NATIVE DOINGS NEAD WELLINGTON.

Grey River Argus, Issue 128, 6 November 1866, Page 3

NATIVE DOINGS NEAD WELLINGTON.

The Wellington correspondent ,of the { 'D.aily Times" writes as follows : — From the Wairarapa we have the result of Colonel Haultain's visit — the Hau-Hau visitors have agreed to go out of the district, but are not yet gone. Your readers must bear in mind that it is nothing new for parties of natives, to travel about there armed. It has become a normal state of things, .and has been hitherto tolerated almost, without comment, the settlers, or avast majority of them, relying on the assurances of friendly natives that there was nothing in it, and if at any time there should be, information would instantly be given. What gave special importance to the present armed party was the occurrence at Napier, and it became desirable that such real or supposed dangerous natives should receive notice to quit. . . . Only last week Mr Wardell, the Wairarapa Resident Magistrate, residing at Featherstone, was knocked up at eleven o'clock in the night by a special messenger from a fire-eating Captain of Volunteers at Greytown, informing him that a body of natives were in the bush near Greytown, tiring at targets or something or other. The Magi- , strate rode off post haste, the distance ' being only about six miles, and found everybody fast asleep, the whole thing being a hoax. - Some folk from Featherstone reported in Wellington next day that " fighting had commenced," and if persons just from the spot are not to be __ believed, who are I Yet, we get so *' accustomed to these storie3 that we don't believe anything until confirmed. Now t I will tell you a. true story* which I ani sure you would not believe, If it were not ... .-.vouched for. Yesterday week (Monday) a, person in Wairarapa accidentally cam© on to a plant of gunpowder — a barret hid under some old clothes and cubbish in an apparently deserted wharre.. Jn|prnia,tion i was at once given to the Magistrate, who, Vi refused to. act xipon private information^ j, : and directed the man to come.to the Court on Friday (four days after) and lay information in the ordinary mode. This the man refused to do, and .a letter received. ihis morning by a friend of mine says —

" We have had the Defence Minister up ; he decided that it would be better not to touch the powder, which I wrote to you that Mr had discovered on Monday." 1 think there can be little question that this is one of the strangest sins of omission which ha§ come to my knowledge foi\many a day, I have already mentioned that Colonel Haultain has returned, and that the party of natives causing all this hubbub has' agreed to go out of the district ; this they very naively refused to do last week, Mr War-dell sent his interpreter to ascertain their intentions last Tuesday, when they were severely polite. The interpreter has only lately been transferred from the Rangitikei district, and after some of the natives had spoken, he asked their names for the information of Mr Wardell. " Oh, tell him a Maori spoke," was the re}jly ; and though the request was again pressed, nothing more could be got from them. They refused to give him any information whatever, deeming his interference apparently a piece of impertinence—- • They didn't ask white people where they were going to, who were their friends, and how long they intended to remain on a visit to them." I may take leave of this subject by stating that the letters b}' this morning's post speak as if it would have been far better to have let them alone. 1 suppose if it had been let alone, the Government would have been blamed for doing nothing, What a pity that Government is always on one tack or the other — that it cannot always square the yards to a breeze right aft !