Tawhiao's Visit to Waikato. The Banquet at Cambridge.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1414, 26 July 1881, Page 2

Tawhiao's Visit to Waikato. The Banquet at Cambridge.

The following is the concluding portion of our report of the banquet, which was crowded out of last issue :— A Kaipa'ri *Oh?ef 'th'en '<&dressed the assembly. He safoU—Salutions to you ■ all, - and .the »chairmaa«of-»> this-, dinner. You have been very wise in your selection of food," for] tHw'exped^icfn)}/ |Tou have been very energetic misapplying it. The tyctgivesjne,,great, i .p)eaB^r«,jnd«|ed. , I have one word to say in support of what TawhWtfeas's&d j'npjneiy, that, you are white and that Twe., are dark, but out of the heart good may come,'^Another word was let affairs be managed in a straight' forward 'manner! That is all I'have to say. Mr J. P. Campbell then'rose and said : —At the request of one 'of the Vicechairmen I have a toasii to propose, but before'doing so I'll ask the company present to fill their glasses. He then pro* ceeded:—Mr Chairman, I ;may '-say that as an old resident of Cambridge I have .taken pa# in ,ajgrea.t many dinners. In fact 1 may say I dont think that there are many public events of importance at which I have not been present. , I may say I have never had greater pleasure at being present on any occasion than this upon which we are now met!. As Major ALair has kindly said in his speech many gentlemen including himself, have contributed towirds the bringing about of this happy meeting, and 1 think that it is only fitting that wo 1 should acknowledge the efforts of every gentleman who has endeavoured to bring about this iauoh to be desired consummation. Amongj lithe gentlemen who have laboured .in . this matter there is one whom • I > desire to mention and who is present this evening. I refer to Mr Graoe, and it is therefore with very great pleasure that >I > rise to propose his health for the valuable assistance which he has rendered, not only upon, this occasion but in bringing about the result which has occasioned this meeting. Gentlemen, I ask you to drink with me the health of Mr Grace. * - The " Jolly good fellows" chorus yrsa again rendered, and. the toast warmly lesponded to. Mr Grace in responding, said he did not expect the honor which had been conferred upon him that night. Hedid not 6ee what he had done to deserve the compliment. However, he would thank them sincerely for the manner in which they had drunt his health. MrFergusson then proposed Mr and Mrs Raynes. He would^ say that they were greatly indebted' to them for the excellent manner in which the spread had been put before them, and the complete* ness of the arrangements made by them, which tended considerably to their enjoyment that evening. The toast was received with acclamation and the usual chorus, and was duly responded to by Mr Raynes. A moderate "haka" performance was then given by the natives pre«ent, Tawhiao taking the initiative, and was received with cheers by the Europeans present. Tawhiao then said : —The meaning of what has now been given (meaning the haka}, 13 this : That it is an old and practised custom amongst the Maori people that whenever a feud has for any time existed between them and they wish to again become friends, one party visits the othsr, and they go through a performance, similar to the one just given, which means that they will never quarrel again, and that friendship shall always exist between them. (Applause). What was a most enjoyable' evening, and one long to be remembered by all who attended, both pakeha and Maori, was brought to a most satisfactory conclusion by tho company singing " God dave the Queen,"

The Pyrotechnic Display. Tawhiao and party were then shown to the balcony of the hotel where they enjoyed the display of fireworks which followed. The fireworks which consisted principally of sky-rockets seemed to have a very exciting ettect on the natives. The band under Mr Mackintosh kindly put their services at the disposal of the Reception Committee, and throughout the evening 1 diacourded a series of choice airs on the balcony of the hotel. During Tawhiao's brief stay in the hotel, the door was guarded by two lines of armed natives.

War Dance. Earlier in the clay about 400 armed natives marched from their quarters in the town, and proceeded to the square opposite the Public Hall. Their object was a war dance, and a more extraordinary entertainment has seldom been witnessed in Cambridge. The whole was carried out under the generalship of Tawhiao and Mauga (Rewi), who attended in person. The king had in his hand a native sceptre ; round his shoulder, toga like, a white sheet; around his waist a massive coloured shawl, and conducted, the proceedings with a most officerlike bearing. Rewi, who appeared to be the spirit of the gathering, presented a most intelligent, and like the king, a officerlike bearing. Of the performers, some were brilliantly painted a bright vermillion, and others acquired a somewhat sulphurous tint, and the whole were well feathered. This, taken in conjunction with the contracted limbs, the contorted faces and fiend-like shrieks of the multitude, ( composed a spectacle, the like of which is very seldom seen, and' when onvie seen, seldom forgotten. Nearly the whole of the inhabitants of Cambridge attended in the capacity of spectators, and to judge from appearances seemed to enjoy the spectacle immensely. Several local gentlemen attended on horseback, one of whom accidentally became unseated, but was fortunately not hurt.

