LOYAL MAORI TRIBES

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIII, Issue 112, 13 May 1902, Page 2

LOYAL MAORI TRIBES

A. CHIEF'S .LETTER,

Mr. J.A. Jury, a prominent Wairarapa Maori, writes to the Wellington papers, taking strong exception to a statement reporteu^ as■ "^ when the Governor presented the na & to the Arawas the other day, that, "as the Arawas were the loyal tribe, the flag was to be presented to them." He says: "Now, there is an error in this statement. As a member of the Ngatikahungunu tribe whose territory, commencing at Hawke's Bay, extends along the Last Coast to the mouth of the Wairarapa Lake, oov.nded inland by the Kuahme and Tararua ranges, and as the JNgaitahu, who own the greater part of the South Island, I protest against it, Over this immense area my people never lifted arms against the pakeha. Te Rauparaha did at Wairau, but he belonged to the Arawa and Waikato, and he went to the bouth Island against my people. Furthermore, in^lSoS, toy people made a free gift, of 12,000? acres of the Maroa Plains to th& Government, and also to the R-.iataniwha Plains in the same way, excluding minor areas, for school reserves. Was not this firstclass loyalty? During the Hauhau period Te Rangihiroa came into our territory on behalf of the Hauhau, and niy"people killed them. Bid not this show greater loyalty? In^Te Kooti's war my people, under Tomoana, fcught against him. Was not this a greater show of loyalty than the Arawa's? During the present war in South Africa my people, the Ngatikahimgrinu; have repeatedly offered all their young nien—over 3000—as troopers. Is not this loyalty of the best kind? Under Captain Tunuia-rang-i also the majority of, my people provided nearly all of the members which formed the Diamond Jubilee Contingent, Was not this loyalty? Ngapuhi loyalty dates from the year 1840, when the Treaty of Waitangi was ratified. The Ngapuhi tribe were the fathers of that Treaty, of the missionaries, and of Christianity. Thanks to these, the mana of the paheka vvas established. Are we to believe that at any time Arawa loyalty was i-uperior to this? During the war on the West Coast the Whanganui tribe, under Major Kemp, saved the situation by hurling themselves against the Hauhau at Moutoa and other places, \vnat better loyalty could there be than this? Then, take the^Ngatiporou tvibe, too, under 'Major Ilopata, Are their loyal deeds forgotten or unknown to our Governor and statesmen?"

Mr Jurjr's letter, however, was founded on a misapprehension, probably owing to the word "local" being telegraphed in 'mistake as "loyal." What the Governor said, in presenting- the Prince's flag, was: "Rotorua was the place chosen for the great Maori demonstration of; loyalty to the throne, and as the Arawas were the local tribe, the flag was to be presented to them."