THE MAORI KING.

Auckland Star, Volume XXV, Issue 237, 4 October 1894, Page 8

THE MAORI KING.

TANGI OVER TAWHIAO,

GREAT NATIVE MEETING AT

TAUPIRI.

It may be—most probably ib ie—a fact bhab the Kingite cause is waning greatly amongst the Waikabo Maoris oi late years ; but one thing seems certain—that ib will be revived considerably, if temporarily, by the great gathering of natives which assembled ab Taupiri lately to take part in the last funeral rites over the body of their dead King, Tawhiao. Such a Maori meeting will never again be witnessed in New Zealand, for the time is fast passing away when the Maoris will gather together in such numbers. About the only occasions on which large assemblages of tbe native race may now be observed are at tho obsequies of some great chief, such as Tawhiao and Rewi. Of late, too, the cry of the Maori mourner has often been beard in the land, and the sad death-wail haa ascended from many a Maori kainga over the remains oi some grizzled old rangatira, such as the race will never produce again, for its destiny ia changed. Tho great gathering ab Taupiri, on tho Waikato Rives, was of much importance in more senses thai* one. Ib was nob merely a funeral " wake" to lamenb over a dead aboriginal potentate. It appeared to bear a more significant aspect, for ib bas already helped to weld together hitherfco estranged factions of what is grandiloquently termed the Maori "kingdom," and ib ia abated that the new "king," young Mahuba, already has considerably more staunch adherents than bad Tawhiao ab the time of his death.

THE SCENE AT TAUPIRI.

Taupiri, where some three thousand Maoris, men, women and children, gathered together to mourn over Tawhiao's, poor remains, is a little township on tho eastern bank of the Waikato River, a few miles north of Ngaruawahia and about seventy miles south of Auckland by railway, which passes through the village. Taupiri ia a picturesque localiby, the predominating features ot the landscape being bhe broad-bosomed Waikato, brimming over its low banks with bhe recent rains, and the forest-clad peak known as Taupiri Mountain, which reava its head just above biie township close bo the bank of tho river. The place is famed 'in Maori song and legend, and fcha peak has been for generations the chief burial place of tho Waikato tribes. On the river-wards slope of tho small bare hill which juts out from the southern flank of Taupiri Mountain, is the burying-place. Here are interred the sacred bones ot the great Potabau to Wherowhero, the first Maori king, who died Bomo 37 years ago, and which were hidden for a time in the recesses of Kaugitoto mountain, in tho Upper Waipa district. Here also lie the bones of Tv Tawhiao, the late King's eldest son, who died some years ago, and also those of one of Tawhiao's daughters. A little while ago the innumerable re'ica of dead Wftikatos lying in the sacred ground —the wahi tapu—were added to by tho depositing there of the bones of some fiftyfive deceased members of bhe bribe, removed from a burying ground lower down the river. "In death the tribe are ono." Here also has been interred the body of Tawhiao, Pobatau the Second.

The scene ab Taupiri was an extraordinarily animated one. Ab the least, .there v/ero three thousand Maoris, belonging to upwards of thirty diflerenb North Island tribes, camped on the banks of the VVnikato, in the immediate vicinity of the township.

ARRIVAL OF THE BODY.

Tawbiao'a corpse, from which the life had deported nearly a month ago ab Purawera, arrived ab Taupiri ab about bhree o'clock on Thnrsday, Sept. 20th, amidst ceremonies of a mosb impressive characber. A description of the reception of the body by tho Waikato natives ab Taupiri will be worthy of general interest, as in all probability this is the last occasion which a tangi of such magnitude will ever occur.

The two thousand or so Waikato natives assembled at Taupiri, received word on Thursday morning chab the corpae of the late Kingj escorted by close on a thousand Ngabimaniapoto, Ngatiraukawa and N^atihaua, and others, was close ab hand. The large corbege, in fact, reached tho outskirts of the settlement about noon on Thursday, and halted aboub half-a-mile from the township, on the main road, where they left their horses and vehicles for the time being and prepared for the meeting wibh the Waikatos with all the old-time ceremonial. Meanwhile the Waikatos, who had been rehearsing songs and dances of welcome and lamentation for several days previously, stripped for the ceremony and gob their guns ready—for without guns the function would be sadly incomplete. Some three hundred Waikatos, fine stalwart fellows, drew up under their chiefs just inside their enclosure, the men ten or twelve deep, entirely stripped, save for a shawl, blanket or mat round their waists, feathers in hair and guns in hand. Mosb of the guns were double-barrelled breech-loaders, including some fine rifles, and in addition many of the chiefs carried tbe old-time greenstone meres, whalebone patus and taiahas, Major Te Wheoro, one of the leading chiefs of bhe Waikatos, brandished a splendid greenstone weapon. As 'Major Kemp and the obher visibing natives from the Soubh, in company wibh the Obaki Brass Band, landed from the Auckland train and walked over to greet the mourning Maoris, the latter performed a dance of welcome, with a song especially comDosed for the occasion.

