126 ADVENTUIIE IN NEW ZEALAND. Chap. V. 
the reception of some of their friends and relations from 
Wellington. 
In descending the last part of the river, at night, I 
passed a new house, about ten miles up the north bank 
of the river. I learned that this was the house of a 
gentleman named Wansey, whom I had seen at Wel- 
lington the last time I was there, and who had bought 
a good section from a land-agent there at a high price. 
He had made an attempt to settle on the land ; but 
came to me, two or three days after my arrival, to 
represent the obstacles thrown in his way, and to beg 
my assistance in removing them, if possible. 
It appeared that two or three rival bands of natives, 
some of them from the den of thieves at Tunu haere, 
had been attracted by the sight of his goods, which he 
took up at once, to make numerous excuses for annoy- 
ing and plundering him. Among these was, of course, 
the one now general among the mihanere natives, that 
the land had not been paid for. Mr. Wansey was 
himself ignorant of the language ; and he took up with 
him two White servants, who contributed by their con- 
duct, during his too frequent absence at the settlement, 
to excite the natives to insolence and robbery. One 
was a peculating fellow from Wellington, who knew 
not a word of the Maori language, and was dreadfully 
frightened at their appearance ; the other was a rude 
beach-comber, who knew just enough to abuse the na- 
tives, and excite them to anger by his brutal ways and 
language. Between the two, they managed to raise a 
pretty hornet's nest round Mr. Wansey's ears. 
As it was clear that at least one party had acknow- 
ledged his right to settle on the land by building a 
house for him, I offered to go and live there for some 
days with him, and to make endeavour, by my know- 
ledge of the natives, to arrange affairs on a better foot- 
