AUCKLAND.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume V, Issue 217, 23 January 1865, Page 3

AUCKLAND.

Very Suspicious. —The Maketa correspondent of the Southern Cross writes as follows to the editor of that journal:—“ Some of the chiefs of the Ngatitutanokai tribe made an application (which was refused) a few days since to the officer commanding here for a supply of caps and cartridges, to be prepared in the event of an anticipated attack of the combined forces of the Waikato Tauranga. East Cape, Taupo, and Taranaki natives, said to be mustered on the other side of the ranges lying to the south-west of Maketu. Their ground for this supposition was a letter, said to have been received a week previously by To Tuatara, a Waikato chief, at present residing at Maketu, and I presume supposed to be friendly, as he is in receipt of Government rations. He evidently did not hurry himself to divulge the contents of this letter, and on inquiry I ascertained that it was not forthcoming, having been destroyed. The whole affair appears to me to have a very suspicious appearance. It strikes me that, as he is in receipt of Government rations (and for what I know to the contrary he may be also in receipt of pay, it was his duty, if lie thought that there really was anything at all in the letter, to have at once communicated the contents to the natives of this place ; but ho does not appear to have done so until four or five days afterwards. The natives hero endeavour to excuse him, by saying that ho is an old man, and did not know any better. Pal M.uunx —The New has recently published a letter from their Thames correspondent, which notifies the spread of the Pai Mariri superstition, and conveys some interesting particulars of that mischievous delusion. It appears that some hundreds of the fanatics lately visited the Thames district, with the purpose of gaining proselvtes to their new creed; and in this they were only too successful. “All the Natives, in this part of the district, with the exception of Ngatimaru, went up to Okawlmkura to see the Hou Pai Mariri, and I am sorry to say have most of them very foolishly joined this imposture, which is nothing less than electro-biology or mesmerism. This they do by putting up a flag-staff, and then they all bow down, spreading out their arms; after going through all their nonsense, they arrange all who wish to join this creed in a row, and the Pai Hariris commence operations by forming a row of the believers on the opposite side. They then begin waving their arms up and down like a regular professor, jabbering at the same time a regular babel of gibberish, which quite bewilders the wonldsbe proselyte. After a little time some of the weak-minded succumb to the power of the professors; and then commences the most hideous sound or gibberish, which in some cases lasted from four to five days. This, the Pai Hariris say, is to acquire some foreign language. The Pai Marirs say they can stop the rain when they like, and as for the troops they do not care a fig for them, as they are ball proof. They intend to build no more pas, but fight it out in the clear. They allow a plurality of wives; their Sabbath is on Saturday ; when they pray, they pray to God, but not to Christ; their watch-word is Hou Pai Mariri. Even Native Ministers, who ought to know better, have joined this now plaything. A few of these Natives are going to a great political meeting at Eangitoto, to see the head prophet, ‘John the Baptist,’ and find out if this new creed has any truth in it. There is no doubt this new faith is got up to retrieve the broken fortunes of the Kingites by one last blow. William Naylor is to be destroyed. These Natives, running after the new creed so quickly, show they are not much better than children; any new thing pleases them. There is no doubt that when this gets a little older, it will be discarded as quickly as it was taken up.”