The Press. MONDAY, FEBBUARY 6, 1865. WIREMU TAMAHANA TE WAHAROA.

Press, Volume VII, Issue 709, 6 February 1865, Page 2

The Press. MONDAY, FEBBUARY 6, 1865. WIREMU TAMAHANA TE WAHAROA.

!&memost hopeless 'feSthre/ia. the .present po«tiw of tha Native and European parties in this colony, is the ignorance of the great . jb§ulaK6n on either side of the characters and objects of Che other. If it he Jtaie &at JSewi Maniapoto. ia a .blood-, ruißan, as is conveniently supposed, 2L 80 ! 1 a rogue, as Ifc. Foi has etated and people generally - slip the bloodhounds 01 war and such m in rratore : j>eftce to the land; but Bnpp6ee II shemldTturn out to he entirely dSflexeot, what then? !W© propose* to-day, to describe the character of WilhamThompsoa* the great Ngatihaaa chieftain, as we it from those who bare known Hot life and from his £s to "nothing «rfenuate r jior aught &et~dWn in^malice;" : to speak of the man Ms he really is. and to his real chaicacter with that fictitious is held up before the English as oos of mumbo jumbos of the Kew Zealand MrarJ (For a, considerable number stated we are indebted to jlft£;.G^j#tffbook Y~ but we have other of them. tribe of the Waikato.' £ countey round the head ':j-^m»W^^&» t ßaaom t Kako, and eastbrimch daring. ■3BWg **notorioi» ,in ferocity -and

of the last generation, in which he raised his tribe to great renown The son was converted to Christianity at an early age, and was educated for some time in the school of Archdeacon Brown, at Tauranga. He is now an accomplished reader, writer, and speaker, and retains by the sagacity of his mind and the wisdom oi his counsels, the influence which his fathei acquired by war. To the European his name is generally known as the symbol of war: the real truth is that when converted tc Christianity he declared he would nevei fight again,—a pledge which, we believe, he never broke -until he led up the reserve al Bangiriri, too late to turn the fortunes o; the day. For many years Tamihana has been the one great peacemaker of the Northern Island. Mr. G-orst, who him intimately, says—" Though living in th( midst of innumerable quarrels and blood shed, he had never, up to time of which w( are speaking (in 1863) personally engagec in war, but had consistently and success fully performed the part of a peacemaker Feud after feud was settled by his-mediation until at last it had become usual when anj difficulty arose to send for Tamihana to setth it." Thompson appears to have governec his own tribe with unusual care for theL welfare. He endeavoured to put dowr drinking by making all the European trader! living amongst them sign an agreement tc pay a fine of 20s. every time a Maori shoulc be found drunk on their premises. He ap pears to have been successful in putting down thieving: on one occasion the Bisho] of New Zealand, when travelling in th< neighborhood of Maungatautari, asked a max whether it would be safe to leave the bag gage on the roadside while they went on t< the next village; the answer was, —-" Oh yes; nobody steals now." And on asked why, the man said—" Some don' steal for fear of God, and some from fear o the five pounds"—the fine for theft enforcec by Thompson's JRunanga. | Thompson is a rather silent, thoughtfu man, much given to reading the Bible, the Old Testament legends of which seemed t< I have much the same sort of influence on bin as Mr. Beecher Stow tells us they used t( have on the slaves in America. For yeari he pondered over the constant quarrels, th< feuds, the bloodshed going on amongst th< tribes, many" of which had their origin intbj sales of land to the Government. There cai be no doubt that W. Thompson was a mosi earnest man, deeply filled with an arden desire to benefit his countrymen, and pos sessed with a love of peace and a convictioi that all improvements in the condition of hi race were to be achieved by peaceful mean alone. In a letter to Colonel Brown, ii 1861, he describes his own feelings, and ob jectß in a strain of grave eloquence, singu larly impressive:— • * # # * I thought that a great house should be built as : house of assembly for the tribes that were living a '{end in New Zealand, and would not cleave one t the other. The house was built—it was Babel. Thei I applied my thoughts to seek for some plan* b; which the Maori tribes should cleave together ani assemble together, so that the people might becom one, like the Pakehas. The Ngatipaoa were invitee and they came to mc, and joined the talk for good Afterwards the Ngatimatera were invited, and thej came; afterwards thelfgatiwhakaue were invited anc they came; afterwards the Ngatiwhanaunga wen invited and they came. However, they were men meetings; evil still went on—the river of blood wai not yet stopped. The missionaries behaved bravely and so did I; but the flow of blood did not cease When you (Colonel Browne) came, the river of blooc was still open, and I therefore sought for BOrne plar to make it cease; I considered how this blood coulc be made to diminish in the island. I looked at yom books, where