AUCKLAND.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume V, Issue 252, 14 April 1865, Page 2

AUCKLAND.

pAPT. LEVY’S SPEECH AT THE LATE PUBLIC MEETING AT AUCKLAND. Captain Lett came forward.-and was received with loud cheers. He said ; —Gentlemen, ! suppose it would be useless for me to go into the subject of'my diat-y. Most of you, I have no doubt., have read that document. There are, however, many tilings not in that diary, because they Were to be suppressed. I am placed in a very peculiar position. There were parties who expressed a wish to take me by the hand provided those particulars should be suppressed. But these matters have gone abroad, and I am thrown at once up m public sympathy. Perhaps one of the first questions I should be asked would be how I eouid account for Mr Grace’s commct; rny answer is,, that I cannot account for it, for up to the very hour of these occurrences we were on the be-t terms. I had slept in the same house with him. I slept, with him to keep him company when he was in fear, and T took every meal with, him. We have had a good many deferences—lj ‘ might say rows. I have used very strong language towards him T have called him liar and hypocrite, and told him he was unworthy to wear the cloth ol the Church, and I am prepared to prove my words. (Hear, .hear.) One of the first causes of our bickering was because Mr Grace wanted to - be looked upon as the only soul .which was valuaide. In the first place he 'wished me to go to Potara, the chief among the Maoris, to ask for him a hearing. However, Potara would have the whole ol the Europeans of tin* place assembled.: A e were' to meet in Mr Volkner’s church, and there the chief savl lie would give us a hearing. .Accordingly we all assembled in the church, in "liioh there was hut one chair for the whole nine of us. The first inquiry of the chief was for Mr .■ Volkner, the next for Mr Grace. The chief Potara he d a long parley with the Europeans, and .Mr Grace more especially. Well, when Mr Grace found he eouid not carry out his point, lie pr..p-sed—what? That live whole nine were to he kept piisouers, for the sake, I suppose, of keeping him company ! I told my brother, who said to me, speak to 'Mr Greco for goodness sake, . and 1 said I?-t him have his say out. This was the first of our bickering. Mr Grace would have; the whole ol the Europeans to be kept prisoners, because he was a prisoner. The same evening another meeting was held. We were, of course, prisoners. When Mr Grace found he could not get away, he asked me to go and propose Ids ransom. I went am! proposed his ransom at .€">110. It was refused. 1 offered £1000; it was refused. They said they would not t ike two, five, - or even eight thousand for his ransom, as they intended to lake him loTuuratiga.and to sacrifice him at Taranaki. We might go away. At the same meeting my brother volunteered to remain as a ransom, instead of being taken away, if Mr. Graco would be allowed to remain with him. And. my brother did again offer to become become a ransom fur M. Graco. But during the evening when walking with Mr. Grace, he asked me several quesWe were talking about my brother offering himself as a ransom. He could not understand it. It was too mean a thing to have a Jew for a ransom. I told Mr. Grace that if my brother was not his ransom he was at perfect liberty to do as lie liked. But an hour or two . after, when he. found we were coming away he found his life in danger. He changed his opinion, and lie said to me, “ Von must remember that it is in my power to go, to Potara and inform him that your brother is going to escape.” It ivas on this occasion that I said to him, “ Yon a minister ! you are not. worthy of the cloth you wear. You are a coward and an hypocrite.” There was another cause of our bicking. We all knew that, it was death for one of us to write a letted or to be caught writf iiio-. - ■ Mr. Grace had said as much himself. One day°f repeatedly warned him of the danger in whicli he was putting the life of every European. On one particular occasion he was writing a letter, I believe, to the Maoris. The next thing is as serious as any. After poor Volkiter’s death—(it had been as well the other.) (Hear.) In fact, ever since, the Maories have openly said, that they had hung the wrong man. Indeed, Air. Grace told me so himself. Well, the next thing was the grave scene. We diil not wish to run into danger. There was great excitement among the natives for several ' days after Voikner’s death, r X refilly thought that the head of the deceased was underground I asked What had been done with the body, and I was told it was, placed underground; blit a few days after we could see through the privy door the feet and heels up. and 20 dogs raving round -■ -. them. We kicked sup a. bother about it, and it' was agreed With the natives that I might take the body ami bury it. They afterwards told me—they evidently did not like ns to see to job they bad . done—that they yvould bury it, I saw them go away with spades as I thought? for that purpose. A few day afterwards,: however a madunative called Makatana come Mown with poor Mr Volkner’s ■,drawers ■ .and .stockings .on. -:,-.-I made,: a -bit—of—bother---about, this,, and..-went up to The- hbu A ’and bought the: body 'Toff some shirts.- The conditions wercthese: wfe* (the’Europi' , Ufl vvere: to; bury- the - body;- but-; would nbt'sHbw Grace to. go near- it. * I asked. them where it was to be buried, and they poititeii-/

