RESCUE OF THE REV. MR. GRACE.

New Zealander, Volume XXII, Issue 2393, 1 April 1865, Page 3

RESCUE OF THE REV. MR. GRACE.

PUBLIC MEETING IN THE OLD SURFEDE COURT. In compliance with a requisition forwarded to him from one hundred and fifty of the citizens of Auckland, his Honor the Superintendent convened a public meeting, which was held in the Old Supreme Court, at noon yesterday. The object of the meeting was to pass resolutions laudatory of the condnct of Captain Levy, of the schooner * Eclipse,’ in rescuing the Rev. Mr. Grace from the hands of the Pai Marire fanatics at Opotiki. Punctually at the hour appointed a large assemblage collected in the Court, and after several appeals from persons in the crowd to proceed with the business,

Mr. Osmond Lewis announced that Mr. Carleton, the Provincial Secretary, bad within the last few minutes informed him that bis Honor the Superintendent had not arrived in Auckland from the Hot Springs, to which he had proceeded two or three days previously ; and that therefore it devolved upon the meeting to choose some gentleman from amongst those present to occupy the chair on the occasion. The proceedings of the meeting, he believed, would be occupied with the statements oi Capt. Levy and the native Tiwai. It would be their duty to listen to those statements, to consider them, and to pass resolutions confirmatory or otherwise of them, as they should deem advisable. But their first duty would be to elect a Chairman. (Hear, hear.) The reason why he appeared in his present capacity was in consequence of resolutions passed at a public meetings on Monday week, in which he was requested to sign a document gs one of the requisitionists for the present meeting. He did so in his official capacity, and waited upon the Superintendent, who readilly agreed to comply with the request. With these observations he would again beg of them to appomt a Chairman. After repeated calls for different gentlemen to assume the post, Mr. Wynn agreed to act as Chairman, on the understanding that should the proceedings extend to any length he might be allowed.to vacate the chair, as he had important business in baud which would necessitate his attendance elsewhere at an earlier hour than he anticipa’ed the proceedings would be brought to a termination. (Hear, hear.) The Chairman read the advertisement calling the meeting, and asked Mr. Lewis to read the requisition that had been forwarded to his Honor the Superintendent, Mr. Lewis having complied, Mr. Wynn explained the object for which the meeting had been convene 1, and said that it would be needless for him to enlarge upon the subject, as it had been already sufficiently ventilated in the public prints. He trusted that any gentlemen who should address the meeting would refrain from making use of any language reflecting unnecessarily upon any one connected with the affair. They had only to recognise the gallantry of Capt. Levy’s conduct and this was already well kno vn. That gen tleman was anxious to make a statement, and the first part of the programme would be the hearing of that statement, after which the native Tiwai would address them, and it would then remain for them to pass certain resolutions that would be proposed for their approval. He would now call upon Captain Levy to address the meeting. Capt. Levy, who occupied a position near the platform, was abont to speak, when he was interrupted by A Voice ; Come up to the front; speak np, and let us hear it all. (Applanse.) Another Voice : How is it that there are no signatures to the requisition ? Mr. Wtnn understand -that Mr. Lewis and others sig ed it op behalf of those present at the meeting am- Monday week. Mr. Lewis : It would have been signed by all in attendance, but in order to save time, it was specially authorised that the chairman of the meeting nad two others should sign on behalf of the one hundred and fifty. (Hear, hear, quite right/’ and cries of “ order.”) A Voice : Bring that man up to the front (meaning an Individual who persisted in endeavoring to provoke as much interruption as possible.) A 1 o her Voice, —Gag hi a (laughter, cries of “order/’and applause). Captain Lew then mounted the platform, and his appearance was the signal for repeated plaudits. He said :Mf. Chairman and Gentlemen, —I suppose it will be useless for me -o go into my diary, as most of you have read it a;l. There were many things not in that diary that had to be suppressed, by which I am placed in a very difficult position. I am now, therefore, thrown on the public sympathy. One of the first questions, I dare say, that will he asked is, “ Can you account for Mr. Grace’s conduct?” I cannot, because upTo the very hour of coming away we were oil the beat of terms. I had slept with him in the samp house, and took every meal with him in order to keep him company. Wo have had several —a great many—rows, but to interfere very materially with out friendship. We have had a row, and half-aa-hour afterwards took our meals together. I have called him a liar and a hypocrite, and have told him that he was not fit to wear the cloth o£ the church ; and I am prepared to prove it before any tribunal in the world. (Hear, hear, and applause.) After the mnrder of'Mr.Volkner, of which you have all read in the papers, one Of the first causes of onr bickvring was Grace’s wanting.to be heard. I had great influence with the Chief Potara, and he asked me to go to that chief to converse with him, and to ask a hearing for Mr. Grace, thinking that he would gain his cause by conversing with the Maori himself. I went to Potara, and asked him would he allow Grace a hearing. He told me*it would seem very queer to hear one man, but that he would have all the Europeans of the settlement present, and that they should meet him in Mr. Volkner’s Church, when they would all get a hearing. Accordingly, we all assembled in the Church at ten o’clock. The first enquiry was co..earning Mr. Volkner, and the second concerning Mr. Grace, aski. g him what business ho had there, after being ordered away. He held a long parley with them, but could not carry the point he endeavored to attain. Wh n ho found that, he proposed that the nine of us should bo kept prisoners of war in order to keep him company- (“ Ah,” and laughter).- I spoke to my-brother, saying, •“ For God’s sake speak to Grace, tell him to be careful; that if he has to suffer it was no reason why we should remain and suffer also.” (A voice : Nine for one.) That was one of the first cau-res of our disagreement. The same evening a meeting was held. When he foun I that he could not get away, he proposed tha I should go to the meeting, and propose a ransom for him. I proposed £SOO. It was refused. I then offered £ 1,000, and this was refused, with an assurance that two, three, five, or even eight ihous md pounds would not do, as they intended to take him to Tauranga, and from thence to Taranaki, where they would sacrifice him. At that same meeting, my brother who is present here, volunteered to remain at Opotiki, if Potara would allow Mr. Grace to stop with him, and therefore my brother beca ne I’otara’s ransom. During the evening, I was walking up and down the yard with Mr. Grace chatting. Ho asked me several questions. We were talking abont my brother being his ransom. When I asked him if it was so, he quite repudiated the idea, and said that it was impossible that a Jew should be his ransom. I said that if he was not his ransom, he was perfectly willing to do anything in his power for him, or which he liked. We intended going away next day. An bout or two afterwards Mr. Grace and myself were walking together. He said ray brother Sam was going to do this, that, and the other. I said, “ How do you know my brother will he here to do these things for you ? ” Therefore, I told him he was at liberty to do what he liked, and must get out of it the best way he could. He says, • You must remember, Sir, it is in my power to go to Potara (who was five miles distant), and inform him that your brother Is going to escape.” It was then I made use of the expression, “ You are not fit to wear the cloth of the Church.” (Hear, hear, and laughter.) After a time he said he would not go to Potara. He would let the matter rest. There was another great thing—it was most dangerous to write. We all knew it was death to write. Mr. Grace knew it himself. I warned him against writing. One day I told him to write to his wife, and I would take it without its being known. He refused, saying it was death to write; and an hour after he was in

