A Maori Story Applied.

Manawatu Herald, 22 August 1895, Page 3

A Maori Story Applied.

Mr fione Heke made a witty and apt speech to an empty House on Saturday morning. He improved on Sir Robert Stout's storjr of the red petticoated wives by telling of an ancestor of hit*, who was with five of his mefl at Patea when ho heard of a Southern invading party coming to attack his pah. The five men were immediately set to work to make men out of manuka scrub, who were boldly mounted on the parapets, while the six, with all the power of and limb they could muster, danced a war dance. When the attacking party came close enough to see and hear they imagined that the chief had got reinforcements, and fled from the ti-tree men. So Mr Ward in London had marshalled his three millions of " unpledged " securities. The mass of them were pledged, but the London capitalists did not know, and they took the bogup securities for real — another case of the ti-tree effigies — and they turned tail and left the colony alone. Mr Ward interjected that he did not dance a wardance. Mr Heke said he could not answer for that. The Maoris had one form of war-dance ; the Euro* peans had another. They heard of Mr Ward being dined and entertained and making speeehes. That was his war dance. — Post.