Israel cried to have a king to them' selves, to be a judge over them; and I looked nl the word of Moses, in Deuteronomy xvii. IE ["Thou shalt in anywise set him king over thee. whom the Lord thy God shall choose: one fron among thy brethren shall thou set king over thee thou mayest not set a stranger over thee which is nol thy brother "], and at Proverbs xxix. 4 [" The 'king by judgment establisheth the land"], and I kept these words in my iremory through all the years; the [and feuds continuing aU the time, blood still being spilt, and I still meditating upon the matter. In the year 1857, Te Heu Heu called a meeting at Taupo, at which sixteen hundred men were present. When the news of this meeting reached mc I said, "I will consent to this, to assist my work." I began at those words of the Book of Samuel viii. 5, " Give us a king to judge us." That was why I set up Potatau, in 1857. On his being set up, the blood at once ceased, and has so remained up to the present year. The reason why I set up Potatau as a king for mc, was because he was a man of extended influence, and a man who was revered by the people of this island. That, nay friend, was why I set him up. To put down my troubles, to hold the lands of the slaves, and to judge the offences of the chiefs, the king was set up. The works of my ancestors have ceasedj they, are dnxumshing at the present time. .What I say is, the blood of the Maoris has ceased. "V. • . * * * v * ■.'••" * it has been this intense desire for peace which has given Thompson's character, to ignorant or interested men, the appearance of insincerity. But the real truth is, he is not insincere, but is a man beyond his age. With a burning love for Maori nationality, his soul is grieved at the wild and violent means by which many of those around him fancy it is to be achieved. Those who fancy that because he had vigorously opposed the war, and the murder of Europeans, he has approved of. the policy of the Government, mv, of course, taint him insincere when he comes forward ,as our opponent. But Thompson never has acknowledged that he or his people owe any allegiance to the Queen. Old Potatau was pressed in vain to sign the Treaty of Waitangi. Te Waharoa pointedly refused tpsdgn it, and Thompson has said— "I am chief of Ngatihaua'which is an independent tribe; my fether, Te Waharoa, was chief before mc 4 neither he, T, nor any of my people, signed this treaty, therefore we are not bound by it" If this be true we «re perfectly at a loss to comprehend by what right or title Queen Victoria claims Sovereignty oyer'the Waikato tribes • or haw such a claim could be argued for a moment before the Privy Council. N v Buj? in spite of the absence of all right or titfe to allegiance, it may be presumed that had such; men as Thompson perceived that the Queen's Government had a civilising and derating influence on i&eir race,'"lt" Vould have teen generally and cheerfully submitted to. But they complain, and with indispu-

table justice, that the very opposite was th« case; that they were allowed to cut eaer other's throats" as they pleased; that the Government cared only for buying land; anc that the system of land purchasing was ever stimulating the feuds and crimes throughoul the island. .In 1857, brooding over the wrongs of his country, Thompson went tc Auckland for the last time. He was noi then in European eyes so important a chic: as he has since become. He was not allowec to see the Governor, and was snubbed by the subordinate officials. In fact he was noi a land-selling Native, and it was to thai class alone that the civilities of Governmenl were confined; for Native government al that time was concentrated in the Native Land Purchase Department. Thompsor returned to Peria with the conviction thai the Maori must look for the future to himseU alone. That visit to Auckland was the proximate cause of the consummation oj the King movement, and it would be curious to ascertain who was the official who snubbec the Maori King into existence, and thereby inflicted all the succeeding calamities which have followed in his train. The idea of a Maori King had been broached before but it now assumed a practical form bj Thompson's proposal that Te Whero Where should be made King at once. The questior was discussed at a meeting called by Te Heu Heu at Taupo ; and the adherence of Thompson immediately after his returr from Auckland, settled it. Te Whero Where was formally installed at a great meeting ai Rangariri in April, 1857. When the Taranaki war broke om Thompson set his face resolutely against the interference of the Waikato3. At the meeting at Ngaruawahia in May, 1860, te discuss the Waitara question, at which Mr McLean was present, he spoke as fol lows:— I am disturbed by the letter received from Wiremi Kingi Te Rangitake. I wish to understand the case but do not see it. ... I hesitate and say, Le us see our way. Te Rangitake says, the land is his Teira says, it is his. I say, Let us find'out the owner Do not be hasty lest we make a mistake. I do no