190 ADVENTURE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. VII. 
south-west extremity of the harbour, on which he had 
intended to place the town, Colonel Wakefield was 
well received by the natives of that part. More than 
one competitor, however, for land had visited them 
since our departure, and had attempted to buy patches 
of land over our heads. One of these was a Mr. Ro- 
bert Tod, who had arrived in a schooner from South 
Australia, and had immediately looked about for any 
chance of laying claim to a portion of the land, which 
he understood from Smith, whom we had left here, 
to be intended for the occupation of a large English 
colony. He had been fortunate enough to discover an 
inferior chief named Moturoa, or " Long Island," who 
had been absent during our purchase in September, 
and who agreed to sell him three or four acres on the 
most promising part of the beach, near Pipitea Point 
and pa at Thomdon. Mr. Tod appeared resolved to 
maintain this transaction by every possible means ; but 
Moturoa very soon showed a disposition to assent to 
the large sale, and receive some utu from Colonel 
Wakefield for his rights and claims, which Wareptrri 
and Epuni both described as very insignificant. 
A more influential and dangerous rival had also been 
here, in the person of the Rev. Henry Williams, the 
chairman of the Church mission in New Zealand, 
who had arrived in a clipping schooner from the Bay 
of Islands but a short time after our departure. Under 
the pretence of securing a piece of land for the native 
teacher, named Richard Davis, whom I have heiore 
mentioned, he had obtained an assignment to himself 
of 40 acres in the best part of tiie proposed site. The 
transaction seemed, however, to have been attended 
with much secrecy ; and we could not learn what pay- 
ment he had made, or from what chiefs he had ob- 
tained the cession. Smith told us, that on being 
