THE MAORI WARS.

NZ Truth, Issue 69, 13 October 1906, Page 7

THE MAORI WARS.

EXECUTION OF THE MURDERERS OF MR. VOLCKNER.

T~". . '■ • TAWHIAO, THE MAORI KING PENSIONED (Concluded) . — : ♦— — ■—' ■ ■. No. XXVIII, ■ ■ ■ ' __ -♦ — • (BtJ,M.B\)

"TTho month of November found Ropata .very active m pursuit of Te Kooti* Kereopa, and some other murderers. Te Eooti was "skulking" at Te Wara op. the Upper "Waioeka,/ His particular whereabouts was unknown to his enemies. Ropata headed an expedition to' the mountains and returned with 28 prisoners. Amongst them was the husband of a woman captured by Ropata on his previous Journey to Opotiici. As Ropata had prophesied, the poor wretch had followed the the CAPTORS OF HIS FAMILY, and finding at one of Ropata's camps some rags which had belonged to his Children, was found wearing them round his neck/ Ropata was kind to prisoners; he had made ..that bargain with Donald McLean; but why a bargain to extend mercy and kindness to the captured Maoris should be made, it is hard to Bay. But -Ropata's kindness was of great service, *as it induced many . to surrender. Forty-two of jlhe. Uriwera gave; _them~ ■elves .up on June 7* ■ Invitations •.■ were_ sent to others So~Burze^et..'^wpii^^': Eoota, Jl .'a.n<i.. : one or. t#q. others, deemed ; -'to " ' be' ' murderers;, all lives ,wotild be -s'p'aredi'-'More of the Uriwrera aurrendered. Six of the 'rtribej''" "as '• the winter hardened,.; were J found dead, m the ■now. - T.-.-"3|;.-;y : .-; ••-■'.;.? •■■; "V :• ;t,:;.:' '.:'. ': _.•',' .' ",«v- '. •'• "■- .-*■ ••■■-. ."." - ' In June-; occasion, was -taken, -of .the ■ presence of VRjopa'ta, Rangihiwinui, and MokenaJ 'KbheH'- m Wellington . to ..present them /vith the swords sent- them" by the Que^n— or Iperhaps it would be more correct .-to.; sent* them Jin the > Queen's name 1 ; REhgihiwinui returned to his own place. He and Topia claimed and received payment for their followers "at the rato of four shillings a day. We are told that for less than £15,000 they had done successfully what AN ENORMOUS EXPENDITURE under ethers had failed to do. rßusden ■ays: "It would be difficult to exaggerate the military deserts of .their companipn Ropata Wahaw-aha." He., tookthe field again at the end of' 'July.- At Opotiki he entered into negotiations for the peaceful surrender of :ttie TJrlwera.' He urged that the prisoners -of tha,t tribe In Wellington should be released, m which case the wanderers might surrender. McLean, replied., that v they shdulff.' -mater <?:&&: hanged,- (!) ncßop&ta- sent a. c.hief—Kawakunirr^o prevail cm Tamaikowha to,.surrondeVV Hesconseptejl ; but n withe,-imuch-dignity said - tnat> .'it \roiil4 "hava.^.iieen much; .;.. better;, if. Jbe -who^'haa do^^."^^ wrong;' by "-midnight • muitfer"' c had:?'aipolcs- ' glsedV^- ■;.■ 5 o >."•«•,..■•• r r ■-■.■: Te 'ftboti deserted, weak, and'ae--tually m a state of starvation, but still venomous. He attempted a repetition '<>{■ bis fp.ttner Surprises.': For .yearly, tw-o years > he clung to .'the mountains south of Opotiki.- After the campaigning j; of Ropata,' neither j Te Kooti nor Kereopa. were considered much of a terror. The latter dragged out' a miserable existence, . halfetarved, and spurned by those m whose mountain home he was hidden. Some have doubted but that' Ropata could have brought Keropa's career to a dose long before he did. But at last when Ropata had threatened to build a pah m Eriwera territory, unless the tribe asliisted > ' .. [ ' . " ' .'• . ' TO CAPTURE VOLCKNEjR'S ;■."-. .MURDERER, ki chosen party of -the Ngatiporou, from tnf orroat on supplied by ; the Uriwera, Caught .Kereopa m November,! 