[BY TELEGRAPH.—OWN REPORTER.] Opening of the Meeting. Alexandra, Last Night.

Waikato Times, Volume XVIII, Issue 1537, 11 May 1882, Page 2

[BY TELEGRAPH.— OWN REPORTER.] Opening of the Meeting. Alexandra, Last Night.

I paid a< ; visit to WhatiwhatUvtf&jlthis morning, and was pleased to noti® Mhat active preparations were &t <\£SSJQO!Qg made for the opening of the, meetiibgNwmorrow. ,The, Tangata "VV^henua, or resident native's, were" gathering in", the food and placing it" in order to,, be .formally presented to..thejr , guests, in the usual Maori custom./ ; The^ kaL consists . principally of pork and ' potatoes, the former betraying evidentjindicationa of becoming pirau- iat'^nd* - >! ve"ry < l distant r period. Pn," moving on to, the ■ south of of, -the settlement: I jiearhgd for-^h© first 'tim'e'fhavifigfhaa o'dnlar demdmttation of , 'thoVpVScl^, ;«^ay:;%w|iiplC,aativcB ;Blatig^t»riUefic^srtwnaw|bnU^ 4

number of men, assisted by an army of yelping mongrel curs, and armed -with a few instruments of torture, consisting of guns, knives, spears, etc., surround the mob of cattle which they choose for, the feast. A shot is fired, Mid one of the number goes limping at a mad pace across the flat, the army of dogs worrying its legs and nose and some hanging on by the tail, and a regiment of natives following in pursuit. Another shot is fired, then another, and still another, and before the unfortunate beast is brought to earth it has run several miles, jumped numerous fences, has been riddled with shot, has had its legs and nose worried, and finally 'gives up through sheer exhaustion. It is jttieltfstabbed and strangled, and underflow some sort of process known to the "butcher fraternity as ham-stringing. While I stood several bullocks were disposed of in this manner for presentation to the visitors. Pigs and sheep have also been slaughtered on the wholesale principle.

Tawteao Holds Forth. When enjoying a korero with Topia, the great Manawatu chief, in the wbare of that distinguished individual, the musical Bong of Maori welcome fell upon our ears, and we were for some time Suzzled to know from whence it came, in enquiry we found it was the king, who had come among the Ngatimaniapotos, accompanied by his wife, to offer them his welcome. Having finished the "Haeremai," shrouded in a large shawl, Tawhiao stood forth, and with sundry gesticulations said to-morrow would be a day of speech exclusively for him, and the two following days would be entirely taken up by Wahanui, his Premier. Some of the natives had said that the pakeha was bad, but he had always found them very good, and doubtless what he was going to say at the meeting (meaning his course of action) would offend some of his people; those who did not agree with what lie to say might go away. He would however recommend that they should join the pakeha, and both races become as one people. Topia followed Tawhiao and acknowledged the welcome, saying that Tawhiao's word was good. Another influential chief said that he believed the two races should become one. Tawhiao again addressed the assembly of natives. In the couise of his remarks he made some indirect reference to Wetere and the Mokau lands. Wetere, who was lying in an adjacent tent, came out and said he did not object to be blamed for anything he done by a sober man, but objected to be accused by a man the worse for drink. As regarded his action in the matter of the Mokau lands, he would vindicate himself before those present. Wahanui here interposed, and said that that was not the place, nor was it the proper time for an explanation, whereupon Wetere re-entered his tent. This ended the talk, Tawhiao having joined Wahanui and Rewi in their tent.

European Trespass. During my stay at the settlement a messenger arrived from Marakopa, a native settlement on a liver of the same name, about 13 miles south of Kawhia, with the intelligence that Europeans from Taranaki had arrived there, and had taken up their abode. The messenger applied to Rewi for advice, but the chief told him he could not advise him in the matter. I believe he was ultimately referred to Tawhiao. If the weather is in any way favorable tomorrow, the meeting will commence for certain.

Nasal Salutations. The practice pievalent among the Maoris of nibbing noses by way of saluting each other it would seem has communicated itself to Europeans. An Auckland hotel-keeper who has been paying a visit to this distiict for the purpose ot attending the meeting, has been known on several occasions to have made his usual daily salutations in this way.

The Liquor Traffic. I notice by a Wellington telegram in Last evening's Star that a meeting of the Executive Council was to be held to-day to alter the boundary of the present native licensing district by including Alexandra. The reason for so doing is because an Alexandra publican hold drink to natives in spite of the recent temporary prohibition. In all fairness both to the natives and to tne hotelkeepers here the matter should be thoioughly considered before any such step is taken. If the native drink supply is to be stopped in Alexandia, why not stop it in the other frontier townships, faueh as To Awamutu, Kihikihi, and Cambridge. When the supply is stopped here the natives will, soon find their way to the other town ships, and instead of mitigating the nuisance we only increase it. It is simply a matter of taking hsh out of the net of the Alexandra publicans, and driviiiff them to those of the To Awamutu and Kihikihi publicans. Ever since yesterday morning there has been an entire absence of drunken natives, and peace and quietness is universal.