E—No. 9 See. V.

Under these circumstances, I beg to recommend that the gun-boat "Caroline" should either cruise in the vicinity of the East Cape, or visit it at short intervals, in order to afford an opportunity of carrying the law into effect. From the fact of there being no harbour, the class of vessels referred to lie off and on, rarely coming to anchor, thereby precluding the possibility of communicating with them except through the medium of their own boats. I have, &c, The Hon. the Attorney-General, William B. Baker, R.M. &c, &c.

No. 5. REPORT OF MEETING OP RUNANGA AT WAI0MATATIN1. District of Waipu. Resident Magistrate's Office, Rangitukia, 17th February, 1862. Sir,— I have the honor to inform you that on Tuesday, the 11th instant, I attended a Itunauga at Waiomatatini (a small village about five miles up the Waisipu valley) which had been convened by certain Natives who had manifested a decidedly disaffected spirit during my recent absence from the district. It will be seen upon reference to my letter of the 4th ultimo, my journal and report and that I have already informed the Government of the fact that Te Popata Kauri, one of the Assessors appointed four years ago, was said to have a decided leaning to the Maori King movement, and that, notwithstanding this, I had for the reasons therein stated, paid to him the sum of £10 (ten pounds) authorized by his Excellency the Governor as a gratuity for his past services. On the day following the date of my embarkation to return to Auckland, much dissatisfaction was expressed by some of the Natives at this money having been given to Popata, on the ground that Te Popata's services had not been worthy of such an acknowledgment. Others again raised the suspicions of the wavering to the highest pitch, by averring that the money was a bait intended to bribe Te Popata, to acquiesce in the sale or surrender of their land. Unfortunately Te Popata was induced to assert that such was the real object of the gratuity, and the money was sent back to Te Mokena, who represented the "taha Kawana" or loyal side. Finding that such was the state of affairs, I lost no time in going to visit Te Popata and his party, by whom I was civilly received, and invited to attend a Runanga which was to be held on the following day. Very little was said by either of us relative to the subject in hand, as I wished it to be freely and publicly discussed, knowing how deep an impression the charge of bribery had made upon the minds of the people. I took occasion however to remind Te Popata of the circumstances under which I had given him the money, and how carefully I had explained to him that it was a reward for services rendered or supposed to have been rendered, in his capacity as Native Assessor. On the following day, February 11 th, I proceeded to Waiomatatini, accompanied by Te Mokena Kohere, principal Assessor, the Reverend Rota Waiota, and the Rev. Raniera Rawhia, the latter of whom, from his rank as Chief of that part of Waiapu, and the influence attached to his sacred office, was of much service in allaying the excitement and suspicions to which the insinuation of " tango whenua" (signing or taking of land) had given rise. His residence for some time at St. Stephen's near Auckland, and the knowledge thereby acquired by him of the usages of the Pakeha, enabled him to point out the absurdity of their proceedings, and the groundlessness of their suspicions. In reply to the speakers who represented the " taha maori" (Native side), I assured the meeting that the Government had no desire to interfere with their lands any more than to suggest such measures and regulations as should best conduce to the settlement of the frequent disputes arising out of their ill-defined Maori tenure; that the Government, acting on the principle that "the labourer is worthy of his hire," had directed me to pay Te Popata for his services as an Assessor, an office which they well knew he had held for four years; that I indignantly and positively denied the charge of any attempt to bribe Te Popata, either as a private individual or a servant of the Government, and pointed out to them that their jealousy of each other, and groundless suspicious as to the intentions of the Government, were the root of all the excitement and disaffection throughout thu country. I am happy to be able to report that with one or two exceptions the people seemed perfectly satisfied, and that the money which was the alleged cause of the disaffection was received when tendered to them by the Rev. Eaniera Rawhia, in whose hands I had placed it. I have since received a message from them to the effect that they had "huri mai" (returned) to their allegiance to the Queen, and had given up the idea of placing themselves under the direction of the Waikato Kingparty. The prime mover in this agitation is a young man r.ajned Hori Te Aunoanoa (nicknamed Whekana, from his noisy bombastic manner.) He has been for some time past acting as Te Popata's deputy, and as such has made a great demonstration of carrying out the law according to his own idea of its principles and mode of operation. Indignant that Te Popata should have received the reward of his (Hori's) services, and feeling his inability to cope with him a3 a private individual, he raised

7

EAST CAPE.