THE MAORI DIFFICULTY. Inside Parihaka.

Waikato Times, Volume XVII, Issue 1461, 12 November 1881, Page 4

THE MAORI DIFFICULTY. Inside Parihaka.

The correspondent of a Nelson paper supplier the following particulars of a vis.t to P.inhaka. After detailing his arrival anil the provision made for hid nights lod<?in.r, ho proceeds : — The riiyht passed without molestation, and c.nly on Friday morning I was astir and skw five l)uil ).'k~. driven in an<l blanghreivn, while ono old uhiuf yelled his lundot for those who required beef to oome and help thomt,4ses, an invitation freely given and icadily responded to, for the men cliibU'red I'ound the boast*, and after much scuffling and .squabbling .tn.l chugging of the meat in tho mud tho whole was mdely apportioned and carried off. I was assured this was only sufficient for ono meal, and it 'may be near tiie truth, for they are either citing or storing a large quantity of pro visions. 1 myself saw one tiam of 22 bullock dr.iy> troin Now Plymouth bound for Panh.ika with flour, sug ir &c. Tho natives were &till busily engaged in planting potatoes und other vegetables, and Imw no weapons of any kind, but there were obscure rumois flyiug abo.it of a sin ill fortified pah a little distance back in the bush. I had no chance of either venfyingor dispelling these Te Wluti's house (a very trim cottage on piles) was pointed out to me, but lam 'Very doubtful if I saw tho owner, indeed, there seemed conhiderablo reticence as to his whereabouts. A number of muscular young Maones fully bix feet high were pointed out as To Wbiti's pei&oual guards. The natives are still sacrificing 1 their hort.es. Shortly before I reached the village 70 were Hold for £<50. Tlieie ccrtninl) teemed to be 2000 at Paiihakx. The village is divided by a Lirge .stieam, tnd being three paits suiionndedby bush tl«ioiscv"y facility ioi tho i.i\ou;ifu ii.itne htrfit.igem of ictre.it, :i couimj they will pioba-bly adopt li tho pi ice. 1-. shelled. From the hillocks aiouml it would seem c\iiy e.i.sy to dtstrtv, tho Milage by eiunon idc>, -'it i wii -tungly iinpß.SMd with tho danger ot such <i t.isk a? unkii q uu advance loi tho puiposc vi anr-ting tho iiii» leaders. ]No piyment, was dcm.indf d for tho h ispit.ility show n m.>, but ono or two n itivts askul e.ig<Mily foi '• waipiio " at tlio miiio tn.io b".ng extiemely .solicitous that Te Win 111 1 shoald not he.v of such a bicach of his law s,

