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English (ATL)

Whakatane

July 4th 1870



My Dear Mr McLean

Raku Raku has come from Ruatahuna with Apanui's wife who left a few days after your visit, I am sending him back to try and bring out Te Whenuanui to whom he is nearly related he will be accompanied by a small party of Ngatiawa and Ngatipukeko, these people deserve great credit for the interest they take and the assistance which they give in the question of establishing friendly relations with the Urewera. I am not very sanguine that they will be successful, this invasion by Waikare has stirred them up again and it is hard to get them to listen to peace talk while fighting is going on within their borders, they say we hold out both hands to them but one grasps a sword. Hamlin and his people deserve great credit for having crossed Waikare and taken the bugbear Tikitiki, but I think that if they go further - unless of course in pursuit of Te Kooti - no good will come of it, at least for the present.

It is evident from Rakuraku's statements that the Urewera were strongly in favour of peace a short time since but now they are pakeke, and may not soften down for some time, however everything that we can do here, we will do. I am sorry to say that I cannot find out anything for certain about Te Kooti, the Urewera do not appear to know anything about him.

Three men were brought in to Opotiki last week two of them Whakatohea the third a Taranaki halfcast called Whetoi, I have some men out in the woods now and I hope soon to have the last of the Whakatohea in. Unfortunately we are experiencing the worst weather that I have known in the Bay of Plenty and it retards travelling very much, as the rivers are perpetually up. It will also interfere very much with my brother's and Preece's movements as they cannot possibly face Kaingaroa.

I am my dear Sir
Yours very truly
W. G. Mair