WAIKATO.—THE RECENT MEETINGS.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 5354, 25 May 1878, Page 2

WAIKATO.—THE RECENT MEETINGS.

(FHC3I OCR OWN” CORRESPONDENT.) I intended to have told you something about " the late Parliament at Hikurangi before this. . Intelligence has been so carefully dished up for the public by the newspapers after, it has left the hands of the , official cooks, that it is not reliable, and I resolved to wait a few days to verify certain suspicions of mine regarding the Ministerial accounts of what took place in, ( Waikato. You will probably be satisfied that I have acted prudently when I give you tho results of my careful inquiry. According to the Auckland newspapers the results of the Hikurangi meeting are that,. Tawhiao is to live on his, small reservation at Ngaruawahia, where I suppose he is expected to weep constantly, over the empty tomb of his father Potatou, and wash away all memory of the wretched past with his tears. The Waikatos are to be located amongst tho Euro-. peans on the left bant of the Waipa and of the tower Waikato ; the Queen’s writ la to run eyerywhere ; Ngatimaniapoto are to. shout -• for joy at the prospect of a railway through to Taranaki, and to do ail in their power .to promote European settlement; universal rubbing of noses, the new fashionable colonial form of salutation, will testify the complete amalgamation of thoraces, and then, having accomplished his life-long work of making, every, body happy and rich and prosperous, the soul ■ of the great Proconsul wiU depart in a chariot of flame from Te Eeinga to the abode of the blessed, for all time. That is one side. This is the other,’the reverse, if you choose to call, it- so. On the 7th instant Sir George Grey," the Hon. Mr. Sheehan, and the long tail of followers reached Hikurangi. 1 As the meeting, had been pro. proposed by the Premier and got up by tho Government influence, Maori etiquette required that Sir George should be the first to .. speak; Two' days, however, passed—” the lost days” of which you have heard—and tho Premier having made no sign, the assembled'’ natives began sulkily to drift away. Ou the 10th Tawhiao himself opened the proceedings. He took a fern stalk in his hands, and fixing 1 it in the ground, said, “ You on that side, with your administration ; me on this side, with my administration ; the law between us ; the Atua over aIL” Of course;- the 1 meaning was' unmistakeable, but the Government party;, said, “it was not clear.” Then Te Tnhi (the chief adviser of Tawhiao) -retorted: If*we make it clear, what then ? In this conjuncture the Premier deftly proposed that Tawhiao and he should arrange matters “privately,” whore- - / upon Te Aroha, who is the leader of a very democratic section of the Kingites, said, “No, . it was the people who were: chiefly concerned, and the question must be discussed in open meeting only.” Other chiefs having spoken in the same strain, Te Ngakau closed the par-;, liameut for the day by shouting to the women to prepare the food. , ’ Earlier than usual oh the next morning the natives reassembled, and Tawhiao commenced proceedings by saying that he would speak “very plainly.” He then went on thus : “Prom Mangatawhirl to the mouth of Waikato ; from Mangatawhiri (following the windings of the Mangatawhiri River) on to Iwlrahirahi and to Taupo., (Iwirahirahi is a famous burial face of the Ngatipaoa tribe, and is situated a few miles north of the native settlement of Taupo, near the sandspit passage in - Auckland harbor). On the other side Mokau.. Let all the Europeans between these two boun- , daries retire, or submit to my authority. Youand your Government outside. Another word of mine': Hoads, surveys, leases, all rest with me. No man is to do these things without my consent. This is my last word.” Sir George Grey replied : “ I cannot give you Waikato ; the Pakeha has got it. But I can give you what remains in the hands of the Government, —-that is, all the land on the west side of Waipa and of the Eiver Waikato down to the sea; five hundred acres for yourself hear your father’s grave at Ngaruawahia ; i£sOo a year ; the remaining allotments in all the towns in Wai- ■ kato ; a house at Kawhia; and farther assistance in money for yourself and your people. You and I can talk together about roads. • I will obtain the consent of Parliament to this word of mine. All that I want is to see you settled and happy before I die ; my love for you is very great.”—(Tears aud a pocket handkerchief.) ! Te Tuhi, not much affected by. this touching appeal, replied : “We have heard your proposah The council will discuss it. We know now that you have not the power (that is, we i have discovered that your authority is not ahsolute as of old). Sir George Grey then offered to put his proposals in writing, but was told that he need not do so. A document-was however handed to Tawhiao, and the greatHikurangi meeting came at once to an end. In the (evening Te Ngakau asked the Premier whether he meant “ all the laud west . of the Waipa?” and was answered': “I will ■ give all that has not been sold, and I will endeavor to buy out some of the ’pakehas.” Tawhiao was asked whether he wished his council to assemble that night to discuss the Government proposals. ■He mace no reply, and it was then understood by Waikatos, that the question was shelved once more.' About two days afterwards it began to be bruited abroad that at a private interview Tawhiao had accepted - Sir George Grey’s terms. I need hardly inform you that no Maori believes this. There was a conver-": sation between the King and the Prime Minis- ', ter at parting. Tawhiao then said, “ I will", „ take my own time ;-there are weeks, and - months, aud years.” ■ ] The King and his people are much surprised and disappointed by the want of originality in tho Grey proposals. _ They say, “Why, this is simply Makarini’s idea enlarged upon but there is this difference, that Sir Donald - stipulated that Tawhiao should concede some-, . thing; his were not one-sided arrangements. ~ It was the general impression amongst 'us ; Europeans in Waikato' that Tawhiao would not on this occasion demand the restoration of the land, as the Maoris had began to feel that " it was impossible, The late Sir Donald McLean, bn several occasions, gave them to understand that it could not be done, but it was left for that well-abused man, the last native Minister, Dr. Pollen, to tell them that it would . not be-done. At a meeting of Waikatqs and Ngatimaniapotos at Alexandra .he said,-:' in .reply to To Ngakau, “No, you will not get an acre unless you accept the proposals of my predecessor, Sir Donald McLean." This speech ■ was often- quoted,- and 1 the" Kingites began to * realise the fact that the laud was gone “Ak®,

