MEN OF MARK AMONG THE MAORIS

NZ Truth, Issue 73, 10 November 1906, Page 7

MEN OF MARK AMONG THE MAORIS

WIREMU TAMIHANA TE WAHAROA, THE MAORI "WARWICK" OR KING MAKER.

(BY "OLD OHUM.*)

NO. VI.

he professed to be alive to the dangers bered, was "to introduce institutions of of the King "movement and the over- Civil Government into the Waikato diswhelming influence of Te Waharoa, bap- triot." The Committee sat long and tised Christian through he was, with the often. They gave an Arawa chief, Maoris. But his advice was, to the Wiremu Maihe Rangikaheke. "a clever deGovernment, like water on a duck's ( bater, of eager manner and with a l&iroback. Donald McLean was then para- pean cast of countenance," a message inmount m Maori matters, and would viting the attendance of Te Waharoa, the brook no rival near his throne. King Maker. Donald McLean, who had » * • m 1857 snubbed the King Maker when on

The Government of Mr. Stafford found when too late that William Thompson (Te Waharoa) was a king-maker m more than name. In August, 1857, Mr. I' enton saw a document signed by FIFTY OF THOMPSON'S TRIBE, agreeing to recognise \,he King. Soon af.terwards he saw a somewhat enigmatical letter written m Maori by Mr. C. O. Davis, the gentleman who was suspected by the Pakehas as being the adviser of the Maoris m all the modern tactics against the whites. Mr. Pavis had long resided m New Zealand ; he was there before Captain Hobson hoisted the flag, subsequently he was clerk and interpreter, but resigned those offices early m 1857 I because "he considered it an intolerable burden to continue m them any longer." Davis then wrote a paper-on the critical condition of Maori affairs and the confusion which was created by the absence of any system m dealing with them. He was "unalterably of opinion that there should be three departments m dealing with them : one dealing with the natives under a native secretary; another to despatch all business connected with the natives, under a 'native counsel; a third to deal with la.nd matters under a Land Commissioner.." The first Mr. Davis said could be administered by Mr. Fenton with his (Davis 1 ) aid. He condemned Mr. Donald McLean's systean of making presents to the Maoris. "SOPS IN THE PAN/ No man knew more of the Maori customs than Mr. Davis : at least, he had the credit of knowing a lot. In his paper, which he handed to the Government,

Davis was under a cloud with the Governor and the Stafford Ministry. It was said that he had treacherously corresponded with the chiefs. Governor Browne got possession of a letter written by Davis to a Taupo chief m June, 1857, which though "allegorical m lan-

guage," was looked upon as strong encouragement for WHiiani Thompson m his efforts to further the King movement. A few days after Mr. Fenton heard of Potatau's

i ACCEPTANCE OF TH.E KINGSHIP ihe read a letter from Davis which he considered highly injudicious. In one point, however, he agreed with Davis ; ; lie saw nothing but evil m the fusion of 1 the Lands Department with the Native Secretary's. "I cannot banish from my thoughts the conviction that a considerable part of the present uneasy and suspicious tone of the Maori mind is to be attributed to that unhappy union and irts consequences. Sir George Grey always had his own private interpreter, and Ministers, I respectfully state, made v great mistake m strike ing that officer from the Civil j List. The chiefs are anxious. to see the '

(">ovpvi:oj- and toll him their cares. It is .well that they *hou.ld do so, for Ma Bx-

cellewcy ought to rely on nothing but the best information." In this it is conceded that Mr. Fenton was right.- If the Governor had seen tho King Maker 'early m 1857, he would not have sent him

away m ang«r, ' as Donald McLean did, to give practical shape to. the. MAORI KING MOVEMENT., ; ..■ ,■• ; • •• ' ■■ i In .1860 the House of Representatives appointed a Select Committee to inquire into the circumstance's uivder which Fenton's mdssion was undertaken m 1857. j Mxy Fenton's mission, it will be reinem-!

a visit to Auckland, did not approve of the. invitation and induced Rangikaheke to disregard the wishes of the Comanittee. Before doing so, however, he told Mr. Sewell.the chairman of the Committee, who was an old Parliamentarian, and had been, and subsequently .was, a

Minister of the Orrjwn, that he did not approve of summoning Waharoa ; but, on being examined before the Committee, he declared that when he intercepted Rangikaheho he- was not aware that the / chief was. the bearer of a letter from the Coni-

mittec. Mr. Donald McLean then professed to be anxious for Te Waharoa's. presence before the Gomihittee, and undertook to procure it by other messengers. Mr. Donald McLean failed to induce William Thompson to come to Auckland and be examined and interviewed by the Committee. He had visited Auckland on a. previous occasion on a peaceable .mission and sought the same McLean, and was repulsed and insulted. William Thompson was not as ductile as Mr. McLean imagined, and it is not unlikely but that he had m his memory the STEALTH* CAPTURE OF RAUPARAHA

m 184.6, and he w,a3 cautious. s But he wrote to the Committee, under date May.

