"A complaint having been made to me by Mr. Ellis, against a native who had taken from him a whaling boat with its oars and sails, on pretence that Ellis had cursed him, and who acknowledged he had been induced so to act from having been prevented from removing some sawyers he had employed, and for an attempt made to make him pay over again five sovereigns and 40 lbs. of tobacco he had paid for the timber. I referred the matter on the spot to Te Hapuku, who acknowledged that the Englishman's statement was correct. He said, however, that the native did not belong to his tribe, but as he had been cursed he wished to know how the native was to be compensated. I told him Ellis had done wrong, but according to our notions, under all the circumstances, the punishment had far exceeded the offence. I should therefore insist upon the boat being returned to him, but as mild measures were always preferable, I begged he would send a native to advise the boat being immediately given up, to prevent the necessity for my employing the ship-of-war, which I otherwise should do. Mr. Parker of the _Herald_ and Mr. Williams having volunteered to accompany Mr. Ellis in his boat, I desired the latter, who understood and spoke the native language, to be told by Mr. Williams in their language, that I was determined that justice should be done, not alone to the natives, but to strangers also, and if necessary the _Herald_ would interfere. When Mr. Ellis was about to shove off in his boat he returned and told me the observations that had been made had caused such a sensation amongst the natives present that he was confident his boat would be, immediately on his arrival, returned to him, and that he did not consider it would now be necessary to trouble either Mr. Parker or Mr. Williams to accompany him. These gentlemen were accordingly passed into the _Herald's_ gig, and accompanied by Te Hapuku, Hara, and some other natives we returned on board. Captain Nias ordered a gun to be fired, at their request, and having signed the treaty and received some blankets and tobacco as a present, they were put on shore at a native village in the Bay, where they would get canoes to convey them to their residence. Mr. Ellis not having returned on board the _Herald_ according to an agreement I had made with him on shore, we concluded his boat had been restored to him."