1871^ and brought, him .to Napier GaoL In . gaol he mtade. a; desperate attempt to cutf bis throat. He was tried and convicted paid sentenced to death < • ■ ■"•'. " « Kereopa was, it will be remembered, a man of . much notoriety, ..the mo9t desperate and bloodthirsty of the Hau Baus. He was distinguished from another^ qt the same name .by . the sobriqjuet of "The Bye-eater." A reward of £1000 had been offered -, for his apprehension, and this sum was paid to Ropata. In reference to Reireopa, it was stated that at the native meeting, a couple ;©f •years; before, he had swaggered about with: no less , than eight revolvers upon his person. Shortly afterwards it ,was reported : that he had been captured, but it: turned out to be another of the same name. .' On. -the evening on' which' he 'Was .sentenced, Kereopa appeared to be a stoic,' but he slept little that night. A day or two later, when offered, breakfast; v Jie m (used to take it, saying, "What's ;the use of eating when X am to-be hung/; Ho fully expected the sentence to bfi carried out at once.' •'• His only desire! ' wasto be allowed to write >tb' his' wife and; children, who were living at Taranakl, He fully confessed to the- Bishop of. Waipu that he had assisted at the murder of Mr. Volckner. The natives generally acknowledged THE JUSTICE OF THE SENTENCE, and showed the" condemned man no sympathy. On January sße Was executed, and died without a struggle. He made no public statement, only saying, "Make haste ; get it over quick !" Some alarm bad been occasioned at Wanganui awing to the movements of Titikowaru, but it Was ascertained afterwards to have been ■imply a scare raised without any iust cause. - % ■■■ . ; It will be remembered that on May V7, 1866, two of the murderers of Mr. Volcte- j Her, Moko Moko and Hakaraia, were executed, the arch-scoundrel and chief instigator escaping the penalty . of his crime , for nearly seven years. ! THE CAPTURE OF TE KOOTI j ,was now the chief object of the Government, . but, influences were at work which prevented tHa* capture of the desperado. His career was now practically closed, yet no force could take him, and the hunt dragged on until finally, by a last brilliant effort* Te Kooti burst away from the relentless troops of Ropata, and l - passed safely into the King Country, which Rewi had m times past bargained for as a sort .of City of Refuge, to which Donald McLean had assented to, as being possibly the easiest and cheapest way of ending an expensive struggle, 'tfhis was m June, 1872, when with about 20 followers, this remarkable man passed into comparative quietude until men lost sense of the heat of the fray, and he received a pardon from the New Zealand Government. Te Kooti remained m the King country until 1884, when he announced his intention of .goinp down the east coast towards Poverty Bay, the scene tof his terrible slaughter a few . years before. An immediate outcry was the reault, and Ropata particularly utrged upon the Government the absolute necessity of preventing Te Kooti's appearance at the scene of the massacre. Many wer» ■till dissatisfied that the Government had spared Te Kooti's life, the opinion being that he should have been passed over to the tender mercies of j ; THE COMMON HANGMAN, as was Kereopa. At Poverty Bay the settlers whose fathers and mothers, sons and daughters and wives had perished •a 5 years before solemnly vowed that Te Kooti should die if he ever set foot on Hawke's Bay soil. The Government interfered, and Te Kooti abandoned his scheme for the time being. As late as 1389, he again recurred to the idea, when . the Government for safety sake placed him under arrest. # » # ■ Many and frequent were the stories of ye Kooti's s'close ■haves,-' Hers is pn*