the open air writing a letter to send by a Maori (A Voice t" Had he paper ’?) He had. The next thing is the grave scene. Ton all know Mr. Vblkner was thrown down a privy head foremost. . (A Voice: “ The wrong man.”) It would, perhaps, have been better the other way. (Hear, hear.) Half an hour after Mr. Volkner’s ex cation the natives said they had hanged the wrong man. Grace knows it. The next thing we come to is the grave scene. We did not want to run ourselves in'o danger at first. At last my brot er and I went to see the body. We went to the privy, and fonnd the door nailed up. We pulled it open, and wj coaid see the feet and twenty or thirty dogs about him. (Groans.) We went to the natives, and the end of it was that thev agreed for me to take the body. After that they seemed not to wUh that i should see the job they had done. Thev came to me when I was ahont to bury the holy, and told me to leave it alone ; that they would bnry it comfortably I saw them with spades, anl thought the body was underground. Two or three da" s afterwards a mad native came in front of m\ place, with Mr, Volkner’s trousers and stockings on him.fl made a “bother ’’about it, and the other natives made him take them off in front of onr place. I then went to the natives, and obtained Mr. Volkner’s body for some shins. The conditions upon which I got it were that I wai to bury it, and that Mr. Grace was not to go near it at all. I asked them then, so as to keep all the favour with he n I could, where they would have it buried They pointed under a willow tre a . Grace came np and kicked up a “bobbery.” He said he wished to have it buried in the graveyard. I said “ It is no matter, so as we get it out of the privy, and underground.” Ho then made a “bother.” He went awav, after my advising him to be careful what he did. After dinner we commenced to dig a grave within four feet of the Church and right behind it in a straight line, leaving room for a footpath We had not got the .grave down more than two feet when Mr. Grace came making a “ bother,” saying it was not east and west. (Laughter.) I said to him, “You are drawing us into danger every day, and for God’s sake leave us alone.” We got the grave down abont five feet when up came Grace again. I said, “ Whafis the matter now. Mr. Grace ?” He said he would read the funeral service. I told him to take care what he was doing, and to go away ; and he would not go awav, but wished to read the funeral service. I certainly did swear, and told him that he was a hypocrite. (Hear, hear.) There was such a row that my men went away on board the vessel and left us —quite natural and proper. Grace remained and chatted with me. I said to him, “ Now, Mr. Grace, see what you have done. The men are gone. You must help me to dig the Tave. Take off your coat and help me to finish it ” But I also asked him to go and bring the body, but no, he would not. As soon as he fonnd there was work to be done, he left us. After a time my men came back, and we got the body and buried it, having wrapped it in two pieces of carpet and blankets, supplied by Tiwai, and tied round with flax. In this manner we put the body in the grave. I then sent for Grace to come and see that the body was r spectrally buried, and he came and wished again *o read the funeral service. My brother cut a head stone for the grave, and put it up. When Mr. Grace wished to read the service, I tb'd him that if he would read the funeral service quietly after the grave was filled up. it -would do as well; and have-the same effect. I told Mr. Grace that as soon as the natives were cleared away; he could come and read the funeral service over the body—that it would do as well. He turris round on me and says ‘ I think I will leave it till Sunday.” (Laughter.) Sunday came: I watched him like a cat watching a rati Do yotY think he Went near the grave ? No., In althese events we were thrown so much together that the beauty of it is, there was not a circumstances took place without witnesses to it. (Hear, hear, and applaus-i.) There is another little thing I can give you, just showing the ideas, of the man He madi an agreement with Tiwai; the native, for board and lodging, I said to him. “God knows how many months yon will be here j Tiw u will not' be able to keep yon when we go away.” He then made the agreement far the Bth, r which I drew 1 out. On the night we were going away, Tiwai came to' me and said “ How me get the money ; when was the Bth and when was the 6th ; why you not agr-eto6th.” I said that Grace had said to me “ You might as well .make it oat for the Bth.” Tiwai immediately said to him “ You eat no kiki on Sunday ?” (Great laughter.) “Oh, yes,” said Gt ace* “ them why don’t you pay for it,” said Tiwai (renewed laughter). The doctor who was down there with myself, as it was dangerous to be 'writing in public, said that I had one large room in my whare, and asked me to allow him to go into it to writ-, to Auckland. We locked ourselves up and by-and-bye a tap eatne at the window. I motioned the doctor to keep quiet, Grace came taptapping at the window, and would speak in front of the house. We had great difficulty in keeping him quiet. There were about a hundred natives present at the time. The very night before we went away Wil iam King came up to see ns. He said he would write to Auckland for assistance. Mr. Grace went out into the yard, and told him that ho was. locked np writing to the Government for ns. Well, when I was coming away Mr. Grace than’.-ed me very kindly and said, “ God knows what I will do for you in Auckland.” shaking mv hand. I told him there were three things which I wished him to observe, namely, to go near none of the meetings, to keep his own arguments, and to remain in his own house. He promised to do so. I then dropped down the river to the heads. A calm came, and we dropped anchor. Tiwai said to ns, ,r Let ns go to the meeting,” and he, and my brother and I went. When we came up to within a quarter of ami'eof the place of meeting who should we meet but Grace coming back helter-skelter with his hat in his hand. He said, “ They are going to hang m >, and for God’s sake help me to escape ; I will give you £I,OOO ” Isaid, “ We do not want your money; I warned you not t6 go to the meeting.” He said, “T coul I not help it,” We went oat, and the natives killed a bullock, and we had a feast which made us all jolly. They gave us a lot of beef to take on board the vessel. “A great many 'little things make a muckle,” as the saying is. There was another little thing which I must menti n. He wanted Tiwai to go to Mnkatau with a I tter to the great prophet, telling him he would give £2O for doing so. Ti-vat came to me and asked what was the best thing for him to do.- I told him 11 if Mr. Grace is to give you £2O, let him give it on paper, so that yon may give it to your wife, in order that she may hive it in case you are killed.” He then to Mr. Grace and asked him to give him an order on Mr. Brown, of Tauranga ; but as soon as he mentioned putting pen to paper for a penny piece Mr. Grace was off. (Laughter and applause.) Another little thing I must mention, showing the spirit of the man in the whole affair. You have all hoard something about the acknowledgment he hasgiven me—the bond He did not give it to me ; he gave it to a third party. I have it here, and you wid see what sort of a bond it is. He found it might cost him something afterwards, and he told the doctor to go prowling round mv hut, and pick it up from some of the shelves, and he would give him £lO for it. (Oh, oh. groans, and cries of hear, hear.) Here is the document; you will see what sort of one it is. (Captain Levy here read the bond.j That is the groat bond, gentlemen. (Laughter.) Here is another memorandum, which came In the same letter. [Head it.] Well, now gentlemen, if he did not.want to keep these matters quiet, why did he offer Tiwai £2O in the street the other day; and invite some of the sailors to come to his house ? [A voice : Why, is he not here ?] That is another thing. We can see his ingratitude. We felt that whenever he came to Auckland be should be the lion, and we the little dogs funning behind him, at his feet. (Laughter.) I told him on the day 1 was coming away that I had left these little matters out of my diary. He said, “Good, Mr. Levy, you have d-me quite right in leaving them out; they ought not to become public.’ He told f.vq-vul!y that if one stopped all should stop (■ >h, oh.) Now, as far as Potara’s scheme was concetped, it was a good scheme. The letter he worn to the Government was a good one. The scheme was that we should be kept there ten days after the letter was written. It was their intention to take Mr. Grace to Tauranga, which would occupy ten or twelve days. That Was the scheme, gentlemen. Mr