Saturday's Proceedings. On Saturday last the visiting natives responded to the wish of the Europeans of Cambridge, and in acknowledgement of the courtesy extended to them since their arrival, gave another war dance in the centre of the town. It having been previously announced for two o'clock, a large number of country people rolled in on horseback and in vehicles, as well as on foot, to witness a sight which even to frontier settlers is. quite a novelty. It is seldom that such, aa opportunity' ib given to the people of this district to witness the real war dance. Perhaps the principle feature in the performance" is the few leading-lights or professionals .who come in front'of the ranks and^ introduce the several items of the programmed These consist of a few men and Women who contract their, limbs, to'such, an unwarrantable extenVas to beggar^description, and go through a,performance.the nature of which is sufficient to extract tears from a Stoic. It was, no wonder, /.therefore, that a large crowd gathered to witness the mnwalßpe^fopJejiar siewof which they enjoyed free of cost. All were apparently gratified; >haugh of coarse .there were -the usual few who thought to see far more, aria^a^'-tbey^piiid^tKeSr money would hare clamoured for a refund. The Otily-wanfrexperienced was-musia 'to' accompany theevolurions, which weald hare 'impar^d^^qm^vf^jftt iflaxtjal ,t9ne to the proceedings; but it.ia.to be feared that it v0 ooxnpose Airs to siiit tno meoo^ifit uxftev the war-danoe. sjtorte iyer« introduced

which consisted of hurdle and flat races, •hnd these were' in variably well contested, the prizes being from^fivo'to tin shillings. The Maoris during 1 their atay have been well conducted, affable, and sober, and no disturbances of any kind' have taken place.' On Sunday night, during Church hours, the natives, with their usual observande of the Sabbath-day, joined in prayei in their whares in the centre of the town. The singing however, was somewhat inharmonious and discordant. Sunday Tawh'iao spent the day at Major Wilson's residence, and Rewi and Major-Jackson wtJrft'the "guests of Mr £. •Maclean, at Feocourt. Tawhia.o and .party l»it Jpvnbridge punctually at eight ioudocfcV«*tetday morning for Tamahere, where their old friend Teni Ponui is buried. They will stop at the. Maori settlement there, the chiefs being the guests of Mr Douglas. They will proceed to Hamilton early on Tuesday morning. A correspondent writes on Saturday : — One would fancy Tawhiao, Wahanui, and visitors were hard to please indeed if not satisfied with the compliments that have been paid to them at the various places they have visited ; but the Cambridge people appear to have determined to satiate them with pleasure and amusement, as well as providing food of the best quality in sufficient quantities to satisfy their visitors. It was indeed a feast fit for rangatiras. The fireworks illumination last night, under the management of Messrs Dick, Hughes, and Reid, was a great success, and gave delight, satisfaction and amazement to some, and fear to a few not well acquainted with the pakeha. Cheer after cheer rewarded the committee for the entertainment. This morning Mr R. Kirkwood, with his usual energy, was early at work to catch the" worm, viz., subscriptions, for food, races, and similar amusements, competitors to be visitors only. His appeal was liberally responded to, and in a very short time a programme was drawn out and posted by this early bird. Messrs Hitchman, Moore, and Norgrove at once Bet to work, and soon had a course marked out near the Public Hall, hurdles, &c, erected, and the races come off this afternoon. Other members of the committee in the meantime were collecting and receiving provisions from country and town, and soon there appeared another large pile of provisions, consisting of two fine bullocks, dressed, some Bheep, a number of kits of shell fish, 2 tons of potatoes, 200 loaves of bread, 4 bags sugar and a box of tea. The ceremony of presenting the food to Tawhiao and party was entrusted to the Ngatihaua chief, Hargraves, who did so in Maori custom, naming the Reception Committee as the donors and the following order : — Messrs Thos. Wells (chairman), R. Kirkwood, Hewitt, Dick, Hughes, Isaacs, Johnson, Walker, Hougliton, Campbell, Reid, Maclean, and Hicks, It took a long time to divide the food amongst the various hapus.