A WARLIKE PROCESSION,

The corbege of Maoris irom the Upper Waikato had by this time approached the township, and drew up some four hundred yards away from the camp. They, like bhe men in the camp, were seen tobs armed with rifles and fowling-pieces, and which were occasionally fired with heavy charges of powder. Ab the same fcimo large quantities of dynamite were exploded on the top of the hill ab the burial place, with reports like the firing of cannon, which woke the echoes for miles around. The Otaki Native' Band inarched out to bake up bheir position ab the head of the procession of visibore, in front of the corpse. The signal being given, bhe eager onlookers saw the singular procession start on the march into tbe camp. The siebb was a mosb unique one. The cortege of Maniapotos and others comprised fully 900 Maoris, the men being in front in regular fighting cosbumo, stripped naked, except for a shawl or a shoeb round their loins, and feathers in their hair. As they advanced, firing their guns into the air ab frequent intervals, thfl armed party were seen to number come 300 men^ the rest of the party having their heads and bodies profusely entwined ,wifrh green leaves, as a sign of mourning, the rear of the procession thus presenbing bhe sight of a moving "Forest of Dunsioana." The cries of lamenbation and the mournful notes of bho " Dead March in Saul," played by the band as the procession moved slowly into the township, rendered the spectacle a most impressive one. Immediately behind the band came the coffin enclosing Tawhiao's body, borne by sixteen Maoris of Ngabimahuba, the late King's tribe. Beside his father's corpse walked Mahuta, an intelligent looking young man of about 28 year 3 of ace. Nexb came the armed men, in military array, eighb deep, led on by Arakatare Rongowhitiao, a big and brawny Ngatirnukawa chief, attired on;y in a sheet and gesticulating with a whalebone mere. The' hoarse in which the corpsa had been conveyed (Tawhiao'a buggy) was brought oo ab the end of the proceasion.