Grace, even on the day I came away, off-red me £2OO to take him away also. I said, “Do we want money? No; the people of Auckland will know bow to requite us My brother and myself attended. meetings ; there was a mass of them throughout the whole afiair. Now, I will give you a little memoranda on Mr. Hooper’s letter, which appeared in the C rots of yesterday. Here is the first‘paragraph : ‘To the Editor of the Daily Southern Cross. air, —I am sorry to trouble you a second time, and if Mr. Morris Levy had not come on board of the vessel and abused me in a most shamefnl manner, and called me the most heni >ns names not fitting to oe published, I should not have troubled you further; but what I neglected to put in my first statement, on the 3rd of March, I shall nut neglect to put in t is statement.” He did not tell you the reason I had the row with him. It was this : that the letter which he inserted previously war signed by Jones and Thomas. I asked them /vhy they had signed it. They said they had not seen it, and signed it in a hurry, it was sent down to one of the officers, and I kicked np a row about that. He also states, gentlemen, as yon will see, that the cause of his writing both letters was my taking the shirt and hat from him. He forgets to tell you that I had given him a shirt and a pair ot trousers ; that my brother had given a waistcoat; and that the doctor had also given him a shirt, besides other things which he got from John Moore’s box. He got more than he lost. He said, “ I will pay for themwh n I get to Auckland’ 1 ; and I said, “You had better leavj them here ; if you have got the mon y to pay for them buy them in Auckland : don’t take anything away that is left. In fact, ho has been asking for eveything ever since. To that same man, gent’emen, I sent every meal to his hou e, supplied him with medicines, and gave him a free passage up. This is the second tree passage this same Hooper has had. He states here. Here is another paragraph contained in Hooper s letter ; more I wish to mention, that is the report that Captain Levy made in Auckland—that when the natives came to tie the Rev, Mr. Volkner he immediately rushed upon five or six of them and pushed them away from tying that gentleman. This was one ot Mr. Morris’s reports tiere in the town of Auckland. I can and will positively swear on the Bible that this report is a false one.” He states himself in' his former letter that he was sick in bed that day, vomitting blood. (Oh, oh, and applause.) Intact, he never walked as far as the whare during the whole time he was there.

