"KING" TAWHIAO IN ENGLAND.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 6, Issue 1753, 5 August 1884, Page 2

"KING" TAWHIAO IN ENGLAND.

Among the persons on board the Orient Company's Royal. Mail steamship Sorata, which arrived at Ply«. mouth on May 31st (says the" Home News" on June 6th) from Adelaide; Melbourne, and Sydney, were Tawhiao Kin? of the Maoris, Topia Turoa, a Jalthi Wanganui chief, who subscribed £IOOO towards the expenses of the visit to England, Wiremu Patara te Tuhi. son of the chief Maisha, who acts as secretary to His Majesty, has had' & considerable experience in public J matters among the Maoris, and editor of tho" Hokoi," a paper started to advocate the King's cause, Hori Ropia, a chief hailing from Poranghau, in the Wellington District, and Major Te Wheore, whose name is said to be almost a household word in New Zealand, and who has for some time past had the honor of a seat in the Ntffo Zealand House of .Representatives, George Skidmore who accompanies the party as interpreter, is a half-caste, a native of the Bay of Islands, and apeaksbotli Engl'sh and Maori fluently. The Soratu was timed to arrive early, but she was not sighted off the stone till four o'clock in the afternoon, and nearly one hour and a half had elapsed & before the Great Western Railway Company's powerful steam tender, Sir falter Baleigh, Captain Buckingham, ; came alongside. Here Mr Jones, the examining officer of Customs, elicited from the surgeon on board the fact that there had been two deaths on board, one a poor fellow, who died shortly ' after leaving Australia of consumption, and the other a woman, who it is said died from typhus; both buried at sea. Mr Jones having been assured that there were no cases of sickness on board, the vessel was granted pratique. The "Royal" party were found sitting - oil the deck at the stern of the vessel, but immediately those on board the Sir Walter Raleigh came on board thigL Sorata, the King disappeared into thW regions below. The "Times" correspondent was taken below and intra- , duced by a friendly passenger to the a King, who was lying' down on the 1* couch in his cabin. He rose and received him in a most courteous manner, shaking hands with him very heartily. The King, like his four colleagues and compatriots, was dressed in a tweed ' suit, with a mackintosh of blue tex- : ture, The party travelled very quietly, 1 and but for their color, would be quite incognita. King Tawhiao has been faithfully described as the most uncommunicative of men. He left New Zealand in a state of suspense as to what he means to do in England, and after vainly endeavoring to worm the secret out of him, the " Times" correspondent hazarded a guess that he intended to seek the. confirmation cf bis title as King cf New Zealand. • But - this was mere conjecture, and the momentous problem still remains unsolved. The King, who, it is said, over sixty years of age, has a and agreeable manner. He laughs and talks with his chiefs freely. When lie a saw the Press representative paper and pencil in his hand, he ./§ motioned to be shown the writing oh :. the paper. This was shown to him '" but this was not what he wanted, An English passenger who was standing by explained that he wanted to place his autograph on the paper, and when tho paper and pencil were given, Tawluao seemed pleased. After grinning in a most charming manner, the ICing subscribed his name oil a piece of paper, and (hen handed it to the Press representative. At the request of tho King, his Secretary, Tuhi, also wrote his name on the paper, and the other members of the party followed. The King's writing is very inferior, the best writers being Major Te Wheoro and the Secretary. Tawhiao understood tho meaning of a lvmarlH which was passed, to the effect thar Tuhi could write better than his Majesty, for he seemed somewhat displeased afterwards, and frowned darkly * and grunted his kingly displeasure. However, he quickly recovered, and on being spoken to, l-ecame most affable. Tawhiao, who is an inveterate tmoker of cigarettes, took np a packet which was lying on the recess in the cabin and handed it to the press representative, who inquired if it was meant for him to keep. The King nodded his head and pointed to his coat pocket. When the press representative took the cigarettes and put them in his pocket the King seemed pleased. He then took up » . stray cigarette and lit it; Tuhi followed suit, and, at the request of his. Majesty, the reporter smoked a cigarette which the lit. Shortly after the Press representative took leave of the King, who lifted his hat most courteously and shook hands, On June 3rd Tawhiao, the Maori King, and the chiefs who accompany him on his present visit to Englaecl, ; made their first appearance in the.,streets of London, and were the objects of a very considerable amount of ® interest, the onriosity of spectators bein? especially roused by the tattooed countenance of the King, and the • . enormous earings, which is the chief ornament tin his person. The partytook a general survey of the oity, his Majesty shewing himself much im- ' pressed with the magnitude of thebuildings, the great masses of peoplehurrying to and fro, and the numbers, of vehicles continually passing. Tawhiao evinced deep interest in the goods displayed in many of the shop windows in Cheapside, and in thecourse of his perambulations made several purchases. Tawhiao and his companions had a private interview with Mr Chesson, secretary of the Aborigines' Society, at which thej intimated their wish to place the business of their mission in the Society's hand:;. Mr Chesson has promised to> to communicate with the Lord Mayor, Sir Joseph tease, M.P., Sir Fowek Buxton, Mr Dillwyn, and.others, with. A a view to obtaining an interview- with IS Lord Derby prior to any outdoor demonstration.