Whatiwhatihoe Revisited. [FROM OUR OWN REPORTER.] Alexandra Saturday.

Waikato Times, Volume XXIII, Issue 1924, 4 November 1884, Page 3

Whatiwhatihoe Revisited. [FROM OUR OWN REPORTER.] Alexandra Saturday.

. By the time this appears in print T.wvhiao, the monarch of Maoridom, will have, or ought to have brought his Travels to a close, " and settled down once more in peaceful " retirement in the hoi/.e of his fathers. About six months have passed since he and his companions pot out on thcir.pseudopolitical mission to England, the history of which has been nai rated and detailed from time to time dining their absence. Whether the mission will have had an effect upon their social life it is for the futmo to decide; but it must be generally evident that as a political move it has been a farcical failure, and in this respect no one will have been disappointed. Whether or no the members of the mission arc disappointed has not yet been clearly ascertained, but anyone jvho has been conversant with native affairs in this district for the pabt few years, and has observed how the affairs of State were conducted at Whatiwhatihoe, - and how the recent expedition originated, •will have no hesitation in corning to a conclusion that no political advantage was anticipated, that the trip to England 1 was a mere whim —a mere outburst of curiosity, and that-the natives were unconsciously duped into finding the wherewithal to pay for it. It is quite possible, however, that the mission to England may have its political advantages notwithstanding, though not of the character-which the natives have been led to expect. During their a^ence, the minds of Tawhiao and his companions may have been impressed with A desire to raiso the Maoris as a people from their piesent primeval and savage existence, to a level with what they havo seen and enjoyed at the Antipodes, and though they may not themselves by precept or force of example, assist in the desired elevation, they are likely to be less suspicious of the advauces of their European neighbours, and of projects designed purely in their interest, and thus, by not standing in their own light, as has hitherto been the case, they may allow things to tako their course, and material good may thus be effected. Now that the King has been to England and has been rubbing noses with the rangitiras, or, as, Jackson Barry would put it, hobnobbing with the " lawds " and "dooks," his position among hi.s people is likely to be more assured than it has been for some years past. After the undignified behaviour of Tawhiao at the great many meetings at Whatiwhatiao and his subsequent carouses and unkingly goings on, his position was somewhat shaken, respect gave w.iy to disregard and absolute contempt in some cases, his authority was ignored, and until his departure for England he was Ifttle more than a unit in the native population. His having been to the fountain head of English power and authority lias excited the admiration of the natives, and it is but natural • that the man who lias been leceived and recognised as the head of a people and who ay.is seriously nddiessed as "Your Majesty " by no less a pew>n than the Lord Mayor of London, should now excite the admiration and leverence of his own people. Taw hiao'b great ambition was to see the Queen, and his nonsnecebs in this respect h:is to all appeaianccs been as keenly felt by his people ns by himself. This incident must have greatly impressed him, and it m.iy now be expected that he will look upon the Queen's iefus.il to see him as a pieiogative and feature of loyalty which he himself will not be backwaid to exeicise. But then it is an old fic.ik of his, foi when Sir Donald McLean went to Hikurangi to interview him some years ago he was unable to obtain an audience, and many of his own people have also occasion to grumble on the same .scoip. But the spell of Tawhiao's regal authouty was practically broken v»hen he bioku his isolation, and'he will novel again be looked upon ab an inscrutable being beyond the reach and ken of oidmaiy nioitals. He will no longer inspire dt cad in the soul-, of his dusky vassals, fo" every little dun star revolving about him is now thoioughly familial with his weaknesses and follies, and has as nice a mcasuie of his moral nature as his London tailor (by .special appointment) .seems to have had of his physical dimension 5". Tlieie is no abject piostratum of spirit about the Maoris, and if Tawhiao thinks to engender such by an undue exercise of kingly haughtine&s and capuce, he is not likely to succeed. I am happy to obseiva that Tawhiao's conversion to temperance is aheady beginning to bear good fruit. It is worthy of notice that though on the eve of what may bo termed a great festival, when feasting is the order of the day, not one .single bottle of waipero has boon laid in store. It has gone forth from Tawhiao that these anni versary debauches aie to be .discontinued, and the pleasure of the preset.tempeiance neophyte has been pbeyed. i 'Theie aie, however, a few young spirit*,' Tv Taw hiao among the number, who seem lather put about on the subject of Tawhiao 'a conversion, and do not seem to caie about his having been trotted out as the. " fpgntfnl example" at the recent