THE MAORIS IN LONDON.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 4, Issue 1212, 24 October 1882, Page 2

THE MAORIS IN LONDON.

The following letter written by the brother of a well known settler in the Wairarapa appears in a recent number of the London Globe :

Sib,—ln your issue of to-day you have a short article headed " Another Restoration," in whioh you allude to the Maori chiefs at present in England, and remark on the native land question generally. Would you kindly permit me, in justice to the people of New Zealand, to make a few remarks in explanation? r freely endorse every word you say in admiration of the three chiefs now here, and of the whole native people of New Zealand. As natives they have few equals and no roper* iore, and it is pleasing to see the kindly reception they have met with. But, in some other respects, your article is calculated to. mislead the British people. You say that in the petition btought by the three chiefs jjowin Epilajjd if was stated that "a}| stars, tumults, and plpotjahed in Hew Zealand haw arisen from land dispute's between Europeans and Maories," This it in the main perfectly true; but is it not equally true of half the wars and tumults that have happened in most parts of the world 1 Is it not equally. trt|e of the present tumnjt's in Ireland ? And if you will allow' me to express an opinion it must for ever remain true |]nti| the Sjate holds the fee-simpla' of all lands a'p trusty fqv t|ie wliolenation, You add, ! f This'was the. origin of the 'Te Whiti quarrel.' 1 ; This is equ'aljy correct up to a certain stage, but no further. Whilst the djspute remained at thja sfage no serious notice was. taken of it, either by Government or the whife population, But it eventually developed iritg tjq entirely different thing. Te !W(iiti became a religious fanatic—castitigaside' the Christian religi q, but curioqsly holding to some parts of the Qlij Soriptures, ho as'umed the role of a Prophet, He believed liiipejf, %1 nreached to his follower?, that |]e h,ai| he in ape iilly raised up to exterminate the white population, to utterly destroy them from the face of thp earth j and sb .<■ cuiioqsly |l»d s§verftl (if hip vague ( prophecies been fqlfiljed tp the Batiafac, V tion of his people, that heohtaineiati ' absolute and entire control over the minds of his tribe A most intelligent Maori told me (forl am not only a Maori myself, but was at the taking of Te Whiti) that if Te Whii.i ordered ' them to commence an indiscriminate massacre of the scattered farmers, however distasteful it might bo to them, they would be obliged to obey him, because he was the Prophet. He had then for some time been ploughing the settlers' gardens, and breaking fences causing the farmers to oome to the towns. for safety; Was it reasonable, then, to suppose that the lives of hundreds of helpless families should be loft to depend nn the whim or caprice of n half savage fanatic, who possessed the power to; do what he himself believed he had been specially commissioned to do—namely, exterminate the whole white population of the islands \ Thp Gpvqmmet|t had' np, choice. Ijlhey we.r.e in fystice to the whites, "to lake c'hafiie of him., apd their actipq has been endorsed atid'cdtn.; mended by the leader of tHo Opposition, Sir George Qrey, the latp Natjve Minister, and all thnsp understanding thp native mind. Tp Whiti has been twajefl with every possible kindness as a fanatic, and the law has been stretohed in every possible way to avoid the necessity of bringing him to trial as a rebel; and now he is to enjoy six months of the beautiful climate of Nelson on his parole of honour before returning. But the danger is now over, for his people (andlthink himself)have lost all confidence in his supernatural powers.. .With regard to the Monster Land Company, that is to possess itself of half the islands, and in some mystepqs way mr the entire benefit of the Maori, I would, adi vise thoso onntpinplatiog entering it from philanthropic motives to thiqk twice before dping so,- To thpsp wanting $ profitable investment It is a grand idea, There is qnly ope litilp drawhaak-lhey are not lively tq get jt. Tlio Hflff island Government (and let us hope no other) is qod likely to allow a rival to it. self, possessing the power this company wouldhate-ra sort- of Bast .India Company, If any good oan be done by inter. fering with the action of the Government, let it take the shape of advising them to take charge of the native waste lands, as trustees for the nativeß, and, by letting them on long leases, raise a continuous income for them and their descendants, lam, Ac, . W, G. Jackson. ,4, Colkm-strejit, fenclijirpH^treaj,