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ledge, in connection with certain murders which were perpetrated amongst themselves by Natives in the Taranaki District during the Administration of your predecessor, and calling attention to the embarrassing position in which your Government is now placed owing to the general mistrust which is felt by the Natives in consequence of the protection enjoyed by the murderers. Although it is much to be regretted that these murders should have been committed without the punishment of the offenders, it would, I think, be now impossible to abandon the Natives, including Ihaia, one of the murderers of Katatore, who fought on the side of the Government during the late war. It is true that Katatore was caught by his enemies unarmed in consequence of a Government order prohibiting Natives from bringing arms into New Plymouth and upon Colonial land ; but, on the other hand, Rawiri, whom he killed, was, under the order of the Government, engaged in marking out what he claimed as his own land for sale to the Governor where he was killed ; and as Katatore was not meddled with after the deed, it appears to me that it would have been hardly possible to have punished the next consequence of the blood-feud, when Katatore in his turn fell into the hands of the avenger. I have, <kc, Newcastle. Governor Sir George Grey, K.C.B.

No. 139.

COPT OF DESPATCH FROM GOVERNOR SIR GEORGE GRET, K.CkB., TO IltS GRACE THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE, E.G. Government House, Auckland, 26th October, 1863. My Lord Duke, — I had the honor of receiving, on the 22nd instant, your Grace's Despatch No. 88, of the 35th of August last. I thought it my duty to communicate it at once to my Responsible Advisers, and I have accidentally learned that it has by direction of the Colonial Secretary been published and copies of it distributed to some of the Members of the General Assembly. This has been done without my having been consulted on the subject, and I have not yet been informed that it was intended to publish it, nor has a printed copy of it been sent to me. 2. I do not mention this in the way of complaint, for I am sure the Colonial Secretary has done what he thought best for the public service, and that iu not mentioning to me what he intended to do, and in not sending to me any copy of the printed paper, he merely forgot to take such steps from the pressure of other important matters \ipon his mind; but, as the Despatch has been published, and I fear that some of the remarks in it might complicate the ultimate settlement of affairs with the Natives of this country, and that one remark in it, I have no doubt unintentionally made, reflects unjustly upon myself, I have enclosed a Memorandum upon a few points in it, which, if your Grace thinks fit to read, will I am sure satisfy you. That William King gave a reason for his opposition to Te Teira selling a piece of land at the public meeting at which that chief offered it for sale, and on several occasions subsequently. That the Natives used the language which I appear to your Grace to put into their mouths, in my Despatch of the 24th of April, on many previous occasions, and that this language of theirs had been transmitted to your Grace, sometimes almost in terms of humble supplication. That the Natives had been informed, not that they were interfering to prevent a survey to ascertain the ownership of laud, but to prevent the survey of the Queen's own land, which had been acquired for Her Majesty by purchase from Teira, whose title to it had been investigated and found to be good, and was not disputed by any one. That W. King's letter to the Governor, of February, 1859, cannot be characterised as an interdict of a rebellious character, but was apparently intended to be a respectful letter. 3. I regret that several misunderstandings connected with the whole of this subject have arisen from the difficulty of the Natives making themselves thoroughly undeitstood by foreign authorities, from the figurative jj^ture of their language, from the few persons who understand it well, and from the consequent misinterpretations, omissions, or misprints, which from time to time take place in oven the most important documents. I am well aware how great a disadvantage and difficulty your Grace must labour under from this cause alone. 4. Whilst looking at papers to guide me iu writing the enclosed Memorandum, in addition to the two important misinterpretations, or omissions, which I have pointed out, I find a translation, printed for the purpose of giving information to your Grace and the General Assembly, and which was laid before that body, in which the Natives say—I presume from a misprint—that their desire was " to retain possession of the law handed down to them from their ancestors and father ;" as though they wished to abjure the Queen's laws—whilst, upon reference to the original, I find that what they said was, that " their desire was to retain possession of the land handed down to them by their ancestors and ather." I have, &c, G. Grey. His Grace the Duke of Newcastle.

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FURTHER PAPERS RELATIVE TO THE WAITARA.