He fancied he was too old to acquire the language, and to
understand the manners and customs of the Maori, and thus
suffered himself to be led by those who were not equally in-
terested with himself in the true welfare of the colony ; hence
the cause of the mistakes he made. Had he acted otherwise
the Waitara war would not have taken place.
The natives, indeed, were ripe for war ; and even had not
that excuse for the commencement of it been given, some other
would, doubtless, soon have occurred. Nor did he want the
respect of the natives, who, though they found fault with his
acts, still viewed him as a straightforward man, comparing
him to the Eahu, or hawk, which hovered overhead, and
though a bird of prey, still could always be seen ; whilst the



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plans of Ms successor not being so readily understood caused
him to be compared to the Kiori — rat, wMcli worked under-
ground, so that it could not be told when it went in, or
where it would come out.
Sir G. Grey did not long remain inactive ; he immediately
addressed himself to the object of his mission. In the com-
mencement of December 1861, he forwarded to the head
chiefs of Waikato an outline of the policy he intended to
adopt, and then went to them himself, accompanied by Mr,
Fox and several other members of the ministry. The
Governor's progress was very satisfactory ; the natives
everywhere united with the settlers in paying him respect.
