The battle of Rangiriri had this great advantage, that it opened the gorge of Taupiri, where disaster might well have overtaken the troops, had the Maori been in a position to defend it. As it was, General Cameron was able to push forward, and on the 6th of December to occupy Ngaruawahia, where King Matutaere had established his headquarters, and where his father, old Potatau, was buried. Matutaere had not waited for General Cameron and, unduly fearful of desecration, had carried away with him the mouldering remains of the old king. One thing he had left behind, as being too heavy for a flying column, and that was a flagstaff of most exalted height, from the peak of which his royal standard had lately floated. The standard was gone, but the flagstaff had not been cut down, and the Union Jack soon proclaimed to any watching Waikato that the first game of the rubber had been won by the British. CHAPTER XXIII THE BLACK KNIGHT GIVES CHECK Shortly before the occupation of Ngaruawahia the New Zealand Settlements Act was passed, giving the Governor power to confiscate the lands of insurgent Maori, the Imperial Government having relinquished control of native affairs. These were now entirely in the hands of the colonists, and it was hoped that their knowledge of the requirements of the Maori, together with the success which had attended General Cameron's arms, would combine to bring about lasting peace. There was, indeed, talk of peace between Sir George Grey and Wiremu Tamihana; but it came to nothing, and the Maori meanwhile threw up fortifications at Pikopiko and Paterangi, on the Waipa, a branch of the Waikato. Dislodged thence, and severely handled in a skirmish on the Mangapiko river, in which Captain Heaphy of the New Zealand forces gained the Victoria Cross, the Maori, commanded by their great fighting chief, Rewi, were again defeated at Rangiaohia. This was late in February, 1864, and the Waikato, undismayed at their numerous disasters, entrenched themselves at Orakau, in the heavily-wooded Taranaki country. Orakau was unusually strong, and General Carey, with great judgment, completely surrounded it before opening his attack. Even so, he fell at dawn on the 30th of March into the old mistake of attempting to storm the impregnable. After three unsuccessful assaults by regulars and colonials, the General determined to approach the defences by the less costly, if slower method of sap and trench. All was ready by the 2nd of April, and the Armstrong guns soon silenced the enemy's fire, while the soldiers managed to burn no less than 48,000 rounds of ammunition.