> desired.. Te Kooti was sitting at the [ time m such a .position that the man i who fired ; saw his profile. The bullet struck his waist-belt just beside the pouch, which he wore m front, and aci tually cut the belt m two. It was se- . cured by the Uriweras. On the shot be- - ing fired, the whole party made off. Whei ther Te Kooti was struck or not was un- ; certain, but the Uriweras reported at the 1 time that traces of blood were seen, the . chances were that he was hit. Amongst y the-priSonerac&ptured about this" time l : Was ' "•'•' ■■' • ' ■ ■-■ ' • ■■• • ■ : ::. i OLIVIA, 'VTE KOOTI'S '.CHIEF WIPE, >; the same lady whose dress he used to ■ hold on to . when going through the bush, "to prevent her from giving him the slip. ' But, although Te ' Kooti had retired, L . with, permission,,- into -the King Country, - ■Vnative matters, were not as quiet as " might be anticipated. Ministers we're • anxious that the Governor should have . an interview with the King m order to j." jCome to an understanding which vould 'insure a' permanent peace; m fact, Sir j Bowen was kept at" Waikajto , [. some days' on a pretended shooting ext cursion m the hope that the King would " consent to a meeting ; but his sable and ' tattooed majesty kept m ;his seclusion. - : '.A great meeting had been ,held at Maun- ' gatauteri, at which 2000 natives attend-. 1 ;ed, including the. King's Prime Minister. 1 Collections of food were disposed of, but the meeting resulted in* nothing but a re--1 quest to the friendly natives as "to selling or leasing lands, and allowing roads to be made. Neither Sir George Bow.en nor the native Minister attended the meeting. ... In April of 1873, however, a great alarm was created by ANOTHER MAORI OUTRAGE.On the 2ith of the month three men, Jones, Rogers, and Timothy Sullivan, , employed at Walker and Douglas' station, were at work at some cuttings m a swamp at the foot of a hill forming a part of Pukehohe Range, near the Mangapiko River, which is a tributary ' of the Waipa. Wfaile they were engaged four Maoris suddenly made their appearance on a ridge behind, thus cutting off the 1 Europeans from the Cainlbridg«-road. Jones, immediately becoming conscious of the danger, advised hjs mates to run, which all three did. They made a long detour, having to go round sfwaraps and through fern. With difficulty Jones and Rogers managed to escape. Had it not •been for Jones, Rogers would have been murdered; Jones, knowing the track, ■ kept himself cool and collected, making 1 Rogers, who was very much excited, keep before him. Sullivan ran with, the two lor three-quarters of a mile, when ;he ..stopped, completely exhausted and unable • to. go any further. He was heard . to 9ay, '"I am done. I shall stand. Good-bye. ', Take care of yourselves." He tried to 'vnideV'"" '"Aftout ■■""three minutes after Jones ■ and Rogers left, they ' r- HEARD A SHOT FIRED, - and did not see Sullivan afterwards.---j Jones managed to catch a horse on the .vroad, and galloped to Cambridge without : saddle or bridle. Major Glare and a small detachment of men brought m the body of Sullivan, which was horribly mutilated.- The head had been cut off, the body cut open, the heart torn out, and part of the liver and lungs lying : i about. The head and heart had been oar- , ried away. Sullivan had first been shot from behind/ About an hour after the ! murder' the same party of Hau Haus came across Parker and Lloyd, who were also m the employ of Walker and Doug- '■ las, about a mile from THE SCENE OF THE TRAGEDY. They stated that they were fired upon by a Maori at about 15 yards. The shot missed and the pair escaped. In Sullivan's case, a yerdiot of wilful murder was returned against Purukutu and three other natives whose names were unknown. Public i meetings were held, and the surrender of the murderers, who had taken refuge m the King Country, was demanded., Mr. James Mackay,- jun., the agent of the Government, was despatched wiith a ! message to the King demanding the muri derers,< Mackay was nearly assassinated, 'his assailant "being, it was said, one of I the chief murderers of Todd the surveyor. Mackay had left Alexandra, on the morning of May 5, for Te Kuiti with imperative instructions from Wellington for the Maori King. Hone Te One returned the , same day 'from Kuiti and reported that the King had refused to give up the murderers; Mackay pushed on, accompanied by Hone Te One, Warara, and Eruiti Dnariri. They were well received at Kuiti, and food was given them, and a tent erected for Mackay. At half-past 6 next morning Mackay was awakened by someone entering his tent. On "looking up ,he saw a • ■ ' " ' MAORI ARMED WITH A LONG CLUB. The man shifted his position so as to grasp the weapon with both hands, evidently with the intention of striking. Mackay roso into a sitting . position and seized the weapon. A struggle ensued, Mackay being at a. disadvantage m not "being able to get upon his feet, and tho Maori strove, because of his advantage, :to Wound Mackay with the sharp end of the taiaha. Mackay cried out, when several natives rushed into, the tent and .dragged the assailant out. He was found to bo a Hau Hau named Ruru. His captors at once took him before Manuwhiri'. The natives at the settlement were indignant. Rewi arrived and took Mackay ajway with him, remarking that if he vmuted evil he would do it m a largo way and not m that sneaking manner. Mackay replied that he considered the aßsault as the act of one man, not as the act of the chief.- He added that, without further noticing the matter, he would proceed on bis missi'/n. During

