"I will first speak to us, to ourselves, the natives," said Nēne. "What do you say? The Governor to return? What then shall we do? Say here to me, O ye chiefs of the tribes of the northern part of New Zealand, how are we henceforward to act? Friends, whose potatoes do we eat? Whose were our blankets? These spears (holding up his _taiaha_) are laid aside. What has the Nga-Puhi now? The _Pakeha's_ gun, his shot, his powder. Many months has he been in our _whares_; many of his children are our children. Is not the land already gone? Is it not covered, all covered with men, with strangers, foreigners--even as the grass and herbage--over whom we have no power? We the chiefs, and natives of this land, are down low; they are up high, exalted, yet they make no slaves. What do you say? The Governor to go back? I am sick, I am dead, killed by you. Had you spoken thus in the olden time, when the traders and grog-sellers came--had you turned them away, then you could well say to the Governor, 'Go back,' and it would have been correct, straight, and I would also have said with you, 'Go back'--yes, we together as one man, with one voice. But now as things are, no, no, no. What did we do before the _Pakeha_ came? We fought, we fought continually. But now we can plant our grounds and the _Pakeha_ will bring plenty of trade to our shores. Then let us keep him here. Let us all be friends together. I'll sign the _puka puka_.[79] I am walking beside the _Pakeha_." This portion of the speech had been spoken with all the fiery declamation of which Waaka Nēne was capable when needs demanded it, but having delivered his message to his own people, he turned and, with pleading and pathos in his voice, said: "O Governor, sit. I, Tamati Waaka, say to thee, sit. Do not thou go away from us; remain for us a father, a judge, a peacemaker. You must not allow us to become slaves. You must preserve our customs, and never permit our land to be wrested from us. Yes, it is good, it is straight. Sit thou here, dwell in our midst. Remain, do not go away. Do not thou listen to what the chiefs of Nga-Puhi say. Stay, then, our friend, our father, our Governor."[80]