366 
MANIHERA AND KEREOPA. 
Herekiekie said, He fully agreed to my proposal; although 
he was not one of the murderers—for if he had been at home, 
he should have prevented the deed—still it was done by his 
tribe. Henceforth, the Nga ti ruanui might come to his pa, 
and they should be welcome. He thanked me for coming, 
and hoped now we should be friends again ; that we should 
eat with them and exchange salutations. One thing only re¬ 
mained, and that was to know whether the Nga ti ruanui would 
agree to my proposal. Aperaniko here jumped up, and said, 
their Minister was the Nga ti ruanui; he came as their repre¬ 
sentative ; they had left all with him; and whatever he did 
they would agree to. I told them, sorrowful as the Nga 
ti ruanui were, they sought no revenge, but left all to God. 
It was arranged that William and Taluina should return, and 
finally settle who should go with them as ambassadors of 
peace; and then, though pressed to eat or shake hands, we 
arose, and silently returned to our canoe. They followed, and 
bade us farewell. I was thankful that the affair had so far 
terminated satisfactorily, and I felt I could not be sufficiently 
thankful for this answer to my prayers that I might be made 
instrumental in putting an end to what had threatened to 
bring on a general war. The Christian natives, both here 
and at Rotorua, and even Waikato, were prepared to rise. I 
rejoiced to see their abhorrence of the deed ; but if they were 
to take up the cause, the evil would only be increased.* 
Thence we went to Waiariki, the place where our dear 
departed friends last slept, and near to which they are buried. 
A neat double fence surrounds the sacred spot. We sang a 
hymn standing around it, and I addressed our party from 
the words, “ Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from 
henceforth: Yea saith the Spirit, that they may rest from 
their labours.” Many a tear was shed. We kneeled down, and 
I offered up a prayer—that the same hope which had sustained 
Manihera andKereopa, and carried them triumphantly through, 
might sustain us in our dying hour, and that their precious 
blood, here poured out, might not fall into the ground in vain, 
* Hekairo, the Chief of Rotorua, afterwards did make war on the murderers, 
and plundered their place. 
