Arrest of Te Whiti.

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume X, Issue 3386, 14 December 1889, Page 2

Arrest of Te Whiti.

According to Mr Stroud, the bailiff, tin; urivst of To Whiti at Paril.aka on Tuesday was effnuted very easily, and without an)' trouble, Mr Stroud accompanied by Constable Hickman went down firm Pungarehu to Par. iliakii in a buggy about 8 o'clock. Countable. Hickman, who speaks Maori fairly well, got(Jburlas Wnitara Te Whiti's son-in-law, to interpret the warrant and the object of their visit to Te Whiti. Sorao timo was spent in a korom, Te Whiti making it plainly understood that be would not with the bailill' il his airat was ordered by Mr Still, the judgment, creditor. Ho wan assured thatit was for contempt of Court that he was wanted, and he then consented to accompany the bailiff, After some further talk the party left the village about 11 o'clock, Tc Whiti giving the natives instructions what to do when he was away, Mrs Te Whiti and her daughter aied a anod deal when the prupbot was leaving. On the road to Pungarehu, Te Whiti,- jun., met the party, and he in a filial manner bude bis father good-bye for the time being. Some reficshmevit was partaken of at Pungaiehu, and Mr Stroud then came away with his charge, the pony arriving at the gnol about half-past 'Aiee o'clock on Tuesday afternoon. Te Whiti shook hands with the bailiff in the gaol on parting, but said nothing, The arrest was carried out very quietly, none of the natives down the cons', excepting those in the village at Hie time, knowing anything about it till it was all over,

Referring to the uliova the Taran.rki Herald writes;— What a change has taken place in native affairs within the lust ten years; what a different feeling the two races have one towards the, other to what was the cjso twenty yeatsago, Who would have prophesied in 1809 that within twenty years a bailiff would bo abje to go quietly into the Paribaka stronghold and arrest the head chief for debt \ And who could have believed that To Whiti would have quietly agreed to leave his peoplo and consent to be imprisoned for a period of three months rather than pay what ho considers an unjust debt ? It is only twenty-one years sinco the colony was in a state of hostilities with the natives-Tito Kowaru leading on this coast, Te I(ooti on the East Cuast, and Tc Wotore ntMakau, U is not. more that ten years since To Whiti was defying tho Europeans by ploughing on their land ; and it was only eight years ago on the sth November last that an end was put to tlio, uneasy feeling the Parihaka chief was causing the Europeans by having t)im and Tojju removed for a time from thp district. To the Hon Mr Bjyc'e we are indebted fpT ths bold

I.!'P he took in the iiiuUer. He faced the Maori " Img-biar'' as it. lind never before, been fnced ; mid he let the natives know that, (ho Government ilid not intend to allow the progress of ihe district to hit impeded any, longer by them. Mr Urvco's | native policy with regard to thin district was iihly followed up by the HO.l. Mr' Bullance, who instituted what was aaticically railed tho " oiio policeman puliey," and with inspector Pai'dy in charge, the Natives were soon shown that the civil power, when in proper j hands, was as mighty ns a military force. Tho arrest of To Whiii on more than one occasion lor the breach of the law, when trying to test his legal claim to the hind, has evidently convinced the chief that "the Court," us ho calls it, is not to be played with; and that if he did not go with the one man who was sent for his body, that hundreds, if necessary,' would follow arid compel him to go to prison in a very ignominious manner. As Te. Whiti has always gono quietly, and as his offences weie novor of a criminal nature, tho old chief has always been respectfully treated. But what a change nil this is, and in such a short spacn of time ns ten veal's. Now truly may it be said that tho " Queen's writ runs through New Zealand."