MEMOIR OF JABEZ BUNTING.

Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume II, Issue 7, 31 July 1856, Page 9

MEMOIR OF JABEZ BUNTING.

The life has gone, the breath has fled, And what has been, no more shall be; The well-known form, the welcome step, Oh! where are they, and where is he? Jabez Bunting Te Rangiataahua was the son ot Te Tuhi the Chief of the Maungaunga tribe whose settlement was ai Purapura, on the fertile banks of the Waikalo. His mother's name was Te Po, a Chieftainess of celebrity. After the death of bis parents, Jabez was taken under the protection of his uncle Wirejnu Wetere Te Kauwae, a man of considerable influence and personal prowess,—one of the generals of the Waikalo army. Wetere's children having died in early life, Jabez was adopted as his son, and became the leading Chief of the Ngatitamaoho tribe. We have been furnished with the lineal descent; it is as follows: 1. Ue.rata 2. Wharetiepli 3. Tapaue 4. TeApa 5. Tupa 6. Rangirara 7. Te Tuhi 8. Te Rangiataahua Sons of Te Rangiataahua,— Epiha Poihi Kerei, When Jabez was in his teens he had the happiness to meet with a missionary, through whose insliumentality he was led to embrace the Christian fuiih. He was baptised at Hokianga, whither he had travelled for the purpose of obtaining spiritual instruction; and the Missionaries were so well pleased with his intelligence, piety and zeal, that they were induced to send him forth to instruct his benighted countrymen. For many years be was a consistentand exemplary man; evincing by his 44 walk and conversation," that he looked through things temporal to those which are eternal; but alas! like too many others in these times of general declension, he lost "the power of Godliness," and' after awhile laid aside even ''the form." His natural abilities, however, —which were great,—and the amiability of his manners, endeared him to all; his name was always mentioned with respect, and his opin- i ions received with deference. He took a prominent part in all important Maori matters, and his services, on many occasions,

-were most essential to the Government in disabusing the minds of the aged warriors or their deeply rooted native prejudices. At the great national meetings of the Waikato tribes, Jabez was always expected to address the people, and his speeches were invariably of a soothing character, calculated to allay the passions; indeed lie was, emphatically, a man of peace. The last public act of Jabez Bunting, in conjunction with Te Katipa and other chiefs, was the delivery to the authorities of the five young men who assaulted Mr. Sutton, settled at Waiuku. At a conference held with his Excellency Governor Browne, on this subject, Jabez Bunding observed: "O! Governor, we give up into your hands the young people who did that which is evil. We have been advising them for their good ; —to be obedient to their keepers, and not to attempt to escape from prison. We leave our children with you, 0 Governor, having the fullest confidence in you, and we know that they will be well cared for, when under your protection." Immediately afLer his return to the Maori settlement, Jabez Bunting was taken ill. He was seized with violent pains in the abdomen on the 21 st April, and died on the 22nd, after having exhorted the people to lay aside their petty differences, and dwell together in unity, as brethren. Ilis body was conveyed to Mangere, by order of the great chief, Te Wherowhero, where it was kept till the 28th, and during the whole of this time tribe after tribe assembled to pay the last tribute of respect to the departed chieftain. It was supposed that upwards of eight hundred persons were assembled on this occasion. There was much speechifying from day to -day, and amongst other sentiments weheard fhe following: V Farewell, OourSon, Jabez, farewell! go hence to the tombs of thy ancestors, —go in peace 1 Jabez, thou art not dead, no, our son, thou livest in our affections. Beholdl 0 our son, thy dying request is realized / for, even before thou art removed from our sight, the tribes are cemented in a bond of union. O my people, O Ngatewhatua, O Ngatipaoa, Jabez still lives." Our lamented friend, it is supposed, was nearly forty years of age when he died; his person was tall and well formed; his face was devoid of tatoo, and his features pleasing and intellectual. How much Jabez's loss is deplored maybe gathered from the fact that so great a multi-

fude assembled to weep over bis remains. In the death of this chieftain the tribes have Indeed, as they assert, lostasage counsellor, and the Europeans a warm hearted friend.