A Voice : Do yon deny his accusations ? Captain Levy :Of course I deny it. That same Hooper offered to sign ray diary there. My men said so. I told them they need not sign it until we would get to Auckland. They could not sign it there, because they did not know anything (hat occurred on board the ‘Eclipse.’ 1 did not quite fancy what had oceu red on board the vess-1. Well, I think, gentlemen, you have "heard pretty ‘ nearly enough, lam open to answer any fair questions pat to me, • / i ' < A Voice: How did yon manage to get him (meaning Mr. Grace) on board the vessel ? Captain Levy : I will give you the rescue ; it is necessary I should do so. 1 was sleeping in the same house with Mr. Grace to keep him company. My vessel was lying at the Heads. I was awoke up by a native named Terameta, who told me there was a steamer coming close in shore, that he was afraid she would get on shore, as he had never seen a vessel so close. I immediately got up, ran ow, and saw nothing. By that time breakfast was ready. I got on the top of'the house, then on the chimney, from whence Isa w the vessel. I jumped down, and said to Terameta and iny brother, “it is H.M.S.S. 1 Eclipse.’ ” We were about to start, when Mr. Grace sai l, “ Slop and hj ve breakfast.” I said, “ Damn the breakfast (laughter) we will not wait; I bars got some work to do.” So I went with my brother Sam, and we got into the canoe and pullea off to the ship. Mr. Grace makes a report, it. appears, that he was standing on the bank of the river when we got away. Mr. Grace did not come near us ; he remained eating his breakfast with Tiwai. We went to the schooner, and took the skipper’s boal, in order to get alongside the * Eclipse.’ When I got a’ongside, the first inquiry was, “ Where are Mr. Volkner and Mr. Grace ?’’ from his Lordship the Bishop. Z answered that Mr. Volkner was dead, and that Mr. Grace was on shore a prisoner. The Bishop said, “ Can you get him ? ” and I said, “ No.” The bishop then said, “ Can I attempt to get him ?” I answered “ No.” He then asked ifae why; and I replied, “ before you get half way up the river you. will lose half your men, and the natives will have him four or five miles up the buffi.”

