TE WHITI.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11482, 15 January 1903, Page 6

TE WHITI.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE PBESS

Sir, —From the time that the white man put his foot into Taranaki up to November, 1881, the -district -was in a state of unrest owing to the menacing behaviour of the Maoris. lam not well enough versed in the politics of the day to state whether the natives bad an excuse or not. Nor can I say whether they meant to fight, or what Tβ WM'ti's motives were. Bat this Ido know, that the settlers tvere harasj*d and the progress of the district hindered in consequence. At intervals round the Taranaki Bight were block-houses and redoubts garrisoned by the Armed Constabulary. .But the force was not able to stiU the unrest that prevailed, and «o recruits were enlisted, and the regular force, assisted by several companies of vo.unteers, marched on to Panhaka, arrested Tβ WMti, Tohu, Hiroki the murderer, and several torse thieves, and others. Tne strange natives fr&m ether parts w<re sent back to their homes, and the crops that had been planted for their sustenance ideetroye-d. Later on the Constabulary completed the road round the Bight, erected several bridges, made roads up to Parihaka, Nguriki, and past other pahs. Thus the power of Te Whiti and his followers was destroyed, and the district opened up to peace and progress. With the occupation of P«wihaka by the Armtd Constabulary there was, naturally, a rush of visitors, who, when they heard the A.C. Band playing in front of the pah, and members ot the Constabulary dancing and making love to the Maori maidens, concluded that the benignlooking and quitt-epoken Tβ Whiti never meant to fight, and that tho whole affair was a fa-rce- To me it seemed the best thing that could have happened to Taraoaki. It would have been a greater farce for the Government to have kept a small force in its block-houses and allowed the settlers to be fia.ra.ssed, and Parihaka to be a city of refuge for the criminal, as it was. Your correspondent "V. H. Gordon" says "Force of any kind ehould not bo tmpioyed until the ..aw of the land has shown itself inadequate." The fact that the arm of the law could not axreet Hiroki until the force had been strengthened, proves that it was inadequate, and justified Mr Bryce in making the law effective. "V. H. Gordon," speaking of Tβ Whiti, says 'He was a fanatic, but a patriot." Perhaps so, but neither are compatible with good behaviour. You say that Mr Alpers. represents Tβ Whiti as a model of inoifenstvenesa and highmindedness, -who was always open to reason, and with all the right on his side- To Whiti's manner and speech give one that impression, but then the same could be said of both Hiroki'a manner and speech. But it wouLd be stuff to cay that either wae offenoeiess. Te Whiti provoked a breach of the peace by allowing strange natives to take up their abode in his pah and harass the eettJers, whom they had no grievance against. Hβ offended when he incited the Maoris against the pakehas, and he offended when he harboured from justice criminals. But though Te Whiti did aJi this, and though Hiroki killed a McLeaai, there were more troublesome characters in Parihaka than edther, amd tbeir career wae cut &hart m time. For Mr Alpers's 'benefit I might add, in conclusion, that the dress of the Armed Constabulary was the same as the police force, "with the exception that the A.C.'a wore a glengarry cap instead of a shako. The day they marched in Parihaka, as was their habit in fine weather, the men mar"ched with tbeir tunics off* many of them wifch the necks of their grey shirts loose, and the sleevts up.—Yours, etc., ZEALANDIA.