9G 



mill was finished at Maungatautari, ploughs wore busy between 

 the two rivers Waikato and Waipa, and the Maoris were large 

 growers of wheat, maize, and potatoes for the Auckland market. 

 The Waikato tribes are physically a fine race of men and had 

 always been considered to rank among the most warlike of 

 the race ; many of them had been trained to the use of firearms 

 in the Auckland police force ; and, although for years it had 

 been illegal to sell arms to the natives, they never had any 

 real difficulty in procuring muskets and powder. The causes 

 that led to the recent campaign in the Waikato are too 

 complex to be treated of at length in this paper, yet it is 

 necessary to touch slightly upon them. The Maories were 

 nominally subjects of the Queen and amenable to the 

 law, but were virtually as free from its power as 

 any dweller in Connemara a hundred years ago. If 

 an Englishman offended against a Maori he was sure 

 to be heavily fined or otherwise punished by his 

 countryman the magistrate, whereas when the Maori hap- 

 pened to be the offender, he either did not appear as defendant 

 or ignored the decision of the bench. The few scattered 

 English residents in the Waikato valley were there on 

 sufferance, and the natives enforced their old custom of utu 

 (i.e. payment, or revenge) at the will of their chiefs. They 

 even became so insolent as to have formed a project for the 

 attack and plunder of Auckland. Sundry of them went down 

 to join the Taranaki tribes in arms against the Government, 

 and they set up Te Whero Whero, a noted old warrior, as 

 king over them at Ngaruawhia, the confluence of the Waipa 

 and Waikato. All acknowledged the old chief under the 

 name of King Potatou. 



It became necessaiy to hold these restless warriors in check 

 and to protect the scattered settlers of the province of Auckland 

 from outrage. The valley of the Waikato approaches within 

 forty miles of the city, from which it is separated by steep 

 hills covered with dense forest. Two plans of defence seem 

 to have presented themselves, the first and simj^lest would 

 have been to have established a chain of defensive posts from 

 the east to the west coasts on the accessible country between 

 Auckland and the Forest ranges. This plan would have been 

 no punishment to the turbulent Waikatos, who could muster 

 at their pleasure in unknown force close to our lines ; it was 

 not entertained, and was replaced by a comprehensive scheme 

 of conquest which was submitted by ministers on 5th August 

 1863. In Mr. Domett's memorandum it was proposed to 

 open up the country by making roads, to establish military 

 posts where necessary, to introduce 20,000 settlers 

 from the Australian Colonies and England, to borrow 3J 



