REMINISCENCES OF TE KOOTI.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIV, Issue 92, 20 April 1893, Page 9

REMINISCENCES OF TE KOOTI.

AN INTERESTING EPISODE,

TE KOOTI'S PARDON IN 1883.

Now that much interest is centred in the ieath ofTe Kooti, the noted leader of the Hauhaus in the Ea*. Coast war, ib will be if interest to give some account of the exrebel's pardon by the Government in 1883, --ken Mr John Bryce met Te Kooti at iwa-o-rongo, ,„ the King Country. The jneefcinc* took place on the 12th of February, 1883. Amongst those present was the famous Ngabimaniapobo chief Rewi Manga Waniapoto:— ~,.,_ Te Kooti, shaking hands with Mr liryce, said, "Mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed Ijach other; truth shall spring out of the earth and righteousness shall look down from heaven." Sir Biyce rose and said, " I greeb all the Maoris assembled here. I have listened to Te Kooti's greeting and I consider that it is good-it is a greeting of peace. I stand here to-day to express the feelings of the white people of New Zealand—l hope I may add of a £reat many of t. he Maoris. It is the dosirs of the white people that the remembrance of the evils if tho pasb should be buried, but it has been suggested thab ib would nob be well to pardon offences if crimes were to be renewed. Therefore, I have desired to see Te Koobi face to Jace, so that he may tell me himself what his future intentions are. I say, !or my part and the Government, thab if -he evil deeds are nob to be repeated then ihe Government are prepared to forgive the past." .. T frTe Kooti: "In 1574 I ceased strife; I iiaye r.ot since returned to it. I came into the presence of Tawhiao, and will nob withdraw myself from it. Manga knows my intentions. I will never return to strife, aever. I will nob broad again the paths I formerly trod." Mr Bryce *. " I am glad to hear from Te .ooti that he will not do evil in bhe future. £'ow ho has referred to the case of Winiata. The hand of the law was over him, and he tfa3 arrested and punished for his crime. Nor do I say that Te .Kooti had no reason to be trißhtened, a3 the law was over him also jnd is over him at the present moment. Last session au Acb was passed authorising me Governor to granb an amnesty to those n'ho had committed crimes arising oub of ;he war." -Mr Bryce then promised Te Sooti thab he should bo included iv the eeaeral amnesty, and that a full and unconiitional pardon should be granted to him. To Kooti: "I have already said that I jill oevei return to my old crimes."

Mr Bryce : " I am satisfied wibh your aslaranc . and I now cail upon Reui Manianote to say whab he considers Te Kooti's future conduct will be."

liewi Manga Maniapoto : " I w?.s one of the, promoters of the King movement, and was against fighting, bub was forced into it. I consider bhab lam in a measure bo blame for these crimes, and have never felt at ease, although pardoned, while other offenders were still held guilty. lam sure you can rely upon Te Kooti's assurances for his future good behaviour, and hope bhat 70U will issue the proclamation without delay." A proclamation pardoning Te Kooti, iVefcere te Rerenga, and others, was accordiigiy issued shortly afterwards. TE KOOTI'S MEETING-HOUSE. The large and handsome whare- ' vmnga, or meeting-house, erected ab ie Kuiti, in tbe "King" Country, some /ears ago tor Te Kooti by the Ngatimaniapoio natives, is probably, the most remarkable native erection of the sorb in New Zoa,and. Ib is now falling into decay, bub is still 8 source of great interest to visitors to Te Kuiti. At this time a description of ib A*i!l, no doubb, be of some interest.

The house, which 13 situated at the Maori settlement about half-a-mile from Te Kuiti railway-station, is 80 feeb long by SO feeb wido, roofed with raupo in the native style, and walled with toitoi, manuka, raupo and timber. The interior and entrance are very elaborately carved, and all round the wall inside are a series of some fifty carvings and panels decorated' after the native style. Tha figures include carvings of all the groat ancestors of the Maniapoto tribe, and aU<o of the East Coasb and other tribes. The carvings in addition commemorate all the ancestors who came to _Je\v Zealand (Aotearoa) in the famous canoe Tainui.

The carved posts insido represent, amongst others, the ancient chiefs, Ruabapu, and Tuhoe of Taupo, Rua wharo, Auanui, _Tv Kaki of Rotorua, Ma' aho, Tupuripnri, Tv Wharetoa of Tor.gariro, l'aoa of Rotorua, and his canoe Matahua, Tuioa of Wanganui, Paikea, and many others. On the right wall is bhe carving of Turongo, grcabesb of bhe Maniapoto, againsb whose feeb loaned an image of the girl Hinemoa, the heroine of Rotorua, whose love story is sung alike by Maori and pakeha. Than there a. posts to the honour of Tama-te-Kapua, To Ramapukura, Hutapere, To Tahi, I'orourangi, and Wakaoterangi. This latter image is more cartsfuliy carved than the others. Ib represents Wakaoterangi with a plaited flax rope in his hand, to which is tied a basket of kumara. He, it is said, brought the kumara from Hawaiiki to Ke.r Zealand in tho canoe iTainui. The legend of Maui is illustrated, and Kupe and his famous canoe Takitumu are also painied. Thero are also carvings of fa-Gu< woman. Nono of the women represented here are carved on tho posts or panels of tho house, they are separate individual:* carved fully oub of wood, and not the oullino of figures as are the men carved on posts and "pillars. The schooner in which Te Kooti escaped from the Chathams is also painted in a place of honour. The whole of tho interior of the whare, besides thi*, is adcrhed with beautifully plaited tcitoi. The house represents great brouble wd loil on the parb of Te Koobi's native »dm"irers. Many of tho Maori carvings are .xceilerib work* of native art, and ib is beieved that they could, with a little exertion, s secured from the nabives by the Governi=nt and preserved as a remarkable rolic of ?d times. THE FEELING AGAINST TE KOOTI. When the now deceased ox-rebel pro-n.-d to vi?it Poverty Bay some four years go. it will bo romembored that the Go-enu-tiit compelled him to abandon his ieic, for foar of trouble, and, in facb, iiiested him, in order to compel him to go .ack to tho Waikato. As showing the inensß indignation with which Te Kooti'3 iro'posed visit was regarded in Poverty Bay, he following extracbfromaGisborne journal >' that date is of interest:—" No deubt Te focti has a greab desire to visit bhe scene >f his former atrocibies, bub wo never have shoughb thab he would come in the face of ■ the bitter feeling thab has always been ex- j hibited towards him by bhe residenbs of i this district. We would suggest that the Governmenb place no obstacle in bhe way of |

a visit from Te Kooti. It would be far and away the best way of sebtling the aithculty once and for all, for he would not trouble us again. There would be a tangi, ana that would be the lasb of the ' Te £ooti Scare.' At the outset the Govern- „-?•. _*i? de a error in pardoning the wretch." ° Another Poverty Bay paper, says :- *°* anafcely' thia is a British community sol 1 influenced by old associabions and love oi law and order, and amongst the mass of : • ReoP'e no personal feeling of vengeance is allowed to usurp bhe power of the law, and long may the citizens of New Zealand so continue. But men of our own race in America would prompbly and sternly deal wibh a wretch like Te Koobi should he venture within their reach. Change the scene to bhe Western States, and five hundred men would in a few minutes put an end to the festivities. Te Kooti, if he escaped a nne bullet, would be dragged bo the nearest tree and hanged like a dog, with probably some of his principal entertainers dangling on each side."