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to be paraded about midnight, and to march
by various routes to the vicinity of the
Omarunui Pa. Although the time was
scarcely more than requisite to traverse the
distance, the bodies placed under my
command, whether European or Native,
were at the posts I assigned to them as day
broke. I had erected a flagstaff during the
night opposite the pa, on which at daylight
I hoisted a white flag. I then sent Mr.
Hamlin, my interpreter, across the Tutae-
kuri to the pa, which is, as you are aware,
situated on its banks, with the letter you
had prepared to serve as an ultimatum. For
some time the Natives took no notice of
Mr. Hamlin, but ultimately they received
his letter, and he returned to me. By your
letter the Hau Haus were promised that
they should not be molested for one hour,
after which they would be attacked if they
did not lay down their arms. In reply
they told Mr. Hamlin they thought the
time rather short, but did not lead him to
suppose that if it was prolonged it might
influence their conduct. By this time it
was six o'clock a.m., and you had reached
the field, and had learned the result of the
letter; you then informed me that you did
not wish to disturb any part of our plans,
but that you trusted I would endeavour to
carry out the service with as little bloodshed
as possible. I therefore waited for three-
quarters of an hour beyond the time at first
granted, and the force advanced closer to
the position.

At seven o'clock, two hours after I had
sent the letter, I sent Mr. Hamlin once
more forward, with a small white flag on a
pole, to inform the Hau Haus that I would
wait no longer. They replied that there
was no reason to do so, as they meant to
fight. By this time the force very nearly
surrounded the pa. The Cavalry Volun-
teers, enrolled the previous evening, had
been despatched to seize the canoes at
Park's Island, believed to have been in-
tended to enable the Hau Haus to escape,
or to cross the harbour to attack Napier.
Captain Gordon was thus prevented from
joining me at Omarunui till a later period,
and, to fill the place intended for the Cavalry,
I was obliged to avail myself of the detach-
ment of No. 3 Company, which Captain
Rhodes had, with such zeal, brought up
from Clive and Havelock on horseback. I
also was obliged to make a further slight
change of plan, and erected Captain Bu-
chanan's company of Rifle Volunteers
and Mr. Brown's section of Militia
about 500 yards up stream of the
pa, under cover of a ditch and bank fence.
The Native Contingent, under Tarcha, Ha-
puku, Huka, Kopu, Renata, and Karai-
tiana, and directed by Mr. Locke, occupied
the edges of the swamp and outside of the
cultivations, at a distance of several hun-
dred yards, opposite the dray entrance. I
formed the Napier Militia, Nos. 1 and
2 Companies, and a part of No. 4 Company,
into open column. This part of the force
was placed under Major Lambert, and I
gave the signal to advance and to hoist the
Union Jack at the flagstaff from this point.
On sounding the advance, Major Lambert
moved steadily forward and gained the top

of the river bank, where he at once came
into collision with the enemy. I found the
Hau Haus drawn up and armed, and myself
ordered the leading files to fire. We then
received their fire and returned it, pene-
trating the outer courts of the pa. At
this moment part of the Native Contingent
which had approached the pa also entered
the outer parts, and, coming unexpectedly
under fire, moved to the right in some
disorder to take shelter under the river
bank. Their movement disordered our
Militia, and finding our men entangled
with the Natives, I ordered them to take
cover under that part of the bank which
commanded all the ground we had taken.
It was just now that Captain Kennedy,
commanding No. 2 Company, was wounded,
and finding him apparently determined to
remain with his men in that condition, I
ordered him to leave the field, and Lieute-
nant Wilson took command of the
Company. A very hot fire was now kept
up for a quarter of an hour, and the
friendly Natives joined our men and gra-
dually pushed back the enemy, who abah-
doned the huts and took shelter in a hollow
roadway near the further end of the pa,
where he found complete shelter. I
I could not easily dislodge them from this
without unnecessary loss, I now sent orders
by Mr. Hamlin to the Napier Volunteers
to advance on the pa by the river. The
fire from the main body was then stopped
to enable the volunteers to leave the
shelter of the bank which protected them
from our cross fire; but as it slackened,
Captain Buchanan drew out his Company
and gained the river bed. At first so ex-
posed were the enemy to this new advance
that the Volunteers mistook the men for
friendly Natives and withheld their fire,
but at length, being perceived and fired
upon themselves by the enemy, the Volun-
teers opened fire and quickly drove him
out of position. Major Lambert there-
upon moved up the bank and drove the
Natives into the last of the several court-
yards into which the pa was subdivided;
many of the friendly Maoris notably,
Tareha now moved up also, and in a few
moments the last stronghold would have
been carried by assault had the enemy not
at this moment displayed the white flag.
After some time in making his surrender
known and stopping the fire, I called to the
chief men to advance and lay down their
arms. This having been done he assembled
the survivors of his party, whom I placed
under charge of Tarcha. Meanwhile a
party, unperceived by me, had quitted the
pa and come into collision with the detach-
ment of No. 3 Company, which had taken
up the ground vacated by Mr. Buchanan
and Mr. Brown. Captain Rhodes met this
party in a spirited manner, and delayed it
for some time, but being unable to get his
horses through the fence, was prevented
from arresting the flight. I now reached
the spot, and, fortunately receiving intel-
ligence of the arrival of the Cavalry, I
sent for Captain Gordon and his men. Mr.
Ferguson, of No. 3 Company, in gallantly
endeavouring to delay the fugitives, had
his horse shot under him. Captain Gor-