NATIVE NEWS.

Waikato Times, Volume VIII, Issue 478, 12 June 1875, Page 2

NATIVE NEWS.

Rewi's Return to Te KuitlMajor Mair accompanied Rewi as far as Alexandra, and took leave of biin there on Thursday morning. About the last words which the Ngatimaniapoto chief uttered to Major Mair were : — " There will be no more fighting with weapons between us in future. The only fighting will be with the tongue."

Rewi's Apparent Friendliness. During his stay at Alexandra Rewi appeared to be anxious to cultivate the friendship of the settlers. He shook hands cordially with a great many of them, and visited the principal stores and business places, purchasing a pair of boots and other necessaries. He minutely inspected the Telegraph office, manifesting much interest in the working> of the instrument, and the " mysterious talking wire/

Tawhiao'a Movements. Rewi v9t.11 meet Pawhiao at Te Kopua on the way to Te Kuiti. The Maori King has been staying at that settlement for some days, and, it is reported, has been drinking very heavily. He is said to be daily growing more and more intemperate, and losing influence with his adherents. If he pursues his present course he is not likely to live long; but int^e ev^nt%£ his death, he would be succeeded byViTl^^^ wflk JJJlljtkil twenty-four

The rumours lafcv current inS^Sew Ptymouth as to the probable opihing of the Mokau river for European trade are corroborated by well authenticated information which has reached us. Tawhiao and his party are not strongly opposed to the proposal, and only a small section of the Ngatimaniapoto are hostile to it. Bakiri Te Rerenga, the principal chief and land owner at Mokau, has de clared his intention to open the river for European trade, and at the recent meeting at Te Kuiti h& strongly advocated the step, which would, we believe, add considerably to his influence and profit.

Mazmhiri's Illness. This aged chief is reported to be somewhat im~ l proved in health, but the general opinion seems'to be that he is breaking up. He is very much depressed *y jh* recent <^&th of his w!1Jl and has been giving acfoce^B t(^futura^6t^n, "wIBL the nativesconstrue inVl aJfu^gag^ oi%pjtf ia||^on.

Moffit, the Pakeha Maori,^s left Te Kmti, and is on bis way to Wangamii, having been last heard of in the neighbourhood of the head of the Mokau river. The ne«fti-quarters of the King party appear to have become too hot to hold him. He has been attempting to utter a nnmber of cheques purportingto be signed by Mr George Graham, but which are simply barefaced forgeries. At one time he had £2,000 worth of these in his possession, and some of them were offered at Alexandra by natives upon whom he had foisted them, and of course they were rejected. Moffit was enabled to victimise the natives of Te Kuiti to a considerable extent by fraudulent representations, untiWhis worthless character was unmaske^J^Mi^LjhiMpavis, "mkp is now at Te Kuiti. I^^sTKeHl^ss^B that this man Moffit is the^beraon^whp^ma^^^nt jroitence in Mount Eden j^kpl forTraua^Lja^j^^iWt, another idle, worthless vagabond of tUfe sameiiidney, has returned from Auckland, where he succeeded in duping a newspaper and obtaining the sum of £10 for lying reports about the King country. He has been trying to get through to Te Kuiti, but hearing of the disgrace of his bosom friend Moffifc, he has billetted himself upon the hospitable natives of Te Kuiti. Neither of these vagabonds have thdHslightest influence with the natives, and it is well that they have not.