E.-No. 3 .

,of the wild natives (Upper Wairoa) came to be introduced to me, a ceremony deferred till then, which was midnight. lam bound to say, however, that two awkward questions arose, one about Mr. Brown's grant of land for his house, made to the Queen by Kopu. The other, a distinct request that 1 would lay down a rule for repeated cases of adultery by the same woman, as the minister refused them a divorce. In the fir.st instance I said I wished to raise no question about land. That Mr Brown had explained his part of the transaction of the 40 acres. It was clear the real owners, or chief owners, had given it to the Queen for a magistrate's residence; that tiiere was no place for him to go else. That ii would be very inconvenient for them to go to Mohaka by the hills to liave their cases heard. But that if they scrupled to do the very little iii their power towards maintaining the magistrate, he should live at Mohaka, for he could not live at any chief's kainga without being suspected of leaning too much on his side. To be satisfactory to all there should be no ground for supposing that the law was not equal to all, and so on. As regards adultery, a crime especially common at Wairoa, where children are constantly married at eight and ten years old by their parents, with the aid of a Maori clergyman, I really did not know what to answer. Of course I gave some kind of reply, to the effect that it was not worth while quarrelling about a worthless woman, for 1 found they were then taking sides about a Maori Helen, who had been abducted, and forcibly protected from those who tried to bring her back. This was her fourth " faux pas," and she was surely unworthy of so much disturbance. But I could not reach them on this pomt. They wished me to sanction a system of divorce; to institute some law by which they could be married again by the clergyman. This I believe, under existing laws, tobe impracticable ; but I cannot learn here exactly. The Maori idea of adultery differs so widely from ours, and he is so accustomed to perpetual litigation on that subject, that he judges law a good deal by the way it grapples that crime. I should feel obliged if you could give me some sketch of the right course in answering natives on that subject. Kopu said that he, like all the rest in the Heretaunga, were trapped some years ago into accepting the king. He thought I was very good not to disturb people about it. They were ashamed of the Waikatos and their doings. But tlie letter in which they said that they accepted Potatau as Maori king, also said that it was never to be a cause of quarrel with the Pakeha. That it had become one in Waikato ; so he would have nothingmore to do with it. He saw the advantages of our laws, and was a. Queen man now himself. Ifl told him to fetch water he would. That others might perhaps still continue to call them selves king's men, who felt as he did, but were ashamed to recant. That big Henare (Te Apatere) had recanted I had told them, and they knew he had before he died. There was no use going on with it. Others spoke less positively, but to the same effect. I think they all seemed willing to obey the law. Of those present COO were guests. It was the largest meeting ever held at Wairoa of late years. The guests had never before been present when my predecessor visited 'Wairoa. They promised to stop no more travellers, and laid the blame on the Uriweras and on some Pakeha gold seekers. I have, &c, The Honourable the Colonial Secretary, Auckland. Or. S. Whitmobe. Enclosure 2 in No. 17. THE CIVIL COMMISSIONEB, NAPIER, TO THE COLONIAL SECRETABT, AUCKLAND. Civil Commissioner's Office, Napier, January 27, 1864. Sib, — It has come to my knowledge that the numbers of natives from the East Coast of the tribes * Ngatiporo Apanuis tribe, Uriwe . named in the margin* lately gone to "Waikato amount to 1,370 men. Taupo natives. This information lias been given me by a relative of Karaitiana. Others from the country between all( i by his direction great efforts have been made to gain recruits from the Apanuis and lauranga. the N gat ikahungunu tribes, and hapus, but I believe without success. I cannot help suggesting that the importance at this moment of having reliable information from Poverty Bay (which is the most important place on the East Coast) renders it very advisable to send some trustworthy person to reside there. The people are not, I believe, compromised in tlie rebellion, but from that place information could . be procured as to those who are, of tlie neighbouring tribes. The population of the Waiapu valley is all compromised, I think. 1 feel confident that it is now quite possible to keep the whole Ngatucahungunu tribe on the best terms with Europeans, partly through their run leases, partly through their old feuds with the Waikatos, and partly by fear of losing their lands. "With your permission I should like to send Mr. Campbell, N.M. for Ngaruroro, whose duties are not very heavy, to make a report of the disposition of the natives at Poverty Bay, and to return in a fortnight. I would, however, prefer to have a, regular correspondent at that place, for the natives here are much influenced by those of Poverty Bay, where there are two parties among the natives which require a good deal of watching. A chief named Itangihiroa has been making inflammatory speeches in this district. The natives told him that they would not allow him to disturb the peace, and Kenata threatened to kill him if he continued to preach rebellion either here or elsewhere, for he would light on our side. Karaitiana spoke to the same purpose, If I see it can be done with safety, I shall, with your permission, seize the first offender of this kind, if I can bring his crime home to him clearly. I have, &c, The Hon. the Colonial Secretary, Auckland. (_ S. Whitmoke.

15

THE NATIVE INSURRECTION.