Voice,—How far up the river was he ? Captain Levy.—About a mile and a half. When we pushed out from the side of the vessel ( told the Bishop I had left William King and Tiwai oa shore, and he asked me if 1 Would go for them. I said it was not prudent to send a man-of-war’s boat for them, and that I would go myself. I went, and when I came to the corner of the river King and Tiwai were not there. I then went to the schooner, and told the men I was going up the river to gel Mr. Grace. I asked them if they would go, too, but they did not seem inclined to do so I called to a boy, asking him to come, and saying W9 would take sculls, and scull up the river. John Moore, my mate, vol tin teed to accompany us. We went, and when we got to the place we saw Mr. Grace walking up and down the yard I said, “We must risk everything, now or never.” Mind you, when I went up the river I had no idea that I should see him where he was. I sent the boy to him. • He said, “ Mr. Grace, if you go round to a certain point ” (which Mr. Grace knew well) “ the captain will take you in.” He asked, “By whose orders ?” *• Never mind,” said the buy, “if you can save your life, go.” The boy commenced running away. Grace said, “ Stop, ami carry a parcel for mo.” (Laughter.) That parcel contained all he had in the world—a dirty shirt and a razor. (Roars of laughter.) The boy stopped, and John Mo.nrasang out, “run; comedown,” and I sang out for them so come and get into the boat. We had to pass the meeting-house. Two women saw them getting into the boat, and ran towards the meeting-house to give the alarm to the natives . We pulled - Jack one oar inJ I another, and I can tell you I swore a good bit coming down. (Laughter.) Grace kept lifting up his head, and I said, “ Keep down your head, for God’s sake ; you will be shot.” ' He put his hand on the gunwale of the boat, and I told him to keep his hands out of sight, and to lie down in the boat.” At last we got him alongside the * Eclipse.’ The Bishop and Captain were looking at us, and were astom bed not to see him. I said to Mr. Grace, “As soon as you get under the shelter of the steamer you can stand up,” which he did. He hopped on boird, and from that day to this has never spoken to us on the matter.

