HISTORICAL REVIEW OF NEW ZEALAND. 



1055 



GENERAL CAMERON. 



The war closed a little later with the siege of Pukerangiora. This was a strong- 

 hold on the proper right bank of the Waitara River, protected at the rear by a 

 precipice. Having resolved to reduce it by means of a sap, General Pratt sat down 

 before it in February, 1861, with a considerable force of artillery and infantry; but 

 after some brisk work, and before he had 

 time to complete the capture, Wiremu Tamihana 

 made his appearance from the Waikato on a 

 mission of peace, and through his mediation 

 peace was proclaimed, the dispute which origi- 

 nated the war being left for the law to decide. 

 The terms were that the title to the Waitara 

 should be further investigated, the survey com- 

 pleted, all plunder restored, and that the in- 

 surgents should submit to the law. Waitara was 

 eventually surrendered to the natives. It was 

 computed that the Europeans had lost sixty- 

 seven killed and one hundred and forty-three 

 wounded, but many of the latter died of their 

 wounds while over-crowding in New Plymouth, 

 and exposure carried off upwards of a hundred 

 settlers. About one hundred and fifty of the 



enemy were killed. The war cost the Imperial Government something like five hun- 

 dred thousand pounds, the colony incurred an expense of two hundred thousand pounds 

 through it, and the direct losses of the settlers were estimated to amount to about 

 one hundred and fifty thousand pounds. 



THE WAIKATO WAR. 



Governor Browne was succeeded by Sir George Grey, in September, 1861 ; and 

 Major-General Sir Duncan Cameron, who had been in command of the troops in 

 Scotland, relieved Major-General Pratt. The new Governor promulgated a plan of 

 Government for the Waikato, and as the tribes there had not joined in the friendly 

 demonstration on his arrival, he paid a visit to their district in December, but without 

 producing any good result. During 1862 the relations between the two races were 

 becoming strained, and the feeling of dissatisfaction more general. 



The opening of 1863 was signalized by quite a coup dc thtidtrc on the Governor's 

 part. Journeying rapidly and unexpectedly from Auckland, he landed at Ngaruawahia 

 unrecognized, and early next morning was found by the astonished natives standing 

 reflectively by the tomb of Potatau, his old friend. He was cordially received, but his 

 announcement that a steamer was coming to trade on the Waikato intensified the 

 feeling of mistrust that had long set in. The still unsettled Waitara dispute was 

 another very potent source of trouble, and the "Kingites" themselves were divided with 

 respect to it. One party, led by Tamihana, and countenanced by the King, was desirous 

 of a peaceful settlement, and therefore did its best to obtain the assent of the tribes 

 to the investigation of the title in the manner proposed by the Government, namely, by 