Ake !” There has been so much talk during the last twelve months about “ the rights of the Maori,” about “repudiation,” and about the “ recovery of the confiscated land,” and so on, that it is not to be wondered at if hope began to revive in the Maori breast. After the Hikurangi fiasco Ministers contrived a meeting with Kewi. I very much doubt whether the simple New Zealand public will ever know what it cost to bring that meeting about. It was known that the Ngati iuaniapoto were very averse to any interview, for the present at least, with Sir George Gray. To overcome this repugnance, a half-caste woman living here in Auckland, who is related to Kewi, was set to work. She made several trips to Waikato, well fortified with means aud all sorts of authorities ; orderlies were at her beck and call; the telegraph wires were at her service ; and people saw that she had suddenly become a very important personage. This lady tried first to get Eewi to meet the Ministers at Te Awamutn, or at Kihikihi; but he would not consent. Then she endeavored to persuade him to attend the Hikurangi meeting ; again he was obdurate. At last ho yielded °so far as to consent tomeet“Kerei and Te Hianga” at his hut on the Puniu. On the day appointed there was a fresh in the Puniu, so he crossed the river and met the Ministers in the house of a settler. It was intended that this should be a mysterious aud very secret business indeed ; even the very accommodating reporters from Auckland were invited not io be present. It is useless to attempt to bell the Maori oat; there werehalf-a-dozen Ngatimnniapotos about, aud any one who takes the trouble to inquire can learn all that took place. Sir George first asked Eewi TtSather “he had heard what took place at *■'Hikuran'ri" between him and Tawhiao ? Tlewi answered, “ Yes, I have heard what took place pvbUcly. I don’t want to hear about anything else.” Sir George then said, “ What is yeur opinion about it ?” Kewi replied, “I have nothing to say about it; if Tawhiao accepts your offer it is well; I am not concerned in it.” Eewi was then asked if he would not like “ to go to Kawau and catch kangaroos and antelopes ?” The wily old chief answered “You had better give them to your son and namesake, Tu Tawhiao.” After some further conversation on subjects of natural history, especially in regard to the habits of the kakapos and of the salmon, Eewi asked, “When does your Parliament meet t ” The Premier answered, “In August or September next.” Eewi then said, “About July I propose to invito Wi Tako, Martini te Whiwhi, and Te Eauparaha to meet me at Waitara. It is an old idea of mine ; X want to upbraid them for their desertion of the Kingite cause.” Some conversation then ensued about land matters, and Eewi explained “ that he had never consented that a'Hand Court should beheld at Mokau.” There was no reference whatever to the construction of roads or railways in the King country, nor talk about the sale of laud by Ngatimaniapoto to the Government, nor about giving Eewi a seat in the Legislative Council. Nor were any of these topics broached at the Hikurangi meeting. Ministers carefully avoided unpleasant subjects, or anything likely to disturb the harmony of the meeting. The King may have been asked by Sir George Grey,what his views were bn the subject of kangaroos, and whether he would hot like to “ see the birds ”, at Kawau, but it has not been reported to me. What the Premier said to his Majesty was in effect, “Takemy cloak, taka my coat and my blankets; if yon let me keep my trousers, be pleased graciously to leave the mark of your august toe bn the nether side of that garment, and I will bless you. Bless you all my children." Purukutu (the murderer of' Sullivan) was a central figure in all the proceedings at Hikurangi. Winiata, too, the murderer of Packer, was in the presence, not, “ crouching like a wounded, bunted wild beast in his lair " (see the Star's special thrilling account of the Kopna meeting, but swaggering about like any other lusty young Maori. Some of the bulletins telegraphed by the reporters are masterpieces of .sensational fiction. I should like to try my,hand in that style. What do you say to this, which is at once sensational and true : .—Purukutu in very' light marching order, his face painted, and his tongue lolling out, is now dancing and yelling, and brandishing a long spear in the Premier 1 a face !” An hour later—The scene changes—the bugle has just sounded “parade tor lollies;” the great Proconsul, assisted by his amiable Secretaries, is doling out “Scotch mixtures” to one thousand innocent little niggers, and talks of kissing them all—at a future period. The Native Minister, aided by his secretary a spirited party by the name of “Hennessy” is winning the hearts'of the women, and on these two points the triumph of the present Government is complete.”. I make no charge for the “ lines ” occupied by these telegrams.