24, 1861, m reply to Mr. Sewell's invitation : —

"Salutations to you, the chairman of the Governor's Runanga. I have received your letter which was written m October inviting me to Auckland. Here is a wiaita (nong) : •Continue to strive m vain : By you I will not be rent insunder ; Like the tree of the forest, I will maintain a bold front. 'Twas I that loosened you from this belt, And now — behold tho boundary which divides \\s ? I am the centre of Raukawa.'

| "Friend, what is the use of talking after the evil has taken place ? Had you, indeed, written when the evil was small, it would have been well, and I would have gone s but now that the evil has grown to the height what is the good ? Behold the kindling of a fire. When it is small it can be put out ; bat Vhen it has spread it cannot be extinguished. So, when the tide is low the cref* can be crossed, but not when the ticW is swollen to the roll. So witti the night ; by day men travel, but they go not about by night. Witness the words of our Lord Jesus Christ (John ii.» 9--10), You ask me to make my thoughts known. Hearken ! if any chief goes 'before the Governor and supports the "Mana of the Maori, and our right to hold our land— soch are my thoughts. These are the causes of setting up the King. If you see a chief whose words seem hard" when he visits the Governor, or is present at a pakeha or Maori inquiry — he is my friend. Or if you see a chief who declares that his own "mana" is over his own piece of land, know that such is my thought,; I have heard that

BANCHKAHEKE AND WAATA KUKUTAI have beien before the pakeha Bimanga, and told their opinions*. I*o! tbftt is it, hearken to them. It was one of those thoughts that set up the Maori King. I cannot, however, tell you the causes. They are many. -Let the portion I communicate be small. One thing I will tell you : the Governor's words are as

wool, but within, at his heart, he is a ravening wolf.— From your sleeve, "W. T. TE WAHA.ROA." ♦ * •

This was plain language from the Maori "Warwick." It alarmed the Governor and his Ministry. They began to see that fine words m Parliament would not carry on a war or stop it, aid Maoriland was plunged into war 1 Colonel Browne visited the Bay of Islands and Mongonui, accompanied by Patuone, Ihaka, and Taraiai The Ngapuhi and Rarawa tribes, received him royally. On his return to headquarters he received a • latter from the Resident Magistrate at the Bay of Plenty narrating an interview at Taurauga, with the King Maker, who justified the Maoris "The Maoris had

SOLD THEIR LAND "BLINDFOLD for nominal sums ; it was then cut * up and sold for full value. 'Have we not a better right to this advanced price than the pakeha?' A pakeha had told him (the lying Maker) that the Queen woulTcSJ all the waste lands as , demesne lands of the Crown, and confine the Maoris to their cultivations, 'This statement wat confirmed by a Roman Catholic priest? I reasoned with myself. -This land was given to my ancestors by Prov^c? We have retained it from generation to generation. Surely because i t ia 7,nor/-i. pod now, it is no r eaaon wL l t aS; always remain so. I hope the Jay w55 f e C^e W^ n °t^^- S large tracts of unoccupied l anda . No oth The pakeuas would not assist inweSfcS jeet.. "I determined to take at nr7 own risk what my pakeha friends denied me!"

Here let it be said that Fenton made matters worse by setting up assessors without consulting the chiefs. But the King Maker did not approve of the Waikato war party all the same. ' The King Maker continues): "I did all m my power to dissuade (Wetini from going to Taranaki. Our contention waa great. He cursed me, went to Taranaki, and has fallen." The Magistrate could obtain no information from the King Maker as to his future movement, not ev«n a hint. William Thompson was wise and diplomatic.

Governor Browne, as if m the effort to shift the responsibility to other shoulders, sent all Thompson's and other Maori letters to the Secretary ol State. The war, such as it was, was still being pushed on.

General Pratt was active. On 'March 10, 1861, he had pushed close to JTs

Arei, when the King Maker stopped into the arena. While

SIR WILLIAM MARTIN was pleading with Governor Brow-ne for. justice, he and Bishop Selwyn labored to induce Te Wahnxoa to divert his countrymen from war. The sap was closo to tho pah m which Hapuroua was tho ostensible commander, when on March 11 th» King Maker wrote Sir Thomas Pratt : — "Salutations to you, O chief of the way I Hear what I have to say. Let there be a truce for three days, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, that I may consider the state or affairs here concerning those with whom you have been fighting, namely, the men from Waikato and thpse under Te Rangitake. Jf you consent, isauo orders to your soldiers that they may leave off the sap during those three days.- If yod object to my proposal write to .me that I may knoW4 After the three days you and your opponents can re-commence fighting. Thin is all. Friend, you may put faith m what I say. What I say will be put m forca by mx tribe<— From W. Tamihana. T» Waharoa."