condemn the Governor, for I am not informed . . . . I do not say, let us find out that th Governor is right that we may ;join him, nor am '. idle or unwilling to go to war if necessary, but le mc have a just cause. . . . If the Governor say; that this (the Maori King) is the cause of the war,* ~ see through it. If he says that it is the land, I sei through that also. But Ido not speak it; that is i matter not to be spoken here, it is a hidden word tha is to be kept in the heart. We intend to keep ou: land, and if the Governor comes to take anothe: piece after this, then we shall have war. . . . Lei the subject he taken up and settled by the chiefs Shall we go to the Governor or shall we join Bangi take ? Let us search out the merits of the case, tha if we die we may die in a righteous cause. Epiha, of Kihikihi, led the first detachmem to Taranaki against the strnog advice o Thompson, and the positive commands o: the King conveyed in a letter which is sup posed to have been intercepted and sup pressed by Rewi The defeat of the troopi at Puketekauere spread the desire for wai through all Waikato. But, though Thomp son had by this time come to the conclusioi that W. King had the right in the quarrel he still refused his consent to the Waikatos interfering by force of arms; and whei Wetinj, a Ngatihaua. Chief,* next in rank and of almost equal influence to himself insisted on going, and led off a considerable part of the tribe, Thompson parted fron him in anger, saying, " Then go and stoj there;" and he did stop there—in the grave. It was just at this time thai the body of a Native was found murdered in the woods at Patumahoe, neai Manakau harbor, and the warriors oi Waikatb who had not gone to the wai descended the river in & strong body to enquire into the facts and to take vengeance on the murderers, supposed to be Europeans. W. Thompson went with them, and it was owing to his great influence alone that the minds of the Natives were calmed, and they returned without violence. At that time Auckland, which was almost within a day's march, could have been destroyed with i ease. " The Europeans owed their salvation on this occasion to Wiremu Tamihana, the Waikato rebel"—such are the words of Mr. Gorst. The next chapter in the life of this remarkable man still describes him on a mission of- peace. He would not lead his tribe to the war even to avenge? the death of Wetini ; but in March, 1861, he went down with Ti ori ori and all the tribe, resolved, if possible, to put an end to fighting. He first obtained a three days' truce from General Pratt; then he dealt with the chiefs in council. The result was that W. King gave the Waitara to Thompson, with the assent of all the fighting chiefs—Rewi, Hapirona, ISpiha, &c. Thompson then gave his award in the following words : — "Waikato —back-to Waikato; Te Atiawa —awaytoMataitawa; Ngatiruanui—return to your homes. Let the soldiers be taken back to the town of Taranaki. Waitara shall be left under the protection of the law" The negotiations which followed were unfortunate. Thompson intended that all the troops should be Iremoved on both siejes. Governor Browne, however, would not give up the block-houses which the troops occupied. It has been asserted that Thompson understood this to be part of the agreement made with him, and our readers may remember some discussion which took place in this journal on this very point. We are inclined to think there was a misunderstanding, but that it arose from, Thompson's over-eagernesa to'believethathis most reasonable proposal would be assented to. - It is sufficiently unfortunate that his Dffer to stop all fighting, and "leave Waitara to the protection of the law," was not accepted in the same statesmanlike and generous spirit in which it was made.. Without believing that any deception was intended or practised, the result was that rhompson returned, bitterly..mortified, and with; greatly impaired influence. He had itopped the war, but had failed to obtain "air concession out of the Government., Governor Browne's peace (?) proclama-. Ttoo. found Thompson at home at Tamahere. We pass over that singular production

which called on him " to obey the law which guaranteed freedom to the weak as well as to the strong; " and informed him that— "no man in the Queen's Dominions is permitted rights or redress wrongs hi/ foree —he must appeal to the law"— when his dearest friends were lying dead under the fern at Taranaki for asserting identically the same doctrine: they had died in the endeavor to enforce Colonel Browne's theory against Colonel Browne's actions. A greater mind than Thompson's would have been sorely puzzled to know what all this meant. On the 3rd June the tribes assembled at Ngamawahia to discuss the proclamation; and the result was that celebrated letter from Thompson to Governor BrosTne, which was published at the time throughout all New Zealand, but has now been almost forgotten. Some striking extracts are quoted in Mr. Gorst's book which are well worth a re-perusal: — # * * * # When