A.—No. 1.

prospect is there of a renewal of hostilities by Tawhiao and his partisans ? The Maori King now resides chiefly at a place about eighty miles south of his former capital at Ngaruawahia; and a glance at the annexed map will show that he occupies a commanding position in the centre of the island, from which he could send forth war parties in several directions, to the attack of the English settlements. 16. Respecting the probable intentions of the King Natives (as they are termed) I find conflicting opinions to exist among those best qualified to judge; and with my very short experience in this country, it would be presumptuous in me to express, or even to form as yet, any positive opinion of my own on this important question. It is, however, my duty to report that friendly Natives have sent several warnings to the Government to the effect that the King tribes are inclined to begin afresh a desultory warfare, and are waiting only for a favourable opportunity, such as would be afforded by any relaxation of vigilance on the part of the detachments of armed constabulary which now protect the settlements in the interior, or by the immediate withdrawal of the single regiment of regular troops which now garrisons the principal towns. lam further informed that the Arawas, and other tribes that have fought gallantly, and suffered much, for the Crown, are disposed to regard the entire removal of the Queen's troops with alarm and dissatisfaction ; as a sign that they can expect henceforward little moral or physical support against their hostile countrymen; and that (in their own phrase) " the " Queen is riri i. c., angry) with the Pake-has;"—-in other words, that the Imperial authorities are displeased with the Colonists. It has been represented, in short, that the loyal clans in New Zealand at the present day would view the entire withdrawal of the Imperial troops with feelings similar to those with which the Hanoverian clans in Scotland, 150 years ago, while exposed to the vengeance of their Jacobite neighbours, would have regarded the removal of the English garrisons from Inverness, Port ■William, and Stirling. 17. The latest reliable intelligence tends to show that there exists among the disaffected tribes two parties; one, headed by Tawhiao and his family and kinsmen, disposed to moderate counsels ; the other, headed by the Hauhau prophet, Hakaraia, of a more "uncompromising spirit. If Tawhiao is the Maori Saul, Hakaraia is the Maori Samuel. It will be recollected that the " King maker," Te Waharoa (William Thompson), whose mind was deeply imbued with the history and phraseology of the Old Testament, publicly justified in a letter addressed to Governor Gore Browne, in 18(50, the election of a Maori King, by citing (among other scriptural texts) Deuteronomy xvn., 15 : —" One from among thy " brethren shalt thou set king over thee ; thou mayest not set a stranger over " thee, which is not thy brother; " and many of the leading politicians of New Zealand are convinced that the King movement, in its early stages, might have been made an instrument " for elevating the Native race, by the introduction of " institutions subordinate to and in harmony with the European Government of " the Colony." It has been suggested that a Native Province might have been created, to be ruled, like the territories of the semi-independent Rajahs in India, nominally by a great Maori chief, but really by the advice and influence of a British Resident or Commissioner. All, however, appear to be now agreed that the opportunity for any arrangement of this kind has been lost; and that Tawhiao and Hakaraia are surrounded by fierce and bloody fanatics, almost resembling their Malay forefathers when "running a muck," or Highland Prophets with the "second sight," urging a foray on the Sassenach. A distinguished Colonist, who is generally believed to be more intimately acquainted with the Natives of New Zealand than any other European, lately remarked to me that one of their seers may any morning allege that he beheld in a dream the Maoris hewing the Pakehas to pieces, and that the next day a war-party of Hauhaus may rush on the nearest British settlement to prove the truth of the vision. Much loss of life and property may be inflicted by such outbreaks among the scattered homesteads in the districts bordering on the territory of the hostile tribes; but the settlers in those parts will always, as on several former occasions, assemble speedily for their own protection; and they will be supported by all the strength of the Government.

Enclosure No. 5.

See Mr. Gorst's Maori King, chap. Tiii.

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DESPATCHES FROM THE GOVERNOR OF NEW