ANOTHER NATIVE DIFFICULTY.

Dunstan Times, Issue 1086, 23 March 1883, Page 3

ANOTHER NATIVE DIFFICULTY.

New Plymcuth, March 2f) The correspondent of the Taranaki Herald at Ohinemutu telegraphed to-day as follows:—“A seizure was made at the Lake House Hotel premises yesterday, under a search warrant, of the celebrated stone image, 1 Matuaatutonga,’ which is *aid to have been brought by the Maoris in one of the original canoes to Maketu from Hauraki, and afterwards brought by Tukorangi to the Island of Mokoro, and buried there. Sir George Grey is said to have been the only European who ever saw the image, until it was discovered on the 13h by the employes of Mr Graham, who, on the evening of the '4th, brought it over to the Lake House. The figure represents a human being squatting on the haunches with the knee- drawn close up to the body. The forearms are flat against the chest, and the hands are extends upwards with the palms against the body and the fingers resting under the chin. The height of the figure is about 4ft Bin., and the greatest girth is over 7ft. It weighs more than a ton. There is great excitement both among the Maoris and Europeans- the former because they look upon the disinterment as a gross outrage against their most sacred relics, the latter because the action of Mr Graham jeopardises the relations between themselves and the natives here. As the news <f the outrage spreads amongst the hapus the excitement is likely to increase.