THE REV. FATHER LAMPILA ON THE NATIVE DIFFICULTY.

Patea Mail, Volume V, Issue 445, 19 July 1879, Page 2

THE REV. FATHER LAMPILA ON THE NATIVE DIFFICULTY.

The following letter appeared in the New Zealand Times of Saturday last;— Sir,—Will you kindly give a small space in yonr columns for these few lines, as, owing to my knowledge of the Maori language, and my frequent conversations with the Maoris of Taranaki, I am thoroughly acquainted with their spirit. I may be able to render a slight service to the Government and the settlers in the present juncture. All are interested to know that the Maoris of Taranaki, Hawera, Patea, &c, &c., are a restless-minded set, ready to obey an imposter who will not only deceive them for the purpose of exalting himself over them, but will stir up other far distant tribes by his dangerous superstitions, which are calculated to established his own absolute power. A man like him among the Maoris is always welcome, provided he flatters the vanity of his race, and promises good health and a long life, no matter how glaring the contradiction between the cause and its effects. A Maori prophet.

by his imperative influence, is nevir *hort of arguments to turn everything to his own advantage, and is sure never to be contradicted by his fellow-country-men, for his ‘obstinacy and boldness are the supreme reason which obliges them to assent to his nonsense. Now calculate, by this invariable fact, the rightful consequences which may result, when a people—a bold people like the Maoris—-are merely a blind tool in the hands of such a man as Te Whiti. Last Monday I kindly obtained permission to see the prisoners, in order to persuade them of the insane conduct of of Te Whiti. “He seduces you,” said I, “ by his ridiculous dreams and pride.” But the moment I uttered their prophet’s name, they convinced me that, in spite of their present humiliated condition, they would suffer none to attack with impunity the follies of their deceiver, and some of them answered with great -warmth and indignation, insulting the speaker. In Taranaki I had many discussions rwrith them on the same subject, and I constantly found them in the same disposition. In their eyes, Te Whiti is the infallible truth, equal to God, or, at least, God is incarnate in him, consequently he can neither deceive nor be deceived. Such is the Maori idea of the prophet, Te Whiti knows the Holy Scriptures •very well, as did also his predecessors, Te Una, Tepenoha, Matene, &c, who in 1863 and 1864 did such a vast amount of harm to both Europeans and good fiienclly Maoris. Well,, all these prophetic leaders were guided by the same inspiration—that is, by the individual and pervert ed interpretation of the Word of God. All of them perished the wretched victims of their own delusions, Matene, who went to Wanganui, where I was living, to disturb our quiet tribes, was at the head of about 400 combatants (May, 1864), recruited mostly from the very same tribes that are now causing such anxiety, to the settlers especially. He frequently used to say to his followers : ;t Fear not, my friends, your skins are proof against the bullets of your enemies. You have only to invoke Han, our God, and instantly he will paralyse your foes; the guns will fall from their hands, and then yon will only liave to cut their throats.” Poor unfortunate fellows, they eagerly •swallowed these silly promises, and boldly relied on them as truth straight from Heaven. Happily our Maoris soon .proved to them that they could pierce the cuirass of their bodies; for in the terrible conflict which took place at that time, in less than fifteen minutes, fifty Hauhaus were slain and many more wounded ; on onr side, we lost fifteen Maoris, and my friend, a Frenchman, who was tomahawked at my side. In the present circumstances, the ■situation of the settlers in Taranaki, Hawera, Patea, &c., &c., is not only precarious, but imminently perilous, both for themselves and their property, so long as Te Whiti is left with impunity in his place (o funaticise the people whose idol he is.—l am, &c., F. Lampila, C.P. Wellington, July 11.