The Manawatu Standard. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. TUESDAY, SEPT. 15, 1885. THE INFLUENCE OF TE WHITI.

Manawatu Standard, Volume X, Issue 1455, 15 September 1885, Page 2

Manawatu Standard. (PUBLISHED DAILY.) The Oldest Daily Newspaper on the West Coast. TUESDAY, SEPT. 15, 1885. THE INFLUENCE OF TE WHITI.

the mountain track, going one way and returning tin: other, we could not but be struck with the evidence on all sides testifying' to the unsettled disposition of the Natives ; and to all our inquiries as to. the causa of: the Social peculiarity, the one reply was given, " This is the •' effect of Te Whiti's influence."" One meeting follows another, extravagance and improvidence *\are the order of the day, and m sever at reports reference is made to the certainty of poverty arid ■destitution' fallowing m the wake of this un[desirable development 6t religious man a. Mr 11km nel explains the position very intelligibly m his report. He says :— The mode of procedure, is something like this : The movement originates at Parihaka, when Te Whiti and Tohu give general instructions, and hand over to Titokowaru the carrying of them out. They leave Parihaka, where they have mustered, on a given day* and proceed to the nearest Native village of any importance, where the hosts have prepared as much food as their means will allow. '/When, the food is gone at this village they, with their entertainers, go on to. the next halting place, and so on till theyhave reached the end of their journry, when the party becomes transformed from a urocession surrounded by great form and ceremony into a mob hastening homewards, the reason probably being t&at hav\ng eaten all before them as they lidvanccd, there is nothing to sustain a large body iof people on their return. Mr Jam us Booth, R.M. of Gisf ! borne, refers m his report to the same feature:, and points out that the opening of a new runanga house very often leads to an expenditure of hundreds of pounds, and it is a matter of frequent occurrence that a tribe after giving a feast will, for months after^ be reduced almost to starvation. The preparations often commence twelve months beforehand, and after the feast the visitors leave and take away tons of food, and the impoverished hapu is happy m the assurance that the feast and its attendant extravagance will be talked about for months to come. Mr Booth remarks that this sort of thing ,is going on and increasing, each tribe and chief trying ta. provide a larger and more expensive feast than th > one to which they had first been inyited. The results are idleness, improvidence, and waste, with subsequent poverty and destitution. Who shall say what proportion of these undesirable tendencies are attributable directly or indirectly, to the leaven of Te W urn's influence, which instead of diminishing seems to be most unmistakeably m the ascendant over a large area m the North Island.

Possibly one of the most remarkable developments of 'Maori superstition, if such it can correctly be termed, is the mysterious influence which Te Whit i has exercised and continues to exercise over the Native mind, habits, and observances. That a large section of the Natives believe m their prophet as a being endowed with supernatural powers, there is no doubt. whatever. It will be remembered that at the time of the " ploughing episode V up North, as fast as the trespassing Natives were arrested, others took their place, because Te Whiti had so ordered. They appeared to have an implicit unquestioning faith m him, whose every command they obeyed without doubt or misgiving. Again, at Parihaka. was manifested the same spirit of faithful adherence and trusting devotion which could not be subdued or extinguished, and which would have animated his followers to any required pitch of enthusiasm or deed of daring, j counting martyrdom as their highest reward. No doubt Tk Whiti is a very superior specimen of the Maori "race, endowed with great intelligence, and a most marvellous and almost incomprehensible knowledge of human nature. There is also reason to believe that he himself is actuated by a sprit of patriotism and philanthropy, and a self-forgetting desire to benefit his people; and to live, and if necessary, die for them. By many it was expected that the Native infatuation about Te Whiti, and the epidemic of hero-worship would have been as ephemeral and transient as such manifestations usually have been. But it would appear from " The Reports of Officers sin Native Districts''recently presented to Parliament, that 'such an anticipation is very far from being realized. Mr S r Deighton, R.M. of the Chatham Islands, m his report takes occasion to remark that the Natives m his district are more rabid Te Whiti-ites than formerly, so much so, that some of them are really almost mad on the subject. They arc very restless and unsettled, he goes on to observe, and are constantly sending up small deputations with presents to Te Whiti. Dur-j ing the last twelve months, he estimated that nearly i? 500 had been sent to Tk Whiti by the Natives of his district. Nothing ever transpires after the return of the deputies, as they keep everything to themselves, and are very jealous of European interference m all matters concerning Te Whiti. The Morions (?.<?., native inhabitants of the: Chatham Islands),' who for a long time held aloof, have now, with the exception of two or three, joined m the homage paid to Te Whiti, and are awaiting promised startling fulfilments of recent prophecies. Mr Rennkl, Native Officer, of New Plymouth, reports m the same strain, viz., that he believes Te Whites influence over the Native mind to be as great as ever. He

says ; — " Natives m other districts " may make light of Te Whiti and " his doings, but none of them ever "come within reach of his influence, "but are soon, more or less, his ad " mirers and supporters. His (to "the Native mind) eloquentfigurative speech and earnest manner "doubtless have a great deal to do ." with it, but. be the reason what it "may, his influence has not dim- " inished along this Coast.* 1 We hear there is much reason to believe that the Te Whiti 'influence has not been for good. Prior to the all absording fanaticism with which his teachings have inspired his people., the Natives were more settled, mnfe given to industrious pursuits, and less prone to superstitious heroworship. On a recent tour to" the Nertfo of flfowera, w Opun^ke m$ i