THE HERETAUNGA NATIVES.

Hawke's Bay Times, Volume 6, Issue 5, 13 July 1865, Page 2

THE HERETAUNGA NATIVES.

[Communicated,] These natives are at present revolving many schemes in their minds, both with regard to the Governmentand the squatters. Our Superintendent is in treaty with Tareha for the whole of the Plain between Napier and Pa Whakaairo, the dividing fence of which Karaitiana is now putting up. The sum stated by the natives to be given as yearly rental is £BOO for the present year, and £I,OOO when the .land is sub-let. This land is of the most fertile description, and the most swampy part is capable of being drained and forming one of the richest meadows in the Province. One of the reasons for Tareha and Karauria coming to the conclusion to let the land is their present great want of money. They have both had judgments issued against them in the Supreme Court, and if they do not pay or give securities within the time, the whole machinery of the law will, without a doubt, be set in action, and their rangatiraships put in chokey. These debts are only a specimen of what the Ahuriri chiefs' owe to the people of Napier; and the collecting of them and enforcement of the law against the debtors, are now in such hands as they never were before.

There is about to be held at Pa Whakaairo, a grand meeting convened by Karauria to discuss certain local and general matters among themselves. One of these is the theft of land from Karauria by Karaitiana and Renata; another, the capture of the arms and ammunition supplied by Donald M’Lean to the so-called loyal natives, by the hau haus. This latter subject has proved a fertile source of conversation among the natives, by whom the story is related with great gusto. The most sensible of them say that Mr M’Lean was very much to blame in giving them arms and ammunition, for that both parties have any amount of both, and if they wished to fight they should be left to rub each other out without our assistance.

The natives appear to have very little acreage of crops in for the coming season. They seem inclined to “ sit in peace” till something turns up, in what way, they say, don’t matter much. If Patara and his hauhaus are victorious they will turn hau-haus themselves ; if he is extinguished they are as they were. They appear to have quite a true knowledge of Buchanan’s opposition to the squatters, and know now that the squatters have broken the law, and can obtain no redress in our courts. They have begun to annoy Father Reignier, who has a run fenced in from Tareha’s bridge to Waitangi, and demand, now that the old man has fenced, double the rent they agreed on at first, and threaten that, if he does not agree to it, they will re-let it to the Government. Now they know their power, it will not be long before either the rents of the squatters are doubled, or their leases handed over to the Government. Already some of the squatters of the Tutaekuri have been threatened with ejectment and their runs handed over to the Crown—in fact, the squatocracy at present is in a decided state of alarm, and all their visions of compensation will go to the wall before the public voice. Some of the great men among the squatters have advised one of our town milk-purveyors to get up a petition to be signed by the inhabitants of the town praying that the law should not be enforced in his special case, as he is a poor man, and has spent so much in fencing in his illegal run, as if he did not know he was doing it all at his own risk—it will serve him right if he loses all bis fencing. When the Plains are converted into small agricultural farms, dairy produce will not be half its present price. The people of Napier knowing this, it is hardly likely that they will be guilty of such a suicidal act, as the signing of such a petition would be.