The Conquering Road.

As time went on and all overtures were rejected, Tamehana and his fellow-Maoris profoundly distrusted the pakeha, and with good reason, as Sir John Gorst set forth in his book “The Maori King,” published in 1864. They had seen too much of the white Government's methods to expect any good thing to come out of the colonial Legislature, the majority of whose members were strongly anti-Maori. They had a few friends, such as Sir William Martin, Chief Justice, and Bishop Selwyn. Their distrust was deepened by the construction of the Great South Road towards the Waikato, which had been begun, as an obviously military measure, long before the war actually began. The Waikato chiefs regarded this road, made by General Cameron's troops, much in the same light that the Scottish chieftains did the strategic road constructed through the Highlands two centuries ago by General Wade's redcoats. The clansmen resented those roadmaking activities, they did not want their fastnesses laid bare and an easy passage made for invasion. They regarded bridges as unnecessary and effeminate. Exactly in that way did the Maoris look on Grey's and Cameron's forest-felling and road-forming.

“What do we want of roads?” they asked. “A foot track is all we want to drive our pigs to market, and there are the rivers for our canoes.” So when Tamehana and his people saw the redoubt-building and the new road they formed the opinion, and it was soon confirmed, that the Government intended eventually to invade the Waikato, no matter what the Maori did.