Chap. IX. NATIVE OBSTRUCTIONS TO SETTLERS. 229 
ment that the original bargain was an incomplete one ; 
and because, also, their demand was exorbitant, and it 
did not seem at all certain that they possessed the 
power to control all the recalcitrants, E Kuru and 
several other chiefs, now that their proposition was 
public, loudly ridiculed the existence of such an idea, 
and doubted whether their influence and authority 
would extend over even their own fellow-villagers. 
He congratulated me on having escaped from a snare, 
which he said would have cost a ship-load of goods, 
without gaining peaceable possession of any but a very 
small portion of the disputed land. 
I had come hither to break up my establishment, 
and to pull down my house ; as I wished to show the 
natives that I considered they had, as a body, broken 
faith with me. I reminded them that they had pressed 
me to go to Port Nicholson and bring them payment 
for the land, and White men; and that they had 
returned my acceptance of their invitation by not leav- 
ing the White men land on which to grow their food. 
E Kuru was much grieved at my decision, but acknow- 
ledged its justice. Rangi Tauwira came from his set- 
tlement on purpose to beg me not to pull the house 
down, He pointed out the rafters which he had him- 
self cut out, and related the history of the toiara trees 
from which they were formed. He said, with tears in 
his eyes, that it would be a bad word for Tf^anganui 
that I should pull down " TVare TVikitoria " because 
the natives had told lies. But he allowed thati had 
every right to retreat with anger and indignation from 
the place ; and he regretted that I had not followed 
his advice, of covering the land with White people 
immediately after the sale, " before the slippery hearts 
" of the Maori had had time to change." 
I sold all my goods and chattels by auction ; and in 