tea and twaddle demonstrations at Auckland. I was speaking to Tv Tawhi.in yesteiday, and asked his opinion on the Maori temperance movement, when he intimated that ho approved of it very much indeed. It was veiy good, he thought, but personally he intendi'd boitv an exception for the present. When Tv Tawhiao went to the Kawau and donned the blue 1 ibbon at the request of Sir Geon»e Grey, the adornment was altogether conti.iry to his wishes, but rather than vidl.ite lv-< piotnise to vxcai it, he thoughtfully tinned the lapel of his co.it when ho got to Auckland. This do; ice immediately atti acted 'the attention of the observant Re« i, who has ever since put the ?riucely youth down as a "bad egg." As '.iwhiao has now become the Monarch of the Blue (not blues) the cause is pure to make headway among the nativ es. During my visit to Whatiwhatihoe yesterday, I was much impressed with the great change *fy/j,H '■m taken place there since the big May meeting. Though perhaps not marvellous, it is certainly very noticeable. The social condition of the natives has evidently undergone a marked change, they have been studying the laws of sanitation and cleanliness, and the great reformer, Want, has induced thorn to discard their idleness and cultivate, the soil. During the meeting referred to, the settlement was a ven'table quagmire of filth and 'abomination, which, when the miii .shone, impregnated tho air with the unwholesome stench of foetid g.ise<=. Now Whatiwhatihoe would com pa i c favouiably with any other settlement in tl/o country. Streets have been founed with some idea of system ; tlieentiie flat is well drained, all 'the spa «c giound is under cultivation and carefully fenced, the. inhabitants aie j invariably well housed in com foi table whares, and are generally tidy and clean in person, and altogether theie is a balmy fragrance about the place which up to recently was a stranger to the vicinity. In tho royal household, however, very little change has taken place ; no pretentious building has been erected, and his Majesty " will occupy the same humble cot as hitherto.' The delinqnent queen, Pohaere, who was at one time suspected of having laid her umbrella about her royal spouse as an instrument of correction, is, I understand *"from' home" on a mission of love (so my interpreter put it) at Taupo. Revyi has given me to understand that if Tawhiao acts square in futuie and goes about " cooking the potato" in the orthodox manner, and maintains his position as becomes a man of hia blood and standing, he and the other big chiefs will likely come and live with him at- Whatiwhatihoe. The kings bubinebs would then be carried out on a proper scale, they would build Tawhiao a mansion consistent with his station, and as the chiefs would act an a sort of Ministry or Parliament the by kingly institution might continue to exist and be respected as a power. The Foxton 'natives who came to live with Tawhiao after the May meeting of '82 have built a very neat little settlement onan eminence about a quarter of a mile away. They are a well-to-do lot people, as they are nearly all in receipt of incomes from their leaseholds down South.- They have no cultivations, and so have to buy everything they use. They seem to do nothing but foil about, basking in the nun like so many .elderly porpoises in the sun. When passing one of the whares my attention was attracted by the sound of merry-making wfthin,' and looking through the door I noticed Topia Turoa narrating the incidents of his tour to a circle of admiring ' listeners. An ill-looking mortal was Bitting by the door playing with. a large instalment of pig's oheek, after the fashion of a small boy with sir-mouth harmonicon. ~He*»id that I might- go in; so I entered, and after the usual [ salutation, tat myself down beside the narrator. I thought the floor unusually damp, but it wasn't; I had only sat in a mess of sour kraut, the re» jnwpj of Topia'a matutinal meal- The fbw> Iwifo vrw wmwkatty ch*a wi

tidy, and certain articles that were here and there disposed, made it evident that the tenant had been fraternuing with the gods of cultivation. A string of Catholic prayer beads hung with a very amused • air on the wall, ana looked more like doing service as » curio, than a tally for devotional exercise. A half-soiled " dicky " or shirtfront peepud out fiom tho recesses of a travelling bag as if anxious for its next and final turn, and a white shirt with a CKristy Minstrel collar was evidently in the *aiue passive state. There was quite a stock of dandy umbrellas with fancy noos, and stylishly made boots that looked a few sizes smaller than the wearer's foot, together with many other things of interest. Topia's narrative was evidently on the Queen and her refusal to see Tawhiao, and the entire company seemed to treat Tawhiao's disappointment as a capital joke. The soldiers that wore very short petticoats, and had big bare legs like Te Ngakau were referred to and seemed to afford the women no ftid of mirth. In rising to get and ea^y seat I was unfortunate enough to stumble back into the lap of a very fat and aged female, and after sundry imprecatious from the company respecting m^ awkwardness, I was told to " haero " which I accordially did.