THE NATIVE MEETING AT WAOTU. THE DIFFICULTY STILL UNSETTLED. Tawhiao Discarded [FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.] Waotn Thursday.

Waikato Times, Volume XXI, Issue 1780, 1 December 1883, Page 3

THE NATIVE MEETING AT WAOTU. THE DIFFICULTY STILL UNSETTLED. Tawhiao Discarded [FROM OUR SPECIAL REPORTER.] Waotn Thursday.

It was generally believed b~», those inteiov ted in the native dispute, which has burn going on .it Wactu for some time, and in which tho Ngatigaionga chief Whati.aio is tho aggiessoi, ~tli.it the meeting of tin 1 various hapus or vibes int-ie-ted in the settlement of the qiuuiol, \>lnc!i it was piop^ud to hold, .md .it wlrc'i the dispute jk o^^Hany Symonds taking )n essniu of the Wiiotu South block, toyrthi i with othri mattoi's of <i ninioi u.ituie, was to bo discussed, would bo effectual m biinjun-? the contending factious to an runic ibla umk'ife standing. But on the othei h.ind their W were tho-,0 whose c\penenu~ ol native meetings is hoincuh.it \.uied .md C\teiiM\e, and among the l.ittei 1 would cla-s i.i\self, whose confidence m these g.ithoimgs, as a means of settling any question of coucci n, .such as in this case, is decidedly limited. In this paiticular instance, the latter have not in any way been disappomt"d m their hurmise. On Wednesday nioinuig. about a hundred people as cinbled at Marsh's settlement at the "Waotu Mdc of the bush, and the leadeis, as 1- usual, endeavoured, by assuming an air of giavity, to imp.ut .1 chaiactei of nnpoitanee to the gatheiing, which the senous object to be re\ie\vc(l well wai 1 anted them in adopting AVhatuaio aimed fiom his stockade fa .tness with all the pomp of a vetei.in who had .suen fire (and possibh would like to show it to otheis if the oppoitunity offeied), •and was accompanied by about fouiteenof his most stalwait follov eis. As u.sual, the day opened with the inevitable feed of potatoes, biead, and well-seasoned bullock ; and, probably by way of dieting the \eibose talent of the jfemis m.itoi, 01 else with the object of .soothing o\ei the nifHed feelings of bolligeiauts, a few gallons of "mm" weie distnbuted, and he.utily paitaken oj^it the invitation of ILuiy Svnionds. ]^llently the contending factions had faith -k ~ in each othei's intentions, as all came unarmed, 01 at least mi lar as was e\ident. And then came the pielnninaiy haka, w Inch geneially constitutes the o\e>tiue —though ceit.iinly not an hainionious one —at all native peifoiniances of this n.'tine, and the k display of well piopoitinned limbs and conW toited visages wab on a scale which any tiavelhny .show man 01 mauageue keepei might en\y. The meeting then dnuled itself as usual into tluee divisions, the people auangmg thenisehes undei then iespecti\ehead.s —Aiakateia, 11} S> mouds, and Whatuaio. Thefoiuiei with his usual blandness and lo\ c of peace and quietness (!) appealed to act in the (apacity of go-be-tween, or middleman, and seemed to do the major poition of the talking ; though fiom what I cm le.nn his inteiest m the mattei undei disjnite is of no concern whatc\ei — in fact is piuely ~|)hilautluopic. Tliuaighout the day a Luge quantity of talking was got through, but the subject discussed, inhtead of aiming at the settlement of the quarrel, tinned on Tauhiao and his petition to Parliament concerning the la->ing down of ceitain boundaiies within whuli liis mana was to ien, rii supieme. Hoth Tawlnao and Irs chimeiical mana came in for si fair shaie of uneomtly cnticism, his subjects in this instance adouting a most lebellious stiain. INFr Wlnti Potato and Mr Kangitutia weie the pi map.'l speakcis The opinion of the meeting v as—foi itwould be useless to attempt a ie,ume of the .speeches—that Tauln.io and his immediate satellites should stand on then own legs, jind on theii own land, anil if they woie c^^rous of having a nuw bounduiy laid I^^^Pn, and knigite mana established, they could petition the (*o\ eminent on the mattei, and have their wish leahsed; butth itthev, the Ngatuaukawa, and the sections of oth"r tribes theie lepiesented would ha\e their own liiiiiu established over then resjiective lauds, and would petitionPailiaf jnent to that effect, in oidei that the subdivision or hiiundaiv lines of theii lespueti\o teuitoiies iray be laid oh. They did not want Tawlnao, or his mana eithei. The meeting shortly after bioke uj), with the undei standing that the question of the low should icceive its attention on the follow mg day. To-day, sifter n good qwantitv of food had been disposed of at the imitation of Aiekateia, business was again ent<~ied upon. Aiekateia opened b\ statiutr that his people had Ik en discussing the subject of the pievious d.iv ainon^, thenisehes, and had ayie^d to ]ietitiou Pailiiiment to the edect uggesWl. AVhatusiio's disjmtc was then debati'd. The speeches weie of a ~u'iv \aned chaiactm, and to \eiy little pin pose. The gist of the entire talk as biought foiwaid by "Whatuaio's people was to the eilect that llany Bymonds should withdiaw fiom occupation, and sto]) the smvey <it jnesont going on (oi at least that which has been lecentlv stopped). This they consideied would settle the difficulty. Hanv Symondsieplied that the smvey was a joint attair, m which both he and the (io\eminent weie interested, and if the (Jo\ eminent stopped the survey he would ask them what for. As for himself, he had no intention to foiego smy right with which the law had invested him. The meeting slioitlv after biokeup, matteib being as far forwaid as when it commenced, nothing whatever having been done, if the decision in legaid to Tawluao is excepted. The result of tho meeting will now be 4aade known to the Chief Surveyor, Auck,'(Bd, and with him and the (4ovennnent, L^ say, will lest the choosing of the next I course to ]mrsue.

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