Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 1879. OUR LETTER HOME.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5414, 21 June 1879, Page 2

Hawke's Bay Herald. SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 1879. OUR LETTER HOME.

Native affairs are still the absorbing' political question of the day. Since 'the breaking up of the great meeting 'at , To; Kopua very little has been heard . ab'(fot the native King Tawhiao. ' It ia, hot.'at allunlikely that he feels scarcely "satisfied with the results of that meeting—the abrupt departure from it of Sir, ( , George Grey, and the withdrawal of the proposals the Premier had made at the, Bjkurangi meeting last year — proposals, which have been generally considered far too «• liberal, and from which the Government have been doubtless well pleased to extricate themselves. But whatever may be Tawhiao's feeling on the subject' l he has made no sign. Rewi, on the other hand; has manifested great friendliness. He has been in Auckland most of the time since the meeting, occupying himself in visit-!-ing the various public, institutions, manufactories and other establishments of interest. He has been much in communication Avith the Native Minister during the time, discussing in all probability the arrangements which will enable tho construction of the railway through Rewi's country, and possibly also the terms upon which amicable relations may be brought about with the '"'KingHea. Rewi has also been very much in communication with the Governor, during a visit which his Excellency has been paying for the last few days at Auckland. At the request of the Governor, Rewi put in writing the proposals he had to make for coming to an understanding on the subject of the railway and roads through native country. The Government have given their reply to the- proposal and Rowi intends laying it before the Kingites for their consideration. In the meanwhile Rewi, the Governor, the Colonial Secretary, and party have gone to the Waikato. Whether his Excellency will visit Rowi's place has not yet boon suited, but at auy rate there is manifestly a strong dr.t.ire ou tho part of 'the native chief Lo entoi 1 into arrangements of mutual bonofib to tho two races, tending largely to the advancement of the prosperity of the colony. Ou the West Coast of this island native affairs have been of late in anything but a pleasant condition. The " difficulty " which commenced some months ago with the removal of the Government surveyors from the Waimate. Plains assumed another {

phase towards the end of laßfc month. Emboldened by the forbearance shown to them with regard to the surveyors, the nativesconimenced on the 25th ult to plough up the land of a Bettlor named Caverhill, residing at Oakura, near the Waimate Plains. On the natives being remonstrated with, they replied, "All the same as Waimate Plain*." It is in fact confiscated land> but — unlike the Waimate Plains, of which actual possession ha« never been taken by the .Government-^ has been given to the military settlers and'has been in occupation for some time. The affair caused considerable excitement, which was much heightened when the natives proceeded in the same way to plough up the lands of other settlers.. They, were, very, defiant too, thpugli disavowing at "the "same time any intention to disturb 'the pe'acV-'o'r to injure the settlers. Their object they stated to be td asserfc theitt' 1 right 'to the land* and to fpree .the ; Government/.- .to bring th.c _ question of title to aii- issue. ; Ab , these .proceedings of the nativespeaceful, though, they professed to be—' proceeded the alarm of ,the inpreased, and there appeared reason to fear that at any moment some' indiscreet act on , the one side or other might precipitate a. conflict ' and pliittge" the colony "into another 1 Maori war: " Matters began : td lo^Sf so .serioiul that the Premier and ' theColonial Secretary w4nt w 1 oyer ; t6;.^N'ew ; Plymouth to Bee how 'tfto' affair 'Btbd'S. The r t settlers , s waited upon the .. Premier, (representing the Urgent need for' meaiiires' lof def ence^beuig tak;e,ri, and. the Government, being 'als.6' impressed'" with the gravity,.; of the situation, preparations jvere made* that .jßhould -giv^e assurance pf~ protection , I toth'e settlers a|ainst''any aggression froii the natives. Kecruiting fjOrjthe Armed Gon■stabulary was vigorously'"pushed ) and as' .fast as the various detachments .were ready they were sent down to T^ranaki. The settlers formed themselves' into Volunteer corps,, ttnd ; blockhouses 'were 1 , Constructed ' at^places, where there seemed, lnoS,t reason to, fear attack, and as a forlKet , ine'a'sure, of precaution the wives and famaliea~;pf: settlers in exposed positions, .were removed intothe townships, i The effect: upon the, natives was soon apparent. : ■ ' ■ They: dropped' , their boastful, defiant • manner^ and dis-' continued ploughing : the ' Bettlera* -landß; Tlie .proceedings of the .natives, as. we sMed'/in;'a former lettety , were ail instigated- :by\ Te ," Whiti," " a ' chibf 1 : wfio pretends to supernatural 'p^>vr'iitß^ and who . has obtained a powerful 'influence over 1 ' the minds of his followers,. Heendeavora" to impress theni with the belief 'that ,he can make them .invulnerable, and can cause the bullets of ' the Europeans to rebound,, upon themselves. Just now he and his people are, ttokliiig. X tttqetihg 'at Parihaka, a place, in Taranaki,'njßar Mount Egmont. His.. 'opening, aadreesj A a translation of "which. 'has been telegraphed to the -Press, "tia of the. w.Udest and most extraordinary nature. In it he ■, tells -his people that> HeislGod andtSatan 1 .in one, and therefore all-powerful both for good and for' evil; that he is Jusus Christ, and has all nations, kingdoms, and tongmes under his feet ; and that the Europeans who have taken the Maoris' land and have accumulated wealth will soon see all their accumulations melt away like the morning mist before the sun. Te Whiti may be mad, but if he is h© has a "method in his madness" that makes him dahgeroufy aiid it is a question .fyheth^r iV Would not be wise, for- ; tHe Bake ol • the peace of the', colony, to put him in confinement. The Govern-

