MANIHERA AND KEREOPA. 
567 
interred amongst his own friends and relatives, and shall 
the bodies of Kereopa and Manihera be left amongst the 
heathen?-” But another immediately arose, and said, “Why 
should we be thinking about the bodies of our friends and 
their resting-place ? we know that although they are decom- 
posing amongst their enemies, yet their spirits are alive with 
God ; I know what we should have done in former days, but 
what would have been the good ? If we fight, we only 
increase our sorrow by multiplying the dead ; let us not fear 
those who can kill the body, and after that have no more 
that they can do ; let us listen to our Minister, and take his 
advice.” Tahana, one of our principal Chiefs, and also a 
teacher, said, “ At baptism we are made the soldiers of 
Christ ; the soldiers of the Queen perish, but those of Christ 
live for ever ; Manihera and Kereopa were true soldiers of 
Christ ; can we doubt their happy state ? ” Another re- 
marked, “ Although their blood had been poured out on the 
ground, it was no proof that God was angry with them, for 
Christ's blood - also was shed — that the blood of the people 
of God fertilized the earth ; and although these two were 
dead, we should not be discouraged, but send two more to 
preach the Gospel ; and if they also were killed, two others ; 
and if they perished, still keep supplying their places until 
the summer came, and then, perhaps, their enemies would 
give in, and be converted.” 
Several others addressed the meeting in similar terms. It 
was then decided that the matter should be left entirely with 
me ; I proposed to visit the tribe which had murdered Mani- 
hera and his companion, as well as the Christian natives of 
Taupo, to allay the excitement these deaths had made, and 
to exhort the murderers to repentance. 
On the 5th of April I left home, taking with me half-a- 
dozen of my teachers, and found the natives up the river in 
a very excited state, and extremely hostile to the British 
Government and to the Putiki natives as well, for having 
made common cause with the Europeans. I was several 
times threatened, and advised to return; but on the 21st we 
safely reached Pukawa ; a rumour had preceded us, that we 
