E.—No. 19,

II. Pakehas living in Native districts. Hoera, of Ngatiporou read the Kawakawa laws, one ■of which expressed Sir R. Bethell's " true idea of the supremacy." " To cut out the tongue of any minister who treated the authority of the Maori King with •contempt, and any Pakeha who treated the King with contempt to be expelled." Wirihana Toatoa (Ngatikahungunu), objected to such laws as promoting division between them and the Pakehas, describing their own position among the settlers at Ahuriri, and the peaceable way in which they lived together. " Our King is set up —love, " Our King is set up—esteem, " Our King ia set up —unity. •' Our King cannot be set up by division." At this stage of the meeting, about one on Saturday, I asked William Thompson when the greater questions, Waitara, Tataraimaka, and the Governor's plans would be discussed. He said that his wish had been overruled, and they would not be discussed at all. I said, then I have nothing more that I care to hear at this meeting; and went away. The Pakeha question, I afterwards heard, was discussed in a friendly spirit; and it was agreed that Pakehas were at liberty to stay where they are. But I did not myself hear the ■decision.

Uh Dai/, October 11th. Early this morning I wrote to Matutaera, W. Thompson, Rewi, and Karaitiana, proposing three questions, and asking for an audience : I. There should be one law. II. That Waitara be investigated. III. And that Tataraimaka be occupied by the Pakehas who own it. I received answers from the King's Council and W. Thompson, granting the request. About nine, the King came down with his guard, and many old. men spoke and sung their songs; about 9.30 the King came out of his tent, and made the shortest of all short king's speeches: " Welcome my parents. " Welcome my elder and younger brothers ; welcome all the tribes of New Zealand. " Hold fast to religion. " Hold fast to love. The third co-efficient (Ture) was dropped, probably as involving an inconvenient question, on which he did not wish to express an opinion. I was then called upon to speak, and spoke to my three points for about a quarter of an hour, after which I sat down; the opposition took the lead. Hoera of Ngatiporou, brought up his party to the negative pole for Waitara, calling for the women to swell the number. Ngaiterangi came up in a body, and did the same. Then both parties came forward again and sat down in a body and fired off a Ngeri. Hauraki then came forward 14 or 15, and sat in the middle as neutrals, some of my friends claimed them as affirmatory votes, but their old leader rose and said, " No, we are sitting in the centre (between the two parties) ; there is death here, and death there." —(Pointing to the two sticks.) An old man came up to me and said, " Do you consent that the King shall stand ?" This being repeated thrice, I was obliged to rise and answer: " I consent to there being one law, whether by the Queen,1 by the Governor, or by Matutaera. Whether carried out by a Pakeha or Maori Eunanga. I consent to there being one law for us all. This is what I consent to." The speaker was not satisfied with this, but remarked that I called him Matutaera, and not the King, and defined his own shade of opinion thus — " Let there be one law, but let the authority be divided in two." Many speakers followed, chiefly on the opposition side; among them W. Thompson, whose whole apology for an acknowleged change of opinion, was the " Deception of the Ministers, the occupation of the la, and the Governor's letter to Matutaera," (" That he would be punished by-and-by.") I was obliged to deny the charge of " deceit," and to remind him that from the time of my meeting him at the Hui at Ihumatao till now, I had never ceased to object to the name of king. Voters then began to come forward in favour of the Waitara enquiry. Heta, Tauranga Hoera, teacher of Ngaruawahia. Paora, brother of Wetini Taiporutu, with a good sensible speech. A native Assessor, whose name I did not learn. Old Kihirini came and sat by me, and said he would have voted for me, but for the occupation of the Ia.

11

NATIVE MEETING AT PEEIA.