AN IMPOSING RECEPTION. As tho mournful - looking procession, every man and woman marching wibh head bowed down, reached the entrance to the native camp, the spectators uncovered their heads while the coffin passed by. The hundreds of Waikatos, silent as death, were massed some, eighty yards inside the enclosure, the armed men in front, with their guns ab the "port," and the other male natives and the women, their heads and bodies covered with willow-leaves, koromiko, or some'other greenery in token of grief. As the coffin elowly entered the enclosure, the waiting party bowed down bheir heads to the ground three times, and ab bhe same bime the colours on the flagstaff were dipped. As the visibors came slowly on, cryino in the peculiar Maori monotone of sorrow, the Waikatos slowly robired, and bowed down again when a few paces back, and bhen saluted the cortege with a volley of blank-cartridge from their three hundred guns. Then came bhe formal dance and song of welcome. Led by. tbe fugleman in the front, the Waikatos roared out with one voice a song of welcome and lamentation which could have been heard far across the river, and kepb splendid time with their guns, by alternately bending down until the muzzles of their guns nearly touched the earth, holding their firearms^ near the broech, and then giving a eudden spring upright wibh their guns held at arm's length above bheir heads. This was done in portecb bime, and although nob a war-dance proper, it . reminded some spectators of fierce spectacles of thab kind in the earlier days. When the receiving parby had slowly retired aboub fifty yards before the advancing procession, keeping up the song and salute as they wont, aboub a hundred and fifty young men joined in the welcome with fern and nikau fronds in their hands, keeping time with tho armed parby a3 they wenb through their dance like clockwork. A SONG OF WELCOME. The song which was chanted with extraordinary effect by hundreds of voices was a welcome specially composed and rehearsed for the occasion by the Waikato people. We give a free translation of ib, bub no English rendering can do justice to the inexpressibly peculiar effecb of tho words in the stentorian chant. The welcome, which was given the name of "Te Taniwha o te Rua" (likening Tawhia's departed spirib to a great taniwha or an atua or god), was as follows :— "Ka alma au kite whatitiri c whakatuptini ne* Runga te rangi; Kaoro ko to uiiuhanpa o to taniwha i to ma; Aue! Aud ! Aue! Temamaoiau! Ka njjano Mokau, ka iißaue Taniaki; Ka ru te whenua; Ku, mate to mamma; Ka taka tc whetu o to rangi; Ka ara. Waikato i te rua. Aue! Aue! Aue! Aue! Taukiri c!" Translated this chant is :— "I sec tho lightning in the sky ' Flashing and glistcnius;: It i 3 the releasing of I he spirit from the cave; Alas ! Alas! Alas !My grief! From Mokau unto Tamaki The earthquake shakes the land; The moon ha 3 disappeared; The stars fall from tho heavens; is Wailtato arising from the depths. Alas! Alas! Alas! My grief!" THE VISITORS' REPLY. Both parties then advanced, each firing volleys as they wenb, bhe men reloading their gune with fresh cartridges as fasb as they could, until they approached the flagstaff in tho centre of the enclosure. In the vicinity of tho flagstaff were grouped about five hundred more men of the Waikatos proper, who also went through tha chanb of welcomo with a precision as remarkable as that of bheir armed friends. On tho left hand were seated bhe women, garlanded with greonery, and all keeping up a suppressed cry. Some of the womon had only a blanket, shawl or mab round their waists, and with weeping willows and ferns wound round their bodies over bhe right shoulder. The visitors, on the conclusion of the song of welcome, when the Waikato " soldiers " fell back on tha main body, replied with a song of their own, raising a thundering chorus, which might have been heard for miles around, and with a simulbaneous stamp of hundreds of feeb on tbe ground which literally shook the earth. The men and womon of both parties then edged back, and iefb an open space near bhe flagstaff for the coffin, which was borne up and deposited by its wearied bearers on a low stage erected for the purpose. A handsomo oil painting of Tawhiao, presented by the Otaki natives, was unveiled beside tho coffin, and a hum of intense emotion went through the bowed natives as they saw ib. Around and under the coffin were placed a number of beautiful and valuable native mats, also presented by bhe Otaki native?, the presents including splendid specimens of korowai, kaitaka, wbariki, and kaka and pigeonfeabher mats. The coffin (lead shell within a woodon coffin) was a very heavy one, weighing three or four hundredweight. It was at last ob resb, afber having been on the road for two weeks or so.

THE TANGI.

The general tangi or weeping over the corpse then began, the Waikabos for the first time having an opportunity of crying over their dead king. Men and women, young and old, joined in the tangi, end the wailing and peculiar monotonous hum of crying were kept up for some time, all the people being seated on bhe ground in the most mournful abtibudea conceivable. The visitors all mainbained a position some 35 yards away from the coffin, around which the Waikato were weeping. Waikato formed a large semi-circle close under the colours fluttering in tho breeze, with the armed men on the right nnd the women on the left. Suddenly the volume of the sound of wailing gave" place to another, as the women of Waikato lifted up their voices in a mournful song of their own. addressed to the spirit of Tawhiao, which was poebically supposed to be climbing up towards the higher heavens : —

" Ascend, ascend, oh spirit I You have come to see your people. To sue the peoplo of the "Waikato ; Behold, thoy arc- gathered in your canoe, Assembled here arc all the tribes." Ab an interval in the formal crying over Tawhiao, a grizzled old warrior, the veteran Whitiora te Kumete (of Ngatimahuta), Tawhiao'a first cousin, who was a loading general in the Waikato war of 1863-64, rose and welcomed the visiting tribes in a brief oration, punctuated by gesticulations wibh an nncient Maori weapon. This formal ealutation over, the whole of the Waikatos again repeated with one voice the stirring son;; " Taniwha o te Rua," and performed another dance with their guns, each man brandishing his firearm right and left, down to the ground and above his head, in faultless bime, the whole working like one machine. When they had finished, the visiting party fired several volleys of blank cartridge as a tribute to Tawhiao's memory. All this time puffa of smoke were seen, and reports like cannons were heard from tho burying place on one hill, where natives were exploding dynamite all round the grave destined for Tawbiao. The rifle firing was succeeded by the singing of an old and well - known Maori eong oi 'welcome, " Kumea cc Waka " (Draw the Canoe"), in which the people were likened to a canoe brought to the shore, the refrain being " toia te waka kite urunga "(" bring the canoe to the resting-place'1). Tbe bangi shortly afterwards concluded for the day. The men who had been in the van of each parby stripped for the occasion ran off to geb their clothes, for they had beon exposed to a cold wind for several hours, and the womon seb abont preparing kai for their lords and masters. Hundreds of hangis, or Maori ovene, were soon in operation, and before long the whole camp were discussing their pork and