A Voice : Never thanked you ? Captain Levy : The Bishop thanked me very much When we gtt to Auckland, we came on shore at the Wynyard Pier, and the Bishop wished me good-night, saying he would be giad to see me on Monday morning ; hut Grace did not show me the gratitude I expected I said “ that ungrateful fellow’ does not know how much has been done for hifn.” (Hear, bear, and applause.) As I said before I am rea iy to answer any straightforward questions that may be put to me.

A person in the Court : I want to ask you one question. You said you pushed away five or six natives who were rushing upon Mr. Volkner. Now, how could you do that when your hands were tied.

Captain Levy : I had not my hands; tied until alter Mr. Volkner’s murder and then they were tied behind me, ready to Le shot, aui my brother also. The first thing that oc currad on getting on shore was a min rushed at Mr. Volkner, and I pushed him aside. A person in the crowd: We m tst not take accusations against a man of God and Minister of the Gospel without witnesses, two or three witnesses to prove them. (Cries of “ Take your hat off,” “ ask a question,” “ order,” &c.) I think there is a great deal more down in your diary than need have been, if you had kept in harmony with each other, (lieveral voices— Asks question.)

Captain Levy : You think so. Another Voice: What right has ho to think ? - .

Captain Levy ; How could we _ work in harmony when 6ns party was working for all hands, and another entirely for himself r

A Voice : Sacrificing nine lor one (loud applanse). Captain Levy : There are nine witnesses t •

A Voice : Isn’t that enongh (hear, hear). Another Voice : That is quite sufficient. A Third in the Crowd : Where is Grace ? A Fourth: He onght to hare been here (applause). Captain Levy : When I waited on the bishop I asked him to give us the closest investigation, and he said it was not requiredA Voice t He ought to be here. Captain Lett ; He said he could fully understand my feelings working for all hands, and Mr. Grace wo king for himself. Therefore, he coaid nadersta id the both of us. (Hear, hear, and applanse.) There are a couple of letters by “ Scrutator and “ Veritas” which I shall be most happy to answer. The Chairman ; Gentlemen, you have heard the statement of Captain Levy, and if there are no mare questions to be asked, I shall call upon the native Tiwai to make his statement. (Hear, hear, and applause.) Captain Levy : Before I sit down 1 have only only one thing to say, which is that this native worked for us night and day all the time ; and it is solely through that that he has lost his wife, his property, and his all. (Loud applause.) • Tiwai, the aboriginal native, then stepped forward on the platform, and was asked to address the meeting in his own language, when there were calls from all parts of the crowd for an interpreter.

The Chairman explained that an interpreter was to have been present, but unfortunately was not able to come, and begged of them to choose oqq from amongst themselves. After some slight further delay Mr. Lucas volunteered his services, and