I betake myself to this work, I am rebuked Now, when I worship God, lam not rebuked. This great name of God which is taught to mc, why is this freeto mc ? While of this name of King it is saic to nic, " It, is not right to use it, it i 3 a sacrec thing." Enough, my friends, it is the practice be tween master and slave, that though the word of th< slave be right, the master will not allow it to b( right. That is the reason. Look at Deuteronomj xvii 15 £" One from among thy brethren shalfc thoi set king over thee; thou maye3t not set a strangei over thee, which is not thy brother."] Come, now if the kings of all the countries came from Rome only thence also might one come here. But is not thi Queen a native of England ? Nicholas, of Russia i Buonaparte, of France ? Pomare, of Tahiti? Eacl from his own People. Then why am I and this peo pie rebuked by you and told that we mnst unite witl you under the Queen ? How was it that the Ameri cans were permitted to separate themselves ? Wlr are they not brought under the shadow of tho Queen! for that people are of the same race as the English "Whereas, I am a foreigner, this island is not near t< you. I am only near to you in Christ. Were all the different countries under one sovereignty—that of the Queen —it would be quite right ; no one would differ, all this island would also be united to the rest. Instead of which the nations are separated from each other, and I also, standing here in my independence, desire to hare a King for myself. Friends, do not be offended ; let mc mnke known my thoughts with respect to this great matter, which has furnished us with a cause of dispute. Is it on account of the Treaty of Waitangi you are angry with us ? Was it then that, we were taten possession of by you ? You are mistaken. Look at the case of two shopa. The goods in one shop are sold; those of the other are not sold. Now, do you think that because of the selling of the goods in one shop, the goods of the other all went also ? I say they did not go. Just so the assent of one chief did not dispose of what belonged to another. It ia a similar case to that of the two shops. * * # *# I will now commence upon another subject. At the beginning of this war at Taranaki, I meditated upon the haste of the Governor's wrath. There was no delay; no time given; he did not say to the Maoris—Friends, I intend to fight at Taranaki. No, <- there was nothing said, not a word. After observing , that no investigation into the rights of Wiremu Kingi and Te Tcira had been made, he went on —Do you consider that this was a just war? Is it good in your opinion to give vent quickly to anger? Yes ! but in my opinion, to make haste to be angry is wrong. Paul says—" Charity suffereth long and is kind ; is not easily provoked j thinketh no evil; suffereth wrong. Friends, wherein is our Governor right, -whom yon believe in ? Te Rangitake, who quietly reflected, is blamed by you, and the Governor, who hasted to anger, is supported and praised by you. Hence my thoughts are perplexed in my heart,' for hasty wrath has been condemned by James, who has„said —"Be slow to wrath, swift to hear. .As it is, the precept in Proverbs xvi. 32 [" He that is slow to anger is'better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city"], has not been carried out. Friends, it is for me—for mc who am a child—to get angry hastily. The proverb says, It is a child that breaks calabashes ; it is a child that cries for food. Both these proverbs are for children. But for you to be so hasty is, in my opinion, wrong. Rather ia it for you to act deliberately, as you have an example to go by. The Word of God is your compass to guide you—the laws of God." #.. ■ # # # # " About the murders—my opinion is decided that they were not murders. Look—it was murder when Ihaia killed Te Whaitere (Katatore). He caused him to drink spirits, that his senses might leave him. Be was waylaid, and killed by Ihaia. That was a fou] murder. You looked on and made friends with Ihaia. That which we regard as a murder, you have made naught of; and these which are not murders-, are called so. This, I think, is wrong : for the Governor did not say to Wiremu Kingi and the Ngatiruanui, O friends, do not kill the unarmed. Nor did he direct that the settlers, living in the town, should be removed to Auckland, where there was no fighting, and there stay. He knew he had determined to make war at Taranaki, and therefore he should have told his unarmed people to remove out of the way. " With regard to the plunder which you say is to be restored—listen to my opinion about that. The Governor was the cause of that. War was made on Wiremu Kingi, and he fled from his pa. Thepawas b'irntwith fire ; the church was burnt, and a box of Testaments j all was consumed with fire; goods, clothes, blankets, shirts, trowsers, gowns, all were consumed. The cattle were eaten by the soldiers, and the horses, one hundred in number, were sold by. auction by the soldiers. Had the Governor given word not to burn the church, and to leave the