THE GOVERNMENT AND TE KAOTI.

Press, Volume XLVI, Issue 7252, 7 March 1889, Page 5

THE GOVERNMENT AND TE KAOTI.

* INTERVIEW OF THE PREMIER WITH THE GOVERNOR. A FULL NARRATIVE OF EVENTS. | A GRAVE DANGER AVERTED. [By Tklkgraph.] [fbom ovk cobrbbpondknts.] WELLINGTON, March 6. The Premier had an interview with the Governor this afternoon for the purpose of explaining wbat had taken place in Poverty Bay with reference to Te Koot 1 and hia visit. The vague, contradic* tory, and incomplete accounts which hitherto have formed the only means of judging what happened in Poverty Bay prove now to have been distinctly misleading, also failed to make clear the grounds on which the Government acted in the emergency. I am in a position to state positively what took place. It appears that at the first meeting which the Premier held of the local Justices of the Peace, of whom fourteen or fifteen were present, they urgently impressed upon him the gravity of the situation —a general panio prevailing; settlers and their families ilying from the country into town; business largely suspended; hundreds of natives at Kakaka waiting to welcome Te Kooti, including many who had always been turbulent and disaffected, and who were prepared at a moment's notice to do Te Kooti'a bidding. The Justices stated they had been legally advised that Te Kooti a actions in assembling large numbers of followers and marching through the country to the terror of peaceful citizens of both races, formed a serious menace to the peace of the country j especially considering Te Kooti's antecedents, and that he could lawfully be bound over to keep the peace, or otherwise restrained; that there was reason to apprehend a breach, of the peace, and that they did apprehend this, therefore they deemed it their duty as good citizens to resist Te Kooti's coming. They added that the friendly Natives also felt very strongly on the matter, having lost relatives and friends under circumstances of peculiar barbarity, that there was a serious danger that either these Natives or some Europeans, smarting under the memory of their wrongs, might shoot Te Kooti, the consequence of which would almost certainly be Bone savage reprisals on tbe part of his friends. Some 500 of Te Kooti's devoted die iples were assembled near at hand. The settlers were scattered over the country, and were wholly unprepared for self-defence, while the Government had no adequate power in the district to protect the settlers. Therefore, for all these reasons they had banded thomselvee together in their own defence to resist the approach of the man whose coming they believed would 1 be the signal for a formidable outbreak. To this the Premier replied that the Government were responsible for maintaining law and order and for protecting the settlers, who could not be permitted to band themselves together, which, indeed, wa3 likely to bring on them the very consequences they desired to avoid. If they persisted in banding themselves together and taking the law into their own hands it would be his duty to appre bend them as disturbers of the peace as soon as he had sufficient force at band. The Justices rejoined that they admitted their action to be probably not legal, but they contended that their first duty was to preserve the lives of their wives and children, which would be seriously endangered if Te Kooti's visit were permitted. The Premier answered that he had come expressly to inquire into the matter, and he called on them to assist him in preventing any breach of the peace. The meeting then terminated. The Premier next received a deputation of friendly Natives, who urged that they had always been loyal, had fought for the Queen, and had obeyed the laws. For these very reasons Te Kooti had killed (some said " murdered") their nearest relatives and friends. If tbe Government allowed Te . Kooti to come it would mean abandoning them, the loyal Natives to their fate, for Te Kooti had many friends and disciples in the new religion. They also declared that he possessed in a special decree the faculty of makatu, namely, the power of compassing by the mere force of Ms will the death of those he cho3e to destroy; that he was able to heal the sick miraculously, and that he professed to be able to discoverer sorcerers and witches, through which last faculty he had caused several people to be murdered by naming them tv> their tribe as having 1 bewitched certain persons. They could not tell whose turn might come next, and so they dreaded his presence. Te Kooti had declared he was coming for peace, but this could not be true because his friends 1 were at peace with him already, and 1 nothing would induce his foes ever to make peace with him; he was coming merely to exalt his " mana" over thai? of the Government. Unless the loyal Natives became his followers and converts to his 1 new religion he would exercise mercilessly his power against them, and either cause their death by "makutu," or else get them murdered as tainted with witchcraft. They held also that a breach of peace would be inevitable if Te Kooti came, because it would be impossible to restrain some Natives from shooting him. They" declared that if tbe ■ Government let Te Kooti oma there it ' would be allowing the loyal Natives to be ' most grossly insulted, and would be virtually giving Te Kooti the power of life and death over them. They therefore ; claimed the protection of the Government. The Premier explained to them that tbe course which they proposed would be unlawful, and they must not take the ' law into their own hands. The Govern- ' ment would consider what was best to 1 to be done, but they could not restrain • Te Kooti's liberty of action. It was quite 1 against the wishes of the Government that Te Kooti was making this visit, but he (Te Kooti) had pleaded that he was coming in the interests of peace. The loyal chiefs then requested to be permitted ' to erect a pah, to be furnished with arms, to defend themselves. The Premier replied that he would not grant this permission then at any rate. He would have to consider what should be done. The Natives friendly to Te Kooti next waited on the Premier, and urged that he was not coming with any hostile or unlawful intent, but merely in the exercise of his lawful right, and it would be wrong to . stop him, as he had been pardoned unconditionally and was free to go where he pleased. The Premier reminded them that when Te Kooti was pardoned he assured Mr Bryce he had given up his former ways, and he was distinctly warned to behave properly, yet he was coming not quietly and peaceably but in an ostentatious way with a large number of followers, so as to cause uneasiness and endanger the peace. The chiefs friendly to Te Kooti admitted the truth of this, and after some