Tiwai, whose appearance was greeted with repeated cbeeis and applause said: When we fitst heard of these people coining from Whakatana, it was Mr. Levy’s brother heard of it, and we were told that all the Europeans of Opotiki would be plundered and killed. When they arrived tha natives of Opotiki told Mr. Levy’s brother that he had better flee away and go into the bush. I would not consent to it. I said “ Let us stand or fall together. ’ (Applause.) Mr. Levy consented and I proposed iliat we two should go together to meet them. We went, and the parly arrived and passed close to us. The women of Opotiki stood as closely toge.her as you are standing now, welcoming uj and waving to ns. They cime and sat at the flagstaff, and talked together. Patore and Kereupa stood up and said they came to bring the mana to this part of the country. Patore said “If I see Mr. Volkner here, 1 will cut off his head,” iind he further said that if we did not receive what he was telling us wo should be punished by his god for not acceding to his doctrine. He said this god is the true god, which th jelergymen have hitherto hidden from us. The morning after they stripped Mr. Volkner’s house, they took his horses and things, and the day aft', r Mrs. Levy’s brother did not wish the vessel to eome to Opotiki at the present time, and 1 sa d “ your wish is correct, for if it comes, all on hoard will be murdered.” On another day the vessel arrived, and I proposed that we should go to the beach to beckon her to return.

The Chairman here ruse and said that if the statement were to be carried on in this way, and with such minute details, the proceedings would not be over before midnight, and he thought that the simple fact the meeting wished to arrive at was whether the native Tiwai would confirm what Captain Levy stated or not (Hear, hear.) Tiwai.: All the sayings of Captain Levy are correct. (Loud applause.) A Voice ; I should like to ask Capt. Levy another question. Captain Levy ; Certainly ; '"what is it ? Anything fair 1 am ready to answer. The Voice : You stated a short time ago that you we e a prisoner with the rest, and that your had your hands tied behind your back, but you did not explain how you pushed the men away from Mr. Volkner. How do you explain that ?

Captain Levy ; The time I pushed the men aside was when we stepped from the ship, and we were not tied until after Mr. Volkner's death. My mate John Moore is here, and he will confirm all I say. John Moore got up on the platform and said that he merely wished to corroborate Captain Levy’s statement, and,that he could swear to the greater; part of it.- He was the messenger sent from Mr. Volkner to Capt tin Levy to ask him to give up his go >ds and vessel as a ransom. Captain Lew said he was quite willing to give up everything and he believed that he afterwards offered to do so, but at that ho was not present for he was under guard. That was all he wished to say. (Applause.) Mr. Samuel Levy, brother to Capt. Levy, was next called on, and said' that all he had to say with regard to this affair was very little beyond confirming what his brother said. He himself had been ransom for Mr Grace and inten led to stop with him. Tiwai, bis brother, a»d himself had been together the whole tima. (Applause.) A person in the crowd; I wish to ask you (Captain Levy) a question, and I only do so because it has been stated in the Southern Cross by Hooper that you gave the natives a Hebrew bible and told them it would be useful to them when going South to convert the people. Is that true ?

Captain Levy : No, it is not. I never had a bible on board the vessel. Here is a facsimile of the book I gave them [shewing a small Hebrew prayer-book.] A Voice ; Whore is Hooper?

Captain Levy : I don’t know. I cannot see that that book would be of much, benefit to them. The Questioner : Oh yes I it would be of use to them in saying that they got it from you. The Chairman : The question for the meeting is not what Captain Levy did or did not give to the natives, it is whether thanks are to be gi >en to him for his gallant conduct in rescuing Mr. Grace. , A Voice: Perhaps he gave it to keep them quiet. ( Applause.) The Chairman then said that as the statements of Capt. Levy and the others had now been ma le, it only rested with the meeting to listen to the resolutions that would be proposed to them, and to accept them if they thought proper. He would remind them of their promise when he took the chair that he should be allowed to vacate it if the meeting lasted beyond a certain time. That time had passed, and he was obliged to attend elsewhere on important business, so he would propose that Mr. Osmund Lewis, who had taken so promlnent a part in this matter, should take the chair in his steal. (Applause) A vote or thanks was then given to Mr. Wynn. Mr. Osmund Lewis assumed the seat, and requested that in proposing and passing the resolutions that were to be brought forward they would be as brief as possible, as he had an important appointment at four o’clock. He then called on Mr. French to move the first resolution.

