ioio AUSTRALASIA ILLUSTRATED. 



who as usual was the spokesman, distinctly refused to be arrested, told the Magistrate 

 that the hut was his own property, and desired that the dispute about the title to the 

 land should be referred to the Land Commissioners' Court for settlement. 



Thompson was averse to any other course than the arrest of the chiefs, and called 

 on his men to fix bayonets and execute their warrant. Wakefield cried out, " Englishmen, 

 forward!" and in the rush that followed the command a shot was fired and a woman 

 fell, who happened to be Te Ronga, the daughter of Rauparaha and the wife of 

 Rangihaeata. On this the natives returned the fire, and the English, who had formed 

 into line, broke and fled, and Wakefield and Thompson could not rally them. A white 

 handkerchief .was waved in token of submission, and five of the settlers and four of the 

 labourers, who refused to run, surrendered themselves to Rauparaha ; but Rangihaeata, 

 who had lost his wife, tomahawked them all. Nineteen bodies were found and buried 

 by Mr. Ironsides, a Wesleyan minister, a few days after the slaughter. Four natives 

 were also killed. None of the dead had been mutilated or eaten. 



The Company's agents and settlers were anxious to avenge the death of their 

 companions, but Lieutenant Shortland, who held a tight rein on the Company, reserved 

 the question of punishment for the consideration of Captain Hobson's successor. Lieu- 

 tenant Shortland's Administration had been beset with difficulties, but his firmness and 

 sagacity preserved the peace of the colony, and the general feeling prevailed that he 

 was entitled to the gratitude of the Home Government and the colonists for the manner 

 in which he had conducted the affairs of New Zealand. When party feeling had worn 

 away, this opinion was generally shared both by his successors and others. Emigration 

 to New Zealand was checked by the news of the Wairau conflict. Memorials were sent 

 to the Governors of adjacent colonies for troops, and seven hundred persons petitioned 

 Her Majesty to inquire into the condition of the colony. 



GOVERNOR FITZROV. 



In November, 1843, Captain Fitzroy reached New Zealand, and in January of the 

 following year proceeded to Wellington in H.M.S. North Star; Captain Sir Everard 

 Home arriving there about the end of the month. From Wellington he went to Nelson, 

 where he publicly rebuked the magistrates who had signed the warrant for the arrest 

 of Raupar ha and Rangihaeata, telling them that "arson" was the burning of another 

 man's house, while the natives had burned only their own property when they set fire 

 to the surveyors' hut. The natives had never sold the Wairau. Several of the magis- 

 trates thus rebuked immediately resigned their commissions. From Nelson he went to 

 the northern side of Cook Strait to visit Rauparaha at Waikanae. On this occasion he 

 was accompanied by Mr. Forsaith afterwards Premier, and at that time a Sub-protector 

 of the native population as interpreter. At the interview there were several Europeans 

 and some five hundred natives present. Rauparaha was seated close to the Governor's 

 chair, and Rangihaeata on the outer portion of the semicircle formed by the natives. 

 Captain Fitzroy told them that he had heard the European version of the causes of 

 the fray, and he was there to hear the Maori side of the story. Rauparaha was invited 

 to speak, which he did reluctantly. He said the land was the cause of the dispute, it 

 not having been purchased from the rightful owners, and narrated how often he had 



