Copy of a Despatch from Governor Sir G. F. Bowen, G.C.M.G., to the Right Hon. the Earl of Kimberley

It is with much satisfaction that I report, by the mail leaving Wellington to-day, an event to which great importance is rightly attached in this colony, as to afresh and significant proof of the establishment of permanent tranquillity.

• 2. The influential Maori chief and formidable warrior known among the English as William King,^* of Waitara, with whom the war of 1860 originated, and who has, during the last twelve years, continued in active hostility or sullen disaffection, has voluntarily come, attended by his principal clansmen and followers, into the Town of New Plymouth, made peace with the Government, and renewed the friendly relations which he maintained of old with the settlers. His return took place

  ^* This is his baptismal name: his Maori surname is Te Rangitake.

  page 157on the 22nd of February, which is the twelfth anniversary of the proclamation of martial law at Taranaki in 1860.
• 3. It will be recollected that William King, together with the other leading chiefs of the clan of the Ngatiawas, was among the first to welcome to this country, in 1840, the agents of the New Zealand Company, and that he fought gallantly on the side of the English in the first. Maori war (1845-48). The circumstances connected with his refusal to consent to the sale of a small block of land at Waitara, in the Province of Taranaki, and out of which the second Maori war arose, in 1860, are detailed at great length in the official correspondence and Parliamentary Papers of the years 1859-63, and have been the theme of much controversy both here and in England. After the cessation of active warfare at Taranaki, William King and his followers retired to the forests and mountains of the interior, where they remained for several years, steadily declining all communication with the Government and with the colonists. He had always waged a fair and honourable warfare, and had never been concerned, like Te Kooti and Kereopa, in the murder of unarmed men, or of women and children; so he was given to understand that no notice would be taken of his past conduct. On my first visit to Taranaki in 1869,^* when several other Maori chiefs lately in arms against the Crown came to welcome me and renewed their allegiance, William King also sent a message of a submissive and respectful character. It was then intimated to him by the Government that some land had been reserved for him near New Plymouth, to which he could return and live in peace.
• 4. I am confident that your Lordship will read with interest the enclosed report from the Minister for Native Affairs (Mr. McLean), describing the reception of William King at the Town of New Plymouth. It will be seen that the officers of Government and large numbers of the colonists assembled to give a hearty welcome, on his return among them, to the aged chief whom they had learned, during the last thirty years, to respect both as a staunch ally and as a gallant enemy. Mr. McLean observes, further, that the settlers with whom William King had formerly been acquainted brought their sons and daughters to see and be seen by him. One of the local newspapers adds as follows: "It was interesting to watch the curiosity of the children, who were allowed to enter the room in the Native Office where William King was sitting. The old chief seemed to enjoy the levée, for as each batch of children came in he laughed with delight as ho took their tiny hands in his, and kindly shook them." Scenes like these reflect credit of all parties concerned, and are a happy augury for the future."
• 5. No chief or clan in arms against the Government during the war, which continued with little intermission from 1860 until 1870, now remains in hostility. Te Kooti, like Kereopa, was not a man of rank or importance, and owed his temporary influence among the Hauhau fanatics to his pretended supernatural powers. He is now a mere brigand, with only a handful of followers, and will probably, sooner or later, be captured, like Kereopa, by his own countrymen, and given up by them to justice.
• 6. The communications addressed to myself and to the Minister for Native Affairs, from all parts of the Island, give very satisfactory assurances of the establishment of permanent tranquillity.

Enclosure.
Memorandum by Mr. McLean, C.M.G.

The Minister for Native Affairs is certain that His Excellency will be glad to hear that during a late visit to Whanganni and Taranaki he has been enabled to adjust various points in dispute in connection with land boundaries and other matters which had for some time been a cause of irritation among Native tribes.

The boundaries of the Native reserves made in the Rangitikei-Manawatu Block have been definitely fixed, to the entire satisfaction of the Natives concerned. Arrangements have also been entered into with a view to a more accurate definition of Native rights within the confiscated territory, and for the acquisition by purchase, with the good-will of the Natives, of such portions of land as they hold within it, but do not require for their own use, and which appear desirable for European settlements.

During the Native Minister's stay in Taranaki, William King, the chief with whom originated the war of 1860, emerged for the first time since that period from his strict seclusion in the forest ranges lying between Waitara and Whanganui. The reappearance of this chief and his followers, after an absence of twelve years, has inspired great confidence among both the Europeans and the Natives of the province, who unite in regarding his presence in their midst as the most significant indication and greatest assurance of future peace which has yet been manifested in the west coast district of the Northern Island. The entry into the town was made in a most orderly manner, the Natives, to the number of about four hundred, marching in ranks through the streets to their destination at the Native Office, where, in accordance with Maori custom, they were welcomed, and invited to partake of food. Every spot in the vicinity was crowded with Europeans, many of whom had known William King years ago, and all anxious to see the old chief of whom they had heard so much.

His Excellency will notice in the speeches allusions made to an ancient Maori custom, in accordance with which the march of a chief actuated by friendly intentions along paths hitherto trodden by war-parties only, was a sign of the extinction of all hostile feelings, and of the abandonment of all thoughts of revenge for the dead who had fallen during the war. [A report is appended of the proceedings at the meeting.]

During their stay at New Plymouth, the conduct of the visitors was all that could be desired, and William King himself became a centre of attraction, the old settlers whom he remembered bringing their children for him to see, and the chief evincing great delight at the notice thus taken of him.

The party set out from New Plymouth on the 26th instant, leaving behind them the impression among the settlers that no better augury could be found of a future state of quiet than the present resumption of amicable relations by tribes for so long a time estranged from both Europeans and friendly Natives residing within the settled districts.