goods and animals alone, Wiremu Kingi would have thought also to spare the property of the Pakeha. The former first commenced that road, and the latter merely followed upon it. Friends, look you to this—one hundred horses were sold by auction ; property and food wasted; .houses burnt with fire; and cattle eaten by the soldiers— whose work was that ? The Governor's own, for he it was that commenced the work of confusion spoken of in his declaration. Thompson at this time consented to meet the Governor, notwithstanding that his tribe, dreading the treachery that had been practised on Te Bauparaha, threatened to kill | him if he made the attempt; but the scheme was frustrated by the arrival of Sir George Grey as Governor. The first meeting between Sir George Grey and the Waikatos took place at Taupari, in December, IS6I. It has been thought by many that at that important interview Sir George Grey found that his influence "with the Natives - was at an end, and that he then resolved on war. Certain it is that the instant he returned from the Waikato he commenced the military road to the la, and built the Queen's Eedoubt, which commanded the entrance to the Waikato. Such a step was a plain indication of an intention to bring military force to bear at any moment when it might be convenient. It was a death blow to confidence—a preparation for hostilities; and was so received by the Natives.. It is clear that about this time Thompson's influence with his countrymen had. declined, mainly owing to his failure at Taranaki. Eewi openly asserted that Governor Browne had broken the terms made with Thompson for

the removal of the troops from the Waitara, and said he would no longer keep to his part of the bargain to give the disposition of Waitara to Thompson. 'The'latter'appears always to have thought that Sir George Grey intended war as soon as he should be ready, and though he assented to the Governor's proposal that the title to the Waitara should be investigated, the majority sided with Rewi in refusing to assent to anything until Thompson's original proposal had been acted on, and the troops withdrawn. Waikato was falling into complete anarchy; the "new institutions," as they were called, had become a complete failure : utter mistrust in the Governor was the prevailing feeling. In October, 1562, the greal meeting took place at Peria, the chief settlement of the Ngatihauas, at which the Bishoj of New Zealand made that celebrated speed which occasioned so much discussion at tlw time all over the colony. It made a dee]: impression on Thompson; and a forfcnighi afterwards he formally demanded from Rew: and "Wi Kingi that the title to the Waitara should be investigated as the Governor haci proposed. It was refused. He then demanded that Tataraimaka should be giver up to-the English: that too was refused, unless Waitara should be first given up. Ir the beginning of 1563 Sir George Grey made a sudden visit, almost unattended anc quite unarmed, to the Waikato, when he was welcomed with every sign of affection Thompson's pleasure was undisguised ; anc it was upon this occasion that Sir George Grey made that fatal blunder as a diplomatist, which is quite unaccountable unless h< had already resolved on the destruction o: the Waikato. He said he intended to go tc Tataraimaka to take it back. Willian Thompson admitted that it was quite righi to do so, and offered to meet him at Taranak and ft? use his influenceto prevent the Ngalirua nuis resisting by force. Thompson knew whom the Governor would have to dea with, and was anxious again, as always, tc prevent war. Sir George Grey, for som( unrevealed and unaccountable reason, de clined the offer, which, had it been accepted would have prevented the slaughter a Oakura, the invasion of the Waikato, th< loss of so many gallant officers and men the squandering of so much treasure, anc the financial disasters which have broughi the colony to the verge of ruin. Mortifiec as he must have been by a refusal of hii aid at so critical a moment, Thompson not withstanding wrote to the Ngatiruanuis t< urge them not to resist the occupation oi Tataraimaka. But the more daring counsel! of Rewi still prevailed. In the events ii the Waikato whilst the Governor was a" Taranaki with the driving oul of Mr. Gorst and the missionaries—Thomp 3on still appears as the advocate of order sondemning violence of every description xnd though he could not reverse the genera rerdict that Mr. Gorst should go, he hac still influence enough to compel Rewi at once to restore the printing press, and to pay fo: the damage done to it. But his great service t< the cause of civilisation was yet to be ron dered. It is well known that when, the Taranaki Natives sent to the Waikato. tribei to inform them that Tataraimaka was occu pied, Rewi, without consulting the othe] chiefs, instantly despatched a messenger tc tell them to " strike the Pakeha.'' Som< of his tribe followed to aid their Taranak allies, but Rewi, Reihana,* and others re mained behind, and wanted at once to g< down