An Historic Meeting

Dominion, Volume 29, Issue 226, 20 June 1936, Page 19

An Historic Meeting

I noticed in a newspaper of a late date that preparations werebeing made at Waitara for a monster native meeting in connection with the unveiling of the memorial to the late Sir Maul Pomare. This reminded me of the his toric meeting at Waitara in the late ’seventies, at which I was present, between Sir George Grey, then Prime • Minister, Mr. John Sheahan, Native Minister, representing the Government, and Rewi Maniapoto and other chiefs,’ representing the Maoris, for the purpose of arranging certain matters in dispute’ between the Government and the King Country Natives. After what I believe was known as the Waikato War, a reward had been offered by the Government for the rapture of Rewi, However, he had been pardone 1 gome time before this meeting took place, but this was the first occasiot? on which he had left his stronghold in the King Country since the war. Au other man at this meeting was Kimball Bent, who had deserted from the British Forces, but he also had been pardoned. There was also with the visiting party a young Maori who was commonly known as William Fox. Reports stated that this Native had been brought up and educated by the late Sir William Fox, and went so far as to say that he had studied law in Wellington with one of the well-known legal firms. However, he went back to live with his relations, or what was commonly known in those days as “going back to the mat.”—Tari Kawara (Lower Hutt).