Auckland
19 February 1884

Dear Madam,

I was at Haihu on the 4 instant to tell Parore and his tribe that I have succeed by getting the Maori King with about 12 chiefs with him to agreed to go to England as Mr Chesson wrote to Mr McBeth on that effect Parore and tribe agreed to the proposal.

While I was there Wiremu Raereti Puhi Hilube Pani shear me one of your letter to him asking my reason of not writing to you.

Dear our kind Christian friend these are my reason of not writing to you.

First, I have written to you in August last and I have no answer either from you or from Mr Chesson as I wrote to him about my two pound I left to him for Mr Rusden’s book.

Secondly, I have received news from the chiefs and our Maori ministers that you telling them in your letters to them that my works of trying to get our grievances remidied is no use whatever the English government have no power to do it, also my trying to get better government for the Maories is no hope whatever and it is only waste money of the Maories in trying to do so. When I saw this I thought to myself this news must be quite true as you did not answer my letter as I have already stated. Dear our Christian mother to tell you the truth nothing but the whole truth, that as long as God spare my health, I do all I can for my poor Maori people as Queen Esther done for her people. I do not pay attention to what people passing remarks about me wether government officers or ecclesiastical people I am collecting money now for the journey at (£500) pounds each equal to (£6000) pounds for (12) persons. I think Revd William Pomare to be the maori minister for to come with Tawhiao and the chiefs as soon as we collect the money (£6000) pounds. We have already collected (£3000). My poor Maoris people ready to sacrifice all their means in trying to help me to get the money. I enclosed you some of the Canterbury Time paragraph. All the poor Maoris praying to God four times a day to save them from the New Zealand government more especially from the Native Minister, and the Maris also hope that the Church of England praying for them may the blessing of god be upon all of us.

From your Christian friend
S.B. Taiwhanga