who succeeded Sir George Bowen, at the c aged 7£ ed him that the abandonment of confiscated Waikato territory was impossible. The King suggested that' the Governor should meet him at Te Kuiti. Sir Donald's propositions were— that the King should exercise AUTHORITY OVER TRIBES within his own district ; that ho should choose his council of chiefs to keep . order and repress wrong ; that the N.Z. Government s'uould assist him ; that tho Government should build a housa for him at Kawhia, and grant to him certainlands on the Waipa and Waikato Rivers. After much palaver, the conference broke up with agreement being arrived at. The Governor did not go to Te Kuiti, and though several chiefs met, the King was abseent as his invitat/ion to the Governor had not been responded to. In May, 1878, the King had an interview with Sir George Grey, who had become Premier, at Hikurangi. Sir George told Mm that the Government would give him 500 acres of land near the grave of his father would return other lands to his people', would erect a house for him at Kawhia and consult him as to roads and surveys.' These proposals were neither accepted nor rejected. On Many 6, 187,3, Tawhiao, m company with a number of chiefs had another interview with SIR GEORGE GREY AT KOPUA wheir he utterly refused all compromise with Europeans. "All foreign innovaj^' tions must be swept away. Then Jfr^' will be no evils." The discussion^.;" ; , several days, some of the chiefs^ „ the Maori Kina's claims, aujjr^" o- ' » '■'■','

m Which there is a spice of humor. Two parties of Uriwera s came upon him at a. potato plantation near Ruatahana. Hemi, one of the Uriwera chiefs, with the objject of taking the whole party alive, iP ! possible, gave orders to his men to try and surround them without firing. One of his men, however, seeing Te Kooti himself sitting astride oi a log m the middle of the plantation, m blissful ignorance of the imminent danger, could not resist the temptation of having a shot at him. The aim was a fairly good one, though not so accurate as might bo

tho struggle Mackji.y was slightly Wounded. Mackay, however, hud to leavo "without seeinß the King. { 'J"e Kooti and To Wahamui were at Kuiti, where a meeting was heid to consider what answer should bo given to Mackay 's demands. Tho excitement was great, and A NATIVE WAR WAS DECLARED IMMINENT. There was no prospect that tho King would give up the murderers. The King at the meeting read a proclamation denouncing the leasing or. selling of land. The people, setllers at Ohineinuri, were abandoning their settlements, not considering it safe to remain. It was gene-! rally believed that another war was at hand. At the beginuing of June the Maori King w«.s still obstinate. Every effort to induce him to give up the murderers failed. Rewi and Te Kooti do- ' clared that whatever happened they Wotfld remain neutral. Purukutu, the • principal of the Sullivan murderers, had ! a following of about 30, having been leit j *to his own devices by the King, who | was also indignant with the Government for persisting m making warlike preparations. i In June the Government determined to see what gold would do m securing the arrest of the murderers of Timothy Sul- \ livan. Warrants were issued for the arrest of the four known murderers, Puruikutu, Hori To Tuum, Whera, a,nd Here-