further conversation they agreed with tht Premier that Te Kooti ought not to come. They promised to telegraph to him to go back, and such telegram was duly sent. Nextcame a deputation of representative set* tiers to whom the Premier stated explicitly that he refused to meet or in any way to recognise the " Vigilance Committee," whom he denounced as a body of men banded together for an unlawful purpose. He ordered the Vigilance Committee to disband instantly as the first stop to be taken, and declined to have anything to say to its members until they did so. He warned them that they could not, and would not be permitted, to take the law into their own hands. On this intimation the Vigilance Committee at once formally disbanded themselves. The Premier then consulted successively Major Ropata, Mr Booth, R.M., and Mr Carroll, the Native M.H.R. Ali agreed in urging the grave danger of allowing Te Kooti to come. •. is drunken habits ren- | dered it always uncertain what freak he might take into his head or what mischief he might do while in hia oupa, which could not be undone when he became sober. The Native mind was in a highly excited and inflammatory condition, ttnd Tβ Kooti, by his ostentatious triumphal march through* the country, was te ding directly towards a breach of the peace. The Inspector of Police maintained that he had ample evidence on which to arrest Tβ Kooti as a disturber of the peace, and demand that he should be bound over to keep the peace. After hearing all that could be sa.d on both sides, the Premier came to the conclusion that if Te Kooti were allowed to proceed bloodshed was certain, and that it was neaessary his visit should be prevented. The Attorney-General, on being consulted and placed in posMtaion of all the facts, gave it as his opinion that it would be clearly lawful and justifiable to arrest Te Kooti and have him bound over. The Premier accordingly resolved that c Kooti's visit snould be prevented, and telegraphed to Mr Bush, R. ii., instructing him to tell Te Kooti to return home. Te Kooti consented, but afterwards changed his mind and declared that he snould still come. On this Mr Bush was directed to warn Te Kooti Unless he had started homeward by the 27th ult. he would be arrested. He still insisted on proceeding, and the situation became more and more critical, as the Natives antagonistic to him prepared for an armed resistance, and his folio ers were rapidly increasing, until they numbered over 50 ', some of whom were suspected of being armed. It was, therefore, determined to stop him by force, and steps were taken accordingly. A suspicion then aroee that Te Kooti, if turned back, might retire into the interior (the Uriwera country) with his sympathisers and might then choose his own time for visiting Poverty Bay, when a disastrous collision might take place. In view of all possibilities, it was deemed right to arrest him and deport him to Auckland. Aβ is known, he disappeared, and it wai found he had taken the very course which was feared, going into the interior to await a better chance of making his entrance into Poverty Bay. He was pursued, arrested, charged with unlawful assembly, bound over u> keep the peace, and deported to Auckland, the result being his unqualified submission. At a meeting of natives the Premier was remonstrated with on bringing armed men against unarmed natives, but his explanation completely satisfied the natives, who loudly applauded it. It may be added that the consulted Sir George Whitmore, who entirely concurred in the course adopted. The Government were convinoed that the public peace. and safety would be imminently endangered by Te Kooti being allowed to march on Poverty Bay with a large band of adherents in the circumstances as proved to exist. It would have placed the Queen's loyal and law-abiding subjects in reasonable fear, and even had not the Europeans been directly menaced, the mc c fast of a deadly faction fight being carried on close by would have subjected them to natural dread, and euch a fight was inevitable. The Government held thai; they were justified in preventing euch unlawful assembly and threatened faction* fight being carried on to the terror of the orderly citiaens, and bo they attested the ringleader. OPOTIKI, March 6. The Ngatis received their pay to-day fox their services with the expedition, the petition for the retention of the permanent force was signed by all the influential settlers in the district, who anticipate ft favorable reply. The petition calls attention to the fact that Opdtiki ia settled at the foot of densely wooded ranges, and that the Native population of the country amounts to over 3000, three-fourth* of whom are adherents of Te Kooti, and that this is a district which should not be left unprotected at tasy time. The arrest of the demi-goa Te Kooti has apparently had a ttiost irritating impression upon his followers in this district. Since his 'arrest thejr have had a dejected and sullen appeaxance, and rather shrink from conversing with the pakehas. A large meeting is n> ported to have been held at Te Waima oa Saturday last, at which there was an immense number of Te Kooti's followers. The result of this they are keeping strictly secret, and so far the Europeans have not the least information as to the plans decided upon at this meeting.