THE NATIVE MEETING. ABRUPT TERMINATION OF THE MEETING.

Evening Post, Volume XVIII, Issue 504, 8 May 1879, Page 2

THE NATIVE MEETING. ABRUPT TERMINATION OF THE MEETING.

DISAGREEABLE ATTITUDE OF- ! TAWHAIO.. ¦ y -nGLOOMY- PROSPECTS. [Phr Press aqbnct.l Alexandra, Bth May. The meeting has now commenced in earnest. Before opening, thp, Hauhaus indulged in prayers, which they chanted. ~' A party, who commenced with a catalogue of anceatra.l tribes, invoked 'them" I 'to- 'attend on 'an important occasion like this, summoning their spirits to earth. After another prayer by a pakeh'a, the chief priests gave the order to be seated. The men still walked round to see that proper decorum was observed, and Tawhiao then rose and said :-— Listen, listen, my grandfathor's people, from the' South to the North Cape — listen,- listen, elders and tribes, listen tothis worS. «There is no one to hurt ns. from; one- end of the country to the other. Potatau, the chief of you all, alone has a claim to this place. Ke'wi is 'there, but' he is one scale, I another-- ./These are my districts, and this is a reason r say the land 1 is' all mine ; it 19 for me* to do as I like with the country. Ido not conceal what I have to say. Listen attentively. A letter was received by Potatau from the Queen, ; informing him that Europeans were coming to this country, antfPotatati told them to stay away, therefore I say Grey has no right to' manage the afMrs of -this .Inland, but I have the power, and do not care for any interference and do not want these laws in jftfy district. That is tlie reason I say the thiog called "fighting," should Jbe. taken right avVay from this country. There must be no fighting here for leases or roads; all these things must be left behind". These rules cannot be" allowed to interfere with, us. In my district, there must 1 be no dvil whatever— this day or for eyer— no fighting this day or ever. The' Htubaus again engaged in prayers, signifying the close of his speech. Kereapa Te Hau prayed aloud,' asking >Ghd to make ttiem clean that day ; they also asked God to enlighten thenu ,The speech: was< evidently intended to 'd/aV out 1 *the Ngapuhis^whose lands were included in the sweeping control he claimefL^-'j <'_< *„..' ) ;,~; ,~ y \ if • i.[ ' Ngatimaniopoto (Mokau) Mahunui next njade a few remarks. ' Marsh Arawa, wno followed, begun with a parable, meaning that all evil should cease, and the races be grafted. I Te He Hnsaid— l.am not going to interrupt these words. the days ot" Potjatau. to the present they have not been changed. Hold fast; to these. things. ; Kupa (Mrjor' Kemp) of Wanganni, said— The bell has rung, and we havo .had prayers. It is now time to speSk, and what is said should be said this day in the presence of Sir George Grej^ wßen all 'things' should be concluded. The Bishop on one side has spoken, but not the Bishop of the other side. ; Te Wheoro (Waikato) said — If visitors wish fsay anything let them do so. Tengakau said— Let' us go away and consider, what has been said, and come back tomo'frW'td talk 1 further. ; The £ingite men rose rather abruptly and proceeded to file off, leaving the Ngakauhau and Queen natives rather disappointed, j The Europeans' are much disappointed at the abrupt termination of the meeting which only {asted three-quarters o£ an hour, and left Sir .George Grey and the Native Minister as far ! off a settlemeqtof ofiaira as ever. The opinion j seemed to be ' that * Tawhaio who did not pondescend to. visit Siv George, was as obstinate as' ever, and declined to agree" to any .'terms. That he wishes to continue peaceable jis, however^ evident, if his words mean any- ) thing; and the speech was looked upon as out | of tho common, both, from its length, in com- ' parison witu royal speeches previously made, and the emphatic nature of the terms employed. ' There is material for thinking'in his speech, and the tribes will, no doubt, carefully consider what has boen uttered, at the close- of Tawhaio's speech. R^wi^walked up from where he had been standing in the rear of his people, and took a. position alongside the King:, but he did not speak at the meeting. The steps thu3 taken indicate that he is inclined to coincide with Tawhaio, and that the latter bad touched a tender chord in his breast, and drawn him close to himself. Kopija, later. The feeling amongst the natives is that Tawhaio does not mean to be brought to book at this meeting, and that nothing will result .from writing. The tone of Tawhaio's speech was certainly the reverse of agreeable, and w{s to bs a manifesto of his power over all *he Island, notwithstanding the independent attitude of the Agapuhis, Arawas, and gthor well-known friendly tribes. Rewi is .awkwardly fixed.' It would be to his interest -to see tbe settlement of all the patives. fie is at present in the position" of heir to vast estates "kept out of possession by another, and awaits the adjudication of the authorities as to his claims. Matters wi'l be as forward to-morrow as to-day, because Tawhaio does not wish a settlement, does not desire tbe opening of his fine district, and will not allow surveyors to put foot upon it for the purpose, so long as he is treated with kindness and consideration by the Government of the day. That is tbe opinion just now, but changes are not improbable, for circumstances alter cases. His present attitude is eviden,tly to hold on to the lands, to the exclusion of Europeans and settlement. There are a nujnber of speculators here iust now, but they are looking glooiny^ver it, and see little prospect of an adjustment of claims.