potatoes, their eels and kutnara and bread, with a relish.

THE ASSE M BLED NATIVES,

The. Maoris gathered at Taupiri were aboub the finest set of aboriginals that will ever be gathered together in New Zealand, those from the interior being especially fine stalwart, men. They were most orderly; in fact, far better behaved than the same number of average Europeans would be under similar circumstances. Not a drunken man was to be seen. The native committee imposed a fine of five shillings on anyone found the worse of liquor. There were close on thirty tribes represented at tho meeting, the principal iwi being: Waikato (with about a dozen sub-tribes, such as Ngatitipa, Ngatiteata, Ngatinaho), Ngatimaniapoto, Ngatiraukawa, Wgatimaru, Ngatihaua, Ngatimnhuba, Ngaiterangi, Ngatipaoa, Ngatikahungunu, Ngatiawa, Whanganui, Mgapuhi, Ngatitametera, Ngatisvhatua, and others.

The principal chiefs and influential men present included the following : Waikato: Major Te Wheoro, Henare Kaihau, Hori Kukutai. and Whitiora.

Ngatiraaniapoto: Taonui fee Naunau, Tawhana, Aporo te Taratutu. (the hero of the raid on Mr Gorst's printing office afc Te Awamutu prior to the Waikato War), Paku Kohatu, Hotutaua te Wetini, and Messrs John Hettib and John Ormsby. Ngaiteranga: Ngafcai Taiaho, Hone Makarabti, Te Warn, Rewi te Ngatai. Ngatiraukawa: Arakatare Rongowhifciao, Te Rangi Tutua, Whiti Patata, Paora. Ngatituwbaretoa: Henheu Tukino. Ngatihaua: Taingakawa te Waharoa (the Maori Premier), Hote-Tamehana, Tutua te Ngakau and Mahuta and To Wherowhero (Tawhiao's sons). i Ngatipaoa : Taipari and Totorewa. Ngatiinahuta (tho bearers of the body) : Tv Te Ao, Te Uira, Ngakste", Te Puhi, Tihirahi, Te Aka Wharakura. As may ba imagined, tho quantity of food required for such a large assemblage was enormous. . The commissariat arrangements were under the care of Te Aka Wharakura, who is an excellent providore. shark, mussels, fish, etc. An idea of the food supply may be guaged from the tact thafa Ngatitipa and Ngatiteata, who, together with Mr G. S. Graham, were the largest contributors, gave in all some £160 worth of kaikai, including seven tons of flour, one ton of sugar, 4-J tons of mussels, £ 121b tins of tea, 20 pigs, half a ton of dried fish, 2 tons of kumaras, 3 tons potatoes, etc. One individual native gave ton tone of flour.

THE MAORI CAMP.

