested him to do so; it was nnt Thompson wbo had requested hinC but some others. He appeared much affronted at everybody, disposed to grumble, and very communicative. He was determined to lease his lands in spite of all Rewi might say to the contrary. He did not like the way the King movement was being carried ou ; formerly there were three •' kni-whakahaere" for the King—Wetini, Rewi, and Nehemia; now there were ever so many more—bad men, bigamists like Tumuhuia; whom he would not aeknouledge. All the Kihikihi people had gone down to Hauraki; the people of Coromandel had asked them to come and hold a committee about the gold, and they had gone to do so. He hoped I would not be deceived by any one who enma to tell me he was for tho Queen ; they were only, as he had said before, greedy for our money, and all were determined to oppose the Government Tuesday, May loth. —Mr. Clarke went with some medicine to Patena, but did not much out of him, as the house was full of other Natives. He fell in, however, with William K?Dg, who told him that Rewi and he were going down to Taranaki to oultiva'e At the Waiiara, and that if a shot were fired there the Natives would rise all over the island. Rewi is at present absent at Hauraki. Wednesday, May 14th.—Hemara paid a visit here to-day. He is one of the Native! whom Dr. Hochstetter took to Europe, and at present acts as commander of the forces to Reihann at Wataroa. He is young, intelligent, soft, and very communicative. He told us in the most innocent manner how his friend YV illiam Toetoe is engaged in making powder. Hemara has recently been employed with

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UPPER WAIKATO.