A FAREWELL ADDRESS TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GEORGE GREY,

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume VI, Issue 135, 25 February 1854, Page 3

A FAREWELL ADDRESS TO HIS EXCELLENCY SIR GEORGE GREY,

From Taurua Te Tawaroa, the Chieftainess of the Patukinikiri Tribe, residing at Coromandel Harbour. O Governor Grey, go in peace to your own land! 1 did not. witness your departure, but I now salute you. Now tlint you are gone, the hope of tlie tribes is taken away. You will arrive in your own land ; but who shall be able to follow you to England ? You have deserted your children and perhaps it is your intention to stay away for ever. You have quieted the troubles of the land and caused the Europeans to settle upon our shores, and the land has become great. You were the Father of those who have gone to the grave, and you arc a Father to us their children. Many have been called away by death, but I still live to write you a letter. Go hence to your own laud in peace ! SONG. Hail mighty Chief and leave ! thy people's stay ! While sadness veila our spirits;—go Ihy tray ! CJo hence lamented by each circled throng, Who now nhejrso Ihy deeds iu nlaintiro song. 1,0 ! When the Inula raged at llopo'a t dell, Thy foes gave way, and famed I'anui} fell. I'roud Ahurei || lias said, that ho will fire The tribes with zeal :—but ho may not aspireTo thy aclnowledaed greatness. No j the grave V.re long will claim the youlhfut and tho brave ! And weakened thus, Te l'uhij with his band, Will smite the rcnmant,Jind pars through the land. An affectionate letter to Governor Grey by me, by Tauiiua. Te Tawauoa.

a tremendous land slip. licuheu Inikau though far inferior to his brother, i* a person of considerable consequence in tlio estimation of his countrymen, and is named by Polalau, Taraia, ami other great Chiefs with marked respect; his influence aa a peace-maker, in regard to native feuds is of no mean order. 110 is remarkable for his simplicity and benevolence. All strangers nro hospitably received at his settlement, but especial attention is paid to those gentlemen who visit Tuupo for the purpose of exploring its beautiful late and romantic scenery. To Heuheu is well versed in Maori literature, and is a poet of some pretention). The following lament was composed by him on tho occasion of bis brother's doath:— See o'er tho heights of dark Taiihara's mount The infant morning wales. I'erhaps my Cricnd Itoturns to rae, clothed in that lightsome cloud I Alas ! 1 toil alone, in this lono world. Yes, thou art gone ■. Co thou mighty! go thou dignified ! Co thou who wertai spreading trees to shade Thy people when evil hovered round! And what strange god has cnuicdso dread a death To thee, and tby companions! Sleep on O Sire, in that dark damp abode ! And hold within thy grasp that weopon rare, Jleipicathed to thee by thy renowned ancestor, Kgahue, when he left tho world. Turn yet this onco thy hold athletic frame ! And let mc see thy skin carved o'or with lines Of blue ; and let mo see thy face so UMiitifully chiselled into varied forms. Ah 1 tho people now, are comfortless and sad ! The stars aro faintly shining in the heavens! For " Atulahi'* and " Hehua-kai-tangala" Have disappeared; and that fair star that shone llesido the Milky Way. Emblems tbeso Of thee, O friend beloved ! The mount of Tongariro rises lonely In the South ; whllo tho rich feathers that Adorned tho great canoo " Arawa" Float upon the wave! ond women from tho West, look on, and weep! Why hast thou left behind tho valued treasures Of thy famed ancestor Uongomaihuia, And wrapped thyself in night 1 Coaso thy slumbers, O thou ion of llangi'. Wake up ! end take thy battle-axe, and tell Thy people of tho coming signs; and what Will now befall thorn. How the foe tumultuous As tha waves, will rush with speara uplifted And how thy people will avenge their wrongs Nor shrink at danger, tint let the warriors llreatho awhile, nor madly covot death ! 1.0 thou art fallon I and the earth receives Thee as its prey! Hut thy wond'rous fame Shall soar on high, resounding o'er tho heavens: This lament will bo found in Sir George Grey's invaluablo collection of Maori songs, Ace, page 20. It is printed in stanias and hence the mode of translation. The translator feels that lie has not done justico to this poem as thero are allusions in it ho docs not altogether comprehend ; he has ondcavoured, however, to keop fully before his mind Iho ideas of the writer. • Tawaroa is a sensible nnd spirited woman, and though very aged seems to retain the influence which her rank demands. Tho Burrounding tribes treat her with great deference, and she is invariably spoken of with respect. When gold was discovered at Coroniandel, Tawaroa allowed the Europeans to have access to her lands; and when the arrangements wero entered into between thn Government ond the Natives in regard to the occupation of the auriferous districts, she unhesitatingly gave up what she then esteemed, immense treasures. Her speech on that occasion, together with others, appeared in a numbor of tho iVuori Mmtngir, nnd os we purpose inserting the whole account in this pamphlet, it is unnecessary to give a quotation hero. f Ohope—a placo near Makotu in the Day of l'lonty. t Panui—a chief of celebrity of the N'gaitawhao triho who was slain at the baltlo of Ohope. || Ahurei—tho successor of tho absent Chief, and protector of the tribe; his assurances wore unheeded by tho people, who ceased not to recite the worthy acts of their former chieftain ; the allusion is of course, to Sir George Grey. if Te I'tilii—rt warrior of some repute who resided at Iho Thames and who was expected with his belligerent forces to attack the pahs on the shores of tho Hay of Plenty.