wini, and £1000 each was offered for tho first two named, and £500, each for the others. "At a large meeting at which Mackay attended, the Maoris asserted that the death of Sullivan was ."SIMPLY MURDER," and not 9. political offence or a declaration of war. Many influential chiefs addressed the King, urging him to give up ; the four. ' ■■..-.'. Parliament met without tho Government being able to announce i;he arrest of the four murderers. The chief of the four was at Kuiti and planting potatoes. A native meeting had been held at this, place, all the speakers advocating peace. The Maori King had spent a night incognito at Alexandra with some relatives, ! and stated that he intended holding a great feast, to which E\iropeß,n» would be invited. For years it had been the object of the Government to withdraw the King from his isolation. The native" Minister at various times sought an in-' terview, but unsuccessfully. Tb« visit to Alexandra showed how the King was on the move himself. The Maori difficulty would be practically at an end if once friendly and intimate relations were established with him. • •.■ As the King was now, apparently, the only stumbling block to PERFECT PEACE, a sketch of his career will fittingly close these papers. Tawhiao, who was the second son of Potatau (Te Whero Whero), the first New Zealand King, was originally called Matutaera, arid was selected to succeed his father m I860." After years of hostility, m Fenruary, 1875, 'he had an interview with Sir Donaid McLean, Minister for Native Affairs, who inform-

their preference for the Queen and Iho treaty of Waitangi. The conference ended without finality, and Sir George wrotethe King before leaving that he was not .doing so m anger, but m sorrow "because}'you have not been wise enough to accept the benefits ottered you, and because the hopes *" which J have cherished for years,- tha* I .might be the means of placing yourself and "y-bUi 1 people m a condition of prosperity a^d peace, has been again deferred," .... . ..-'• > *\ r f . In 188i,-T6..whi4o astolnished; .everybody by a visit to. the 'con/lscated ■ territory m the Waikutb; and was profuse m j his professions of -friendship towards the settlors, surrendering: his 1 guns and those of his party, to- the, military officer of the district ' . ■■ ' ' IN TOKEN.. OP. PEACE. In 1882, he visited' Auckland, and was made much ol by' 'the authorities. At various entertainments-' gire^; 'in . his .honor, ho urged amity.-and -just j dealings, and ftirgetlulne'ss"..6f *£n'e' 'past, >He had a satisfactory ' in ter.yiew ' wit;h '■ the; 'Premier, John Hall. 'tft ;> 1884- the; I<iug visited England. 'He. -a-rpived : .'-;at''- Plymouth on May 91, his object 'being to l enlist the influence of :the:iQi[ieen..irt:»dhecldhg- the aggressions .oi:> r the-, G.plon.loV ■; [Government. The King was successful fin- .obtaining an interviewr\yith,'.tipyfi- Derby, Colonial Secretary, Who -£ro:cftisSd '. tb. forward a memorial to; th.c : ' (Jjueenj; iitit the 'tone ultimately taken' up/says: flfenheli.^was that New Zealand yha^lng- Been ; gi^hted responsible .gpyjsfnment, , the..' Oolbniah Office could not 'interfere "in* a 1 matter so eminently local. .■.The .King and iiis attendant chieXs'^lfiff tJngltintf on 'their return on- August 22/ 1884; much annoyed at not being ; received .by %he Queen, personally, objecting to seeing only.^ her shadow, ad'fba, .-■£ermed' .l/drd; Derby. Throughout b"g3. l&t'er. career; his,^atty;ude towards the '^6^[^tdaad-/}.(3h^hrnixea.t was one -of passi^elprotest io their land policy. In I&aJT Mr.', .'Cadmaii, the Native* Minister m the* ,'■■'■■ • " .. B ALLANfoE .' GpyEiINMENT, induced him tp i ..abandon* this opposition and accept a . pension. Walpole said that all men had their price. Tawhiao's figure was X 223 -per 'year, arid for this j sum New Zealand .'secured peace.