Other formats

    Adobe Portable Document Format file (facsimile images)   TEI XML file   ePub eBook file  

Connect

    mail icontwitter iconBlogspot iconrss icon

An Epitome of Official Documents Relative to Native Affairs and Land Purchases in the North Island of New Zealand

Tribal War at the Bay of Islands

Tribal War at the Bay of Islands.

The war between the Bay of Island tribes under Pomare and Titore is the only one now prevailing in New Zealand, notwithstanding that many of the auxiliaries enlisted under the rival chiefs have come from considerable distances in every direction; but this does not appear to disturb the harmony of those who remain behind in their pas, although the nearest neighbours are engaged on opposite sides.

Reverting to the position in which our countrymen stand in regard to these factions, it is a remarkable fact, and worthy of imitation by more civilized Powers, that the hostile forces have repeatedly passed through the very enclosures of the Missionaries at Paihia, on their way to and from the field of battle, without molesting a single article belonging to the whites and in one instance the two parties, by mutual consent, removed the scene of action to a greater distance from our settlements, lest a white man should by accident be injured. How long this feeling may continue, it is impossible to say. I only know that those who have everything at stake—their lives, their families and their properties—entertain not the slightest apprehension of any change.

I heartily wish I could report as favourably of their situation with respect to the abandoned ruffians from our own country who have, from time to time, found their way to the Bay of Islands. From these, indeed, there is much to be dreaded. An instance of a most daring burglary occurred in my absence on the East Coast, in which a British settler was extensively robbed, his life attempted, and the females of his family most brutally treated. I am happy to say, two out of four of the perpetrators of this outrage have been apprehended and banished by the Natives, and were brought to Sydney in this ship. I sincerely hope the 9th of George the Fourth will be found applicable to their case, and that they may be made an example to many of a similar character who remain behind to disgrace our nation even in the eyes of savages.

In our cruise on the eastern coasts I visited Puriri and Waikaitewa, on the Thames, the Island of Waiheke, at its entrance, and Cloudy Bay, in Cook Straits. I intended to have called at Entry Island and Mana, where a Mr. Bell has settled, but the boisterous state of the weather prevented any anchoring. I stood close in to both islands, and feel convinced that the very appearance of a man-of-war in that quarter will have considerable weight, from the terror in which we are held by the Natives in consequence of the severe chastisement inflicted on them by the "Alligator," and the detachment of H.M. 50th Regiment, in 1835; and, for the same reason, I have no doubt but our visit to the Thames will also be productive of benefit, for there the Natives are in a more primitive state than at the Bay of Islands, and when engaged in war have not always been so scrupulous about the property of British subjects, although in no instance has any violence been done to their persons. I will suggest to the officer who may succeed me on this station to open a further intercourse with the Natives on the Thames, which will soon place our settlers there in a state of as perfect security as in any part of the Island.

On the northern shores of Cook Straits a most powerful tribe of Natives have collected, under the celebrated warrior Rauparaha, but it does not appear they have in view any warlike object: indeed, if they had, our countrymen, with the exception of Mr. Bell and his small party on the islands, would have but little to fear, for the only other places to which the whites resort are Cloudy Bay and Queen Charlotte Sound, where they are so numerous, and so confederate by their pursuits (which are exclusively whale-fishing), that no tribe of Natives whatsoever dare molest them. The only danger they have to apprehend is from themselves, and that is in a great measure neutralized by the counteracting influence of their own reckless and desperate character.

The quarrel between the Bay of Island tribes is supposed, by the best-informed, to be in a fair train for adjustment. When we sailed, the loss sustained by the conflicting parties was more nearly on a par, not from the numbers slain, but from the possession acquired by the Ngapuhis (as Titore's people are called) of the dead body of a chief of the opposite party, on whom atonement was made for an insult that was offered to two of their chiefs, who had been killed in battle and found by the enemy. There are other causes too that, it is hoped, will lead to pacification. Nene, a powerful chief from Hokianga, who has embraced Christianity, has brought his tribe across the island with the full determination to compel the contending parties to make peace; and, as he is known to possess both courage and power to turn the scale on either side, his mediation is not likely to be slighted. The scarcity of provisions and the necessity for agriculture will also operate favourably towards the same object. On the other hand, the excellent chief Titore is dead, and his people are under the direction of a perfect savage, who thirsts for war; and Pomare, the head of the opposite tribe, is likewise a violent fellow, who claims a right to the land of Kororareka, which was once his, but was ceded to Titore at the peace of 1830. The gentlemen of the Mission maintain a constant intercourse between the parties, and are received by both with the greatest respect. Their efforts to promote peace are unremitting, and of late they have felt confident of eventual success.