ment appear to believe that his influence is on the wane, his followers being dißguated, at the non-fulfilment of his prophesies, aa well as alarmed at the warlike preparations of the Europeans; But the Maoris are . notoriously sup'orstititmsj and hi their ignoi'ance they are more likely to give credence to Te Whiti's pretensions because of, .their wild character than if they were of a reasonable nature, and if he should take it into his head to incite them to an onslaught upon -the European population, there can be little doubt that they would set about it at

once. The incarceration of Te Whiti as a dangerous lunatic . seems ; ' therefore . necessary for the preservation of peace on the West Coast of the North Island.

The fourth session ok the present Parliament will open on the iith^ proximo, and it is generally understood 1 that a di'ss«iutf6n II: wfll take ph& at the_ close ojE the session. The first measure that will be dealt with will be a Eepresentation Bill. A proposal will be made to increase the land tax-, but the increase will be .confined td Qstatea.. exceeding £$)W in value, or perhaps the limit" will! be even £3000. . There will be no further decrease of thedustoins duties proposed; this year. The Ministry seem likely to lose ' one of the most valuable of their number in ' .the.personof Mi: Stout, the Attorney-Gene- ' ral| who' has expressed a determination to; retire from Parliament altogether. He! has, however, been asked by a deputation ' of his. constituents, the electors, of Dun-; edin, to ! reconsider 1 his 'decisibri) and he: has taken till Monday next to give his; reply* Apart from his value to his colleagues in the Cabinet, Mr Stout's retire--ment from Parliament would be a seriouslos 3to the country, and it is the general 1 wish of both friends and foes that he may be induced to remain. It seems to be' pretty well understood that the Opposi-i tion contemplate a fierce attack upon the \ Ministry during the session, but it does not seem certain whether it will take the: form of a direct motion of want of con-: fidence, or whether there will merely be; an attempt to defeat the Government onsome vital'question; ■ In- . either- casse -the. Ministry would feel very . seriously the loss of so doughty a champion ; as the present Attorney-General.

; . 'The 'annual meeting of the' Hawke's Bay Agricultural and Pastoral 'Society was held on the'3oth uit.j'Mr.'F.' Sutton, M..H.K.:, in. the, chair. The. cprhmitte'e's report; phbwed ,that. the affairs , of, the society were in a : satisfactory condition/ The • following ofiice-rbearers , were then elected : — President,. .. Mr i- •,!&.,: Mariner ;' Vice-President, Mr . D. , Canning; Treasurer, Mr 0. B. Winter ; Auditors, Messrs >W. U. Burke and 3- ; William a ; Committee, Messrs J. N. Williams, F. Nelson, J.S. Giblin, A. M'Hardy, J. Chambers, jun., J. Mackersey, li. Wellwood, R. Brathwaite, J. Bennett, Archibald M'Lean, T. Tanner, James LyonSj Allan M'Lean, G. Peacock, M. R. Miller, W. Shrimpton, F. Sutton, K P. Williams, W. Douglas, W. White, J. Heslop, J. D. Ormond,,A. R. Lyons,, and J. H; Ooleman. „ .. „ „ . .. . .. r .

The criminal sittings hr papier of the Supreme Court commenced on the 11th instant, before Chief Justice Prendergast. The calendar was an unusually heavy one, but it was reduced ' somewhat by the Grand, Jury ignoring the- bills in two cases, and by the Judge granting , at> application made by the Grown" Prosecntor for the postponmont until the next, assize of the caso of M'Lennan, charged with the murder of his wife. The object of the postponment was to make inquirie.B in England respecting the antecedents of the accused. The cases disposed of were none of them of a very serious nature, and in no instance was it deemed necessary to inflict a heavier punishment than 18 months' hard labor. There were two cases, however, that were of an exceptional nature in that the accused were merely children, not exceeding 32 years of age. One was a boy named Le Bas charged with housebreaking, and the other a girl named Christiensen, charged with stealing. Buth pleaded guilty. Obviously to place ivAi o'iil<lrtm in a gaol where they would mix with 'hardened criminals, would be only .ensuring their complete tuition in crime, iud arrangements wero therefore mado to send them to tho ."Neglected Children's Refuge at "Durham, Canterbury. It vvas however, subsoquontly ascei tamed that children couvictod of crhno could not be received there, and so Le Bas and Christiensen were sentenced to six months' hard labor in the Napier gaolj where it is to be hoped means wijjl, bo

found to keep them apart from the other prisoners. . The successful floating of the municipal loan is exceedingly gratifying. The loan is for £70,000 at 6 per cent, and the TJnion Bank of Australia, who negotiated it> issued it at £99 Us minimum, and it is believed, that upon the whole it has been taken at par. •; ;',