THE INTERTRIBAL DISTURBANCEAT WAOTU. An Amicable Settlement.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1752, 27 September 1883, Page 3

THE INTERTRIBAL DISTURBANCEAT WAOTU. An Amicable Settlement.

"Th^ native difficulty to which we referred in oqr" Issue of Saturday last as existing between "Hairy Symonds, people of the Ngatihuvi tvi.be aud Pn-ipi Whatuaio 's toubivers of the Ngutingiraugo tribe has, uttdt koma loud talk mid hostdtj deinoustra"tion on the part of the latter party, and armed *wntcnfubie.ss on the pint of the former, been satisfactorily anangod for the Seseiik through the timely infcei volition of vW. Moon, and Captain I3lako. The particulars of fcho difficulty, or at least the cause of it, were coirectly sot forth m our last iisue, and wo .ire glad to )i:i\o to .say - fhat, though the mattei then looked serious * rajjto tlg-h the inconvenience winch it to create, the patties who considered themsolVep aggneved haw> consented on the affair being pvoncily represented to them by the European gentlemen above xeferred to, to sn.sppnd hostilities and have recourse to the civil law in the iwtial course of thingt.. Our repot tor visited the scene of the disturbance at Waotu on Saturday morning, when matters had assumed a somewhat unsettled, and to a degree, threatening aspect. The chief Whatuaio, of the Ngatingarongo, with his followem, numbering about 40 t were camped on the bu<<h &ido of the river, and ifany Bymoiids' peo])le were campod in tents nround the hotel. o\\ ing to the throats which were said to haw been made by Whatuaio, Avho wab alleged to have made up his mtud to burn down Hairy Symonds hotel, and in pin. siiancc of his determination was baid to have bent over this counti y to gather in hi.s fi lends to assist him in his resolution, .Symonds iieople spent a good poi tion of Aho pieMOus day in limiting bullets, and making active pivpaiatiww (or what they .soomod to look upon ascoming hostilities. During Friday night an armed sentry w .is kept on the move round the hotel, lest the enemy should .stroll across the uvei in the night and cam out then ncf.uious thieals. On Satuiday morning a largo number of Hauhaus cunt from Aoteaio.i with the ol>ject of making peace between the belligcientH. He.umg of Whatuaio's evti.ioxdmaiy threats, thuy called upon him, but he denied e\« having made them; but llany Symonds, as a proof that Whatuaio did make the thtoats rcfened to, say.s that the messenger sent by the lattei to the {icojile at '[\qupa, c.illin^, upon them to ii.s->ist him, called at the hotel and showed the letter. Tins .statement is> genei ,vlly con >ulei od to be a f.ibncatiou on the part of Ng.ttdiuii, who, ftom what we can gather, ha\ o themssclvcs been the for fcilu source from w Inch n\l the aiunnnig statements as to tlie binning down of the hotel and taking lives, &c, arose. Messrs Moon and Blake went o\ei on Satin day morning to whole "Whatuaio ,uid hit> people weie squatted, on the opposite bank of the cieek. On being questioned as to his hostile attitude, he positively denied having made use of the tin eats as luinomed; but that he had felled the trees and dug up the caw-pits in the bush a» .1 piotest ag.tinst the Go\ eminent not gi anting a lehc.uing. In pi oof of his having no hostile intentions against Svmonds' people, he asked tho j visitoib to ex.unnio ln-> camp caiefully, and see if they could hud a gun, or other dangerous weapon. Mr 3foou advised td.it his (Wlutu.woJ should hand over the ro.id thiough the hubli to the h.iu-juts, and the tunbor which had st heady been cut by iSynionds foi his new hou->e, as tho contiactoi-. \>eie waiting foi it to continue the woik, and that his people should lt'tim to tlii-ii >>wn kitingti and theie await an a>ppc\d to tlu* civil II.Hr.i r . To tl»i-> once consented, conditionally that ygymonds should stop s.iwiiig ojwi.itions, only lioing allowed to ienio\u the tuubei aheudy cut. A somewhat imposing Hcene followed. JUessis 1 Moon and Blake, having succeeded in biingmg about a .settlement hi ought Whatuaio and some of hirt jMity o\ci to the hotel .so as to have an amicable koieio with Xgatihun. Tlie Kittoi, po^sCf-sed with a sense of the .solemnity of the occasion, and behe\iiig it incumbent on them to alioid a. tiue Jiuio- ' peau mihtaiy lccuption, got into line aimed J with then yuns and, staking a .sokhci- i like (?) attitude, Im.il a \olluy o\ei the' heads of the appio.ichmg pcacenuikuib \ The latter lcconcd tins imposing demonstration with an equal consciousness of its impoitancj, and eiulea\oiuod to look as solemn as the ciicuinstanccs of the occmsioh ])urnnttod ; but, ncMjitlieless, an uneasy expression seemed to steal o\ er their usages when the bullets fiom the uibty old hieaims went whistling within a uncomfoi table distance fiom then heads. Though they fully j-ppieeiafced the high tubule ol lionoui which had been paid them by tlie enemy, they looked awfully like '' making tiaeks ' should a second balute be oilumi, no doubt being dihiiouh of casing their fuonds so muuli Uuuble. Dm ing Watui day nijjht, ho\\e\ei, uotwith.standing the amicable nuangemeat which had boon ellected dmmg tlie day, Hairy tSymonds.' people, c\idontly possessed of little ciinhdence in the fiienctlj' doclavations of theo[iposnig Jiaity, kept an aimed sentry posted mound the hotel. Whatu.uo'.s title to the land in disjmte js said not to be so imaginary as is geneially supj)osed, but on this the comt has already given judgment. Doubtloo llany fcjymonds will appeal to the law, and have a writ of ejectment issued, should JN rgatingaiong.l nut act up to the agi&smcnt above indicated.

Since the above \\,it> m [unit, Whatuaio hsw written a lottei ti) 31 airy SyjuomU, 10pudiating the agieeinont vlutli lio nude vithAlews Moon <tnd 13LiIvc. Ho absolutely lefiisu-, t1)t 1 ) le.ii c the l.md upon winch he ii at i)ioot;nt ivju.ittcd. >S^moiuK, wlio h^ collie to C.unbudge to obtain lcg.il ad■vice on the niiittui, i-« Iniulv c«»n\ mctrcl thiit whon In 1 ? puoplc anno in»n tho Kutoiiui Cumt, \\hicli ii \n-,t now clc-'iny, ho will not he able to loiti.uu thi'in fiom foieibly ejecting tl\e Hitnidoi'-, .vnd boinetlung kcvioiw niiij potoibly loult. ;