"You can inform me, then," said Massinger, "as to the exact manner in which the war commenced." "I fancy I can. This Waitara block which you have heard about has been the _causa belli_, in every sense of the word. The Governor, egged on by the Provincial Council of Auckland and the land-buying party in the General Assembly, at length consented to purchase it from Teira." "I was told in Auckland that the Governor said if a satisfactory title could be given, he would accept the offer which Teira made. That seemed fair enough." "Nothing less so. First of all, because Teira knew--no one better--that no living native had a right to sell an area of tribal land. There are always scores of claimants to such blocks, the consent of all of whom was necessary. And after and above all this, Te Rangitake, as the Ariki (High Priest and spiritual head) of the tribe, had an unquestioned right to forbid the sale." "How, then, did Teira come to sell the land?" "Because he was certain of payment of so much ready money down, and had an old grudge against Te Rangitake. With the Government behind him, he argued, they would be able to force through the bargain. He either did not count on the stubborn resistance of the tribe, or, more likely, did not care. "He seems to have acted treacherously to his own people and dishonestly towards us." "Precisely. But no people on earth are more reckless of consequences than these. Still, Colonel Browne was distinctly wrong in accepting a disputed title. His former opinion, from which he unluckily receded, was (as he wrote to Lord Caernarvon), 'That the immediate consequences of any attempt to acquire Maori lands without previously extinguishing the native title to the satisfaction of all having an interest in them would be a universal outbreak, in which many innocent Europeans would perish, and colonization be indefinitely retarded.' Of course, the Europeans coveted these lands, and were determined to get them by hook or by crook." "Then what would you have advised?" "The mischief is done now. The rebellion must be put down or the tribes pacified. No easy task, as you will see. Still, a public trial and full examination of the title of Teira would have satisfied Rangitake and the tribes. Teira's title was _bad_, as every Maori in the island knows, and every Englishman must confess, who is not interested in land or politics." "But a war would have been certain to come at some time between the races." "Possibly; but it should not have been entered upon to bolster up a wrong and an injustice." "Will it spread, do you think?" "I fully believe that it will. The Waikatos will join, unless I am misinformed--a powerful tribe, well armed, and with numbers of young men who have not been able to indulge in tribal fighting lately, and are naturally eager for battle." "Are they, then, so devoted to war? This tribe has been exceptionally prosperous, I have heard."