<*** »|Hf« tinker *•larger bail M£ Grice hatf some objection. I saidj “ Nevermind, lot us get it decently under the ground j’ let mo wort my own point.’* --Mr; Grace went away, ■{for SWm f e d . u g a grave right before ihe church, in a'direet line with it, just leaving room enough for a footpath. 'We no* got the grave sunk two feet before Mr. Grace came and objected because the grave was not east and west! ' I told him not care Whether ifcwas north and south ao Iftng as,l had got pooriMr.Yolkner’ s body bht <rf vyherflit tvasV; I asked him if he did -nnt'want us all to be bung, for God’s sake to go away from us. He would insist on reading tjie burial seismic®- ah‘act whiol)',would ; ha ve set fire tbefanatical ekeitemenr that prevailed/ There are. those,, nre r . sent who will corroborate niy words I said to him. " You know, the conditions oh which we got the body, you svill not only got. yourself hung but us > into'the bargainlet us bury tho maty comfort; ably and decently;** The consequence of lliis was a great row between us. I was working away at the grave as hard as ! could, and I said to Mr. Grace, “Come, Mr. Grace, fake off yonr jacket and help me to finish this grave while I go to set the body, or will you go and get up the body and I will finish the grave ’’ But when there wa's any work,to be dqne he left us. I and one or .two others got the body ; we put It in two pieces of new carpet, then tied these round with flax and laid it down, and told Mr. Grace that if he would go to the grave, and there alone and unobserved read the burial service it would have quite as much effect (cheers), and that after he had done if be would walk away it could be done without danger. My brother cut a head stone, and I told Mr Grace if he would read the funeral service when the stone was placed over the grave it would do lust as well ; but when I pointed but the oportunily he turned round to me and said. “ No I think I will leave it until .Snntlay.”‘f daughter and cheers) Sunday came, I watched him like a cat watching a rat. Hid he once go near the grave? No It is fortunate that through the whole of these oceunence I have witnesses to the truth . of what I have stated. There is no single occurrence without two or three witnessns to bear testimony. There are some other things which T have to state in order to give you some ides of the nature of this man. An agreement prrmosed with Tiwai, who is here.—for Mr Grace did not know how long he would have to remain,—for board and lodging. T was to draw up the agree ment. Being engaged on Saturday, and Sunday not being a fit,day, T dated it on Monday, the Rfh; hut Mr Grace’s board commenced from Saturday. In paying Tiwai, Mr Grace paid only from theßth. Tiwai asked me why he was not paid for the other two days. I enqnired of Mr Grace the mason. His answer was. “I will only pay from the date in the agreement.” Tiwai then said to Mr Grace, “yon have my kai kai Saturday and Sunday.—von no pay to Monday you no-eat Monday.” (Hear, and cheers) There was a doetor amongst us We had only one large-room. We thought of writing a letter, and the only means we had of doing so was by going out into this room and locking the door. kVliile wo were so engaged wo were obliged to coma out, for Mr Grace had drawn by his nets, the attention of the natives, who 'must have suspected that we were doinw things which they had forbidden ns to do Even the night before we came away William King, a native who was to take a letter, Mr Grace told n whole mob of natives that William King was writing to the Government. When we were coming away. Mr Grace shook me by both hands. There was to be a meeting, and Mr Grace was advised to keep to the house. Wh dropped down the river. When we came to the heads we dropped anchor, as there was no wind. Tiwai suggested that we should go to the meeting, and he came within a quarter of s mile of the place, we saw Mr Grace with his hat in his hand, and sweating at every pere. “They are going to kill me. l' w ;li give you £2OO. for God’s sake. T could not. help leaving the house, there are such brutal acmes going on. Do go and allay their excitement,’ he cried' The natives killed a bullock, made ns—not Mr Grace—very jolly, and gaveus beef to takcon board the vessel. There was another little thine which I must state; a great many little things, they say makes a muekle. He went to Tiwai, and off.-red £2O to Tiwai to go with a letter to Maketu Tiwai said>he might be killed, he was a Queen’s native. 