A coitKEsl'ONDbxr of a contomp'uaiy ■writes — One ommi'-sioii m tho pi o<lunation v.is leaving tho Pakeha-M ion nu-chi"f making clement scot hoc — those skullvPM who, tii- the sake of gtttmg i\Jaon l.mds, aio blithe, 1 to leaaAliou live-*, and who, for .se.nblan< c of light tike Maori wive-; — men whom somo poisons in high place-, imiv deem pitnots, but whom pettlti-5 know chiefly ;!■>.•( heiuun end lo ifeis. Tiioso men should h.no been warned to return to centies ot oivilisition or to bo treated as lebel-. The Wellington omio-oond'nt of tho Ot(fffi) Dci'fi/ Tinif, is nl'lo to stare positively t'>at the repoits ci:eul,ited as to Te Whiti having mailtcd Mi Jlollcstcui oil tlie oee.ision of his ViMf Co r.mliak.i ait? absolutely iaKe. The }l >u Mi l'olle-ton weut by the en nest mvit ition ot To "Whiti and tho natn-.s, and w,h tie.ited with jiiu kid iesji ct Jlc iKo used the motu Kindly and eoueiii'oiy (our uiilil compellod by 'JV Whiti s -!ogi;jd .itiitude to adopt a more ppirn-ptoiy mannei Tlw O!'h,i) J'i,,i, \ si) , — Does <.nvoiio lenow what, tho '' < ( nfounded M ion-5 h i\c cum im iio'n beuinum^ to end \\ c h lye soi'i" ivliablo data i\>n\n 1.) 1 577 f'lim I'a.l I'iientai v letuuis n<l the fi.Mr>'-. ,n "* iijiii.lniir 'J'mjv.m - pillow --Ti'.ing fii^L the pi liod tio.n ]S)(')-7 to 1573-1 wi iind the t^ppudiluu 1 foi det'Mue puipose, a\ as no loss than £3,3.31,005 out or loan, »ud £991, '1ib out of levcnuo. l'\n the tlueo yciii'* subseyuuiitly to IS7O-7 the dofence expendituic il!03, 131 out of jovenuc, and £227,306 out ot lorn. The expenditure for those miscellaneous ob)ect-i known as Native puipose-^, and -which include a good many of Iho^o tiansaotions Jcnown as " the feuir.ir-and-blankct policy," up tn the yar 187u-7 was no le--s than £SOl,4 f J7. \V'o my safely add for these several objects for the four years ending 18S0 81 another million, and we have thus a grand total of £6,0.31,717 — a veiygrandtot.il indeod, consideiing the scant result gained by it." Hui fi. (Tithv ox Tin: Nmvi: DiifiCUl,ty. — When .speaking on the I'iopeity Tax Bill in the >lou-o, .Sir George Lhoy incidentally icfeiied to a possible encounter 'With tiouble.somo nitives, ;md as on this question he should l>p n hu r li authoiity, wercpiinfc fiom •' Uansaid'' his rcmarkrs : — " I say, finther, that if theic is likely to be any dilhculty on the We-t Coast — and I suppose thae is, for just before tho hou member foi Akuo.i began to speak, the Natue Minibfcr was sitting beside him and cotisuJtmir -.Mlh lain ; I presume therefoi c some diffu ult}' is <i;>piehended—then I say this: that, foi the salvation of both races, if «ny difficulty does ari-e it should bo instantly put down. This is an absolute nece-sib> That would bean act of mcicy — an act of meie}' to both races, which wo rau-.' hoc ib peiformed Theiefuie oveiy means mu^t be put in the hands of tho Government s> that that m.i} b<; done. J h ive no doubt that what his to be done will be done nieieifully ; but there must be no piolongod war Let plantation" instantl} r be made. If there is the least chance of a distuibanco takinir place, it i" much better mat funds bhould be unnefO'-saiily spent in making pi op u itions and patting themselves into becuiify than to n&k ttirible disasters liereafter. So fr.r, I think we shall all agiee." The Gen brnok and tiii: N \tive QursTiox, The Wellington iW says :— " Sir Arthur Gordon is quite capable of appieciatmg the seiious change m the situation Avhich has been bi ought about by the new tactics of To WJnti. and Ins open air incitement of his followeit, to dcfiuice of the law, to resistance with violence hhould it be enforced against them, autl to forcible interference with European settlers in the exercise of their peaceful and lawful occupation on land purchased by them from tho Government. His Excellency is fully aware that every gentle means of bringing Te Whiti and his followers to reason has been exhausted; and ample provision has been made for the redress of every real grievance ; that landed reserves have been set apart Miffioient for all legitimate native requirements ; that native whims and fancies have been studiously respected so far as this was possible, consistently with the maintenance of order, peace, and settlement : yet that Te Whiti .still defies the law and threatens the Queen's subjects. Under all these circumstances we decline to believe that the rumored probability of any undue interference on the part of His Excellency with the action of his responsible Ministers lias any existence except in tho ■wild guesses of unreasoning persons. It is utterly improbable that an Imperial officer of Sir Arthur Gordon's high standing and expeiictice would commit so grave and fatal a blunder." It is reported Te Whiti and others will be brought before some Taranaki magistrate, and most likely be committed for trial there. It may not be generally known that Te Whiti and Tohu were arrested on warrants issued by a magistrate in the ordinary way. Hiroki was arrested under the old warrant issued just after the murder of McLean. All has been done in strict form.

Drawing from Nature — Pulling a tooth.