SPECIAL TELEGRAM.

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume 2, Issue 207, 12 July 1878, Page 3

SPECIAL TELEGRAM.

The Native Meetin'

(From the Saturday Advertiser.)

Waitaka, June 26th,

Ton me conshinse it's mighty disgustin, to have to tell ye that nothin' of importance has been done yit. Mesilf an' Sir George an' the Ministarial party arrived safe an' sound, an' begorra we recayved a grand welkim intirely, a rale ould ginuine Cead Mille Failthe that warmed the cockles o' me heart. Rewi came over the river yistherday to see us, and afther we rubbed hoses and finished the keenin or tangi, which is considered tike, as the Maories call it, or ns we say eat-a-cat, the Korero began. Rewi squatted down on a few sods o 1 turf on the other side o' the fireplace, o-pos-it me an' Sir George, and afther wettin his whistle wid the laste taste o' the craythur, the followin' important political discoorse took place, which I have carefully thranslated :—

Sir George: " The top o' the mornin' to yei Begorra it's dirty weather so it 55."

Rewi: " The same to you. Faix thin it's thrue for ye avick; bedad whinever Aye come to Waitara there's always some throuble, bad luck to it."

Sir George: " Ton me conshinse its blamin you, Rewi asthore, that 1 am, for sure ye always bring bad weather with you, so you do."

Rewi: ,; Well, lind me a dhraw of yer dhudeen, George, mabouchil, an thin we'll come-to business. That's a purty bit o' tabacky, Paddy : thank ye kindly.''

Sir George: " Well Rewi, me ould friend, I'd like to settle all our little differences before I kick the bucket; d'ye mind me now."

Rewi: "It is kicking the bucket yer talkin' about ? Bad cess to the bucket you'll kick for the nixt twinty years. Begorra you and I are as tough as a pair o' ould gandhers, an ba the vartue o' me oath, we're " all there" among the goslins yit."

Sir George : " Oh frind, Rewi, whin I'm put to bed wid a shovel, ye must come and have a tangi over me grave, jist for the sake o' ould times,"

Rewi: "Be the hokey, I will, wid the greatest possible pleasure; I'll welt the turf over ye, rae ould cock, to the tune o' * Tatther Jack Welsh,' an' if Tin turned off first you must promise to dance the • Rambles o' Kitty,' an' make a bit o' divarshun over me grave."

The disooorse here tuk another turn, an' Rewi tuk' another swig at the bottle, and cried, *' Slantha, Paddy aroon," as he swallowed the contints like mothers' milk.

Sir George : " Maybe ye've no objection to tell us what was the first ruction ye were in."

Rewi: " Oeh, bad luck to the bit. Sure we bate Misther Takamoana's boys black an' blue, so we did, divil scure to thim."

Sir George : *• How many of your boys did bio mm kill?" Rewi: " Ton my eonshinse, I forget; but if my mimory Barves me right, I think they ate one or two of our gossoons, an' kilt another intirely." The discoorse thin turned on salmon an' fish in general. Sir George: " I'm told that ye've some illigant salmon up here." Rewi: " Its thrue for you, but by the hokey the gudgeons here are hard to be caught, an' it takes more than a pakeyha sprat to catch a Maori mackerell. D'ye mind me now ?"

Mr J. Jones (who was present) : " Sure the Government is thinking about bringin' over the Murray cod to the Mokau."

Rewi: D'ye tell me so? Oh, look at that now! So the Government is going to thry an' cod us. Maybe they'd be able to sind us some soft-soap at the same time to wash the scales off."

In the evening, afther tay. mesilf, an' Rewi, an 1 Sir George, danced a threehanded reel, as a war dance, in native costchume, an' one or two purty little chieftainesses would pursist in throwin sheep's eyes at me. Mind this is a saycrit' that musn't raitch Mrs M.'s ears, or there'll be the divil's own ructions, an' I'd lose my kar-acther, so I would. I'll give ye full particulars in my nixt.

Paddy Murphy.