Chap. XV. POLICE MAGISTRATE'S VERSION. 365 
trates had gone over, without the volunteers, to inves- 
tigate matters at Cloudy Bay, as a gale of wind detained 
them for two days, and they reckoned they should be 
too late for the force to be of use. He also brought 
some circulars from Mr. Macdonogh, the new Police 
Magistrate at Wellington, begging me and the other 
Justices to keep things quiet ; to allay the excitement 
and alarm among the White people and natives too ; 
and to send him any intelligence which we could collect. 
He enclosed printed addresses for distribution among 
the White people ; chiefly in the same spirit, but con- 
taining the statement " that the natives had not fired a 
" shot until five of their own number were killed, in- 
" eluding the wife of Rangihaeata, who at the moment 
" had his own son in her arms." 
I could not believe this ; and threw the addresses 
with some disgust on the table of the inn where I was 
reading the letter. 
Colonel Wakefield afterwards, on seeing this address 
when he returned from Cloudy Bay, drew ]\Ir. Mac- 
donogh's attention to the fact that he had made this 
stiitement with evidence to the contrary before him ; 
and Mr. Macdonogh's acknowledgment that he had 
l)een mistaken as to these facts was published. But in 
the meanwhile, the unfounded assertion was spread all 
over Cook's Strait, and had been sent to Auckland, to 
Sydney, and to England. 
I had written by a small cutter and also by land, by 
a native messenger, to Colonel Wakefield, begging for 
accurate particulars, and for advice as to what was going 
to be done ; as, in case of an attempt to take lluii/je- 
raha at Otaki, I felt sure of being able to cut off his 
retreat to the interior, by means of E Kuril. I had 
also written to New Plymouth by a native messenger, 
giving the news as I had it to Mr. Cooke and othei-s. 
