S. PATRICK'S DAY AT PARI. HAKA.

Waikato Times, Volume XXII, Issue 1826, 20 March 1884, Page 2

S. PATRICK'S DAY AT PARI. HAKA.

[BY TELEGKVPH. — PRESS ASSOCIATION.] Opunake. Tuesday. t YeisTERDAY was a great feast day at Parihaka. About 1000 natives and 100 Europeans were present. Te Whiti entertained the pakehas and Tohu the Maoris. Te Whiti was nicely dressed, and proved a iwost attentive host, having tablecloths, cruet stands, knives, forks spoons, and everything in regular European fashion. A sirloin of beef, shoulder of mutton, fowls, plum pudding.-*, blanc-mauges, almonds and raisuib, and various wines, beer, &c., composed the dinner, to which Te Whiti welcomed all the pakehas — men, women, and children. On the marae, whore Te Whiti and Tohu formerly harangued the multitude, a large crowd of Maoris sat down to a repast, Tohu gifins up and down and seeing everything was right. Each man and woman was served with a cup and saucer, bread and butter being bi ought in on laige trays, and served out by waiters attired gaily in worked aprons, and with towels slun<* across their sh'mldeis in orthodox fashion. Thine was api occasion of about twenty women dressed m European clothes. For the privilege of c\lubitm& their figures and dresses th-y h '<! Ii r mtiibute Home silver a.s they uiteiod 'i . Vh v s house, but to what the purchase m v > was devoted did not transpire. Tohu, 'i i \v.is dressed in European costume, addip^sed a few words to thsin, denouncing cttiav Venice in dress one of the women replying. There appeared a general tendency towards European ways and customs, so different from two or threa years ago, when all the n iti\ es who came to Parihaka at once assumed the Maori blanket or mat. Yesterday, on the contrary, most of the mon were smartly dressed in European costume, and many of the women also, especially those belonging to the younger generation. Although Tohu served out grog to all the natives no drunkenness and no disorder of any kind was to be seen. Everything was scrupulously clean so far as the food was concerned, and the pa was much cleaner than it used to be. It is anticipated that the pakehas will invite the Maoris to partake of an entertainment. A public meeting is talked of to petition for the right of Maoris to use the public highway like other people.

THE NATIVES DISPEHS.INO. Wellington, Wednesday. The natives who assembled at Parihaka for the monthly meeting on Monday last, aie making arrangements for dispersing again.

The venerable missionary, the late Dr. Moffatt, used a block of wood for a pillow, because, after roughing it in Africa, he could not sleep on a soft pillow after returning to civilisation. A wonderful progress of old Catholicism is reported from Bohemia ; and iv Austria there have been, within a very few weeks, no less than 100 accessions in Vienna alone. The three English Masonic charitable institutions, which aie supported by the voluntary contributions of the craft, dining the year ISB3 realised a total income of £55,994 14s 3d. Of this sum the boys' school received £24,895 7s Id, the benevolent institution £18,449 6s, and the girls' school £12,650 Is 2d. The laigest total attained previous to 1883 was in 1880, when the sum amounted to £19,763. The season for the grape cure begins in Europe in August, and continues from two to three months. Patients go to establishments in the vicinity of the vineyards, and, giving up their pipes, beer, and flesh food, live on bread and grapes, or sometimes on grapes alone, from four to six weeks. In eases to which this cure is adapted the change for good is often very wonderful. Gouty, rheumatic, and over-fed persons improve most. The observatory on ' the top of Ben Nevis is now in good working order, and M. Omaud and staff are domiciled there* The last a&cent was made with difficulty, as the snow was 14ft. deep, and a passage had to be cut through. The journey occupied nine hours. The observators will be cut off for months from the world. On a recent Sunday the Redemptorist Father Hammerle was preaching to a large congregation in ist John's the Evangelist's, Vienna, on poverty. It seems that he had epokeu of the lawless life now led by working men and deuounced Socialism. Suddenly several men raised aery of "Down with the Jesuits," and threw stones at the preacher, at the same time raising a cry of fire. A pauic ensued, which waa quieted with difficulty after 17 persona had been injured, one man Having both legs broken. The disturbance seem to have been premeditated, as these men took stones into the church in their pockets. > f Iv his "Random Recollections of an Actor," Mr Fred Bolton relates the following incident in Sims Reeves* early oareer : " I have before said that Sims Reeves was a, member of our company. He was playing the Squire in the pantomime of " Mother Goose," and at the very moment wtieu'he was walking bff.tho stage, singing — ' ' ■ ■ i i My wife's dead, there let her lie, She s at rest and so sun I,' a man tapped him hurriedly on the shourder, 4 »n,d w,nisneted,_ "You must come imm.edja.tely,, Mrs Reeves is dead." You may imagine the shock. As soon as Hossjbje he hurried home, and found it was too true. He had not then risen to fame, nor was his first wife' is the/profesaion,: consequently few knew ; tbatAe had been twice married. • His fint wKc W*£ mwrtvdftejrtyajj himself, „ i z'k