A Star reporter who visited the camp at Taupiri wrote: —The interior of the large enclosure, in which many hundreds of Maoris have their temporary camp, presents a striking and very picturesque Bceno. From the lofty flagstaff float several flags ab hallmast, including one inscribed "Kingi Mahuta " and another "Takoto" ("rest or remain in peace "), referring to the body of Tawhiao below. The tenb containing the coffin lios in a little hollow in the centre of the enclosure, and ib is now completely closed in from view by a high breakwind of manuka, which has been nastily thrown up around about it to shield the sacred features of the dend king from the too-inquisitive gaze. After the morning meal the place is gay with the bright, many - coloured gowns and " roundabouts '' worn by the women, many of whom still wear green leaves on their heads as a sign of mourning. European clothing is nearly universal, bub in addition many men sporb the now uncommon flax mat, with an occasional head-dress of native pigeons' or kaka feathers, while many of the men discard trousers in favour of the more comfortable and airy shawl or blanket tied round the waist and falling to the knees. All the old weapons of primitive days in the possession of the'hapus have been brought out for tho occasion, and many fine greenstone meres, taiahas', etc., are on view. One old fellow, with a Back worn in lieu of a coab, carries an old naval cutlass, which he evidently treasures highly. The large number of young children playing about the edges of the encampment strike a spectator with the idea that tho Maori race cannot really be decaying while the " youngsters" are so numerous and so healthy looking and chubby. The chief figure of interest amongst the natives is that of Mahuta, the young "King," who haa just been elected to the kingite " throne " as a successor to his late father, Tawhiao. Mahuta Tawhiao Pocatau ("Tawhiao II.") is a man of some promise. He is said to be an intelligent young fellow —more so than the late king—and ho is reported to have soina considerable force of character. However, his opinions have been formed for him by tho Kingito Councillors, Committee, or " Kauhanganui," as they are termed, and it is presumed that he intends to pursue the policy of anti-land selling, anti-survey, anti-European laws over the Maori, which was tho prominent feature of old Tawhiao's regime. The natives, when they assemble for the day's tangi and epeechmaking, ait in two large parties—the visitors nob mingling with the Waikato natives proper. The visitors, consisting of Ngatimaniapoto, Ngatihaua, Ngabiraukawa and others, who escorted Tawhiao's body into Taupiri, are arranged in sections of tribos in front of their quarters on the eastern side of the enclosure, while the Waikato natives, each tribe sitting in a compact body by itself, face the '• up-country " Maoris, with their backs to the Waikato River. Ab frequent intervals the sound of weeping is heard, and the mournful hum of the wail over the dead is . borne to the ear even a long distance outside the camp. Numerous gaily-coloured flags form a striking feature of the temporary Maori kainga, for the Kingite natives were ever great lovers of ceremony and of flags and similar emblems of authority. The Maori assemblage is a most orderly one, chiefly the rsult of the temperate habits of the great bulk of the natives, and the remarkably strict manner in which various rules for the good government of the meeting are enforced. Any one found the worse for liquor—a very rare offence—is promptly taken to bis quarters in the camp, and in the morning he is brought before the tribal " beak" (who in the case of the j Waikato natives is Major Wi te Wheoro), and is fined ss.

THE SPEECHES. Friday, the Slab September, was devoted to speeches of lamentation over the dead king and to songs and hakas expressing feelings of sorrow and grief. The chiefs acting as spokesmen and many of their people are afctired Maori fashion in mats, shawls and sheets, having lefb their logs free for the better performance of the hakas and of the violent exercise which an orator is compelled to take. A grizzled old chief, who has " seen service" in his time, jumps up from amongst the ranks of the visitors, his eyes rolling with excitement, his garb a flax mat and a shawl, with a sheet round his waist, and his head adorned with feathers, while in his hand he brandishes a valuable greenstone or whalebone mere, an old-time weapon which is a tribal or a family heirloom. Up ho springs in the air, as lightly las if he were a boy, and bounding forward along the front of bis seated tribe ho addresses the gathering. " Welcome ! welcome ! welcome I Tawhiao is dead 1" is the gist of his oration. After a few words he bounds along his people's line, performs pukana or grimaces with eyes and ; tongue at the tribe' opposite, or at another spokesman who has goc tip in5 another part of the cssemblnge, pours forth d torrent of words, and then loops and runs back to his starting plnea. Hi- rhetoric is nob extensive, for it is simply a short speech of welcome and of lamentation, and he sinks , down again as quickly, as be arose, made

quite young again by his unwonted work. Another chief will address the people calmly and deliberately, and in language well-chosen and always appropriate. No Maori speaker ia aba loss for a word. His flow of language is usually very copious. There are Borne celebrated orators amongst both parties, the noted old chiet Te Ngakau, of Ngabihaua, whose fame as a polished orator was so greab that women were wonb to climb on the roofs of whares to listen to him, being amongsb the visiting natives. Henare Kaihau, who is a near relative of the dead king, is an excellent and a logical speaker, as also is Te Rawhiti. a very able man, who is Secretary to the Maori Kingdom. Taingakawa be Waharoa (son of the famous 44 Kingmaker " Wi Tamebana), the *4 Pramier" of the Maori Kingdom, 'ateo commands the deepest attention when he rises to speak. Taipari, Major Kemp, Whitiora, Major To Wheoro, Te_Aka Wharakura, and other leading men, never fail to find sympabhetic ears and a perfectly quieb audience, save for the incessant low wailing Of the old women who continually keep up their tangi immediately^ around the King's body. One half-speech half-song of lamentation will serve as an example of cho rest, for tho orations all turn on the one central idea that the king is dead :—

