MAORI LAND DISPUTE.

Patea Mail, Volume VI, Issue 508, 14 April 1880, Page 3

MAORI LAND DISPUTE.

The long-standing feud existing between the inhabitants respectively of the Matatera and Kauangaroa villages, culminated last week in a free fight, in the course of which one man lost his life. The Waugachu natives have lately been acquiring a considerable number of sheep ; and, having previously let most of their lands on long leases, have begun to find feed getting scarce. The Kauangaroa people therefore determined to push forward their claim to certain lands lying between their village and Matatera, and for that purpose drove their sheep on to them. The Matatera men drove some of the sheep oif, and killed others. On Thursday the Kauangaroa people went down in force, and drove their sheep over the disputed boundary. The Matatera people mustered, and endeavored to get them off, but were overpowered. In the course of the struggle, which lasted several hours, a Matatera man of the name of Parae (Fry), was urging his horse against some bewildered sheep, over which the horse stumbled. Fry was thrown, and fell on his head. He got up, called out to his comrades to catch his horse, staggered round and round, and dropped dead. The Maoris at first would not believe the man was dead. When at length they were convinced, the Kauangaroa men pronounced his death the act of Hod, to show Ilis disapproval of the Matatera men’s proceedings ; while the.Matatera men declared the the poor fellow had been knocked on the head with a stockwhip. There seems no ground for the latter imputation. Several white men were present and saw the whole affair. W'e have not yet heard the result of the inquest.— Chronicle. DISCOVERY OF.FOSSIL FISH. Mr Edward Smith, of Timaru, made a re markable discovery in the Middle IslandHe says : —While out on a shooting expedition’ in company with Mr Trczisc, of Waitohi Flat’ I came across a deep gully, about fourteen miles west by north from Temuka, having a deep cliff eighty feet on one side, with a slope of eighty feet below it. The base of the cliff was slightly hollowed out, apparently caused by a heavy fall of earth, and in the hollow thus formed, were embedded the fossil remains of several kinds of fish, varying in size from thirty feet long and downwards. Those remains are very distinctly formed, and can be traced without the slightest difficulty by black layers in the solid rock. The whole of these remains, as far as I could perceive, were contained within a space of about 300 square yards, They are indeed most curiou , and the antiquarian, or any one who is in the slightest degree interested in the wonderful works of Nature, will be extremely gratified by a visit to them. It is impossible, on a cursory examination, to hazard a guess as to their age, but the mere fact of their being embedded in the solid rock shows that they must have been in their present position for many thousands of yeirs ; and gives one proof more that at one time New Zealand existed only submerged by the mighty Pacific.