AFFAIRS AT TAURANGA.

59

A.—No. 20.

The reason for my going to that place was because Mr. Mackayand I heard that the Pirirakau and Ngatiporou were there. Mr. Mackay directed me to go, accompanied by Te Tercni (Ti Oriori). I went, accompanied by a policeman, a relative of mine. When 1 went to that people, I said to them : " Make peace, and give up your arms to me." They replied that they would not agree to give up their arms. I said to them : " Return to Tauranga, to the place where tho fighting was commenced." This was their word: " The fighting was not their own, it was Matutaera's and William Waharoa'a (W. Thompson's); they were simply workmen (instruments)." I cannot tell you all they said. I have also heard that your letter has reached them, requesting that peace may be made, but they will not consent to your letter. As it is, let us consider a plan for that work. Enough. From your friend, To Mr. Clarke. Te Raihi.

No. 60. Copy of a Letter from Mr. Clarke to the Hon. J. C. Riciimoxd. (D. 840.) Civil Commissioner's Office, Sir,-- Tauranga, 25th April, 1867. In reply to your letter of the 30th January last, No. 42-2, requesting me to furnish the Government with a report showing the exact relation of the Pirirakau to the Ngaiterangi, and the nature of their claims in the purchased block, I have the honor, in the first place, to copy an extract from my report of 23rd Juno. 18G5, D. 50, as it appears to me to be to the point: —" Most of the difficulties in settling the claims in this district will arise from the fact that the Ngaiterangi claim only by conquest. They did not destroy the original inhabitants, but allowed them to remain as cultivators of the soil (not as slaves) subject to the conquerors. " Some of the principal chiefs took the best? of the women as wives, and in some cases some of tho Ngaiterangi women married men of the conquered tribes. '" The pure Ngaiterangi are now in tho minority. The issue of these intermarriages have, when they have thought fit, ignored their claims through Ngaiterangi, and have fallen back upon their claims derived from the original occupants. This has been the cause of much bloodshed, even down to a very late date (18G0), and is now frequently the cause of angry debate. If any trouble arises in carrying out the plans of the Government, it will be from those who support the claims of the original inhabitants, many of whom have never come in. This is the case of the Pirirakau, they claim to bo descended from the Ngateranginui, the tribe conquered by the Ngaiterangi. Their principal men, Rawiri Tata, Rnteuia, and others, are Ngaitcrangi really, but they think that by claiming through Ranginui they will be able to oust all other claimants. As Ngaiterangi they must claim through Moananui, Tomika Te Mutu, and Hori Tupaea. '; Many instances can be adduced to prove that they considered themselves at one time subject to Hori Tupaea, and that his consent had to be first obtained before any steps could be taken in which a question of land was involved. When they wished to build a mill on the Te Puna River, Hori Tupaea objected, and they at once gave up the idea. " Maungapohatu, the old chief of the Pirirakau, has advanced claims through Ngaiterangi, and they have been recognized. He received his share of the deposit of the £1,000 paid to Ngaitcrangi in 1861, and he has signed the deed of conveyance to the Crown since that time. "The Ngaiterangi do not recognize the Pirirakau claims as descended from Ranginui, to any land in the purchased block. The men who assume to have claims are Rawiri Tata, Te Kepa, Kahukohi, and one or two more, and then only in small patches between Te Puna and Waipapa." I must apologize for having neglected to reply to this letter before, but the late operations in these districts have prevented my giving the subject proper attention. I have, &c, H. T. Clarke, The Hon. tho Native Minister, Wellington. Civil Commissioner.

No. 61. Copy of a Letter from Mr. Clarke to the Hon. J. C. RicroioifD. (D. 342.) Civil Commissioner's Office, Sir, — Tauranga, 20th April, ISG7. Since the date of my last general report (No. D. 333) date 12th instant, very little has occurred of an active character. Rumours are almost daily brought in respecting the forces and intentions of the hostile Natives, the general tenor of which seem to confirm the report that the Ngatihana, the Ngatiraukawa, the Ngatiporou, and Upper Thames Natives, are collecting for the purpose, it is said, of attacking Tauranga in strong force. The numbers of the enemy are variously stated at from 500 to 1,000. But after going over the different tribes said to be about to take part in the proposed invasion, I cannot make more than 400, including those Natives from this district who would certainly join in the expedition. A settler residing on the Coast (Mr. McMillan) has, this week, arrived- from Whangamata via Mataora and Katikati. From him I have been able to obtain various pieces of information derived from the Natives residing in those localities, and also, from his own personal observation. Ho tells me that the TJrungawera are residing at Otahu in peace, but that some six or seven of their young men have joined the hostile Natives now said to be collecting in large numbers at Ohinemuri. That the Koheriki, a branch of the Ngatipaoa, formerly residing near the Wairoa in the neighbourhood of