"Alas! Alas ! Alas I The sorrow ofib! Ifc cannot bo helped ; ibcannob be helped. Go, oh eon, to bhe night (Haere, c tatna, ki fee po), deparb on bhe ebbing bide. Our hearts are great with sorrow. Alas ! Alas ! Alas ! Oh Waikabo, oh bhe bribes, oh son, depart to the other world! Depart, depart, depart! The bribe is dead ; the great) trees of tho forest have fallen ; none arc left bub bhe small trees, bhe Bhrubs and the saplings ! The bribes are - assembled bo sorrow over the head of the-whole people," and so on. in a strain which is reiterated loudly and often. As bhe orators of each tribe deliver their short speeches of welcome and of lamentation over bhe corpse of Tawhiao, they often quote some words of a well-known song. When the spokesman ceaseß up jumps the tribe, and burst in a roar into the chorus of the song, accompanying tho words with a haka dance. With machine-like precision mere's, taiahas, an old sword or two, paddlee and sticks (and even umbrellas and whips) are whirled this way and that, and the dancorß bring down now the right foot and now tho left in a thunderous stamp on the ground, as tho familiar "words are yelled forth. The leaders of the haka dance out in front of their hapus and urge them on by voice and deed until the dancers get worked up into the spirit of the thing, and perform the haka like one man. Old Major Te Wheoro, clad in a blanket and mat, is as eager as the rest, and ho leads on his tribe in a manner which shows that this ia not the first haka that he has taken part in. One after another the tribes assembled round the meeting place jump up and go through thejr respective hakas, under the conducfcorship of their fuglemen and chiefs, who are particularly experb in imparting the singular quivering motion to the meres in their hands which none bub a Maori born could ever attain. With a final long-^ drawn-oub " Aue !" or "E !" the dancers squat doivn again, and more speeches are made, followed by more hakas..

Monday, bhe 24bh September, the Maovi3 assembled ab the fcangi set apart for the reception of the Europeans, several hundreds of whom were welcomed by them and feasted, while speeches of welcome and lamentation were made by both natives and Europeans. The excursion train party from Auckland had an interesting trip. About SOO Auckland residents, including many ladies, went up to Taupiri, and on landing at thai; picturesque locality they were greeted with volleys from the guns of the armed Maoris, who, with the Otaki Native Brass Band, escorted them to the enclosure, where a place had boen set apart for them. The natives wore the Maori signs of mourning, including sprays of weeping willow.koromiko andlycopodium leaves,and some of the pakehas also wore green twigs in their hab bands, in deference to native customs. Prominent amongsb tho visitors was Mr James Mackay, an old friend of the Maoris, who lookod a true pakeha-Maori, with a Maori mat over his shoulder and a greenstone mere in his hand. Mr John Ormsby (Ngatimaniapoto) addressed the meeting in English, on behalf of Mahuta Tavvhiao Potatau te Wherowhero, the newly-eleceted Maori King. Mahuta's words were :—" You are here, the people my father loved during his lifetime. Now I will uphold the same lovo'as my father did towards you, after him. My lova is this, let love exist between both parties. Bub there is one thing to bo alarmed at as between you and us. My father during the years which are past, said ib was righting. Let the sword be sent away to the other aide (England), and let ib remain bhero. So that we may be a house for love, and a resting place for good things. So that peace may constantly obtain'between us all in this country."

Mr Mackay, in answer to the native welcome to the Europeans, eang two eongs of lament and spoke as follows: —"Greeting to you the tribes, and the people in your sorrow. We see the respect which you pay to the departed chiof Tawhiao, the Maori King. We have also come to join in your grief. Death is nob a new thing, it is from all times past. The axe of Aitua (death) fells even the tall trees of the forest. Here this large and towering tree of the forest has fallen by the strokes of that axe, leaving us, the koromiko, the mahoe, the kaiwhiria, and other small trees in solitude. We shall no more repose under the shadow of the mighty tree which now lies on the ground before ue. What can we do ? Nothing but weep and shed tears, which avail nothing. No one can disregard or disobey tbe call of death. Go, sire ! Go, dire! Go on your way ! We would have kept you among us if wo could. All we can do now is to grieve for your death, and remember your words. The proverb says, • A man dies, but his sayings remain behind.' Go my precious greenstone (kahurangi) to your ancestors at Te Eeinga. We shall follow you on the same road."