the river and strike a blow at the Eng lish settlements round Auckland. The oppo sition of Thompson to this proposal was s< determined, that he went so far as to assem ble the Ngatihauas under arms, to resist b] force, if necessary, the lawless schemes o the Ngatimaniapoto. The latter, deterrec from their more daring design, employee themselves in building Rangariri, which s< soon" after was the Scene of a struggle whicl will never be forgotten. At a meeting helc shortly after at Rangiaowhia, Thompsor boldly condemned the wlt>le proceedings o: Rewi, and announced that Ngatihaua woulc take no part in the war. Rewi replied by insults, and on being asked if he paid nc regard to the words of the King, answered— " I care nothing about your King. I have anointed my sword and spear to be kings over mc." The breach amongst the Waikafc tribes was then at its height, and Thompsor went so far as to go down on a' visit tc Waata Kukutai, at the mouth of the rivei —a Queen's magistrate, and an influential chief in Lower Waikato, and to propose that all who desired law and order should unite to oppose the violence of Rewi, if necessary, by force.. Notwithstanding all the long years we have maintained a secret Native Department, defended and submitted to solely on the ground that it was necessary- for the Government to be kept intimately acquainted with the characters and proceedings of the Native chiefs, it is hardly credible' that at this critical moment, when the whole of our future depended on a stroke of able diplomacy, or rather of sound and honest statesmanship, the Native doctors should have been apparently stricken with helplessness. At this moment it would-have been an easy task to have separated the whole of Lower Waikato and the Ngatihauas from the more violent party, and to. have turned our arms, touted with theirs, on the Ngatimaniapotos; a task the more easy, because there was a bitter grievance still rankling in the breast of the Ngatihauas, who always said it was by the cowardice and treachery of the Ngatimaniapoto* that Wetini and %h.e Ngatihauas had been cut'of at Mahoetahi. But no one in Auckland seems to have had any perception of a distinction between one Native and another; they were ajl—"bloody niggers'" together. And Thompson, whilst standing single handed between the unarmed and undefended European settlements and destruction, was regarded by the moles and bats of the Government pigeonholes, as a deceitful and untrustworthy man. \ " The evil <L&y was ; a£ biujd/V-In July, 1803 .was perpetrated one of those frightful crimes which a* only excusable undejr the plea of direful panic. The inhabitants of

lhumatao, and others, were dX ' * their homes without kTZut n **'!: charge of crime with their %,*£ women and their children, and all*! *** t pert* h proclamation was issued, falsely dSl* -' "' the 11th, when it was not realhrS j ?S ; the Uth nor .sent into the Wat» V lot!) explammg the cause of Waikato, three clays after th ft £ g . e had actually taken* pl a , e \f'»®»* ' was the justification of that *+ ! .Ec«y which Thompson and the ifiiJP' had resisted to the Lnost gear, v the country and confiscating the fond oTfl verymtn who so resisted ! The history « the Empire can record nothing at once 11 cruel in war, or more utterly stnnU ♦ policy. When all, friends Z faftj .- were treated as one common criminal it r : little to be wondered at that all fWht■ £ ' one common enemy. And so now we stand m the enviable position of having cruZ? our own friends, and trodden down all tk adherents of civilisation and order leavS* all the more savage and barbarian element of the race grinning at us in bold defiant from the impregnable positions of their mountain fastnesses. But the time is come when right and,in.; tice should bo done to the character of that great man who, whilst fervently inspired with a belief in and love for the independent nationality of his race, has so often saved the lives and property of Europeans from , the unrestrained violence of his countryman- » and who has retorted the sneers upon'hii honesty by acts of generosity. We have no •' * doubt that one day the New Zealanders ofO both races will do him justice! His wrii ings speak for themselves In point tf*'" reasoning power and an earnest eloquence- " they will rank far higher than the mentor-' anda of most of our statesmen. Beside them *•' such writing as the articles in the Southetifiiz Cross are like the illiterate howlings of a'--savage. Those who would attempt to gov! >Z crn the Maori race must learn to under- V stand and do justice to the character of ai man who whilst striving to elevate ; nU;tt countrymen, has striven to do so by ful means alone ; and who, in the midst deeds of ruthless violence, has never laboring to make the voice of reason heaj& § Eor our own part we do not believe and labors of such a man will be lost, foiufiS indeed there be a special blessing on the;A* peacemakers of this world, we may yet to see it descend upon the Ngatihaua cuMvs —Wiremu Tamahana Te Waheroa. ; ' : 0-