1 suggested that if Tiwai volunteered that, in case of accident, the sum should be put on paper so that, the £2O might bo available for the wife of Tiwai. The moment mention was made of put ting the agreement in writing Mr Grace was off There is a little thing showing more elearlv the spirit of the man throughout all these affairs. You know that Mr Grace gave me a bond. Yon shall see this bond as it is called. Well, a fortnight alter ho gave this precious instrument he got fnglitpnrd. . The so called bond was simply a certificate acknowledging that Captain Levy had sustained a loss of £3OO in consequence of Mr Grace and Mr Volkner being on board liis vessel. He told the doctor that if in bis going about the wharche should pick the paper up on a shelf or anywhere he, Mr Grace, whonld give him £lO for it. Now, matters quiet why should he offer £2O to Tiwai, or why should he inv te the Bailor men to his house? I tell you that we you’d see the ingratitude of the man in everything that he did. We could see that he wanted to be the “lion” when he came to Aaekland, and we were,to be the little do<*s running before him. I was told this before I had had experience of the man. Dovs before he thought of getting away. I told him I had left these memoranda ont of my diary. He replied. “Thank God, you make my mind so easy, for these are thing# t hat should not bs made public.” He fold us that we ought all to be kept there, and if owe was t* stop all shonld be madetostop. Then comes Palara's letter, “ we write a letter tp you:, we will keep you here ten days ; after this letter i# written we are going to Turahga ; on the 12th, day we take Mr Grace with us to Taranaki.” Mr* Grace offered me-£2OQ to take him away. T replied, “Do you think w» want money in this matter? The people of Auckland will do justice to us in this affair ; we do not want money.” Wo attended meeting after meeting’of the natives—meetings were being continually held throughout the. whole business- I will give you now a me* tothe lettorjjf Mr Hooper,; ... . 7" vxmmSt jx-a- ' t-’

{which;, appeared 1 yesterday.’ - (Captain • commented .on the letter of -Mr" Hooper.) {The reason, of : the ■ misunderstanding bpjween ' himself and Mr Hooper was that He had {induced two men named* Junes’ and ThoniW Sign that latter, describing what pceured' at iOpdtiki,/without permitting them ft» See’the'Cohfedntat 1 This letter* has- 1 been'’published.?*He also Jpointc,d put a discrepancy with a forirtbr Statement Snade'-by Hooper!' to the effect that he was iIL jvpmiting blood at the rimcjarul could not therePdre be present. * He denounced the letter as a falsehood. ■’ ■ -- - = . . - I A Yoioe The us hear about that. I Captain Levy j X iwas peeping in the same nous? as. Mr Grace. .The•vassel.itlie.'aehooner, pas lyinar at the heads. I was awoke bv a native Eamed-Heremetaj who came to tel! me that there as a steamer coming up close in shore. I: got up to have a look round.. I could not gee any sign. jAfter a while, breakfast being now ready, I got lip on top of the house when! could only see a j)*rt other. I got up on the top of the chimney. I saw now it was the Eehnse. Mr Grace said let ns stay and finish breakfast. I said d the breakfast.it’s time for us to be moving. Mr Grace says he was standing at a certain place. Mr Grace remained eating his breakfast—so did Tewai. We got into a canoe and went to (lie schooner that was lying at the heads. We took the schooner’s boat. John who is here, ‘and another man, went with us to the man-of-war.. We saw the Bishop, Ihe first, inquiry made of us was for Mr Volkner. “He is dead'” we renlied “Where; is Mr G-ace?” “He is on shore” “Can you get him?” “No” “Comd man-of-war boats with 90 men cut him out ?” “No : - because in getting up the river you will lose half your men, and by the time you land the natives will have taken him miles in the bush.” I told them that. I had left William King and Tewai. I said it would not he prudent to semi man-of-war boats for him. Neither Tewai nor Wiliam ICinm was where I left them. Myself and John Moore, my vnate, arrived at our house, we saw Mr Grace walking up and down the yard. I said to Jack we must risk everything in this business. T never had any thoughts Mr Grace would he there. I sent, word to him by the boy who delivered h:s message. Tie said “ Captain Levy wiP take vou away.” “By whose order ?” “ Never mind, “hr whose orders, T have to look after my own life." Mr Grace asked the hoy to stop and carry a parcel for him. That parcel contained all the rev. gentleman had in the world, namely, a dirtv shirt and an old razor. He came roiind tothe whnre, hut he commenced running as fast as ever he could. We made a motion. He had puggurree round his hat, which was loose and firing in the wind, so that he must, have attracted ’the* notice of the natives. Just as he was getting into the boat two women passed. There was a rush. I said to. Jack, “pull. Jack- if ever you pulled in your life. We had tin? tide with us. Keep vour head down we said to Mr Grace, for he kept putting up his head, and we did not want to be shot. Then he would put up his hands »■ Keep yonr hands off the gunwales of the boat. ; we want all our judgment, and we must use it to get to the man-of-war steamer.” Well,-seeing me'eome off they looked all round.’ 11 As soon as you get under shadow of the ship,” I said to Mr Grace, “stand up.” Our boat came alongside. Mr Grace never said a won! to me from that dav to this. When he came ashore ho never spoke to me. Tewai came up with us in the same boot. The Bishop wished in good night, aid toid me he would be glad to see me at his house on (he following Monday morning, while Mr Grace parted with us at, the Wynyard Pier without saying ;t word. That ungrateful wretch little knows the hours of anxiety spent for him—the work that, has been done for him.’ He never can and he never will know it. (Loud cheers.)