Subsequently Mr Mackay, in addressing the new kins, Mahuta, said :—" Greetings to you, the grandson of Potatau Te Wherowhero. Greetings to you, fche eon of my friend Tawhiao, who has departed from among us. Greetings to you, the young man who baa been elected to fill Tawhiao'a place as the head of the Maori people, and as the figurehead (tau ihu) of the ! Aotearoa canoe. He jusfc now addressed i him as a youth, bub you are no longer such. You are a man, fche tribes having made you their ' kaumatua' (chief or leader). A greab responsibility rests on you, bub you have your old men and the members of your Parliament to assist you. You will be right if you remember the words of your grandfather, ' Love, Generosity, and Truth ' (Te Aroha, Te Atawhai f me Te Pono). We hope that whatever you may do will be for the benefit and good of both Maoris and Europeans." After the Maori welcome, the Rev. W. Gittos (Superintendent of the Wesleyan Maori missions and an old missionary in the Waikato), addreesed the natives in Maori. Speeches were also made to the nativeß by Mr G. S. Graham and Mr W. A. Graham, and Mr R. Ralph, of Huntly, also said a few words. M«j <r te Wheoro welcomed the Europeans, Mr John Ormsby interDreting. A dinner iv pakeha style was served to all the Europeans present. The interment of the late King Tawhiao's remains at Tniipiri on Sept. 26 is roported by eye-witnesses to have been a most impressive scene, lb is rumoured, however, that the body of the old chief was secretly interred by bis immediate bapa oa Monday night, in a

spot on Taupiri Mountain or the vicinity, known only to a few Datives of the Ngatimahuba and Ngabimaniapoto tribes. This would be quite in accordance with native customs. If co, the body will, ia accordance with Maori customs, be tbe*occasioa of a great tangi aba hahunga, or bone* scraping, in a twelve-months time, and will then be permanently interred ab the tribal burying ground ab TaupirL The funeral procession of Maoris was an interesting spectacle as the cortege wound its way from ;ne native camp to the top of the hill on which the burying ground w situated. First of all walked a very old man bearing a flag inscribed "Kingi o'te rangimarie " (King of the peaceful heavens "}, followed by an old tobunga, one of tho last of the order of old Maori priests, who wore a string of large whale's teeth (nibo-paraoa) round his neck. Ib is stated that his principal mission at the burying place which is a small enclosure at the top of the burial hill, was bo destroy some native mats, etc., which bad become tapu by being used in connection with the burying' ground and the dead. Next came bnß coffin, borne by eighteen then belonging to Ngatimaniapoto and Tawhiao's relatives of Ngatimahuta, and the Otaki Brass Band playing the Dead March in •• Saul." There was no burial service or any noticeable ceremonial ab the grave beyond the firing .of the^ usual volleys by the armed Maori police, about 150 of whom acted as the firing party. The procession Was a very large unej, tho natives marching ten or twelve deep. Ab Mau ngakawa, near Cam bridge, 6c Friday, Sept. 14th, the Kingite nabivei held a most imposing ceremony. Shortly after the body of their late king, Tawhiao, arrived, the leading chiefs of Ngatimania* poto, Ngabiraukawa, Ngabituwharetoa, Ngaiterangi, Ngatimarutuahu, Ngatitamatera, Ngatipaoa, Ngatihatia, Ngabikorehe, and other tribes proceeded to install Tawhiao's eldest surviving sob, Mahuta, ac their new king, an elaborate throne used by the late King being brought into requisition, 'the leading members of the " Kauhanganui," or Maori Parliament, headed by their Premier, TauaTe Waharqa; son of Wi Tamihana, the King Maker, welcomed the newly-crowned king, who takes the title of " Kungi Mahuta Tawhiao Potatau te Wherowhero," and declared that the Maoris would remain loyal to him and unite under him to protect their interests. Some of the speakers, however.