General Fratt granted a truce for the two days remaining when he received th» letter, abd desiring the Maoris to oeaso fortifying. On. Thursday morning active operations were resumed, and the King Maker, dating from Pukerangiora on March 12, retorted, **I see you do not put faith m what I say- Listen to me* I will not deceive you ; a promise lik»< this of. mine is not of the earth, put. cornea from above. It is not. right that I should break faith with you. I am. rather inclined that you deceived nta> Your soldiers have come down to-day;, into your rifle-pits and fired at us. Om that account I am led to suppose that yon are deceiving me, and that you hay» no control over your people." General: Pratt explained that tin firing had been* by mistak* (I; r)« because the white flag where hoisted on the palisading was unseen from tiie foremost redoubt (No. B>* [The general complained also, that th» I Maoris, always m want of ammunition, had been our bullets ; what , .have you to say to that ?" ' • # * •

On the 13th. ME. G, H. DAY. THE NATTVS ccatansaioNHß, ' met the King /Maker, the latter propo*. ing that the Waikato peoplo should g»home, that Te Rangitike should go 'to the undisputed land, the English troopo to be withdrawn to Waitakn, anrl th<» Waitara block be undisturbed until bom» final decision was arrived at by law. These terms wero almost identical with those rejected by the Government at Auckland^ Mr. Day said that they wereinadmissible.; "Then," said the King>. Mak»r, "let the troops remain while you and I go to Auckland; I by .landv yoti by seas • M«et me at Taukau." He \v.i*. told that he had better go by sea. hiuiself, when he retorted, "Shall I go. u.nA be treated like Rauparaha?" Geuerat Pratt vainly "oßored a guarantee for his personal safety," but William Thompson was not taking: personal guarantees. Mr. Hay went •to General . Pratt^ and on his return Thompson said, "You are harsh and difficult to deal with. Hear my third offer. Let us remain here m peace. Entreat the Clovemor to come down here." Othei' chiefs supported him m this, and Rangitaki, it ■ was said, acquiesced m the fust of the proposals. Pratt would only consent that the Maoris should retire, ' and' that the English should occupy J-'ukenuitii-ora, while the King Maker vent m"" a war steamer with Mr. Hay to Auckland. Again two shots were

FIRED AT THIS MAORIS, and atoain tb«y were told tl?at tltev WCP» fired by misttvke. (!!!) The King Maker said that h» was tired oi writing to Mr. Hay. "I will write to the Governor and to my Bishop, that they may he aw.tro ol my arrival hero, unil ho\V mucli I tried to treat with the General. " Another day's truce was grunted, Mr. Hay— who, according to Rusden, js very accurate—urged the General's terms! The King Maker said that neither General Pratt nor Mr. Hay seemed inclined ta treat, on the terms he had proposed, and wrote letters to . the Governor, to .Sir William Martin, and to the Bishop, requesting the General to forward them, and desiring that there might be peaca until the Governor had replied. Tho General promised to forward the letters, but said that meantime active operations ■would be actively commenced. The Governor was inclined to go to Turanakj, but his Ministers opposed the journey*. "Mr. Richmond was still Treasurer, ami the Ministry feared that Colunel Browne"* nature was too full of the milk ' of ht> man kindness for their purposes. They sent McLeaja. They still averred that if Te Rangitake would prove his individual claim, to any portion o£ the

WAITARA. BLOCK it would be returned to him. But as they resisted Bishop Salwyn's importunity that the case should be submitted t» a law court, their averment was idle. They feared that no judicial tribunal would refuse to recognise those tribal' rights which ttny were conspiring: to dostroy.."

The King Maker's visit, however, hai made an important change m the ownership of the Dfraitara block. In general tribal meetings, an authority tells us, resolutions of great moment coujld bo passed m emergencies. In a conferenya betweea the Waikato and the Ngatiwa, the King Maker had spoken of the causa ef qoarrel bebkg Rangitake's. The chief of Wartara said, "No, it is yours." "Look at a roan," said the King Make?; "his head is head ; his hand*, handy,: and his legs, legs." "No, you are the heath . Waikato is only the legs." "No, you; are the head.'' "Very well," , retorted : Te Rangitike, "I «nn the head ; Waitaca is mine ; the quarrel is mine. There, t > shall give Waitara. to you." On further question he said tfa&t he demanded furthervoice m the disposal of the laud. Th»" Ncatiawa ... .FIGHTING QJjpsEStMj, HAPL'RQUA. Epitia, and Rewi, as leaders of the Wuikato and Ngabfanianiapotb allies, publicly assented, and the King' Maker, accepting the gift, declared his award. • "Waikata back to Waikato ; ' Ngatiawa, away to Mataifca-wu. Ngatiruanui, return •t* your homcß. Let the soldiers return to Taranuki. As for the Waitara, leave it lor- the law to protect.". Thus empowered by the Maoris, the King Maker had proposed hia terms t» Mr. Hay, and bad made earnest request that there wight be no more fighting. General Pratt knew nothing at this tiro* of the tribal determination. On FritUiisp the white flag still flew under the/ Maoofe King Maker's orders. The English rscommenced to dig m the sap, and ware uninofested. Tho pah was fired at, and the King Maker then said to the fighting chief, *"Now do as you iist.'* Th« whiteflag was hoisted, and for three days firing was kept up, William Thompson ab>staining from fighting. Tho ataoria said that they had only one wounded, bat the English believed there were more? The British lost a lieutenant ot artiller.it* He was m the act of laying- a Cochora. mortar at the head of the sap wfcen fc.r^ an overhead rock a Maori mar'rt-auva fired, and a bullet glancing from 2SicNaughten's band entered his hear^ (To bo Continued.)