SEIZURE OF A MAORI STONE IMAGE.

Patea Mail, Volume VIII, Issue 1013, 26 March 1883, Page 3

SEIZURE OF A MAORI STONE IMAGE.

GREAT EXCITEMENT AT OHINEMUTU. Our (Taranaki Herald) correspondent at Obinemutn telegraphs at noon on 'Monday as-follows:—“A seizure was made at Lake House, Hotel premises yesterday afternoon, under a search warrant, of the celebrated stone image Matna a tonga, said to hayo. |eep; brought by Maoris in an Arawa canoe to Maketu from Hauraki, and afterwards brough tr, by Tnhoarangi do the Island of Mokoia and buried there. Sir. G. Grey, is said to have been the only ’European who ever saw the image nntil it was discovered on the 14th by employees of Mr R Graham, who on the evening of the 13th brought it over to the Lake House. The figure represents a human being squatting on the haunches, with the knees drawn close up to the body. The forearms are flat against the "chest, and the hands are extended upwards, with the palms against the body and fingers resting under chin. The height of the figure is about 4ft, Bin., and the girth is over 7ft. It weighs more than a ton. There is great excitement both among the Maoris and Europeans—the former, because they look upon disinterment as a gross outrage against their most sacred relic, and (the latter because the illegal action of Mr Robert Graham

jeopardises the relations between them- ' selves’ andt^'Maons""lii§i i er w’''“A,B''Hhenews of-, the outrage spreads among the different hapns the excitement is likely to increase.