Mr. French, before moving the first resolution, said there were some things which bad happened at the meeting for which the requisitionists were not responsible. He wished to make the statement—not because Captain Levy, the native Tiwai, or others connected with the raitter were present—that the-sole object of the requisitionists in wishing the inhabitants of Auckland to bo called together to express their appreciation of the gallant conduct of the noble captain before them arose’ from • that hearty feeling ot sympathy * for a citizen dwelling in their midst, who, at the hazard of his life, had rescued a fellow creature from imminen danger and an ignominious death. (Loud applause) He believed that the meeting would have been far more numerously attended if all classes of society enjoved that freedom which those present possessed. Tnere were many classes of society which could not get through the framework in order to express that feeling of 8j mpathy which existed in their hearts. (Hear, hear.) The object of the req iis tionists in de -bring the Superintendent to convene the present meeting was simply that Captain Lew should receive the thanks of the citizens of Auckland for that noble daring he manifested in rescuing from the natives a gentleman of the Province. (Applause.) He stood upon tha brood platform of humanity, end as regarded the jew and gentile, they ought to remember that God wm the God of one w well as the other. As regarded the native Tiwai,

he might indeed b? acknowledged as a brother. They had the fact before them that it was within the range of possibility a friondlv native did ex : st. What had Tiwai sacrificed ? What, he would ask them, had he not sacrificed 7 His property, his wife, his all; and in a idirion to these sacrifices, he had incurred the vengeance, nut merely of the Maoris, but of those who were influenced by fanaticism. Taking all these things into consideration, he had great pleasure in moving th- first resolution as follows ” That the heroic conduct of Mr. Levy, the master of the schooner * Eclipse,’ in effecting the rescue of the Hev. Mr. Grace from the power of the Pai Marire fanatics, at Opotiki, is des-tviug of the highest commendation, and merits the stronget esteem of the inhabitants of Auckland, and the citizens now assembled hereby tender to that gentleman their best and warmest thanks for nis recent noble and gallant services in delivering a fellow-being from an ignominious death.”

Mr. Eastwood seconded the resolution. He had been told by the Chairman to be brief; bat he mast say that in a matter of public duty, full expiession ought to be given to the sentiments of every citizen that felt himself impelled to speak. (Hear, hear.) The worthy captain had told them in simple but expressive terms, what ha had done for Mr Grace. They were all othem aware of these circumstances, and it was needle s for him to recapitulate them; hat there was one important ciicumstance which he would repeat again, namely, that the character of Mr. Grace was known before the attempt to rescue him was made—(hear, hear)—and knowing what the man was, he thought Captain Levy deserved infinitely more credit than coaid be expressed by words. An attempt had been made to put down Captain Levy, but had any of the gentlemen who made he attempt stepped forward that day to contradict any material thing that he had uttered on that platform ? Not one. (Loud applause.) If, then, those persons were so desirous of vindicating the fame of Mr. Grace and his cloth, why had they not come forward and contradicted the statement of Captain Levy ? They had shown a degree of moral cowardice, and well they might, for they well knew they had not a leg or truth to stand upon. (Hear, hear, and applause.) I' was a worthy act of duty ot any ina i to resene another from danger and death, and in all times, old and modern, the citizen who rescued a fellow-creature from an ignominious death deserved the warmest thanks of the community. But there was one other feature connected with the present subject. Here, a man had been , rescued from the hands of savage tribes, but all gratitude for his preservation had been forgotten, and henao the prejudice that ensued upon the rescue of that person. ( Vpplause.) The Chairman put the resolution to the meeting, which was car ie 1 by acclamation. On the motion of Mr. Turner, seconded by Mr. Sanderson, it was agreed “ That a copy of the resolution just agreed to bo forwarded to Mr. Livy, and that the same bn signe I by the chairman for, and ou behalf of, the mae ing.” Mr. Brahame tno'o ! , “Tint the cordial, thanks of this meeting are also dus to, the ab original native (Tiwai), and also t > ihe crew of the ‘ Eclipse,’ for the very val sable services they rendered in the rescue of Mr. Grace; and the inhabitants now assemble I hereby thank, them for the noble services they performed on Chat occasion.”

Mr. Joshua Hartley siconded the motion, which was also carried. After a vote of thanks had been accorded to the -Chairman, and three-times-three given for Captain Levy and Tiwai, the meeting broke up.